Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell wrote Outliers in 2008 and the concept of 10,000 hours to excellence was popularized. It is not that we require an exact number of hours in order to become an expert, but we need to dedicate a huge amount of time to practice before we become experts. This holds true for virtually all things. Jerry Rice, the hall of fame receiver, was known for being the hardest worker on his team. That is true of most sports greats. They have natural talent and physical attributes, but to become truly great, they need to spend the hours- consistently over time.

Practice plus talent alone is not enough. There is an environmental aspect to greatness. Part of it is related to learning persistence, social skills and having access to opportunities. If you want to be successful at a job, you need to need to have the social skills to do so. The social skills needed to survive as a Wall Street banker are different than those you need to be a rodeo rider. A neurosurgeon has different social skills than a pediatrician. The skills you need to be an inner city police officer are different than those you need as a rural sheriff. Growing up in an environment where you learn those skills makes it easier. You can learn the skills, but it is a challenge to learn a new culture.

Further, your birthday contributes to opportunities. People who graduated from college in 2007 had a very different experience looking for jobs than those who graduated in 2009 during the great recession. Sometimes this challenge forces people to learn to be flexible and focus on skills that others are not finding profitable which will become profitable in the future. Sometimes it forces people to reside in mediocrity.

One thing that Gladwell discussed are the limitations of IQ as a determinant of success. Once IQ is above a certain point, being higher is not necessarily better. Being from a middle or upper class is what determines the success of the individual more than merely IQ. My husband, an engineer, talks about engineers in the top 90th percentile are able to produce twice that of engineers in the 50th percentile. He is not referring to just smarts, but to problem solving, persistence, and ability to juggle more things at once. To be able to analyze both the big picture and pay attention to the minutia. Not everyone can do this. Without training in how to do it, even the really good engineers do not get there.

So do we resolve to be satisfied that inner city, poverty filled areas are doomed to continue as they exist? NO. We can intervene and change trajectories. We have learned that the greater part of the achievement gap results from the summer slide. Students in well educated environments spend the summer in activities that expand their background knowledge and reinforce their learning. They have ready access to books and shown that reading is not just important but enjoyable. Students in poverty tend to be denied enriching summer experiences. They have much more limited access to books. They have to have parents set the stage, as a recent report illustrates, that emphasizes learning, schooling, and self-confidence in learning.

KIPP schools have been successful because they increase the amount of schooling and school work that students do. It would odd if students who spent 30 more days in school and 2 more hours a day at school could not out perform students who did not. It is not about technology they have access to or the uniforms they wear but the idea that learning is important. Parents who spend the time to research schools and pick the schools that would be best for their children, have children who do better than parents who do not. Parents who spend this time on selecting a school then also spend more time focusing on learning. Even if the parents cannot help their children with their school work, they can find people who can. In Educational Leadership I read recently read about a child who immigrated to this country and did not speak proficient English, nor did anyone in his family. His family did, however, belong to a community where there were proficient bilingual English speakers. They hooked this young man up with other adults from the community who could help with homework. This young man was able to be successful in school in spite of language and poverty challenges. Environment can help kids overcome challenges or can mire them. It is up to us as a community to decide which way to go.

Accessible Algebra

Every teacher who has worked with math has had students for whom math was instinctual- who loved to play with numbers and patterns, who caught on, often before the topic had been addressed in class. Teachers have also had students who found math to be an indiscernible labyrinth- who hated numbers and patterns and just never seemed to get it, no matter how many times it was explained. Unfortunately our culture seems to celebrate the latter and find the former odd. I have a husband and daughter who love math. She was delighted with calculus and worked ahead. Accessible Algebra by Anne M. Collins and Stephen R. Benson is not for those who get it. It is for the rest of us.

As opposed to a book based on theory, Accessible Algebra: 30 Modules to Promote Algebraic Reasoning, Grades 7-10 is a compilation of 30 lessons, complete with worksheets and answers, that can be used out of the box. The book is divided into sections- expressions, equations and functions. The modules contain real examples of algebra, the mathematical theory about the topic, common mistakes and ideas for both increased scaffolding and extensions. I learned some math reading this book, but more importantly, I have been exposed to some ideas about how to make algebra more hands on. We tend to think about elementary school math as being hands on- counters, pattern blocks, geoboards, balances, and games may be found in most such classrooms. As students get older, opportunities for hands on experiences in math diminish, in part because of pacing and time and in part because of the challenge of finding manipulatives and experiences that represent abstract algebraic concepts.

For students who struggle with mathematical thinking, finding ways to visualize and explore concepts is essential. This book provides a wealth of examples of how to incorporate models and discussion into the classroom. It might make algebra a longer course. It might, however, create a class that more students could be successful in. If an algebra teacher only used these 30 modules over the course of the 180- or more realistically 150 school days- students would be better prepared to tackle math. An emphasis throughout is discussion. Students often struggle with describing math. By forcing students to verbalize and write their ideas, both with words and symbolic notation, we help them bridge the gap and be better prepared for assessments that require these skills.

The activities  include a variety of card activities: match the expression with the words describing the math, the graph to its description or sort into function or not a function. We know that hands on experiences increase learning, it is worth trying. Another thing the authors include is a chart for recording student thinking. When students are working collaboratively or independently, you can determine what strategies they use and then encourage using the best strategy for a problem as opposed to a single strategy. You could add guess and check to the strategy column.

Student name	Problem solving strategy			Justifies strategy and solution using accountable talk	Accurate computation
	Table	Graph	equation

A wonderful text for those trying to help students achieve success with algebra.

The power of the adolescent brain

Thomas Armstrong's book, The Power of the Adolescent Brain: Strategies for Teaching Middle and High School Students, examines why so many secondary programs fail students. He starts with a primer on neurobiology and learning. One amazing thing is that adolescent brains respond to stimulus in very different ways than either child or adult brains do. For example, when thinking about actions they might take in a given situation, adolescents use a part of the brain associated with the self-conscious brain whereas adults rely more on self-memories (p. 54). Since the time of adolescences is one of brain refinement- lots of pruning and myelination- expecting teens to react as adults might is unrealistic.

Armstrong highlights several risks that adolescents face and the impact that they have on young people.

• traffic accidents- a leading cause of death
• violence- another leading cause of death. In a study 40% of males and 25% of females in high school reported being in a physical fight in the past year (p. 21)
• suicide- another leading cause of death
• alcohol abuse-over one third of teenagers reported alcohol consumption in the last 30 days. Alcohol consumption inhibits the creation of new neurons and damages areas of the brain including those associated with impulse control (p. 22)
• marijuana abuse- heavy users have depressed processing speed, memory, flexible thinking, attention and learning as well as decreased motivation. It results in structural changes in the brain including decreased ability of the amygdala to filter incoming information (p. 22).
• tobacco and nicotine use- more likely to become addicted with use than adults and leads to long term health risks. It causes changes to the limbic system including reduced ability to inhibit impulses (p. 23)
• mental disorders- The onset of half of all mental health issues begins by the age of 14. As many as 20% experience an anxiety disorder. Eating disorders, school refusals and suicide are often results of mental health concerns (p. 23)
• Sleep difficulties- 45% of all adolescents experience sleep deprivation. It causes increased risk taking and failures of cognitive control (p. 23). While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends schools start after 8:30 the CDC reports that over 75% of secondary schools do.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases- Over a third of sexually active females between 14 and 18 carry an STD. (44% of females and 49% of males in this group are sexually active). 
• Prescription Drug abuse- Adderall, Vicodin and narcotics are the most abused drugs. Abuse of narcotics and Vicodin can lead to coma and death. 4% of males report steroid abuse which causes changes in brain structure and neurotransmitter levels (p.24). Recent research indicates that narcotics overdose is steadily climbing as a leading cause of death for teens.
• Internet Addiction- approximately 4% of teens (it seems like this number might be low) which reduces connectivity in regions of the brain responsible for learning ( p. 24).
• Bullying- 20 % of teens reported being bullied in the last year on school grounds. This can result in suicide and an increased risk of psychiatric disorders (p. 24). 
• Stress- It can contribute to all of the above factors. Chronic stress can lead to anxiety, depression, panic attacks, difficulty concentrating and insomnia as well as high blood pressure and low immune function. Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to stress and its long term impact on the body and brain. THP, a neurotransmitter that is calming in children and adults, is antagonistic to the brain of adolescents (p. 26).

To counter these concerns, Armstrong recommends brain-friendly educational practices: opportunities to choose, self-awareness activities, peer learning connections, affective learning, learning through the body, metacognitive strategies, expressive art activities, and real-world experiences (p. 38).

Armstrong lists choice as the number one brain friendly practice. Often in high school choice of classes is practically nonexistent. Students are required to take English, math, social studies and science. Often mandatory electives are needed: PE, a fine art, and language. The day is full and complete. Back when my sister was in high school, they offered electives in English. Students opted to take a class for a quarter. Options included violence in literature, science fiction, drama, poetry, and Shakespeare and film. They were offered choices that my sister assured me included lots of reading and writing and writing and writing. We could provide these sorts of choices but then English teachers would have to plan extra classes. Instead of four sections of English 9 and two of English 10 it would be 4-6 unique classes. I am sure that open rebellion by the staff brought about this downfall. (Teachers in small schools can laugh- they have all those different classes because they are the English department at the high school and teach all four levels.) I know it is work, but it might help student engagement which might lead to better success on the part of the students.

Armstrong repeatedly emphasizes the role of peers in teenage lives. Peer approval stimulates high levels of satisfaction in the brain and disapproval or lack of acceptance triggers high levels of negative responses. He suggests letting peers critique each others work. I have heard many teachers say they tried peer revisions or editing, the students hated it and were terrible at it so they gave it up. Interestingly if we discover they hate writing or are terrible at it we do not abstain from assigning written work. He quotes Ron Berger,

"In order to create beautiful work, we must be willing to refine. To refine, we must require critique and feedback. In order to critique, we need models and standards. For feedback to be useful to us, it must be kind, helpful and specific." (p. 73)

If we want to use peer feedback we need to teach it. We need to model it. Good job does not provide any useful information- not for what you did well or what you can do to improve. Preferable would be,

• You identified three quotes to highlight your thesis. What made you choose the second one? 
• I liked the way you used imagery to showcase the character's delemia in the third paragraph. What made you choose to stop using it after that point?
• Most of your sentences are a simple subject-predicate form. How can you change the sentence structure around to make the language more interesting to the reader?
• Be careful with your sentences. While they are full of vivid and specific verbs, they also are often run-ons.
• I am not sure why you chose to include _____. Could you explain it better or remove it and still make your point?

Modeling good feedback is essential if we want students to demonstrate it. Sentence starters like,

• I didn't understand it when you ______.
• I really like the way you _____.
• I want to know more about _____.
• I was confused when _____.
• You evidence here seems weak/strong because __________.

allow students to get a feel for how to go about providing feedback. Rubrics can be useful as well. Allowing students to dissect high, average, and low quality work by comparing it to a rubric can help them learn how to identify areas for improvement. We know that feedback rather than grades results in improved work. We owe it to students to provide as much feedback as we can for them to be successful. Feedback from peers is even more powerful than that from most adults. We owe it to our students to get some high quality peer feedback.

Throughout the book, Armstrong identifies a brain-friendly practice and then provides examples of how to implement them. His writing is easy to read. Each chapter ends with a key takeaway section that summarizes the material. Appendix B contains a variety of specific examples to use each of the ten strategies in each of the core subject areas. A great book that furthers the discussion of brain-friendly learning.

differentiated literacy coaching

Over the last few years I have delved into the research on literacy coaching and was intrigued to find Mary Catherine Moran's Differentiated Literacy Coaching: Scaffolding for Student and Teacher Success. This book was a dry read. Few examples are found throughout. While resources and handouts are available online, not enough were shared within the text, requiring readers to stop and search for materials that were referenced.

That said, the book has a wealth of information. Moran describes different types of coaching activities: collaborative resource management, literacy content presentations, focused classroom visits, coplanning, study groups, demonstration lessons, peer coaching and coteaching. Coplanning and coteaching are shown as parallels to special ed activities. Two of her key focuses is that coaching works best when teachers are able to self select the activity and that coaches should not be evaluators.

The book is divided into three sections: foundations and research, types of coaching and discussion modules. In the first section the author references Gersten, Vaughn, Deschler and Schiller's (1997) guiding principles for researchers to make use of research in their practice (p. 25):

• Reality principle- is it feasible? Although a program may be highly effective for improving literacy, if it requires an additional hour of 1:1 instruction every day, it might not be the plan to use.
• scope- scale. If it is only applicable to fifth graders with phonemic awareness issues, it probably does not fit the bill for a general education classroom. Conversely, if it is an entire literacy program that would be in conflict with district mandates, it probably is not right either.
• technical aspects- is there enough training, support and feedback for teachers to become skilled with the strategy?
• conceptual aspects- do the teachers understand the significance of the practice? If we increase our focus on fluency or high quality vocabulary instruction, do they see the value?
• linkages- are there easily identifiable connections with other initiatives?
• collegial support networks- Are there supports to sustain the initiative?

Later on she highlights that, "As a coach, our job isn't to tell teachers how or what to do..., but rather to help them reflect on their own practice" (p. 42-3). Keeping this in mind provides a purpose for coaching even veteran teachers. It would have been nice if she had added some reflection protocols or sample dialogs to use as a spring board.

The last part of the text is modules with sample staff development activities that would be useful for any stage of the coaching process implementation. They focus on the concept and logistics of coaching rather than specific content information.

Her appendix does include a plan for evaluating coach performance. Since coaching is different from teaching, using a teacher evaluation model such as Danielson's is not a good measure of performance.