Enhancing Written Summaries- Training

ENHANCING SUMMARIES

I MP R O V E C

O M M U N I CAT I O

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U S I NG W

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The power of conversation

Teachers see their practice

through our words. In formal observations, through spoken AND written words.

In informals, only through written words: informal summaries.

The teacher should make a consertive effort to plan for consistently communicating instructional outcomes. Serveral students were asking "What do I do now?“ There were other parts of the lesson the teacher should of captalized on to maximize every learning opportunity for students.

Useful Framework Rubric language

positive first, if possible “give” before you “take”

+ Evidence to support

specific evidence link cause and effect

+ Suggestion offer results-oriented

suggestion link cause and effect

About Tone Negative transitions Mindreading Judgment Harp on one thing

Purpose: Improve communication using writing strategies

Reflectio

n!

Specific details sell reality.

-- Matt Robertshttp://www.getmewriting.com/nuts-and-bolts-of-writing/specificity/

Without concrete facts they might think that you are just making the whole thing up,

or at least exaggerating.

-- Chris Garrett

The Persuasive Power of Specificity. Copyblogger.com

Evidence scripting = what you see and hear, without writing positive or negative inferences or judgments from what we see and hear

• Allows us to analyze what we see as opposed to inserting our own idea of effective instruction

• Helps us search for cause and effect relationships between what we observe teachers and students doing and what students actually know and are able to do as a consequence

Adapted from Elmore, Instructional Rounds in Education, Chapter 4

To support our claims – our rubric language – in Summaries, we have to include evidence.

Rubric language = claim

Statements that a teacher performs a certain teaching skill or carries out a certain pattern in his or her instruction.

Examples of claims:

• She communicated high expectations for learning.

• The teacher has made an effort to establish standards of conduct.

• Rubric language

The teacher circulated.

This statement is a claim. Claims do not provide sufficient context or evidence to help teachers “see” their classrooms.

How do we determine the level of effectiveness of the teacher’s walking among the students

The teacher circulated.

To include more specific evidence, answer questions such as:Is the teacher monitoring student

understanding or student behavior?

Does the teacher talk with students? If so, what is the conversation?

The teacher circulated.

As the teacher circulated among table groups, she asked each group 1 to 6 questions. “What does the red dye represent?” “What does the bread represent?”

Peers include evidence in a variety of ways, including

Rubric language then evidenceor

Evidence bulleted underneath rubric language

orEvidence imbedded into rubric language

Link cause and effect to make a more powerful visual.Students in the back were starting to whisper and move around.

The teacher needs to know what caused that to happen.

Was it the structure of the lesson? The pacing? The rigor? Procedures?

Claim = The learning task had to be clarified.

Evidence = Multi-step directions were given verbally by the teacher. Most students were unable to begin the assignment . The teacher had to repeat directions as she circulated.

Use cause and effect to provide amore powerful visual for the teacher.

Give and Take

Give and Take

The teacher asked many questions, with some designed to promote student thinking, and made effective use of wait time. Only students who volunteered were selected to respond. This impacted participation by allowing students to opt out. All questions were asked teacher to student, Learning would be enhanced if….

Give

Take

Suggest

“Any time change feels daunting, we’ll try to dodge it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about personal change or organizational change or societal change. In situations like this, where the change feels too big, we’ve got to shrink it, so it feels more manageable.”

-- Chip Heath and Dan HeathAuthors of Switch

When you set small, visible goals, and people achieve them,

they start to get it into their heads that they can succeed.

-- Chip Heath and Dan Heath Authors of Switch

Big changes can start with very small steps. Small changes tend to snowball.

-- Chip Heath and Dan Heath Authors of Switch

Suggestions: Answer the teacher’s question, “Where can I go from here?”

What can that teacher do tomorrow to have a positive impact on student learning?

What’s one strategy the teacher can try tomorrow?

Specific idea relevant to evidence Make them feel they can succeed.

Informal Summary Examples in Word

Use Comments to ID rubric language, evidence, cause/effect, etc.

Emailed to you as First Class attachment.Instructions are in the email.

Timer Please work on summary examples,

individually or as a group, then take a break.

At 9:45, we’ll start the last part of the session.

*Timer is hyperlink from online-stopwatch.com. Download NOT recommended due to ad content.