Best Practice



Here is my Best Practice Teaching Guide created from the template provided by community group members.  These are practices that are beneficial for learners that I need to be reminded of as I teach. 

FEFLECTION ZONE: Changing Education Paradigms



I thought this video clip was interesting.  I agreed that students or people should not be classified into academic (smart people) and non-academic people based on one's attending college.  The longer I live and the more people I meet, I find highly intelligent, incredibly gifted, and successful people who never attended college.  It is sad to think these people wouldn't view themselves as anything less than brilliant. 
The piece that surprised me the most was that 98% of students in kindergarten scored at the genius level for divergent thinking.  The same students were re-tested years later and the percentages decreased. (I actually didn't see or hear the exact percentages, but I could tell they decreased from the rest of the conversation.  Maybe it was my computer, so if you heard them, let me know.)  One would think that these percentages would get better as students learned more and got older.  It is sad that small children are good at something so valuable, but they lose it because somewhere along the way they learn that there should only be one right answer.
My question is similar to Rick's.  How can we show value or even cultivate important things such as divergent thinking, creativity, real-world problem solving, and other "gifts" that aren't measured on a standardized test (that only has one right answer per question) when so much pressure and focus is on test scores?

REFLECTION ZONE: Possible New Math Materials Aligned with Common Core

Last week I attended a meeting for all middle school math teachers and special ed teachers as we took a closer look at a possible math program for next year.  The program was called digits.  It is aligned with the new Common Core Math Standards as one of the writers of the standards helped create this program.  It is an interactive math program.  I liked that it had great visuals to help teach students concepts.  It was created with the Understanding by Design thinking in mind as well.  Each lesson there is an essential question that the students are presented, and by the end of the lesson students are held accountable to answer that question in writing.  I like that part of the exit ticket for the day has the students write and explain what they know.  It is within their writing where I can determine if each student understands the topic.  One piece that was new with this program was that students are encouraged to complete their daily work online.  A positive would be that we would not use classtime to evaluate the work as the computer would record how many questions each student answered correctly.  All of these questions are multiple choice or fill in the number.  I do wonder about students (and parents) making this transition.  I would predict that this would be a huge learning curve as this would be very new to many.  I worry about students logging on to a computer, trouble shooting technology, AND trying to get homework done.  There could be some struggles as well as some valid excuses for not being able to complete the work. Also, not all our students have internet access, or the necessary access for this program. Another positive was that the work could be differentiated for each student.  Some could have deeper level thinking problems that call for application or synthesizing while others could be working on the exact same concept, but at a more basic level.  The program also includes interventions if a student is having difficulty with any of the topics.  While there could be a lot of curveballs to starting a math program like this, and there would be a great deal of time and energy needed to explore and implement something so new, I am still interested in trying digits. I will be interested to see what our district decides. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Becoming a Stronger Writer



Within the game of basketball, how do you become a better shooter?  My coacher would say, "SHOOT - get outside and shoot."  Take the feedback you are given during the season and from camps, and keep practicing.  How do you become a better writer?  Write.  Take the feedback provided and write, rewrite, re-read, and revise.  Over the past two months I have grown as a writer.  I have many people to thank for this growth. One being my accountability partner who spent numerous hours reading and re-reading my paper.  His comments and help with APA format have helped me learn and grow. While I learned a lot using my APA manual, I learned even more from his comments as I saw the rules applied to my writing. My teachers also provided help in comments to improve my paper, and so did two other community members.  It is all appreciated and all the help has played a role in improving my paper and writing skills.  I have also had the opportunity to proofread and work with three other community members as they are in the process of improving their papers.  Reading, thinking, writing, and revising all require work, time, and energy, but doing these things make one a better writer.  I have learned a great deal during the writing and revisions and proofreading and re-proofreading period, and I have grown as a writer.



REFLECTION ZONE: The Right Fit for Henry (Differentiation)

I read an article entitled "The Right Fit for Henry," which appeared in the February 2012 edition of Educational Leadership.

This article was about how schools can help students who are twice-exceptional.  I learned that a twice-exceptional student is any gifted student who has a disability. This article was about a second grade boy named Henry.  His teacher recognized his talents, so he was tested, and he qualified for the Challenge Program. This was an all-day magnet program with advanced curriculum for gifted children.   He did well socially and academically when he could demonstrate his knowledge verbally.  However, he really struggled with reading and writing.

Instead of returning to the general education, his teachers implemented a plan where Henry would stay in the Challenge Program, but also have an IEP where he would get reading and writing support and receive various accommodations.  The school provided services for both types of exceptionality for one student.  This school took pride in tailoring Henry's education to meet his specific needs.

Many times students like this are:

1.) identified as gifted, but their learning problem goes without notice (receive attention for giftedness with no remediation)

2.) not identified in either area (do not receive attention for giftedness or struggles)

3.) identified as learning disabled, but not as gifted (receive remediation, but no attention to giftedness)

Examples 1 & 3 would be examples of the danger of a single story.  Sometimes I am surprised when I learn a student who does really well in math class is really struggling in reading or vice versa.  Sometimes I assume a child in the gifted program learns all material fairly quickly and easily.  I should not make assumptions about students or their abilities.  Because of this, I am seeing the need to have more data on students to meet them where they are at, and to best help them to learn.  I feel our school is working at doing a better job of this with RtI, but we have a ways to go.  I think schools will need more teachers, and teachers will need more prep time in order to successfully tailor each student's education to their learning style and level effectively. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Academic Intervention Tier 1 Results



I implemented the help signal with my second hour team taught math students.  Each student received a laminated help button to use during work time.  I collect them and keep them in the room so they do not get lost, and I pass them out during work time.
The students' reactions have been positive.  Students have asked, "Are we using the buttons today?"  I introduced them before taking the WKCE, and a student was disappointed that they weren't allowed to use them on the state test. :)
Students place the green side up when they are understanding and do not need our help.  The red side would be displayed when they were stuck or needed some assistance.
Positives:

• Easy, non-threatening way to ask for help
• Hands don't need to be raised, so they are able to keep working and not just sit and wave their hands around without working. (very nice)
• Shy students are more likely to flip their card than raise their hand or approach a teacher.  One student who has not once initiated help this year has flipped her card multiple times since the start of the intervention.
• Not everyone notices if your card is red, whereas raising your hand draws attention
• When the green side is flipped I can still stand over their shoulder and check that they are understanding, but I don't need to interrupt them to check in.  They are communicating they are fine with the green card.
• I have one autistic student who started out shouting, "My card is red.  My card is red."  He then progressed to smacking it down loudly when he turned it to red.  We have talked about flipping and still trying.  You first have to have evidence that you tried the problem on your paper.  If you are still stuck, you will need to move on to a different problem until a teacher can get to you.  He is learning patience as he has progressed to trying to make eye contact with me before flipping, but this is an improvement. 

Overall this has been a positive intervention.  It was easy for me to prepare and easy for the students to use.  I will continue using this with this group of students and would consider trying it with my other math classes as well.

REFLECTION ZONE: Academic Intervention Tier 1

I chose to implement the academic intervention called Help Signal. I am going to implement this with my entire team taught class.
My team taught class is comprised of 20 students who are special education students and/or struggling learners.  There are two teachers in the room, myself and a special education teacher.  It is great to have two teachers during work time as we can get to and help twice as many students.  While we work hard and try to check in with every student every day, I am hoping that utilizing the help signal will help students communicate their level of need in a non-threatening way instead of us interrupting them to check in.
I am going to use it with the entire class as I feel this is an intervention that could help every student in the class.  If everyone is using it, no one would feel signaled out. I am choosing this intervention because sometimes students do not know the best way to ask for help.  Some are very shy and uncomfortable raising their hand, and some demand attention right away.

I am going to use a two sided piece of laminated cardstock.  One side will be red, and this will be the side to turn up if you are stuck and need help.  The other side will be green, and this side turned up will indicate I am doing ok and do not need help.  This year I am really stressing that I need to see some evidence that you tried before I will help.  That means something needs to be on your paper - the important numbers from the problem, your idea to get started, how you tried it once..  I am planning to introduce the Help Signal this week.   

Help Signal

 

REFLECTION ZONE: RtI

Response to Intervention Reflection

By Abby Marish

Our district is preparing to be ready for when the RtI model needs to be completely in place by the 2014 school year.  Our district has created a problem solving team at each building.  This team consists of the building principal, guidance counselor, teachers who are delivering interventions, a special education teacher, and an aide.  The team received training and met one school day each month the first year.  The second year the team met after school until 7:00 four times as well as three days in the summer. The middle school team has also met at numerous morning meetings before school as we went through the complete problem solving team process with a selected student. 

I am one of the teachers who is responsible for delivering math interventions to sixth graders who are at least one year behind grade level.  This is my second year working with the RtI model.  I have one hour a day called math duty.  I meet with a small group of students, usually around 5 or 6 students for a hex, or 6-week period.  Students attend three days a week for intervention and two days a week for specific math help on the current topic they are studying in math class.  The interventions students work on are Rocket Math, Daily Oral Math, and Do the Math.  This year we are also adding Compass software.  Our curriculum coordinator and special education director are currently looking for research-based math interventions as there are very few research-based interventions identified, and that will be what we must use by 2014.  Besides changing to research based interventions, we will also have to change how the hour is set up.  The law states that a student must receive two 30-day research-based interventions for each subject area he/she is struggling in.  Currently students receive interventions three days a week for six weeks, so this is only 15 days.  This will need to change to 30 days, and students will need to attend for two hexes. 

RtI can be an advantage and a disadvantage.  An advantage is that students are getting extra instruction during the school day in a small group setting. Because the groups are small, students get more individual attention and help.  Their math confidence boosts as they can see and track the progress they are making. It is a good opportunity to help the students who really need extra help understanding and not let them fall through the cracks.  They can make gains if the intervention matches the specific need. Currently the interventions we are using are not tailored to meet the individual need of each student.  Once we have more research-based interventions to choose from, we can do a better job of making sure each student is getting the individualized help in the specific math strand they need.  Another disadvantage is that two 30 day interventions seems like a long time to have a student with a learning disability go without receiving the special education services they need to be successful.  There are both advantages and disadvantages to RtI.  There are changes our school will need to make to be ready to comply with all rules and regulations by 2014.  While there are many areas that we can improve upon and pieces of RtI that need to be ironed out, we are definitely working to help students grow and learn, and that is positive piece of RtI.



REFLECTION ZONE: Communication Alert

Two weeks ago middle school teachers held a Communication Alert night for parents.  We put together a power point presentation on 6th grade subjects, expectations, ways to communicate with your child's teachers, and ways to help your child succeed.  We divided up the slides between all the 6th grade advisors present and spoke from the slides.  The slide show was shown on the promethean board in my room from 6:15 - 7:45.  We also fielded questions when we were done.  We had 26 6th grade parents attend and received positive feedback.  They appreciated seeing us and hearing us explain our classes and certain expectations.  Some were happy to learn more about Advisory, Family Access, Homework Hotline, Message Center, and which teachers had webpages.  Overall, I feel it was a great benefit for those parents in attendance.  It is only our second year, so we are hopeful participation will increase next year as well. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Classroom Management

I read the article "Classroom Management: Whose Job Is It?" by Robert Marzano from the October 2011 edition of Educational Leadership.

The main point of this article was that teachers, administrators, and students all have an important role to play in effectively managing behaviors in school.  Teachers must provide clear direction and create a positive learning atmosphere where students feel valued and challenged.  Teachers must have rules and procedures that are continually referenced and consistently reinforced.  Administrators must establish a schoolwide foundation, and they must enforce guidelines that safe and respectful behaviors occur between teachers and students.  All students, not just student council representatives, must have a voice and help design rules for their school and classrooms. Students also must help support enforcement of the rules.  Teachers, administrators, and students all have shared responsibilities to manage school behavior.  Classroom management is necessary before effective teaching or learning can occur. 

I agree with this article.  We have had students help create our Social Contract, and it has been effective.  I have it posted in my room and reference it as needed throughout the year.  It helps that the entire school has the same contract, and all the kids are on the same page.  It takes EVERYONE to make a successful school. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Single Gender Classrooms

This past Thursday I attended an after school section on single gender classrooms.  Our guidance teacher and 7th grade English teacher recently attended and presented at an educational conference in Florida.  Currently at our middle school, both 6th and 7th grade English students can choose to participate in an all boys, all girls, or mixed English class. After they came back they wanted to share some of their findings and new learnings.  Their main point was that teaching the male brain is different than the female brain.  Females need to help to focus on persistence when problem solving and boys need to focus on getting started.  It was recommended to bold or darken the first word of each direction for boys and to model persistence for girls.  One review game shared was called Fastest and Best for boys.  Boys are partnered up and groups are given a note card with a problem.  Once they figure the answer they have to run it up to your desk with their answer. If they are correct, you give them their second problem card to work on.  It involves movement and competition.  I don't teach single gender classes, but I am interested in trying this review method with one of my classes this week. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Best Practices Group Work

Best Practice
KAMPers
Karen, Abby, Mary, and Paula

Student Expectations:
By Oct. 20
Go to www.interventioncentral.org
Click on RTI Help and read the introduction paragraph
Click on Defining Student Behavior Problems: Best Practice (5th link)
Read background information on RtI and the elements of effective interventions
Go back to home page and click on Academic Interventions and/or Behavior Interventions
Read through these intervention options
Choose a student who possibly could benefit from a tier 1 intervention
Select an appropriate intervention (academic or behavioral) from the site to implement

By Oct. 27
Share your scenario - Include a brief description of the student situation, the reason for selecting the student, and why you chose the intervention. What are you hoping to accomplish?
Post this on D2L under the Best Practices Link
Implement your intervention with the identified student.

By Nov. 22
Final D2L Post under Best Practices Link -
Reflect on your progress.  Share your data and results. What happened because of your intervention? Why or why not would you be willing to try this intervention again with a different student?

Template for Backward Design of a Curriculum Unit

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TITLE--Best Practice!  It’s not only for geniuses! :)

I. What are the Big Ideas you want students to take away from this unit? Tier 1 interventions are something teachers implement in classrooms every day, so it's important to have a large repertoire to draw from. Being able to identify student needs, and select an appropriate intervention to meet those needs is a skill teachers will need as the RtI process becomes a larger part of our classrooms. Teachers will differentiate interventions to students based on a specific need/needs.

2. What are some Essential Questions that will help them grasp the Big Ideas? Why is differentiation important? How can we help our struggling students be as successful as possible? How do we choose an appropriate intervention?

3.  Assessment(s):  How will you find out whether students understand the Big Ideas? Students will share the plan they implemented, any data they collected throughout the process, and the results from implementing their intervention.  They will reflect on the process by sharing why or why not  they would be willing to try this intervention again with a different student. Final assessment posted on D2L Best Practices Strand by November 22.

4.  What Learning Activities will prepare them for the Assessment(s) you will use?  How are these activities related to Wisconsin Model Academic Standards? Read the background information on Response to Intervention, the elements of effective interventions, and examples of academic and behavioral interventions. Select one student who you feel could benefit from a tier 1 intervention. Choose an intervention from www.interventioncentral.org to try with this student.   by Oct. 20 Document the reason for choosing this student and any data that you have for identifying him/her. Include a brief description of the student situation, the reason for selecting the student, and why you chose the intervention. What are you hoping to accomplish?  Post to Best Practices Strand on D2L by Oct. 27 and begin implementing intervention Related to the following Wisconsin Teacher Standards: #3: Teachers understand that children learn differently. #4: Teachers know how to teach. #8: Teachers know how to assess student progress.

5.  What Learning Activities can be used as Formative Assessments? Become more familiar with interventions by perusing the website www.interventioncentral.org and choosing one intervention that you believe to be applicable to one of your students.  Share which intervention you are selecting with a brief summary of the situation and why that intervention seems applicable. Post this information on D2L under the Best Practices Strand by October 20.

6.  How will you differentiate your instruction to meet the needs of all students during this unit? Students will have choices to make as they complete this assignment. They will choose which student they will be working with, and they will choose which intervention best meets that student’s needs.

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REFLECTION ZONE: Understanding By Design



Chapter 5

Essential Questions: Doorways to Understanding

This chapter focused on the importance of essential questions, what makes a question essential, and topical and overarching essential questions.

Essential Questions pg. 105-108

• aim to stimulate thought, provoke inquiry, spark more questions
• are not answerable with finality in a brief response
• are broad
• uncover the real riches of a topic
• create deep and transferable understandings
• serve as a launchpad for examining big ideas
• elicit alternative views
• cause students to focus on their reasoning, not just if their answer is “right” or “wrong”
• spark meaningful connections from prior life experiences
• lead to more questions
• open up thinking and possibilities for everyone - experts and novices

Four Connotations for Essential Questions pg. 108-109

1. includes important questions that recur throughout our lives (perpetually arguable)
2. point to core ideas and inquiries within a discipline
3. help students effectively inquire and make sense of important but complicated ideas
4. will engage a specific and diverse set of learners (need to hook and hold attention of your students)

Essential Aspects of Essential Questions pg. 1109

1. cause genuine and relevant inquiry into the big ideas
2. provoke deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, new understandings, and new questions
3. require students to consider alternatives, support ideas, justify answers
4. stimulate vital ongoing re-thinking of big ideas
5. spark meaningful connections with prior learning and experiences
6. create opportunities for transfer to other situations or subjects

One cannot tell if a question is essential by just looking at the wording, out of context.
One needs to look at the whole design, especially the assessments, in order to determine if the question is essential or not.

Topical Essential Questions pg. 113-117

• about a specific topic
• lead to specific topical understanding
• stimulate inquiry and deep understanding of important ideas
• can seem to seek a “right” answer, but not expected the will be answered by the end of a unit

Overarching Essential Questions pg. 113 - 117

• broad, deep, more general questions
• remain open and alive... maybe forever
• create broader, transferable understanding that cut across the unit
• frame courses around the big ideas

It is recommended to include sets of both types of these questions. Both types should be matched or related to each other. Teachers sometimes ask how many essential questions they should have for a unit.  It is recommended to follow a variation of the Marine Corps recruiting slogan: “We’re looking for a few good questions.  If they are truly essential, they can (and should) establish priorities and help uncover all key ideas.  Do no state questions that you do not intend to activley investigate through discussion, research, problem solving, and other means.”  pg. 119

REFLECTION ZONE: Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment Examples

Class Paddles - Individual Dry Erase Boards   When reviewing concepts we learned, I will give each group of two students a small dry erase board, a marker, and two kleenex - one wet and one dry.  I then ask a math question.  The group has time to think, discuss it, solve it, and put their final answer on their board.  They wait until I say, “Paddles Up” and then they hold up their paddle to display their answer.  I reveal the correct answer and choose a group who answered it correctly to explain to the class how they solved they it.  I can walk around the room and listen to the groups discuss their answers, and I can also check for understanding when I see their answers on their boards.  Students clean their board and are ready for the next question.  They seem to like rotating the duty of writing and cleaning the board.

                                                                    

Inside/Outside Circle  Sometimes before I will correct an assignment I will divide students into two groups.  One group is the “inside” circle and one group is the “outside.”  Both groups make circles with their chairs or desks..  The outsides make up the outer circle, and they will stay put for this activity.  The insides form the inner circle, and they face the outside circle people. They will be the ones to move on my direction.  Each inside person is paired with an outside person.  If there is an odd number a group of three is fine. Everyone needs to have their homework with them as I will then give them a problem from their homework to discuss with their partner.  They each need to explain their thinking and show their partner their work.  If a person wants to change or make corrections, they are allowed to do so.  While students are sharing I walk around and listen to their conversations.  I choose a group who understands the problem to show their thinking on the promethean board for others  to see.  Next I will have the inner circle students rotate two spots to their right to find a new partner to discuss a new problem.  We usually rotate 3-5 times so students have the opportunity to work with new people.

                                                                     

                                                                           

REFLECTION ZONE: Stepping Back From Zero Tolerance

Stepping Back From Zero Tolerance



I read the article "Stepping Back From Zero Tolerance" by Judith Browne-Dianis from the September 2011 edition of Educational Leadership.

Zero tolerance is a policy where predetermined, non-negotiable punishments are assigned for certain misbehaviors.  Zero tolerance can lead to increased suspensions and expulsions which can cause students to feel less connected to their school, which can lead youth to engaging in risky behaviors like violence and drug use. These policies are harsh and many times exclude students from school for incidents that are trivial.  For example, an 8th grade girl in Virginia asked her teacher for permission to get a drink of water to take a Tylenol pill that her classmate gave her.  Because of the zero tolerance policy, the language did not differentiate between her OtC pain reliever and crack cocaine.  The school suspended her indefinitely and required her to attend a drug and alcohol abuse program.  This punishment seems ridiculous and is a prime example of an instance where principal discretion should be used. 

The point of this article was that students need more tolerance, not less.  Students need the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, and discipline should teach students instead of always punish.  As an alternative to zero tolerance some schools are using restorative justice, community conferences, referrals to counselors, and peer mediation.  Others are using strategies to teach and model appropriate behaviors.  When figuring out consequences some schools are considering a student's prior conduct, the severity of the incident, and the student's willingness to make the issue better. 

I think it is important for students to learn academics, but I also think it is important for students to learn life lessons about how to treat people and how to maintain self control and handle themselves in stressful situations.  Teachers need to be prepared to teach students these important skills as teachable moments or discipline issues arise.

 
 

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REFLECTION ZONE: Summer Work

I just wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on the work I did this past summer.

Math Academy-3 half days in June
Compass Training - 3 half days in June and 1 in August
Tablet Training - half day in June
Problem Solving - 2 half days in  June and 1 August
Developmental Designs - 1 full week in July
Webpage Design - 3 hours in August
Microsoft Office 7 - 3 hours in August
Long Term Care Insurance Research
     - phone calls to WEA, meeting at the Riverbank, attending Seminar in Rice Lake, reading literature
Financial Planning Seminar
Masters Work
- IRB, Action Research, Reviewed test scores of incoming 6th graders to place students in RtI class,
  Read, Contacted Mindworks, Tech. Dept., Principal, & DO, August weekend
Decorated and set up room - 3 days in August

   

REFLECTION ZONE: Math Masters

Last Monday I took 10 6th grade students to a Math Masters Competition in Barron, WI.  While the competition was open to anyone, the 10 students were selected based on their scores on preliminary tests.  They met a few times prior to prepare for the competition. The students participated in individual basic facts and problem solving rounds.  They worked together as a team during the team problem solving portion.  It was really fun to see students excited about math and excited for a challenge.  Overall, the students did really well.  One of our teams took first, 4 placed in basic facts, and two placed in the individual problem solving portion.  All students received a t-shirt for participating.  They were excited to be a part of something positive and to do so well.  They also enjoyed lunch at McDonalds.  It was a good day!

REFLECTION ZONE: The Power of Our Words

The last few weeks I have noticed more than ever how powerful the words we choose to speak really are, and the impact words can have on the listener. While my dad was in the hospital the first week in January, I really noticed the word choice of his nurses and doctors.  I wonder if they realize the power their words can have on families.  It made me reflect on myself as a teacher, and how powerful my words can be for the students I teach.  I have found myself choosing my words more wisely as I interact with kids. I want to learn how my words can better motivate my students and my athletes to do their best.

On Friday night I watched an episode of Blue Bloods.  The story line was about an old case that was resurfacing.  The police chief and his past partner had determined who was guilty of the crime that was committed 20 years ago, however they needed the suspect to confess to his crime.  The first detective tried by interrogating the man, but got nowhere.  When the chief of police went in to meet with the suspect, he had a way with his words.  His words were filled with so much emotion and power, that the man truly had no choice, but to confess.  This episode was a prime example of the power one's words can have on other people.  I want to be skilled in my words, and learn how teachers can use their words for good and to help motivate students to succeed.  This is the topic I am excited to research for my lit review.

RtI Meeting

RtI Meeting

Last Thursday I joined our problem solving team in learning more about RtI and what will need to happen and be in place before the year 2013.  We met after school from 3:30 - 7:00.  I actually preferred this time to missing an entire day in the classroom and preparing sub plans.  I left there with more questions than I had before I went.

It was stated that 80% of our students need to get what we are teaching in order for a student to be identified as struggling and in need of an intervention.  My question is what does "get it" mean?  Earning an A,B,C?  Passing?  I remember in college that our goal was to have 80% of our students score 80% or higher, so is this it?  Does it mean earning a proficient or advanced score on the WKCE?  Does it mean meeting their growth target for the MAPS test?  No one there could answer the question as this has not been determined by the people creating the RtI standards. 

Also, I teach a team taught math class.  The class consists of special ed students and a few others who are intended to be good role models for the special ed students.  The class is slower paced.  While I try to teach the same concepts to this class as my other 6th grade math classes, the number of problems is greatly reduced.  The level of thinking needed to solve the problems is lessened as well.  In general, the expectation is greatly lowered.  There are still students struggling in this class.  Accomplishing work outside of class and late work are issues as well as just bringing needed materials to class consistently.  There are also many outbursts by the special ed students which require time and attention. After attending this meeting I think I am not suppose to lower expectations for any class according to RtI.  This made me really think about the kids.  I may be robbing them of valuable learning.  I need to expose them to deeper level thinking questions such as application and synthesis, instead of just knowledge based questions.  Lowering the benchmark automatically makes the data skewed.  Students won't get the services they need if I do this.  If I decide to raise the bar closer to the other classes, I am afraid many of the students will shut down completely.  In theory the special ed students should be receiving extra help during their structured study hall, but that requires more work for the special ed teacher and aides.  They also would rather work on social skills than help the kids with math.  There are kids in this team taught class who deserve more of a challenge or a push.  Am I hindering their learning if I don't try to lessen the gap?  I think I need to reflect and meet with other teachers who team teach before I make any changes.  Again, more questions than answers.  I guess I can be glad we don't have to have this completely figured out until 2013.  :)