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My Smart goal is that "By the end of the numbers unit, 60% of students in the Special Education program in MS Spanish 1A - Period 2 will achieve 80% or higher on each formative assessment including listening, speaking and writing assessments." During our meetings we have noticed a significant gap in my pd. 2 in my SPED students. By using exit tickets, I can continuously gauge how well these specific students are understanding the new material of the week before getting to the formal formative assessment on Fridays. These exit tickets can be modified to include speaking and listening skills depending on where the formative reveals the greatest need is. - Margarita

This video using exit tickets is a great resource for my classroom. My SMART goal is Given 2 months of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least two levels." Using the planning protocol I rated this a 4 in the aligned to the standards category. I could create quick exit tickets based on the story my students are reading. The students could answer the question and I could quickly assess whether they were able to comprehend and understand the story which is a part of my smart goal. Reading comprehension is an important factor when testing students' reading level. I would love to use this in my classroom.

Smart Target Learning Goal is by the end of marking period 1, 70% of students will score 90% or higher on the EMATS/ performance matters. This will allow me to see where students are still needing understanding about the topic that is being taught. The dimension would be depth of knowledge with 1:recall. This is something that students need to be able to do short hand before they can recall later on.

SMART GOAL: At least 80% of students in grade two will be reading level K books or above by the end of 6 weeks. (Julie's goal) Dimension: Alignment to Standards Impact: 2 Reason: Exit tickets are self-assessment questions prepared by teachers, often based on learning goals, that are to be completed by students. Since Julie's Smart Goal is based on measurement (80% of students), I believe that Exit Tickets will give her insight on the percentage of her students that illustrate her students reading comprehension levels. For Julie's Exit Tickets, I think that questions she pose should require answers in the form of explanations from students because I believe it would be the most effective way to help her detect the students that may require extra support. If there is not a common theme to student responses, then it may be an instruction gap that is the issue; if so, Julie would need to ensure that the curriculum/lesson plans correlate with state standards.

Smart Target Learning Goal: By the of Unit 5, 80% of students will score at least 70% on the end of unit assessment. My biggest problem is getting students to retain the important information that will be tested upon. Exit tickets will give me an incite to how well students are retaining the class content by creating exit tickets that are similar to exam questions at the end of a lesson where they learned the content to which the question related. This not only allows me to see if they learned the content but also will allow me to see which types of mistakes the students are making in regards to the test. From here my I will be able to modify my lessons in order to insure that my students are in line with the exam.

Smart Target Learning Goal: By the of Unit 5, 80% of students will score at least 70% on the end of unit assessment. My biggest problem is getting students to retain the important information that will be tested upon. Exit tickets will give me an incite to how well students are retaining the class content by creating exit tickets that are similar to exam questions at the end of a lesson where they learned the content to which the question related. This not only allows me to see if they learned the content but also will allow me to see which types of mistakes the students are making in regards to the test. From here my I will be able to modify my lessons in order to insure that my students are in line with the exam.

Dimension: Rigor and Relevance Impact: 4 SMART Goal:Given 1 month of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least one level. Exit tickets are an excellent way for the students to show their ability to comprehend the text by answering a text dependent question about the story that they have read during guided reading. This will give the teacher an insight on the level of comprehension that they student has for that level book that is being read. This is much more rigorous than just asking and answering questions because students are applying the knowledge of the story into the writing that they are doing about the book.

Hi Elijah! I think the issue is sometimes students do have difficulty retaining the information. I think that the exit tickets will also give you insight into a few different dimensions from the protocol worksheet as well. My SMART goal is by the end of the marking, 80% or higher of students will score a 90% or higher on a base ten assessment. So I think looking at the exit tickets based on the dimensions you should look into student engagement. Since this is important when it comes to exit tickets. If students are not engaged during the lesson then the exit tickets is pretty much showing that the students retained nothing. I think that teachers should always shoot for a 3 or 4 based on the protocol. That way students retention of the information is greater therefore, exit tickets are hopefully higher.

Video: Exit Tickets Dimension Teacher Friendliness: Score: 3 I rate this strategy as a 3 in terms of teacher friendliness (3 = "low maintenance few materials and/or little prep work). With exit tickets, teachers can ask students to answer simple questions regarding the day's lesson in order to get a sense of students' understanding. This strategy involves little work to prepare for but provides a lot of insight into how to guide future instruction. There may be topics that many students misunderstood or areas that individual students need support in. The SMART goal I considered while watching this video is raising scores in AP Bio for select students who have not taken AP or advanced classes science classes before. I think exit tickets are a low maintenance way to guage which specific areas to focus on for these students.

Dimension: Impact on Learning Rating: 3- Medium-high impact SMART Goal: By the end of the marking, 80% or higher of students will score a 90% or higher on a base ten assessment. Exit tickets are a useful way to help both students and teachers recognize individual student mastery of a topic or skill. Since exit tickets informally assess student learning from that class period, there would be no impact on student learning as students are completing the task. However, teachers can use the information gathered from exit tickets to inform their instruction for the next days instruction. For instance, my groupmate could assign an exit card with 2-3 problems related to that day's lesson. After students complete the exit tickets, the teacher could evaluate to see who struggled and with what particular strategy. The teacher could then use that information to form small groups and provide re-teaching/alternate instruction as necessary. This ultimately will help students receive more personalized instruction thus enhancing impact on learning.

I agree that exit tickets are a useful way to evaluate mastery of a concept; however, I do feel they have an impact on student learning as they're completing the task. As students complete an exit card, it requires thought and skill to demonstrate your understanding. Sometimes students make mistakes on exit cards, which helps students learn and grow. This strategy would be helpful as I implement my plan to reach my SMART goal. My SMART goal is "by the end of Marking Period 3, ELL students identified will be able to explain how to solve for an unknown number in an equation with at least 80% accuracy ." Exit card would be extremely helpful in the process of determining necessary supports and areas of need as I complete my action plan. On the planning protocol rubric, I would rate this a four in the dimension of alignment to standards. Exit cards are directly related to what you have taught from the curriculum and therefore align with the standards. This is a great way to evaluate students quickly and frequently on the standards.

Emotional start, easy to read eight part checklist that can help bridge the instructional gap; good tools to make sure all is being done to properly cater towards the full comprehension of material by students.

This short article highlights years of research that examined the racial achievement gap. Research and finding suggest that much of what accounts for the disparities in achievement is attributed to socioeconomic factors. The article offers 8 ways for closing the gap among those most impacted based on the findings and best practices.

Great article. Another source of proof that higher levels of expectations and rigor really do help close the gap. I also like that they reinforce the value of school and home connection.

This article talks about using assessments to tell if interventions are working, this like a response to intervention. Raising the bar for the student to they can be successful. Monitor the students progress on a monthly basis and get the parents involved

When we met, April's mother was in drug rehabilitation and her father was in jail. She would stare at the ground and rarely utter a word. I was a sophomore in college and was serving as April's mentor; I feared that we might never develop a close relationship.

When we met, April's mother was in drug rehabilitation and her father was in jail. She would stare at the ground and rarely utter a word. I was a sophomore in college and was serving as April's mentor; I feared that we might never develop a close relationship.

I almost put this article up myself. Very moving.

This article highlights 8 ways to provide educational gains to students needing them most. The goal is closing the achievement gap between struggling learners and high performing students. 1. Use Evidence-Based Instruction, 2. Provide a Rigorous Curriculum, 3. Increase Instructional Time, 4. Introduce Supplemental Instruction, 5. Monitor Progress, Ideally Monthly, 6. Motivate & Engage, 7. Deepen Professional Development, 8. Link School and Home

This is a great article that highlights different things that can be done in the classroom to close the achievement gap the two that I think are most important are the increased instructional time, and link between school and home. I think almost every teacher has wished for more instructional time in the classroom, I know I only see my students every other day and I often think about how much more I could teach them if I saw them every day like math and ELA. I also think the communication between home and school is important to a student's ability to learn.

Great article! I like how it was connected to an inspirational story. I like how each of the ways was described. Often in the busyness of teaching, it's good to have reminders of what is needed, so that you can strengthen weaknesses.

(Week 9: Sheila, Suzanne and Cathy) This article is accessible through the link above. This article explains eight ways educators can inspire academic advancements in students, especially students from lower socioeconomic statuses. While mentoring the author gain insight on how to help close the achievement gap. The writer and her team identified that evidence base instruction, a rigorous curriculum, increased instructional time, supplemental instruction, progress monitoring, motivating and engaging, professional development, and a link to school and home would accomplish those gains. The author believes that "if teachers know about and follow those suggestions they could help close the achievement gap." (Fisher, 2015) This article can be a great resource for teachers. Many of the suggestions could be incorporated by most teachers. However, the article also assumes that if followed these eight tools will close the achievement gap. The author also does not explain how teachers can increase instructional time. Reference: Fisher, O. (Oct 2015). 8 proven ways to help close the achievement gap. Istation. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-10-27-8-proven-ways-to-help-close-the-achievement-gap

The article was very informative. I especially liked the 8th suggestion, "Link home and school." This is an essential piece that I think educators need to do a better job with for at-risk students. When there are more people engaged and involved, students have a broader network of support to ensure success. We need to do more community outreach to help our students improve both academically and in the broader sense.

This article gives an accountant of the obstacles and resistance pre-service teachers encountered when attempting to incorporate literacy strategies with content area instruction. There are success stories and some teachers that were overwhelmed by time constraints, other curriculum demands, and personal insecurities about their own literacy skills. Chris, Alison, & Patricia I found the article but was unsuccessful attaching it to the group. Alison attached to the group for me. Thank you Alison.

My SMART goal is to make sure 80% of student in my class are reading by level K (using Fountas and Pinnell) by December. Anchor charts could definitely help this by having strategies for comprehending texts and how to be an active reader up around the classroom. Students could refer to them while reading to make sure they are being active readers and taking in what they are reading about. I would rate this 4 for student engagement and high impact on learning.

This video about anchor charts would work great with my SMART goal- "Given 2 months of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least two levels." Anchor charts are a really important tool for students to use as they're reading texts and after reading texts. For example, I have an anchor chart in my classroom that explains the rate of speed for reading. Students can refer to this as they're reading so they can monitor themselves as they're reading to make sure they're reading at a fluent rate of speed. Another anchor chart in my room that students can refer to is the asking questions anchor chart. This anchor chart explains to students how to stop and ask themselves questions throughout the reading. This supports my SMART learning goal because some of my students were held back from moving forward in reading because of their reading comprehension. When referring to the planning protocol rubric, I would rate this a 4 for impact on learning category.

This would be good for my fellow teacher on my team for their SMART learning goal of "by the end of quarter 1, 60% of students will score a 70% or higher on the Quarter 1 Literacy Assessment on Theme." This will allow students to review/ use different anchor charts to review theme. If the teacher wanted to take it to an another level, students could create their own anchor charts in groups that helped them identify the theme in ways so that they would remember them.

Dimension: Student Engagement Rating: 4 My partner's SMART goal is, "By the end of the numbers unit, 60% of students in the Special Education program in MS Spanish 1A - Period 2 will achieve 80% or higher on each formative assessment including listening, speaking and writing assessments." Anchor charts could be useful in the Spanish classroom because they could help prompt students about the use of expressions and structures they would need to master the vocabulary in the numbers unit, which would help more students achieve an 80% or higher. While many of those expressions and structures involve common, everyday vocabulary and concepts that also exist in English, the syntax is different enough from English that having something up in the classroom that helps scaffold the students' learning of the syntax would help them communicate with more ease. These would be charts that every student would refer to, and they could change for future units of study.

This video describes anchor charts. Anchor charts are a visual learning tool that helps students work through any type of process. I could see this as being beneficial to my my SMART goal because I could use this with my Biology I students to help them identify learning gaps and work through those.

Dimension: Student Engagement Rating: 3 SMART Goal: Given 1 month of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least one level. In order to promote achievement of their SMART goal, my groupmate could use an anchor chart to remind students of strategies to apply when reading unknown words. Anchor charts are designed to encourage students to apply a process when solving problems. While guided and direct reading instruction are beneficial to student reading development, it is not realistic for teachers to work with every student every minute of instruction. My groupmate could use an anchor chart to display strategies for sounding out words (ex. "Stretchy Snake" or "Chunky Monkey"). Within the anchor chart the teacher could use colorful pictures and words to remind students of previously learned strategies. This system will allow students to continue their reading development even while they are not working with a teacher. This will ultimately enhance their engagement when reading independently.

Dimension: Impact on Learning Rating: 3 SMART Goal: By the end of the third quarter, 80% of first grade students will score 16-20 points (80%-100%) on the next Unit Test which covers all reading skills. Throughout this video, the teacher discusses the importance of anchor charts in a classroom. She expresses how anchor charts guide students through a process in their learning where they rely on the anchor charts to remember what they learned, what their task is, and where they should go next. Anchor charts are written with different colors to grab student's attention and to make the information visibly pleasing to look at/easy to follow along with. The SMART goal that I have for my class is that 80% of my students will score 16-20 points on their next Unit Test which covers all of the reading skills that they have learned so far in first grade. Most of these reading skills are about the long and short vowel sounds, dipgraphs/blends, and comprehension skills. I have posted multiple anchor charts around my classroom that covers these skills. I use different colors, words, and pictures to teach the information on the charts. I constantly remind my class to use these anchor charts to help assist in their learning and when they have questions. This is why I rated anchor charts a 3 on "Impact on Learning". They have a medium-high impact because students can refer to them anytime they need to in the classroom. They also remind students what they have learned so far in the school year. However, in first grade, they sometimes have trouble reading the anchor charts because they are still learning how to read. This is why I did not rate the anchor charts a 4.

Dimension: Student Engagement Rating: 3 Smart Goal: By the middle of the fourth trimester, 80% of 3rd grade students will score a 3 or 4 on their reading and math assessments. By the middle of the fourth trimester, 80% of 3rd grade students will increase at least 40% on STAR reading. By the middle of the fourth trimester, 80% of 3rd grade students will increase at least 40% on STAR math. Integrating anchor charts into a classroom is a wonderful way to maintain student engagement. Anchor charts are a great tool for teachers to use to help explain content to students. Anchor charts can be interactive in a classroom. A teacher can write a topic on an anchor chart and students can join in the conversation by adding content to the chart. As a third grade teacher, I use anchor charts on a weekly basis. Anchor charts can be used to teach a lesson, to explain rules, or as an exit ticket. Posting anchor charts around a room can help students as they learn a lesson. The best part about anchor charts is how they are more engaging than a poster. Typically, students do not read a poster in a classroom. However, when students are involved in creating an anchor chart, students are more likely to refer back to the chart and it can also help students remember content better. Anchor charts can be used in class to help students reach their SMART goal. In my classroom, I have the students STAR goal for reading and math on an anchor chart. When the students reach their STAR goal, students can put a star by their name on the anchor chart. Also, I have another anchor chart in my classroom listing different strategies to remember when taking STAR reading and math. I rated anchor charts a 3 on student engagement, because anchor charts are wonderful tools to use to keep a student motivated in their learning. I did not rate anchor charts a 4 because technology is a tad more engaging than anchor charts. However, my students sill love anchor charts! EDTC 615

Dimension: Impact on Learning Rating: 3 SMART Goals: Given 1 month of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least one level. Anchor charts are a great way for the students to reference important skills and strategies during lessons. As the teacher is teaching the strategies during guided reading, they could make a anchor chart to reference during the lesson in order for the students to use. As the students are reading and they are stuck on a word they can reference the anchor chart in order to find a strategy that would work for them. For example, a student may be struggling with a sentence, then they look at the chart and find the strategy that says "Look at the picture". After they find the strategy, then they are able to apply that strategy in order to help them to read the story. These strategies must be explicitly taught in order for these anchor charts to be effective in the classroom, but it is a great tool to use. EDTC 615 Spring2018

SMART Goals: By the end of the marking, 80% or higher of students will score a 90% or higher on a base ten assessment. I believe that anchor charts are a great strategy for students to use in the classroom. When my students are working independently they can use an anchor chart in order to help them answer a question they may have instead of asking their teacher. It is also helpful when these are really colorful and organized for students. I think that these are a way that teachers can really support student learning because as they say in the video these anchor charts can be based on the curriculum where they are taken down or they can be left up all year long. For example, in my own classroom I have a place value anchor chart on my wall. Now we do not cover this concept in this quarter but since some of my students still struggle with the concept it is important I keep it up. I would say based on the protocol I would be looking at this in the impact of learning dimension. I would say that this would rate as a 4 because students would be able to use this to impact their learning in a positive way either independently or in small groups. EDTC615 Spring2018

Dimension: Student Engagement Level: 4 SMART Goal, "By the end of module 3, students will be able to use various manipulatives to effectively solve measuring equations." Anchor charts are a great way for students to gather information and strategies during lessons. As the teacher is going through the various parts of the lesson, both the students and teachers can write down or draw pictures to explain their thought process and clear up any confusion. When it comes to measuring, teachers can create an anchor chart by putting longer than on one side and shorter than on the other. Students can use linking cubes of different quantities to measure each other sticks. Another activity that will be helpful when it comes to measuring is using print outs of objects with different lengths. Using a string, students will be asked to measure their objects using their string, place it on the correct side, and explain their choice using the sentence frame, 'My object is longer than or shorter than my string.' Using the anchor chart gives each student an opportunity to participate in the group discussion and serves as an process monitoring mechanism for teachers. EDTC615 Spring2018

An appropriate use of Anchor Charts could greatly improve student learning. The visual aids allow students guide their own learning. I think that I can instill confidence and improve engagement, since they do not have to ask the teacher for assistance as often. This would help those students bridge their learning gap, because they have continually reinforcement posted at times to reference and retain. I think that Anchor Charts could be used in multiple contents areas including Biology.

I really enjoyed this video. It seems like anchor charts are a tool before students see a rubric. They are colorful, easy to read, and less intimidating than a rubric. I may use an anchor chart in a class in the future instead of a rubric and see if students have a better understanding of what is expected.

Dimension: Student Engagement Impact: 3 Moderate engagement for most students I think this is a fun way for student to try to learn math problems also. It would be a challenge to try especially with my team members Smart Target Learning Goal: By the end of marking period 1, 70% of students will score 90% or higher on the EMATS/ performance matters. This will help the students remember all the different strategies, the more practice the more likely they are going to remember different ways to solve when the assessment happens.

Dimension: Student Learning Impact: 5 I could use this in my classroom to make sure students have enough think time to plan our their responses. In the beginner levels of Spanish, students struggle with thinking of responses "on the spot" so this could provide a low risk way for them to do so but still engage in a discussion with their peers in the target language.