WEBVTT

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[Music] Welcome to the overview
on Maintaining a Consistent Focus

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on Improving Instruction.

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For the last few years, teachers 
at Mountainside Middle School

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have been facing many challenges
in their classroom.

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Most students enter their first year
without well-developed academic skills.

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Many students do not speak English well,
and they often have gaps in learning

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because they change schools 
frequently when their families move.

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The teachers at Mountainside invest 
a lot of time and energy trying

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to improve their instruction,
yet many of the school's students

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are not reaching basic
or proficient levels of learning.

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The teachers feel
that they need more guidance

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to help students learn the content
covered in the standards.

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The principal's question is,
"How can we turn this school around?"

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Research indicates that in order
to raise student achievement,

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you need to improve instruction.

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To improve instruction, you need to know
where instruction is not effective

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and focus there.

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This means looking at student,
classroom, and school-wide data

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to accurately identify key topics
for improvement.

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Establishing data teams or a data 
leader often helps schools

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to analyze standardized assessments,
as well as classroom-based benchmark

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and progress monitoring assessments
for gaps and weaknesses

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in student learning.

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The district can support this 
effort by providing schools

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with the proper hardware and software
for data analysis.

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The data leader or teams can 
also examine non-academic

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student data that may help identify
areas impeding instruction that need

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to be addressed, such as behavior problems, 
tardiness, and low attendance rates.

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Once the data leader or team 
has a good understanding

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of students' needs, they,
along with the administrators,

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should establish goals
for instructional improvement.

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When setting goals for instructional 
improvement, the staff may identify

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targeted subject areas in need of 
immediate improvement and specific

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instructional problems that cut 
across all subject areas.

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Often schools identify a specific subset
of skills most in need of improvement.

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One school analyzed student data
about reading ability and learned

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that students needed more support in 
vocabulary and comprehension instruction.

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Teachers then developed explicit vocabulary 
lessons using nonfiction books.

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In another school, assessment 
results indicated students

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did not understand key concepts.

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The teachers used these data to adjust 
their instructional techniques.

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They introduced small white boards 
to the class so teachers could check

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for understanding.

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Each student writes an answer
and holds it up to indicate their

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understanding of the skill or concept.

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Another step in improving instruction is
a careful review of the curricula used.

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The curriculum should be aligned
to state and local standards

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and adequately address key skills.

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Teachers should evaluate the curriculum
they are using, focusing on units

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and concepts that are included
in the standards.

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If a skill or concept is not
in the curriculum but is

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in the standards, teachers 
will need to teach it using

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supplemental materials.

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Teamwork plays an integral role
in improving instruction.

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In one elementary school,
grade-level teachers met weekly

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to develop daily lessons aligned
with both the state standards

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and the school's performance 
expectations.

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They also met periodically with 
other grade-level teams to ensure

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that lessons were clear and 
well articulated across grades.

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Professional development should be 
targeted to teachers' instructional

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needs-- individually or as teams--
to make a direct impact

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on classroom instruction.

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If a school identifies reading
as the focus of improvement efforts,

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teachers may need to learn how
to implement new curricula

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or instructional strategies
to teach reading.

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Training should focus on helping 
teachers directly apply new

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skills and content knowledge
to their teaching.

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A few teachers may receive professional
development through a university

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or training institute.

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When they return to the school,
they can then pass on their learning

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to colleagues.

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Additionally, the trainers can come
to the school, observe teachers

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as they implement the new strategies,
and provide feedback on what they see.

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Principals should monitor progress
and provide feedback throughout the

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school year.

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This allows staff to make 
adjustments to instructional practices.

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Continual monitoring and redirecting 
can help keep instruction--

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and the rest of the reform-- 
on a productive track.

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The principal can support these 
efforts by creating an environment

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that helps teachers make changes
and readjust instruction.

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Visual displays of data throughout 
the school can show teachers and students

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where progress is being made 
and which areas need

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to be re-examined instructionally.

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The principal should be a highly 
visible and active instructional

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leader, both in and out of 
the classroom.

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While making short, spontaneous 
visits to classrooms,

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the principal can note classroom
management strategies,

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instructional groupings,
objectives for the lesson,

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materials used, and other 
instructional elements

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that are a focus of the school's reform.

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Based on observations, the 
principal can provide quick feedback

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to the teachers to support 
instructional improvement

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over time.

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A principal should act as a role model

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for teachers by being actively involved
in the improvement of instruction.

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In one school, the principal spent
as much as 40 percent of her time

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in classrooms, both observing
and teaching lessons.

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This kind of time investment lets
teachers know that the leaders

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in their school understand the
challenges they face daily.

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These kinds of steps can be instrumental
in turning a school around.

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By using school data to establish
where a school's biggest challenges lie,

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establishing clear and targeted goals,
providing the training and resources

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to meet those goals, and modeling 
instructional leadership,

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even the most challenged school can turn
itself around and provide quality

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instruction for its students.

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The principal at Mountainside gathered a
team to look at the school's data.

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The team made some surprising
discoveries about gaps in instruction

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and problems with the school culture.

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For the next two years,
school staff worked together

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to improve instruction, continually 
checking on their progress

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through ongoing data collection.

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The principal made sure that 
her teachers had the training

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and resources they needed and 
checked on classes frequently

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to see the impact on instruction.

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As the data showed improvement,
the principal and staff grew more

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excited about the changes and looked
for more ways to improve their school.

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To learn more about improving instruction,

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please explore the additional resources
on the Doing What Works website.