Continuous School Improvement Goal 2:
All students will improve problem solving and reasoning skills across the curriculum.
Essence: At Loyd School students will demonstrate the ability to apply strategies through a problem solving process and explain their reasoning.
Supporting Assessment Data
Support Data (used to select the goal)
:
Standardized Assessment(s):
1. Terra Nova Assessment, 3rd Edition. Grades 3-5. Feb-Mar, 2010.
Objective 17 Problem Solving and Reasoning sub-skill
Local Assessment(s):
1 Pre-K – 5 .Pre and Post tests of Problem Solving and Reasoning- Aug. 2009, May 2010
2. Pre-K – 5 Open-ended tasks administered quarterly and scored with an analytic rubric- Oct, Dec, 2009 & Mar 2010
Indicators of Success:
- Participant evaluation of professional development sessions
- Active participation in training sessions.
- Contribute to face-to-face and online discussions.
- Model lesson plans
- Agendas from faculty meetings
- Schedule of collaboration sessions
- Model Lesson plans
- Student work samples
- Math Lesson Plans
- Collections of student work
- Principal classroom observation records
- Records of mentor assignments
- Records of classroom observations
Intervention:
Strategy/Intervention: Students use multi-step problem solving process to improve problem solving and reasoning skills
Polya’s 4-Step Problem Solving Method
1. Step 1-Understand the problem
2. Step 2- Devise a plan and choose a strategy
3. Step 3- Carry out plan and apply a strategy
4. Step 4- Explain how you solved the problem/articulate and reflect
Supporting Strategies
Research-based Strategies by Quarter:
1. Quarter 1-Use a Pattern, Make an Organized List, Make a Table or Chart
2. Quarter 2-Use logical Reasoning, Use Objects, Act it Out
3. Quarter 3-Work Backward, Guess Check and Revise, Choose an operation
4. Quarter 4 - Make it Simpler
Research supporting this strategy/intervention:
Polya, G.(1945) How to solve it: a new aspect of mathematical method problem solving techniques. NJ: Princeton University Press
Problem Solving techniques give students the opportunity to interact with the problem in a way that deepens math skills and approaches. This approach promotes higher level thinking that develops students’ confidence as an active learner.
Staff Development
Knowledge
Teachers will participate in professional development sessions on topics including:
- Use of Polya’s 4-step problem solving method to:
- add depth to math skills and approaches;
- resolve open-ended tasks;
- use specific strategies to solve problems;
- Use of Exemplars benchmark samples and scoring rubrics to evaluate student proficiency;
- Use of formative data to differentiate instruction.
Teachers will view videos, tutorials and read professional articles on topics including
- differentiated instruction;
- improving rater reliability when using Exemplars rubrics to solve open-ended tasks;
- data-driven instruction.
Model/Demonstration
- Trained and experienced teacher mentors will present model lessons in classrooms with students
- Teachers with classroom success in use of 4-step methods, strategies, and rubric feed-back to students will share ideas, lessons, best practices with peers during faculty meetings and collaboration sessions.
Low- risk Practice
- Grade level teachers will co-plan and co-teach model lessons in classrooms at all grade levels
- Grade level teachers will collaborate to score student work
- Grade level teachers will collaborate to identify best teaching practices for use in re-teaching and differentiating instruction
- Teachers experiencing difficulty teaching, modeling and assessing 4-step method, use of strategies, and scoring of open-ended tasks will participate in follow-up training sessions provided by teacher mentors.
Follow Up
- During regularly scheduled faculty meetings, Grade level teams will share progress and concerns about implementation of 4-step problem solving method.
- During regularly scheduled collaboration sessions, teachers will examine student work samples to monitor effectiveness of instruction.
- Following regularly scheduled quarterly assessments, teachers will examine formative data to assess the impact of focused instruction.
- Using findings from formative data, teachers will refine instruction.
Long Term Maintenance
- Provide teacher mentors to guide new faculty in use of 4-step methods and strategies.
- Regular monitoring of implementation of the intervention.
