Improving student learning Lee Jenkins

1
Improving student learning Lee Jenkins
Education has undergone change after change
accompanied by subsequent reversalto former
practices.Continual changes must be
replacedwith improvement.Education can no
longer affordexpensive changes and the ensuing
debatesabout the efficacy of each change.

p. xxv
2

• as more and more pressure is applied to raise
  test scores, solutions are needed. It seems
  there are several possible responses to this
  pressure
• Teach only reading and math, which triples the
  time for reading and doubles the time for math.
• Teach test-taking strategies.
• Provide student incentives for high scores.
• Provide staff incentives for high scores.
• Threaten staff with loss of jobs.
• Buy scripted programs.
• Align the curriculum.

3
as more and more pressure is applied to raise
test scores, solutions are needed. Align the
curriculum. Alignment is a great partnerfor
continuous improvement if the alignment
meansalignment of curriculumbased upon best
practices,not merely alignment with test items.


p. 30
4
Aim

• Without an AIM the parts will never work together
  as a system.
• 1st Step to Improvement Establish AIM

Demings Overall Aim for Education

• Increase the positives and decrease the
  negatives so that all students keep their
  yearning joy for learning.
• Jenkins Increase Success Decrease Failure

5
Change ? Improvement
Improvement Fewer Failures More
Successes Less Variation
6
Improvement ? Redirected Resources ? Higher
Averages
7
How to Improve Processesto AchieveBetter
Results
8
Improvement Process

• Gather Data
• Construct Graphs(Post Results)
• Gain Insight by Studying Graphs(disaggregated
  data)
• Test Hypotheses
• Increase Knowledge from Hypotheses Testing

9
Continuous Improvement

• Early in continuous improvement process, inform
  parents
• Letter
• Back-to-School night focus on what going to
  learn
• Charts communicate results

10
Letter to Parents

• Dear parents,
• Attached is a list of the Dolch Basic Sight Words
  (most commonly
• used words in reading) that we will be learning
  throughout the year. Every two weeks, fifteen
  words will be randomly selected to read aloud.
  The students progress will be graphed
  individually and as a class. The students will
  not be expected to know all of these words when
  we first begin. By the end of the year, our goal
  for the students is to be able to read most or
  all of the words. Many of these words are already
  in our reading vocabulary lists.
• Thank you very much.

11
Theory of Profound Knowledge

• Applies to Teachers Administrators
• Assets Power, Personality,
  Knowledge
• Knowledge Foundation

12
Profound Knowledge 4 Parts

• Appreciation for a System
• Epistemology (Theory of Knowledge)
• Psychology
• Variation

13
Demings Management Philosophy1. System 7
Elements

• Education has customers students
  universities, employers, teachers _at_ next grade
  level, etc. parents
• Education needs an aim increase successes
  decrease failures
• Education can improve its supply assign some of
  most talented teachers to helping parents
  preschool teachers better prepare students for
  school success
• Process Grade levels must be linkedAlignment
  (coordinate education between grade levels)
  Methods to have all students improve.
• Education has outputImprove education to produce
  fewer unprepared graduates dropouts more
  prepared graduates.
• Education needs Quality Measurement (not ranking)
  by boards
• Education has input most controlled by
  legislatures

14
Education as a System
Aim
Use power of feedbackdetails to improve supply,
input,and process
Feedback from customers stakeholderson quality
of graduates and work-in-progress.They may
suggest upgrading of aim.
Some of theinput tosupply
Supply
Some of theinput tok-12system
Process
LegislationFinancesCurriculum
standardsUniversity requirementsEmployer
needsHiring process
Children frombirth to age 5
K-12Support Staff
CustomersFormer current studentswho know
theirattitudes abilities arevalued bysociety
Parent EducationMediaPreschoolChurchEducation
OutputHigh schoolgraduatesvalued by society
15
Demings Management Philosophy2. Epistemology
the study of how people come to know

• The Best Teacher ? Experience Testing Theory
  (method, policy, rules, plan, education
  law)Collect Data (Deming)

Information (Facts about the Past) ? Knowledge
(about the Future)Jenkins Essential
Information Performance
All school subjects have both Knowledge
Information Both are important need clear aims
16
Demings Management Philosophy3. Psychology

• All children are born motivated to learn
• Educators must discover what demotivates them
  stop those processes

We must preserve the power of intrinsic
motivation,dignity,cooperation, curiosity, joy
in learningthat people are born with.All the
qualities that have been traditionally and
erroneouslyapplied to competition actually apply
better to cooperation.Cooperation builds
character, is basic to human nature, makes
learning more enjoyable. --Deming
17
Demings Management Philosophy3. Psychology

• Jenkins Americas obsession with competition is
  destroying the inborn motivation to learn.

Incentives including grades demotivate What
demotivates adults also demotivates kids
18
Demings Management Philosophy3. Demings
Psychological Truths

• Most people, once discouraged, stay that way.
• Children dont destroy their own motivation
  adults do.
• There is no shortage of good people unless people
  create it.
• Ranking (grades) destroys joy which destroys
  learning.
• The customer (student) defines joy.

19
Demings Management Philosophy4. Variation

• Is the enemy of education business
• Uniqueness is prized
• Variation is the problem that must be reduced

20
VariationDemings Key Elements

• Variation is always present.
• Variation is the enemy.
• The purpose of statistics is to help decision
  makers reduce variation.
• Do not set numerical goals, but hold accountable
  for a pattern of improvement.

21
New Way to Manage Learning Deming, 1992

• Provide students the info they are expected to
  learn by the end of the course
• Each week, randomly select a sample of the total
  info and quiz students on those items. The
  square root is ample sample size.
• Correct quiz and make a class run chart of total
  correct for the whole class,
• Use same data to make a scatter diagram.
• Make individual student run charts overlay with
  class scatter diagram

100-sided die - http//www.gamescience.com
22
Graphs

• Allow Teachers to fine-tune instruction
• Students, teachers, administrators, parents
  see growth improvement
• Show
• inclines
• valleys (discuss absences, other interests
  luck)
• plateaus (engage students why not gone up
  what can we do? motivating)
• Students focus on Learning, not grades or
  rewards

23
Review Preview Process

• Quiz on concepts not yet taught
• Quizzes not graded
• Preview narrative hook short intro to new
  topics, what they will learn later

24
Performance without Rubrics

• Reading Fluency Recommendationsfor Grade Level
  Text

25
Reading LevelsStar Reading
Performance without Rubrics

• Each Quarter add reading levels of all students
  per grade post for all to see that learning is
  occurring

Accelerated Math Objectives or - Star Math
26
Performance without Rubrics

• Typing speed students create Excel graphs
  with own and class typing speeds
• Editing (English Foreign Language)
• Voc ed., etc., competencies
• Music rhythm patterns
• Fitness sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, running

27
Performance ultimate goal of education

• Norm-referenced tests usually measure info
• Essential information is important either
• As a prerequisite to deeper understanding or
• On its own merit.
• Begin the Continuous Improvement process with
  essential information, then move on to performance

28
Performance with Rubrics

• Rubrics Scales of Quality cant be measured
  by counting
• Add up Rubric scores
• We can not inspect quality into the process we
  must build in the quality Deming
• Writing teachers read square root of all papers
  randomly selected
• Students have more responsibility for their own
  learning
• Hear students think discuss methods to
  improve learning

Teaching Performance most difficult aspect of
teaching
29
Improving Learning ofEssential Information

• Placing info in long-term memory
• Inform students during 1st week the Essential
  Info (facts /or vocab) to know by end of course
• 100 facts from current, last, next grade(or
  5th, 8th, 11th History)
• Include facts from all 3 levels on tests
• End of year students edit writing of facts for
  next years students
• Essential info should be known for life not
  memorized for a test

30
Weekly Quizzes on Square Root

• Square root, randomly selected, large enough
  sample size to be accurate (Spanish 900 vocab
  words or 1st grade 25 math concepts)
• Sample because theres not enough time to
  continually assess students on everything they
  need to know.
• Frequency informs teachers decisions
• Frequent sampling takes least amount of class
  time provides most up-to-date info
• Random selection is accurate because no human
  biases distort the data Excel, graphing
  calculator, random generator, die,
  www.random.org

31
Quiz Goal Know Concepts Vocab

• Same fact may occur several weeks in a row
• No duplicates in same quiz
• Ask questions in different ways each time a fact
  is chosen multiple choice, fill-in-the blanks,
  open-ended questions, true-false

32
1st Quiz Prep

• Assure students quiz doesnt count for grade
• Purpose show how they are learning individually
  and collectively
• Remind Will know the content at the end of the
  year.
• Thank students for mistakes so all can learn

Parents 1. Quizzes not graded 2.
Eliminates cramming 3. Quizzes are practice
for graded end-of-year final
33
Weekly Quizzes

• Half the time Week 2 will be worse than Week 1
• Leader of classroom (teacher) says it will
  continue
• Once students capture the intrinsic joy of both
  individual and collective growth, they beg for
  quizzes.
• Learning becomes more important than grades

34
Time

• Giving the quiz, correcting the answers, giving
  30- to 45-second explanations on items not yet
  taught, and recording results takes about 15
  minutes per week after about 5 weeks.
• Takes longer at beginning of year.
• Most of the time is spent teaching either
  review of prior content or preview of upcoming
  content (saves time later)

35
Tips

• HS Add up total or correct for all like
  classes is valuable.
• K-8 Most math texts are 33 review
• Begin year with new content
• Quiz 5 items from current grade, 3 from prior
  grade, 2 from two years past (or 7/2/1)
• Give masters to all teachers (Appendix Y 5th
  Grade example)

36
Preview

• Teacher gives quick 30- to 45-second explanation
• Tell students what month they will learn the
  specific content

Students who want to know NOW Tell students which
chapter contains the explanation
37
Testing Out

• 7 Consecutive weeks of Perfect Scores evidence
  Essential Info is mastered
• Acceleration or
• Enrichment
• Then perfect scores credited so Class graph
  doesnt go down
• Student can chooseto continue taking tests

38
Scores

• Group monitors collect scores
• K Add totals with Base 10 Blocks
• Mental math adding group totals
• Computer, individual, wall graphs
• Elementary color their Column or Bar graphs
• Run Chart more accurately shows movement over time

39
Goal

• NOT Perfection no perfect weeks
• Score higher than they ever have before
• Most numerical goals are arbitrary
• Not meet goal discouraged
• Meet goal early slow down
• Celebrate successes
• Compare correct of year that is complete
  (25, 50, etc.)

The motivation seems to come naturally with the
processof testing, checking, learning from
mistakes, improving,being able to see the
visible evidence of growth on the graphs. p.93
40
Graphs

• When people are absent, production goes down in
  the world in school - kids can see this on
  the graphs
• Blanks on Run Charts are powerful to show parents
  attendance patterns.
• Put graph in school foyer for all to see
• Graphing correct is good
• Graphing the average correct causes harm

41
Cincinnati Findings p.91

• Students have accepted responsibility for
  learning goal
• Students are ready anxious to help one another
  reach the learning goal
• Student ideas about how to reach the learning
  goal are plentiful
• Students have become active teachers of one
  another
• Intervention is much more successful now
• Teachers have a clearer picture of where they
  need to improve
• Students have a much more accurate sense of their
  progress.
• Parents with no backgrounds in our subjects
  (music calculus in this example), can walk into
  our rooms and immediately feel good about the
  progress being made.
• Parents with continuous improvement background in
  industry are anxious to offer ideas and
  reflections
• Various aspects of continuous improvement
  motivate different students class run chart
  (team player) student run chart (own growth)
  scatter diagram (competition of keeping up)

42
Teaching Tips

• Math Triangle flash cards (cover 1 - do
  multiplication or division) also Foreign
  Lang.Math 72 fact families for - /
• 34___ 3412, 4312, 12/43,
  12/34
• Character Education definitions
• History Put Quiz Item marker on person who
  was president when that event occurred
• Special Ed Baseline average of 1st 7 tests
• All students need regular feedback to know
  theyre learning even more important for
  Special Ed because many students have given up

43
Performance vs. Essential Info

• Dr. Demings theories largely rejected by U.S.
  business leaders 1950 - 1980 because he insisted
  higher quality lower prices are possible at the
  same time (save rework, warranty, repair,
  returns) Japanese successes
• Educational false dichotomy take time from
  performance to improve info learning
• Not giving permission to forget saves time wasted
  in review

44
Eliminate Irritants Time Wasterswhich detract
from the central missionof schoolswith a dot
on the wall

• A graph shows that there is a problem
• Discipline color code misbehaviors
• Students graph attendance, interruptions, trash

• Random Selection - Graphing - Hypotheses for
  Improvement

45
Student Perceptions

• Preview questions cause students to want to know
• Students can see they are learning
• Remember with repetition
• Cant memorize have to know info

46
Continuous ImprovementMess Ups

• Doesnt Work- Continuous Improvement is NOT a
  teaching method- Graphs inform students
  teachers if methods are working- Not all
  hypotheses are correct please help me establish
  a new hypothesis.

47
Continuous ImprovementMess Ups

• Goal Perform better than ever before-
  Artificial goals ?
• a) Not meet goal - discouragement b)
  Reach goal once c) Meet goal quit working
• Average Correct- When class total is displayed,
  students see how they contributed- If average
  displayed, ½ students see they are below average
  not very smart

48
Continuous ImprovementMess Ups

• Offering rewards changes motives- Teachers ask
  for student input on how to improve learning
• Graphing only student or class run charts-
  Continuous improvement is about both individual
  class effort combined
• Not being a cheerleader- No team effort in
  traditional classroom- Teacher brings class
  together to focus on the class goal- Celebrate
  successes

49
Continuous ImprovementMess Ups

• Standards too Low
• No Preview
• Not dropping some routines- like chapter tests
  that measure short-term memory
• Grading Weekly Quizzes- Content not yet taught-
  Students need extrinsic motivation (grades) to
  cram, but only need intrinsic motivation to learn

50
Continuous ImprovementMess Ups

• Not Thinking Systems Long-Termfor all
  Routines- Goal J curve at years end- Each
  ¼ test should be a version of the year-end final
  to keep end in mind

51
Maintaining/Restoring Enthusiasm for Learning

• Children are born and enter Kindergarten
  motivated to learn invaluable asset which must
  be protected
• Loss of enthusiasm levels off after Grade 8
• Deming Western society continually destroys its
  people, creating a shortage of good people.
• Educators are responsible to maintain enthusiasm
  while increasing learning.

52
Enthusiasm Rubric
Graph MonthlyStudents give written suggestions
on how to make next month betterAll suggestions
discussed with class Some suggestions always
implementedTeacher listen very carefully
regarding1) practices that demotivate2)
students hypotheses for improving enthusiasm
53

• When there is no systemof measurements in
  placeto gauge student satisfaction,can a school
  district genuinely saythat its students are its
  top priority?

54
Celebrations vs. Rewards/Incentives

• No parents send their children to school to
  continually be losers.
• Same 15 receive awards recognitions
• Awards assemblies produce dropouts first in
  the heart and mind, next with the body
• Everyone Contributes Everyone Celebrates

55
Histogram Graph 4

• 3 basic graphs - class run chart
• scatter diagram- student run chartshow movement
  over time.
• Histograms display a moment in time.- how many
  students answer each question correctly

56
HistogramL to Bell to J

• L J Curves more important than Bell-shaped
  Curve (appropriate for middle of year)
• Move from L at beginning (standards are probably
  appropriate students have much to learn) to J
  at end (high success most students met
  expectations for year)
• The real work to bring a class to the J occurs
  after standardized testing (April)

57
High Standards inPerformance Essential
Informationwith Continuous Improvement ? More
As

• This is NOT
• Inflation higher cost with no improvement in
  quality
• Grade Inflation higher grades without more
  learning
• Some teachers are sorters, some developers
• Administrative support and understanding
  crucial

58
Disaggregate Datato Gain Insight

• Break down data (age run charts, scatter
  diagrams)into subsets to identify address
  achievement gaps potential insight for future
  improvement
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Reading level
• Disability
• Attendance
• Socioeconomic level
• Other subgroups

59
Data Disaggregation Sequence

• Gather the numbers and disaggregate the data.
• Graph the data.
• Study the graphs for insight.
• Use the insight to establish hypotheses (ask
  students for help).
• Carry out the hypothesis in order to gain
  knowledge.

60
Lets see . . .

• Run Charts Is learning being produced at an
  acceptable rate is it likely year-end standards
  will be met?
• Histogram J shape documents success
• Disaggregated run charts scatter diagrams ?
  insight to assist educators in increasing
  learning
• Item Analysis provide direction in attempts to
  improve learning

61
Item Analysis

• Provide insight to increase learning
• Both individual and class
• Students use tools to gain report their
  insights
• Tally Marks how many times each error was made
• Histogram - of each type of error
• Pareto Charts most informative tool for item
  analysis

62
Pareto Chart

• Organize histogram in descending order of total
  errors per item for whole class
• Compute running percentage what of total
  class errors were contributed by each error
• Helps focus on the few errors contributing the
  most to student difficulty
• Pareto Monitors 3 students with calculator 6
  weeks, 1 replaced every 2 weeks

QI Macros
63
Statistic Reporters

• 2nd Committee
• Calculate Report
• Mean
• Median
• Mode
• Range
• Display learning steps on wall near charts
• Students need real data on an ongoing basis to
  internalize these basic statistical terms.