Student Learning Made Simple with H.E.A.T.

In a era of unprecedented opportunities for personalized learning, teachers and leaders still cannot escape the pressure of meeting student achievement targets or improving professional practice through complex teacher and principal evaluation protocols. How can we effectively improve student learning and increase teacher innovation using simple measures based on universally-accepted best practices?

The answer is simple: H.E.A.T.

Applied to student learning, H.E.A.T. represents

• Higher order thinking, 
• Engaged learning, 
• Authentic connections, and 
• Technology use. 

Using the retired David Letterman’s Top 10 List concept, consider how H.E.A.T. data collected from 5-7 minute classroom walkthroughs can simplify all facets of the instructional curricula.

1. Use H.E.A.T. data to monitor daily levels of student learning
   Provides an easy way to gauge both teaching innovation and student learning aligned to popular teacher evaluation rubrics such as Danielson and Marzano
2. Use H.E.A.T. data to corroborate teacher self-assessment data
   Enables stakeholders to compare perceptions versus reality relating to student learning and teaching practices
3. Use H.E.A.T. data to set and monitor Student Achievement Goals
   Allows leaders to set realistic student achievement targets based on changes in the H.E.A.T. levels during the school year
4. Use H.E.A.T. data to develop differentiated professional development
   Lets stakeholders plan personalized learning for teachers based on the H.E.A.T. metrics
5. Use H.E.A.T. data to quantify continuous improvement in the classroom
   Offers statistical measures to determine areas of significant growth
6. Use H.E.A.T. data as topics for ongoing grade-level PLC meetings
   Engages all stakeholders in the process of continuous improvement
7. Use H.E.A.T. data to promote peer coaching across grade levels
   Provides simple metrics to discuss teaching and learning using a common vocabulary
8. Use H.E.A.T. data to provide informal feedback about teaching and student learning
   Lets teachers conduct their own self-reflection on their professional practice
9. Use H.E.A.T. data to interpret math and literary benchmark results
   Correlates the level of student learning (H.E.A.T.) and teaching innovation with formative achievement results on benchmark tests
10. Use H.E.A.T. data as a guide to developing lesson plans
    Gives teachers a simple rubric to use when planning lessons

H.E.A.T. is not a program or another thing to do. H.E.A.T. is simply a lens we use to discuss the level of student learning in terms of four simple indicators: Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authentic connections, and Technology use.

Higher Order Thinking Skills- Quescussion

Higher Order Thinking Skills- Quescussion

"Quescussion" is a strategy invented by Paul Bidwell in the University of Saskatchewan English Department. The Quescussion strategy represents a shift from making statements to starting to wonder and ask questions. The participants make points as in a normal discussion, but the use of statements is forbidden. Follow these instructions to try the Quescussion strategy:

• Provide a trigger (such as a poem, topic or theme). The trigger might be a problem to be solved, a provocative question or statement, some text or a key word, a video clip, a multimedia presentation, or a website to be analyzed or discussed.
• Have students participate in a discussion that only contains questions.
• Have participants yell “Statement” or make a sound if anyone makes a statement rather than asking a question). Note: This is monitored by the class.
• Do not raise your hand.
• Open-ended questions are preferred to closed questions. “What?”, “Why?” “How?” rather than “Is it true that...?”
• Try to ask questions about feeling as well as facts, try to ask simple knowledge questions as well as sophisticated questions.
• Humor is encouraged, sarcasm is discouraged.
• A question does not have to be directly related to the previous question.

Note: This strategy prompts students to reflect on a topic and then extend their thinking by generating follow-up questions. For example, Trigger = Hamlet. This is followed by discussion, “Who is Hamlet?”, and, “Why is Hamlet in the play?”

WEBSITE: The Center for Teaching & Learning Quote from Website: "Quescussion, as the name indicates, is a type of discussion that is conducted entirely in the form of questions (think Alex Trebek). The professor asks a question or makes a statement to the class (this question should be projected on the screen)."

VIDEO: Inquiry-Based Learning: Good Inquiry Questions This video highlights the fundamentals of an inquiry-based questioning strategy called Quescussion.

After exploring the strategy, consider and discuss the following questions using social media with #HEATFramework or posting your response by clicking on Reply below:

• What guidelines must you consider when using Quescussion with your students?
• How could you utilize Quescussion in your classroom? 
• What challenges would you face in utilizing Quescussion?
• Do you have other resources or ideas you would suggest for educators exploring ways of fostering student-generated questions?

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Higher Order Thinking Skills- Thesis Statements

Higher Order Thinking Skills- Thesis Statements

Follow these instructions to try the Thesis Statements strategy:

1. As part of the writing process, have students write down a thesis statement on the classroom interactive white board, white board, or chalkboard.
2. Next, have students take their interactive white board markers and generate two questions relating to the thesis statement. If no interactive white board exists, then use sticky notes. The questions can include any question type (e.g., clarifying, probing, hypothesizing), but must relate directly to the thesis statement.

For example, if the thesis statement stated, "The $700 billion bail-out of Wall Street by Congress and the President was an ill-conceived plan to solve the major economic crisis of 2008." then possible questions might be, "What if the government had no other choice?", "To what extent will this plan help the everyday citizen living on Main Street?", and "What accountability measures are in place to ensure that the $700 billion loan is repaid?"

WEBSITE: The Center for Teaching and Learning Quote from Website: "A thesis statement is a sentence (or sentences) that expresses the main ideas of your paper and answers the question or questions posed by your paper. It offers your readers a quick and easy to follow summary of what the paper will be discussing and what you as a writer are setting out to tell them."

After exploring the strategy, consider and discuss the following questions using social media with #HEATFramework or posting your response by clicking on Reply below:

• What guidelines must you consider when using Thesis Statements with your students?
• How could you utilize Thesis Statements in your classroom? 
• What challenges would you face in utilizing Thesis Statements?
• Do you have other resources or ideas you would suggest for educators exploring ways of fostering student-generated questions?

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