1. Elementary Science Bellringers
ETO TEACHER ACADEMY
Presented By: Julie Santamarina, ETO Elementary Science Curriculum Support Specialist

2. Florida Continuous Improvement Model (FCIM)
FCIM assesses student learning to improve student achievement. Based on the resulting data, students who have achieved mastery receive enrichment to challenge them further. Others receive tutorials or remediation to bring their skills up to accepted standards.

3. FCIM Overview: Components
Data Disaggregation (Plan)
Instructional Focus Calendar (Plan)
Instructional Focus Lessons (Do)
Mini-Assessments (Check)
Maintenance (Check)
Monitoring (Check)
Tutorials and Enrichment (Act)
Here are the components listed in the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle in a format easier to read. We will be covering each of these components in our training today and tomorrow.
Data-driven
Focused instruction
Identifies instructional needs
Identifies struggling students
Provides re-teaching for mastery
Monitors student learning
The strengths of the FCIM model are:
The use of data in making decisions and pedagogical choices rather than subjective opinions, hunches, traditional ways of teaching and testing students, or relying on the status quo to raise student achievement
Because objective decisions are reached on data, teacher subjectivity is eliminated
With careful and thorough data analysis, specific subjects and grade levels and student subgroups are identified
Constant monitoring of student progress along with deeper mining of test data result in the ability to identify individual students who need more help in targeted benchmarks, clusters and strands. What to re-teach and who needs it are made apparent from the data analysis and tracking of student learning.

4. Step 1: Plan Data Disaggregation
Data Disaggregation is a process of breaking down data from various sources to help identify strengths or need in a particular area. In education, data helps us to identify root causes that will lead to a change in the way we instruct, discipline, etc. For schools, it could be from student performance data, behavioral issues, staffing patterns etc.
Let say we have identified a goal that we want to achieve; data help guide us to that mark. Data disaggregation occurs at all levels of education (state, school, classroom and student). Leadership shares with schools the expectation and the school/teachers/students decide the measured goals on how to accomplish these expectations.
In the FCIM process we begin use data disaggregation for student performance. We look from a school wide perspective and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each core academic area. We will take you through an activity that helps to disaggregate student performance data, this activity uses the DART Model.
The FCIM process begins with planning. Spending time up front planning will save time during implementation.
One of the most critical pieces of the planning stage is preparing to use data in ways that are meaningful and effective for decision making. In order for analysis of data to occur, a common framework for understanding must be in place. If the analysis of the data, this first step, is not done correctly or thoroughly; then all of the other steps will be less effective.
While school grades gives a snapshot of a school’s performance; this does not tell the whole story.
Who has already disaggregated their school data? Analyzed by grade, teacher, and student?
How many of you completed this process yourself? Who was handed the data already analyzed for you by the district? How many of you have intra-net or web-based programs which assist with the analysis of your data?

5. Why Dissaggregate Data?
Measures student progress and program effectiveness
Identifies students in need of assistance
Guides curriculum development
Maintains educational focus
Allocates resources effectively
Reports progress to all stakeholders
Promotes accountability
Using data to make decisions:
Leads to quality instruction for all students
Ensures equity for all subgroups
Closes the achievement gap
[Review what data is helpful for.]
Data does not help if….
Appropriate questions are not asked
Assessments are not reliable and valid
Data is ignored when making decisions 5 5

6. What Resources are Available to Me?
FCAT – (Last Year’s, Reading – top 45%)
Edusoft – (Interims, Monthlies, FOCUS)
Test Specifications and Content Focus Reports
This is the “R” from the DART: Review Resources
There are many data resources available to schools. Today we used the FCAT demographic report. Schools also have available School Grade Report and the AYP Reports for data analysis.
Teachers need to know the assessed benchmarks for each assessed subject. On your table, you will find a copy of the math specifications(?) that explains what benchmarks will be assessed and the type of question it will be on the FCAT. This document is available for all tested subjects at the DOE Website (FCAT home—resources for educators).
Also, the “Content focus” of the FCAT assessment may be helpful with learning the weight of each assessed benchmark question.
We caution you to keep in mind that these weights may change from year to year. But this information can be helpful in setting up your instructional focus calendar which is the next step in the FCIM process after data disaggregation.
For the “R” Section of the DART, schools should list the assessed benchmarks that are included in the Content areas identified in the priority area(s) for each subject area and identify those students who are not demonstrating proficiency.
We will not complete these part of the DART due to time constraints, but should be examined at the school level by teachers. This analysis will help with the development of the focus calendar and instructional focus lessons. 6

7. Instructional Focus Calendar
Data Disaggregation is a process of breaking down data from various sources to help identify strengths or need in a particular area. In education, data helps us to identify root causes that will lead to a change in the way we instruct, discipline, etc. For schools, it could be from student performance data, behavioral issues, staffing patterns etc.
Let say we have identified a goal that we want to achieve; data help guide us to that mark. Data disaggregation occurs at all levels of education (state, school, classroom and student). Leadership shares with schools the expectation and the school/teachers/students decide the measured goals on how to accomplish these expectations.
In the FCIM process we begin use data disaggregation for student performance. We look from a school wide perspective and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each core academic area. We will take you through an activity that helps to disaggregate student performance data, this activity uses the DART Model.
The FCIM process begins with planning. Spending time up front planning will save time during implementation.
One of the most critical pieces of the planning stage is preparing to use data in ways that are meaningful and effective for decision making. In order for analysis of data to occur, a common framework for understanding must be in place. If the analysis of the data, this first step, is not done correctly or thoroughly; then all of the other steps will be less effective.
While school grades gives a snapshot of a school’s performance; this does not tell the whole story.
Who has already disaggregated their school data? Analyzed by grade, teacher, and student?
How many of you completed this process yourself? Who was handed the data already analyzed for you by the district? How many of you have intra-net or web-based programs which assist with the analysis of your data? 7

8. Why Do We Have IFC’s
The purpose of Instructional Focus Calendars is to individualize lessons based on students’ needs
Follow the District’s Pacing Guide to cover the primary benchmarks
Address needs, secondary benchmarks, based on data.

9. Dates Optional: IFC Components Benchmarks being covered Assessments
Scheduled days for tutorials and enrichment
Days for re-teaching and spiraling back
Names of Labs, Activities, Essential ?
Using your data analysis from your school’s FCAT results, determine what benchmarks need to improve. Prioritize each benchmark from started with the weakest performance areas.
Now that you have disaggregated your school’s data, identified your school’s areas of need, and prioritized the benchmarks, you are now ready to make these decisions:
What will be taught ?
Who will teach it?
When will it be taught ?
How many days will it be taught?
When will it be assessed?
When will it be reviewed?
The important thing to emphasize is that this needs to be a team effort. It is not a good idea to have the Principal or any one person develop the instructional focus calendar and then to distribute it. Everybody who is going to be involved in implementing the instructional focus calendar must be involved in developing it.
This calendar will need to be adjusted throughout the year as you get a clearer idea of your students’ needs. Post this calendar where all stakeholders will see it.
Address if calendar is school-wide, grade level, and/or subject area specific – give your calendar a title. 9

10. Instructional Focus Calendar’s MUST:
Be Aligned to:
Sunshine State Standards
Instruction
Assessment Data
Through the process of disaggregating your school’s data, you have identified your school’s areas of need and prioritized the benchmarks that you will need to emphasize for each cont'd'dent area and/or grade level. You are now ready to create the Instructional Focus Calendar.
An Instructional Focus Calendar is a means of implementing a plan based on the information you have gained and the analysis that you have performed during the Data Disaggregation process.
Remember that in developing the Instructional Focus Calendar, you are making sure that the Sunshine State Standards are aligned with the instruction and assessments. This will be your curriculum guide, not the textbook. 10

11. August
Using baseline data, instruction prioritizes benchmarks and skills identified through the analysis of the school’s student data.
Sept.-March
Using mid-year data, instruction prioritizes benchmarks and skills identified through the analysis of the school’s student data.
April-June
Instruction prioritizes benchmarks not covered earlier in the school year and skills essential to learning for the next grade level or course.
Prioritize based on most highly tested benchmarks with more time allotted for benchmarks with the weakest student performance data.

12. Key Points District Pacing Guide determines overall curriculum
Instructional Focus Calendar delineates when specific benchmarks will be taught
Does not replace the District Pacing Guide
Taught alongside Primary Benchmark
Customized based on academic needs of students at a specific school and/or class

13. What Do I Need to Create an IFC?
Gather data from past FCAT
Annually Assessed Benchmarks
Not all content areas of FCAT are weighted equally
FCAT assessment dates
District calendars
Pacing Guide
Master Calendar
Testing Calendar
School calendar
In order to develop an instructional focus calendar, you will need the data from the past FCAT and the prioritized standards. You then need the dates of the FCAT Assessment for the current year and your district’s calendar. 13

14. How Do Create an IFC?
Mark off non-instructional days (holidays, testing days, etc.)
Determine the time available for uninterrupted, explicit teaching
Address start and stop times for benchmarks
Approaches to calendar development.
Mark off the non-instructional days (holidays, testing days, etc.)
Count the total number of instructional days from the beginning of the school year until the FCAT
Divide the # of benchmarks into the # of days
Estimate the # of days needed to teach each standard (including assessment) 14

15. Additional Points
Primary Benchmarks are determined by District Pacing Guide and Secondary Benchmarks are determined by individual school data.
not all benchmarks will require the same number of days
not all content areas of the FCAT are weighted equally; more time may be spent on the benchmarks that will have a more significant impact on your students’ academic performance
be flexible, there will be many unforeseen obstacles to your Instructional Focus Calendar; be prepared to make adjustments frequently
Time for Tutorial and Enrichment activities 15

16. Collaboratively develop the calendar with input from all teachers.
Use results of data analysis to adjust throughout the year.
Post calendars in classrooms, lesson plans, on individual teacher websites, newsletters.
Be flexible.
Let’s review some of the important points of an Instructional Focus Calendar:
During the course of the year, you will include all of the assessed benchmarks.
This needs to be a team effort.
Form teams based on subject and/or grade level.
Develop one subject at a time.
This calendar will need to be adjusted throughout the year as you get a clearer idea of your students’ needs.
You will want to post this calendar where students, teachers, and parents will see it.
Post it in the following places: lunchroom, media center, busses, school Website, school newsletter and/or newspaper, bulletin boards in school corridors, letters to parents. 16

17. Instructional Focus Calendar
Samples
[Refer participants to the manual pages and/or packet with Instructional Focus Calendar samples.]

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22. FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THE SECONDARY BENCHMARK SHOULD BE BASED ON SCHOOL’S FCAT DATA.
THE SECONDARY FOCUS SHOULD BE ADJUSTED ONCE BASELINE HAS BEEN ADMINISTERED AND DATA DISSAGREGATED

23. HOW CAN I INCORPORATE SKILLS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TAUGHT IN 4TH GRADE AND KEEP UP WITH THE PACING GUIDE?
ANSWER:
SECONDARY BENCHMARK
INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS CALENDAR (IFC’S)
NOT SURE WHAT THE STUDENTS WERE TAUGHT? - DON’T LEAVE ANYTHING TO CHANCE….
4TH GRADE AA’S WERE ON THE PACING GUIDE LAST YEAR DURING CRUNCH TIME
IN OTHER WORDS, CLASSES WERE CONDENSED AND MORE FOCUS WAS PROBABLY GIVEN TO MATH IF DEPARTMENTALIZED

24. Instructional Focus Lessons
[Refer to PDCA poster – review area covered and area coming up.] 24

25. Purpose
Short, explicit lesson that focuses on targeted benchmarks identified through data analysis
[Define the Instructional Focus Lessons and explain how it follows the logical progression of Data Disaggregation and the Instructional Focus Calendar.]

26. What is an Instructional Focus Lesson?
Instructional focus lessons/Bellringers are part of the regular school day
10-15 minutes at the beginning of class
Explicit Teaching
“I Do, We Do, You Do” Model - You may have to supplement with additional materials
May coincide with District Pacing Guide
Collaboration is key to having all teachers on the same page with the Instructional Focus Lessons. Instructional Focus Lessons are planned using the Instructional Focus Calendar, not the District Pacing Guide, and they are not meant to replace it. The Instructional Focus Lessons are only meant to be minutes delivered at a designated time.
Point out the flexibility of the Instructional Focus Lessons. Experienced teachers may want to incorporate the Instructional Focus Lessons into their regular lesson plans. They can be squeezed in during the first fifteen minutes, homeroom, etc.

27. Instructional Focus Lessons
The lesson should:
Be 10 – 15 minutes long
Have an explicit explanation of the focus benchmark
Include teacher modeling and examples
Actively engage students in learning
Provide guided and independent practice
Check for understanding
Include motivating materials such as graphic organizers or manipulatives
[Encourage participants to think about how students learn and to be clear on expectations.]
Model the thinking process during for the I do, We do, You do process.
Student to student, student to teacher, teacher to teacher
Covers one benchmark
Developed collaboratively by grade, department
Provides explicit instruction
Follows the I do, We do, You do process
Engages students
Check for understanding 27

28. Bellringers 28

29. Self-Reflection 1. What effective teaching strategies did I use?
2. How did I engage the students?
3. How did my students respond to the instruction?
4. What could I have done differently? 29

30. Creating Instructional Focus Lessons
Sources for Instructional Focus Lessons:
Bellringers
Essential Labs
Learning Village
FCAT Item Specifications
Textbook
Technology (GIZMO, FCAT Explorer)
DOE (Cpalms)
[Refer to the manual for the Instructional Focus Lessons template and Internet web sites.]

31. Delivery Plan time of delivery Suggested times include:
Should be conducted daily
10-15 minutes
Explicit Teaching
“I Do, We Do, You Do” Model
Suggested times include:
Beginning of Science class
At a time designated by the Leadership Team
Provide teachers of other subjects support to reinforce the focus lessons
Each school will be unique in their scheduling. The point of this slide is to emphasize that Instructional Focus Lessons need to be delivered daily and it may be up to the Leadership team to determine the best time for their school. It should also be pointed out that schools may have Instructional Focus Lesson for Reading, one for Math, one for Science, etc. To avoid confusion, schools may want to start with the greatest need and add the other subject areas as soon as possible.
Be sure to consider that when choosing the manner in which to deliver Instructional Focus Lessons, out-of-field teachers are provided with the resources, support, and even professional development to reinforce the Instructional Focus Lessons. The goal is to make the teaching and follow-up of the benchmarks a school-wide effort. 31

32. Instructional Focus Lesson: Sample Template for Secondary Benchmark: School Driven (Based on Data)
CONCEPT INTRODUCTION
“ I DO”
In your manual there are two templates that can be used to develop Instructional Focus Lessons. Here is an example of one of them.
“ WE DO”
“ YOU DO”

33. Checkpoint
Can you identify the purpose of Instructional Focus Lessons?
Do you know what to consider when preparing Instructional Focus Lessons?
How will you implement the plan at your school? 33

34. Assessment 34

35. Purpose
Check for student understanding after an Instructional Focus Lesson has been taught
Identify mastery or non-mastery of benchmarks
Assess intervention measures
Evaluate teaching methods
Why do we assess? To check for student understanding
To alert classroom teachers to students having difficulty with cont'd'dent
To assist teachers in diagnosing specific problem areas
To track student progress
To assess intervention measures
To evaluate teaching methods 35

36. Embedded Assessments: Resources
FOCUS
Essential Lab Quizzes
Interims/Monthlies
[Share information about some of the resources.]
Mini assessments are developed for grades 3 through 10 in Reading and Math.
Every reading foci and every math benchmark are covered in the Mini-Assessments.
Re-assessments are available – first assessment should be taken after the Instructional Focus Lesson, second one should be taken after Tutorial activities.
Reporting function to provide teachers with results of students/class:
Teacher managed – students only see what teachers click for them to open
Teacher guides to navigate and guidance for site available
FCATEXPLORER
A practice tool that is aligned to the Sunshine State Standards and to the FCAT – can be used as a tutorial but not their primary purpose.
Grades 3,4,6, 8, and 10 in Reading
Grades 5,8,10 in Math
Reading lessons have features to automatically drop down students to a lower grade level (keeping the integrity of the SSS at grade level) and make students go through stages of remediation before they can come back up to grade level – teachers can see what level each student is working at.
When a question is answered wrong feedback is provided to teach the student how to resolve the question (sometimes sends them back to a highlighted passage or at the upper levels the resolution is text based).
Lots of resources under the ‘teacher desk’ option including getting insight about students, getting reports, helping manage instruction, parent information and PowerPoint presentations about FCAT Explorer.
Resources for district administrators and for school administrators so that they can pull down reports for all classrooms and students.
Copy of FOCUS in the folder. 36

37. Assessment Design Aligned to Instructional Focus Lessons FCAT format
Short and quick
Taken by all students
Collaboratively plan 37

38. Checkpoint What is the purpose of the mini-assessment?
Can you list two components of the mini- assessment?
How will you use the results of your mini- assessments?
Check 38

39. Maintenance 39

40. Purpose
Process of checking to be sure that students have retained what they learned and can recall what they were previously taught.
Reinforces skills and knowledge by “spiraling back”, or regularly revisiting topics and addressing objectives throughout the school year.
Maintenance is checking to be sure that students have learned and remembered what was previously taught. It also helps reinforce skills and knowledge. Maintenance is achieved by “spiraling back”, or regularly revisiting topics and addressing objectives throughout the school year.
Maintenance should:
Incorporate the benchmarks covered in Mini-Assessments
Be a school-wide learning strategy
Be ongoing
Be for all students
Include “fun” and “creative” activities
Maintenance can:
Include warm up activities
Be spontaneous
Occur multiple times during a day
Reach far back in the instructional cycle to ensure students retain information
Apply concepts to other disciplines or cont'd'dent areas

41. Key Components Activities should align with the benchmarks
All students participate
Implement in the individual classroom daily
Ongoing and continuously updated
Reach far back in the instructional cycle

42. Activity Examples Interactive Word Wall Activities
Science Word of the Day (with connections)
Vocabulary Bowls
Maintenance folders
Flashcards
Science Trivia Games “Who Wants to be a Scientist?”, Jeopardy, etc…
“Science Exploration” Days

43. Benefits Students will remember what they learned
Reinforce student knowledge of benchmarks
Provide additional learning opportunities
Strengthen thinking process
Identify students in need of additional instruction
Think of Maintenance as a reinforcing of skills. In some cases it is practicing techniques such as times tables, sounding out words, etc. 43

44. Checkpoint
Do you know the purpose of implementing the maintenance component of FCIM?
Can you identify two strategies for implementing maintenance?
How will you use a maintenance work plan back at your school? 44

45. Monitoring 45

46. Purpose
Ensure FCIM is being implemented with fidelity to improve student achievement
There should be one or two people at the school site who are responsible for Monitoring.
The Monitoring process should occur every day.
The daily visit should occur during the Instructional Focus Lesson or Mini-Assessment so that the monitor can determine what percentage of faculty are incorporating FCIM.
Records of Monitoring should be kept and shared with faculty.
Monitoring suggests to faculty that the implementation of FCIM is worth the time of administrators.
District will provide support to each principal (meetings, campus issues, student progress, observation logs).
Principal and administrative team monitors each teacher (grade level/department meetings, observations, assessment profile).
Teacher monitors each student (test chats, assessment profile, goals). 46

47. Checkpoint
What is the purpose of implementing the Monitoring component of FCIM?
Do you know what strong instructional leadership looks like?
What is the distributed leadership process?
How will you use your Monitoring work plan back at your school? 47

48. Tutorial and Enrichment
Mini-Assessments provide the information on how well your students understand a particular benchmark that you have just taught. The assessments tell you if your students understand/do not understand the benchmark.
Try to avoid any negative connotations with the word “tutorial” – tutorial and enrichment activities could be called Team Time, Principal’s Period, Power Hour… ct 48

49. Purpose
Provide additional instruction for students who do not demonstrate mastery on the Mini-Assessments.
Provide instruction that provides accelerated learning experiences to students through access to more challenging content, new concepts, and higher order thinking strategies.

50. Summary: Review PDCA
The Plan, Do, Check, Act instructional cycle is a quality framework for planning, administration, and vision setting. We invite schools/districts to consider using this Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle as a basis for designing a program that meets their particular needs. 50

51. QUESTIONS