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This discussion forum is being moderated as an expression of servant leadership in teaching & learning. As a collaborative tool for brainstorming enriching experiences for students, teacher learning groups, and district learning teams, we can inspire and build experiences to help empower each of us to personal leadership in learning. Thank you, in advance, for your contributions and leadership to realizing outcomes for improving student achievement, equity and well-being.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Equity through pedagogy - part 4: Formative assessment

1/31/2019

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Welcome back to Flipping the Focus. 

Leading up to the Mid-Atlantic Conference for Professional Learning, March 13-15, in Atlantic City, this marks the fourth in a series of posts devoted to pedagogical practices and frameworks that educators can leverage in their collaborative efforts to respectfully and equitably honour student voice.

1. Introduction
Envision learning environments where students and their teachers are engaged to interact in profound and meaningful ways--ways that demonstrate an evolution of the teaching-learning relationship to one where “...[students] and [teachers are learning] together in a collaborative relationship, each playing an active role in setting learning goals, developing success criteria, giving and receiving feedback, monitoring progress, and adjusting learning strategies” (Growing Success, p30).
Ad for Mid-Atlantic Conference for Professional Learning
MACPL 2019, March 13-15, Atlantic City
In this post, formative assessment is defined, its characteristics explained, and suggestions are made for how you and your students can experience success by framing teaching and learning through its principles.

As you continue with the post, consider framing your thinking against these, sample goals:
  • (Teacher Focus) To deepen your understanding of practices that engage students with differences in backgrounds, learning strengths, needs and interests.
  • (Leadership Focus) To inform your next best moves to supporting the growth of individual and collective teacher learning and practice.

"Having explored these principles, alongside many educators, has
been transformational for my own teaching and student learning,
​as well as that of my colleagues."

2. Formative Assessment - An Introduction
According to Ontario’s Assessment & Evaluation framework, Growing Success, the “...primary purpose of assessment...is to improve student learning” (p6). The improvement of student learning, from a formative perspective, involves two practices: assessment FOR learning and assessment AS learning.

Let’s consider these practices in the context of an example. Throughout the example, consider visualizing formative assessment through the graphic provided in Figure 1 (below): The Assessment Loop (Causarano & Coulombe, @HarnessingA, 2018).
Growing Success
Growing Success, 2010
Figure 1. The Assessment Loop
The Assessment Loop
Printed with permission (Causarano & Coulombe, 2018)
As we plan learning experiences for our students, we take into account learning goals and success criteria. Learning goals, or targets, are set according to one or more of the following: curriculum objectives, global competencies, learning processes, and/or the big ideas of the subject matter students are learning. These goals represent the What of learning.

The How of learning is defined by success criteria. These criteria describe the actions that students are taking to successfully attain learning goals. Prior to engaging students in the learning experience designed, it’s critical that we anticipate success criteria.

Identifying potential success criteria mentally prepares us for recognizing them, as students work on problems and tasks. In the context of questioning, inquiry or project-based learning, it’s also important that we remain 'open’ to variable paths towards a solution or completion of a task. Altogether, being able to recognize these criteria, as well as being open to student thinking, supports educators in helping students consolidate their thinking towards conceptual understanding and procedural fluency.

"You might be wondering, how do I ‘open’ myself to identifying
and recognizing how students will be going and are going
​towards these goals?"

This is a great, if not perfect, question to be asking ourselves. But still...why?
Well, to be open means that we’re in a position, ourselves, to do some learning. That learning might be related to content, pedagogy or a combination of the two. From a content perspective, we might be at a place where we’re figuring out how students will interact with a problem or task. Pedagogically, we might also be considering those aspects that will respectfully and equitably address where students are in their own learning. And there are plenty of aspects that come into play. Take for example the following: prior knowledge, background, strengths, needs, interests, and the learning environment.

Whatever combination of factors you’re considering, they all have one thing in common--that is, what defines the problem or task that’s being assigned to students.
puzzle piecesPhoto by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash
3. Formative Assessment-Moving Beyond the Task
Let’s take a look at moving beyond the task. Earlier, I mentioned that success criteria represent the actions that students are taking towards attaining goals. That means we’re now in a space where students are ‘working on it’--either independently or collaboratively thinking about the assigned problem or task.

Formatively, we, as educators, now go on ‘high alert’...monitoring the ‘how’, listening to interpret, and looking for learning progressions that can be used to facilitate conversations around criteria important for attaining the goal(s). Over the time that students are engaged with the problem or task, we’re naming and noticing key moves that students are making and providing timely, descriptive feedback to all students.

As you discuss students’ thinking with them and the group, you’ll be well-positioned to co-create success criteria, and over time, with each opportunity to revisit concepts, students can reflect for themselves and/or with their peers about refinements that can be made to the existing criteria.

Providing opportunities and encouraging students to engage in this type of reflection--be it self- or peer-assessment--is referred to as assessment AS learning. The beauty of this form of assessment is that it imparts leadership to your students: it helps them to recognize agency in their own learning, and it helps them to build autonomy--i.e., independence to influencing their own learning, as well as taking it upon themselves to learning on behalf of and supporting others.
Each time that we, alongside our students, reflect and discuss the ‘how’ of ‘what’ is being learned models metacognition--the act of thinking about one’s thinking. In essence, as students develop their metacognitive skills, they are becoming better monitors of their own learning--setting goals and making plans for how they can achieve them.
4. It’s Not That Straight-Forward
As we come to know our students better, we recognize the following:
  • Each individual develops proficiency in their own time;
  • Learning progressions aren’t linear; and
  • Students will become more adept at monitoring and personalizing goals.
Person holding a lightbulb
Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash
As a result, learning doesn’t look so straight-forward after all. In fact, each aspect of The Assessment Loop (Causarano & Coulombe, 2018), in Figure 1 (above), is connected and dependent upon the others.

Truly, this loop--or framework--represents the complex nature of the thinking and decision-making that occurs for both teachers and their students. It is a ‘space’ that we find ourselves in each and every day. As educators, the more we come to know our students, the curriculum, and what learning and student learning looks like, the better we can communicate where students are in their learning and next steps. By this point--having waded into the complexity of thinking and decision-making with students--we’re providing them with a communication of or an assessment OF their learning.
5. Final Remarks
As you reflect, how are you seeking to co-create conditions that can give life to equity in the teaching and learning you do with students and your colleagues each and every day?

When thinking about your assessment practice, consider the following:
“...student assessment IS the beginning point for instruction, not simply the end” (Volante et al., 2018).
​In closing, I can't help but to think of the conversations that can be inspired when we take collective action to improving student learning. As this blog is a means for readers to network and gradually change the context for how they teach and learn, we all benefit by drawing nearer to the perspectives shared here and shared beyond with our professional learning networks.
​
I am more than happy to collaborate with you and make our learning visible, here, in this blog and across Flipping the Focus' social media platforms, as well as your own. I
f at any time, you have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me at Flipping the Focus. 

Sincerely,

Chris Stewart
Education Leader, Flipping the Focus (c) 2019
CONTACT
BOOK CHRIS

6. References
Causarano, J., & Coulombe, H. (2018, September 14). The Assessment Loop: Merging Assessment and Instruction. Retrieved January 29, 2019, from https://harnessassessment.com/2018/09/04/the-assessment-loop-merging-assessment-and-instruction/


Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario’s Schools. (2010). Toronto: Ministry of Education.
​

Volante, L., et al. (2019, January 24). Culturally-Responsive Teaching in a Globalized World. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/culturally-responsive-teaching-in-a-globalized-world-109881
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When It Comes to Learning, What Does Success Mean?

1/10/2019

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Welcome back to Flipping the Focus.

In the last post, I posed a number of questions for our consideration--some of them pertaining to student voice (below).

How do we come to know our students? What lessons do they bring?

Today, we continue to surface examples where change--real change--can be inspired and driven by student voice.
Students looking at a laptop together
A) Introduction
In recent years, we’ve been hearing about and espousing the importance of having and enacting a growth mindset. A growth mindset, according to Dweck (2006) is based on the belief that intelligence is not fixed...that each person can move beyond their current level of skill through hard work and determination. Developing this mindset goes beyond belief: it manifests in how we respond to challenges and setbacks.
Generally, those with a growth mindset are curious to stretch themselves by learning something new: success is borne of their efforts to confronting challenges and making progress. Feelings of success are drawn just as much--if not more--from the process of learning than its results.
Getting ‘there’...towards success...requires that students have a clear understanding of the criteria for success; contribute to their construction; and have opportunities to putting them into action. Equally- important and coincident with their use is the opportunity to receive descriptive feedback from teachers and peers and to engage in self-assessment against these criteria. With ongoing, descriptive feedback, students are better able to monitor their progress towards learning goals--making adjustments, accordingly, and subsequently, are positioning themselves to setting new goals (Growing Success, 2010).
Growing Assessment
The very nature of “Getting ‘there’” is derived from Formative Assessment and ”...requires a culture in which student and teacher learn together in a collaborative relationship” (Growing Success, p30). The reciprocal relationship, as described through the example of co-constructing criteria (above) can also be grown, in part, by encouraging students to persevere through their own learning processes (some of these, experimental) and talking about challenges as they arise (Student Voice, 2013).
Paul Tough (2012) shares that teaching and mentorship can help students achieve a shift in their mindset through the use of skills like critical thinking and problem solving. For example, metacognition--the process of thinking about how one learns--can be empowering to students, helping them to increase their engagement for continuous learning.
The experimental nature of collaboratively setting, working towards and reflecting upon goals is a common means by which districts, schools and classrooms are making gains in achievement, increasing student engagement and supporting student well-being across Ontario. Modeling this process, on a smaller scale--i.e., at the student-level--can prove to have the same impact on a student’s learning; set an example for a student’s peers; and inform school-level improvement planning (Flipping the Focus 2018a, 2018b). Drawn from Ontario’s Well-Being Strategy (2016), engaging in collaborative inquiry can equitably and respectfully support the cognitive and emotional domains of all students--each student presenting different backgrounds, strengths, needs and interests.
B) A Collaborative Inquiry into Developing a Growth Mindset
In early December (2018), Chris Harrison (@MrCHarrison) and I engaged the #MTBoS (MathTwitterBlogosphere; image, below) in ideating strategies that would support one of his students. This student--very high-achieving in Mathematics--was struggling with responding to performance setbacks.
Beyond the #MTBoS, as colleagues both from the Upper Canada DSB, we began to generate ideas of how we could leverage collaborative problem solving to supporting the development of his student’s non-cognitive skills--in particular, resiliency. The anticipated result is to support the student in being better equipped to responding to performance setbacks. As mentioned in the introduction, this type of work is grounded in inquiry and is best framed using a monitoring process known as a Cycle of Inquiry (Ideas into Action, 2013). Cycles of Inquiry are broken down into four, key phases: Plan, Act, Assess, and Reflect.
Tweet by Chris Harrison to #MTBoS
Through these phases, documentation of student learning is used to guide conversations about how the inquiry is progressing and if adjustments need to be made moving forward. And through the involvement of a variety of collaborators, the learning from such an inquiry is not only a benefit to the student but can be far-reaching--i.e., supporting the learning of the student's peers, school-level teaching practices and both teaching and learning abroad.
C) Resources to Supporting Your Inquiry
 
In the next part of this post, you'll have access to some resources that you can adapt to empowering students to using their voice in school improvement practices. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact Flipping the Focus (see right).
CONTACT
BOOK CHRIS
Each conversation, along with the in-between work of such an inquiry, is framed in the context of student improvement. Coincident with recognizing a student’s learning needs is that our own: the process also helps you to determine how to best provide support while honoring student voice.
Resource: Appendix A-​Student Success Inquiry
DOWNLOAD-APPENDIX A
Resource: Appendix B-Student Monitoring Template
DOWNLOAD-APPENDIX B
D) Final Thoughts
In closing, I hope that you find the shared resources helpful and, in advance, I would like to thank you for sharing your insights. I can't help but to think of the conversations that can be inspired when we take collective action to improving student learning.
​
As this blog is a means for readers to network and gradually change the context for how they teach and learn, we all benefit by drawing nearer to the perspectives shared here and shared beyond with our professional learning networks.
​
I am more than happy to collaborate with you and make our learning visible, here, in this blog and across Flipping the Focus' social media platforms, as well as your own.

Contact Flipping the Focus to see how we can work together towards achieving your goals.
CONTACT
BOOK CHRIS
Professionally Yours,

Chris Stewart, OCT
Education Lead, Flipping the Focus, (c) 2018

E) References
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books.

Tough, P. (2012). How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character. London: Arrow Books.

Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario’s Schools: Grades 1 to 12. (2010). Toronto: Ministry of Education.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2013). Ideas Into Action: For School and System Leaders (Bulletin #5 - Using Data: Transforming Potential into Practice). Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/leadership/ideasintoactionbulletin5.pdf

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2016, May). Ontario's Well-Being Strategy: Discussion Paper. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/WBDiscussionDocument.pdf
​

Ontario Ministry of Education, Literacy & Numeracy Secretariat. (2013). Student Voice: Transforming Relationships (34th ed., Capacity Building Series, pp. 1-8).

Stewart, C. (2018a, February 13). Students as Researchers [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://flippingthefocus.weebly.com/blog/category/students-as-researchers

Stewart, C. (2018b, March 2). Creating Conditions for Occasioning Thinking & Supporting Student Well-Being in Mathematics Classrooms [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://flippingthefocus.weebly.com/blog/creating-conditions-for-occasioning-thinking-supporting-student-well-being-in-mathematics-classrooms
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“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

8/26/2018

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Welcome back to Flipping the Focus.

Today's post blends the introduction of Episode 3 (#K12 podcast series: "Shifting from Professional Collaboration to Collaborative Professionalism") with an equally-important message. This message is not only about planning and implementing your start-up this year, but also about how we seek to be thinking and interacting with one another during the course of our collaborative work.
Introducing...The Message

Relationships are vitally important to cultivating educational communities that effectively serve the needs of all stakeholders.

Like the African Proverb, in the title of today's post, building relational trust is key to any other form of leadership you intend to enact in managerial and/or instructional capacities. 

You might think that this is inherent--already understood and a hallmark of the collaborative work underway in our leadership (formal and/or informal) practice.
Picture
Fig. 1 Actions supporting collaborative professionalism
I would challenge us to think differently about what might be a characteristic attribute of our interactions with others: Think differently, as our context for working with and supporting others is continuously shifting.
Recognizing a Challenge: A Theory of Action for Relationship-Building
As I move into a new professional role this year, I have been taking some time to reflect and understand what has gone into/is going into building relationships in my professional learning network. To deepen my ability to relate to others, if I start with gratefulness and expressing it more often, I might come to know how I need to be for others that their values 'shine through.' In a reciprocal manner, by expressing and honoring these values, we will be cultivating stronger, collaborative cultures--those that shift from professional collaboration to Collaborative Professionalism.
Taking Action on a Theory of Action-Step 1
In the context of my external, professional learning network, I took a sample of Tweeps across two, Twitter profiles and focused not only how I came to know them and/or what we have done, but I took the time to consider how we interact, what they've done in support of my efforts, and/or how they make me feel.

Below, I've included a small sample of comments. If you consider the embedded pdf (or file attachment), you'll come across a few more.

Sample Comments
I'm grateful that you/we...
  • Have been a consistent, early supporter of Flipping the Focus' mission to optimize learning by facilitating those interactions—be they f2f, blended or digital—to take teachers’ and PLC's improvement efforts from good to great ​
  • Have one another for collaboration. We both value the importance of asking good questions, facilitating and making spaces for others to think...always encouraging the participation of others​
  • Have always supported my work as a classroom teacher, coach and voice in Ontario Education
recognizing_a_challenge-_a_theory_of_action_for_relationship-building.pdf
File Size: 82 kb
File Type: pdf
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Taking Action on a Theory of Action-Step 2
Now that I've identified these acts, I need to further engage gratefulness by expressing it to each of the individuals from the sample taken. By doing so, I can effectively provide each person with an opportunity to express their own gratefulness and to give ourselves more opportunities to support one another and to collaborate on future projects.
Assessing Impact-Step 3
How am I going? How are we going? What does our success look like?

​What should our success criteria be for cultivating collaborative cultures--much of it starting by expressing our gratitude for one another? Invariably, we will all have our own perspectives on this...collaboration is contextual...it's personal. Everyone (or every team, for example) collaborates differently (Hargreaves & O'Connor, 2018). If we are to collectively anchor into something that is characteristic of success, then we will be...
  • engaging more often in co-creation
  • producing & celebrating work, communications, reflections, etc. that unequivocally espouse more WE than I/ME
  • driving our own professional learning (a characteristic of "Collaborative Professionalism," Hargreaves & O'Connor, 2018)
​Through the coaching and facilitation of professional learning I engage in this year, I will be focused on enacting these criteria, as well as co-creating additional markers of successful collaboration with those I serve. As identified by Kraft & Blazar (2018), coaching can have a significant impact upon educator practice, and in turn, this can impact student learning outcomes.

CONSIDER THIS: What's your perspective on success criteria for cultivating and sustaining collaborative cultures? Share your comments to this post.

#K12 Podcast Series-EPISODE 3: Shifting from Professional Collaboration to Collaborative Professionalism
At the outset of this post, I mentioned that I would be blending the podcast with the topic of expressing gratefulness. Largely, I've chosen to do this because of the intersection between the expression of gratefulness and building collaborative cultures. Above, I also indicated the importance of and potential impact of coaching (e.g., professional and/or peer) to improving our own educational practice. 

As you complete today's post (and related exploration and/or reflection), I would encourage you to listen to Episode 3 (of 4...Episode 4 this Fall) in the "Shifting from Professional Collaboration to Collaborative Professionalism" podcast series. Although related closely to Episodes 1 and 2, in Episode 3 you’ll here the perspectives of a provincial, instructional coach (or Student Achievement Officer, SAO) as they describe some of the conditions they identified as being necessary for growing cultures of collaboration in teacher, professional learning communities.


​For your convenience, the interview from ​Flipping the Focus’ YouTube channel has been embedded, below. In support of your viewing, a transcript (pdf) of the interview has also been provided, below.
Transcript: Interview
may_24_interview_re__collaboration_c_stewart___sao.pdf
File Size: 107 kb
File Type: pdf
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Final Thoughts
  • As you continue thinking about the start of the school year, consider the messages in Episode 3--shared by an instructional coach. Coaches build relationships in unique 'spaces'--spaces where there are opportunities for engaging in frequent observation and feedback.​
  • Take a look at some of the actions in Figure 1: Do you incorporate these into your ongoing work with others? Reflect upon those things that others have done (are doing and continuing to do) in supporting you.
  • Start with gratefulness; express yourself; and determine how you will serve the needs of others in your leadership.
Concluding...The Message

How do I need to be that my core values 'shine through' for others?
​
What can I do to build strong, collaborative cultures amongst those I serve?

In closing, I encourage you to comment to this blog and/or share your own experiences with building relational trust, cultivating collaborative communities, and/or working with the Coherence Framework ​(Fullan & Quinn, 2016).

I am more than happy to collaborate with you and feature our learning, here, in this blog and across 
Flipping the Focus' social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram at FlippingtheFocus and
Twitter @flip4change), as well as those of your own.

Contact Flipping the Focus to see how we can work with you and your organizational improvement plans and processes.
Contact
Book Your Event
Professionally Yours,

Chris Stewart, OCT
Founder & Educational Consultant, Flipping the Focus (c) 2018
Student Achievement Officer (on secondment from the Upper Canada DSB to the Ontario Ministry of Education)

References
Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). Coherence: The right drivers in action for schools, districts, and systems. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

Fullan, M., & Quinn, J. (2016, January). Coherence Making: How Leaders Cultivate the Pathway for School and System Change with a Shared Process. School Administrator, 30-34. Retrieved from https://www.scoe.org/files/Fullan_Quinn.pdf
​
Hargreaves, A & O’Connor, M.T. (2018). Seminar Series 274: Leading Collaborative Professionalism, Centre for Strategic Education, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Retrieved from http://www.andyhargreaves.com/online-reports--monographs.html 

Kraft, M. A., & Blazar, D. (2018, August 09). Taking Teacher Coaching To Scale: Can Personalized Training Become Standard Practice? Retrieved from https://www.educationnext.org/taking-teacher-coaching-to-scale-can-personalized-training-become-standard-practice/
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creating conditions for occasioning thinking & Supporting student well-being in mathematics classrooms

3/2/2018

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Welcome back to Flipping the Focus.

In the last post, a detailed look was taken at one means through which school improvement teams could enact their 'How.' For your consideration, a developing series of tools & resources (i.e., for additional learning) have been posted here.

Recently, as set in the context of supporting student and professional learning, a colleague and I were considering strategies to getting to the 'What' of school improvement in a Grade 9 Mathematics class. For contextual purposes, this time of year in Ontario marks the beginning of semester 2 courses, leading up to Spring Break: the perfect time to looking upon students' past learning experiences and contemplating how to increase student engagement moving forward.

As per their school's goal in Mathematics, the importance of students improving their confidence in self-assessment (i.e., in relation to success criteria) had been identified. With this in mind, we set our minds to contemplating the collaborative inquiry we might engage in to helping students come to the knowledge that 'they can?' 

"Yes, I Can!"
A recent publication, "Yes, I Can!," published by the Ontario Ministry of Education (pdf, below) portrays the multi-faceted nature of approaching such problems of practice (i.e., identifying the components necessary to building student well-being through mathematics).

On page 6, one of the key learnings of a five-year inquiry in the Province of Ontario is that
"[s]tudent self-assessment is linked to student well-being." 
​

We know that students require mathematical experiences where they are engaging in uncovering and authoring criteria necessary for understanding and solving problems. And by interacting with descriptive feedback, relating and acting out upon feedback in relation to criteria for success, students become more adept at self-assessment--i.e., knowing what 'good' looks like and when it is achieved.

​It follows that the more experience a student has in developing confidence in their self-assessments, the more capable they become in setting goals for their learning and monitoring achievement of these goals.
Picture
Ontario's Vision for the Mathematics Learner
Picture
The Pedagogical System for the Teaching & Learning of Mathematics
pedagogical_system_for_reflective_practice.pdf
File Size: 449 kb
File Type: pdf
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Returning to the previous statement concerning the correlation between student self-assessment and well-being, "...students [come] to see themselves as successful mathematics students, particularly when they [have] problems that they [are] allowed to approach in many different ways" (Yes, I can!, p7).

Monograph: Yes, I can! Paying Attention to Well-Being in the Mathematics Classroom
yes-i-can.pdf
File Size: 2377 kb
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Connections to Well-Being

Returning to the professional discussions with my colleague (i.e., How might we help students come to the knowledge that 'they can?'), it became clear, in part, that we need to use
 problems where students are allowed to approach solutions in many different ways.

Other considerations for creating a space more conducive for students to build their self-confidence are described below.
Picture
Making the Mathematics Well-Being Connection (Yes, I Can!, 2018)

Thinking Classrooms
Recently, a framework for enacting pedagogical practices that can engage both teachers and their students in occasioning worthwhile tasks, developing responsive classroom environments, culturing classroom discourse, and use of tools and representations for thinking is that of "Thinking Classrooms" (see Dr. Peter Liljedahl's summary on Edutopia and 2017 OAME Leadership Conference keynote for background).

This framework presents an interesting opportunity to engage the four, pedagogical practices above, as well as enacting the recommendations made by researchers (i.e., those identified (above) for building student well-being, thus bringing the vision of the mathematics learner to light--for both student and teacher.

With current research recommendations, our professional practice, a keen desire to know and support our learners, and a school-level inquiry into the impact of students' self-confidence upon their achievement in mathematics, we had much to go on in setting directions with students to teaching and learning in ways that might better serve both teachers and students.

Picture
Pedagogical practices present in Thinking Classrooms

Getting Started with a Thinking Classroom in MFM 1P: Observations & Reflections
In this section, you'll notice that our observations, reflections, and considerations for developmental next steps have been provided (pdf, below). Further along, a slideshow has been built in (ppt included for download) to provide further context as to how we went about conducting our lessons for the first, two days of our journey into a #thinkingclassroom. 

The lesson elements, observations, reflection and developmental next steps (i.e., for students and ourselves) are also linked to both the four domains of the pedagogical system and where these elements might also occur in a lesson using guided inquiry (stages of Before, During, After) through the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions. 

File: Our Observations & Reflections from Days 1 & 2
journeying_into_introducing_vnps___vrg_in_gr_9_applied_math_days_1___2.pdf
File Size: 771 kb
File Type: pdf
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Slideshow: Making Space for You & Your Peers to Think Mathematically
File: Sample PPT Lesson
collaborative_problem_solving_in_mathematics_thinking_classrooms_an_introduction.pptx
File Size: 31340 kb
File Type: pptx
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Some Final Thoughts
In reflection, the experience for both teachers and students over these two days lead to considering what is possible when we work collaboratively to culture #thinkingclassroom environments that engage the four domains of the pedagogical system.

As co-teachers, we did just that: planned and taught together. We experienced an excellent 'back-and-forth:' What was invisible to one of us was made visible by the other. When we made 'moves,' we not only explained them to one another, but we modeled this for students and explained why we were making them. We openly shared our reflections and invited input from students about process and what we might consider doing differently. We were empowered by students to facilitate their learning because we had access to their ongoing and developing thinking...we were (all of us) engaged in assessment for learning.

For students, we (in a short time), engaged them in considering learning through a non-traditional manner (e.g., rich/open problems, collaborative work with #vnps, and making visible & discussing their thinking to uncovering what was important...meaningful). And most significantly, we noted how quickly their knowledge was mobilized, noticed and referenced by others using this type of classroom setting.

As per classroom discourse, this is an area of great interest and development for us.

What value do we see in/place on it?
What value do students assign to it?
Altogether, if we value it, how will we co-construct and enact principles for occasioning it?


In short, teachers and administrators recognize that for many classroom types to thrive (e.g., #thinkingclassroom, #flipclass, #blendedlearning), both teachers and students need to engage in making and discussing their thinking in a visible manner; that is, we need to respectfully occasion and remain within spaces of argumentation where we are productively reasoning and proving one another's conjectures to derive a deepened sense of mathematical understanding and ability to solve problems--supporting both the individual and the group. In these 'spaces,' we have the potential to gain traction in creating and sustaining vibrant, mathematical communities. 

And in relation to this class, our collaboration, and this school's improvement processes--where students see themselves as assessment-capable and confident learners--we are laying the groundwork for supporting students' well-being. Through these types of experiences, students can come to the understanding that 'they can' and that 'we can', too.
​

Some Questions for Your Reflection

-How have you helped/are helping students occasion thinking in mathematics such that they come to know that 'they can'?

-How have you worked/are working with school teams to create/creating an understanding that 'we can'? How are you taking action on this understanding?

-What elements of the #thinkingclassroom (or other classroom) are you and your students working on? What has been the impact upon student learning and your 'moves' as an educator?

-What are you wondering about student-centered approaches to teaching and learning? Student-centered leadership?


In closing, I hope that you have not only found this post informative but supportive towards how you can better address your face-to-face time with students, colleagues, and/or network partners, as you engage in exploring your professional and school improvement practices that can be potential 'game-changers' for student achievement, equity and well-being.

Be sure to check the blog and/or website, periodically, for updates regarding a depository of  several tools & resources to help you in your teaching and/or instructional leadership journeys. 

​

​Professionally Yours,

Chris Stewart, OCT
Learning Partner, Upper Canada District School Board
Founder & Educational Consultant, Flipping the Focus
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    I am passionate about leadership for learning and teaching and learning through inquiry. Through collaborative exploration of high-yield, pedagogical strategies, I have been able to further engage students to deepen their learning and fellow educators in continuously growing their practice--Flipped Learning, Thinking Classrooms, and culturing Student Voice as examples.  I hope that this site serves you well in your educational journey through teaching and learning by moving professional learning into your time ... your space. If you have questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Chris Stewart (OCT).

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    Disclaimer
    ​The discussion, information, and materials provided in this online space do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), Ontario Association of Mathematics Educators (OAME), Ontario Ministry of Education (MoE), the University of Windsor (Faculty of Education), and their affiliates. This online space is intended to provide its readers and/or contributors with opportunities to learn about and share, respectively, information about teaching & learning. The UCDSB, OAME, MoE, UWindsor, and their affiliates do not guarantee the accuracy and appropriateness of the content posted. Aside from the moderators' posts, Flipping the Focus does not guarantee the accuracy of the comments and/or information posted by contributors. The moderators have the right to remove and will remove any content that they deem inappropriate or offensive. Questions regarding the information posted can be directed to the site's moderators using the contact form provided (below).

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