Influencing Change: Vital Behaviors

It's overwhelming to think of how Arlington has gotten to where we are.  I have written several posts on the things we have done that have led to many successes.   It's even more overwhelming to think of where we are going and how to get there. Where do we begin?

My question of where to begin is not a rhetorical question.  I, along with about 30 teachers, a principal, 2 counselors, and several other support staff members will be doing just that this fall.  The Johnson Crossing Academic Center will open for the first time in August and greet over 700 students whether we are ready or not.


In the book, "Influencer: The Power to Change Anything," the authors identify what they call "vital behaviors" (with this in mind, I am not an expert in the change process.  This post is more an exploration of the ideas of this book than a statement). The idea of vital behaviors is that a few behaviors make significant changes.  People who lead change have very specific behaviors in mind that need to be changed.  Instead of spouting generalities of educational jargon such as "best practices" or a "safe environment" specifics are needed. Behaviors are not to be confused with outcomes.

Successful Teachers-Vital Behaviors
The authors found 2 behaviors in teachers that have successful students.

1. Top performing teachers reward positive performance and bottom performing teachers become easily discouraged.

2. Top performing teachers quickly transition from teaching to questioning.  This leads to reteaching when a topic is not understood.

Influencing Change Through Vital Behaviors
To create the biggest change, you must find the behaviors that lead to the greatest change.  It's interesting that these are not unbelievable, overwhelming tasks that would be impossible for the average person to do.  Yet breaking it down to it's smallest component is not always easy when you are looking a big problems from close up.

Where to begin?
What we must do (the generalities): Create a caring environment, have high expectations, develop a collaborative learning environment, value 5th and 6th grade students, and on and on and on.

My starting point: I'm avoiding using "vital behaviors" because vital behaviors are research based.  I'm going a little bit on gut, a little on experience, and a little on research.  So I am just calling this my "starting point" behaviors.

1. Open dialogue - begin by meeting, interviewing, and getting to know each teacher and staff member.   Learn from them and share my beliefs.
2. Model caring behaviors - speak positively of students and parents every chance I get.
3. Speak of high expectations.

These are not unbelievable, overwhelming tasks to complete.  These are my 3 simple behaviors that I can do when facing a daunting challenge.

Where would you begin?
If you could start your own school, what vital behaviors do you find most important to the development of the kind of school you would want to send your child?  So literally, where to begin?  Where would you begin?

Building a Culture without Cracks

Developing a school culture that puts student academic success at the center of all decisions is crucial to a school’s success.  In the middle grades, it is important to develop the whole student.  Great schools don’t allow any student to fall through the cracks. 

1. A strong team or teams-Teams drive much of what we do in the middle school.  The purpose of the team must have student driven decisions. 

2. Kid Centered-When students are at the center of decisions rather than curriculum, everything else falls into place.

3. Never give up attitude-I believe that schools often tell parents and student why we can’t do something.  Instead of telling people what our limitations are as a school, why not explore all options that could help an individual student.

4. Putting Programs in Place-With a never give up attitude, it would be easy to get frustrated if programs aren’t in place to support teachers that never give up.  As an example, if zeroes are not an option, then set up programs to support this belief.

5. Developing a unified approach to student behavior-It is also important that the approach to student behavior fits the kid centered, never give up attitude.

Active and Purposeful Learning

The Association of Middle Level Educators identifies "active learning" as one of the 16 characteristics of a successful school for young adolescents.  To be successful, teachers and students must be actively engaged in learning.  Standardized testing is how we are held accountable but for learning to happen, students must be engaged individually, not a one size fits all/standard education for all.  So, it is our job as middle level educators to walk the balancing act of doing what is required of us through standardized testing and doing what is right for our students.  I believe that doing what is right for our students will in fact lead to better learners and therefore better test results as well.

• Create authentic learning opportunities-Meet students where they are.  Discussions have long been a way to engage students in authentic/active learning.  Recently, I have watched teachers use Edmodo or Moodle as a tool to get students to engage deeper in discussions.  Students can be assigned to participate in a discussion outside of class and then these discussions spill over into class where the teacher is able to actively participate and help students engage with the material.
• Involve students with extracurriculars-Recently our students completed the science fair.  This is a traditional but powerful way to engage students in science.  The learning that happens in these projects far exceeds the day to day learning that may happen through notes and lectures.  Students can also participate in National History Day, Math Counts, Quiz Bowl, and other such academic activities.  Another such activity that I was not familiar with until the last couple of years was Future Cities. Our students actively engage in creating a future city and have to use all kinds of academic skills to create these cities.
• Develop interdisciplinary projects-Our Middle School teachers regularly engage in interdisciplinary units.  These projects help our students see the application of each curriculum area outside of that classroom.  It is always nice to see students apply knowledge from one class in another curriculum area.
• Individualize for all students-It is normal to have IEP's for special education students.  What about your other students.  I am yet to meet "the normal student."  All students have strengths and we should be sure to focus on those strengths.  Often as we look at how to make all students proficient, it is easy to focus on weaknesses.  To become proficient is how a school is graded.  However, the student will not work as an adult in the area they are weakest.  In the adult world, we can hide our weaknesses and work within our areas of strength.  Let's prepare students for the real "real world" where strengths matter.
• Exploratory classes matter-Along the same line, don't forget about the non core classes.  Students learn a great deal from Music, PE, Humanities, Exploring Technology, Multimedia classes, etc.  These areas must be given attention.  If we believe that creating an education for the whole student makes for better learning, then don't narrow the focus just for the sake of doing well on a reading or math test.  Math and Reading are no doubt fundamental to students education.  To go from good to great, students must go beyond the fundamentals.  

These are just a few broad ideas of what is important to create active learning.  What do your schools/classrooms do to create an environment of "active learning" and "purposeful learning?"  I'd love to find out from you what you do to create a purposeful environment for your students that take your kids beyond the test. 

Valuing the Middle Level Student

The first characteristic of a successful school for young adolescents as described by "This We Believe" is: Educators value young adolescents and are prepared to teach them.  The Association of Middle Level Educators places this in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment part of the characteristics of successful schools.

What can be done to create a school where educators value young adolescents?  How can we know that teachers are prepared to teach young adolescents?

1.  School Culture-Create a school culture in which talking about students is done in a positive way. This starts at the top but doesn't end there.  Every person in the school should be an advocate for students.  When a teacher makes a joke about a kid-do you laugh?  If negative people don't have an audience, it becomes very uncomfortable for the comedian/teacher.  Take a stand for what you believe and when you do you will realize that most of the people who got into education got into it because they love kids.  You will find yourself in the majority once you take the stand that negativity about young adolescents has no place in a school.  Come with a solution to help a student, not a one liner to demean the student.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Contest

2.  Have fun with students.  Create times in the week to do something just to show that you value students.  We have an activity day during homeroom on Friday.  It probably doesn't have much academic value, but it can have a great deal of value of showing kids that you like them and want to be around them.  Last Friday our middle school completed a rock, paper, scissors contest.  I am pretty sure that this rock, paper, scissors knowledge they gained will not be on the Nebraska State Accountability tests.  However, I am also sure that the 15-20 minutes spent laughing and cheering with their classmates and teachers was not wasted time.

3.  Practices and Programs-Create programs and practices that show you appreciate students' effort.  Every student gets recognized at some point during the year with a "Soaring Eagle."  A Soaring Eagle is a note written by the principal to a student that shows appreciation for their attitude, behavior, and/or character.  The teacher submits a student's name and accomplishment using a google doc form.  The principal then gets this submission in a google spreadsheet and writes the letter to the student.  At lunch time, the student is given the Soaring Eagle along with a sucker.  Teachers also have postcards that they send home when students do something above and beyond in their classroom.

In addition to recognition, your student discipline system should show value in the individual student.  We created our own system called "Living Above the Line" that values students rather that creating a one size fits all discipline system.  Rather than having a discipline system that is punitive, natural consequences  (and logical consequences when natural consequences aren't possible) should shape student behavior.

4.  Hire Teachers with passion for the middle level-Teaching candidates with a 4-9 grade endorsement should be given some priority.  The reason I say some priority rather than "only hire teachers with MS endorsements" is that I don't want to lose great teachers because they have a 7-12 endorsement or a K-6 endorsement (or any other type of endorsement).  What is great about a 4-9 endorsement is that it shows the passion for education is with middle level students.  Passion is the key, not endorsement area.

5.  Teacher Training-If a teacher comes with little practical knowledge of what it is to teach at this level, then it is crucial to get that teacher the training necessary to work with middle level students.  Encourage teachers to join the state association for middle level educators.  Encourage teacher to participate in professional development focusing on young adolescents.

Those are my 5 ideas, what else should be added to create a school that values middle level students?

Motivating Middle School Students

Relevance
Students must see school as relevant.  Interdisciplinary projects can be one way to increase relevance.  When students see what they learn being used in all of their classrooms, they begin to see it as more relevant.  Math knowledge is not isolated just in the 45 minute period that they sit in Math class.

Relationships
Teaming can provide an outstanding way to develop relationships.  It creates a small school inside of a bigger school.  For us at Arlington, we already have a small school.  When we created the Middle School Team, it allowed our teachers the ability to discuss student issues.  Additionally, students all had the same teachers.  The schedule became simplified.  All of the students were together at the same time.  This then allows flexibility so that you can experiment with the schedule.  At one point this year, for about a month, the 8th graders were tracked by gender.  This allowed the teachers to develop a different relationship with the students.

Making School an Experience
Fridays are activity days.  Our Middle School splits into 4 different teams based on their homeroom class. Students participate in competitions and activities for a 20 minute period.  This is a break from the normal routine and has students looking forward to Friday activities

Our teachers also develop interdisciplinary projects.  When we kick off the project, the teachers make a kickoff video.  The students all come together to watch the video.  During one kick off, the students then got to eat food from the time period they were studying in Social Studies.  They also do other hands on activities on these days.

Here are some links to videos that our Middle School Team created for the unit kickoffs:

Egypt Unit: Mummy Part I:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl7ebhBJ2XE&feature=fvsr

Egypt Unit: Mummy Part II:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoayMpzjHE8&feature=related

Ancient Rome Unit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJKG1L403Pg&feature=related

Recognizing Effort
Additionally, our state tests are called NeSA tests.  Our tradition has been to set goals with our students.  This year, if we are 95% proficient on the writing test, we will go to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.  On our other tests, it is not based on results as much as preparation.  If the students exhibit the behaviors that make you a successful test taker, we will have half a day at the local softball field where students will get to play, have lunch, and just have a fun day.  Celebrate success and effort together as a school and this increases student motivation.

Motivation
Recognizing that they should not spend their entire life going to school and then going home for a second shift of school through excessive homework is also critical.  Nothing kills motivation faster than constant homework and the lack of recognizing what students enjoy. Celebrate successes and successful effort.  Once the school establishes systems promoting relevance, relationships, making school an experience, and recognizing effort, then students become more motivated.

Homework Grading Practices

Grading practice (homework or independent practice) can be counterproductive.  When students are learning, they need feedback but that feedback should not simply be a check mark on a paper.  If students are sent home with homework and know that the next day that homework will be graded, then often the student is doing that assignment for homework completion and not for learning.  Students need to be allowed to practice without it impacting their grades.

Homework Completion vs. Learning

When homework is about completion, then you will create situations where cheating is rewarded.  It also punishes students whose parents can't help them complete the assignment.  When it's all about homework completion, a student might complete the homework but not know any of the answers on the in class assessment.  Did the student learn?

Difficulty for Teachers

It is difficult for teachers who have always graded homework to give this practice up.  Teachers ask, what will the motivation be to complete the assignment?  Are we going to lose rigor?  Are the students grades going to go down (many students are saved by the homework grade)? What if some of the students stop doing homework?  This is a scary proposition.

Relevant Homework


So why would a student do the homework?  The homework must be relevant.  Students must  see the relationship between doing homework and learning.  If the student doesn't do the homework, they will not know the correct questions to ask in class.  The homework must advance learning towards the stated objectives.  Use brain research to find best practices for homework.  Don't just send students home with what we didn't get finished in class.  Students should be practicing the skill that was taught, not teaching themselves at home.  Teachers should check for understanding and do guided practice before sending students off on their own.

Students View of Homework as Practice


In a conversation in a teacher's class that uses the approach of not grading homework, an 8th grade student said "I wish you graded homework, then my grade would be better."  Another student replied, "Don't give her that idea, then if I don't get it (understand the homework) at home, then I will panic because I have to get it done."  The student identified that learning is the most important thing in this teacher's class.  In this class, if you don't "get it", you can ask without being punished with a bad grade.

Another student told me, the nice thing about Middle School is that it's not a battle about getting homework done.  Students and teachers work together to make sure that we (students) learn.

Things to consider when not grading homework

1. Homework is most productive in Math.  Other areas show little, if any, correlation between homework and learning.
2. Homework should be limited.  Add a zero to their grade for minutes of homework.  Sixth Grade = 60 minutes.  Each subject area should be at about 10 minutes because this is a total, not per class.  The default answer should be no homework and hopefully students rarely get to 60 minutes of homework.
3. Assess students with several small quizzes. 
4. Allow students to re-take quizzes.
5. Check for understanding during class.
6. Do Guided Practice during class.
7. Create systems that require students to complete homework when they regularly don't do homework and do poorly on assessments (like a lunch time homework opportunity).
8. Leave your answer book open-let students self check.
9. Learning can and should happen in groups but the assessment should be to find out what an individual knows.
10. Have an in-class test or assessment that is based on standards.  Assessments shouldn't be fluff.  In-class assessments and tests are the way to find out how much the student learned.

Homework at the Middle Level

Homework must be meaningful and must be limited.  When students get to the Middle School level, they are now moving between classes.  Teachers must plan together to assign the appropriate amount of homework.  Rick Wormelli talks about adding a 0 to the grade the student is in to determine how much homework a student should get.  If the student is in 5th grade, the appropriate amount of homework is 50 minutes.  An important point here is that 50 minutes is the total amount for all teachers to give as homework.  If we limit homework to the 4 core classes, each class should give no more than 12 minutes of homework per day. "No homework tonight" should be the default choice, not, "There is homework tonight." (Wormelli, p 41)

What amount of work takes 50 minutes?  That answer is going to be significantly different for different students.  It is important to either differentiate homework or send the homework home with a time limit.  The teacher can assign a number of problems for practice and tell students to practice for 12 minutes and then draw a line upon the completion of those 12 minutes.  Some problems will not get done.

If teachers are able to collaborate, then they should talk to each other about the amount of homework that is being given on a particular day.  If a large assignment is being given in Math, then maybe that day there is no assignment in Science.  Even then, the Math assignment should be reasonable.  Homework should not be assigned unless students have already been exposed to a topic and they have adequate background knowledge to complete the homework without additional instruction.  Homework should not simply be what we didn't get done in class.  Students should learn the topic before being sent off to practice on their own.  Following ITIP, teachers should check for understanding, then do guided practice in the room.  After guided practice is complete, then you can assign work to be done as independent practice.

Grading of homework is also an important issue.  Students' grades should not be based on their homework, but rather on in-class assessments.  Once work leaves the classroom, no guarantees can be made about who did the homework.  If in-class assessments are the way students are graded, then a student will gain no advantage by parents helping to complete the work or copying other students work.  The focus becomes learning, not homework completion.  Students begin to see a connection between the work they do and the learning that happens.

Works Cited
Wormelli, Rick. "Teaching in the Middle: Homework How we Assign it." Middle Ground:The Magazine of Middle Level Education. 11.4 (2008): 41-42. Web. 5 Feb. 2012. <http://www.amle.org/Publications/MiddleGround/Articles/April2008/Article18/tabid/1666/Default.asp&xgt;.