To Improve Outcomes, We Need to Take a Critical Lens to Instructional Design

No one can deny the fact that we are seeing some pretty exciting changes to teaching, learning, and leadership.  Advances in research, brain science, and technology are opening up new and better pathways to reach learners like never before.  This excitement in some cases is leading to change with supporting evidence of improvement. In other cases, money is being dumped on the latest tool, program, idea, or professional development without ensuring that instructional design is up to par in the first place.  Pedagogy trumps technology.  It also goes without saying that a solid pedagogical foundation should be in place prior to implementing any innovative idea.

Let's start by looking at practice from a general lens.  To transform learning, we must also transform teaching.  When looking at the image below where does your practice or that of your teachers lie? What immediate changes can be made to improve learning for your students tomorrow? 

Now let's turn our focus to some more specific elements of instruction. It is important to take a critical lens to our work to ensure efficacy if the goal is to improve learning.  With that being said it is incumbent upon all of us to make sure shifts to instructional design are occurring that result in better student outcomes. This is why a Return on Instruction (ROI) as described in Learning Transformed is so important both with and without technology.

"When integrating technology and innovative ideas there needs to be a Return on Instruction (ROI) that results in evidence of improved student learning outcomes."

The key to future-proofing education is to get kids to think. If it is easy, then it probably isn't learning. Challenging learners through complex problem solving and activities that involve critical thinking is extremely important, but they also must be afforded opportunities to apply their learning in relevant ways.  This does not have to be an arduous process that takes up a great deal of time.  Below are five areas to look at when implementing any digital tool or innovative idea to determine whether or not improvements to pedagogy are changing. Each area is followed by a question or two as a means to help self-assess where you are and if improvements can be made. 

• Level of questioning: Are students being asked questions at the higher levels of knowledge taxonomy? Do students have the opportunity to develop and then answer their own higher-order questions?
• Authentic and/or interdisciplinary context: Is there a connection to help students see why this learning is important and how it can be used outside of school?
• Rigorous performance tasks: Are students afforded an opportunity to actively apply what they have learned and create a product to demonstrate conceptual mastery aligned to standards?
• Innovative assessment - Is assessment changing to provide critical information about what students know or don't? Are alternative forms of assessment being implemented such as portfolios to illustrate growth over time?
• Improved Feedback - Is feedback timely, aligned to standards, specific, and does it provide details on advancement towards a learning goal?

Improving outcomes relies on aligning instruction to solid research, ensuring that pedagogical shifts are occurring, holding ourselves (and others) accountable for growth, and showcasing evidence of improvement.  By taking a critical lens to our practice we can determine where we are, but more importantly where we actually want and need to be for our learners. 

How to Create and Use Benchmark Assessments to Improve Student Achievement

The following guest post was submitted by April Davis.

Schooling is as much about learning as it is about testing how much we’ve learned. Benchmark assessments are testing tools that are used throughout the year, as opposed to final examinations, which are taken at the end of each school year. Also, benchmark assessments test much more than academic knowledge – most of them test skills and knowledge in subjects like Reading and Mathematics, and some even test proficiency in oral and written communication skills, analysis and interpretation of logical problems, a basic understanding of how to carry out laboratory tasks, dramatization of certain scenarios, how to create memory maps, and even testing typing and keyboarding skills. In general, benchmark assessments are conducted many times in a year (once every few months or even once a month) to help educational authorities to assess the level of proficiency of a student, and compare their performance on these tests to others of their age group and academic level in the district or the state. The exams and tasks are standardized, as are the methods for grading and marking them.

Benchmark assessments were introduced as a way to help improve student achievement – those who were found to be lagging behind after each test could be given extra coaching or taught additional skills, depending on their performance in the different categories of the test.

Benchmark assessments like the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) are designed to:

• Follow student progress
•  Identify strengths and weaknesses
•  Identify gaps in curriculum and instruction
• Fine-tune curriculum alignment with state (or district) wide standards
• Gather information that can be used to improve student performance
• Identify students who may need additional support services or remediation

So if assessments are to be really helpful in improving students’ proficiency and achievement, the following points must be remembered when creating, administering and drawing conclusions from the exams:

• The tests cannot take into account all the variables involved in a school setting – according to researchers Sue Henderson, Anthony Petrosino, Sarah Guckenburg, and Stephen Hamilton, all of Learning Innovations at WestEd and authors of a study that led to the publishing of two reports by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), “Measuring How Benchmarks Assessments Affect Student Achievement” and “A second follow-up year for Measuring How Benchmark Assessments Affect Student Achievement”, variables such as leadership, student motivation, teacher training, and how schools use the benchmark data meant that a minimum of three to four years of testing was required before any student achievement (or lack of it) can be measured with some degree of accuracy. 
• The tests must be unambiguous, with each question clearly understandable and relevant to the student’s level of knowledge and learning.

This guest post is contributed by April Davis, she writes on the topic of Accredited Degree Online . She welcomes your questions and comments at april.davis83@gmail.com

Recognizing the Valedictorian in All

Yesterday I attended the Bergen County Valedictorian breakfast where New Milford High School's top student was honored.  It was a great event and I am so proud of the accomplishments that are clearly apparent amongst all of the top students in my area.  The valedictorians and salutatorians for that matter are recognized for their achievement of academic greatness at events like this and commencement ceremonies across the country.  Quite frankly I am in awe of their commitment to learning.

While I was at the breakfast I began to think about all of the other students at my school and their respective achievements.  Shouldn't they all be recognized and treated like valedictorians?  I am not taking anything away from the incredible accomplishments of students that finish overall in their class, but the overwhelming desire to inspire all students to mature into life-long learners calls out to me. 

There is consistent talk around education circles about the relevance of grades as a reinforcer or indicator of academic excellence.  I'll be the first one to admit that this is the only criteria used to determine our top 10 students each year, all of whom are recognized at our yearly senior awards dinner.  Recognizing the valedictorian in all students requires a shift from traditional awards ceremonies and acknowledgment acts.  So what does this vision entail?  Here are my thoughts on other ways to acknowledge great achievements of students to make all of them feel worthy and appreciated for their dedication to learning:

1. Developing a philosophy that supports a school culture where every student is made to feel special. 
2. Utilizing more positive reinforcement.  This is probably the easiest strategy to employ.  It is not that hard or much to ask of educators to tell students consistently that they are doing a great job. 
3. Developing alternative recognition programs that acknowledge all students as they exhibit growth, determination, engagement, effort, and a focus towards learning.  After all, aren't these significant attributes that lead to a love for learning?  Learning and achievement are always tied together.  There must be a stronger emphasis on behalf of schools to acknowledge those students that are learning, but not necessarily achieving at the highest levels (as determined by grading systems). 
4. Involvement, not just success, in non-curricular initiatives such as community service, athletics, the arts, and other extra-curricular activities. 
5. Inviting the Administration, Central Office, BOE members, parents, as well as other teachers and students to be a part of these new recognition programs.  By doing so the students will feel that their work and commitment in and out of school has value.
6. New systems, in conjunction with current grading schemes, that provide all students with meaningful feedback and instill a sense of accomplishment and self-worth.

I understand that the list above is no magic bullet by any means.  However, I feel that the field of education must design innovative ways to acknowledge all students in ways that make them feel as important as valedictorians.  The process begins with a commitment to help all students see that their respective successes are just as important as their peers.  This is not an easy task bestowed upon us, and I look forward to hearing about your ideas.