GENERATION NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LaTricea Adams, Ed.S. Tennessee State University Doctoral Candidate Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools Assessment & Data Specialist Strategies for Empowering New Students to Think Critically in the Humanities ESSENTIAL QUESTION How can we build the cognitive stamina of students who came through the wave of No Child Left Behind? SESSION OUTCOMES Self-evaluate on the current level of critical thinking of students as evident by current pedagogy (pre- and post survey). Build the framework for facilitating close reading and Socratic questioning (Socratic Seminar) and incorporating authentic intellectual performance tasks into instructional time. AGENDA Mini-Segment Description Time Allotted NCLB…The Saga of “Education Reform” 5 minutes Self-Assessment 5 minutes Intellectual Standards 5 Minutes Close Reading 10 minutes Authentic Intellectual Performance Task 10 minutes Socratic Seminar 10 minutes Next Steps to Moving Pedagogical Practice (Post SelfAssessment) 5 minutes TRANSITION No Child Left Behind… The Saga of “Education Reform” NCLB…THE SAGA OF “EDUCATION REFORM” In August of 1981 , the National Commission on Excellence in Education was chartered under the authority of 20 U.S.C. 1233a. Their goal was to review & synthesize the data on the quality of learning & teaching in the nation's schools, colleges, and universities, both public and private. The National Commission on Excellence published a report: A Nation at Risk, which found that the American school system was falling behind compared to education institutions around the world. The notion of equal education for all regardless of race or class or economic status had not been met. NCLB…THE SAGA OF “EDUCATION REFORM” 1994 Improving America’s Schools Act (IASA) 1994-2000 The Rise of Assessments, Data & Accountability 2001 2010 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) NCLB Reform/ESEA Flexibility DISCUSSION In 2013, we graduated our first cohort of American students who went K-12 under NCLB… What are some deficits in your students’ critical thinking abilities? How do you think No Child Left Behind af fected your students’ level of critical thinking? TRANSITION TRANSITION DISCUSSION How does allowing students to do the heavy “intellectual lifting” look? What are some common instructional practices for establishing this type of learning environment? INTELLECTUAL STANDARDS INTELLECTUAL STANDARDS METACOGNITION TRANSITION CLOSE READING Paraphrasing the Text Sentence by Sentence Explicating the Thesis of a Paragraph Analyzing the logic of what we’re reading Assessing the logic of what we’re reading Speaking in the Voice of an Author CLOSE READING CLOSE READING PARAPHRASING EXCERPT FROM INVISIBLE MAN BY RALPH ELLISON “I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am l one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids – and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination – indeed, everything and anything except me.” CLOSE READING EXPLICATING S State the main point of the paragraph in 1-2 sentences. E Elaborate on what you have paraphrased. E Exemplify meaning by tying it to concrete situations in the real world. I Illustrate with metaphors, analogies, pictures, or diagrams of the basic thesis to connect it to other meanings you already understand. CLOSE READING ANALYZING THE LOGIC OF WHAT WE ARE READING 1. What is the key question the author is trying to answer? 2. What is the author’s fundamental purpose? 3. What is the author’s point of view with respect to the issue? 4. What assumptions is the author making in his/her reasoning? 5. What are the implications of the author’s reasoning? 6. What information does the author use in reasoning through this issue? 7. What are the most fundamental inferences or conclusions in the text? 8. What are the author’s most basic concepts? ASSESSING THE LOGIC OF WHAT WE’RE READING CLOSE READING SPEAKING IN THE VOICE OF THE AUTHOR AUTHENTIC INTELLECTUAL PERFORMANCE TASK EXAMPLES OF MARGINALIZED GROUPS IN SOCIET Y Below are examples of groups that have been unseen and unheard in different ways throughout histor y or, in the words of Ralph Ellison, “constantly bumped against by those of poor vision.” 1 . Women 2. Native Americans 3. People with Disabilities 4. Workers/Laborers 5. Immigrants 6. Religious Minorities TRANSITION DISCUSSION What are some concerns with facilitating a classroom around Socratic Questioning? How can these concerns be addressed (organization of the process)? SOCRATIC SEMINAR What puzzles me is… I’d like to talk with people about … I’m confused about… Don’t you think this is similar to … Do you agree that the big ideas seem to be … I have questions about… Another point of view is… I think it means… Do you think… What does it mean when the author says… Do you agree that… CREATE YOUR OWN… • Close Reading Activity (be explicit about the type of thinking/expectations for each level and how to incorporate time for students to “Think about their Thinking”) • Socratic Seminar framework • Authentic Intellectual Performance Task TRANSITION Next Steps to Moving Pedagogical Practice (Post Self-Assessment) REFERENCES B r o o k h a r t , S . ( 2 01 0 ) . H o w to A s s e s s H i g h e r - O r d e r T h i n k i n g S k i l l s i n Yo u r C l a s s ro o m . A l exa n d r i a , VA : A S C D . 17 - 3 9 . E d u c a t io n We e k ( 2 01 1 ) . N o C h i l d L e f t B e h i n d . Ret r i eve d f r o m h t t p : / / w w w. e d we e k . o r g / ew / i s s ue s / n o - c h i ld - l e f t b e h i n d / . K i n g , F. , G o o d s o n , L . , Ro h a n i , L . ( 1 9 97 ) . H i g h e r O r d e r T h i n k i n g S k i l l s : D e f i ni t i o n , Te a c h i ng S t r a te g i e s , a n d A s s e s s m e n t s . E d u c a t io n a l S e r v i ce P r o g r am s . 1 . N ew m a n n , F. , B r y k , A . , N a g a o ka , J . ( 2 0 01 ) . A u t h e n t i c I n te l l ec t ua l Wo r k a n d S t a n d a r d iz e d Te s t s : C o n f l ic t o r C o ex i s te nc e . C o n s o r t ium o n C h i c a g o S c h o o l R e s e a r c h . 1 0 - 1 1 . P a r t n e r s hi p f o r A s s e s s m e n t o f Re a d i n e s s f o r C o l l e g e a n d C a r e e r s . ( 2 01 1 ). PA RC C m o d e l c o n te n t f r a m ewo r k s : E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e a r t s / l i te r ac y g r a d es 3 – 1 1 . R et r i ev e d f r o m w w w. p a rc c o nl i n e . o r g / s i te s / p a rc c / fi le s / PA RC C M C F E L A Li te r ac y Aug us t 2 01 2 _ F I N A L pdf P a u l , R . , & E l d er, L . ( 2 0 0 8 ) . H o w to r e a d a p a r a g r a p h : T h e a r t o f c l o s e r e a d i n g . D i l l o n B e a c h , C A : Fo u n d a t io n f o r C r i t i c al T h i n k i n g P r e s s . P a u l , R . & E l d e r, L . ( 2 0 07 ) . T h e A r t o f S o c r a t i c Q u e s t i o n i n g . D i l l o n B e a c h , C A : Fo u n d a t i o n f o r C r i t i c al T h i n k i n g P r e s s . W i g g i n s , G . & M c T i g h e , J . ( 2 0 0 5 ) . U n d e r s t a n d i n g b y D e s i g n . A l exa n d r ia , VA : A S C D .