New Math Technology Program for 4th and 5th Grade

With TenMarks going out of business, coaches and teachers engaged in finding a new math technology program for fourth and fifth grade. We started by looking at over 20 different math programs and narrowed the pool down to five. We then analyzed those five programs more closely and found two programs that best met the vision and needs of the School District of Waukesha.   These two programs were then piloted in three elementary buildings in order to get teacher and student feedback. The teachers in the pilot were in agreement that Matific was the best fit due to the flexibility it provided in assigning content, the wide range of rigor, the engagement for students, as well as the reporting options that were easy to read and use.  The students made comments such as "It helped me to do math and have fun doing it" or "It was like DreamBox, but it was for older kids".  In May, the school board approved the purchase of Matific for our fourth and fifth grade students. At Summer Institute this year, there will be a required session for fourth and fifth grade teachers to dig in deeper into this new program!

Inclusion Conference is Coming!

The Inclusion Conference is coming!

Now that spring is here and Game of Thrones has concluded, saying 'Winter is Coming' just doesn’t have the same effect on me.   

iSummit 2019 is the fourth annual opportunity to stretch our thinking around meeting the needs of all learners in the classroom.

Let me offer you two phrases that have some POWER in meeting the needs of all learners in the classroom: 

THE END OF AVERAGE

The End of Average is the title of a best selling book by Todd Rose.  Who is Todd Rose?  Well, he was a high school drop out with a 0.9 GPA.  He was on welfare with 2 children and working 2 jobs when he got his GED.  And then he went to college.  And eventually. . . . he became the director of the Harvard University Mind Brain and Education Program.   He is keenly aware of what a difference it makes if we attend to the variability in humans when we design instruction.  His analysis of brain research provides amazing insight and his review of our errors in designing for the ‘average’ is INTERESTING.   You see, when we design for the ‘average’ we end up designing for no one.  The air force learned this when they measured four thousand pilots to design the perfect cockpit based on the average arm length, leg length, torso height, etc.  The outcome?  None of the pilots were comfortable.  “If you’ve designed a cockpit to fit the average pilot, you’ve actually designed it to fit no one”.

What if we consider our teaching methods and our approach to give a roomful of individuals the same lesson, with the same materials and the same measurements?  There might be a reason why so many are not succeeding under these conditions.

THE 7 - 10 SPLIT

 

If you have watched or played just one game of bowling, you know the 7-10 split is terribly hard to solve.  When you throw the ball down the middle you might connect with many pins, but you are taking a chance on missing 7 and 10 because they are not ‘in the middle’.  Shelly Moore makes a very good point regarding the educational implications of this!

You see the similarities right?  If our instruction is always aiming for the middle or the average, we are ALWAYS missing some students.  Those are the students that we talk about because they are underserved, minorities, have disabilities, etc.  

Why don’t we FLIP our approach to instructional planning and START with the students that are not in the middle?  Plan for the students on the edges and we are sure to see an impact in our student achievement.  Perhaps educators can learn from the mistakes of the air force and the bowling game.

Watch these brief videos on THE END OF AVERAGE and THE 7 - 10 SPLIT.  They are engaging! 

DPI SEL Competencies

The School District of Waukesha, along with public schools across the country, continue to focus efforts and hone practices surrounding the need to support the social and emotional needs of all students. To this end, the WI Department of Public Instruction teamed with professionals across the state to research and develop the SEL Competencies for the state of Wisconsin, which were released in May of 2018. These competencies span pre-K through adulthood and are rooted in three primary categories: emotional development, self-concept, and social competence. Skills are further broken down within each of these areas to further articulate and understand what comprises healthy SEL at all ages and developmental levels. Research has been very clear that providing a strong universal level of SEL braided throughout a student's day and throughout cross-curricular areas pays large dividends when it comes to increasing academic achievement, reducing office referrals, and increasing the overall mental wellness and functioning of our students. This is why so many districts across the county, and the state of Wisconsin in particular, have increasingly focused on SEL and mental health despite any federal mandates or statutory obligations to do so. We simply know it is the right thing to do for our students and the future of our society! I encourage you to take a look at these competencies for the grade levels you work with and start thinking about how you infuse these within your own content area and interactions with your students on a day-to-day basis.

Enjoy the last three weeks of school and have a great weekend. You've earned it!

Equity and Excellence for School Improvement

I haven't heard Doug Reeves speak in a while and so I dedicated 30 minutes today to listen in on a webinar that he was having. He is a researcher who writes and talks about sustained reform and success over time in documented schools and systems across the country. I was so glad to hear him reiterate the impact of long term enduring practices and internal ownership to impact student achievement.

As we approach SAIL 4.0 in June, I am even more certain that our alignment to this school improvement framework is helping our school successes. We have 5 schools in our system who have seen significant student achievement gains over the past 4 years and many more who have set the stage to achieve key results with their focused hard work!

Collective efficacy continues to lead the race as the number one predictor and number one effect size correlating with student achievement. Collective teacher efficacy is the collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students.

So if you asked everyone in your school, what causes student achievement? What would everyone say in making this huge list?
What can we control? What can we influence? And what do we have no control over?

Believe in yourself. Believe in one another. Own the work. Own the rewards.

Celebrating SDW Teachers at the Wisconsin Math Conference

This past Thursday and Friday math educators from around the state and the nation met in Green Lake, Wisconsin for the 51st Annual Wisconsin Mathematics Conference.  In October, teachers and teacher leaders submitted proposals to speak at the conference.  This year 11 teachers and 9 coaches were chosen to present at the conference and represent our work in mathematics in SDW!

Take a look at what math practices our teachers highlighted to the state!

Powerful and Purposeful Conferring in the Math Classroom

Presented by: Angie Blessington, Randi Lesli, Kimberly Loppnow, and Rachel Boario from Randall STEM

Catapulting Divers Learners’ Math Achievement Through Team Teaching

Presented by: Maria Klassy and Madison Corey from Prairie Elementary

Using Small Guided Groups to be Responsive to Learners and Providing Accessible Opportunities for All

Presented by: Adam Dalpra, Kevin Shockley, and Michelle Tranchita from Hadfield Elementary

Conferring: Working Toward Goals, Individual Learning Strategies, and Keeping it Real

Presented by: Kelly Horton, Jessica Bartmann, and Susan Aleson from Meadowbrook Elementary School

Real World Math Connections: How to Make Math Culturally Relevant

Presented by: Melissa Tempel from Heyer Elementary School

Additionally our math coaches presented on the following topics!

Leveraging Math Models to Promote Discourse

Presented by: Dan Pochinski

Where Do I Begin with Implementing a Math Workshop?

Presented by: Rose Palmer

Supporting the Language of Mathematics for ALL

Presented by: Leslie Waltz and Rachel Boario

Making Counting Count

Presented by: Rachel Kozicke

Numeracy Routines Grades K-5

Presented by: Terri Froiland

After presenting, many of these SDW educators commented on the strength of the SDW math program and professional development opportunities, noting that many teachers in attendance were unfamiliar with topics we have been living and breathing in Waukesha.  Educators from other districts were excited and eager to learn from the experiences of our classroom teachers.

Congratulations to all of the teachers who represented our district math department so well last week!  Thank you for your willingness to share and grow in this capacity.

If you are interested in presenting at next year’s Wisconsin Math Conference, look out for the call for presenters in early fall next year.  Consider submitting a proposal to present with another teacher colleague or coach to continue to share our learning with others.

Do Students Really Know Their Math Facts?

Do Students Really Know Their Math Facts?

What is fact fluency? Is it memorizing facts and being able to cite them quickly? I would agree that many students can accurately state or write math facts in a timely manner. Do those same students really understand what the facts mean and represent? This is often a topic for discussion about how to teach math facts and if they have the conceptual understanding of the facts.

I was fortunate to attend a session at the Wisconsin State Math Conference facilitated by Dr. DeAnn Huinker who is on the Board of Directors, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well as a co-author of many books including Principles to Actions (2014). Our district math vision and practices are grounded in the the eight mathematics teaching practices from this book published by NCTM. The session that connects to students knowing their math facts focused on the practice of, Use and Connect Mathematical Representations: Effective teaching of mathematics engages students in making connections among mathematical representations to deepen understanding of mathematics concepts and procedures and as tools for problem solving.

The visual model below shows the importance of connections within and between the various representations.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. (2014). Principles to Actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston, VA.

By embedding the above into practice, students will be able to make connections and develop a deeper understanding of math facts. Here is an example of how to expand on what you may already be doing:

Find the answer:
Explain how you figured out the answer.
Draw a picture that shows what ___X___=___ means.
Write a story problem for ___X___=___.

If we ask a student to tell us what 3x4 equals, they may be able to tell us that it equals 12. We should not stop at that and assume that the student really knows what 3x4 equals in context. Asking more of them could tell a different story. Let’s take a look at a couple of student examples below.

Huinker, D., Dr. (2019). Developing Representational Competence in Our Students [Handout]. Board of Directors, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI.

If Olivia was just asked what 4x7=, we may think that she knows that fact. Having students explain their answer helps us know what strategy they are using. Olivia is skip counting here. Her picture could lend itself to teaching her a visual four groups of seven with manipulatives and then how to illustrate it. It is clear that she could also benefit from instruction on how to write a story problem for this fact.

Huinker, D., Dr. (2019). Developing Representational Competence in Our Students [Handout]. Board of Directors, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI.

Dylan also got the answer correct. He also used a skip counting type of strategy. He is ready for a more sophisticated strategy. Dylan’s picture shows twenty-eight total using tally marks. He is ready for learning that multiplication requires groups of objects. Dylan could also spend some time revising his story with four baskets and putting seven apples in each basket.

How do these two examples change your thinking about teaching and learning facts? Asking students to draw and use visuals to support their thinking around facts provides insight into next steps for instruction. Having students connect the facts to real life stories not only tells what they are able to do, but it creates meaning of the math. A take-away for me in the session was that students need to make connections between the visual and contextual elements of math facts. I encourage you to give it a try and see what you learn about your students.

Citations:

Huinker, D., Dr. (2019, May). Developing Representational Competence in Our Students. Seminar conducted from the Wisconsin State Math Conference, Green Lake, WI.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. (2014). Principles to Actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston, VA.

Beyond NICE

Beyond NICE-Dual Language Programing as Necessity

By D Garcia  and collaborator Eliana Schell-Campos

The School District of Waukesha has offered a Bilingual Education since the 1970s in limited forms.  In 2019, the district celebrates a PreK-11th grade Bilingual Education Program in Dual Language Immersion.  In nearly 50 Years of service to this community, we have shifted our mindsets from "nice to offer, if we can-to necessary as a right to access an education".

For those of you new to the concept of a Bilingual Education, let's review quickly the goals of our programing.  A Bilingual Education in Waukesha ensures that students receive instruction (ie. access) and attainment of the following outcomes:

1. Bilingualism and Bilingual Literacy, that is students are competent in both Spanish and English speaking and robust literacy

2. Academic Access and Achievement across the curriculum in and through both Spanish and English.  This means all content areas are offered in both English and Spanish, with the opportunity to transfer content learned in one to language in the other.

3. Global and Multicultural Competency, an afterthought in many bilingual programs but a strength in Waukesha in that students develop a critical lens around identity, power, discovery, investigation and more.  Our students graduate prepared to investigate the world, communicate with diverse audiences, and challenges their own and other's perspectives.

Why is this work, Beyond NICE?  It is not just "nice" to teach children to speak Spanish, nor a convenience we offer, any more than it is NICE that kids have access to become learners-it is required.  Today, I'd like to share some data on our English Learning Spanish Speakers that help us as a community to understand the critical importance of our Bilingual Programing.  The data I share is a glimpse of the opportunity that emerges from participation in Bilingual education, and not an exhaustive celebration of all of the work.  But let's start first with the impact of 4K on this cohort of students as excerpted from a case study conducted by Eliana Schell-Campos, she writes, 

"Data collected from the case study conducted on School District of Waukesha outcomes for current second grade Dual Language Learners (who are English Learners), reveal that those who participated in the district's 4K Dual Language, are outperforming the peers who did not have access to that programming at the start of their schooling.  On second grade outcomes for reading achievement as measured by PALs, current 2nd grade Dual Language Learners who participated in 4K DLL were 95% proficient in all domains of Spanish Literacy, whereas the peer group who did not or could not access Dual Language 4K it were 75% proficient in Spanish Literacy as Second Graders. As we widely accept that literacy in one language transfers to literacy in the second language (Jim Cummins, 2005) we can see the appearance of a gap linked to how a student starts their educational path.  In addition to the PALs data on these two subgroups, local data on Rigby Running Records, tells the same story.  2nd graders who participated at 4K DLL students were 85% proficient while non participating peers were 72% proficient in Spanish.  

Perhaps most shocking is the data on math achievement. These two cohorts of students, 2nd graders who participated in Dual Language 4K and 2nd grade Dual Language participants who did not, reveal continued gaps in access and achievement in math as measured by MAP.  53% of the 2nd grade DLLs who participated in 4K were above the 50th percentile in math achievement, in contrast to 33% of the compare group who did not access 4K DLL. Surprisingly, English Language development follows the same pattern. 2nd grade students who participated in Dual Language 4K were 81% on track to English Proficiency within 6 years, whereas the comparison group who did not access Dual Language 4K were 69% on track towards English Proficiency.  Given the local data of this school district, it appears that Dual Language 4K is a significant method of ensuring academic achievement with outcomes that are showing potential to prevent the gap that opens for students when they lack access to quality Dual Language Early learning."

In addition to these successes reported by Schell-Campos, we see successes in our students English Language development via the ACCESS test for English Learners 2019.  The ACCESS test is a test of academic content and English Language Development-it is not only a test of English language.  The ACCESS test helps us to know our impact on students academic development while they are learning English and gives us valid and reliable insights into the cognitive academic skills students have in English and where we need to support next.  Since 2017, the ACCESS test has been aligned to state and federal academic Standards and as such case serve as a barometer for how well students are or have been accessing content and cognition. English learners in the State of Wisconsin are required to become proficient as a result of our instruction after 6 years of participation in programing (Bilingual, ESL or No Programing).  This means an incoming 5K students is expected to be prepared for proficiency by grade 6. Typically, our achievement in this area has revealed a rate of 10% proficiency annually, that is until this year. This year we celebrate that 44% of our 5th grade English Learners at Banting Elementary will leave 5th grade Proficient in English for Academic and Social Purposes. Blair is celebrating the graduation of over 30% of their 5th grade English Learners with Proficiency, and both Bethesda and Heyer at 19% English Proficient.  This information is critical. What this means is that students can become bilingual and biliterate, maintain and develop Spanish Literacy and Spanish Academic Access without the fear that "they won't learn English". We have never had a control group of Spanish Speaking English Learners who do not participate in Dual Language until very recently. As parochial school attract more of these students, students who are Spanish speaking and English Learning-we can certainly see the impact of the strategy "More English, More Better".  The control group learning outside our district are not only woefully demonstrating inaccessibility to grade level learning-we also know these students opportunity for Bilingualism and Biliteracy is totally dependent upon home and community access, as these are not opportunities as school. Sadly, data on these students reveals 0% reclassification as English Proficient in any grade.

The opportunity to attend a school district that is dedicated to supporting and developing an essential component of identity, language and cognition, is  profoundly recognized by our 11th grade AP Dual Language Seminar students. Students thank their first teachers, their parents, but maturely understand that it has been "nice" to have had a Bilingual education opportunity, one that has been so vital to becoming "scholars".  These students have participated in rigorous AP Spanish, AP Spanish Literature and now the countries first AP Dual Language Seminar. These scholars will join the nearly 200 Waukesha students who have earned the State of Wisconsin Seal of Biliteracy and Global Education Achievement Certificate.  These students are forever changed by choices we have made in programing for them, ones we might still consider "nice" to have. As data emerges on these students access to academics (ACT), what I am confident we will see is that Dual Language Programing is beyond NICE, it is necessary!

Student Collaboration in the Learning Cycle

When we think about collaboration across the curriculum, it is important to have structures in place to facilitate meaningful conversations among our students. “Lines of Communication” is an instructional strategy for students to experience conversational discourse and use the power of inquiry to impact their thinking.
Lines of Communication (AVID)

You will notice Lines of Communication can be organized around a series of questions on a particular topic. In Mrs.Thelke’s 6th Grade Social Studies class, the students were thinking about one very complicated question...



The students had the opportunity to explore this question, engaging with one another and other resources to form their own opinion about this topic. When they came together to discuss with one another, they were quite evenly divided on the issue.



They shared their viewpoints, pushed on each other’s thinking, asked questions of one another, and respectfully disagreed with others. While some students maintained their original stance, others changed their thinking upon hearing the ideas of their classmates and reassessing their own beliefs. Throughout the process, conversational moves and analytical thinking were evident. This demonstrates the powerful work that has been taught across all content areas to promote meaningful collaboration.

In the end, more students ended up in the middle of the group, sharing that they were questioning their own thinking and were unable to take a side at that moment based on the new ideas they were grappling with. Look at the joy on their faces in this process of discovery!



Throughout this inquiry process, students become comfortable in the knowledge that the act of learning is inquiry and that exploration and questioning should be the foundation of our beliefs. Following the discussion, students had time to write and reflect on their inquiry process and the transformation of their thinking. This reflection is so important to connect their new thinking to previous knowledge, review the testing they have done, and complete the learning cycle.



This conversation, learning, and discourse is a celebration for our students and society as a whole!