Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mom (High Expectations + . . . ???)

Chinese parenting is one of the most difficult things I can think of.  You have to be hated sometimes by someone you love and who hopefully loves you, and there's just no letting up, no point at which it suddenly becomes easy.  Just the opposite, Chinese parenting-at least if you're trying to do it in America, where all odds are against you-is a never-ending uphill battle, requiring a 24-7 time commitment, resilience, and guile."

                                                                                                                         -Amy Chua


This month we are reading Amy Chua's account of how she elected to educate and raise her children in a manner that she felt would empower her daughters with the appropriate skills and tools to excel as adults. The clip below provides you with a little more insight (in addition to the Time magazine article on the home page) into her thinking.  While at times contravercial and the topic of great debate, the overarching question I pose to you as we discuss the content of this book is:

Question: How can we as stakeholders (administrators, teachers and of course parents) steadily raise expectations, increase levels of rigor and build relational capacity to equip our scholars with the ability to engage in higher order, confident, self-directed learning? Our hope is that reading and discussing this book will enable us to wrestle with some of our thoughts and ideas.

Rigor is Not a Four Letter Word: Assessment and Grading (Ch.8)

The Power of Formative Assessment

How do Formative and Summative Assessments differ?

Formative assessment can also be defined as "Assessment for learning".  This practice is to serve the purpose of promoting our scholar's learning. It differs from Summative assessment which is primarily designed to serve for .accountability, ranking and the certification of competency purposes.   According to the Black report of 2004, formative assessment is most desired as it provides information to be used as feedback, by teachers, and their scholars in assessing themselves and each other in  order to plan, modify teaching and learning.

Blackburn differentiates between the two as such:

Formative Assessment

1. Students are aware of the questions throughout the assessment process
2. Timing is flexible
3. Teacher's feedback is commentary and/or letter or number grade
4. Evaluation is used to guide future learning
5. Considers the students zone of proximal development http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm
6. Test or task may be flexible
7. Student is involved in self-assessment
8. Sets reachable targets for future learning
9. Results are not used as a report card grade

Summative Assessment

1. Questions on a test are surprises to the student
2. Student must perform within time limits
3. Teacher's feedback is a letter or number grade
4. Evaluation is used to rand and sort students
5. Does not consider the student as an individual learner
6. Test or task is not flexible
7. Assessment by teacher or outside agency only
8. No direct follow-up; when it's over, it's over
9. Results figure in to the report card grade

When invoking the "formative assessment process" the facilitator must consider at the very least three significant steps to ensure student development.

• Look at your students (to learn about them)              
• Watch your student's progress
• Help them G-R-O-W

L:  Observe- One manner of observing students is to take an assessment of what they already know
W: Track- devise a system/structure that will enable you to record, code and measure the degree of mastery
H:  Apply-  use your accrued data to help your students become better readers, writers, thinkers, etc.

What specifically can I do to help my students to G-R-O-W?

G uage where your student are
R ecognize their strengths and weaknesses
O ne step at a time, provide instruction to help them grow
W atch them rise to higher levels.

* * *

Grading Practices
Mindset connection: http://michaelgr.com/2007/04/15/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset-which-one-are-you/ 
"one teacher recently said to me, the only thing my students and their parents care about is an A".

In chapter 2:  "Inside The Mindsets" of the book Mindset Dweck reminds us that learning is about stretching onself rembemering formative assessment has to do with us (facilitators) identifing and appropriately working with students in their personal zone of proximal development.

Why do we grade students and what are the frequently expressed perceptions about "grading"?

When we grade we (Guskey and Bailey):

• communicate the achievement status of our scholars
• provide information they can use for self-evaluation;
• select, identify, and group students;
• provide incentives for students to learn
• evaluate effectiveness of instructional programs/practices
• provide evidence of students' lack of effort, responsibility

Blackburn shares her early challenges with assessment and cites her shift of "grading to justify grades" to evaluating student performance and communicating with students and parents to better impress upon them the need to intensify learning.

In order to decrease the phobias and hesitation that exists around grading and assessing student performance we can:

• recognize the value of grading to students, parents and others (value chart p. 136)

understand why a student or parent is concerned about grading. This will enable teachers and administrators to more effectively communicate the impetus behind your criteria.

• shift the emphasis to learning

de-emphasize the degree of weight placed on letters and numbers: seek to establish an understanding/culture "growth mindsets as opposed to that of the fixed"

• provide clear guidelines

provide scholars with rubrics that will enable them to have a clear understanding as to what you want them to know and or be able to do.  Offer examples of what success looks like (use student samples or even your own. Rigor is not simply making the work harder but in raising the bar it is our responsibility to set clear and concise scaffold assessments that would make achievement more plausible and probable. Revisit: Chapter 5 pgs. 84-89.

• require quality work

EXPECT THEM TO DO AND THEY WILL DO! INCREASED EXPECTATION LEADS TO INCREASED RIGOR! Set the standard and put the supports, systems, structures in place that will empower students to meet or exceed the height of the preset bar.
On page 139 a sample rubric provides the scholar with a clear overview of what he/she is expected to do.  The areas are defined as performance elements and each are weighted and defined by 3 modifiers (Outstanding, Great and Not Yet).  With such a tool, learners can regularly monitor their progress and ensure that they are filfilling all of the requirements as stated by the facilitator.

• communicate clearly

be clear and clearly articulate your policy about grades (classwork, homework, missing assignments, participation, etc.)

Considerations of a grading policy should include:

1. description of types of assessments (tests, projects, homework)
2. description of weight of assessments (percentage of grade)
3. overall expectations for completion (completion/not yet project policy)
4. procedures for making up work (student absenteeism)
5. opportunities for extra help (regularly scheduled days, times, periods)

• be patient

challenges with grading/assessing students are ongoing and we must therefore consistently monitor our practice and work under 5 Principles for Evaluation and Grading as posted below.

1. use a variety of assessments
2. make sure the type of assessment matches your purpose
3. clearly explain what you are evaluating and the purpose of the evaluation
4. create and provide explicit guidelines for grading
5. build in opportunities for students to succeed

Rigor is Not a Four Letter Word: Chapter 6: Open Your Focus

This chapter stresses the importance of opening our focus by creating a variety of learning experiences to enhance rigor in the classroom.

5 INSTRUCTIONAL WAYS TO OPEN FOCUS

1. Open-Ended Questioning
2. Open-Ended Vocabulary Instruction
3. Open Ended Projects
4. Open-Ended Choices for Students
5. Open-Ended from the Beginning

• Open-Ended Questioning: Promotes analytical thinking and teaches students to reflect on their own thinking.  Barbara R. Blackburn, author, provides a Questions Matrix which addresses all levels of questioning (see page 96).  This tool can help students learn content information; learn about their own learning abilities; and create their own questions.  Using this instructional tool can provide an opportunity to shift ownership of learning to the student, and students will learn how to craft their own high-level questions.
• Open-Ended Vocabulary Instruction:  Using poetry to challenge students to condense information and then use their own creativity to present it in a diferent format.  For example, Haikus, Fibonacci Sequence
• Open-Ended Projects:  The author discussed an activity that required students to take different perspectives and/or sides of an issue or situation.  Students can then discuss the different points of view and/or create sample comments from different perspectives. B.R. Blackburn provides a Sample Points of View grid for 6 topics (see pages 103, 104)
• Open-Ended Choices:

            -Let students choose how they demonstrate understanding of content

           - Provide a list of activities and encourage students to make a choice based on their preference

            -Design activities using a contract or Tic-Tac-Toe grid offering learning experiences targeting
              the multiple intelligences. (see page 108).

Open-Ended from the Beginning:  Start instruction by engaging students in problem solving principles, instead of presenting information followed by application.  Students will be more engaged and will experience a greater depth of understanding.

Rigor is not a four-letter word

by Barbara r. Blackburn

chp. 9 --- opportunities and challenges

“You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind.” 

-- Darwin P. Kingsley

The five questions ---

1.     Where should I begin?

2.   How do I handle resistance from students?

3.   What do I say to parents?

4.   How should I respond when other teachers aren’t supportive?

5.   How can I gauge progress?

Where should I begin?

·         Must have a vision for your classroom (i.e. – write a vision letter – chp. 1)

·        Decide on three specific steps you will take to increase rigor in your classroom.

·        Take time to reflect and make any adaptations.

How do I handle resistance from students?

·        Recognize the source of the resistance. The value and success aspects of motivation impact students in more ways than you may realize.

·        Ask yourself “What will I say to a student who says “What’s in it for me?”

·        Give your students time. Real change does not happen overnight.

·        Finally, although you need to be clear about what you are doing, do not give rigor too much of the spotlight.

·        *** Expect the best from your students, create the best lessons to ensure learning, provide appropriate support for every student, and do not apologize for your high standards. ***

What do I say to parents?

·        Provide a clear description of what you expect from their children.

·        Focus on the rationale and benefits of rigor.

·        Formula for communication -> Value + Success = Understanding

·        KEY POINTS – Parents need to see value in what you are doing, and they need to feel they and their sons or daughters will be successful.

How should I respond when other teachers aren’t supportive?

·        Try to keep a lower profile. (?) --- Interested in hearing your perspective about this Gittens’ Group.

·        Seek out other teachers with similar beliefs.

·        Remember your focus… ”High performance often leads to jealousy in the workplace…In teaching, it should be about the students.”

·        When you center your effort and attention on what is best for your students, it helps you balance the criticism from others. (profound and true)

How can I gauge progress?

·        It’s important to remember that creating a classroom culture that is rigorous will take time, and you may experience plateaus.

·        Rubrics can assist us assess our progress (see pp. 154-159)

·        Remember the African proverb -> “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”