Learning intentions -> Strategic planning and resourcing -> Data and evidence AND Milestones
Interesting discussions in a cluster management meeting yesterday, of which this post is just one snippet. We were talking about milestones, data and evidence and how to gather valid evidence (Hmm – is there ever such a thing???)
Somehow the discussion got on to providing data to BoTs etc for how buying 30 laptops has impacted student learning. The difficulty perceived being that whatever data you collected could not be directly related to the laptops. True! BUT! Again I see this as cart before the horse stuff.
Buying thirty laptops shouldn’t be about anything other than clear learning intentions about what you are trying to achieve. So often the purchase of equipment, or the design of buildings for that matter, is about “If I had X then student achievement and engagement would increase in my room.” Well yes I guess there is always the chance that it might – but only if the need to buy was driven by clear, specific intentions of what could be achieved from your learning goals.
The focus needs to be on what learning we are wanting to see in our students, driven by information or data about where they are now and where you want to go. Currently, many classrooms seem to think that literacy is all about the written word – writing it and reading it. But my literacy goals, while they would certainly include writing and reading, would also come from the curriculum vision statements about creative, energetic, enterprising, confident, connected, actively involved and lifelong learners. (NZC P.8) If I want them to be confident for example, that means that they need to feel able and therefore we need to teach in ways that will enable and empower them. Being able to communicate effectively would be a very important goal. Having a strong command of oral and visual literacy would therefore be imperative. When I look at how I might achieve that in my classroom I would see the huge potential for students to be communicating with others in these ways, and the internet offers great opportunity for that – Skype, collaborative projects, student made schooltube videos, conferencing with other children and experts to name but a few.
I would therefore need access to all of that. If the school purchased a pod of laptops that I could book for a few hours a week, or that from the pod I could have five in my room on a regular basis, I could start to achieve those student enabling goals. So providing data and evidence to the BoT becomes easy, as what I need to report is how has the access to the laptops fast tracked progress with my specific learning goals for my students. Because I had clear goals, had collected baseline data in setting those, and mapped out what 5 steps of progress towards achievement would look like in my classroom, through development of a rubric for those five steps, I can through observation and discussion and self review of students, plot progress of each student regularly throughout a period of time. Then all I have to do is collate that, graph it, provide anecdotal comment and samples of work at each of those steps and from a sampling of students, and I have valid evidence about progress with my goals.
You see its not about data about the tools – its about data about the learning!!!!
Likewise in milestone reporting – its not about data about tricks with technology, its about data on progress with enhancing student learning – and that needs to start with SMART learning goals, action plans for PD related to that, effective collection of beginning data on student achievement, rubrics of 5 steps to where you would love to reach, and mapping progress across the class, school, cluster in relation to that. And any data is only valid if supported by anecdotal comment about the learning along the way, successes and weaknesses, key lessons learnt, next steps – and hey – that’s just what the headings in the milestone template ask for.
So what am I going to be able to report about cluster progress in understanding this? My clear goals and enabling process should have been evident in the term 1 or 2 cluster network meetings – a full day was spent on this in the Waikato area so here’s the link to that day
http://waikatohg.wikispaces.com/Network+Meeting+Feb+09
http://waikatohg.wikispaces.com/Developing+Rubrics
My 5 steps for the milestone rubric:
1 Provides anecdotal comment and a few pictures of student work as evidence
2 Relates anecdotal comment to action plan goals and provides pictures and links to wikis of student work
3 Has developed action plan goals into SMART goals and has made statements about progress made from initial achievement linked to actions taken. Some samples of work
4 The school or cluster has developed an action plan with SMART goals, planned their actions accordingly and has commented on impact on student learning in classrooms with some examples.
5 As in 4 but now has quantitative data on how many teachers are at each stage of the rubric for their specific goals, and provided sample student achievement data gained from class or school rubrics and provided comment on the depth and likely sustainability of change resulting from senior management review discussions on learning.
Where would your cluster rate for this coming milestone?
What can you do in the next six months to move towards rating as a 5?
