The small group work is over. Each small group (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Personalization, and Collaborative Leadership) spent weeks researching their area and developed a presentation that outlined the key elements or their topic and offered some recommendations for moving forward. We have included each group’s presentation in this post for you to view.

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Presentation

Personalization Group Presentation

Collaborative Leadership

We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.

John F. Kennedy

The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment circle presented their findings to the Breaking Ranks committee on Tuesday and one single word prevailed … time. As we moved through slides that covered 21st Century Learning, NEASC recommendations, and research on scheduling, one thing was clear, we need more time. Time to integrate the new skills that the 21st Century Learning groups and Massachusetts have identified as crucial to our students. Time to integrate project based learning and interdisciplinary lessons. Time to meet in professional learning communities (PLCs) or with students in advisory periods. Time became the answer to our questions on how to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and in doing so time became our biggest question.

Obviously addressing time means addressing the schedule. We looked at various scheduling models (4X4 block, trimesters, Copernican, modular) and realized that this type of decision requires more research and more voices than a seven person committee. We acknowledge that longer blocks of time are in our future, but we can’t say how these longer time periods will be structured. Longer blocks of time mean different things to each subject and each discipline’s needs must be carefully considered.

Outside of the time issue we explored the integration of 21st Century Learning skills into our academic and social expectations. The state of Massachusetts has adopted a 21st Century Learning model and expectations are that they will begin to embed these skills in future versions of the curriculum frameworks. In order to ensure that we are addressing these new expectations we agreed that we should begin to integrate these new skills directly our learning expectations. 21st Century skills are not technology skills, even though technology is a component. They are life long learning skills that address communication, collaboration, independence, responsibility, problem solving, and creativity. These are skills that have been identified as integral parts of existing in a global society.

Head on over to the Breaking Ranks wiki page where the committee work is happening! Just click the sign above to head on over. We are using the wiki to collaboratively build and discuss our subcommittee reports. Feel free to browse the content or join the page and contribute to the discussions. As always, we want to hear your voice.

Oh yeah, what exactly is a wiki? This video says it better than I can!

Here is the meeting schedule for the Breaking Ranks Committee and the subcommittees.

Breaking Ranks

Tuesdays – 2:30-4:30 in the Presentation Room (Next full meeting is April 1st)

Collaborative Leadership subcommittee

Tuesdays – 2:30-4:30 in the Library

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment subcommittee

Tuesdays (3/18 & 3/25) – 2:30-4:30 in the Presentation Room

Personalization subcommittee

Tuesdays (3/18 &3/25) – 2:00-3:30 in the Presentation Room

Hope to see you there!

The Breaking Ranks Committee has been divided into 3 separate groups in order to begin drafting a report. The groups are Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Personalization, and Collaborative Leadership. Each group now must begin to draft a report to be presented to the whole committee.
The format of the report is as follows.

Area of Focus:

Essential Questions:

Report:

• What are the Issues/Questions (Statement of the Problem) ?
• Where do the 21st Century Skills Fit?
• What are the”Change” considerations?
• The recommendations will be filtered through commonly accepted research. (cited)
• The recommendations will be supported by clear examples.

Presentation

• To the whole group
• Outline of report
• Format selected by group

Group Recommendation

• How will the decisions be made?
• Shaping the proposal /recommendation for school committee
• Planning the implementation

With the models of change structures and theories of change behind us the Breaking Ranks Committee is beginning to examine the three core principals of Breaking Ranks II: Collaborative Leadership/Professional Learning Communities, Personalizing Your School Environment, and Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. Each of these principles will be examined in depth by small groups during the coming weeks. In preparation of this work we used last Tuesday to begin thinking about these areas and listing some areas of focus. The results of this work are listed in individual posts to this blog. As always, we encourage your input. As you read through those posts please use the commenting feature to suggest additional focus areas or comment on those already there. Your comments will be heard by the committees.

Last Tuesday Dr. Allen suggested we visit the websites for the Coalition of Essential Schools and First Amendment Schools . We have added the links to these websites on our blog roll at the right of the page for your convenience.

1. Depth over breadth
2. Assessment through a variety of methods / meaningful assessment
3. Interdisciplinary planning and teaching / how do you assess?
4. What do grades mean?
5. Project based learning
6. 21st century learning

The two groups exploring Personalization developed the following list of areas that should be explored as part of the Breaking Ranks process.

1. Smaller class size

2. Advisory period

3. Electronic Portfolios / End of Year Projects

4. Flexible schedules

5. Personalized performance plans

6. Personal adult advocates

These issues will continue to be explored and evaluated as part of the Breaking Ranks process.

This is a summation of what my group came up with for collaborative leadership.

1. Longitudinal Leadership – We see the students after they have had many years of schooling. We often wonder what the elementary and middle school teachers have been teaching these kids. We should know. Having a leadership group (with a curriculum coordinator) is essential to develop our students. Also, this would help the teachers in the younger grades to know what the students will be exposed to in the high school. Finally, transitions are critical for students. How do we assist students stepping up from preschool – primary – elementary – middle school – high school – the world beyond.

2. Interdisciplinary Leadership – Having committees to intertwine our instruction. For example, the students are presenting for the science project. All of the curriculum is involved in that project. Math – statistics, graphs, and measurement. English – grammar, reading nonfiction, and presentation. History – review of previous research. If we had a interdisciplinary team that worked with teachers, then this project would be enhanced. This is only one example of how we could work better as a team.
3. Student focused leadership – Maybe a Family focused leadership would be more accurate. Having a leadership team that brings the family and school together. For example, having a parent who is a lawyer talk to a history class. Or having a quick meeting at half time of a basketball game to discuss dress code.

These were the three focal points our group came up with. Since I am new to blogging I did not know how to put in visuals to this post.

Ed Feeney