"If you don't want to be successful, go to college and work hard every minute of every day then you don't need to be here. There are no excuses in this classroom. We are all here to work together and support one another in learning. There is nothing else. When you walk in the door it's game on! Every day!" I don't think I've ever been so blunt with my students, but my new vision of how class needs to run is a far cry from my progressive, constructivist roots. After visiting schools across the east coast that are making it happen for impoverished minority students, reading "Sweat the Small Stuff," and currently working on Paul Tough's "Whatever it Takes," I no longer have ignorance as an excuse. I know what needs to get done in the classroom and in our school to ensure that our students can compete with middle class America when they leave. Having said that, the transformation of my practice has been both exhausting and rewarding.
Class itself is now comprised of a series of learning activities none of which last more than 25 minutes. Pacing has gone way up as the intensity level and sense of urgency has increased exponentially (I use a timer on my board as often as humanly possible whether it's for 1 minute or 12) Every piece of work done in class is directly related to the day's learning outcome and even when I think I have a good idea about a side activity that could be engaging or interesting if it doesn't do anything to ensure specific learning of the day's outcome then it gets cut out. Moreover, we now have weekly learning outcome assessments that are very much traditional in their format. If a student fails to demonstrate proficiency on their weekly quiz then they have mandatory overtime the following week on Wednesday to receive additional instructional support for over an hour after school. At that point they may re-take the assessment in an attempt to prove a sufficient level of understanding. If they still don't show enough evidence of the essential learning then more support will be provided in the form of lunch and after school support. The classroom continues to move forward with new content being delivered and weekly mastery being shown.
The affect of such a change in my classroom has been noticeable to date. Students are spending more time on task and a greater number are engaged in learning for a higher percentage of time. This phenomenon is also transferring to my teammate's classroom as Ms. Frazier, our social studies teacher is finding that students are less reluctant to start tasks and are exhibiting more on task behaviors through out class. As far as data is concerned, I am not particularly excited about the results of our first week in this new learning environment. Part of the problem lies in an attendance issue as students who were in class Monday through Thursday were far more likely to succeed on the assessment. In addition, students who missed Friday obviously didn't take the assessment and in turn are currently considered "In Progress." Nonetheless, having the data is certainly beneficial as I now know exactly which students need what support. Moreover, the goal of increasing student accountability of learning has been simultaneously heightened as their grades are tied nearly entirely to their prove of understanding on these formal assessments. It's not that I disagree with the notion of examining a students "body of evidence" to prove essential learning, it's that I'm not sure that it's best for my students. They're coming in 2 to 4 grade levels behind and in their time with us we have to prepare them for not only entering, but finishing a four year college. My progressive vision of assessment and examining the whole child over an extended period of time might just not be enough to get the job done.
Please see the graphs at the top of this post to see our first week's data set of both our mad minute (the number of problems we can complete in a minute on a specific skill, i.e. adding + and - integers) and our learning outcome proficiency levels. Both are discouraging at first look, but knowing that this is a new process/system that I've put in place I am confident of few things.
1.) Students will begin to take class more seriously as the expectation levels around demonstrating mastery on a weekly basis have increased dramatically.
2.) Students who show up everyday and work hard will see results and that momentum will spread through out the classroom.
3.) Students who use the additional support and resources provided to help them reach mastery will find a feeling of success that they may have never experienced before, thus giving them drive to push forward.
4.) There will always be a challenge in taking students who are well below grade level and demanding that they show mastery of at grade level skills and knowledge. However, such a demand must be placed on students if they are to get caught up and truly compete with their middle class counterparts.
We have no choice, but to move in a direction that places more urgency on both teachers and students alike. There is no doubt that the effort needed on my end has increased alongside of my students, but what choice do we have if we are to really "beat the odds?"
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