By: Ashley Creighton, SEL Coach 

Short term school closures for covid-related incidents seem inevitable for schools this year. These short term closures are just another way that educators are being asked to be flexible while we all learn how to navigate this new world of education that we find ourselves in. While the numbers say that 51% of our students need to engage in learning during closures in order for those days to “count”, as educators we should want so much more for our students than just having those days count on the calendar. While it is true that having students present in classrooms where a live teacher is available to teach lessons, give feedback, and engage with students is often the best option for most students, with the possibility of a closure that style of teaching and learning will need to shift. 

The Agency of Education’s Continuity of Learning Task Force wrote in a recent report that “teachers need to rethink their roles, not as content experts that transmit knowledge, but as coaches that facilitate student learning,” (COL Task Force, 2020). When students and teachers cannot be in the classroom together, there must be a shift in how learning is facilitated from teacher directed to how students and teachers can become partners in student learning. Vermont rules limit the amount of time that students are required to engage in school directed learning on days when school is closed. For students in kindergarten the limit is two hours, for grades 1 and 2 it increases to four hours and grades 3-8 the time increases further to five and a half hours. Within those time limits there is a great amount of flexibility in what students are doing to engage in learning during those times. The focus on learning time outside of the classroom should not just be on replicating school within the home setting, and quite frankly that is often a near impossible task. With parents who might not be able to take time off of work, and students who cannot access their device for online learning, many aspects of school in the classroom do not work in a home environment. Rather than as an inconvenience, this out of school learning can be looked at as an opportunity for students to engage in independent learning that connects to both proficiencies and cross curricular skills. 

A menu of learning opportunities for students to engage with when schools are closed can consist of more than worksheets. Encouraging students to get creative with their learning, and dive deeper into areas of interests can foster a love of learning not often found through math fact sheets. Independent, project based learning “has been shown to increase student engagement, offer interdisciplinary learning opportunities and give students opportunities to practice collaboration and critical-thinking skills that are in high demand in the modern workplace,” (Matthewson, 2020). Perhaps, as educators, we can view short term school closures as an opportunity to modify the way that we are asking our students to learn, giving us a chance to get to know our students better by experiencing their passions and interests through their eyes. Encouraging a student to identify an area of interest and then spend time learning more about it, across multiple areas of the curriculum, can help to engage even a student who is hesitant to participate in learning outside of the classroom. When teachers can help to facilitate independent learning, positive student-adult relationships are encouraged and students have the opportunity to take ownership of their work while still demonstrating proficiency based learning progressions.

It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has asked educators to be creative and to step outside the comfort zones of more traditional teacher-directed education. However, if we can look at this shift as an opportunity to change our practice and how we best meet our students’ needs while increasing student engagement and fostering proficiencies and cross-curricular learning, it can be a positive experience for everyone. 


References

https://education.vermont.gov/sites/aoe/files/documents/edu-grammar-of-schooling-continuity-of-learning-task-force-report.pdf

Matthewson, Tara. (2020). Project Based Learning Gets Its Moment During The Coronavirus. https://hechingerreport.org/project-based-learning-gets-its-moment-during-the-coronavirus/

​

By: Michael D. Moriarty Ed.D.

Last year we adopted a new four point grading scale in our K-8 schools. For our K-4 teachers, the idea of using a 4 point grading system was nothing new as they had been using the four point system to evaluate student learning against the common core standards for years. For our teachers who teach in grades 5-8 this was a departure from the traditional letter grade and 100 point system. These more traditional grading systems do not effectively measure student growth towards standards and create the conditions for subjectivity and unfair grading practices. For example, there are typically six degrees of failure within a 100 point system, 0 to 60. 

The four point system creates equity and balances each level equally. Meaning that if you were to break down each value (1-4) into a percentage, they would each be 25%. Compare that to a 100 point system were the “F” is 60% and the “A” through “D” are each worth 10%.  While we are on the subject, what does a “D” really get us? Students who are getting “Ds” are barely showing evidence of learning and yet for a long time we have pushed these students forward and out into society ill-prepared to meet the demands of civic life. I always ask people when talking about grading, “Would you want a “D” mechanic fixing your brakes?!”

The four point system levels the playing field and it compares student learning to meeting standards or as we refer to them as proficiencies and indicators. For example:
(1) Beginning to show evidence towards the proficiency
(2) Progressing towards the proficiency
(3) Meeting the proficiency
(4) Exceeding the proficiency​

For most teachers, when it comes to evaluating student work, it is clear when a student is meeting or exceeding the proficiency. It is also pretty easy to evaluate when a student is really struggling to show evidence of learning. It’s the “2” or “progressing towards proficiency” that gets teachers really hung up when evaluating student work. Teachers feel that the “2” has a huge range and it is difficult to communicate to students and parents about what the “2” means for each individual student. 

A couple of years ago, I attended a presentation by Karin Hess and she broke the 4 point grading scale this way:

By: Michael D. Moriarty

“Flow” is a term that I learned about a few years ago when I was listening to a talk about the research on the connections between neuroscience and how learning occurs in the brain. In general, flow can be defined as finding joy, creativity, and being fully involved in a task. Furthermore, flow can be described as the state where someone is engaged in a task that is at just the right skill level to the challenge of the task (insert Larry Bird highlight here where he scored 45 points with just his non dominant left hand!):

By: Michael D. Moriarty Ed.D.

I recently listened to Mike McRaith, Principal of Montpelier High School reflect on his experiences in high school with Mr. Jeffery, his high school history teacher. He described the experience of having a great relationship with Mr. Jeffery and how fun class was. At one point in the year, Mr. Jeffery gave a writing assignment and asked that the students write their name on the back of the paper so that he could assess the paper without bias. When Mike received his feedback, Mr. Jeffery graded the writing as a B. However, when Mike turned the paper over Mr. Jeffery had crossed out the B and given Mike an A when he realized that it was Mike’s paper. What does this example tell us about traditional grading practices? It certainly reminds us about the importance of relationships and when most of us reflect about school our memories are often about people, how they remember their school experience, and less about the content. Going back to Mike’s example about the assessment, I can’t help but think about how our work towards a proficiency-based system has a huge equity component. Meaning that while we want to have good relationships with students we really need to consider that students’ progress towards academic proficiency needs to be separate from how we assess their habits of work.

In 1928, John Dewey stated that our education system needs to be dynamic and about student growth. This can be interpreted as education should not be about ranking and sorting but about student learning in a public education system that is free and appropriate. What Dewey was speaking about was students showing proficiency in a system that was based on student voice and choice (AKA: Personalization). It’s amazing to think that Dewey was talking about the very thing we are trying to do almost 100 years later!

Systems work is hard especially when considering public education. When thinking about systems and structures in our work towards implementing a proficiency-based system, we need to consider how does our decision points impact...

• Learner agency? Meaning how do we create student voice and choice
• Equity? Meaning, how does this impact marginalized groups
• Public will? Meaning, how can we be proactive about our decisions with communication

What’s different with PBL?
Thomas Gusky argues that our current grading practices do the job for college admissions offices, which in his mind makes little sense when considering what’s at the heart of education: student learning. Practices again that include ranking and sorting students, GPA, and honors. Some call this the Bell Curve Model do not create equitable opportunities for kids. We are moving away from this Normative-Based system or bell curve model that “selects talent” and are now focusing on a Criterion-Based system where we “develop talent” with the goal of giving students the skills to be successful in a variety of environments after they leave high school. With that being said, as we develop these proficiencies, we need to ensure that proficiencies be achievable for every kid. Some might argue that this approach is “dumbing” down our expectations. However, with PBL educators can now consider academic programming and enriching activities in meaningful ways that have an emphasis on deeper learning. Programming that includes flexible pathways and opportunities to shine in different ways through PLPs. Mike Martin, Curriculum Director of South Burlington, states that the end game with this approach is not just about focusing on preparing students to be college and career ready but student retention in programs beyond secondary education. If you consider the statistic of college dropout rates currently for Vermont students we need to be thinking about how we can do things differently. We do a great job of getting students to college but roughly 40% of Vermont students who attend college do not earn a 4 year degree. Couple that with the increasing college debt that students accrue and we have a very real problem with our education system. Again, we need to think about education differently.

Thinking about doing things differently, take this into account: In 7 seconds you can look up the atomic weight of Cobalt with Siri or the “The Google”. Technology has had a profound impact on how we attain knowledge. Considering the advances in technology, our conversation about education should now be more about developing skills and less on content. Proficiency is about skills and content and while we want teachers to have strong backgrounds in their content, it is more about building students’ skills. There needs to be a collective efficacy where skills and achievement are directly correlated to transferrable skills like problem solving, communication, perseverance, grit, and growth mindset. Skills like these will prepare students for careers that don't currently exist.

​

This month's blog is brought to us by Jeff Coburn, Tech Aficionado: 
​
Hey folks!  With word about Facebook data issues making the news recently, I thought I’d share three places under Facebook’s settings you can check periodically to keep yourself safer:

1. Privacy: This is where you can see who you’re sharing with, what you’re sharing, etc.  I recommend checking periodically (put it on your calendar as a reminder, if it helps).

2. Security and Login: that will show you recent logins.  If you don’t recognize a login, there are three dots next to it that will give you a “not you?” prompt to secure your account. (Also good to know: you can change your password from security and login as well.  I recommend you do that periodically with all online sites, not just Facebook).

3. Apps: One way companies get info about you is through apps you have connected to.  If there are apps listed there you don’t use (like the two weeks you binged on Candy Crush or day you decided to Elf Yourself), click the checkbox next to it and click on the remove box; you can always add the app back later.  If there are apps you want to keep, click the edit settings pencil next to them to see what it is sharing. This is a good place to check periodically as well.

​Also, one general suggestion with Facebook, other social media, or email: be suspicious of links.  For Facebook, sometimes they drag you in with “hot topic headlines” based on your posting habits.  Clicking those eventually bring you to some unwanted site (like a news article that turns into a sales pitch).  For email, sometimes you will get a link to update your personal bank or shopping site info; always log directly into those sites instead of clicking the message links to check and update your information. 
 
Hope this helps.  Happy posting!

By: Michael D. Moriarty Ed.D.

Equity is a major topic at all levels of education currently in Vermont: state, district, and local. Recently, a joint VSA/VSBA retreat focused on their meeting on the topic of equity.  The group (involving superintendents, school board, VSA/VSBA, AOE, principals, college, curriculum, etc.) worked on a definition for equity for VT. The definition states:
Educational equity means that each and every student receives the resources and educational opportunities they need to learn and thrive.

• Equity means that a student’s success is not predicated nor predetermined by characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, economics, class, geography, disability, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or initial preferences.
• Equity means that every school provides high quality curriculum, programs, teachers and administrators, extracurricular activities and support services.
• Equity goes beyond formal equality where all students are treated the same.  Achieving equity may require an unequal distribution of resources and services.
• Equity involves disrupting inequitable practices, acknowledging biases, employing practices that reflect the reality that all students will learn, and creating inclusive multicultural school environments for adults and children.

The last bullet point particularly resonates with me when I read this definition. It raised the question for me “do we, as educators, have the moral courage to do what’s best for our kids?” I underline “our” in the question because it has high importance. One of the first lessons I learned as a teacher in inner-city Springfield, MA was that we need to treat all kids as our own regardless of their background, demographics or cultural differences. As an educator, when we embrace this idea, we begin to reflect the reality that all students can learn instead of coming up with the same old excuses of why a student can’t learn.

Going back to the question of “do we, as educators, have the moral courage to do what’s best for our kids?”, I think the answer to that question is “yes.” In Vermont, we are seeing philosophies and practices shift away from the traditional system of education to a system that is more equitable for all students. Recently, I attended a curriculum leaders meeting and was able to participate in a workshop that mimicked some of the teaching practices that reflect equity in the classroom. Students and teachers from Harwood Union High School presented on the power of dialogue in creating equity in the classroom. I liken the workshop to that of a "Socratic Circle" but with a different approach. You can watch the real thing here.

The part of the workshop I enjoyed the most was being able to interact with the students in a manner where we were all learning together because of the dialogue that was created through the experience. As an educator, I think about how this method of assessment and feedback for both teachers and students is truly authentic. Isn’t that what we ultimately want for students in an equitable education system? Authentic experiences allow students to practice transferable skills, which will allow them to thrive in a variety of situations.

On January 26th, 2018 we had an professional development day in OCSU with Great Schools Partnership. The focus of the day was about “the Why” behind proficiency-based learning (PBL) and how a system such as PBL leads to equity in schools. Teachers spent a great deal of time reflecting on the image below: