Page 67 - EdViewptsSpring2017

science, mathematics and English each department to attend so that we Lessons Learned
courses. The authors suggest that could expand our current knowledge
students need sophisticated literacy base by viewing sample PARCC While the PARCC is considered a
strategies and supports for reading tasks, analyzing PARCC rubric, and relatively new assessment, the data
across these various content areas. disaggregating district data. that has been released has been a
Lee and Spratley (2010) identified Motivated by data, we planned agen- useful tool for sharpening instruction.
English and social studies as the das for three collaborative department Reviewing this data alongside other
content areas with the greatest meetings. We wanted teachers to data sources has provided insight
connections to literacy. analyze the District Evidence Tables into specific areas of improvement.
Paul Bambrick-Santoyo (2012), in
Among other root causes, Daniels and for students in Grades 9-11. We al- his text, Leverage Leadership, posits
Zemelman (2004) assert that students lotted two meetings for this important “If assessments are the roadmap for
may not understand what they read, work. Our final meeting would focus learning, then data analysis lets you
especially in content-heavy courses. on sharing and modeling strategies to know if you’re following the path.”
The authors argue that students have help improve reading and comprehen- The District Evidence Tables provided
plenty of reading to do; however, they sion of nonfiction text. valuable information for us detailing
are not exercising the mental pro- the learning paths of our students.
cesses needed to deeply comprehend The authors argue that
this reading. These processes include After several rounds of reviewing
questioning, predicting, visualizing students have plenty of the data, we found that our students
and synthesizing. reading to do; however, needed intentional opportunities to
wrestle with nonfiction text in a way
As we collaboratively reviewed the they are not exercising that surpassed simple summarization
knowledge and skills our students or recall. We also discovered that our
mastered and the evidence used to the mental processes students needed additional instruction
measure students’ responses, it was needed to deeply compre- to help them challenge the author’s
difficult for us to disagree with the hend this reading. These assertions, identify irrelevant details
research that supports the need to and find counter-arguments from
integrate strategies into instruction processes include ques- other sources of information.
in order to improve students’ reading tioning, predicting, visu-
comprehension. alizing and synthesizing. Moreover, we realized that our depart-
ments work incredibly well together.
Armed with the PARCC District Evi- As the teachers poured over the data,
dence Tables and our desire to have they shared valuable insight about
collaborative conversations about im- During our first department meeting, instructional practice. They spoke of
proving reading comprehension, we we wanted to impress upon teachers techniques that worked with their
began the process of collaboration by that improving student achievement is students, and they also discussed
identifying a common text that would truly a collaborative effort. We began challenges that they faced at the
serve as a foundation for our work. by modeling how to analyze the PARCC secondary-level. Teachers spoke of
We selected Reading Nonfiction: No- assessment data for Grade 9. We guid- needing additional works to enhance
tice & Note Stances, Signposts, and ed them through the data analysis their curricula, and they also spoke
Strategies by Kylene Beers & Robert process, explaining the information in- about challenges with pacing,
E. Probst (2016). Beers and Probst cluded on the District Evidence Tables. scheduling and readiness. These
(2016) provide recommendations We strategically assigned them to conversations became opportunities
for teachers to connect students to groups to create a healthy balance of for problem-solving and true
nonfiction text no matter the content. English and social studies teachers. professional collaboration.
We read the book and met often to Teachers engaged in group discussions
discuss ideas and strategies. and used graphic organizers to docu- As we reflect on this joint goal, we
ment what they “noticed” in the data. agree that the African proverb is indeed
Collaboration Groups were then asked to identify true: “If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, then go together.”
three possible strategies or next steps
Our goal was to have our teachers for instruction based on their noticings. Working together has allowed us to
analyze the PARCC data, identify The collegial conversations were robust cover more instructional ground and
trends and suggest next steps for and informative. As facilitators, we reach a greater number of students.
instruction. We developed our own learned much more than we had antici- This, by far, has been the most gratifying
learning by attending a PARCC pated about teaching and learning. part of our collaborative experience.
professional development session.
We invited teacher colleagues from

Educational Viewpoints -65- Spring 2017