How the TEAM Model supports CCSS instruction Karen Marklein Rachael Milligan Program Directors, The Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation

What is your goal? On the post-it provided, identify a goal you have for this session. – When you chose this session, what were you hoping to learn? – What were you hoping we would say? – What is a burning question or topic you would like to ask or cover?

Objectives for this session: Identify connections between CCSS and TEAM Explore instructional strategies that fortify these connections Identify common focus of CCSS and TEAM

Language Connections TEAM language CCSS language

The Three Words are NOT: “Yada Yada Yada” “Release the Kraken” “Kill Me Now”

The Three Words ARE: Evidence Rigor Relevance

Discussion of Evidence Consider the word “evidence” independent of CCSS or TEAM. What other words come to mind when you think of evidence?

Evidence: TEAM and CCSS TEAM  Place a star next to indicators having to do with evidence. CCSS  Students are expected to make the shift from answering solely from prior knowledge and personal experience, to defending claims based on text(s).  Students will be expected to defend claims from both informational and literary texts.  Text-dependent questions are a key tool for teachers to move students toward these goals.

Instructional Strategy for Evidence: Text-based questions Questions in which the answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text. Students should have to read the text to be able to answer the question. Source: tncore.org

Discuss What are benefits of questioning strategies that are NOT text-dependent? What are the benefits of questioning strategies that ARE text-dependent? Are there drawbacks to either of these?

Text-Dependent Questioning “ The overall intent of asking text-dependent questions is to build a habit of critical thinking, and critical thinking should lead to thoughtful critical analysis. Educators do not need to create another generation of teacher-dependent learners. Nor do educators need to teach students that they must accept what an author says as the absolute and unquestioned truth. Reading is a transaction between the author and the reader, and everyone uses their background knowledge each time they read. But everyone must also thoroughly understand the author’s position to critically analyze it. That requires more than simply drawing on personal experiences.” Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey September 2012 | Principal Leadership, 73

Non-Examples and Examples 12 In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair. In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote? What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous? What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received? “The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech? Not Text-Dependent Text-Dependent Source: achievethecore.org

Rigor?

Discussion of Rigor Consider the word “rigor” independent of CCSS or TEAM. What other words come to mind when you think of rigor?

Rigor: TEAM and CCSS TEAM  Place a triangle next to indicators having to do with rigor. CCSS  Students will learn to access [mathematical] concepts from a variety of perspectives (and defend these perspectives).  Call for speed and accuracy in calculation—students practice core functions to improve fluency.  Students will learn to apply [math] in context.  Text complexity becomes the standard by which teachers will be selecting texts  Students will be interacting with increasingly complex texts

Rigor is more than “adding writing” Too often, teachers make the mistake of asking formerly multiple-choice questions in an open- ended format—thinking that this suffices for creating a higher-order question. Example: What is the Pythagorean Theorem?

Instructional Strategy: Rigor Math, Science, Technical Subjects Expectations for Task Performance – Students construct their answers – Tasks are clear – The task sets parameters for what the answer should look like – The task measures something important – Tasks are not a simple substitute for multiple choice questions – Tasks require reasoning, synthesis, evaluation, higher- order thinking ELA, Social Studies, Technical Subjects Inquiry-Based Discussion – Students discuss their responses to an interpretive question about a text(s). – Characterized by genuine inquiry about a text – Students interact with text in a thought-provoking way – Students provide multiple and varied responses supported by textual evidence. Source: Common Core Lead Teachers 2012

Choose one of the following rigorous tasks: Math Sarah is comparing song download plans for her new smart phone. The first plan will allow her to download unlimited songs at a cost of $15 per month. The second plan has a $10.50 per month charge and $.75 fee per song. Write an equation to represent each plan. How many downloads must Sarah make for the two plans to cost the same amount? ELA Inquiry-based discussion “George Gray” by Edgar Lee Masters – First Read: Comprehension focus—who is the speaker? What do you know about the speaker and how do you know it? What is the text about? What are the messages of the text and how do you know? – Second Read: Significance focus—what phrase or line strikes you as significant to the message of the text? – Third Read: Interpretation focus—why does Masters give the speaker the name he does?

Discussion/Rubric Analysis: Relevance Consider the word “relevance” independent of CCSS or TEAM. What other words come to mind when you think of relevance?

Relevance: TEAM and CCSS TEAM  Circle bullet points within specific domains when you identify words or phrases associated with relevance. CCSS  Relevance is essential to learning: o Relevance as related to the instructional goals (are we learning something worth learning?) o Relevance as related to student expectations (do your expectations lead to college and career readiness?) o Relevance as related to student engagement (I will remember what I do, maybe not what you say.)

Internal Summary: Evidence, Rigor, Relevance We have considered the connections between TEAM and CCSS these words represent We have discussed instructional strategies that fortify those connections Scan your rubric for stars, triangles and circled words. Were any indicators left unmarked?

Final Objective: Shared Focus TEAM and CCSS Last time through the rubric! Now underline the descriptors where the focus is on the students. – SO— “there is evidence that most students…” – LSP– “provides many opportunities for students…” – AM– “sustain students’ attention, elicit a variety of thinking, are relevant to students’ lives, induce student curiosity and suspense, provide students with choices” – QU– “Students generate questions, questions assess and advance student understanding” – AF– “feedback from students, Teacher engages students in giving specific and high-quality feedback to one another” – GS– “student understanding, all students know their roles, all students are held accountable, students set goals, reflect on, and evaluate their learning” – TH– “Students: generate ideas, analyze problems, monitor their thinking, are aware of learning strategies”

Shared focus of TEAM and CCSS Consider this quote from Charlotte Danielson: …when I walk into a classroom, of course I care about what the teacher is doing, but in some ways I care even more about what the students are doing. What’s the nature of the task? Are students being invited, or even required, to think? Naturally, that has implications for what the teacher is doing and what the teacher has already done. That is, has the teacher designed learning experiences for kids that engage them in thinking or formulating and testing hypothesizes or challenging one another respectfully or developing an understanding of a concept ? You really only know what a teacher is doing when you look at what the students are doing. I also listen carefully to how teachers question students—if they ask kids to explain their thinking, for instance. That’s very different from just saying that’s the right or wrong answer. It’s a very different mindset about wanting to understand the students’ thinking and their degree and level of understanding.

So what? Understanding the connection between TEAM and CCSS validates both frameworks and keeps the focus on student learning Encourage other evaluators and teachers to understand these connections so that they are focused on the alignment of these frameworks which lead to improved student learning Share instructional strategies that fortify connections and guide teachers through the transition to a student- centered classroom, thereby incorporating CCSS and improving effectiveness as measured by TEAM

Reflection

Takeaways revisited: Is there anything you were hoping we would say that we didn’t?

References Rebora, A. (2013). Charlotte danielson on teaching and the common core. Education Week Teacher, Retrieved from professional-learning-in-the-common-core-era.html?cmp=EB- SPT “Text-Dependent Questioning,” Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, September 2012 | Principal Leadership, 73,

Contact Information Ayers website – Karen Marklein – Rachael Milligan –

How the TEAM Model supports CCSS instruction