Rigor Through Empowerment

Nancy Doda, Ph.D.& Mark Springer

www.allianceforpowerfullearning.comwww.teacher-to-teacher.com

Sessions # 2412 & 2512

Our Essential Questions

• What constitutes rigorous learning?

• What classroom practices promote rigorous learning?

Let’s Investigate

• Rigorous Learning is

• Rigorous Learning is not…

The Mythology of Rigor

• No Pain, No Gain

• The Classics

• Volume

• Final Exams

The Power of Empowering Students

• We believe that students are more invested in what they learn when they have a role in their own learning.

• We believe that raising the level of student voice and choice raises the level of thinking in our classrooms.

• We believe that the most rigorous learning happens when students take action to learn.

EMPOWERMENTPutting Students in the Driver’s Seat

In which mode of transportation would you best be able to

retrace a trip?

Consider Why?

The Driving Metaphor Of Empowerment

How Can We Put Students In The Driver’s Seat?

Building the Classroom Community

Mrs. Mutner liked to go over a few of her rules on the first day of class

The Watershed Team’s AffirmationsWe will strive to be:

CARING CAUTIOUS

COOPERATIVE COURAGEOUSCREATIVE FRIENDLY

RESPONSIBLE

Class Constitution

WE, THE STUDENTS OF WATERSHED, IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT CLASSROOM, ESTABLISH JUSTICE, INSURE TRANQUILITY, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, AND SECURE THE BLESSINGS OF LEARNING, DO APPROVE AND ESTABLISH THIS BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE WATERSHED CLASS OF RADNOR MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Everyone in Watershed has the right:

[ to be treated with respect;

[ to be equal with everyone else;

[ to have fun;

[ to be heard;

[ to have their own ideas;

[ to share their ideas;

[ to speak freely;

[ to feel that their materials are safe; and

[ to expect everyone to do his or her share of the work.

SOUNDINGS TEAM WEEKLY SELF-ASSESSMENT

Name ________________________________

Please give an example to illustrate how you have lived up to each of our affirmations:

1. Confident

2. Responsible

3. Curious

4. Independence

5. Motivated

Working Agreements About

• Listening

• Speaking

• Behavior

• Thinking

Fishbowl Start

Listed below are the expectations for behavior we agreed upon as a literature circle team. We know that RESPECT is very important:

*You must have three to five clearly defined expectations.

Team Signatures

*Developed by Janie Fitzgerald

Our Literature Circle Code of Conduct

Class Developed Rubric

Equal Participation

Friendliness and Encouragement

Asking Follow-Up Questions

Using First Names

Eye-to-Eye and Knee-to-Knee

(Developed by 9th graders)

Decisions To Share With Students• How to Share Materials

• How to Share the Load

• How to Encourage a Peer

• How to Get a Good Discussion Going

• How to Get Help when Needed

• How to Organize the Classroom Space

• How to Disagree Respectfully

• How to Keep Ourselves Motivated and Focused

Engaging & Empowering

Methods

Co-Planning How We Study

TEACHER SHARED

Control Continuum

Example: Worksheets to Think-sheets

Teacher Determines Questions For Worksheet

StudentsChoose From Teacher’s List of AcceptableQuestions

Students Use Open-Ended Think Sheets

First…change this….

To something closer to this…

8th grade, Vermont, 2008

Help Students Take A Stand and Speak

UpSAMPLE METHOD:FOUR CORNERS

4 Corners

[ It is nearly impossible to honor students and cover the standards.

[ Every teacher should be a teacher of reading.

[ All students want to learn.

[ Praise should be given more generously to struggling students.

A Jigsaw on MethodsLearning by Doing

Home Group

1 2

3

Expert Group

Home Group

1 2

3

Steady& Useful Roles

Discussion Director

Group Guru

Connector

Passage Master

Keeper of the Book/Notes

Tech Trouble Shooter

Room Arrangements

Discovery Stations?

A series of related learning stations which engage students

in brief investigations on a question or topic.

John Brown: A Villain or A Hero?

John Brown FACTS Images of John Brown

The Southern Newspaper

His Speech in Court

A Letter from A Comrade

His Life at Home

Marking Text

!! Interesting/Important

? Confusing/Curious

+ I want to recall this

Pairs will take turns talking about the text as they read.

Read and Say Something

Read half the text. Stop and take turns sharing one passage that struck you as critical. Share why.

Replace Worksheets With Think Sheets

TEXT: __________________________

What it says

I think…. So what?

Expand Your Empowerment Menu

Circle of Knowledge

Four Corners

Discovery Stations

Literature Circles

Jigsaw Projects

IRP or Independent Research

Investigation Teams

Self-Assessments

Empowering Work

• Students must draw conclusions, elaborate on their understandings, make and support arguments.

• Students must gather, digest, interpret, analyze and evaluate information.

• Students must make connections to their own lives and the world.

• Students must think about their own learning and modify and adjust.

Ask Students to Reflect On:

•the assignment you just did, •why you did it, •what you noticed about it,•what you observed about the data you collected,

•what connections you made, •what you learned from doing it.

The Final Fronteir

CO-PLANNINGWHAT WE STUDY

TEACHER SHARED

Control Continuum

Example: Text Study

Teacher Organizes Content

Students Make Choices from a Teacher Made List

Student-Negotiate the Choices

Think Choices

• Books We Read

• Topics We Investigate

• Questions We Explore

• Units We Develop

EXPAND THE CHOICES

Collect facts that are critical to subject

Teach a lesson about your topic

Compare two items using a Venn diagram

Photograph, collage or draw to represent your content

Graph a part of your study to reveal data or…Student Choice

Survey others about your content

Dramatize your content

Write a report about the content

Deliver a speech about the content

SAMPLE CHOICE CHART

Diseases & Dysfunctions of the Human Body

Student Questions and Concerns:Can They Drive Curriculum?

How long will I live?

What will I look like in the future?

Will I be healthy?

Will I achieve my goals?

Will I make enough money to support myself?

Why do we fight war over religion?

How is the world going to change?

Is there a solution for poverty?

Will they find a cure for cancer and AIDS?

Maps &Globe

Family Histories

Who are we?Where are we

from?

LANGUAGEARTS

Personal Narrative

LifestylesTravel

SCIENCE

PangaeaMATH

ContinentalDrift, Plates

Volcanoes,Earthquakes Fossils

5 Themes ofGeography

SOCIALSTUDIES

Statistics

Patterns

Story of aContinent

ResearchProject

Power of Place

Interviews

Back to the FutureHow do our choicesaffect our future?

Me, Myselfand Others

What do I want?Personal Goals

What do others want?The General Welfare

AlternativeEnergy Sources

Me, Myselfand Earth

DifficultChoices

Waste andRecycling

Whose footprintsare we walking in?Early Civilizations

HistoricalFootprints

What footprintswill we leave?Time Capsule

“We cannot expect children to accept ready-made values and truths all the way through school, and then suddenly make choices in adulthood. Likewise, we cannot expect them to be manipulated with reward and punishment in school, and to have the courage of a Martin Luther King.”

-

Constance Kami, 1991

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