EXAMPLE LESSON PLAN: CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING OVERVIEW Each day of this lesson, students listen as the teacher reads a different picture book. Following the story, class discussion focuses on the problem that the main character faces and theI?rKelated solution that the character chooses. An interactive bulletin board?in the classroom allows students to create their own solutions to various problems that they face personally. After each read-aloud and discussion, students compare the different stories and plots using a story mapping graphic organizer. As ?a culminating project, students choose their own characters, define a problem and a solution appropriate for their characters, and then write their own problemisolving stories. FEATURED RESOURCES . Problem and Solution Organizer: Students can use this simple graphic organizer to note the problems and solutions characters face. Problem Solution handout: This graphiterganizer can help students plan their own problem-solution story. FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE Researchers such as Dolores Durkin (1961), Margaret Clark (1976), Regie Routman (1988; 1991), and Kathy Short (1995) have found evidence that children who are immersed in rich, authentic literary experiencesbecome highly engaged in literature and develop literary awareness. Their studies revealed that positive and meaningful experiences with books and play a critical role in the development of literacy skills. Other researchers have found that students acquired reading and thinking strategies in literature?based programs that included teacher-led comprehension instruction (Block, 1993; Baumann, 1997; and Goldenberg, 1992/1993). Through the exploration of picture books that feature problem-solving themes, this lesson highlights a familiar structure in works of literature, one which bridges directly to critical thinking strategies students can tap in their real-world experiences. Further Reading Moss, Joy F. 2005. Literature, Literacy, and Comprehension Strategies in the Elementary School. Urbana, Illinois: NCTE. [See Chapter One: "Theory into Practice."] inonoeuu Li. Commdn Core of Teaching (CCT) Rubric for EffectivsTeachin-g- Teacher Self-Evaluation Teacher Name: Date: Department: 'Please complete a self~eva1uation for each indicator under all of the domains of the COT rubric. Please clearly highlight or circle the indicator for each item that you feel best represents your professionalzperformance and practice. - 3. . During the end of the year sumntiative review meeting you and your evaluatd?r Will discuss areas of strength and areas for improvement. Any CCT indicator evaluations that are developing, helow standard or you and your evaluator disagree on will be discussed. If during the evaluation process, you and your evaluator disagree about a Speci?c indicator in the rubric, you may present evidence for the evaluator to consider and a follow?up conference will he held to review the evidence. At that time, the evaluator?s rubric ?ndings may he changed. Note: If. you. didnpt complete a full formal observation your indicator scores for Domain 2 will revert to your previous years rating. Connecticut Common Core of Tea 1g (CCT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 17 homain a; Professional Responsibilities and Teacher Leadership Does not contribute to a positive. school climate. Limits communication with families about student academic or behavioral performance to required reports and conferences. Sometimes demonstrates lack of respect for cultural differences when communicating with?students and families OR demonstrates bias and/or negativity in the community. to develop a positive school climate but makes minimal contributions. Communicates with families abdut student academic. or behavioral performance through required reports: and conferences; and makes some attempts to build relationships through additional communications. Generally communicates with families and the community in a culturally-responsive manner. Participates in schoolwide efforts Engages with colleagues, students and families in developing and sustaining a positive school climate. Communicates frequently and proactively with families about learning expectations and student academic or behavioral performance; and develops positive relationships with families to promote student success. Consistently communicates with families and the community in a culturally?responsive manner. Leads efforts within and outside the school to improve and strengthen the school climate. Supports colleagues in developing effective ways to communicate with and engage them in opportunities to support their child?s learning; and seeks input from families and communities to support student growth and development. Leads efforts to enhance culturally-responsive communications with families and the community 21 Culturally-responsive communications: Using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and effective for students and to build bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences. Connecticut, Common Core of Teaching (LCT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 ?15 acmain a: ?roieseienai and teacher Leadership insuf?ciently reflects on] anaiyzes practice and impact on student learning. Unwillingly accepts feedback and recommendations. for improving. - practice. Attends required professional learning opportunities but resists participating. Self-evaluates and reflects on practice and impact on student learning, but makes limited efforts?to improve individual practice. Reluctantly accepts feedback fend recommendations for improving practice, but changes ?in practice are limited Participates in professional learning when asked but makes minimal contributions. Self-evaIUates and re?ects on individual practice and impact on student learning. identi?es areas for improvement, and takes action to improve professional practice. Willingly accepts feedback and makes Changes' in practice based on feedback. Participates actively in required professional leaming?and seeks trout opportunities within and beyond the school to strengthen skills and apply new iearning to practice. Uses'ongoing self-evaluation and reflection to initiate- . profesSional dialogue with coileagues to improve collective practices to address learning, school and professional needs. Proactively seeks feedback in order to improve a range of professionai practices. Takes a lead in and/or initiates opportunities for professional learning with colleagues?. 4? Connecticut Common Core of Te 21g (COT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 . 1 3 Domain 3: lns?tmction- for Active Learning includes. tasks that do not lead students to construct new and meaningful leaming? and tha__t focus rimaril on iow co nitive demand or: recall of information. Uses resources andlor group? ings that do not cognitively engage students or support new . learning. . Implements instruction that is-primarily teacher?directed. 3 providing little-or no opportunities . for students to developindepem dense as learners. includes a combination of tasks and questions in an attempt to lead students to construct new learning, but are of low cognitive with some opportunities for Uses resources andlor group- ings that minimally engage. students cognitively and support new learning. implements instruction that is mostly teacher directed, but provides some opportunities for students to develop indepen- dence as learners and share responsibility for the learning process. Uses resources and ?exible groupings that cognitively engage students in demonstrating new learning in muitiple ways, includ- ing application ofn new leami ng to Employs differentiated strategies, tasks and questions that cognitively engage students in constructing new and meaningful learning through appropriatety integrated recall information. and problem-solvino stratedies Implements instruction that Implements instruction that prevides multiple opportunities supports and challenges for students to develop indepen? students to identify various dance as learners and share ways to approach learning tasks responsibility for the learning that will be effective for them process; - as individuals and will result in quality work. Underlined text re?ects CT Core Standards connections; 18 instructional resources. Includes but are not lIrnIted to textbooks, books, supplementary reading and information resources, periodicals newspapers charts, programs,? online and electronic resources and subscription databases. e-books computer software, kits, games, transparencies, pictures, posters art prInts, study prints sculptures models maps globes. motion pictures, audio and video recordings, DVDS, software streaming media, multimedia. dramatic productions performances concerts, written and performed music, bibiiographies and lists of references issued by professional personnel speakers (human resources) and all other Instructional resources needed for educational purposes. Connecticut Comrnon Core of Teaching (LCT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 11 *An-l IV E. I success; and/or does not plan opponunities for students to- self- assess. Plans assessment strategies that are limited or not aligned to intended instructional outcomes. Ddes not plan. criteria forstudent Islans general criteria tor student success; and/or plans some opportunities for students to self- . Plans assessment strategies that are partially aligned tofi'ntended instructional outcomes OR strategies that elicitonly minimal evidence of student learning. Plans speci?c criteria?for student success; and plans opportunities for students to self-assess using .. the criteria. Plans assessment strategies to elicit speci?c evidence of student learning of intended instructional outcomes at critical points throughout the lesson. Plans to include students in developing criteria for monitoring their own success.- Plans strategies to engage students in using. assessment criteria to self-monitor and re?ect upon their own progress. a 15 Assessment strategies are used to evaluate student learning during and after instruction, 1. Formative assessment is a part of the instructional process, used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students? achievement of intended instructional outcomes (FAST October 2006). - 2. Summatlve assessments are used to eva'ltiate student learning at the end of an instructional period. Summative assessment helps determine to what extent the instructional and learning goals have been inet Connecticut Common Core of Te, I I 1g (CCT) Rubric for E?cctive Teaching 2-014 - Plans content that is misaligned with or does not address the Common Core State Standards and/or other a re Connecticut content standards.a [icesnot appropriately sequence content of the lesson plan. Uses general curriculum goals ?to plan common instruction . and learning tasks without Consideration of data, students? prior knowledge or different learning needs. Plans instruction that includes few. opportunities for students to develop literacy skills or academic vocabulary. Plans content that partially addresses CommonJCore State Standards and/or other ro riate Connecticut content standards. Partially aligns content of the lesson plan within the sequence of lessons; andlinconsistently supports an a "re riate level of challenge. Uses appropriate, whole class data to plan instruction with limited attention to prior knowledge and/or skills of individual students. Plans instruction that includes some opportunities for students literac skills or in isolation. Uses multiple sources of appro- al students' prior knowledge and Plans: content that directly addresses Common Core State Standards andlor other ro riate Connecticut content standards. Aligns content of the lesson plan within the sequence of lessons; and supports an appropriate level of ohallen e. priate data to? determine individu? skills to plan targeted, purposeful instruction that advances the learning of students. Plans instruction that integrates literac strata res and academic Plans for anticipation of misconceptions, ambiguities or challenges and. considers multiple ways of how to address these in advance. Plans for students to identify their own learning needs based on their own individual data. Designs opportunities to allow students to independently select terac strata res that so ort Under ined text re?ects CT Core Standards connections. 7 Level of challenge: The range?cf challenge in neither too hard six levels Webb?s investigation or application to-realjwork}. Hess?s Cognitive levels and Webb?s Depth?of?Knowledge levels. whicha' learner Can progress because'the task is nor too? Taxonomy provides a way to organize. thinking skills into from the most basic to the'mcre complex'leVels of thinking tofacilitate complex reasoning. Depth of Knowledge a scale of cognitive demand identi?ed as four distinct levels basic recall of facts, concepts, infant-ration, or procedures; 2. skills and concepts such as the use of information (graphs) or requires two or more steps with decision points along the way; 3. strategic thinking that requires reasoning and is abstract .and' complex; and 4. extended thinking such as an Rigor Matrix aligns Bloom's Taxonomy 8 Lesson plan: 10 Liter-a . con ecticut come is nda- ds: and Development Standards (ELDS) for early childhood educators. a purposeful planned learning experience. Standards developed for all content areas including Early Learning strata ies: Literacy is the ability to convey meaning and understand meaning in a variety of text forms print, media, music, art. movement). Literacy strategies include communicating through language (readingiwritlng, using the academic vocabulary of the discl- pline; interpreting meaning within the discipline; and communicating through the discipline. Research shows that teacher integration of effective discipline-speci?c literacy strategies results in improved student leaming. Connecticut Common Core of Teaching (015T) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 - i 7 Domain 1: Classroom Environment, Student Engagement and Commitment to Learning ?i?i it: a . 2' .1 Demonstrates little or no Establishes standards of Establishes high standards of Student behavior is evidence that standards of behavior but inconsistently behaliior?,? which are Consistently completely appropriate. behavior have been established; enforces expectations resulting reinforced resultingin little or OR and/or minimally enforces in some interference with student no interference with student Teacher seamlessly responds to misbehavior without any loss of instructional ?time, expectations rules and learning. learning. consequences) resulting in interference with student learning. Provides littleto no instruction lnconsistently teaches, models, When necessary, explicitly Students take an active role andlor opportunities for'students and/or reinforces social skills; teaches, models, andlor in maintaining high standards to develop social skills and does not routinely provide positively reinforces social of behaviors. responsible behavior. students with opportunities skills; routinely builds students' OR to self-regulate and take capacity to self-regulate and take responsibility for their actions. responsibility for their actions. Students are encouraged to independently use proactive strategies5 and social skills and take responsibility for their actions. 4 Social competence: Exhibiting self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and 5 Proactive strategies: include self-regulation strategies. problem-solving strategies, con?ict? sacral skills at appropriate times and With sut?ment frequency to be effective in the situation resolution processes, interpersonal communication and responsible decision?making. (Boyatms, Goieman, Rhee, 2000). Connecticut Common Core of To 1g (CUT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 CCT Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 At a Glance Etiidenpe Generally Col-tested Thro I. . hon-cl ASSroomlRevieWS of PraCtiCe A - 5 Teachers promote student engagement; independence and .: interdependence in learning and facilitate a positive learning community by: 121. Creating a positive learning environment that is responsive to and respectful of the learning needs of all students. 1b. Promoting developmentally appropriate standards of behavior that support a productive learning environment for all students. to. Maximizing instructional time by effectively managing routines and transitions. Teachers plan instruction to engage students in rigorotis and relevant learning and to promote their curiosity about the world at large by: 2a. Planning of instructional content that is aligned with standards, builds on students? prior knowledge and provides for appropriate level of challenge for all students. 213. Planning instruction to cognitively engage students in the content. 2c. Selecting appropriate assessment strategies to monitor student progress. Teachers implement instruction to engage students in rigorous and relevant learning and to promote their curiosity about the world at large by: 3a. Implementing instructional content for learning. 3b: Leading students to construct meaning and'apply new learning through the use of a variety of differentiated and evidence-based learning strategies. 3c. Assessing student learning, providing feedback to students and adjusting instruction. Teachers maximize support for student learning by developing and demonstrating professionalism, collaboration and leadership by: 4a. Engaging in continuous professional learning to impact instruction and student learning. 4b. Collaborating to develop and sustain a professional learning environment to support student learning. 4c. Working with colleagues, students and families to develop and sustain a positive school climate that supports student learning. Connecticut Common Core of Teaching (CUT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 I 3 Observation Process The COT Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 will be used by trained and pro?cient evaluators to observe a teacher. Each teacher Shall be observed at a minimum as stated in, the Connecticut Guidelines for Educator Evaluation. In order to capture an authentic View of practice. andto promote a culture or openness and comfort with frequent. observations and feedback, it is recommended that evaluators use a combination of announced and unannounced observations. All observations, should be followed by feedback, either verbal a post. conference, cements about professional meetings[presentations, etc.) or written via email, comprehensive write?up, etc.) or both, within days of an observation. Speci?c, actionable feedback is also used to identify teacher development needs and tailor support to those needs. Further guidance on the observation: protocol is provided in the Connecticut Guidelines for Educator Evaluation or in the System for Educator Evaluation and Development (SEED) state model . Evidence can be gathered from formal inwclass observations, informalclass?roomobservations omen-classroom observations] review of practice. Although the Guidelines for Educator Evaluation do not speci?cally de?ne these types of observations and districts may de?ne them as part of their district evaluation and support . plans, the state model SEED provides the following de?nitions: Formal Iii-Class Observations: last at least 30 minutes and are followed by a post?observation conference, which includes timely written and verbal feedback. Informal Iii-class Observations: last at least 10 minutes and are followed by written and/or verbal feedback. Non-classroom Observations/Reviews of Practice: include but are not limited to: observation of data team meetings, observations of coaching/mentoring other teachers, review of lesson plans or other teaching artifacts. Introduction The following protocol may be used for conducting a formal observation that requires a pre- and post?conference: A. Pro-Conference: Before the observation, the evaluator will review planning documentation and other relevant and supporting artifacts provided by the teacher in order to understand the context for instruction, . including .but not limited to: the learning objectives, curricular standards alignment differentiation of instruction for particular students, assessments used before or during instruction, resources .and materials B. Observation: Observers will collect evidence mostly for Domains 1 and 3 timing the observation. C. Post-Conference: The post-?observation conference gives the teacher the opportunity to re?ect on and discuss the lesson;l practice observed, progress of students, adjustments made during the lesson, further supporting artifacts as well as describe the impact on future instruction and student learning. D. Analysis: The evaluator analyzes the evidence gathered in the observation and the pre- and post?conferences and identi?es the applicable performance descriptors contained in the CCT Rubric for E??ecri've Teaching 2014. E. Ratings/Feedback: . Based on the training guidelines for the CCT Rubric for E??ecti've Racking 2014, the evaluator will tag evidence to the apprOpriate indicator within the domains and provide feedback to the teacher. While it is not a requirement for any single observation, evaluators may rate the indicators. Connecticut Common Core of Te: lg (CCT) Rubric for Effective Teaching 2014 Connecticut State Department of Education Dr. Dianna R. Wentzell Commissioner I Talent Of?ce Dr. Sarah Barzee Chief Talent O?icer Shannon Marimon Division Director Educator E?ectiveness and Professional Learning Acadernic Of?ce Ellen Cohn Interim Chief Academic Of?cer Development Committee . GOT Rubric for Effective Teaching Committee Members Project Manager Claudine Primack Education Consultant, Educator E??ectiveness and Professional Learning, CSDE Facilitators Dr. Sandy Greenberg Professional Examination Services Pat Muenzen Professional Examination Services Committee Members/Contributing Authors Roxanne Augelli, Waterbury Diane Ayer, Lebanon Michelle Cirillo, Ellington Teresa Debrito, Region 12 Vicki DeLeo, Bolton Michael DiCicco, Mans?eld Sandra Dunnack, Chaiplin Kevin EganlWaterbury Kim Gallo, Region 12 Eileen Howley, LEARN Kathleen Koljian, Windham (AF T) Dave Levenduski, Meriden Tom Lindemnuth, South Windsor (CEA) Katherine Lopez, Meriden Pat Mohaels, CBS/Western CT State University Steven Murphy, Stonington Carly Quiros, Education Connection Darren Schwartz, Waterbury Linda Skoglund, New Britain (AFT) Patti Fusco, West Haven (AFT) Everett Lyons, CAS Mike Galuzzo, CAS CSDE Consultantleontributing Authors Georgette Nemr Professional Standards and Certi?cation Kim Wachtelhausen Educator Effectiveness and Professional Learning and TEAM Program Manager Rhonda Kempton Special Education Scott Shnler Academic Of?ce, Music Charlene Tate-Nichols Academic O?ice, Math Joe DiGarbo Academic Of?ce, Assessment Jennifer Webb Academic Of?ce, English Language Arts William Howe Academic O?ice, Culturally-Responsive Education and Multicultural Education Other Contributors Duffy Milier Teaching Learning Solutions Michele O?Neil Connecticut Education Association (CEA) . CONNECTICUT CURE STANDARDS SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND INTELLECTUAL HABITS DOCUMENTS Introduction The Kindergarten through Grade 3 Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits Framework represents the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that form an essential blueprint for college and career readiness to achieve academic success and social/ emotional learning. Social skills and habits of thinking and learning set the stage for all future learning. With support from adults during the early elementary years, children learn to interact with others, develop attitudes in relation to academic work, develop a cognitive framework regarding academic behaviors and thinking critically, maintain focus irrespective of obstacles, deal with frustration, and begin to manage their own learning. The Kindergarten through Grade 3 Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits build from the foundational skills in the Cognitive and Social and Emotional Development Domains of the CT Early Learning and Development Standards, highlighting the continued growth and development that must be supported over the early elementary years. The Kindergarten through Grade 3 Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits Framework does not require districts to develop new curricula or programs to support social/emotional learning. Many of the social knowledge, skills, and dispositions can be addressed throughout the course of the regular school day, during daily routines and during academic instruction. To that end, the Kindergarten through Grade 3 Subject Area Connections for Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Habits documents developed by Academic Office consultants and Connecticut educators are meant to serve as resources to teachers, administrators, and curriculum developers for integrating social/emotional learning into current curriculum documents units of study, lessons). A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform is the 1983 report of American President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is considered a landmark event in modern American educational history. Among other things, the report contributed to the ever-growing assertion that American schools were failing,ml2l and it touched off a wave of local, state, and federal reform effort. Formation and motivation The commission consisted of 18 members, drawn from the private sector, government, and education. The chair of the commission was David PierpontGardner.l31 Secretary of Education T. H. Bell sought to have the commission be presidentially appointed. Reagan did not concur, and Bell used his own authority as Secretary to establish the commission and appoint its members.l4l As implied by the title of the report, the commission's charter responds to Terrel Bell's observation that the United States? educational system was failing to meet the national need for a competitive workforce. Among other things, the charter required the commission to assess the "quality of teaching and learning" at the primary, secondary, and postsecondary levels, in both the public and private spheres and to compare "American schools and colleges with those of other advanced nations." The report was primarily authored by James J. Harvey, who the feedback from the commission members and the memorable language in the opening pages: ?the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people" and "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war."l31 Presidential commissions on education have been relatively common since The Truman Report in 1947. Other notable groups include Dwight Eisenhower's "Committee on Education Beyond the High School" (1956), John F. Kennedy's Task Force on Education (1960), and George W. Bush's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, also known as the Spellings Commission, which produced Test of Leadership" (2006). The published report The report surveys various studies which point to academic underachievement on national and international scales. For example, the report notes that average SAT scores dropped "over 50 points" in the verbal section and "nearly 40 points" in the mathematics section during the period 1963-1980. Nearly forty percent of 17-year-olds tested could not successfully "draw inferences from written material," and "only one-fifth can write a persuasive essay; and only one?third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps." Referencing tests conducted in the 19705, the study points to unfavorable comparisons with students outside the United States: on "19 academic tests American students were never first or second and, in comparison with other industrialized nations, were last seven times".t31 In response to these and similar problems, the commission made 38 recommendations, divided across 5 major categories: Content, Standards and Expectations, Time, Teaching, Leadership and Fiscal Support: - Content: "4 years of English; 3 years of mathematics; (0) 3 years of science; 3 years of social studies; and one-half year of computer science" for high school students." The commission also recommends that students work toward proficiency in a foreign language starting in the elementary grades. - Standards and Expectations: the commission cautioned against grade inflation and recommends that four?year colleges raise admissions standards and standardized tests of achievement at "major transition points from one level of schooling to another and particularly from high school to college or work." Time: the commission recommended that "school districts and State legislatures should strongly consider 7-hour school days, as well as a 200- to 220?day school year." - Teaching: the commission recommended that salaries for teachers be "professionally competitive, market-sensitive, and performance- based," and that teachers demonstrate "competence in an academic discipline." - Leadership and Fiscal Support: the commission noted that the Federal government plays an essential role in helping "meet the needs of key groups of students such as the gifted and talented, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, minority and language minority students, and the handicapped." The commission also noted that the Federal government also must help ensure compliance with "constitutional and civil rights," and "provide student financial assistance and research and graduate training.?t51 A Nation at Risk was at odds with several of President Reagan's stated policy initiatives for education: ?voluntary prayer under school auspices, tax credits for tuition payments and abolition of the department of education?.l61 In 1990, Admiral James Watkins, the Secretary of Energy, commissioned the Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico to document the decline in the Nation at Risk report with actual data?l When the systems scientists broke down the SAT test scores into subgroups they discovered contradictory data. While the overall average scores declined, the subgroups of students increased. In statistics this is known as Simpson's paradox. The three authors presented their reportJBI David Kearns, Deputy Secretary of Education allegedly told the authors of the report, "You bury this or I'll bury you"I91 but Diane Ravitch disputes this quotem Education Week published an article on the Sandia report in 1991 .WJ Unlike the Nation at Risk report, the Sandia Report critique received almost no attention. On the 25th anniversary of the release of A Nation at Risk, the organization Strong American Schools released a report card showing progress since the initial report.t121The organization's analysis said: While the national conversation about education would never be the same, stunningly few of the Commission?s recommendations actually have been enacted. Now is not the time for more educational research or reports or commissions. We have enough commonsense ideas, backed by decades of research, to significantly improve American schools. The missing ingredient isn?t even educational at all. It?s political. Too often, state and local leaders have tried to enact reforms of the kind recommended in A Nation at Risk only to be stymied by organized special interests and political inertia. Without vigorous national leadership to improve education, states and local school systems simply cannot overcome the obstacles to making the big changes necessary to significantly improve our nation?s K-12 schoolslisl Salvatore Babones has criticized the composition and competences of the committee: The commission included 12 administrators, 1 businessperson, 1 chemist, 1 physicist, 1 politician, 1 conservative activist, and 1 teacher. Just one practicing teacher and not a single academic expert on education. It should come as no surprise that a commission dominated by administrators found that the problems of US. schools were mainly caused by lazy students and unaccountable teachers. Administrative incompetence was not on the agenda. Nor were poverty, inequality, and racial discriminationM References A Sinquefield, Rex (2013-09-20). "Public Schools Are Failing, And That's A Healthy Sign For Good Teachers?. Forbes. Retrieved 2013-12?16. A Klein, Joel (2011-04-26). ?The Failure of American Schools". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2013-12-16. a 6 Full report of A Nation at Risk A Kosar, Kevin R. Ronald Reagan and Education Policy (Studies in Governance and Politics, 2011). A Archived: Recommendations A Fiske, Edward. "Top Objectives Elude Reagan As Education Policy Evolves." New York Times 27 Dec 1983. A Ansary, Tamim. Education at Risk: Fallout from a Flawed Report. A The Sandia Report and US. Achievement: An Assessment. The Journal of Educational Research JER Archived December 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, v87 n3 p133?47 Jan-Feb 1994. A Bracey, Gerald. Righting Wrongs. December 3, 2007. A Ravitch, Diane. Is US. Education Better Than Ever?. December 3, 2007. A Miller, Julie A. ?Report Questioning 'Crisis' in Education Triggers an Uproar,? Education Week. October 9, 1991 A IN 08 UNVEILS NEW ANALYSIS AND REPORT CARD SURROUNDING 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF A NATION AT A ED in 08 I Strong American Schools: Making Education a Priority - Issues Archived May 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. A Babones, Salvatore. "Education "reform's" big lie: The real reason the right has declared war on our public schools?. Retrieved 8 June 2015. ABOUT HOT SCHOOLS HIGHER ORDER THINKING SCHOOLS HOT Schools(TM) is a program of the Connecticut Office of the Arts, is a community of practice that networks and develops entities interested in teaching and learning in, about, and through the arts, in a democratic setting, using he I I. The HOT APPROACH builds higher order thinking skills and prepares students to be successful learners and contributors in the 21st Century. HOT Schools(TM) practices and strategies stimulate student curiosity, ignite their sense of wonder, empower students so they feel invested in their school and in their learning, and steer students toward a journey of lifelong learning. Students who attend a HOT school enjoy numerous outlets for expression and for reinforcement of the intrinsic value of their thoughts.The HOT Schools program, established in 1994, builds higher order thinking skills and prepares students to be successful learners and contributors in the 2lst Century through strong arts, arts integration, and democratic practice. In HOT schools, the arts are rigorous academic subjects, each with its own sequential curriculum that conveys knowledge not learned through other academic disciplines. HOT School teachers work collaboratively to structure interdisciplinary curricula that promote deep learning of subject matter, higl :cl onlcr lhinlainri. creativity and teamwork by strategically linking learning in the arts to learning across the curriculum. HOT Schools cultivate a democratic school culture to which all members of the school community contribute and in which individual leadership is emphasized. The HOT APPROACH to teaching and learning has emerged through a strong network of 47+ Connecticut urban, suburban and rural public schools representing all Congressional Districts. HOT Schools directly serves approximately 7,000 8,000 Pre?K through grade12 students, their teachers and their parents annually. The HOT Schools APPROACH to teaching and learning has been adopted and adapted by schools, arts organizations, individual teaching artists, War local arts agencies, and state arts agencies nationwide interested in understanding school culture change, curriculum integration, and arts? Hot schools mission Higher Order Thinking (HOT) schools inspire lifelong learning in, about, and through the arts in a democratic community celebrating each child?s unique voice. infused program design. Hot school's vision Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Schools are sustainable, vibrant learning communities in which educators of all disciplines regularly and confidently collaborate to create arts and arts integrated learning opportunities that stimulate learning across subjects. Within the unique climate and culture of each school, prevails a commitment to a shared vision that cultivates leadership, voice, choice, participation and responsibility in all stakeholders: students, staff and parents. Schools fully immersed in the HOT Approach foster critical thinking and creative problem solving, curiosity, social and emotional development and risk taking as essential learning and life skills Hot school history The HOT Schools program, established in 1994, works with select Connecticut schools to build higher order thinking skills and to prepare students to be successful learners and contributors in the 213i Century through strong arts (standards-based arts education), arts integration, and democratic practice. In HOT schools, the arts are rigorous academic subjects, each with its own sequential curriculum that conveys knowledge not learned through other academic disciplines. HOT Schools teachers work collaboratively to structure interdisciplinary curricula that promote deep learning of subject matter, higher order thinking, creativity and teamwork by strategically linking learning in the arts to learning across the curriculum. HOT Schools cultivate a democratic school culture to which all members of the school community contribute and in which individual leadership is emphasized. State wide impact The HOT Approach to teaching and learning has emerged through a strong network of participating urban, suburban and rural HOT Schools, serving thousands of students in over 47 Connecticut public schools in all congressional districts and reached over 100,000 students. it has been adopted and adapted by state, national and international educators, whole schools, arts organizations, individual teaching artists, local arts agencies, and state arts agencies nationwide who are interested in understanding school culture change, curriculum integration, and arts-infused program design Over 47 schools served Working with select Connecticut schools since 1994, the program has directly served over 47 schools in all congressional districts and reached over 100,000 students. Hot schools Quote "The globalized society transformed by technology requires all children to become creative, entrepreneurial, and globally competent. The HOT program is one of the few innovative educational programs I have seen in the world with such a future orientation. it has the promise to lead the educational changes much needed for cultivating creative, entrepreneurial, and globally competent citizens.? Dr. Yong Zhao, Author World Class Learners BUILDING BETTER SCHOOLS To Build a Better High School, Coherence Is Key Making U.S. high schools great is a tough nut to crack, and the landscape of the past half-century is littered with failures to prove it. But those decades of trying have yielded some lessons that are guiding the latest school improvement pioneers. Reviewing the progress?and problems?of high school reform in a 2013 report, the carnegie Corporation of New York noted that many high schools have latched on to key improvement strategies but failed to incorporate others that are equally important. It called for national attention to ?intentional new school designs" that incorporate 10 principles that research has shown to be pivotal in creating high- performing secondary schools, such as having a clear mission and coherent culture and personalizing learning to fit students' needs. "By purposefully integrating many of these advances in a comprehensive school design, much more can be accomplished than applying each individually," wrote co?authors Leah Hamilton and Anne Mackinnon. High School RedeSIgn Diplomas Count Wraps Up Decade-Long Run To Build a Better High School, Coherence Is Key Vt. High School Takes Student Voice to Heart One Student's Quest to Reshape Schools Students in El Paso Get Leg Up on College Students Blaze Career Paths at Omaha High School Cleveland School Makes City Its Classroom Boston Solicits Public for High School Redesign Ideas Redesigned Denver School Gets Rocky Start Minnesota High School Designed for 'Flexibility' Arkansas High School Expands on a Human Scale U.S. Graduation Rate Breaks Another Record Researchers have learned a lot in 50 years, so the list of best practices is dauntingly long. Each of Carnegie's 10 principles, for instance, includes multiple subpoints, producing 33 best practices in all. To name just a few: Schools should facilitate close relationships between students and adults. They should provide a challenging curriculum with appropriate supports, encourage students to take charge of their learning, and let them demonstrate their learning in many ways. They should let teachers team up to strengthen instruction and they should ensure "fair and equitable" teacher evaluations. In making?or remaking?high schools, there is so much to think about that it's no wonder many projects have been unraveled by entrenched practices, poor planning or execution, lack of support, or institutional barriers, Paul T. Hill and Tricia Maas say in their 2015 study of high school reform's checkered history. Decades of trying to revive high school education, starting with James B. Conant's 1959 treatise, The American High School Today, have featured arguments for and against comprehensive high schools, small schools, shared curriculum, and grouping students by ability. Districts and states need to "stop creating rules that make all schools operate alike," Hill and Maas wrote in their paper. ''This means abandoning the hopeless effort to create exactly the right set of rules that will force all schools to be good. It also means expecting schools to be different and assessing them only on results?whether students learn, graduate, and succeed at the next-higher level of education." Few high schools have found successful designs in recent years that incorporate all the principles that research tells us are sound. But many are focusing intently, passionately, on specific ideas that drive their improvement agendas. And in that work, little by little, they are adding diversity to the supply of American high schools, to meet the varied needs of the country's 15 million high school students. By encouraging students to collaborate in wide- open settings, the school hopes kids will be equipped to think ?exibly on diverse topics later in life. "We want to have teaching Where the students make research and work together in solving real problems," headmaster Allan Kjaer Andersen tells Business Insider. "So we want to be an open school that is in connection with the outside world." The open spaces, which are adorned with spacious "drums" for a more relaxed learning environment, encourage students to assume an active role in their own education. Kids break off into groups and form makeshift classrooms, sometimes with teachers to guide them. "It's not enough to give them knowledge, you also have to give them a way of transforming knowledge into action," Andersen says. "And that's very important for us, and I think it is important for modern schools.? "The school experience can be so much more than consumption of facts and figures," CEO Max Ventilla tells Business Insider. "We should be educating children from a whole-child lens where they learn to problem solve, social-emotional learning is prioritized, students should be part of the goal-setting process, and so on.? to learn how to turn their passions into full-fledged businesses. Like its namesake suggests, the Steve Jobs school rejects the conventional wisdom in full: Instead of corralling kids through the same educational system, they go at their own pace. Maurice de Hond, the school's founder, tells Business Insider that each student begins with an Individual Development Plan (IDP), which is evaluated and readjusted every six weeks by the child, his or her parents, and the coach. (The school doesn't call them "teachers.") "Based on the outcome of the de Hond says, "the child is offered new personal learning challenges and instruction moments to choose from." All students in the 4th to 12th grade school receive iPads fully loaded with apps to guide individualized learning. The goal is to get kids designing their own education. "In a Steve Jobs School," de Hond says, "no child is an exception as every child works at its own pace.? Launched by Visionary Gever Tulley in 2011, Brightworks takes some of the most dangerous things parents tell their kids not to do and makes an entire curriculum out of them. Kids in grades through 12 get dirty, play with fire, take apart home appliances, and complete art projects all in the same day. "We invite students to be co-authors of their education, embracing and supporting the individual and the unique set of skills and interests that motivate them," Tulley and Justine Macauley, Brightworks' program coordinator, tell Business Insider in an email. The school is housed in an expansive warehouse filled with art, forts and makeshift theaters items all meant to tap into kids' creative side. "The world needs more people who see the hardest challenges as interesting puzzles and have the creative capacity, skills, and tenacity to make change happen," Tulley and Macauley say. They are people "who take joy in contributing instead of consuming, participating actively in the world, and who empathize across social and economic boundaries.? The Carpe Diem school looks more like an office building than a classroom. Inside the main room, known as The Learning Center, there are 300 cubicles (one for each student). These cubes house a computer that guides the student through his or her education. It's a model that has paid off big time in the handful of Carpe Diem schools, which go from grades 3 to 12, across the US. Carpe Diem?Yuma, in Arizona, outperformed every public school in the county on the Arizona Instrument for Measuring Standards (AIMS) test four years in a row. Carpe Diem's proficiency was 92%, whereas the average was 65%. In Indianapolis, kids are increasing their reading levels by the equivalent of three years in just one year's time. "Every student is different," Carpe Diem CEO Dr. Robert Sommers tells Business Insider. "Yet we need to get them all prepared for life after school. Adjusting to their needs allows students to be more successful. We judge our success on our students success.? Innova is Peru's response to failures in standardized education in the country. The school combines several different forms of instruction tech?heavy online learning, guided lessons, group work in a setting that was designed to be modular and adaptable to the location. Billionaire businessman Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor launched the line of schools in 2011 with the help of global design firm IDEO. Today, there are 29 schools across the country. Students spend half their day deeply immersed in guided online education and the other half receiving more traditional instruction. The tech-heavy school, which is open to kids in Kindergarten through 11th grade, only costs parents roughly $130 a month. So far, it's been wildly successful. In 2013, 61% percent of Innova second- graders reached proficiency in federal math exams. The national average was just 17%. Creativity is king at Blue School, which was founded as a playgroup in 2006 by the Blue Man Group. Sensing a gap in how schools operated, the group strove to bring its quirkiness and love of inquiry into education. As part of the curriculum, kids in grades 2 to 8 come up with ways to improve recycling, create 3D models of New York City, and fix home appliances. They gain an intimacy with real?world problems that few kids are exposed to when learning their times tables with ?ash cards. Its system of "dynamic learning" applies to kids of all ages, who are taught that creating and implementing novel ideas is a critical set of skills. "Studies show that fostering and explicitly teaching social and intellectual skills in school results in the adaptable thinkers, collaborative problem solvers, and irrepressible innovators that an unknowable and quickly changing world demands," a Blue School official tells Business Insider. Though it's headquartered in New York City, THINK Global School is a high school without walls. Students spend each semester in a different country, learning about local culture, studying natural sciences, and reading classic literature from the area. During the 2014?2015 school year, students spent the fall semester in Costa Rica and the spring in Greece. "As they sailed from island to island in the Ionian Sea, they delved deep into lessons on philosophy, art, and literature just truly embracing the moment while in this gorgeous environment," Lee Carlton, an IT analyst at THINK, tells Business Insider. "It's a place?based learning activity that we're incredibly proud of and something our kids gained a lot from." In each country, students also pursue charity projects and community?based work. For parents who want their kids to become global citizens, there's no better school than THINK. NOTES AND RESEARCH: DOES CREATIVITY HAVE TO DO WITH Education systems around the world are being reformed many of these reforms are being driven by political and commercial interests that misunderstand how real people learn and have great schools actually work. As a result they are damaging the prospects of countless young people. We are interested in becoming part of the movement that has the more holistic approach that nurtures the diverse talents of all our children. The standards culture is harming students in schools. Changes are happening. There are many great schools, wonderful teachers, and inspiring leaders who were working creatively to provide students with the kinds of a personalized, compassionate, and community oriented education they need. We are all born with the men's natural talents but by the time we been through education far too many of us have lost touch with them. Many highly talented brilliant people think they're not because the thing they were good at in school wasn't valued or was actually stigmatized. What is education for? Like ?democracy? and ?justice?, ?education? is an example of what the philosopher Walter Bryce Gallie called ?an essentially contested concept.? For the purposes of this study, let us be clear. The terms ?learning,? ?education," ?training,? and "school," are sometimes confused. Learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills. Human beings are highly curious learning organisms from the moment they're born young children have a voracious appetite for learning. Keeping it alive is the key to transforming education. Education means organized programs of learning.The assumption of formal education is that 9..) young people need to know, understand, and be able to do things that they wouldn't it left to U) their own devices. What those things are and how education should be organized to help students learn them are core issues here. Training is a type of education that's focused on learning specific skills. There is a distinction between education and training. The difference is clear enough when we talk about sex education. Most parents would be happy to know their teenagers had sex education at school. They probably would be less happy if they had sex training. By schools, for the purpose of this study, we mean any community of people that comes together to learn with each other. This includes homeschooling, un-schooling, and informal gatherings both in person and online from kindergarten to college and beyond. Some features of conventional schools have little to do with learning and can actively getting away of it. When it comes to education, the line between fact and can become so blurred that we easily mistake one for the other. For example, young children go to elementary school mainly to learn the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics. These skills are essentially so they can do well academically in high school. If they go on to higher education and graduate with a good degree, they will find a well-paid job and the country will prosper too. This story is a dangerous myth. Is one of the main reasons why so many reform efforts do not work. On the contrary they often compound the very problems they're claiming to be solving. This includes the alarming rate of non-graduation from schools and colleges, the levels of stress and depression- even suicide- among students and their teachers, the falling value of a university degree, the rocketing cost of getting one, and the rising levels of unempfoyment among graduates and nongraduates alike. These problems persist and in many ways they're getting worse. The reason is that many these problems are being caused by the system itself. If you design a system to do something specific, don't be surprised it it does it. if you run an education system based on standardization and conformity that suppresses individuality, imagination, and creativity, don't be surprised if that's what it does. There's a difference between and causes. They won't be relieved unless we understand the deeper problems that underlie them. One is the industrial character of public education. Most of the developed countries did not have mass systems of public education much before the middle of the 19th-century. These systems were developed in iarge part to meet the labor needs of the Industrial Revolution and they are organized on the principles of mass production. The standards movement is allegedly focused on making the systems more efficient and accountable. The problem is that these systems are inherently unsuited to the wholly different circumstances of the 21 st Century. We have the largest population of human beings ever to be on earth at the same time, and the numbers are rising precipitously. At the same time, digital technologies are transforming how we all work, play, think, feel, and relate to each other. That revolution has barely begun. The old systems of education we're not designed with this world in mind. Improving them by raising conventional standards will not meet the challenges we now face. Public education has benefited millions of people in all sorts of ways. For countless numbers of people, public education has been the path to personaf fulfillment or the route out of poverty and disadvantage. But far too many have not benefited as they should from the long years of public education. The success of those who do well in the system comes at a high price for the many who do not. As the standards movement gathers pace, even more students are paying the price of failure. Too often those who are succeeding or doing so in spite of the dominant culture of education, not because of it. So what can you do? If you are involved in education in any way- you can be part of the change. To do that you need three forms of understanding: a critique of the way things are, a vision of how they should be, and a theory of change for how to move from one to the other. With our own research and experience and that of many other learned people, we will explore these thoughts through: analysis, principles, and examples. A Higher Order Thinking (HOT) Schools1M Inspire Life?Long Learning in, About, and Through the Arts in a Democratic Community Celebrating Each Child?s Unique Voice HOT SchoolsTM is a community of practice that networks and develops entities interested in teaching and learning in, about, and through the arts using The HOT Approach. HOT practices and strategies stimulate student curiosity, ignite their sense of wonder, empower students so they feel invested in their school and in their learning, and steer students toward a journey of lifelong learning. Students who attend a HOT school enjoy numerous outlets for expression and for reinforcement of the intrinsic value of their thoughts. The HOT Schools program, established in 1994, builds higher order thinking skills and prepares students to be successful learners and contrib utors in the let Century through strong arts, arts integration, and democratic practice. In HOT schools, the arts are rigorous academic subjects, each with its own sequential curricu- lum that conveys knowledge not learned through other academic disciplines. HOT School teachers work collaboratively to structure inter- disciplinary curricula that promote deep learns ing of subject matter, higher order thinking, cre- ativity and teamwork by learning in the arts to learning across the cur- riculum. HOT Schools cultivate a democratic school culture to which all members of the school community contribute and in which individual leadership is emphasized. The HOT Approach to teaching and learning has emerged through a strong network of participating HOT Schools, serving thousands of students in over 42 Connecticut public schools. it has been adopted and adapted by schools, arts organiza- tions, individual teaching artists, local arts agencies, and state arts agencies nationwide interested in understanding school culture change, curriculum integration, and arts-in- fused program design. The HOT Approach is an innovative delivery system that provides teachers, teaching artists, administrators, parents, and arts organization educators vital professional development, Strong Arts Education in, about, and through the arts helps students develop critical thinking abilities, independent judgment and creative problem solving skills. The arts, as rigorous academic subjects, each with their own sequential comprehensive curricula, convey knowledge not learned through studying other academic disciplines and provide stimulating vehicles for children to communicate their ideas. Arts integration Sequential arts learning experiences that weave ideas and/or concepts between and among arts and non~arts disciplines, effectively advancing knowledge and/or skills in an arts discipline while concurrently advancing knowledge and/or skills in other disciplines. Democratic Practice HOT Schools cultivate a schooi culture in which purposeful activities support choice, participa- tion, connection, contribution and responsibility to celebrate the unique voice of each member of the school community. Benjiamn Bioern American educational Benjamin Bloom was widely known for his ?Taxonomy," a classi?cation and ordering of the six levels of thinking important to learning. Bloom originally developed the six levels of higher-order think- ing focusing on assessment. A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy shifted the emphasis from assessment to planning curriculum, instruction, assessment, and their interconnectedness. The New Taxonomy re?ects the following re~order of cognitive processes: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. .ioitn Dewey American philosopher John Dewey is one of the most in?uential education thinkers of the 20th century. Much of Dewey's work influenced the democratic practice component of HOT Schools. In his books School and Society and Democracy and Education, Dewey wrote about habits of democratic practice, beyond gover- nance, that contribute to one's ability to partic- ipate responsibly in society. Dewey cited democracy as "associated living? through community, belonging, common interests, and shared purpose. He taught that schools, as extensions of and aligned with civil society, should be designed to prepare students to operate as members of a democratic commu? nity and be successful in the real world. iesepit Professor of Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Connecticut and Director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Joseph Renzulli contributes to The HOT Approach to whole? school change through his ?School~wide Enrich- ment? and ?Enrichment Triad? models for school improvement. The Enrichment Triad emphasizes that students should emulate professional investigators. They should become producers of knowledge rather than consumers, actively formulating a problem, designing research, and selecting appropriate audiences for their ?nal product. Renzulli Professional Development forms the core of the HOT SchoolsTM program. We engage not only teachers and arts educators in advanced educational opportunities, but administrators, teaching artists, and parents as well. HOT Schools Professional Development is grounded in current research and best practices in teaching and learning. HOT Schools provides multiple opportunities for both HOT School and noanOT School educators to participate in Professional Development each year. These are a few Annual HOT Schools Summer institute, the hallmark of HOT Schools professional develop- ment, is a nationally acclaimed, week?long residential conference packed with renowned speakers, seminars, workshops, sequential learning tracks, interactive demonstrations and performances. The Institute highlights The HOT Approach as a reliable keystone for employing instructional practice that cultivates critical, creative and innovative thinkers, inspires and motivates educators, and sparks joy in teaching and learning. and/or reinforces specific content from the HOT Schools Summer Institute. The lnstitute's professional development demonstrates the value of learning communi- ties, fosters collaboration and provides educa? HOT Leadershops are dayulong workshops col- laboratively designed, hosted, and conducted tors skills and strategies to address learning challenges, and advance learning through dif- ferentiated instruction, inquiry-based learning and the arts processes of creating, performing and responding. HOT Mini?Institute, a 2?3 day residential conference that introduces new material, explores the intersection between new state or federal recommendations and HOT Practice, by a Connecticut HOT School and the HOT Schools Program Staff to share best practices developed and tested in HOT schools over time. Leadershops illustrate The HOT Approach to teaching and learning in action, and provide in? structional practice for educators to implement components of The HOT Approach in their school or site, while concurrently building lead~ ership skills in presenting teachers, artists and other educators. HOT SchoolsTM Strategies, each reflecting a of the HOT Schools Core Components of strong arts, arts integration and democratic practice; provide structured paths to facilitate the implementation, reinforce- ment, and enhancement of The HOT Approach. HOT Strategies engage students in active learning, stimulate independence, and encourage students to be responsible and contributing citizens in the school community. These are some of our HOT Watts ii?eecning oer?net Celiaberatonsi partner teaching artists with extraordinary skills in one particular arts discipline: dance; theater; visual arts; music or creative writing with teachers whose extraordinary skill resides in their content knowledge and understanding of certain strategies for transmitting that knowl? edge to students. Together, the team forges a collaborative partnership to design authentic arts?integrated learning opportunities for students through which students apply higher order thinking processes of imagining, decision? making, creating, performing and responding. Vi?nwn Meeting is a whole-school gathering that develops community and provides a forum to showcase student learning. The Town Meet- ing gives students the opportunity to present their learning?in?progress to the larger school community in a creative, interesting and artful way. Through Town Meetings, students gain con?dence performing and presenting. HOT Schools encourage parents, community and board of education members to attend Town Meetings. ECHO-s iEnitanceti ?gpertunin tieefi are designated time blocks which engage the whole school, often in multi?aged group- ings, in active learning. ECHOs engage students in real world learning experiences in which students apply advanced content and methods to develop products and services that have an impact on intended audiences. ECHOs are student-driven and they facilitate higher order thinking by providing students with opportuni- ties to apply their interests, knowledge, thinking skills, and creative ideas to self- selected problems or areas of study. itiiagic reinforces literacy through providing multiple outlets for student writing. This student-generated and operated reposi- tory, initially intended for student writing, has grown to include opportunities for sharing visual art, songwriting, music composition and other work. Students self~select their best work to submit to the MM for peer review. Peer review boards critique and recommend selected work to be highlighted at Town Meet- ings or in other venues.