Coaching Tips
Weekly Coaching Tips from Bray
QSSSA and Write Around
This newsletter is based on your feedback from the faculty meeting regarding the above strategies.
Why is QSSSA beneficial?
1. Allows students to verbally respond to answers with justification.
2. Students are asked to step outside of their comfort zone into the "learning" zone.
3. This strategy holds all students accountable.
4. Touches on TELPAS: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
5. Creates processing and wait time.
6. Allows students to hear other responses and correct misconceptions before answering in writing.
7. It helps students to organize their thoughts.
How can I use QSSSA in my classroom?
2. Use the process in conjunction with the mini-lesson before sending them to independent work
3. Solving for the variable
4. Using it in conjunction with Pythagorean theorem
5. Discussion of reading passages
6. Review activities for a test
7. Multi-step processing problems
Challenges with QSSSA
1. Set transition expectations beforehand.
2. Walk the room to ensure on task behavior.
3. 100% participation (what to do if a student doesn't know how to respond)
4. Create your own way to pair the students instead of them choosing a partner.
5. Choose a question that has some weight. This strategy takes time, so choosing the best question is necessary.
6. When you have numerous students in an area (gym) possibly do this activity within a station.
How can I use the Write Around Structure in my classroom?
2. Have students use this to build schema through trips they may have been on and experiences they may have: generate writing ideas.
3. Elaboration and review of concepts
4. Have 1 type of question and the students do the 1st step and then trade and solve the next part of a new problem.
5. Summarizing
6. Topic ideas: biotic/abiotic, competition, etc.
Challenges with the Write Around structure
1. Set expectations.
2. Use a variety of signals.
3. Monitor students who may procrastinate to not participate.
4. Try the activity with an easy topic in order to get the steps of the structure firmly taught.
5. Pre-teach or display vocabulary that may assist in the writing process.
6. Make questions or topics ahead of time.
7. Choose topics that have weight and importance to your content.
8. If each student in the group uses a different color, a teacher can identify who did not participate or who had misconceptions to be addressed in small group.