{"id":3734,"date":"2016-02-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/red-bank-elementary-school-starting-with-the-pedagogy\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:57:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:57:12","slug":"red-bank-elementary-school-starting-with-the-pedagogy","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/red-bank-elementary-school-starting-with-the-pedagogy\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Bank Elementary School: Starting with the Pedagogy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2015-11-16This post is part of the series Competency Education Takes Root\u00a0in South Carolina. This is the third in the series on Red Bank Elementary in Lexington School District. Begin with the first on five big takeaways<\/a>\u00a0and follow along with: #2\u00a0teaching students instead of standards<\/a>, #3\u00a0teacher perspectives<\/a>, #4\u00a0student perspectives<\/a>, and #5 parent perspectives<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Throughout my visit to Red Bank, I had the opportunity to speak with educators. They were so very insightful that I did my best to capture the conversation in detail. Thanks to Marie Watson, principal; Jennifer Carnagey, literacy coach; Jamee Childs, technology specialist and instructional coach; Dawn Harden, assistant principal; and all the teachers, including Lauren Vann, Jennifer Denny, Susan Jennings, Sally Kathryn Deason, Tammy Ricard, and Jamie Sox.<\/p>\n

How did you get started?<\/em><\/p>\n

Principal Marie Watson explained that they used their summer retreats (they are voluntary) to begin to understand what is wrong with the traditional system. \u201cYou have to look at what is broken and own up to it. Teachers have to understand how the traditional system is impacting their teaching and their students. It becomes a felt need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Red Bank team had book studies that used On Common Ground<\/a><\/em> about professional learning communities, Larry Ainsworth\u2019s work on formative common assessment<\/a>, and Delivering the Promise<\/a><\/em>. In a later conversation with teachers, they all agreed that Delivering on the Promise<\/em> opened their eyes to what was possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the majority of the teachers felt we needed to do something different, we organized training with Reinventing Schools Coalition,\u201d continued Watson. \u201cTeachers received training on the protocols and practices of designing a personalized classroom. Some teachers can take that and fly.\u201d\u00a0Others need more support and step-by-step instructions.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Carnagey, literacy coach, explained that she was more hesitant, recounting her experience with, \u201cIt scared me at first. I\u2019m not a risk taker. It felt like it was a huge ambiguous task, and I wanted to be told what to do. I kept thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing, and I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m doing it right,\u2019 so I would keep on doing things the old way so I wouldn\u2019t mess up. I finally learned that I needed to identify a few places where I did feel ready to jump in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since that time, Carnagey has grown a lot. \u201cI\u2019m proud of the things I\u2019ve done and learned to do,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned is that when you begin to see the vision of what personalized, competency-based education is, it doesn\u2019t mean that it has to be that way immediately.\u201d Her recommendation to teachers is to \u201cjust try something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant Principal Dawn Harden emphasized this point with, \u201cTeachers need to understand it is a progression. It\u2019s just like learning for kids is a progression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, understanding logical progressions was different for the teachers because they were learning as they were going. Watson stated that it was important for them to slow the process down. \u201cWe had to learn to support those who are global thinkers who then<\/em> move toward sequential learning as well as those who want to start with a few small things and build up sequentially until a global understanding is developed,\u201d she said. \u201cWe asked, \u2018Can you pick one thing such as unpacking standards? If you do that, what else has to change?\u2019\u201d Childs agreed with, \u201cThere is so much learning taking place. Collaboration is important. Don\u2019t work in isolation or it might feel overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also had a strong culture of professional trust when they started. \u201cIt is really important that teachers do not feel judged,\u201d Watson said. \u201cIn addition, we found that reflection is an important part of creating the professional culture of learning.\u201d Childs added to this with, \u201cOne of the big changes is that we started thinking about the kids as our kids, not just mine or yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has been the impact on your teaching? <\/em><\/p>\n

Jennifer Denny opened the conversation with teachers by exclaiming, \u201cI love it. Teaching is a very different experience when the kids get to take over their learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kids taking over their own learning was a common theme throughout the discussion. Lauren Vann built on the topic with, \u201cI didn\u2019t understand what student ownership meant. It\u2019s such a buzz word. I thought my kids did<\/em> have ownership until we started down this path. Now they really take responsibility and think hard about the choices they are making. It\u2019s hard work to make this transition, but the reward is definitely worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned to trust kids,\u201d Denny added. \u201cIt was really scary at first, but I decided, \u2018I\u2019m just going to go for it \u2013 I\u2019m all in.\u2019 Then my students started coming up to me, asking, \u2018Can I show you that I learned it?\u2019 It is totally mind-blowing. I saw so much more growth in my students, and they were becoming confident learners.\u201d Tammy Ricard added, \u201cI have a daughter who is really creative in Lauren\u2019s math class. And I know that she is having opportunities that aren\u2019t measured on the tests.\u201d<\/p>\n

While listening to the teachers, I realized we are developing capacities in students that are not going to be picked up by state accountability tests. What they were describing are developmental skills that may have more impact as students accumulate greater maturity and skills.<\/p>\n

The teachers also explained that how they spend their time is shifting as students take on leadership roles and responsibilities. Examples included kids knowing what they need to do when they come into class, asking other kids for help if they are confused, greeting visitors, and even doing the lunch count. Teachers are spending more time doing formative assessments to understand what is going on with kids, working individually or in small groups with students who are struggling, collaborating, and planning.<\/p>\n

Jamie Sox explained, \u201cI\u2019ve learned so much. I know more now than I ever knew before. I really understand the topics. I understand progressions and I\u2019m always thinking about how one step leads to another. I\u2019m learning how to break down the big broad standards in a way that allows me to see how students have to master one thing to be able to do another. I can see gaps in my own instruction where I need to add things as stepping stones. I\u2019ve learned that it takes more planning up front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sox also noted that the walls started coming down between classrooms. \u201cWe visited each other\u2019s classrooms and started trying things we learned from other teachers.\u201d Denny agreed with, \u201cI feel so much more connected to the people in the school. And I feel that I know the kids so much better. It feels like a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t underestimate what this means for students,\u201d Denny added. \u201cOne of my kids said recently, \u2018This is so much fun.\u2019 She was working on turning her initial draft into a second draft. She was taking pride in her work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes a huge difference when the kids put the indicators (sub-standards) into kid-friendly language,\u201d said Susan Jennings. \u201cThey are their learning goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shift has also changed the way the teachers look at student effort. Sally Kathryn Deason put it best with, \u201cI\u2019ve really learned the difference between learning and effort. I was good at doing my homework when I was growing up. I thought that doing the work was the same as how you were doing in the class. Now I understand that effort is important to the process of learning, but it isn\u2019t the same as learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

At times, the conversation turned to issues of equity and the difference it makes to teach students where they are rather than grade level. Denny explained, \u201cWe don\u2019t blink if you are at the second grade level when you are in the fourth grade. If teachers really understand the standards and the progressions that are needed to help students move, then we can bridge the gaps. We don\u2019t pretend anymore that students can do higher level work if they don\u2019t have the pre-requisites. It makes teaching much more complex as we are teaching students, not just going through a curriculum.\u201d Another teacher noted, \u201cThe awareness of where kids are and how everyone doing is a determining factor for teachers. It shapes everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

What have you learned as made the transition from a traditional to personalized, competency-based systems?<\/em><\/p>\n

Everyone laughed when Denny said, \u201cIt\u2019s never finished. We are always learning.\u201d Jennings added, \u201cI used to teach August through June. Now I look forward to the summer as there are workshops and our retreat. We never stop learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like most teachers, Denny came from the traditional system. \u201cI knew my lesson cycles and had strong lesson places,\u201d she said. \u201cMy kids did well in benchmarks and state tests. I thought I was a good teacher. Then someone asked me what it means if a kid gets an \u2018F\u2019 on a test. I started thinking, what do kids know or not know if they get a \u2018B\u2019 or a \u2018C\u2019? I realized I didn\u2019t really know where my kids were or what they knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sox added, \u201cGoal setting is such an important step to the process. When students learn to set achievable goals, it changes the nature of the classroom. They are taking responsibility for their learning. It\u2019s our job to help them learn how to set meaningful goals. It\u2019s fun when the kids help me to meet my goals, too. For example, I set a goal of giving three leadership cards each day. But I always forgot. The kids would celebrate when I remembered and met my goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were several things the coaches mentioned they had initially undervalued and found later to be very important to the efforts to help students take more ownership and create transparent expectations in the classroom.<\/p>\n