Session 1:The Scaffolded Inquiry Project

September 2008

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Today’s Agenda

1. Welcome

2. Contextualizing the Scaffolded Inquiry Project

3. Break

4. Module 1: Learning challenge variable maps

5. Module 2: Research-based abstracts

6. Module 3: Additional resources for designing a change strategy

7. Debrief: Integration into your team process

8. Evaluation

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Contextualizing The Scaffolded Inquiry Project

Setting the context—> Chancellor's Priorities and School-based Inquiry> Listening to the Field and Looking Forward> Integrating the New Tools > Objectives for Professional Development

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Inquiry and the Three Pillars

Leadership: Building capacity within the Inquiry Team and throughout the school

> Develop principal distributed leadership.

> Provide teacher leadership opportunities through Inquiry Team work.

> Support school leaders to look at data to determine student needs and identify

strategies.

Empowerment: Building confidence and ownership> Experience of success with small group of struggling students allows schools to

deepen and expand the work.

> Focus of work is customized at the school level.

> Energize educators throughout the city to be continuous learners.

Accountability: Highlighting the responsibility for learning of every student in the school

> Focus on lowest performing students.

> Create accountability for closing the achievement gap at multiple levels: individual, team, and school.

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Design tools & Organize Data

Implement Tools & Build Understanding

Building & Implementing

Preparing the System: Children First Intensive ‘07-’08

Children First Intensive was created to infuse data-informed instructional decision-making throughout New York City schools by engaging educators around the new accountability tools.

In 2007, the New York City Department of Education implemented Inquiry Teams in every school as a

core component of its school improvement strategy.Changing the culture

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Design tools & Organize Data

Implement Tools & Build Understanding

Facilitate Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration

Theory of Change

Looking Forward: ’08-’09 Priorities

• Build capacity, confidence of teachers and principals

• Increase teacher empowerment & engagement

• Ensure educators are accountable for success

Sustaining & EnhancingBuilding & Implementing

Embedding & Sustaining

Chancellor’s Priorities

Embed and sustain the reforms through:Inquiry TeamsKnowledge

Management ARIS

Target State: Continuous,

Citywide Data-Informed

Improvement

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Listening to the Field: Educator Needs Through CFI surveys, the Inquiry Team Interface, SAFs, and SSO support staff, we heard inquiry teams needed more support.

Teams:> needed help identifying the next steps after determining learning

challenges for their target populations> were challenged with finding time to research instructionally targeted

responses > struggled to come up with instructional strategies that were different

from ones they had tried before> worked to develop strategies for their students, but remained

concerned that the practices implemented sometimes did not adequately address the students’ needs

> were challenged when trying to adopt practices for specific students populations

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The Scaffolded Inquiry Project American Institutes for Research (AIR) was awarded a

competitive contract to design a set of tools to help Inquiry Team members and other educators select research-based instructional strategies for their struggling students.

The Steering Committee consisted of SAFs, SSO Design Team staff, CFI, KM, and subject specific content experts from Teaching & Learning and the Office of Accountability.

The Tools created: Variable maps Research-based abstracts Additional resources for Inquiry Teams Professional Development materials

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Integration in the CFI Process

Phase I:

Identify Students and Targets

Step 1: Define a school-wide focus.

Step 2: Define a target population.

Step 3: Define a long-term goal.

Step 4: Define learning targets and short-term goals.

Phase II:Move the Students

Step 5: Analyze target population conditions of learning.

Step 6: Design and implement an instructional change strategy.

Step 7: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures.

Phase III:Move the System

Step 8: Analyze school-level systems that produce conditions of learning.

Step 9: Design and implement a system-level change strategy.

Step 10: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures.

American Institutes for Research (AIR) has focused on Step 6 of the inquiry cycle.

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Professional Development ObjectivesIntroductory Session:

Learn how to access and utilize the technology platform: Learning challenge variable maps to guide educators’

thinking around instructional approaches Research-based abstracts to support the identified variables Additional resources to support Inquiry Teams

Train-the-Trainer Session:

Plan and practice training techniques for sharing the Scaffolded Inquiry Process with school-based

teams

Develop turn-key options for delivery

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Our Purpose

Support the work of Inquiry Teams in NYC as they design a change strategy by:

Providing high quality variable maps around particular learning challenges, research abstracts, and additional resources that can help Inquiry Teams design a change strategy.

Supporting the SAFs and SSO staff to integrate research into their work with school-based Inquiry Teams.

Supporting the launch of these tools with professional development materials for SAFs and SSO staff.

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Designing a Change Strategy

Phase I:

Identify Students and Targets

Step 1: Define a school-wide focus.

Step 2: Define a target population.

Step 3: Define a long-term goal.

Step 4: Define learning targets and short-term goals.

Phase II:Move the Students

Step 5: Analyze target population conditions of learning.

Step 6: Design and implement an instructional change strategy.

Step 7: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures.

Phase III:Move the System

Step 8: Analyze school-level systems that produce conditions of learning.

Step 9: Design and implement a system-level change strategy.

Step 10: Evaluate and revise based on interim progress measures.

American Institutes for Research (AIR) has focused on Step 6 of the inquiry cycle.

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Scope of the Scaffolded Inquiry Project

The tools consists of: 16 variable maps developed for ELA

and Mathematics 400 research-based abstracts 12 additional resources for designing

a change strategy Professional development materials

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Welcome to the Scaffolded Inquiry Project Web site

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Session 1: Outline of Binder Materials

Manuals contain:

All slides and narration

Outline

Intro and three modules

Sample abstracts

All additional resources

Session 1:The Scaffolded Inquiry Project

September 2008

BREAK

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Module 1: Learning Challenge Variable Maps

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Variable Maps

Discussion: Your team has identified a learning challenge – what next?

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Variable Maps

Bridge the inquiry work from considering conditions of learning to exploring the research.

Present variables that surround commonly identified skill gaps.

Prompt educators’ thinking about the range of variables that impact student achievement.

Organize sets of research-based strategies into factors that impact skill gaps.

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Tab Displaying Learning Challenges

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Exploring a Variable Map

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Classroom-Level Variables

Instructional practices for content knowledge, study skills, and student engagement

Research-based strategies to address specific knowledge and skills related to the content of the

learning challenge students’ engagement, interest, and interactions with

teachers Classroom instructional environment

Research-based materials and routines that can support the change strategy

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School Organization and Culture Variables

School organizational environmentResearch-based organizational structures and decisions that can support student learning

School-level curricular and assessment resourcesResearch-based resources that can be leveraged to support the change strategy

Culture of professional learningCultural habits and practices that can support collaboration and learning

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Search Results

Hover with your mouse over the

name of a strategy to open up a window with further details about the strategy.

Click on the name of a strategy to access the full

abstract.

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ACTIVITY: Variable Maps

Explore the variable maps: Choose a learning challenge (ELA). Explore the variables in classroom and school levels. Identify variables to search (click to select, then click Submit). Browse the abstracts titles that are returned.

Reflect: Do these variables reflect some of the conditions of learning

faced by your Inquiry Teams? Why or why not?

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Module 2: Research-based Abstracts

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Abstracts

Bridge the variable maps to actual implementation strategies.

Represent a careful literature review on each learning challenge.

Describe research-based instructional or organizational strategies.

Summarize one or more studies.

Point to additional related research.

Include sample activities as examples.

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Developing the Abstracts

Team of ten researchers reviewed literature and wrote abstracts.

Focused on original quantitative and qualitative studies, literature reviews and meta-analyses.

Included published research only.

Published in the last 30 years (no earlier than 1978).

Remember: abstracts represent a strong beginning, but Teams must explore research on their own as well.

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Sample Abstract

Each abstract presents: Title of Strategy Why is This Strategy

Useful? Description Research Evidence Sample Studies Sample Activities Additional Resources

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Refining Search Results

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Activity: Finding Abstracts

Explore the abstracts: Choose a learning challenge. Search variables for abstracts. Filter the findings in various ways. Browse the abstracts that are returned.

Reflect: How might you work with your networks to introduce these

abstracts to your teams?

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Module 3: Additional Resources

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Accessing Additional Resources

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Consider Conditions of Learning

Use this resource to: Guide discussion on the

what, how, how well, and who of the conditions

Brainstorm means for Collecting Data

Plan for analysis of the data – What to Look For

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Explore the Research Base

Use this resource to: Demonstrate how the research

abstracts are structured Guide comprehension and

questioning of the abstracts Find linked tools and understand

their alignment

Other resources include: Using the Variable Maps Variable Map Legend Understanding Types of Research Finding Research on Your Own

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Evaluate Strategies

Use one of these 3 resource options to:

Guide discussion Check the “fit” of the

strategy Determine which

modifications may be necessary

Make decisions about implementation

Consider impacts on school change

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Generate Hypotheses and a Change Strategy

Use this resource to: Document team

decisions Articulate rationale

and assumptions Put it all together

into a change strategy

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Plan for Implementation

Use this resource to: Consider the many

elements to implementation

Plan for coordinated activities

Document team decisions

Other resource include: Implementation

Check-up

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Debrief: Integration Into Your Team Process