Continuous improvement in the language arts classroom

Continuous Improvement in the Language Arts Classroom Also available from ASQ Quality Press: Continuous Improvement in the English Classroom Janelle R Coady Continuous Improvement in the Science Classroom, Second Edition Jeffrey J Burgard Continuous Improvement in the Mathematics Classroom Melody J Russell Continuous Improvement in the History and Social Studies Classroom Daniel R McCaulley Permission to Forget: And Nine Other Root Causes of America’s Frustration with Education Lee Jenkins Improving Student Learning: Applying Deming’s Quality Principles in the Classroom, Second Edition Lee Jenkins Process Management in Education: How to Design, Measure, Deploy, and Improve Organizational Processes Robert W Ewy and Henry A Gmitro Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning in Education: A Practical Guide for Developing and Deploying Successful Long-Range Plans Robert W Ewy Charting Your Course: Lessons Learned During the Journey toward Performance Excellence Robert W Ewy and John G Conyers Running All the Red Lights: A Journey of System-Wide Educational Reform Terry Holliday and Brenda Clark ASQ Education School Self-Assessment Guide to Performance Excellence: Aligning Your School and School District with the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence Peter G LaBonte, ASQ Claire Anne and the Talking Hat Barbara A Cleary Living on the Edge of Chaos: Leading Schools into the Global Age, Second Edition Karolyn J Snyder, Michele Acker-Hocevar, and Kristen M Snyder Thinking Tools for Kids: An Activity Book for Classroom Learning, Revised Edition Sally J Duncan and Barbara A Cleary Transformation to Performance Excellence: Baldrige Education Leaders Speak Out Sandra Cokeley, Margaret A Byrnes, Geri Markley, and Suzanne Keely, editors The Quality Rubric: A Systematic Approach for Implementing Quality Principles and Tools in Classrooms and Schools Steve Benjamin Boot Camp for Leaders in K–12 Education: Continuous Improvement Lee Jenkins, Lloyd O Roettger, and Caroline Roettger To request a complimentary catalog of ASQ Quality Press publications, call 800-248-1946, or visit our Web site at http://www.asq.org/quality-press Continuous Improvement in the Language Arts Classroom Vickie Hedrick ASQ Quality Press Milwaukee, Wisconsin American Society for Quality, Quality Press, Milwaukee 53203 © 2010 by ASQ All rights reserved Published 2010 Printed in the United States of America 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hedrick, Vickie, 1951–   Continuous improvement in the language arts classroom / Vickie Hedrick    p cm   Includes bibliographical references and index   ISBN 978-0-87389-788-4 (soft cover : alk paper)   English language—Study and teaching (Secondary)  English language—Study and teaching (Elementary)  Language arts (Secondary)  Language arts (Elementary)  I Title   LB1631.H345 2010   428.0071—dc22 2010019164 ISBN: 978-0-87389-788-4 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher Publisher: William A Tony Acquisitions Editor: Matt T Meinholz Project Editor: Paul O’Mara Production Administrator: Randall Benson ASQ Mission: The American Society for Quality advances individual, organizational, and community excellence worldwide through learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange Attention Bookstores, Wholesalers, Schools, and Corporations: ASQ Quality Press books, video, audio, and software are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchases for business, educational, or instructional use For information, please contact ASQ Quality Press at 800-248-1946, or write to ASQ Quality Press, P.O Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005 To place orders or to request ASQ membership information, call 800-248-1946 Visit our Web site at http://www.asq.org/quality-press   Printed on acid-free paper Dedication To an outstanding staff at Ebenezer, especially Jennifer York and Missy Bristol To an outstanding leader that was not afraid to build others into leaders, Sheila Alston To my greatest gifts from God, my sons Dustin and Shannon But most of all to the friend that sticketh closer than a brother, JC (Proverbs 18:24) v (This page intentionally left blank) Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables Foreword Preface xi xvii xix Chapter 1  Foundational, Basic Beliefs Foundation Is Key It’s All About Character Teaching System versus Learning System (Learning-Centered Education Output) “Those Kids” The Bell Curve Allows Us to Believe It Is OK to Think There Are “Those Kids” Empowerment to the Workers! In Conclusion 1 Chapter 2  The Systems Approach to Thinking The Seven Parts of the System The Big Arrow (Alignment): Making Sure Your System Is Effective and Efficient for Greatness! FlyLady’s Seven Things Fling: Purposeful Abandonment The Dead Horse Story Leadership Strategic Planning Processes and Workers vii 11 13 15 15 21 23 26 28 28 29 30 32 34 viii  Table of Contents Data! Data! Data! The Road Less Taken What Is a Root Cause? When Is Good Not Good Enough? The Need: Improvement Instead of Change Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) The Only Teacher You Can Not Help Is One That Refuses Your Help What About the Planning Process? What to Put in Place to Begin Conclusion: Building and Evaluating the System 43 57 62 64 67 69 75 77 79 84 Chapter 3  L to J All the Way L to J Method of Improvement Dr Jenkins and His L to J Workshop Creating the List to Be Tested: Using Standard Course of Studies to Know What to Teach The Three Basic Graphs: Scatter Diagram, Run Chart, and L to J Histogram What to Monitor for Reading? Vocabularly, Fluency, and Comprehension Schoolwide Graphs Dr Jenkins Speaks to the Power of “Just One More” Charts with All-Time Best Spelling Words Teaching Spelling Using the L to J to Determine Need L to J in the EC Classroom Reading Selection Test Writing with the L to J Process L to J as EOG Review Student Plus/Delta of L to J Process Leadership Note The L to J in Pictures Conclusion 89 91 92 98 113 121 128 129 130 132 133 137 141 143 151 153 153 156 157 Chapter 4  Quality Principles for Classroom Management Does Continuous Improvement Give Me Ways of Doing This? Plus/Delta Issue Bin Affinity Diagram Consensogram Force Field Analysis PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act)—The Learning Cycle Tools in Your Toolbox Strategies 159 162 163 166 169 170 172 172 179 Table of Contents  ix Chapter 5  Building the “Dream Team” Team Building Some Things We Used to Build Team in Our Classrooms and School Processes, Processes, Processes L to J All-Time Best Using Data to Encourage Eagle Walks Every Word Spoken Makes a Difference A Word Fitly Spoken Is Like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver Differentiation Celebrations Student Data Notebooks/Teacher Data Notebook Disaggregated Data (How We Looked at the Data) Using the Disaggregated Data A School-Level Example of How Disaggregating the Data Works Data and Self-Esteem Showing the Barbell Conclusion 181 181 185 192 197 197 199 200 201 202 204 205 207 212 217 218 219 220 Chapter 6  Tools for the Toolbox Pictures in Your Head Writing Across the Curriculum Possible Strategies to Use When Writing in All Areas of the Curriculum Graphic Organizers (Marzano Best Practice) Journals (Private, Daily Oral Fix-Ups, Math, Science) Make It a “Book” Building Background Four Types of Questions Alternatives to Round-Robin Reading Examples, Examples, Examples Strategy Boards Marzano’s High Yield Instructional Strategies Additional Strategies Testing Strategies Hands-On Approach to Learning and Games 221 222 230 234 236 237 237 238 239 246 251 252 253 258 260 260 Chapter 7  The L to J Story Continues 265 Endnotes Index 275 277 (This page intentionally left blank) 270  Chapter Seven Ms Bristol has one chart for each of her six classes (see Figure 7.2) Students are reminded that we not compare one class to another This is a great math ­lesson The scores are dependent on the number of students in a classroom, and thus one classroom may have a higher score simply because they have more students in the classroom Missy Bristol is using the L to J with End-of-Grade questions for math (all of the essentials for her grade level) This means students are working math problems or math word problems You may recognize Missy’s name from Ebenezer She moved all of the great experiences with L to J from Ebenezer to Northview and began the very first week of school One thing she has found that works well for her students is labeling the objective of each problem This way when they record in their data notebooks they are recording according to which objective they know or not know They get very excited knowing that seven times in a row correct means mastery This gives them the needed information to be able to work hard on the areas where they are having problems This is great data for differentiation She is able to use this information to direct learning in the classroom and to assign review for each student She finds this very motivating Justin waits to check each answer until after they have ­finished the quiz while Missy has found that with math problems it works best for these students to check the answer after each question while students still remember how they worked the problem They can then see where they are having difficulty in the steps of the solution She is able to give a mini lesson with each student when ­necessary Students can quickly and easily see where they may be working wrong and need guidance for better understanding Figure 7.2  Ms Bristol and classroom charts The L to J Story Continues  271 Questions are listed according to which goal and objective they represent ­Students are then able to zero in on their weakest points, saving precious time to work on their need and not what they already know well Another helpful chart we use is student graphs by objective Numbers are not listed in order, but under the heading of the goal to which the objective corresponds This allows students to see in a glance what they need to continue working on Students keep all materials necessary for their L to J in a folder (Figure 7.3) There is no need for precious time being wasted looking for needed items Sandra Davidson is facing a different issue Our eighth-graders are taking ­algebra this year They will still be responsible for the North Carolina pre-algebra EOG test Some of the students had pre-algebra last year and some did not Sandra is using the L to J for the pre-algebra skills Each day she pulls three questions This builds into her classroom time an opportunity to make sure that students know the material without having to cover it during precious classroom time The preview/review allows her mini lessons that remind those students that had the course and teach those students who did not have the course It is a very important part of what she is doing this year She graphs the class data as well as allows students to keep a record of their individual scores Both Missy and Justin agree that it is very important to help students understand that it is about growth You have to build a culture in your classroom where ­students are not competitive with each other It is about competing with oneself It’s all about “one more” and an “all-time best.” As Justin shares, “It’s not about how many you get wrong, it is about how many you get right We constantly talk about growth The ­students start to use that same language as they talk about other scores.” Using Figure 7.3  Student L to J folder 272  Chapter Seven the class run chart and adding up the scores for the entire class builds community Both Missy and Justin have moved from elementary to middle school When asked what was the biggest adjustment, they both share “organization.” This is due to the many different classes, number of students, and lack of time As mentioned before, they have worked to develop ways to “house” and keep the different charts We found another new idea after a conversation with Dan Roseman in humanities As he built the vocabulary list for his class he IM’d me to ask, “About how many words should I have on an L to J vocabulary list?” I responded, “That is totally up to you You will be using the square root to determine how many for each quiz How many you feel they can comfortably digest?” Dan: I’m just afraid my list is too big Vickie: Are they all essential words? Dan: My goal was to pick everything I thought was important and then prioritize from there, that way I didn’t miss anything Vickie: Good idea, you could put essential on A list, important on B list, and then nice to know on C list Dan: Well, that’s not a bad idea at all Or if they it for a full year, they would just A first until they get pretty good, then I could add B, then once they get good at that I could add C Vickie: You know you could have the L to J as the A list and then just for differentiation and not part of the L to J pull some from the important or nice to know for extra credit to challenge the top students Dan: That’s not a bad idea at all Vickie: I think they would like the challenge, you could try and see Dan: Absolutely, it’s worth a shot With the division there are a lot of possibilities Vickie: I’m impressed! There are so many different ways of implementing in the classroom, and the way you can use all of this is as varied as teachers I tell our teachers to “make it your own.” It does not look the same in most any classroom Once you learn the basic idea of the L to J process you can many different things with it in your classroom It always works well with the students I really don’t think you can mess up the process as long as you some of the basic things: pull the items randomly, use the square root, add them up on the class run chart, and never ever take a score Dan is one of our more recent converts to the L to J process When asked why he decided to add this to his classroom work, he replied: The L to J Story Continues  273 There are so many basic concepts that are important but so hard for students to remember For example, for some reason these kids have the hardest time with the word agriculture I can work on it one week and the next they have already forgotten There are also certain civilizations that are so important to the basic ideas I really like the idea of permission not to forget It also helps me to prioritize what they need to know This goes very well with the significant concept, or our big idea I get so frustrated; we worked on something and two weeks later they have already forgotten This is a way to “remind them without penalty.” Wow! I really like that idea We can remind them without penalty That is one ­reason it is so important not to take a grade from these quizzes You are being the coach You are getting them ready for the big game: your unit test! Dan Roseman had great success with another strategy this year, the extra credit board Do you have a bulletin board that seems to stay the same too long or doesn’t have anything of value on it and you just don’t have time to change it? Here is a ­simple and easy idea for giving students control: make it an extra credit board Raquel Swierczewski worked as an assistant in the K–2 program before coming to middle school Spanish She learned of the L to J from a teacher that was trained on their staff and used the process with her remediation group She and Jeannette Vargas (French and Spanish) are beginning the L to J with their basic words When asked why she will continue using the process and what she had learned previously she said, “One of the main things is that students realize where their weak spots are It challenges them to achieve a goal I was working with a group of the lowest-­ achieving kids They had many difficulties and they were so far behind We worked on sight words and on number words I had great results.” Elisabeth White, our art teacher, is new to our system After hearing of the L to J process from the IF and other teachers she decided to take her workdays to prepare a PowerPoint “This is a system and structure, a routine of putting these into what I instead of just trying to remember to ask a question every so often I like it being a part of ‘just what I each week.’ It really is simple to put into place, and once done there is no other prep!” That is another part of the L to J that is wonderful Once you prepare your quiz, whatever way you determine to the quiz, you not need to change unless you just want to “tweak” it to make it better The work is done up front The thing about middle school is that the students are mature enough to carry the entire process for the teacher This means it literally should run itself once you “train your workers.” Gary Sherrill and Carl Domenic teach PE They have begun an L to J for the “­fitness gram,” a program used by our school system to measure different areas of fitness of our students bodies One afternoon they were sharing how the students would not “work out” at home in order to increase their ability on each of these skills, and the data did not look as though they were increasing body strength As we talked I 274  Chapter Seven s­ uggested that they begin an L to J for their fitness gram We decided to list the 10 different skills that they had to perform, and they would randomly pick three of these for them to They would take turns having one student be the timekeeper and counter Then the students would switch places and the other student would time or count The scores would be totaled up and they would be able to get a total score for the class Gary came back a couple of weeks later and shared that the kids were asking for the L to J It was working Even in PE the L to J works for motivation Always remember, it is the totaling up that is a must and watching for those all-time bests I have come to realize that the amount of motivation is somewhat dependent upon how much the teacher “gets into” the game of getting an all-time best The more the teacher enjoys the process and is the cheerleader, the greater the motivation Last but not least is our most recent L to J disciple Aron Gabriel, our principal, was previously the principal of an innovative school in our district for students (K–12) who were not able to function in the regular school setting He too had learned of the L to J process and had teachers that used it extensively with these students The results were outstanding Their students made high growth, and they felt that the motivation of the L to J had a huge impact on the data As we began preparation for the IB visit, he asked that I begin an L to J with our staff We are using this tool to help us make sure that everyone understands and can communicate this new system of learning I have seen this work before with adults as well At our district level our facilitators for the IF meeting used the L to J to help increase understanding of the continuous improvement model They also used it with the principals and assistant principals The instructional facilitators worked hard to make sure that our total number correct was well above those of the principals It became a matter of pride I have now worked with the L to J process in the elementary setting and the­ middle school and adult settings The process is the same no matter the age of the group It is a free process that works no matter the subject area It increases participants’ interest and motivation and builds momentum for learning It is cost-effective and takes minimal time Once in place there is no other teacher preparation needed It can be used year after year no matter the group of students It can be used for differentiation as well as for gathering data on how well your system of learning is working in your classroom As a partner with the PDSA it can change the way students think about problem solving and increase their persistence when facing difficult obstacles It is not the newest strategy It is not just something else to It is not a cureall but it truly can enhance what you already in the classroom You still need good teaching You still need good strategies that work You still need to differentiate for students You still need to take into consideration learning styles You still need to be the doctor of education in knowing what it is that is missing for the student and ­helping give them the correct medicine “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” This is one way to entice the horse to try the water Hopefully, they will realize that they are thirsty and enjoy the cool refreshment! Let’s change the world, one classroom at a time! Endnotes Julie Appleby, “Plan Aims to Cut Hospital Deaths,” USA Today (June 7, 2005) Paul Black and Dylan William, “Inside The Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment,” Phi Delta Kappan 80, no (October 1998): 139–48 Available at: http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/blackbox-1.pdf Accessed 3/22/10 Lee Jenkins, “Increase Success Decrease Failure,” From L to J (Scottsdale, AZ: L to J ­Consulting Group, 2008) Lee Jenkins, From L to J (Scottsdale, AZ: L to J Consulting Group, 2008) Marla Cilley, Sink Reflections (New York: Bantam, 2002) Carolyn Coil, Successful Teaching in the Differentiated Classroom (Marion, IL: Pieces of Learning, 2007) Ibid Harry Wong and Rosemary T Wong, The First Days of School, 4th ed (Mountain View, CA: Wong, 2009) Curious Cat Management Improvement Web site, John Hunter, manager Available at http://curiouscat.com/deming/innovation.cfm Accessed 3/25/10 10 Curious Cat Management Improvement Web site, John Hunter, manager Available at http://curiouscat.com/deming/management_by_target.cfm Accessed 3/25/10 11 Lee Jenkins,Workshop, Iredell-Statesville Schools Iredell-Statesville School System, 3/6/2008, Title: Lee Jenkins, L to J, location; Alan D Rutherford Building Garfield Street 12 Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Thomas Many, Learning by Doing (Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2006) 13 Jenkins, From L to J 14 Ibid 15 Lee Jenkins, Improving Student Learning: Applying Deming’s Quality Principles in ­Classrooms, 2nd ed (Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press, 2003) 275 276  Endnotes 16 Lee Jenkins, Permission to Forget: And Nine Other Root Causes of America’s Frustration with Education (Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press, 2005) 17 Lee Jenkins, Improving Student Learning: Applying Deming’s Quality Principles in ­Classrooms, 2nd ed (Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press, 2003) 18 Doug Reeves, Power Standards coined by Dr Douglas Reeves of the Center of ­Performance Excellence 19 http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/citation_examples.htm 20 Jenkins, From L to J 21 Ibid 22 Ibid 23 Beth Doll, Steven Zucker, and Katherine Brehm, Resilient Classrooms: Creating Healthy Environments for Learning (New York: Guilford Press, 2004) 24 Adapted from Sister Helen Mrosla, “All the Good Things,” Proteus: A Journal of Ideas (1991) 25 http://www.maryourmother.net/Teresa.html Accessed 5/10/10 26 Jenkins, From L to J 27 Early Literacy Web site Available at http://www.earlyliterature.ecsd.net/definitions.htm Accessed 5/10/10 28 Ruby Payne, A Framework for Understanding Poverty (Highlands, TX: aha!Process, 1996) 29 Douglas B Reeves, Accountability in Action: A Blueprint for Learning, 2nd ed (Denver, CO: Advanced Learning Press, 2004) 30 Steve Peha, “Writing Across the Curriculum.” Teaching That Makes Sense Web site Available at http://www.ttms.org Accessed 5/10/10 31 E D Hirsch, The Knowledge Deficit: Closing the Shocking Education Gap for American ­Children (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006) 32 Instructional Facilitator Corp ISS System, North Carolina Resource created during IF meeting Spring 2009 33 http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/bjh/reading_strategies/Inferential%20Reading.doc 34 Timothy V Rasinski, The Fluent Reader (New York: Scholastic Professional Books, 2003) 35 Laura Varlas, “Getting Acquainted with the Esssential Nine,” The MiddleWeb Listserv, Book Discussion Available at http://www.middleweb.com/MWLresources/marzchat1 html Accessed 4/9/10 36 Glossary of Instructional Strategies Web site, PlasmaLink Web Services Available at http://glossary.plasmalink.com/glossary.html Accessed 4/9/10 Index A best practices, 175 bookends, reading strategy, 258 books, handmade, 228, 237–38 bowling story, 45 BrainPop Web site, 141, 164 Bristol, Missy, 94, 113, 151, 161, 197–98, 204, 213, 215, 225, 270, 271–72 Brown’s Chapel story, 188–89 Bruner, Bryant, 225 buddy reading, 248 building team See team, building buy-in, to L to J process, importance of, 157–58 act, phase of PDSA cycle, 177–79 action vocabulary, 249 affinity diagram, 169–70 aim, 30–31, 32–33 in building team, 185–86, 195 classroom, 65 alignment, of system to goals, 28 “All the Good Things,” 191 all-time best, 130–32, 197 Alston, Sheila, 15–16 anticipation guide, writing strategy, 234 application cards, writing strategy, 234 assessment, using to know what to teach, 106–8 C Campbell, Aria, 266 CASTL (Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning), 101 celebrations, versus rewards, 66, 204–5 Central Elementary School, 199 change, versus improvement, 67–69 character, importance of, 3–5 choral reading, 246–47 Christopher, Michael, 235 Cilley, Marla, 27, 28 class meetings, 196 class process handbook, 40 class run chart, 115–17 B background, building, 238–39 “barbell factory” analogy to teaching process, 5, 219 baseline data, 80–81 importance of collecting, 26 beliefs basic (core), 2–3, 59 in building team, 186–87 foundational, 1–22 bell curve, as enabler of “those kids” belief, 15 277 278  Index classroom averages, 83 classroom management, quality principles for, 159–79 cloze activity, 121–26, 131 coaching, in building team, 190–92 cognition, question type, 240–41 Coil, Carolyn, 36, 37, 67, 77, 129, 203 common formative assessments (CFAs), 52, 53–56, 106 common formative data, 84 comparison data, need for, 50, 51–52 comprehension, monitoring, 121–28 concept cards, writing strategy, 234 conference, student-led, 198–99 connections, question type, 240–41 consensogram, 170 continuous improvement, xvii–xviii common practices that work against, xvii tool selection for, 162–63 cooperative grouping (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 254 core values, in building team, 186–87 corners, reading strategy, 258 Corrective Reading, 137 cowboy boots story, 62 critical stance, question type, 240–41 curriculum guaranteed and viable, 98–100 “know” and “do” of, 101, 102–3 D Dante Alighieri, data, 43–56 collection of, 43–45, 46–47, 53–56, 83–84 importance of, 160–61 methods, 194 disaggregated, 207–12 example, school level, 217 using, 212–17 need for, 49 need for monitoring, 48–49 need for sharing with students, 46, 219 safe public display of, 47–49, 49–51 for faculty, 160–61 and self-esteem, 218 using to encourage, 197–99 using to motivate, 52–53 data boards, 56 data notebook, 84, 205–7 Davidson, Sandra, 271 dead horse story, 29–30 Deming, W Edwards, 1, 2, 3–4, 23–24, 57, 64, 65, 68, 92, 173, 177, 179, 182–84, 190 14 points for management, application to education, 5–11 dichotomous rubrics, 144–51 differentiation, 202–4 Discipline by Design, 192 discussion web, reading strategy, 258 do, phase of PDSA cycle, 174–75, 178 “do” of curriculum, 101, 102–3 dog paddles, reading strategy, 258 Dolch sight words, 137–38, 139, 141 Domenic, Carl, 273–74 Domenic, Rachel, 266 DuFour, Rebecca, 19 DuFour, Richard, 2, 19, 37, 71, 106 E Eagle Walks, 199–200 Eakedale, Gerard C., 204 Ebenezer Elementary School, 13, 25, 199, 265 EC (exceptional children) classes, using L to J process in, 137–41 echo reading, 248 effort and recognition (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 255 El-Amin, Mahasin, 151–52, 168, 226 Emery, Jessica, 94 empowerment, of workers (students), 15–21, 37–38 End-of-Grade (EOG) testing, review, L to J process as, 151–53 essential information determining, 101 sharing of, 81 examples, as learning aid, 251 excuses, eliminating, 19 exit cards, writing strategy, 234 expectations, and student success, 220 F fault, denial of, 44 fear as cause of distorted data, 69 importance of eliminating, 77–79, 159 feedback from next grade teachers, using to know what to teach, 108 providing, 103–6 Feldman, Jean, 238 Index  279 Ferrell, Faith, 95 find the fib, writing strategy, 235 finding, and seeking, 21 First Days of School, The, 38 five learning questions, 67–68 whys, 63–64 five words–three words, writing strategy, 235 flash cards, 258 fluency, monitoring, 121–28 FlyLady, The, 28, 36 focused issue bin, 168 Food Lion, 164 force field analysis, 172 formative data, 44 foundation, importance of, 1–2 Fox, Josh, 230 Fox, Michael, 39–40, 168, 228 Framework for Understanding Poverty, A, 13 free writing, writing strategy, 235 G Gabriel, Aron, 274 Gaither, June, 266 gap areas, using L to J process for, 153 Gharajdaghi, Jamshid, 70 goals in building team, 185–86, 195 under Deming system, 65–67 Goldilocks syndrome, 203 goodness, as barrier to greatness, grab bag, reading strategy, 258 graphic organizers, 236–37 greatness, goodness as barrier to, Green Eggs and Ham, 90 H Hall, Gena, 151–52 High Yield Instructional Strategies (HYIS), Marzano’s, 6, 79, 103, 179, 253–58 Hirsch, E D., 238 histogram, 117–19 homework and practice (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 255–56 household processes, 36 household system, 26–28 Hulbert, Harold S., 182 human resources, evaluating, 87 Hunter, John, 57, 65, 184 Hunter, Madeline, 91 I “I can” student-friendly statements, 105–6 idea spinner, reading strategy, 258 improvement, versus change, 67–69 individual growth plans (IGPs), 85 information, versus knowledge, 101 “Inside the Black Box,” 20–21, 138, 141, 196 inside/outside circle, reading strategy, 175, 259 inspection, versus process improvement, 23–24 International Baccalaureate (IB) Candidate school, 265 interpretation, question type, 240–41 intervention time, 67 issue bin, 166–69 J Japan, 4, 37 Jenkins, Lee, 16, 30, 35, 37, 101, 102, 109, 115, 160, 172, 174, 177, 181, 182, 185, 190, 192, 202, 204, 205, 207, 212, 237 L to J workshop, 92–93 jigsaw, reading strategy, 259 Jones, Deborah E., 16 journals, 231, 237 “just one more,” power of, 129–30 K K–2 program, considerations for, 260–63 “know” of curriculum, 101, 102–3 knowledge versus information, 101 missing prior, in students, Knowledge Deficit, The, 238 KWL (know, want to know, learned), reading strategy, 259 L L to J process, 89–158 all-time best, 130–32, 197 benefits of using, 130–32 buy-in, importance of, 157–58 charts, display of, 156–57 current practice at Iredell–Statesville Schools, 265–74 in the EC classroom, 137–41 as EOG review, 151–53 280  Index for gap areas, 153 impact on classroom testing, 113 impact on EOG testing, 113 impact on spelling, 132–33 in mathematics, 270–71 origin of, 91–92 in physical education, 273–74 in science, 267–68 and student motivation, 94 student plus/delta of, 153 using to determine spelling need, 133–37 workshop, 92–94 writing with, 143–51 Last Lecture, The, 181–84, 206, 218, 219 leadership, 30–32, 153 evaluating, 86 learning hands-on approach to, 260–63 natural desire for, eliminating barriers to, 7–8 learning system, versus teaching system, 5, 11–12, 160 learning-centered education output, 11–12 listen–think–pair–share, reading strategy, 259 M Marzano, Robert, 79, 179, 231, 233, 236, 239, 253 McLaughlin, Milbrey, 69 meetings, class, 196 Meyer, Stephen, 267 middle school, issues specific to, 269 minute papers, writing strategy, 235 mission, 30–31 in building team, 195 mission statement, 32–33, 81–82 in building team, 187 Mitchell, Justin, 267–69, 271–72 Morrison, Karen, 95–96, 225, 227, 228 Mother Teresa, 196 N nails in the fence story, 201 National Reading Panel study, 121 90/90/90 schools, 58–59, 230–31 No Child Left Behind (NCLB), 64, 93 nonlinguistic representation (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 257–58 norms, 41–42 in building team, 194–95 establishing, 80 Northview Elementary School, 265 note taking and summarizing (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 233–34 numerical goals, futility of, 68 O objectives role of in teaching, 10 setting, 103–6 oral supported reading, 246 Outlaw, Frank, P paired reading, 247–48 paragraph shrinking, reading strategy, 259 parent voice, use by low-income students, 201–2 Pausch, Randy, 181, 184, 206, 218, 219 Payne, Ruby, 13, 190, 201 PDSA (plan, do, study, act) cycle, 45, 139, 172–79 student-level, 266–67 perseverance, 19–20 phonics, 159–60 pictures in your head concept, in reading instruction, 222–30 Plain-Mamon, LaShaundra, 2, 20, 73, 138, 234 plan, phase of PDSA cycle, 173–74, 178 planning process, 77–79 plus/delta chart, 39, 163–66, 176 Polansky, Bonnie, 96, 143, 187 power, locus of, 20–21 PowerPoint, 98 prediction pairs, reading strategy, 259 Problem of the Week, 103 process data, 43 evaluating, 87 process improvement, versus inspection, 23–24 processes, 192–96 evaluating, 86–87 and workers, 34–43 professional learning communities (PLCs), 75 Proffit, Lisa, 73, 74, 233 purposeful abandonment, 28–29 Q quality principles, for classroom management, 159–79 questions, four types of, 239–43 Index  281 quick talk, reading strategy, 259 R random testing, 95–97 introducing to students and parents, 108–12 process, 97–98 reading, techniques to enhance, 242–43, 258–59 Reading A–Z, 248 reading ability impact of cloze activity on, 131–32 monitoring, 121–28 reading intervention program, 249 reading selection test, 141–42 recorded reading, 248 reflection on the data, importance of, 62, 64–65, 111 results data, 43 rewards, versus celebrations, 66 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), 28 root cause, 62–64 Roseman, Dan, 272–73 round-robin reading, alternatives to, 246–49 rubric for effort, 255 run chart class, 115–17 student, 119–20 S safe public display of data, 47–49, 49–51 for faculty, 60–61 Saint Bernard, 222 scatter diagram, 113–15 schoolwide graphs, 128–29 seeking, and finding, 21 self-esteem, data and, 218 setting objectives and providing feedback (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 253–54 Sherrill, Doug, 225 Sherrill, Gary, 273–74 Shipley, Jim, 45 similarities and differences (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 254–55 Sink Reflections, 27, 28–29, 36 SMART goals, 32, 82 specifications, conformance to, 23 spelling impact of cloze activity on, 124 impact of L to J process on, 132–33 using L to J to determine need, 133–37 spelling bees, problems with, 159–60 stakeholder concerns, collecting, 39–40 stakeholder focus, evaluating, 86 stakeholder needs, alignment with, 100 Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services, 25 Standard Course of Study alignment with, 34 using to know what to teach, 98–113 starfish parable, 21–22 story map, 224 strategic data, evaluating, 87 strategic goals, 32, 82 strategic planning, 32–34 evaluating, 86 strategy boards, 252–53 student data notebooks, 205–7 student plus/delta, of L to J process, 153 student run chart, 119–20 student success, and expectations, 220 student-led conference, 198–99 student-level PDSA, 266–67 students focus on, importance of, 17–18 ownership of data, 120–21 study, phase of PDSA cycle, 176, 178 stump the teachers, reading strategy, 259 “submarine captains,” 18, 73 summarizing and note taking (High Yield Instructional Strategy), 139–40, 233–34, 254 summative data, 44 supplier, teacher as, Swierczewski, Raquel, 273 Swindoll, Charles, 22 system building and evaluating, 84–88 increasing effectiveness and efficiency of, 79–84 seven parts of, 26–28 need to address, 42–43 as source of problems, 58, 59, 220 systems approach, to thinking, 23–88 T tampering, 64 target goals, 82–83 teacher data notebook, 205–7 teachers experiences with classroom improvement, 75–77 impact on students, 200–201 teaching system, versus learning system, 5, 11–12, 160 282  Index team, building, 181–220 reasons for, 181–82 techniques for, 185–92 teamwork, 18 telephone, reading strategy, 259 10 + (ten plus two), reading strategy, 259 testing strategies, 260 thinking, systems approach to, 23–88 “those kids,” as basic belief, 2–3, 13–14, 58 bell curve as enabler of, 15 3-2-1, writing strategy, 235 “tight but loose” strategy, 16 tools, for L to J process, 221–64 training on processes, 192–93 time saved through, 37–39 of workers (students), 6–7, 35, 120 V Vargas, Jeannette, 273 variation, reducing, 23 vision, 30–31 in building team, 195 visualization, 222–23 vocabulary and economic status, 67 monitoring, 121–28 and Standard Course of Study, 142 voting cards, reading strategy, 259 W walking tour, reading strategy, 259 Wallace, Dale, 169 Ward, William Arthur, 11 Westlund, Ashley, 127, 152, 165 Whatever It Takes, 19 White, Elisabeth, 273 whole language, approach to reading, 222 “Why Parents Drink” story, 208 Wike, Bethany, 151 Wilson, Bonnie, 13, 60–61, 179, 206, 211 Wong, Harry, 35, 38 Wong, Rosemary, 38 workers, and processes, 34–43 writing across the curriculum, 230–34 strategies for, 234–36 with the L to J process, 143–51 Writing to Learn, 232 Y York, Jennifer, 40, 94, 127, 136–37, 143, 153, 186, 187, 225, 226, 243 Z Zinsser, William, 232 Belong to the Quality Community! Established in 1946, ASQ is a global community of quality experts in all fields and industries is dedicated to the promotion and advancement of quality tools, principles, and practices in the workplace and in the community ASQ The Society also serves as an advocate for quality Its members have informed and advised the U.S Congress, government agencies, state legislatures, and other groups and individuals worldwide on quality-related topics Vision By making quality a global priority, an organizational imperative, and a personal ethic, ASQ becomes the community of choice for everyone who seeks quality technology, concepts, or tools to improve themselves and their world ASQ is… • More than 90,000 individuals and 700 companies in more than 100 countries • The world’s largest organization dedicated to promoting quality • A community of professionals striving to bring quality to their work and their lives • The administrator of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award • A supporter of quality in all sectors including manufacturing, service, healthcare, government, and education • YOU Visit www.asq.org for more information ASQ Membership Research shows that people who join associations experience increased job satisfaction, earn more, and are generally happier* ASQ membership can help you achieve this while providing the tools you need to be successful in your industry and to distinguish yourself from your competition So why wouldn’t you want to be a part of ASQ? 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Press: Continuous Improvement in the English Classroom Janelle R Coady Continuous Improvement in the Science Classroom, Second Edition Jeffrey J Burgard Continuous Improvement in the Mathematics Classroom. .. a great teacher Knowing there is a problem is the first step to finding the answer Continually looking for the answer and using the information to get better is continuous improvement As everyone... 2010 Printed in the United States of America 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Library of Congress Cataloging -in- Publication Data Hedrick, Vickie, 1951–   Continuous improvement in the language arts classroom