took that led them to an incorrect answer. In addition to helping s
tudents respond to constructed response questions, the practice helps students build
other skills such as vocabulary, critical thinking, and
self-expression.
Understanding each child’s academic growth.
Rose Park’s relatively veteran staff is committed to
learning how to recognize—and best maximize—
each student’s abilities. They continually assess and
reassess student knowledge, routinely “spiraling”
information delivery to evaluate which students
have mastered what information. If specific students
have not learned something, they review it again in
class or through intervention. “Mastery is the goal
at our school,” numeracy coach Shepherd said. “If
students do not do well on a test, they can work to
learn the material and improve their scores,” she
added. “We believe students should see what they
mastered, not how poorly they did on a test two
months ago.”
Rose Park’s teachers use project-based learning activities that push students to strive for the
next levels of complexity in their understanding.
For instance, math courses use “scavenger hunt”
style activities as instructional methods to teach
the Common Core standards. In these activities,
students find different math problems posted in the
classroom that they must solve and then explain
how they arrived at their solution to the teacher.
Reading classes also incorporate language “stations” dedicated to parts of speech, descriptive writing, and vocabulary games where students rotate to
encourage engagement. Students in science classes build model race cars to bring Newton’s Laws of
Physics to life. “Engagement is important because
it keeps kids interested,” Principal Blankenship said.
“We know that at this age their attention span is
very, very short. So you have to actively get them
engaged by thinking, by doing, by hearing, seeing,
smelling – whatever it takes, that’s what we want to
do here at Rose Park.”
Video: “Engaging Students
in the Classroom” (1:11)
to fellow students. Teachers also allow students to
complete alternative assignments in which students complete and present reports using PowerPoint presentations and slide shows. They structure
their classes around the online service Edmodo
to build technology into their classroom teaching.
Shepherd explained, “Teachers are using Edmodo
for assignments, videos, and to encourage student
interaction. Many teachers are using it and the kids
are responding well. They are also learning that
going online can be more than just to play.”
Rewarding academic progress. The school
celebrates academic growth with reward programs such as Give Me Five, which is based on the
Discovery Education Assessment (DEA) administered three times a year. DEA lets students, faculty
members, and administrators build a trajectory of a
student’s p erformance over time. Students receive
scores at t he beginning and twice in the middle
of the year to see where they have improved.
Students who perform five points better on subsequent tests receive a reward, regardless of
their baseline scores in the fall.
http://tnscore.org/scoreprize/
lessons-schools_mid2012.php
Teachers at Rose Park routinely incorporate active
learning techniques and technology into their
instruction. They use devices such as projection
technology that allow students to show their work
Pathways to the Prize
Lessons from the 2012 SCORE Prize School Winners
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