Listening to Student Voice

 

Dr. Ronald F. Ferguson of Harvard University has spent a decade developing reliable predictors of and measures for effective teaching that go BEYOND observations and test scores.  The Tripod Project captures and provides a framework to measure components of effective teaching. Classrooms that score higher on the 7 Tripod measures have consistently happier, harder working students and they learn more.  His research affirms what educators have long known: students know...they really know.

So let's listen to what students are telling us.  Education Week provided a status report on the newer, Smarter Balanced assessments.  Remember, these assessments have been billed as a "total shift in thinking, teaching and assessment." Teachers across the country, and in our own district, have been concerned about the increased rigor and expectation, wondering how our students would perform.

Of special concern were the more challenging performance tasks, which, "drew the warmest comments from students.  'They enjoyed those the most because they were using academics and applying them to content situations, things they were connected with.'" 

Math presented some additional challenges because it required students to "blend skills together to solve a problem, instead of regurgitating facts"(Gewertz, 2014).

Students noted the rigor.  Some, as we might expect, said they'd rather have the old test because it "was easier" (Gewertz, 2014).

We're finding our students understand that the rigor more closely matches the expectations of life after high school, and, affirming Dr. Ferguson's research, know that they grow the most in classes that require them to:

• Care: Show concern and commitment.
• Confer:  Invite ideas and promote discussion.
• Captivate:  Inspire curiosity and interest.
• Clarify: Cultivate understanding and overcome confusion.
• Consolidate:  Integrate ideas and check for understanding.
• Challenge: Press for rigor and persistence.
• Control: Sustain order, respect and focus.    (Tripod Project^®Framework)                             

These verbs, which are active and speak to a level of challenge that engages students, are found throughout the lessons crafted by SPS teachers, and reflect our adoption of the Missouri Learning Standards. 

As measures, in conjunction with a rigorous, literacy rich curriculum,  they continue to guide our efforts to equip students for life beyond high school.  

So we keep listening.

Gewertz, C. (2014, May 5). Early reports suggest few field-testing snags: Exams aligned with the common core are seen as harder than state assessments. . Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/05/06/30fieldtest_ep.h33.html? 

The Tripod Project. Retrieved May 23, 2014, from tripodproject.org