Summary
In this interactive, collaborative session, participants will explore and experience student-centered instructional strategies appropriate for use across PK-5 elementary grade levels and content areas. These strategies are a vehicle to increase rigor, relevance, and student engagement through student-centered learning opportunities.
Essential Question
How can strategies be used to provide secondary students with opportunities for rigor, relevance, and engagement?
Learning Goals
Participants explore research to construct summaries around the ideas of student-centered learning, rigor, relevance, and engagement.
Participants identify strategies that support student-centered opportunities for rigor, relevance, and engagement.
Materials List
Presentation Slides (attached)
Frayer Models (attached; 4 different versions; 1 version per participant)
Authenticity Research Statements Jigsaw (attached; 1 per participant)
Triangle-Square-Circle (attached; 1 per participant)
Card Sort Mat (attached; 1 per pair)
Card Sort Statements (attached; 1 per pair)
Reflection Tool (attached)
Engage
The Engage portion of this session uses a Frayer Model in order to activate participant prior knowledge and create questions in their mind regarding gaps in their own knowledge. This activity helps participants and the facilitator be aware of what they already know and what questions they may have about the topic.
Display slide 3. Give each participant one of the four Frayer Model handouts. Each one can be printed on a different color of paper to visually differentiate. It is blank except for the specific assigned element typed into the center of the page (student-centered, rigor, relevance, or engagement). Participants must think and write about what their assigned element means to them regarding the categories on the model: definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. Encourage participants to draw from examples and experiences in their own classrooms.
After 3-4 minutes, bring participants back together. If they did not complete all four sections, that is okay. Ask them what the hardest part of that task was. Allow a few to share.
Before moving into the next activity, share the objectives for this session on slide 4. Tell participants that, with these objectives in mind, they will now look at research in order to more fully complete their Frayer Models.
Explore
Display slide 5. Hand out the attached Authenticity Research Statements Jigsaw to each participant and provide time for them to read through it. Before they get started reading, ask participants to keep their assigned element in mind and use it to focus their lens as they read. They should look for verbs, student outcomes, and any other relevant key information that pertains to their element. Make sure they know the reading is NOT going to explicitly say Rigor happens when... Relevance is… Engagement looks like… or Student-Centered is… The four elements are embedded throughout the reading.
Display slide 6. Once everyone has finished highlighting, ask them to use a new pen color and add the information they marked on the research to their Frayer Model under each of the four sections (Definition, Characteristics, Examples, Non-Examples). What verbs did they highlight? Add those to the Characteristics box on the Frayer Model. What student outcomes did they highlight? Add those to the Examples box.
Display slide 7. After adding the supporting information from the reading, ask participants to get into pairs with someone who has the same element as they do (or same color of paper). Have them share findings with their partner and construct a summary statement about the element together, writing it on the lines in the center circle of the Frayer Model.
Finally, display slide 8 and have each pair share their summary statement with the whole group.
Explain
Display slide 9 and have participants remain with their partners. Hand a Card Sort Mat and a set of the Card Sort Statements to each pair. In pairs, participants should sort the statements into the four elements shown on their mat and be prepared to justify why they sorted as they did. Once sorting is complete, display slide 10 and have each pair join up with a pair who worked on a different element in their Frayer Model (a different color of paper). Each pair should take turns justifying why they sorted the statements the way they did.
Then, hand out the Reflection Tool as a way for participants to compare their sorting to research. There is a lot of cross-over, but this is how research sorts these elements. Have these groups of four determine if they’d like to move any of their statements and come up with a shared sorting of the statements that they all can agree on.
Extend
Handout the Triangle-Square-Circle graphic organizer. Have participants remain in their mixed color groups and explore LEARN to find three strategies that support any or all of the elements of SCORRE. Point them out at the top of the LEARN screen with the advanced filter options. This way participants can choose key words from their Frayer Model or the card sort. They should record their strategies on each point of the triangle of their handout as shown on slide 11.
Have each group share with the whole group the three strategies they found and how those strategies would support student-centered opportunities for relevance, rigor, and engagement.
Evaluate
Use slides 12-13. Individuals reflect on what they knew and what they’ve learned, and what they want to know more about going forward as they complete the square and circle portions of their handout. They answer “What is something from today’s learning that squared with your thinking?” and “What is something you’re still considering or that your brain is still circling around?” If some time remains, ask volunteers to share their square or circle to provide an opportunity for discussion of remaining questions and big takeaways with the whole group.
Research Rationale
Rigor and engagement are important parts of any classroom approach and are not mutually exclusive. The 21st-century student needs opportunities to critically think, collaborate, problem-solve, and relate knowledge to experiences outside the classroom (Lombardi, 2007). LEARN instructional strategies can provide opportunities for teachers to increase the rigor and engagement of their classroom instruction. It is unreasonable to expect students to develop necessary 21st-century skills in a traditional classroom because, typically, lessons designed in these environments do not create opportunities for students to practice high levels of critical thinking, collaboration, or problem-solving, nor do they allow practice in connecting new information to experiences outside the classroom setting, all hallmarks of rigor and engagement. By using instructional strategies that promote authentic and inquiry-based teaching, students can gain more autonomy and meet high expectations for learning. When comparing traditional teaching approaches, such as note-taking with lectures or bookwork, to more active learning, such as the use of LEARN instructional strategies within a 5E lesson, the lessons that promote active learning have been shown to increase student achievement on assessments as much as 55% (Freeman et al., 2014). These meaningful learning experiences provide opportunities for students to construct knowledge through exploration as well as support higher-order thinking through discourse, discussion, and explanations, deepening understanding through extension and elaboration of learning and assessing understanding through relevant and meaningful evaluations.
Resources
Daggett, W. (2016). Rigor/relevance framework: A guide to focusing resources to increase student performance. International Center for Leadership in Education, Inc.
Freeman, Scott et. al. (2014). Active learning increases student performance. Psychological and Cognitive Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
Jones, R. D. (2010). Rigor and relevance handbook. New York: International Center for Leadership in Education, Inc.
K20 Center. (2013). Research in focus: authentic learning. The University of Oklahoma: The K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal. Norman, OK.
Lombardi, Marilyn. (2007). Authentic Learning for the 21st Century: An Overview. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220040581_Authentic_Learning_for_the_21st_Century_An_Overview
Modified from Newmann, F.M., Secada, W.G., and Wehlage, G.G. (1995). A guide to authentic instruction and assessment: Vision, standards and scoring. University of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
Newmann, F. M., & Wehlage, G. G. (1994). Five standards of authentic instruction. Annual editions: Educational psychology, 94, 95.