Yesterday I shared my goals, rationale, and action plan with my supervisor. Now I'll move forward with meeting those goals.
The first goal is to teach math so that the majority of students gain math mastery in all fifth grade standards. The action plan includes the following steps, steps which I'll track in the year ahead.
Many of the steps for this goal were completed over the summer and during the first six weeks of school:
- Begin year with a focus on team building, growth mindset, optimal learning-to-learn behaviors, and cultural proficiency with activities such as "What's Your Number?," "Birthday Graphs," "Jo Boaler Ted-Talk" since research shows that children who feel like part of the team and are welcome to the learning environment do better. Students completed this aspect of the learning.
- Assessment of 2016-2017 teaching/learning program with online learning data, MCAS, & unit tests looking for teaching/learning trends, successes, opportunities for change. A good analysis of last year's program helps to better this year's program. Last year's program pointed to tremendous success and opportunity. Success demonstrated that our growth scores for the grade level were among he highest int he state, far above the state average, and the majority of our students met or exceeded proficiency with math standards. Opportunities lie in the work we do with high risk students in the NM and PM categories. Assessment complete.
- Creation of data charts for 2017-2018 school year to track ongoing process. Charts made.
- Give assessments to collect early year and ongoing data including Track My Progress, Symphony Benchmark, and Facts Assessment to inform instruction. Assessments given to all but newest students.
- Introduce math tech use, reference, and study with the following Internet websites and pages: Math Tech page, Magnificent Math website, Learning Menu/Homework, TenMarks, Symphony Math, That Quiz, and an assortment of other approved standards-based math games and activities to support student independent and collective study at-home and in-school, and to serve as a family resource for all math learning and teaching. An infrastructure of online supports exist to help students and families access the curriculum and support student learning.
These are the goal-steps that will make-up the mainstay of the goal tending throughout the year.
- Teach all standards outlined in systemwide Grade 5 Scope and Sequence with a differentiated and blended approach in engaging, empowering ways. This is the current focus with great attention to daily learning experiences.
- Work with grade-level team and cross-system educators/leadership to develop successful teaching/learning strategies to meet this goal including Response to Intervention (RTI) data meetings and teaching efforts. This is another current focus as we work to support our diversity of learners.
- Use of unit booklet approach to provide students and parents with a ready study guide of standards, vocabulary, unit concepts, skills, and knowledge for each unit. I am developing this approach this year to support student learning.
- Assess ongoing learning through a number of regular assessments including the following: Track My Progress, Symphony Benchmark, Facts/Skills Assessments, and unit tests/quizzes to inform instruction.
We have already completed a number of steps related to this goal. As far as the research goes, w have tended to research on our own, then share the resources we've found with each other. The steps I've completed on my own or with the team so far include the following:
- Wrote and received summer work funding for the three grade-level teachers to further research and plan an orientation list of events to support greater cultural proficiency for two days each.
- Research: Read Emdin's book, For White Teachers Who Teach in the Hood . . ., and embed research into teaching/learning program.
- Attending the yearly METCO Picnic.
- Planned and attended an early-year orientation brunch for Boston resident students.
- Teaching/Learning: Planned and implemented a number of early-year, community building culturally proficient learning/identity activities including the following:
- Selfie Project: Project to share students' personal lives, interests, and experiences via collective project work and project displays.
- Smile Video: a positive video which presented family members and students with a video snapshot of students' initial teamwork and shared learning.
- Birthday Graph and What's Your Number Projects aimed at building community, students' knowledge of each other, early positive assessment of math attitudes/abilities, and positive relationships amongst students and teachers.
- Start of showcase portfolio efforts to help students build a practice of metacognition, self-knowledge, goal-setting, and self advocacy.
- Invite students to take part in fall and early spring parent-guardian-teacher conferences.
- History of People presentation to all classes which examines the evolution of skin shade, the history of learning, and obstacles that prevent learning. Specific attention to the fact that racism and prejudice of any kind is not allowed at the school. Signage that reiterates that message.
Efforts that we'll engage in on our own and together in the days to come include the following:
- More Research:
- Listen to Angela Watson podcast related to effective teaching of black boys: https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/principal-kafele/
- Read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and embed Coates' insights into the teaching/learning program.
- Use this article as a guide.
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| Culturally Proficient Teaching Leads to Equity |
- Plan and attend special meetings for parents, new students and students who are distanced geographically from the school including extra-help sessions before and after school.
- Plan and implement culturally proficient learning/identity activities throughout the year to build relationships, team, belonging, and success for all students including the following events:
- Visit Harvard Peabody Museum to learn about the ancient culture of Mayans, and creation of culture flags to build identity and respect for individual and collective culture.
- In the Heights play attendance and related teaching/learning with regard to geography, privilege, power, and perspective.
- Specific attention throughout the year to teaching in ways that invite all children to belong to the teaching/learning community. Using Emdin's research as a guide.
- Continue to plan a number of informal and formal reflections/assessments to understand what students need to inform the teaching/learning program.
- Stay in regular contact with families through newsletters, the website, emails, phone calls, and meetings to build the capacity of the teaching/learning team with the goal of successfully welcoming every child and building his/her holistic success related to the learning/teaching program.
Fortunately our shared teaching model at fifth grade allows me the time and space to focus in on these goals with depth and purpose. I'm sure as time moves along, I'll use this blog post to collect evidence and guide my practice with respect to these goals. I like this ongoing way of working with goals in actionable ways. I'll add the link to this post to my ePortfolio for ready reference and updating. In the meantime, let me know if you have anything to add.
