1. THE CHANGING STORY OF
AMERICAN EDUCATION
EXAMINING UPPER AND LOWER STORIES

2. Today’s Targets
We will explore stories for a changing
paradigm in education.
Upper Stories (From 10,000 feet)
– Nationally and Internationally
– State wide and District wide
Lower Stories (900 square foot classroom)
– Orono Middle School
– Small group/Individualized instruction,
intervention, and enrichment
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

3. Post It Parking Lot
• As you have questions throughout the
morning and would like direction on
where to find out more, please put it
on a post-it note and park it here.
• A Q/A will be generated and
distributed.
• PPT is available at
http://jmplucker.blogspot.com and will
be shared with your leadership.

4. Driving Forces Shaping the
Story of Education in the US
• PISA (International Benchmarking)
• Common Core State Standards
• Assessment-Teaching-Learning Loop Evidence
(PLC)
• Response to Intervention/Instruction (RtI2) or
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
• Reading Well by 3rd Grade Legislation
• MMR/NCLB Waiver
• Coming Soon (2014) Teacher Evaluation Systems
• Changing Brains of our Youth
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

5. Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

6. Driving Forces Shaping the
Story of Education in the US
• PISA (International Benchmarking)
• Common Core State Standards
• Assessment-Teaching-Learning Loop
Evidence (PLC)
• Response to Intervention/Instruction (RtI2)
or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
• Reading Well by 3rd Grade Legislation
• MMR/NCLB Waiver
• Coming Soon (2014) Teacher Evaluation
Systems
• Changing Brains of our Youth
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

7. An Upper Story
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

8. Pair Share
• What are the implications of this
changing story for our current
practice?
In other words,
• What does this mean for our
students’ stories? Our teaching
stories?
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

9. A Lower Story illustrating Changing
Paradigm
Diane Laufenberg’s Ted Talk on
Learning How to Fail
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

10. Where is the focus?
Teaching?
Or
Learning?

11. Another Lower Story: Watch for
evidence of thinking.
• Rosemount Middle School Students
EMBRACE confusion!

12. Pair/Share
What are the opportunities and challenges
to this shift in focus?

13. Goal:
• To create a systematic process
that ensures every child receives
the additional time and support
needed to learn at high levels.
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

14. The Equation of Education
What is the variable?
Targeted Instruction + Time= Learning
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

15. The Equation of Education
We need to change the variable
Targeted Instruction + Time= Learning
Targeted Instruction + Time = Learning
If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way
they learn. ~Ignacio Estrada
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

16. Eternal Questions of Education
What do we expect students to learn?
How will we know they are learning it?
How will we respond when they don’t
learn?
How will we respond when they have
learned?
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

17. Buffum, Mattos, and Weber
Select and unwrap
essential student
What do we expect kids to learn?
learning outcomes
and develop a unit
assessment plan.
Analyze
summative Introduce
assessment results, learning targets
identify students in to students.
need of Begin Core
supplemental Instruction.
interventions.
Repeat for
additional
learning targets
GIVE END OF as needed GIVE
UNIT FORMATIVE
ASSESSMENT
Analyze formative
ASSESSMENTS
assessment results,
provide mid unit
interventions,
How will we respond when they have continue and/or
learned it? How will we respond when complete core How do we know they are
they haven’t? instruction. Mattos, learning it? 2011
Buffum, and Weber,

18. Close Up Conversation
What are the stories Orono Middle
School students share when it comes
to a focus on Learning?
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

19. Where do we start?
Worth being
familiar with
Important to
know and do
Essential to
know and
do
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

20. What is essential?
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

21. Do our stories have focus?
Lessons from Karate Kid!

22. Intervention/Enrichment
Structure and Culture

23. Difference in Philosophy of
Education
Capacity Building
Vs.
Discrepancy
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

24. Capacity Building Discrepancy
Differentiated Cookbook
Push in Pull out
Data driven Assess after the fact
Building meta cognition Rote Skills
Building independence Building dependence
Few interventions done well Many random interventions that
put everyone in the same box of
instruction
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

25. Capacity vs. Discrepancy
Intervention (wellness) Remediation (triage)
 Focus on prevention  Focus on ‘fixing’ an existing problem
 Instruction that is ‘in addition to’  Instruction that is ‘instead of’
 Enhances classroom (Tier 1)  Replaces classroom instruction
instruction
 Little if any adjustment in intensity
 Focus is on need/learning target
 Targets a single isolated skill
 Repeated/Guided practice to
achieve mastery  Slow paced instruction that simply
waters down the curriculum
 Emphasis on short term support
 Emphasis on ‘old’ data: summative
 Emphasis on timely data: ongoing assessments, standardized tests, etc.
formative assessment

26. Do our lower stories match our
upper ones and vice versa?
Working together to:
• ALIGN
• Relentlessly focus on student
learning
• Pay close attention to results
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

27. A story of capacity building

28. Pair Share
• Think of and share with a
colleague a ‚Vashti‛ in your
teaching story.
Jen McCarty Plucker, Ed.D.

29. Thank You!
http://jmplucker@blogspot.com
Leave your questions on a post-it
note.
Where is your story? Continuum for your
reflection.