Deeper Learning

Focus schools use two methods to practice this:

1. PBLs (Project Based Learning) that are connected to the community.

• These projects hold students to professional standards and connect them with community members.

2. Off-site internships and community service

• School time is allotted to allow students to participate. Sometimes students work 40-hour weeks and come to school for periodic check-ins.
• These activities immerse students in professional environments
• Provides hands-on learning experiences

(To view a school site's experience with PBL's and internships click this link: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/matching-students-to-internships-bpl)

(Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 49-51)

What is Deeper Learning?

Defined by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Methods for deeper learning

Challenges

• project-based learning
• inquiry-based learning
• challenge-based learning

Commonality=each is an active learning experience

We have have yet to fully embrace this method for creating deeper learning. Obstacles that stand in the way of adopting this model at Clovis High include:

• only 45 minutes of subject specific collaboration time per week
• no interdisciplinary collaboration
• student population is near 3,000 with average class sizes at 750 making it difficult to mandate internships and opportunities for professional learning experiences

Priority #5: Teacher collaboration

• One of the Hewlett Foundation's goals is to improve education through supportive research

• Hewlett foundation supported the research of the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) for analyzing how to create deeper understanding.

• Objective: "examine the role of time and the decisions made concerning time usage and allocation, as educators teach deeper learning skills" (Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 4)

• Five focus schools were selected for the NCTL's study.

Five Schools Selected

High-Tech High Media Arts

San Diego, California

Codman Academy

Boston, Massachusetts

Avalon School

(St. Paul, Minnesota)

New Tech High

Indianapolis, Indiana

International Community High School

Bronx, New York

Three patterns of the five focus schools when it comes to teacher collaboration:

1. Frequent meetings

• 1.5-3 hrs per week
• balance between logistics/pedagogical practices
• builds community camaraderie

2. Accommodating schedules

• schedules allow common planning time across disciplines

3. Increased professional development opportunities

(Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 51-54)

Our Next Steps

Priority #4: Connect to the real world

Five guiding questions for the research conducted

• Learning needs to be in the context of realistic life situations
• These unfamiliar contexts promote/encourage self-discovery

Despite limitations there is still plenty we can do on our part to be proactive in developing deeper understanding for students. Here are some suggestions for minor changes:

• build smaller PBLs within our specific disciplines that can be shared and commonly assessed by our PLCs
• add two additional late start days for teacher collaboration
• at least one of these times will be allocated for inter-disciplinary collaboration

1. How are teacher and student time designed to promote learning?

2. How is time allocated differently than traditional schools?

3. What priorities drive the design of time at each school?

4. What are the school's ongoing challenges?

5. What insight can be offered by the school for increasing the focus of other schools?

(Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 5)

Focus schools use two methods to create "real world" connections

Our Next Steps cont...

Common Themes

• require a senior project where students will need to find an internship or professional job and log 100 hours.
• create 3 schools within our school
• by separating our school into arts, business, and science we would still require students to take all of the core classes, but those classes would be focused on developing meaningful lessons that connect to career driven course
• this would also make it more managable to conduct cross-curricular assignments.

Selling the....

After analyzing and synthesizing information from each of the five profiled schools the NCTL founded five priorities for cultivating environments that foster deeper learning.

These themes drive deeper learning

Below is the link to a PBL I created. This project embraces both U.S. history and English. At the backbone of the project is the teaching of Of Mice and Men. Students will explore the historical perspective of the American dream in the 1930s through the lenses of the novel. In addition, they will conduct research as to what makes up the American dream today.

Students will analyze supplemental texts, experiement with different research strategies/methods, and engage in meaningful discussion. The culiminating activity is a 5-page research paper, a multimedia presentation, and an oral presentaiton of their findings.

http://sites.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/pbl/home

Priority #2: Using inter-disciplinary project-based approach

Below are characteristics found of the five schools using that adopted inter-disciplinary curriculum design:

• each exemplified some format of the BIE Handbook's elements for PBLs
• classes are team-taught
• focus is mastery of standards
• time-designed strategies:
• long blocks
• 1.5-2hrs
• individualized quick check-ins
• analytical reading, writing, and research
• student collaboration
• teachers teach collaboration skills
• teachers model acceptable collaboration
• every student plays a unique role
• self-regulation
• ultimately students are responsible for how they spend their independent work-time

(Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 43-46)

Priority #3: Developing authentic assessments that create meaningful learning and skill development

These are example interdisciplinary assessments implemented at the five focus schools

• Formative assessments should:
• be given frequently and centered around specific skills
• offer opportunities for immediate feedback (don't fix the product for students but ask questions that guide them so as to deepen understanding)
• Assessments should require students to:
• justify and explain ideas
• support arguments using specific evidence and developed claims
• understand rubrics used to assess

(Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 46-49)

Formative assessment practices used by the five focus schools

Peer-Critique:

Prompts students to apply rubric knowledge and lowers the Affective filter

Student Presentations:

Students will explain and justify what they know in front of diverse audiences

Guided Self-Reflection:

Gives students a chance to acknowledge pros/cons and affirm their understanding

Priority #1: Build a positive learning environment

Students need:

• to feel they can trust others
• to know they are safe to share
• to learn with the foundation of solid, trustworthy relationships
• to share expectations for behavior
• to engage as both a "given" and "receiver" of peer critique
• peer-to-peer AND peer-to-adult relationships
• blocks of differentiated work time (e.g. gender specific, project-centered, student-directed, competitions, all ages)
• time for teachers' to collaborate to better prepare and serve students.

(Traphagen and Zorich, 2013, p. 40-42)

References

Developing Deeper Learning

EDTECH 501

Anthony Saba

Megan Poindexter

July 21, 2014