Update

Learning Action teammates,

I have broken down the questions into separate posts so that we can use this space to add information to the questions. As each of you have administrative rights, you can add hyperlinks, video clips or anything else that we can use to better understand how AISC might look as we strive to live the vision.

As I was looking back at the notes from the meeting with Teresa, I was reminded of the lens we should use: focusing not on the answer, but instead on the phenomenon.

What according to the literature are the conditions necessary for the ???? to exist?
What obstacles did organizations face?

examples:

• what is best practice relative to curricular alignment?
• what instructional practices are most appropriate for developing curiosity?
• what are the cutting edge thinkers saying about skills our students need for success in the future?

I think one of the best ways to explore this is through conversation, so if you are feeling frustrated by the task, please chat with me or someone else who may be able to help you work through it. Also, there is a huge binder in my room full of resources and this link to some other resources as well.

Question #7

This is for Jason and Jennifer:

What are best practices that other schools have adopted to take learning beyond the classroom?...look at your week without walls, service learning, internships

What does the research say?

Service-learning:
Students are using skills from the classroom to analyze an issue, creating a solution-based action plan and work with local community members to lead change.
Choice for students is key
Students who benefit from service learning are more likely to volunteer and vote as adults
Service-learning experiences need to be much more than a one day event in order to impact students



National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

Phillips Academy Community Service Page
This is a website with many examples of service and some discussion of service learning

NYLC Service Resource Library

Learn and Serve America

Does Service Learning Really Help?
A pertinent point here is that all members of the relationship need to be cared for through careful coordination

Sustainability at American University
Students here served their own school as it worked to reduce its carbon footprint

Connecting Curriculum with Community
Where service learning is the norm in school districts, the end result is usually student empowerment. "We live in a democracy and need to draw on the skills and talents of everyone," McLane says. "Young people can provide meaningful contributions to the community," he adds. "An added bonus is that they can simultaneously master curriculum and develop real-world skills that will prepare them for their future.

Question #6

This is for Chris and Jennifer:

What are the habits of the mind?

How do you cultivate it to take learning beyond the classroom?

What is the skills students need for future and how do we infuse these into the curriculum? Align into standards transdiscipline UbD

What foreign languages should be available to students in a world class school? Arabic, Chinese, Russian, German, Korean, Japanese, Tamil, Hindi

Art Costa's Habits of Mind
http://www.instituteforhabitsofmind.com/resources/pdf/16HOM.pdf

• PDF that explains each of his 16 habits: Persisting; Managing impulsivity; Listening to others with understanding; Thinking flexibly; Thinking about our thinking; Striving for accuracy and precision; Questioning and Posing Problems; Applying Past Knowledge to new situations; Thinking and communicating with clarity; Gathering data through all senses; Creating, imagining and innovating; Responding with wonderment and awe;Taking responsible risks; Finding humor; Thinking interdependently; Learning continuously

A Journey of Continuous Growth With Habits of Mind

http://www.instituteforhabitsofmind.com/resources/professional_reading/A_Journey_of_Continuous_Growth.pdf

• An understanding of the Habits of Mind should be used to help design curriculum as well as for assessments.  As students learn and practice Habits of Mind, they are growing a repertoire of strategies to call upon.  Students learn to be more self reflective, and problem solve better.

Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen.  2nd Edition. 2005.

Chapter 11: Brain Based Teaching

Possible model for instruction

10% of time before class to prepare you learners and create an optional environment.

80% of time during class to engage learners by getting them vested emotionally with an attentional bias, frame learning to make it relevant, important and compelling, acquire knowledge, skills, values, and experiences, elaborate and deepen the learning through trial and error time, with feedback and active processing, connect learning to other content, processes, and self.

10% of time after class to settle the learning with time for passive processing and rehearse and incorporate by revising learning and using it.

Chapter 12: Schools with the Brain in Mind

Encourage teachers to think outside the box to making curriculum, assessment and staff development connections

Curriculum

·      Not everyone’s brain will be ready to read, grasp special relations for geometry at the same time.

·      Emotional well being is linked to cognition.  Students need to feel safe, important and successful.

·      Students should be reading and counting but they should also be learning empathy, fairness and honesty

Assessment

·      Memories are variable so if it is going to be recall—students need significant practice time.

·      Learning to learn strategies are more essential to rel-world success

·      Mental models are highly critical to thinking but rarely tested

·      Value the process of learning: wide open, creative problem solving approach, alternative thinking options, multiple right answers, and creative insights

Staff Development

·      To improve student achievement, you must improve teacher effectiveness

hhttp://p21.org/storage/documents/p21-stateimp_learning_environments.pdf

Questions #4 and 5

Question Four might be one for all of us as we do our research:

How do successful organisations implement transformative change rapidly?...change things that first require change and not all at one shot...change things that first require change and not all at one shot.

I think we decided to send 5 to the staffing team:

How can you effectively bring teachers up to to the exemplary level defined on the rubric?

Question #3

Another set for Andrea and Aarthi:

How will we align best practice / initiatives across the school?....appreciative inquiry

What is the state of alignment of the status-quo and the vision and identify the gaps?.....look at curriculum development maps in other thriving international schools

Is our curriculum truly aligned?

Form a Teacher Leadership team for vertical alignment. Core team of academic teacher leaders for the maintenance and progress of curriculum development.

Persons to be contacted:

Madeline  asstsuperintendent@asbindia.org

Gail -  gseay@asd.edu.qa

Question #2

For Andrea and Aarthi:

What are the best practices / initiatives we want to achieve / implement in order to fulfil our mission?

What are the best practices / models for inclusion of all students and integration of all students and integration of content?

How do we incorporate inquiry based learning in all classes?

How do we implement the rubric Pre-K to G 12?

What programs, what habits, technologies are going to be necessary for the children 

p3 + ...12 

to be a successful, member of society?.....Gini Rojas, EAL audit, Richard Villa

Persons to be contacted:

Gini Rojas (EAL consultant)

Rich Villas (Co Teaching consultant)

Madeline  asstsuperintendent@asbindia.org

Gail -  gseay@asd.edu.qa

Books

-UBD (To be checked)

Scaffolding Language Learning: Teaching Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom By Pauline Gibbons (Foreword Jim Cummins)

Special Education Considerations for Language Learners

Differentiating Instruction using UBD

Stefania adds (what other schools do):
http://ell.mpls.k12.mn.us/home.html

Inclusion References
Clegg, J. (Ed.).  (1996). Mainstreaming ESL:  Case studies in integrating ESL into the mainstream curriculum, Multilingual Matters.

Garcia, E, E. & Frede, E.C. (2010). (Eds.). Young English language learners: Current research and emerging directions for practice and policy, Teachers College.

Hakuta, K. & Santos, M. (Co-Chairs) et al (2012). Understanding Language: Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas. Available: http://ell.stanford.edu/leadership.

Honigsfeld, A. & Dove, M. G. (2010). Collaboration and co-teaching: Strategies for English learners, Corwin Press.

Zacarian, D. (2011). Transforming schools for English learners: A comprehensive framework for school leaders.  Corwin Press.

Question #1

These are the questions for Joel and Gita:

How do we define the role of a teacher vs availability of technology?

How do we redefine the role of the teacher, when learning can be delivered using technology.

How do we effectively utilize online technology resources?

What are the roles / possibilities of online technology?

What technology backbone program do you need to support all these initiatives?

What is the AISC brand + pillars?...how can these be communicated

virtual schools

Minutes from the intial meeting

Team Members:
Chris Thompson; Aarthi Dawson; Jason Hicks; Andrea Morris; Jennifer Brunson; Joel Suganth; Stefina Sem; Gita Rao

October 5, 2012

Norms:
-not dwell in details and wordsmithing.  find clarity and understanding.
-understand other perspectives.  
-everyone is doing their best and bringing their best to the table.
-not personal comments, looking at issues and ideas.
-take all roles away (teacher/parent/admin).  all members of the team.  all peers.

What are we doing?

• take the learning objectives and mesh into the school culture and school day.
• sharing good practices/best practices.  define these key concepts.
• designing teaching/learning and assessment that fits best practice
• aligning outcomes
• create an action plan going forward: a multi year plan of action for change.
• 5 Cs are what we are trying to develop: how you teach these values and promote learning.
• learning has student, parent, teacher/staff.  clarity and shared responsibility
• look where we are and where we are going.  
• give ourselves credit for what we are doing.
• then look to see what else we can.
• ?

Plan of action:
What is happening?  where is there need?  are we missing something?
how can we bring the rubric alive using the language of the objective?  
what programs or practices will support this?  
what tools do we need?  
create the steps of the ladder.

What is happening in the school?

• ?

Creative Play.  creative is in proficient level.  how does this connect to action?
-we should review for key words or actions within the rubric?

Create a common understanding of the rubric.

• -this is more of a continuum.  about the growth
• -perhaps focus on something specific
• -student reflection.  where am i strong?  where do i need to work?
• -evaluate program and teachers.  where is the school strong?  where does the school need to work?

Notes from Teresa
Understanding and writing research quessitons
What according to the literature are the conditions necessary for the ???? to exist?
What obstacles did organizations face?

examples:

• what is best practice relative to curricular alignment?
• what instructional practices are most appropriate for developing curiosity?
• what are the cutting edge thinkers saying about skills our students need for success in the future?

**focus not on the answer but on the phenonenon
**distill down to 3-5 questions.

Welcome to the Learning Action Team

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” ― Gloria Steinem

Welcome to the Strategic Planning Learning Action Team Blog

The Learning Action team has been given a grand and exciting task: to imagine a school that fulfills the mission, student learning objectives and core values of AISC.  As we struggle with ideas both large and small, no stone should be left unturned.  Our only boundaries are to honor the previous work and abide by the strategic delimiters.  Each of us are making sense of this task in our own way.  In honoring our team's operating agreements or norms, let us engage in a spirited and lively discussion of what matters to us, and the school community.  The intention of this blog is to brainstorm, investigate, analyze, and dream of the possibilities that will allow AISC to transform from a good organization to a great one.

The dynamic nature of the blog lends itself to all sorts of media.  Here we can post the words, links, presentations and videos as resources for our ongoing investigation of what learning is, and how the best thinking about education fits into our goal of envisioning learning at AISC. In order to stay abreast of the postings to the blog, you may consider subscribing using the RSS feed.  I can assist you with this if needed.

As I work to make sense of the task ahead, I have considered some of my own organization of the process.  I share it here as a beginning of the exciting and challenging conversation we have ahead of us.  In addition to the questions we asked earlier (and I am hoping we can either add the questions as additional posts here or wait until they come back to us from Kim), I have begun to think of others. My hunch is that the more we dig, the more questions will arise.  Eventually, we will have to prioritize, but for now, let's just put it all out there.

On Friday, I began to think of the work at three levels:

• The larger systems level- this, for me, is the view from 30,000 feet.  

• What does AISC need to create in order to meet the needs of learners and fulfill the vision?

• What are schools doing that is "blowing the top" off of a model that has existed essentially unchanged since the late 1800's? 

• How does change occur with the quantum leap that the Planning team articulated during their visit? 

• Here is the Did You Know/Shift Happens You Tube video that was referenced in our conversation.

• The "best practice" level- this might be the view from 10,000 feet

• What style or attitude of pedagogy can best fulfill the vision?

• What philosophy do we hold concerning EAL learners and is it consistent with the vision?

• How are we creating experiences for students that go beyond the walls of AISC?

• The "programmatic level- this is the view from 2,000 feet 

• Does the current World Languages program fit?

• Are we a school that uses Readers/Writers workshop and are we implementing the program consistently? 

• Do Humanities and the combined Math/Science classes at the middle level meet the needs of all learners? 

• Is the middle school schedule equitable?

There are many ways to approach this topic and I look forward to seeing how each of you makes sense of the task ahead.  Our team is full of experiences, and has access to resources, that literally span the globe.  I am honored to be working with each one of you.