I learned something new. During an observation at a Demo Site evaluation (congratulations to Mount Baker Middle School - AVID's newest Demo Site) the emphasis from one of the evaluators was student independence. Tutorials, Socratic Seminars and Philosophical Chairs, binders, time management, etc should all be about getting to independence so students use the skills and knowledge without teacher support. It takes years for sure.
Sometimes I feel like the emperor in the story "The Emperor's New Clothes". Someone is going to walk in to my AVID class and say, "What are you doing in here - this isn't AVID." Getting the students to independence seems like such a daunting goal but I know it is correct. I'm suffering from a lack of confidence at the moment. Thank goodness I have founbd something to work on though - it prevents boredom (he said sacrastically).
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
tutor of the day
Miriam the tutor is new this quarter. Two girls in her tutorial group were distracting themselves and others. We talked about it in debrief and a couple of the tutors offered suggestions. Miriam eventually decided to sit in between them without making it a big deal. Problem solved. It was respectfully done and effective. I like that we talked about it as a tutorial team, tutors took the lead in helping each other, Miriam was responsible and effective and the students were treated respectfully and performed better as a result.
writing tutorial
Sometimes I make my students ponder a question for tutorial that I provide instead of bringing in questions themselves. Sometimes it has been math centered (the math question of the day for instance) but my favorite is writing centered.
We are in the midst of a persuasive essay based on a movie we watched as a class. We started with a thesis statement that defines each students position and then used a graphic organizer to record ideas and details. Instead of doing this in isolation, I made the kids work on it as a tutorial. Students volunteered to "present" if they didn't understand something. The rest of the group used the inquiry process to help guide the student to their answer. Everyone took notes and wrote reflections afterward. Many minds contribute to overall understanding and provide prescriptive help. I wouldn't say any of my kids have fallen in love with writing as a result but they learn from each other and find new ways to solve writing problems.
We are in the midst of a persuasive essay based on a movie we watched as a class. We started with a thesis statement that defines each students position and then used a graphic organizer to record ideas and details. Instead of doing this in isolation, I made the kids work on it as a tutorial. Students volunteered to "present" if they didn't understand something. The rest of the group used the inquiry process to help guide the student to their answer. Everyone took notes and wrote reflections afterward. Many minds contribute to overall understanding and provide prescriptive help. I wouldn't say any of my kids have fallen in love with writing as a result but they learn from each other and find new ways to solve writing problems.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tutorial Reflections
I was evaluating reflections on last weeks tutorials and I noticed students were not using details to my satisfaction.
Today, for tutorial, groups will be required to focus on three reflections and use the rubric on the Tutorial Request Form (TRF) to assess the three and tell why the reflection earned the points it did. Every so often I like to use tutorial time to build tutorial skills.
Reflection Examples
1. We worked on math today. I know how to do the math now. I helped three people in my group and everyone helped me.
2. We worked on reducing fractions, how the pyramids were built and which character in Forged By Fire was most scared. I tried to improve helping others by asking more questions instead of giving the answer. I wasn’t always helping others though. I got distracted a few times when my partner made jokes. When I asked my question about reducing fractions I understood the best after Jose showed me the answer and then the group created a new problem for me to show what I know.
3. We worked on reducing fractions, how the pyramids were built and which character in Forged By Fire was most scared. Jose helped me and so did my group. I asked more questions than I normally do. I helped others most of the time.
Today, for tutorial, groups will be required to focus on three reflections and use the rubric on the Tutorial Request Form (TRF) to assess the three and tell why the reflection earned the points it did. Every so often I like to use tutorial time to build tutorial skills.
Reflection Examples
1. We worked on math today. I know how to do the math now. I helped three people in my group and everyone helped me.
2. We worked on reducing fractions, how the pyramids were built and which character in Forged By Fire was most scared. I tried to improve helping others by asking more questions instead of giving the answer. I wasn’t always helping others though. I got distracted a few times when my partner made jokes. When I asked my question about reducing fractions I understood the best after Jose showed me the answer and then the group created a new problem for me to show what I know.
3. We worked on reducing fractions, how the pyramids were built and which character in Forged By Fire was most scared. Jose helped me and so did my group. I asked more questions than I normally do. I helped others most of the time.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Costa's Questions - Conversation versus Rigor
I got to work with Ferndale High School AVID Teacher Mitch Morrison a couple of days ago. We were talking about questions he sometimes gets in his AVID class for tutorials. Things like, "Why is taking AVID elective important?" A higher level question for sure, but there is no proof or resources that can help answer the question and it doesn't improve understanding.
Mitch said it is the difference between conversation and a rigor. Rigorous questions should be ambiguous but resources are available with facts (notes, book, internet, etc) that can be used to prove a point. Conversation questions are interesting and entertaining but they don't pertain to curriculum or rigorous understanding.
I'm using these definitions with my students in tutorials.
Mitch said it is the difference between conversation and a rigor. Rigorous questions should be ambiguous but resources are available with facts (notes, book, internet, etc) that can be used to prove a point. Conversation questions are interesting and entertaining but they don't pertain to curriculum or rigorous understanding.
I'm using these definitions with my students in tutorials.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tutorial Work With Ferndale HS
I got to do a tutorial training with Ferndale HS yesterday. They have an AVID Department of 8 educators. The group was focused on creating consistent tutorials in every AVID class.
We used the Tutorial Support Resource Curriculum Guide that you can download (along with the video that shares two classrooms using tutorials).
Here are the group agreements they came up with (numbers like 2.4.9 are the reference numbers in the upper right hand corner of pages in the Tutorial Support Curriculum Resource Guide):
1. One Tutorial Request Form (2.7.4 in the Tutorial Curriculum Book) will be used by every teacher in every class. The rubric on the TRF was a time saving/information sharing benefit that really sold that particular document.
2. Part of the resources students will be expected to have available for each tutorial are a front to back copy of the ten steps to tutorials (1.8.2) and the flow chart that defines the Inquiry Process (2.5.10 - but email me and I'll send you an updated flow chart that is easier to read).
3. There is a four part rubric defining the four jobs during tutorial that will be a standard part of the tutorial process (3.1.3).
4. Cornell Notes will be the main source of information for tutorials and all AVID students will produce ten pages per week by the Fall of 2010.
5. Binders will be checked a minimum of once every two weeks (due to block scheduling).
We also talked about the importance of developing tutorial skills during tutorial sessions. Use the book to help you prescribe solutions to problems you are having and instead of a regular tutorial session, make some tutorials a tutorial skill building session. It mixes the routine up a bit while it helps improve tutorial skills.
We used the Tutorial Support Resource Curriculum Guide that you can download (along with the video that shares two classrooms using tutorials).
Here are the group agreements they came up with (numbers like 2.4.9 are the reference numbers in the upper right hand corner of pages in the Tutorial Support Curriculum Resource Guide):
1. One Tutorial Request Form (2.7.4 in the Tutorial Curriculum Book) will be used by every teacher in every class. The rubric on the TRF was a time saving/information sharing benefit that really sold that particular document.
2. Part of the resources students will be expected to have available for each tutorial are a front to back copy of the ten steps to tutorials (1.8.2) and the flow chart that defines the Inquiry Process (2.5.10 - but email me and I'll send you an updated flow chart that is easier to read).
3. There is a four part rubric defining the four jobs during tutorial that will be a standard part of the tutorial process (3.1.3).
4. Cornell Notes will be the main source of information for tutorials and all AVID students will produce ten pages per week by the Fall of 2010.
5. Binders will be checked a minimum of once every two weeks (due to block scheduling).
We also talked about the importance of developing tutorial skills during tutorial sessions. Use the book to help you prescribe solutions to problems you are having and instead of a regular tutorial session, make some tutorials a tutorial skill building session. It mixes the routine up a bit while it helps improve tutorial skills.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Pride - The Movie
"Pride" is a pretty good AVID-Like movie starring Terrence Howard as a swim coach who coaches some inner city kids to be better swimmers and better people. It's all about goal setting and working together. It also has a theme of racial equality which goes hand in hand with Martin Luther King Jr.'s Holiday.
I like to stop the movie before pivotal scenes and do a quick philosophical chairs to see if students can predict how the scene will end (Will the hero win the race? Will the coach slug the bigot? etc).
After the movie is finished, we'll write a persuasive essay that answers this question, "Does the bigoted swim coach help make the inner city kids better?" We use Step Up To Writing curriculum because that's what our district uses. AVID writing curriculum is terrific and can also provide a plan for finishing an essay with kids.
Email me if you want to know the best way to get kids to read their essays to each other and get and give valuable feedback.
I like to stop the movie before pivotal scenes and do a quick philosophical chairs to see if students can predict how the scene will end (Will the hero win the race? Will the coach slug the bigot? etc).
After the movie is finished, we'll write a persuasive essay that answers this question, "Does the bigoted swim coach help make the inner city kids better?" We use Step Up To Writing curriculum because that's what our district uses. AVID writing curriculum is terrific and can also provide a plan for finishing an essay with kids.
Email me if you want to know the best way to get kids to read their essays to each other and get and give valuable feedback.
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