High Yield Instructional Strategies

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High Yield Instructional Strategies

• Dr. Avis Glaze Ruth Mattingley
• Ontarios Education Commissioner and Senior
  Student Achievement Officer
• Senior Adviser to the Minister of Education The
  Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat
• May 2008

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High Yield Strategies

• High yield strategies are categories of
  instructional activities that have been verified
• through research to correlate with high student
  achievement
• District Level
• Common diagnostic tool used across the district
• Effective use of data to inform decisions at the
  board level
• Non-negotiables are identified at the board level
• Supervisory officers visit schools regularly to
  support improvement efforts
• Alignment and coherence of all actions to the
  districts goals
• Capacity building and professional learning for
  teachers, principals, and supervisory officers
• Budget is driven by achievement priorities
• System and School-level monitoring, review,
  feedback, and accountability
• Strategic use of tutoring programs

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High Yield Strategies

• School Level
• Uninterrupted blocks of time for literacy
  (minimum of 100 minutes) and numeracy instruction
  ( minimum of 60 minutes)
• Differentiated instruction occurs in every
  subject area
• Assessment as, for and, of learning
• Comprehensive literacy program
• Cross curricular non-fiction writing (for a range
  of purposes)
• Early intervention for students that are
  struggling
• Gradual release of responsibility is used to
  scaffold learning for students
• Professional Learning Communities characterized
  by collective inquiry around student achievement
  data, reflection on practice, teacher moderation,
  and learning from and with colleagues

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High Yield Strategies

• School Level contd
• Tutoring program
• High expectations for all students
• Students engaged in self assessment with the use
  of exemplars, rubrics or anchors
• Teacher questioning and student activities that
  stimulate higher order thinking
• Teacher moderation of student work
• Visual tools are used to track and monitor
  student achievement (e.g. data walls)
• Time on task

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High Yield Strategies

• Classroom Level
• There is evidence of differentiated instruction
• A comprehensive literacy program is in place (the
  following approaches are selected strategically
  based on student needs read aloud, modelled
  writing, shared reading and writing, guided
  reading and writing, independent reading and
  writing and language and word study)
• Student learning is scaffolded through the
  gradual release of responsibility
• There is a focus on non-fiction writing
  (description, analysis, persuasion with evidence)
  along with immediate, specific feedback
• Students are engaged in accountable talk

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High Yield Strategies

• Classroom Level
• Students have opportunities for co-operative
  learning
• Teachers use assessment for learning which
  incorporates
• Gathering data on student learning
• Disaggregating data for a more detailed
  understanding
• Developing action plans based on previous points
• Being able to articulate discuss performance
  with parents
• A variety of consistent assessment techniques are
  in use across the grades
• Students are engaged in self assessment with the
  use of exemplars, rubrics or anchors
• Feedback is specific, timely and focused on the
  curriculum expectations

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High Yield Strategies

• Classroom Level
• Students are engaged in task requiring higher
  order critical thinking skills
• Students work is displayed on the walls for the
  purpose of instruction
• Word walls are used to support instruction
• A wide range of texts are available for students
  that reflect the diversity, abilities and
  interest of the students
• Students are directly involved in real-life
  experiences ( see definition of authentic work in
  glossary)

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High Yield Strategies

• Students work actively in flexible groupings
• Students are involved in reviewing/clarifying,
  polishing, or perfecting their own work
• Character development permeates the school
• Effective links are created between school and
  other cultural contexts
• Time on task is a priority