ACE Newsletter
November 10, 2019
Dear ACE Family,
It has been a great 12 weeks with student learning at an all time high. We are seeing such rich teaching with everyone modeling great think alouds for students.
We are also becoming masters of engaging ALL students so that they do the cognitive lifting as they grapple with concepts and make sense of the content. This is a great moment to take advantage of Show Call and highlight student work and dialogue about different ways they are processing the information they are engaging with.
As you enter your next six weeks before the semester ends...think of creative ways to engage every student and check for understanding of ALL students. Look beyond the 2-3 hands and provide response opportunities that allows every student to respond to demonstrate their learning. Intentionally call on students out of place to summarize their turn and talks and think pair share moments.
And most importantly, celebrate your students every chance you get! Look for ways to affirm them, build their confidence, encourage them to take risks and reflect on their effort. November is the month of Thanksgiving....gratitude is demonstrate not in large, grandiose moments but in the small every day moments that you can make a person's day and show that you care!
Best wishes for a wonderful six weeks of learning!
-ACE Core Team
Checking for Understanding Using Show Call!
There are so many ways Show Call can be used to check for understanding and clarify misconceptions.
Here are three ways Show Call can be incorporated into your classroom in a creative way to check for understanding:
1. Misconception Check
In this classroom, the teacher prepares a sample of work that highlights a common misconception. The students work in pairs to determine where there is a problem in the work based on the learning from the day. In this way, the teacher is able to be sure 100% of students are clear and do not fall for these misconceptions before they are asked to demonstrate their understanding independently.
2. ShowBiz
In this classroom, the teacher has created a daily routine prior to releasing students to independent practice that highlights a student's work. The teacher actively monitors during the Peer Practice for a sample to showcase and students celebrate the great things they see in that particular student work sample. Students look forward to this daily routine to celebrate each other and reinforce their learning.
3. Feedback on Deck
In this classroom, a teacher has students write their response on their desk using a dry erase marker then has students rotate once to give a polish then rotate once more to give a praise. They then return back to their seats to read their feedback and make final adjustments in their journal before submitting to their teacher.
There are so many ways Show Call can be implemented as a way to drive student learning through the roof in a culture of celebration and feedback with the classroom being a safe place to take risks.
Show Call Tips: Here are a few tips when getting ready to introduce this to your students.
Tip#1: Roll out this practice by explaining the purpose and the ways this will benefit your scholars to both confirm and challenge their thinking. Practice the ways they will respond to seeing their work and others.
Tip#2: Show Calls work best when you are looking for a conceptual misconception to punch or clarify! Make your Show Call meaty by planning the show call for the hardest part of the lesson.
Tip #3: Think about the follow up to the Show Call by planning key questions to stamp the learning. Intentionally circulate during the discourse to students you were not sure have the learning down...use habits of discussion to have students build on each others answers during the conversation regarding the student work.
*Other Samples of Show Call in Action!
Leadership Focus: Balancing Relationships with High Expectations
How Do You Enable Others to Act While Also Challenging the Process?
What does it mean it Challenge the Process?
"Challenge the Process does not mean challenge the values or standards, just because uncompromising integrity or flawless quality are too hard to live by. It does not mean attacking other people when we don't agree with their ideas or points of view. Nor does it mean seeking to dismantle what is working well, or attempting to eliminate something that is simply a personal inconvenience for you.
Challenge the Process is about finding and implementing new and better ways of doing things in order to constantly improve to grow." -Steve Coats
This takes Courage and Care!
Courage. Encourage. Two words, same origin. Heart. You gotta have heart. Miles and miles and miles of it. There's no bravery or boldness without heart. There's no spirit or support without heart. There's no sacrifice or soul without heart. Nothing great ever gets done without heart. You gotta have heart.
And at the heart of leadership is caring. Without caring, leadership has no purpose. And without showing others that you care and what you care about, other people won't care about what you say or what you know. As a relationship, leadership requires a connection between leaders and their constituents over matters, in the simplest sense, of the heart. It is personal and it is interpersonal.
We need heart because the struggle to the top is arduous. Our research tells us that is we're going to make it to the summit we need someone shouting in our ear, "Come on, you can do it. I know you can do it!" It's not something we easily admit-a lot of times we think we can do it alone. But we all really do need encouragement. Encouragement boosts performance, strengthens our resolve, and improves our health. Otherwise, why perform to an audience? Why not just sing to an empty room, play to an empty arena, or sell only to yourself? We need the applause and knowing that we're connecting to others in order to do out best. We need the enthusiasm and the energy from others.
We need to feel connected to others and, in turn, they to us, because greatness is never achieved all by ourselves-alone. Encouraging the Heart is the leadership practice that connects us with one another. It signals and documents that we're in "this" together-whatever this project, program, campaign, neighborhood, congregation, division, and so on, may be. Social capital joins financial and intellectual capital as the necessary ingredients for organizational success. In creating social capital leaders encourage the heart so that people will want to be with and for one another. When leaders commend individuals for achieving the values or goals of the organization, they give them courage, inspiring them to experience their own ability to deliver-even when the pressure is on. When we recognize women and men for their contributions we expand their awareness of their value to the organization and to their co-workers, imparting a sense of connectedness that, being social animals, all humans seek. While we may all be connected, leaders make sure that we're in touch.
ACE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Leadership Team Thursday: December 5th
We are having our next Leadership Team Thursday on December 5th. We will connect on how we enable others to act while also challenging the process through encouraging the heart!
We are also excited to announce we will be rolling out our Leadership Badge System!!! We will share the steps to earning your leadership badges--you don't want to miss this:)
When: December 5th
Who: ACE 2.0 & 3.0 Teacher Leaders, CICs, APs, and Principals
Time: 3:30-6:30 pm
Location: Cesar Chavez Learning Center (*NEW LOCATION)
What to bring:
- Laptop
- Leadership binder
- Dare to Lead book
- The Leadership Challenge book