Excellence in Education: Purposeful Sampling Through Cold Calling
While observing a math class, I noticed the teacher using cold call (when the teacher calls on students to answer questions without requiring hands to be raised), but what stood out was how she was using it to formatively assess students and provide feedback. She seemingly chose students from different ability groups as she reviewed 3 similar questions. By choosing a high-performing, a typically mid-performing, and an often low-performing student, she was able to create a purposive sampling, providing her with a quick and accurate understanding of her class’s understanding.
She didn’t stop there, however. When she asked the high-performing student a question, she was able to use that student’s answer to spark dialogue between the student, the teacher and other students. And, when she asked the lower-performing student her feedback differed. First she asked, “How did you come up with that answer?” like she did with the other students, and then she recognized that student’s efforts by providing prescriptive feedback, “I like the way you thought through that problem.” Taking a quick glimpse of the student, I saw a subtle smile.
10 Take-Aways on the Feedback Provided
- Cold calling establishes and maintains high expectations for all students, creating an inclusive classroom experience.
- Cold calling takes the risk out of answering for students. Some students don’t raise their hands because they are unsure or have self-doubt. Using cold call creates a safer classroom environment when it becomes commonplace.
- In some classes, students won’t raise their hands because they don’t want to be seen as a teacher’s pet, a know-it-all, or otherwise negatively viewed by their peers (whether this is real or perceived).
- She valued and differentiated the thoughts and contributions of all students, whether it be high or low-performers, frequent participator or a shy student, or a confident or a student filled with self-doubt.
- She asked students what they were thinking and how they came to their answers.
- The feedback provided enabled deeper understanding and continual learning and growth.
- The questioning and answering enabled formative assessment and instructional adjustments to occur.
- It was apparent to me--and I imagine the students--through the Q-n-A that the teacher valued the students’ learning.
- The feedback was timely and enabled students to progress to the next portion of the lesson.
- Working through problems with the students, the teacher was able to play back their learning, making it visible to all students and also showed that she was invested in their learning.
Need to Knows
Students with D’s and F’s Please remember that the family of any student with a D or F should be contacted-preferably by phone call. You’re also encouraged to reach out to school counselors and case managers (ELL/Special Ed/504) as well as discuss struggling students as part of your PLC, if applicable.
Interested in a PT Job? The University of Virginia is seeking athletic academic mentors and they are looking for educators!!! See/email Ms. Terrell for details.
Kenneth Leatherwood will be helping out the admin team for a couple of days in October and a more often in November. Mr. Leatherwood brings vast experiences with him including serving as principal of Charlottesville High School, an elementary school principal, and as a director of human resources.
Telling Our Story
If we don’t tell our story, who will? We do so many great things here at Monticello and it’s important that we highlight and celebrate these.
- We’ve been sending a weekly email to our students about the week’s events and other information. I think it would be great if we use this to highlight some student accomplishments and such. If you have something you’d like to include, please let me know.
- Please share your pictures and stories with John Mitchem, so they can be included in our website and/or Cullen Wade so it can be included in Morning Announcements.
Also we’ve started using the Daily Bulletin feature in PowerSchool. This is used to share information with parents and students, teachers too.
Important Dates
October 22: Picture Retakes
October 25: CRT Teams Meet
November 2: Making Connections, be on the lookout for countywide email; sign-up early; lunch at morning session’s location
November 5: Green Teacher Work Day
November 6: Stay away sorta’ from School and work from home
Grades due November 8 at 9am
Field Trips and SOLs
SOL Testing (Writing): Ongoing
October 24: Culinary Arts Expo (handful of students attending)
October 25: ASVAB Overview Session and Pretest @1:15
October 25, 26: Virginia Theater Field Trip (see Monticello calendar for list of students)
October 29: 10th grade Career Expo (ALL 10th graders will miss 1st and most of 2nd)
- 10th graders dismiss from class at 9:05
- Return at approximately 11:30. Students who missed 1st lunch, will eat and then return to class at approximately 11:50. All others will go directly to class after getting off bus.
College Visits
York College of Pennsylvania 10/22 @ 9:30AM
Rhodes College 10/22 @ 1:30PM
American University 10/23 @ 9:30AM
Wesleyan University 10/23 @ 1:30PM
University of Chicago 10/24 @ 9:30AM
Emory University 10/24 @ 1:30PM
Furman University 10/25 @ 9:30AM
Villanova University 10/25 @ 1:30PM
Wittenberg University 10/26 @ 9:30AM
University of Virginia 10/26 @ 2:30PM
Birthdays
October 22: Jeremy Dove and Paige Pippin
October 24: Corinne Lindemann
October 27: Lynn Waidelic
Shout Outs Our Diversity Resource Team--err, squad--has been working diligently to prepare for Thursday’s team squad meetings. These educators have met several times over the summer and have met for more than 2 hours since our last squad meetings with many members spending even more time lesson planning for this important and urgent work.
SHOUT OUTS FROM CAREER CENTER:
In all seriousness Mr. Gillespie deserves a shout out for the Needs assessment administered on Friday. Thank you all so much for your patience with the assessment!!! I had no earthly idea that there were issues with the assessment until Mr. Gillespie and Ms. Terpay walked into the forum while I was presenting to a group of 10th graders to help prepare them for the Career Expo. Thank goodness at the time my dear counseling colleagues (Ms. Gaskins, Ms. Eubanks and Ms. Tatby) were in there with me and I looked at Ms. Eubanks and said to her in such a flustered way with hand gestures, "Can you help me with this because clearly I can't help fix it right now."
Thanks a bunch to our administration staff. Mr. Gillespie, Mr. Atkins and Mr. Vrhovac! Thank you for all you do for our school community each and everyday. Your work is definitely not in vain.
Thanks Shamika; this was awkward to put in the memo. ~Reed...
Thanks to our fabulous Health/PE department for always being so willing to give our counseling department time to meet with our students in larger classroom settings.
EdTech Hero: English 11
Interested in learning more about different BreakOuts? Here are some resources:
- English 11 teachers: Ms. Deegan, Ms. Scott, Dr. Stallings, Ms. Streit
- Mike Parsons has done a couple of breakouts with his Algebra students
- The Earth Science team is going to be using breakouts this year
- BreakOutEdu
- This article written by Justin Birckbichler and Mari Venturino (full disclosure: I have worked with Justin)
- And for fun, here’s a digital breakout that I created last year as part of our teacher work week, but alas we never used it.
- And, of course, Mr. Mitchem, our outstanding LTI
Useful Information
Worth Your Time
This a great infographic on Supporting Social, Emotional, and Academic Development that goes along with this great research from U Chicago Consortium on the same matter. It’s a 40+ pdf, but skimming and starting to read it reveals some great info and statistics.
Birthdays
