Presentations: Trends in Education

RTI: Response to Intervention (Instruction)
Early identification and support of students with learning/behavior needs. High quality instruction and screening; involves special educator, general education teacher, and/or specialists. Focusing on student success and meeting the large range of needs of students. What does the student need? What can we do to help them?
1. Screen: success, struggles; how to make successes help struggles?
2. Progress monitoring
3. Multi-level prevention system
4. Data-based decision making
5. Grounding
Good instruction, on going assessment, tiered instruction, and parent involvement
RTI meetings, implement RTI in classes, may have to give RTI test.
This helps students that are in the gray area: students who do not have severe struggles. May help them focus on school and find success. This gives students the opportunity to receive help that may otherwise be overlooked. Without RTI students become frustrated and humiliated; these students may otherwise never receive help and potentially drop out of school.
 (Differentiate instruction; want students to succeed; help students succeed in school and in life)

Understanding by Design (UBD = Backward Design)
Improving student achievement: emphasize teachers role in designing student learning. Helps teachers clarify learning goals and engage students. Look to develop and deepen understanding. Use Backward Design and seek student feedback.
Backward Design:
1. Identify desired results - content standards, understandings, questions, knowledge and skills. Focus on big ideas.
2. Determine acceptable evidence - Key complex performance tasks indicative of understanding? What other evidence will be collected to build the case for understanding, knowledge, and skill? How will students self-assess?
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction - Focus on engaging and effective learning. What learning experiences and instruction will promote the desired understanding, knowledge and skill? How will you best promote the deepending of insight and interest? How will you prepare students for the performance?

Responsive Classroom
Elementary classes! Produce engaged students. "Educators creating, safe, challenging and joyful elementary schools". Highly structured.
Key practices: Daily morning meeting (reset, connect with classmates; social skills), a positive approach to discipline (students make own rules), positive teacher language (positive vision), giving students choices in their learning (more engaged in their own learning when given choice/responsibility). Dependable system for students

PBIS
Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (achieving academic and social goals)
Expectations clearly stated: assemblies, arrival/dismissal/bus/cafeteria (affect behavior in and outside of school)
Organizational supports, effectively use interventions.
Goals (for positive behaviors) rather than punishment (for negative behaviors)
5 stages of building PBIS program: 1. purpose building (exploration), Infrastructure (Instillation), 3. Initial Implementation, 4. Full Implementations, 5. Sustainability.
Four elements: Outcomes, practices, data, systems.
Fundamentals: Procedures, positive reinforcement, negative consequences, special interventions, keeping records.
Similar to RTI (Behavioral form)
Examples: Lynx Loot Reward Program - earn rewards for good behavior; Peace days - grade-level has no major office referral

Common Core State Standards
English and Math grade level expectations in standards; focus on core concepts and procedures (early), set goals but do not determine how it must be taught, mastering standards.
English: complex texts, evidence, building knowledge
Math: greater focus, coherence, and rigor
Implementation in Schools and Need to Know facts: standards establish what they need to know and not how teachers should teach. Implemented by state and local levels.
Does not require data collection by the schools.
There will be common core standards for art. (Discipline specific)

SLO (Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes)
Educator Effectiveness: performance-based
Reaction to "No Child Left Behind"
SLOs: Teacher: student learning objective; principal: school learning objectives
2 SLOs written each year: evaluation every three years --> approved, monitored, and scored by and evaluator
Keep in mind: most work at beginning of year, mid-year review ...)
4 Steps: review data and prepare SLOs, review and approve, collect evidence and conduct mid-year review, review and score
SMART SLOs: Specific measurable, attainable, results-based, time-bound