#McSpeddenNews
Curriculum Updates and Celebrations
Problem Solving: Focus on Questioning
Teachers campus wide have all now been trained on using/implementing LoneSTAAR problem solving. As we work on building our craft, learning from one another and sharing what is successful with our students is one way that we can support our campus mission of Inspiring Many. If you would like to visit other classrooms on a learning walk for problem solving, please touch base with me and we will get a walk scheduled.
As we are in the beginning stages of implementing this tool with the younger grades, keep in mind that the goal of problem solving is for students to grapple with the information and for us to lead them with questioning to unpack the problem situation (determine importance, make connections,etc) and guide them to using effecient strategies to solve.
When focusing on the teacher behavior of questioning- many questions from the FISD Teaching Through Problem Solving text, have shown students to relate new problems to problems they have solved/seen in the past, dissect their new learning, and determine what tools/strategies helped them successfully complete the problems.
Some key questions to begin using are the Before, During and After questions handout provided as well as the questions in the Teacher Guide.
Formative Assessment Analysis and Discussion Tool
Pictured below is an analysis tool created by Mrs. Kopil that is supporting the 2nd grade team as they prepare for Data Discussions on formative assessment that they have created for their students. After giving the common formative assessment to all students, teachers reflect on student behaviors and work provided and answer the guiding statements before coming together to discuss as a team. They have found that this tool is helpful in supporting meaningful conversations about data and allows the focus to remain on student and teacher behaviors to move students forward.
Guiding statements...
1. After looking at the formative assessment some things I noticed were:
2.My next steps will be (next steps for strugglers, bubble students and advanced performers)
3. Some things I am still wondering are:
Kagan Structures in Action
As we work to support FISD's Big 3 of Student Achievement, cooperative learning structures are a helpful tool in addressing student engagement in classroom lessons, while providing positive interdependence, individual accountability, encouraging equal participation and positive interactions amoung classmates.
Featured in the video below is a Kagan structure called Fan-N-Pick. Students in the video are questioning their classmates using premade cards, allowing think and response time, coaching one another to provide clarity/support for the questions and celebrating with praise when students correctly answers.
Thank you Mrs. Gilder for welcoming us in to learn from your students!