Teachers in Action:
The school wide writing assessment was given last week. Teachers have been frantically grading them so that they can turn in scores. Not only did they have to grade them, then we had to take some time to analyze their writing for certain features. Thank you 2nd- 5th grade teachers for digging in and helping address the needs of our students.
Mrs. Vigil has started taking her first-graders to the computer lab. This is part of her efforts to offer intervention and additional skills practice in reading and math. Her students took some time to get logged on during their first visit. Mrs. Vigil responded by making each student a card with their username and password, so their next visit should run even more smoothly. Nice work, Carla!
Teachers at all grade levels are using Kagan cooperative learning strategies. Even our youngest students are learning how to work together in this way. Here is a picture of kindergarteners in Mrs. Neufeld’s class using Rally Robin to plan their writing.
Mrs. Vigil has started taking her first-graders to the computer lab. This is part of her efforts to offer intervention and additional skills practice in reading and math. Her students took some time to get logged on during their first visit. Mrs. Vigil responded by making each student a card with their username and password, so their next visit should run even more smoothly. Nice work, Carla!
Teachers at all grade levels are using Kagan cooperative learning strategies. Even our youngest students are learning how to work together in this way. Here is a picture of kindergarteners in Mrs. Neufeld’s class using Rally Robin to plan their writing.
Kids in Action:
Students were anxious to begin Lindamood Bell small group sessions this week. There are 74 students who are being served during the day and 46 of those students are also being served after school. Students were anxious to begin and jumped right into learning. It is amazing to see how much progress our students have made thus far and will continue to make over the course of the year. One student exclaimed “This is the best part of my day!”
We have an influx of Newcomers to our 5th grade classrooms that speak only Spanish. I had the privilege of walking with these students in the hallway.
During that time, they were telling me how extremely excited they were
that they were going to learn to read in English. They are determined, young students who will learn to read and write in English and flourish in their education. We could all learn a lesson from their dedication!
During that time, they were telling me how extremely excited they were
that they were going to learn to read in English. They are determined, young students who will learn to read and write in English and flourish in their education. We could all learn a lesson from their dedication!
Core Beliefs in Action:
Quality planning, instruction, and assessments lead to high
achievement for ALL students.
Let’s consider how quality planning for good first instruction can, and should, include cooperative learning structures with PIES in place. PIES represent the basic principles of cooperative learning. They are what distinguish “group work” from cooperative learning and they are the principles that ensure positive academic and social outcomes. Without PIES solidly in place, efforts at increasing achievement through the use of Kagan structures will fall
short.
Here is a review of these principles:
Positive Interdependence
Individual Accountability
Equal Participation
Simultaneous Interaction
Positive Interdependence: When a teacher asks a question and then calls on one student to answer, she has inadvertently set students against each other. Each student is concerned with his/her own outcomes and this can lead to a competitive classroom. When the success of one student is linked to the success of another, they begin to support each other. If I know that your doing well will help me, I want to help you do well, so I will encourage and help you. This is positive interdependence and it will lead to increased achievement for all.
Individual Accountability: Cooperative learning methods which do not make each teammate accountable for his/her own achievement or contribution do not consistently produce achievement gains. In cooperative learning, students work together, but each one must be regularly held accountable for his/her own contributions and learning.
Equal Participation: If students are actively participating, they are processing the content, and are engaged in the learning. If they do not participate, learning is not guaranteed. Research on cooperative learning finds the strongest gains are actually
made by the lowest achieving students. This makes perfect sense when you consider that without the guarantee of equal participation and individual accountability, it is usually the higher performing students who answer questions and participate more actively in class.
Simultaneous Interaction:
In cooperative learning, not only are students participating equally, but they are participating frequently. Why? Because many students participate at once. Simultaneous interaction is a major advantage of cooperative learning over traditional
classroom structures. Studies have shown that in the typical classroom, teachers do 80% of the talking. Increasing the amount of time students are actively participating is crucial. Essentially, when all else is equal, pair work is better than teamwork, teamwork is better than whole-class work, and smaller teams are better than larger teams.
Clearly, these principles and the results they produce, are the reasons our district has adopted cooperative learning as an instructional practice that is to be employed in every classroom. Cooperative learning structures and practices are clearly in line with our Core Beliefs.
Kathy Kulp-Principal
Sarah Vance-Instructional Coach
achievement for ALL students.
Let’s consider how quality planning for good first instruction can, and should, include cooperative learning structures with PIES in place. PIES represent the basic principles of cooperative learning. They are what distinguish “group work” from cooperative learning and they are the principles that ensure positive academic and social outcomes. Without PIES solidly in place, efforts at increasing achievement through the use of Kagan structures will fall
short.
Here is a review of these principles:
Positive Interdependence
Individual Accountability
Equal Participation
Simultaneous Interaction
Positive Interdependence: When a teacher asks a question and then calls on one student to answer, she has inadvertently set students against each other. Each student is concerned with his/her own outcomes and this can lead to a competitive classroom. When the success of one student is linked to the success of another, they begin to support each other. If I know that your doing well will help me, I want to help you do well, so I will encourage and help you. This is positive interdependence and it will lead to increased achievement for all.
Individual Accountability: Cooperative learning methods which do not make each teammate accountable for his/her own achievement or contribution do not consistently produce achievement gains. In cooperative learning, students work together, but each one must be regularly held accountable for his/her own contributions and learning.
Equal Participation: If students are actively participating, they are processing the content, and are engaged in the learning. If they do not participate, learning is not guaranteed. Research on cooperative learning finds the strongest gains are actually
made by the lowest achieving students. This makes perfect sense when you consider that without the guarantee of equal participation and individual accountability, it is usually the higher performing students who answer questions and participate more actively in class.
Simultaneous Interaction:
In cooperative learning, not only are students participating equally, but they are participating frequently. Why? Because many students participate at once. Simultaneous interaction is a major advantage of cooperative learning over traditional
classroom structures. Studies have shown that in the typical classroom, teachers do 80% of the talking. Increasing the amount of time students are actively participating is crucial. Essentially, when all else is equal, pair work is better than teamwork, teamwork is better than whole-class work, and smaller teams are better than larger teams.
Clearly, these principles and the results they produce, are the reasons our district has adopted cooperative learning as an instructional practice that is to be employed in every classroom. Cooperative learning structures and practices are clearly in line with our Core Beliefs.
Kathy Kulp-Principal
Sarah Vance-Instructional Coach