Using Student Work to Improve Student Learning

Maintaining Momentum and Correcting Course:

Purpose of this Session

• Participants will be able to… Explain what students can and cannot do with

respect to a given standard. Identify next steps once skill strengths and

deficits have been identified. Focus on high-impact and high-control areas for

supporting student growth.

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Talk About It

• What are the biggest barriers to using student work as a form of data?

• How do you typically talk about students’ ELA skills at the high school level?

• How much impact does a teacher have on a high school student’s ability to read closely, write well, speak and listen effectively, and think critically?

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A “Locus of Control” Reminder

“When it comes to student performance on reading and math tests, a teacher is estimated to have two to three times the impact of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and even leadership.”

Rand Corporation

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Analyze Assessments

Determine Learning Needs

Identify Root

Causes

Develop a Plan

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Activity: Assessment Analysis

• Step 1: Modeling: Sample Assessment Map.

• Step 2: Analyze the Assessment Map for 9.1.1. Focus on the following assessed standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3

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• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

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Analyze Assessments

Determine Learning Needs

Identify Root

Causes

Develop a Plan

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Talking about Student Skills

• Our work is the same as our students’ work: Make a claim about what a student can and cannot

do with respect to a specific standard. Support that claim with evidence from the texts.

• We need to be able to articulate clearly how a student’s skills change over time. What can a student do today that he or she could

not do yesterday? What does a student still need to learn to do to

meet a standard?

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Try This: Student Work Analysis

For each piece of student work:• 3 minutes: Each member of the group looks at the

work silently against the rubric, annotating and making observations.

• 5 minutes: The group discusses their findings and comes to a consensus about the work. What can this student do with respect to this standard? 

What in the student’s work tells us so?   What is this student struggling with? What in the student’s

work tells us so?   For each sample after the first one, what can this student do

today that he/she could NOT do yesterday?

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Analyze Assessments

Determine Learning Needs

Identify Root Causes

Develop a Plan

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Do Less Of Do More Of

• Orienting around compliance

• Just holding students accountable

• Focusing on the numbers

• Orienting around skills

• Pairing accountability with explicit instruction

• Focusing on the work and the standard

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Try This: Think about Root Causes

What may be contributing to this student’s learning need?

• Read the Classroom Practice Reflection in your materials.

• Silently brainstorm potential reasons for this student’s current level of skill development.

• As a group, discuss your ideas. What is your claim? What is your evidence?

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Impact and Influence

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Talk About This

• What did you notice about most of the causes you identified?

• Which causes did the team identify first?

• Which causes were the easiest to talk about?

• Which were more difficult?

• Did you find yourself resisting any areas of discussion?

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Analyze Assessments

Determine Learning Needs

Identify Root Causes

Develop a Plan

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Try This: Course Correct

Supplemental Learning/

Remediation Approaches

Standard Learning Need

Root Causes

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Vetting Your Thinking

• Connect with another pair or with your table.

• Take turns sharing your plans. As you do so, explain: How do these steps address the identified learning

need? How will following this plan address the causes

you identified? How will following this plan help this student develop the skills he/she needs according to the deficits you identified?

Discussion and Reflection

• How might the process of developing learning plans like this help educators affect student learning?

• How can this process help us communicate with students? With parents?

• How will you help other teachers do this kind of thinking?

Q & A

Online Parking LotPlease go to

https://www.engageny.org/resource/network-team-institute-materials-august-5-8-2014

and select “Online Parking Lot” for any NYSED related questions.

Thank You!

Pulse CheckPlease go to

https://www.engageny.org/resource/network-team-institute-materials-august-5-8-2014

and fill out the Plus/Delta for today’s sessions.

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