the university of kansas center for research on learning pathways to success making a difference...

The University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning

PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS

Making a Difference Through Scientifically Proven Instructional Practices & Professional

DevelopmentKansas University Center for Research on Learning

Jim Knight ([email protected])

mailto:[email protected]


Pathways to Success

Primarily funded by GEAR-UP Co-exists with O.S.E.P. funded Strategic

Advantage Project Takes place in Topeka, Kansas Our goal is to help more students graduate

and be succesful in college


Three Questions Shaping Our Discussion Today

1. What do we do about instruction?

2. How do we make it happen?

3. Is it working?


But first …

A little background information…


How did I get into this?

Effective, Proven Instruction

+Effective Professional Development

=Student Success


Topeka Public Schools

• Home of Brown v. Board of Education

• 34% do not graduate from high school

• 61% receive free/reduced lunch• 19 % qualify for special services• Topeka has #1 crime rate in U.S.

cities under 200,000 population

Half a century after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawed deliberately

segregated schools, more than 60 percent of black fourth-graders can't read.

Washington Post, 17 May 2004, on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education


What is the CRL?

Founded in 1978

Mission: Dramatically improve the performance of at-risk students in grades 4-

12 through research-based interventions• $70+ million dollars of contracted R&D • International Professional Development Network• 275,000 teachers in 3,500 school districts


The Strategic Instruction Model (SIM)

…is an integrated model of research- validated practices to address many of the needs of diverse learners. It has been under development for 25 years at the University of Kansas-Center for Research on Learning.

CRL


Why focus on instruction?

Stuck Schools

Student FailureEroding

Expectations

Stuck Instruction


Why focus on instruction?

Moving Schools

Student SuccessHigh

Expectations

Improved Instruction


What do we do about instruction?


Developing a Foundation for Instructional Excellence

BEHAVIOR

KNOWLEDGE & TARGETS

INSTRUCTIONAL BASICS

ASSESSMENT

Ebb and Flow


Building Blocks for Instructional Excellence

BEHAVIOR


START On Time

School wide To reduce tardies

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Results: START On Time (Robinson Middle School, Topeka, Kansas)

669

256

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

3rd Q-before START 4th Q-after START

Tardies



BEHAVIOR

KNOWLEDGE & TARGETS


When we asked 77 teachers if they knew the standards for their courses…

37 of 77 said they had “no knowledge” of their course standards

(fall semester, 2003)


Knowledge and targets

We primarily use Learning Strategies Content Enhancement


Ed Ellis’ LINCS Vocabulary Strategy

Chief of his land

Land given by king for fighting in armyfief

chief


Learning Strategies Curriculum

Acquisition

Word Identification

Paraphrasing

Self-Questioning

Visual Imagery

Interpreting Visuals

Multipass

Storage

First-Letter Mnemonic

Paired Associates

Listening/Notetaking

LINCS Vocabulary

Expression of Competence

Sentences

Paragraphs

Error Monitoring

Themes

Assignment Completion

Test-Taking


.

•All students learn critical content required in the core curriculum regardless of literacy levels.

•Teachers compensate for limited literacy levels by using targeted planning, explicit teaching routines, and visual devices to promote content mastery.

all most some

Content Enhancement


Content Enhancement Teaching Routines

Planning and Leading LearningCourse Organizer

Unit OrganizerLesson Organizer

Explaining Text, Topics, and Details

Framing RoutineSurvey Routine

Clarifying Routine

Teaching ConceptsConcept Mastery Routine

Concept Anchoring RoutineConcept Comparison Routine

Increasing PerformanceQuality Assignment Routine

Question Exploration RoutineRecall Enhancement Routine

Vocabulary Routine


What does it look like in school?

Amy Schroeder’s 7th-grade mathematics class

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Results

Topeka reported this year that it had the greatest gains in the history of the district, and the greatest gains in the state of Kansas



BEHAVIOR

KNOWLEDGE & TARGETS



Knowledge Creation

Tacit KnowledgeExplicit Knowledge

when surfaced fordiscussion becomeswhen internalized so asto be a habit becomes


Strategic Instruction

Scaffolded Intensive Explicit Involves multiple models Extensive practice & feedback Requires mastery Multi-modal (eyes, ears, movement)


Strategic tutoring

• Teaching strategies while tutoring

• Assessing• Constructing• Teaching• Transferring

• One-to-one or small group• 2 or 4 times/week

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What does it look like in school?

Steve Slough’s 9th-grade algebra class

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BEHAVIOR

KNOWLEDGE & TARGETS


ASSESSMENT


Your chance to talk

What have you been thinking about as you’ve heard about the “instructional hierarchy”

Where do you think your project should start if you wish to build a foundation for instructional excellence?


So how do we make So how do we make it happen?it happen?


…to turning knowledge into action is the tendency to treat talking about something as equivalent to actually doing something about it.”

Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert I. Sutton

The knowing-doing gap

“One of the main barriers…


If you don’t plan for execution, nothing significant will happen!

“Execution is the great unaddressed issue in the business world today. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of many of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to other causes”

Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan, Execution

Reinforce Contentand Standards Knowledge

Act at the Moment of Greatest Need

NourishRelationships

Provide IntensiveSupport

ProvidePowerfulInterventions

Partner with Principals

Instructional Coaches


Effective change is paradoxical


Paradox # 1

Change needs to be “top-down” and “bottom-up”


Top down, by itself, doesn’t work

“the direct approach of naming the goal and mobilizing to achieve it does not, and cannot work in something as complex as change agentry”

Michael Fullan


We take a partnership approach

Our work embodies the principles of equality, choice, voice, reflection, dialogue, praxis, and reciprocity

“We want to be just like any other teacher in the school”


The Principal …

Identifies teachers who should work with the coach Applies pressure respectfully Evaluates teachers’ use of interventions Enables school-wide implementation Champions the project publicly Removes barriers to implementation Celebrates successes


Paradox # 2

Interventions needs to be “easy” and “powerful”


Interventions that are embraced are powerful & easy

ideas, values, technologies that do the job with the least demand on psychic energy will survive. An

appliance that does more work with less effort will be preferred

Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi

-this also applies to knowledge transfer in schools; interventions that are powerful and easy to use are the going to be adopted by teachers


How do we ensure they’re powerful?

Scientifically based Socially significant results Targeting standards Targeting teachers’ most pressing needs Use demonstration lessons, checklists, video

models, feedback and other tactics to ensure that teachers learn research-based practices


How do we make it easy?

Prepare materials Coach prior to lessons Simplify (translate) instructional materials Model in the classroom Observe teachers Use simple, powerful instructional

frameworks Provide constructive feedback


Paradox # 3

Effective change needs to self-organizing & tightly

organized

Ideas Spread Like a Virus ( )


Our Goal is Highly Structured Professional Learning Communities

Get the right people on board Target standards Develop positive cultural norms Be tightly organized Employ coaches to lead small groups Develop powerful tools Keep learning from each other


Paradox # 4

Demanding commitment ensures you won’t get it!


Our goal:internal commitment

Anyone with power can demand commitment But, external commitment

is temporary leads to poor practicesengenders resentment

Internal commitmentcan be permanent leads to high-quality practicesengenders positive attitudes


Your time for dialogue and reflection

What do think about the 4 paradoxesTop-down & bottom-upEasy & powerfulSelf-organizing & highly structuredInviting, not demanding commitment

Do any of these paradoxes apply to the change initiatives you’re leading?


Does it work?Does it work?


Figure one: Implementation Rates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Implementation Rate

Training (Joyce &Showers)Instructional Coaches


Some Research Results

Over 100 mini studies show significant improvement on curriculum-based measures

Topeka has shown dramatic improvements in measures of student achievement

Behavior management interventions have cut discipline referrals in half in some schools


To sum up!

Effective, Proven Instruction

+Effective Professional Development

=Student Success


Where can I get more information?

http://www.ku-crl.org/

http://www.instructionalcoach.com/

http://www.ku-crl.org/pathways/

http://www.ku-crl.org/partner/

http://www.safeandcivilschools.com/


[email protected]

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the university of kansas center for research on learning pathways to success making a difference...

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