Compelling Academics and Strong Relationships

by Frederic Locke

Editor's Note: Renaissance Arts Academy (ra²) is one of four small schools that opened this year at the Marshall Campus, formerly Marshall High Schooll, in Portland, Oregon.

Making a difference is not an accident or occurrence of the times. People choose to make a difference.
--Maya Angelou

In opening Renaissance Arts Academy, our staff has been diligently intentional in our work to establish and nurture a new school culture. We recognize this mindful work starts with ourselves and our commitment to creating an outstanding learning environment. We have many challenges and consciously have agreed to remain realistic in terms of what we can accomplish well in our first year. Building a supportive school culture through developing strong relationships and compelling academic work are priorities.

Last year, in our large, comprehensive high school setting, most of our students experienced degrees of anonymity. As evidenced by their transcripts, their work ranged from measured success to failure. The risk taking and perseverance needed to yield exceptional craftsmanship in all content areas demands that we know students well and support their inquiry. We must push their intellectual boundaries, hone their critical thinking skills, and scaffold their understanding of how to consistently make good choices.

Owning Our Physical Space

We began by redefining ourselves and creating an inviting learning environment. First, staff members spent a weekend creating our elegant, original school logo--an art school must! Our collective effort produced a tree trunk, formed with uplifting palms that give way to fingers sprouting delicate cherry blossoms. This aptly defines our core values of nurturing growth and high quality work. To complete the job, one of our math teachers spent additional hours designing the understated boldness of our "ra²" acronym. The implied subtext: yes, we are an arts school that expects strong academic work in all content areas.

Teachers and staff also took the time to paint classrooms, decorate offices, buy an oriental rug for the main office, and place large potted plants to mark our school borders. As our 208 students and their families arrived the first day, they experienced an attractive and welcoming environment and have responded accordingly. Compared to last year, movement between classes is smooth, the use of respectful language vastly improved, and trash left in the halls is rare rather than the norm. Evident is an unspoken sense of "this is our school" and "please do your part" as our school remains a shared responsibility. Knowing Students Well

We understand that our success in making a difference with every student depends entirely on our ability to differentiate and work with students and their families according to need. We have some students who are diligently preparing for a four-year college or art school, and some who are homeless and/or dealing with personal situations that ask us to re-examine our definition of coping. As we work with them all, patience and compassion guide us--this is their story as much as it is ours.

As the school administrator, I already know more students better than last year. When I stop and ask students for their name and grade, and question them regarding the start of school, most students understand that my interest is genuine. Due to the smaller setting, these impromptu conversations seem more frequent and authentic. In classes I ask students to explain their work, and most impart their understanding with pride. When students shut down, the flag goes up--and clearly we need to thoughtfully investigate.

As a staff, we have identified struggling students quickly. The message to students who disrupt is clear: we are glad you are here, but your behavior is unacceptable. The "Hot Seat," in a supportive setting, is designed to offer a struggling student with specific feedback from the whole staff. At the conclusion we ask them to summarize what they have heard, and tell us how and when they can make changes. This process has greatly stabilized one student who is now considerably more focused and recognizes that it feels good to "have a good day."

A Culture of High Expectation

Our longer periods of instruction (five-period day, plus crew M-TH) are contributing to an overall calmness and superior focus on teaching and learning. Like college, we have no bells and expect students to move between classes in a reasonable fashion. Specific policies are helping students better manage their time, but more importantly we are proactively working to increase their positive self-concept through rigorous and relevant work. In a recent staff meeting, our junior and senior level English teacher described how the class listened respectfully as three male students presented a staged dialogue with seriousness and intent. Math students are doing rather than resisting math and English students are engaged in reading and writing every day, math and English teachers reported.

When I am in classrooms, I am looking for student engagement, focus, and voice. I have been impressed with the overall level of participation, and have asked in some cases for the students to project and annunciate. The fact that my requests are well received and the body language improves immediately is a beginning. Our relentless message is being heard--you are important and we want to hear your articulate voice.

From day one in crew, personalization, reading, writing, and critical thinking have been givens. Each student completed a one page "Mini Me" snapshot (contact information, goals, learning profile) and drew a self-portrait on the back. This gave us insight into the living situation, provided an immediate writing and reflection sample, gave some indication of quality, and has proved invaluable as a quick reference guide for contact information.

At last Friday's curriculum team meetings, we began initial discussions of powerful expeditions. In addition to developing these over time, teachers are structuring relevant units that promote community as they build baseline skills. Ninth and tenth graders all wrote about the origins of their name ("To say the name begins the story..."). Students first looked at examples of place, including political context, to grasp the significance of names. Then, they made artistic representations, and shared both in a small group setting. I recently enjoyed observing biology students explain their transparent soda bottle land/water ecosystems, and then identify essential questions. The culture of the room was clear; individual and group work together will make the scientific process more understandable.

After reading constitutional amendments and grappling with how their rights are balanced by compelling state interests, students are taking notice. Judicious Discipline, a blend of constitutional, state, and school law, is providing us with a powerful common language that will ground our culture. This three-week unit is purposefully designed to stretch our students intellectually and empower them with the understanding that their choices and actions have a legal framework.

In conclusion, each crew will elect one representative to serve on a committee to draft and adopt our School Code of Conduct. As informed citizens, all members of ra² will be asked to hone their intrinsic ability to make reasonable choices. Students are expected to grasp and observe the delicate balance between their rights and those of the group. As much as clear discipline is essential to our success, we stress it as an opportunity for growth.

A Resilient Truth

Even if during this first year our goals remain modest, we feel strongly about developing service. On Fridays, a small number of upperclassmen are peer tutors. Initially, one junior was less than thrilled when asked to participate. However, when the same request came from a freshman at his table, his resistance subsided, as he quickly understood the need. Later in the day, in another class, the same mentor was reading one on one with another student. The fact that students seem to be enjoying their service is gratifying and bodes well for the future.

Through gutsy, thoughtful, and diligent work we have laid a foundation. Summer immersion in Expeditionary Learning Core Practices around the country inspired our staff and as voracious learners we continue to model model for our students and grow as educators. As with most worthy endeavors, progress is uneven but we refuse, even in the toughest moments, to be pushed back. Our professional community character traits, "Mindfulness, Courage, Trust, Flexibility, and Craftsmanship" challenge us daily to dip our oars and pull in unison.

In her book, The Power of Their Ideas, Deborah Meier describes the necessity of grappling with critical issues. In classes we are asking students to grapple, and I am thrilled with the willingness and resiliency of our staff to address concerns and embrace useful solutions. This collaborative process is building trust--we are developing our own community of professional learners. By challenging our students to think critically, develop their artistic capabilities, synthesize information, and be productive ra² citizens, we are helping them hone the social and academic skills that will give them options as they prepare for post-secondary work. Our culture begins with each of us, and I am confident that we will continue to collectively create an exemplary learning community.

Frederic Locke is administrator of the Renaissance Arts Academy in Portland, Oregon.

by Beverly Ann Chin

Picture this: A teacher observes a classroom where students are engrossed in conversations about their writing. The students apparently already know the audience and purpose for the writing, and they have learned standards for effective writing. Students know how to focus their critique on one of the writing traits, such as ideas, organization, sentence fluency, word choice, or voice. Partners tactfully point out to authors specific strengths in the writing and pose thoughtful questions that spark new thinking about the draft. Partners are aware of how to offer feedback, and writers understand how to listen and receive that feedback. Together, students are supportive, respectful, courteous, and compassionate as they work with each other to improve writing.

"Sounds ideal," the teacher might say, "but how do I build a culture in my classroom that would create this wonderful scenario? My students don't feel comfortable giving constructive criticism."

In order for students to engage in this type of constructive peer critique, teachers must first create a learning community in which students respect and trust each other and in which they feel comfortable and confident in expressing themselves in oral and written language. There are several strategies teachers can use to help students effectively revise and respond to each other's writing. Teachers could begin by using protocols that model for their students how adults--teachers as well as other professionals--write and revise their work. Teachers could share their own writing process and their own ways of inviting and offering feedback.

"Can you give me examples of modeling?"

Teacher to student: A teacher might reveal his own writing process through a think-aloud as he orally revises an authentic piece of writing and poses questions as he reads his piece aloud. He could use a set of specific revision questions as he considers the type of feedback he wants from his writing partner. This think-aloud becomes the model for the students' peer critique sessions.

Student to student: Two to four students could model peer critique in the center of a circle as the rest of the class observes in a fishbowl. As the students in the inner circle offer and receive feedback on their writing, students in the outer circle might concentrate on the nonverbal and verbal cues they are observing. Older students could model for younger students. Videotapes of students engaged in constructive peer critique sessions can also provide models of successful revision strategies for students. During the debrief session, teachers can ask students questions such as, "Did the authors and partners lean forward and listen to each other?" or "Did the authors and partners frown and shut down the conversation?" Through these experiences, students learn how to be compassionate and constructive in their peer critique sessions.

Experts and other professionals to student: Invite to class professional writers or other people who write in their professions. Many students do not realize that adults revise and seek feedback on their writing. For example, if a real estate agent is writing an advertisement, every word counts. Therefore, she might ask her colleague for feedback on the effectiveness of her word choice. If a museum director is writing a grant to fund a new exhibit, he might ask the curator and the public relations coordinator to respond to the quality of ideas and the persuasive voice in the draft. When guest speakers show drafts of their work and discuss their revision process, they reinforce the value of peer critique.

But how do the students learn the subtleties of positive peer critique?

Teachers need to explicitly show how to offer and receive feedback. In a workshop format, for example, teachers can set up a T-chart and ask students how they feel when they give feedback and also ask how they feel when people give them feedback. Using the ideas on the chart, the teacher can discuss how these feelings are natural for writers and responders. Keeping these feelings in mind, the teacher and students can generate helpful and respectful suggestions for their peer critique sessions. For example, the teacher and students can create questions to guide the revision conversation. Authors can use these questions to invite responses to their writing. This invitation helps partners focus their critique on specific revision questions.

Teachers can also teach students the protocol of praise, question, and suggest as a guide for the format of the critique session. Students need to learn specific ways to praise, question, and suggest because they do not see adults engaged in this protocol. Too often, students give "fake praise," ask superficial questions, or jump immediately to suggestions. By using the praise, question, and suggest protocol and referring to revision questions, students become more courteous and constructive as they revise. Circulating among the students, the teacher can take notes on examples of authentic praise, thought-provoking questions, or specific suggestions. She can share these examples when students debrief their peer critique sessions and create their anchor charts.

The teacher might ask questions, such as "How did you (the author) feel about getting feedback," or "What did your partner do to help you (the author) revise your writing?" and "What did you (the partner) do to help the author improve his or her writing?"

As students engage in peer critique sessions, they are doing what professional writers do--having constructive and respectful conversations about their writing. They have become a supportive and compassionate community of writers.

Beverly Ann Chin is a consulting school designer for Expeditionary Learning and is professor of English and director of English Teaching Programs at the University of Montana, Missoula.

Effective Instructional Practices for All Students

by Ana Guerra-Wauters

Recently, while observing a fourth-grade teacher's reading lesson, I could not help noticing the four students who sat at a back table busily making a variety of origami creations. Later, when I asked about the students doing origami, the teacher replied, "I'm so glad I found this activity for them. They love it, and it keeps them busy until the English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher pulls them out for English lessons!"

I already knew that this small community had been experiencing a large influx of recent Korean immigrants. Now I had visions of hundreds of origami creations inundating the various neighborhood schools.

Students who are learning a second language need to have opportunities to practice their new language in many types of settings and throughout all content areas. With the growing number of English language learners, all teachers need to consider themselves teachers of English even if their credentials are in social studies, math, or science. The traditional teaching styles that incorporate much teacher talk/lecture format restrict how much actual time students have to practice speaking English. If we know that students benefit from having many varied opportunities to use their new language, what does this look like in the classroom and how does a teacher plan lessons that will benefit all students?

The complexities of learning a second language can seem overwhelming, but I believe that the instructional practices Expeditionary Learning embrace offer students the opportunities to learn English in more effective ways. How successful might the students mentioned above have been in an Expeditionary Learning school? Through the structures of community meetings, solid instructional practices, and print-rich classroom environments, students would have the opportunity to learn and retain English better than solely through a 55-minute ESL pullout program.

Community Meetings

Through community meetings (crew meetings/morning meetings), the students would be in a comfortable and safe setting to listen and practice English. Daily morning greetings such as "Good morning, how are you?" could be passed around the circle along with introductions such as "This is my neighbor Emma." These, as well as end of the day appreciations such as "Thanks, Maria, for helping me with math today," would help English learners practice and gain confidence through set procedures and repetitions. Crew initiatives such as holding hands for Passing the Pulse, having the students answer "Would you like a handshake or a high 5?" -- along with many other initiatives-would include the students in the classroom community without requiring a strong foundation in English. Making friends and feeling comfortable in a circle activity to practice their English without being teased would be a strong motivator in helping students practice their second language more.

Readers' Workshop

Instructional practices based solely on the teacher lecturing at the front of the room leave English learners at a disadvantage because they are not receiving any comprehension cues aside from auditory cues to try to understand the lesson. On the other hand, Expeditionary Learning teachers who present some of their lessons in a readers' workshop format are giving their students many opportunities to understand and participate in a lesson. Students will first hear a teacher's think-aloud as she reads a book, and then they will work individually on the lesson the teacher has modeled. During this individual practice, the teacher could work with her second language learners to walk them through the story with sheltered English techniques (e.g., a teacher could provide hands-on manipulatives for students to practice with new content knowledge). Once students reconvene in their small groups to discuss the work they have done individually, a second language learner could rejoin, listen, and in some cases share in the discussion. Learning in such a social context provides students with much positive peer interaction and practice.

During one of my visits to observe a teacher's Readers' Workshop on questioning, I noticed that one student was particularly quiet. I saw that he had not done any writing during his individual work time, but I asked him if he had any questions he would like to share with the group. The student grinned shyly and proceeded to verbalize a question that he had not had the language skills to write. He listened carefully as his peers then jumped in to help him understand the story! It is always thrilling for me to see how much students gain from listening and sharing with each other. This particular student now knew he could participate verbally even though he had not known how to do the written work. All students benefit from learning in a social context rather than sitting passively through an entire teacher's lecture with no obligation to participate.

Research Expert Groups

Expeditionary Learning teachers who set up research expert groups are also giving their students the opportunity to learn in a social context and present themselves as experts to the rest of their classmates. A third-grade class I visited was working on their expedition Foods from Around the World. Each research group had already chosen what country they wanted to study. One day when a new student arrived from Korea, one group decided to change the country they had chosen to research in order to include the new student. While not understanding much English, the new student felt very welcomed as he was given the tasks of making a map of his country and of writing a Korean menu for their restaurant. What a great first day of school for a new student to be immediately drawn into a research group where he had some expertise to share!

Spirit Reads

Students learning a new language initially spend much time just listening and often experience hesitancy in voicing their beginning English phrases. Through the instructional practice of spirit reads, a teacher gives students the opportunity to hear a homework chapter or a background article in smaller segments from their peers. As ESL students get comfortable with this practice, they have the ability to choose when they wish to participate in a spirit read and then take the time beforehand to practice the phrase, sentence, or section that they want to read aloud and share with their classmates.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork research in the community also offers English learners additional opportunities to use all their five senses to experience prior textbook lessons in a real-life way. Once again, that student who may not have completely understood his science lesson for an expedition on solar energy can now have the experience of walking through an energy-efficient building and sketching solar panels. The student would come prepared to ask questions of the expert on site. These fieldwork activities provide students with a window into their new community where they can authentically see concepts they have just started to understand from their textbooks. The skills gained through this one fieldwork day will continue to be reinforced and strengthened as the class proceeds with the expedition's work.

Print-Rich Environment

A print-rich environment in an Expeditionary Learning classroom is another classroom priority that will help students learning a new language. Documentation panels with student work, photographs, and artwork not only chart the progress of an expedition but serve as cues to help a student review and reinforce past work. Readers' Workshop charts with students' reflections and scribing of student responses offer authentic student voices on work posted on classroom walls. A student who has participated in whatever small way in this work will identify with the work posted and will be able to reinforce skills by reviewing the work with her group.

These instructional practices not only help scaffold learning for the English language learners but also provide equity in instruction so that all students are able to participate and learn in the classroom. Students with strong verbal skills will not be confined to just pencil and paper work, but will have the opportunity to share, discuss, and be an expert in a small working group. Other students who need many visual cues will be supported and acknowledged during the individual work component of a Readers' Workshop. Not only English learners, but all students benefit from these instructional practices, which help students reinforce and synthesize their learning through their work with peers. It is this constant working and sharing with peers that builds such a strong culture of community in Expeditionary Learning classrooms.

Ana Guerra-Wauters is a school designer with Expeditionary Learning in the Southwest region.

by Dena Duke

"Why did the white man always break his treaties?" hit most of my third- and fourth-grade students as a compelling question for the first Socratic seminar of our Oregon Trail expedition last year. Since this was my first time ever conducting a Socratic seminar, I hoped that would be the case.

The students read an article on Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe's terrible defeat against a group of miners, for background knowledge on the role Native Americans played in the Western migration. I wanted the Socratic seminar question to come from the students and so we generated possible "thick" questions to discuss based on the article. For me, the question "Why did the white man always break his treaties?" stood out among several very narrow questions such as "Who was the boy in the article?" or "Where did Chief Joseph go in the end?"

I was not sure that my students would recognize this since they had generated all of the questions, but I knew selecting any of the other questions could jeopardize the seminar. I should have had more faith in the class because several of them set out to persuade the group to adopt the richer question. They had an engaging discussion about whether to adopt this question and so it seemed that they might be prepared and ready to move into the Socratic seminar.

Although we had gone over the protocol, I was not entirely confident that I had prepared them well for the format. I sat back recording responses and soon it became clear that a handful of the most verbal students were dominating the discussion and even beginning to repeat themselves. I became concerned because the majority of other children still had not spoken. When it seemed clear that other students were also noticing this imbalance, I intervened. We held a mid-course debrief session on the conversation so far.

Several students brought up that certain students were dominating the conversation, so I showed them my record of responses. They immediately realized that the record supported their own observations, and debated this issue at length. Despite tension and limited direction from me, they eventually came to the conclusion to problem solve and take action. By that time even some of the most verbal students became involved in how to increase the interactions of others. Eventually, the class decided unanimously that those who had already had a good chance to speak (as marked on my record sheet) would pull into an outer circle to give their remaining peers an opportunity to express their opinions and thoughts. I agreed to try it as long as those students were willing. They consented and took on the job of helping me observe and respond to the new dynamics created.

To all of our surprise, once again the most verbal of this smaller group dominated the conversation. Again, we stopped for a similar discussion because the students wanted to review the record. They carried out this second debrief session respectfully because we kept our focus on hearing from everyone and they all seemed to accept this as a worthy goal. We went on to make the circle smaller, pulling handfuls of students to the outer circle two more times until the five most soft-spoken students remained in the center.

I was worried that these particular children might feel scared or singled out, but they seemed thrilled to have the limelight and their own chance to discuss this interesting question. The five remaining children went on to have an energetic and lively dialogue, bringing up some excellent points that had not yet been mentioned such as how, in their greed for gold, some settlers treated Native Americans badly. This prompted a rigorous conversation that engaged the inner circle while those in the outer circle listened, nodding and gesturing, and maintaining enormous discipline to keep from bursting into the conversation. They actually seemed taken aback that these students could think of some things they had not thought of.

The five students on the inner circle continued to bring up new, rich ideas and feelings. Those of us in the increasingly larger outer circle were enthused to have witnessed the discussion get stronger and deeper. Everyone was fully engaged and we learned a lot about what it means to truly let everyone have a voice. The intensity of the conversation also spoke volumes about the value of finding those deep questions that invite involvement time and again. We finally ended about two hours later tired, but able to acknowledge that we had experienced a powerful lesson together that we would not forget. Those in the outer circle expressed the surprise and enjoyment of hearing some of their quieter classmates speak their minds. Some of those in the inner circle expressed heartfelt thanks to the others for giving them a chance. As we looked around the circle into each other's faces, we knew in that moment what it really felt like to be crew, not passengers, together. The rest of our Socratic seminars last year carried with them an air of respect for all voices and a balance we would never otherwise have known.

Dena Duke teaches third and fourth graders at Anser Charter School in Boise, Idaho.