Enhancing Formative Assessment,
Increasing Student Responsibility:
Focus on Guided Instruction
Secondary Powerful Conversations Network
November 17, 2011
Activity #1: Sponge Activity—
Modified Scavenger Hunt
Welcome back to your PCN community!
Use this time to meet or reconnect with colleagues through
participation in the “Modified Scavenger Hunt.” Complete as
many squares as possible.
Rule: Only one signature per individual! The goal would be to
find 25 individuals who can help you complete your grid.
Partners with the Alabama State Department of Education
Initiatives
Guiding Questions
• How can the gradual release of responsibility
framework be used to better design, deliver and
assess instruction that ensures all students are wellprepared for the next level?
• In what ways can we enhance our teaching practice
related to guided instruction?
• How can we enhance our understanding and daily
and intentional practice of formative assessment so
that we use the data gathered to improve instruction
for all students?
Guiding Questions, cont’d
• How can we take our work in collaborative teams to
the next level as we transfer learnings to our school
setting?
• What is my responsibility to: (a) transfer my learning
to my own classroom or school; (b) work with my
team to enhance our collective practice; and (c)
share learning from PCN with our faculty-at-large?
How can we best monitor our progress and measure
the effectiveness of our implementation?
Norms
• Collective Responsibility
• Collaboration
• Each of us is responsible for all of our students.
• Participation
• Monitor your talk.
• Encourage and support others.
• Respect
• Put cell phones on vibrate.
• No side-bar conversations.
• Time
• Begin and end on time.
• Take care of your own creature comforts.
Activity #2: Sharing Designs
for Focus Lessons
WHAT?
Individual reflection and sharing with
colleagues related to the focus lesson you
designed and taught
WHY?
To learn with and from one another
HOW?
Individual teachers will present their
focus lessons to two other colleagues who
will pose questions to take the presenting
teachers deeper into reflection about this
lesson; two or three rounds of sharing to
ensure that all present and reflect (pp. 3-4)
Activity #2: Begin with
Individual Reflection
• Turn to page 3 in your Activity Packet.
• Use the template on this page to consolidate
your thinking and reflection about the focus
lesson you designed.
• You will use this reflection template and
your lesson design itself as you talk with
colleagues.
Activity #2: Administrators
and Coaches
• Principals and Assistant Principals use Activity
Sheet #2 designed for administrators
• Coaches may choose whether to work in a contentarea group or with an administrators’ group. Choose
the appropriate reflection sheet.
Move to Your Content-Alike
Groups
1. Math
2. Science
3. English/Language Arts
4. Social Studies
5. Special Education /
Physical Education
6. Foreign Language/ Art /
Music /
Activity #2: Create triads
• Move to area designated for your grade level.
Administrators should meet at the back of
the room.
• Create a triad, ensuring that at least 2
members of triad have brought a focus lesson
to share.
• Find a comfortable spot to sit for the next 50
minutes or so of sharing.
Activity #2: Protocol for
Sharing
• Decide who will be the first speaker/reflector.
• The two other members of triad will serve as
interviewers, being intentional in asking
questions to clarify and/or to cause speaker to
go deeper in his/her reflection.
• There will be 3 rounds of sharing. Each round
will be 10 minutes in length.
Return to Your School Team
• Take 10 minutes to share what you learned
during this activity with members of your
school team.
• How can you apply these learnings yourself ?
How can you share these ideas with
members of your faculty who are not
attending PCN?
Gradual Release of Responsibility
Framework for Student Learning
“The gradual release of responsibility model of
instruction suggests that the cognitive load
should shift slowly and purposefully from
teachers-as-model, to joint responsibility, to
independent practice and application by the
learner (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983).”—p. 2, 2nd
paragraph, 1st sentence, Better Learning Through Structured Teaching
Gradual Release of
Responsibility
4 Phases
FOCUS LESSONS
GUIDED INSTRUCTION
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
INDEPENDENT TASKS
A structure for successful instruction, p. 4 Better Learning Through Structured Teaching
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
“I do it”
“We do it”
Collaborative
“You do it
together”
“You do
it alone”
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Learning Targets for
Guided Instruction
To know the importance of using formative feedback to
create multiple small groups (with differing cognitive
needs) to work with teacher during guided
instruction activities
To deepen individual understanding about three key
features of guided instruction: scaffolding, formative
assessment, and differentiation
To evaluate four strategies that can be used to guide
student learning toward mastery during this phase of
instruction
Guided Instruction
“The guided instruction phase of the
gradual release of responsibility
framework is the time when the
cognitive load begins to shift from
teacher to student.” (p. 39)
WHAT GUIDED INSTRUCTION
IS NOT
• Ability grouping
• Prescriptive
• Doing one lesson five times
• “Every day with every student”
Activity #3: Three Key Features of Guided
Instruction—Text-Based Dialogue & Question
Generation
WHAT?
Review and analysis of each of 3 key
features of guided instruction: scaffolds,
formative assessment, and differentiation
WHY?
To frame the “big picture” of guided
instruction prior to looking at the
particulars
HOW?
Individual review and reflection followed
by dialogue with an elbow partner to
identify key ideas and questions (p. 5)
Activity #4: Sharing Conceptions About
Guided Instruction— 4-Box Synectic
WHAT?
Surfacing your thinking about
guided instruction
WHY?
To make our thinking visible so that
we can reinforce and learn from one
another and correct any
misconceptions
HOW?
4-Box Synectic focused on guided
instruction (p. 6)
Guided Instruction is like
________ because ________.
Water
Skiing
Playing a
Video
Game
Horseback
Riding
Dancing
Activity #5: Exploring Strategies for
Guided Instruction
WHAT?
Go deeper in examining four strategies for
guided instruction featured in Better Learning
Through Structured Teaching
WHY?
To look at and learn from examples from the
classroom and to extend our thinking about
guided instruction
HOW?
Investigate one of the four strategies with
colleagues; share “headlines” and key ideas
with home team and learn from team
members about other three strategies (pp. 7-8)
“Expert” Group Reading
Assignments
A-BLUE: GUIDED READING
B-WHITE: GUIDED WRITING
C-YELLOW: STUDENT THINK-ALOUD
D-GREEN: MISCONCEPTION ANALYSIS
Model Lesson for
Guided Instruction—Carmen Buchanan,
Instructional Partner, Madison City Schools
• See template on pages 13-15 of the
Activity Packet.
• Follow along as the lesson design
for guided instruction is presented.
Activity #6: Individual Reflection
WHAT?
Individually and silently think back
on the day
WHY?
To consolidate our learnings and
think about how we will transfer to
our classroom
HOW?
Silent reflection and writing using
prompts on Activity Sheet #6,
(pp.9-10)
Activity #7: School Team Reflection
and Planning
WHAT?
Sharing individual reflections with school
team members and beginning to plan for
transfer of learnings back home
WHY?
To be intentional in our plans to share
learnings and resources with colleagues
who are not in attendance at PCN
HOW?
Team dialogue using the team planning
template found on page 11 of Activity
Packet
Activity #8: Meet the Authors!
Coming to Us From California via Skype
Authors: Douglas
Fisher & Nancy
Frey
Publisher: ASCD,
2008
Reflection on Fisher & Frey’s
Presentation
• What new insights did you develop?
• What was the greatest value in hearing
from the authors?
Homework
• Bring a Guided Instruction lesson to share with
colleagues.
• Read Chapter 4, “Collaborative Learning:
Consolidating Thinking with Peers,” in Better
Learning Through Structured Teaching
Final Reflection and Feedback
• Please complete the Final Reflection and
Feedback form prior to departing.
• Leave your completed form in the center of
the table.
• Safe travels back home!—and Happy
Holidays!