PlanningforAcceleration:

Pleasereadandhighlightkeypoints:

ProgrammesforStudents:AcceleratingLearninginLiteracyandMathematics:Theoryof
Action2014
(AbridgedversionforliteracyFeb2014)

Acceleration
Acceleration is described as the learners progress showing; a noticeably faster, upward movement than might otherwise havebeen
expected by the trendof their own past learning; andis faster than classmatesprogressingatexpectedratesin ordertocatchthemup.
This rate of progress brings the learner achievement level to that consistent with, or beyond, a set of benchmarks or standards(
NZ
CurriculumMathematics,ReadingandWritingStandards
).

Adaptiveteaching
Adaptiveteachingisteachingthatdeliberatelyrespondstomomentbymomentanddaybydayinteractionswithstudentsinwaysthat
enhancethelearningexperienceforthestudents.

Studentagency
Assesstolearnprinciplesarethebasisofstudentagency.Thisiswhenstudentshavebeensupportedtoparticipateinthedecisions
aboutwhatisimportanttolearn,howtolearn,howtoknowhowtheyaregoingandhowtheyaregoing.


WhyAccelerationWorks
(LearningintheFastLanebySuzyPepperRollins.)
Theprimaryfocusofremediationismasteringconceptsofthepast.Acceleration,ontheotherhand,strategically
preparesstudentsforsuccessinthepresent
this
week,on
this
content.
Ratherthanconcentratingonalitanyofitemsthat
studentshavefailedtomaster,accelerationreadiesstudentsfornewlearning.Pastconceptsandskillsareaddressed,butalways
inthepurposefulcontextoffuturelearning.
Accelerationjumpstartsunderperformingstudentsintolearningnewconceptsbeforetheirclassmatesevenbegin.
Ratherthanbeingstuckintheremedialslowlane,studentsmoveaheadofeveryoneintothefastlaneoflearning.
Accelerationprovidesafreshacademicstartforstudentseveryweekandcreatesopportunitiesforstrugglingstudentstolearn
alongsidetheirmoresuccessfulpeers.
Asweknow,studentslearnfasterandcomprehendatahigherlevelwhentheyhavepriorknowledgeofagivenconcept.The
correlationbetweenacademicbackgroundknowledgeandachievementisstaggering:
priorknowledgecandeterminewhethera
50thpercentilestudentsinkstothe25thpercentileorrisestothe75th(Marzano,2004).
Accordingly,acrucialaspectofthe
accelerationmodelisputtingkeypriorknowledgeintoplacesothatstudentshavesomethingtoconnectnewinformationto.Rather
thanfocusoneverythingstudentsdon'tknowabouttheconcept,however,thecoreand
accelerationteacherscollaboratively
andthoughtfullyselectthespecificpriorknowledgethatwillbesthelpstudentsgrasptheupcomingstandard.
Althoughtheaccelerationmodeldoesrevisitbasicskills,theseskillsarelaserselected,appliedrightawaywiththenewcontent,
andnevertaughtinisolation.Toprepareforanewconceptorlesson,studentsinanaccelerationprogramreceivebothinstruction
inpriorknowledgeandremediationofprerequisiteskillsthat,ifmissing,maycreatebarrierstothelearningprocess.Thisstrategic
approachofpreparingforthefuturewhilepluggingafewcriticalholesfromthepastyieldsstrongresults.
Closelyrelatedtothepriorknowledgepieceoftheaccelerationmodelis
vocabularydevelopment.
Gapsinpriorknowledgeare
largelyrelatedtovocabulary(Marzano,2004).Forexample,ifyouaskastudentwhohasarichunderstandingoffractionstowrite

downeverythingsheknowsaboutthetopic,shewouldlikelylisttermsandconceptslike
improperfraction,denominator,
numerator,reciprocal,mixednumber
,and
partsofawhole
.Likewise,astudentaskedtowritedowneverythingheknowsabout
governmentwouldincludetermslike
bicameral,popularsovereignty,checksandbalances,legislature
,and
federalism
.Asizable
chunkofthesestudents'priorknowledgeconsistsofacademicvocabulary.Therefore,akeystepintheaccelerationapproachisto
introducenewvocabulary(andreviewpreviouslycoveredcriticalvocabularythatstudentsmaybemissing)beforethelesson
beginsinthecoreclass.
Movingforwardwithstudentsinanaccelerationmodelrequiresteacherstocarefullylayoutthepiecesofexactlywhatstudents
needtoknowtolearnthecontentatthedesiredpace.Beforeotherstudentshaveevenbeguntheunit,theacceleratedgrouphas
gainedanunderstandingof
Therealworldrelevanceandpurposeoftheconcept. Criticalvocabulary,includingwhatthewordslookandsoundlike.Thebasic
skillsneededtomastertheconcept. Thenewskillsneededtomastertheconcept. Thebigpictureofwhereinstructionisgoing.

RaisingStudentAchievementthroughTargetedActionsDec2015.ERO
Beingclearaboutwhatoneyears progresslookslike:
Theteachingresponsestounderachievementinsuccessfulschoolswereunderpinnedbyasharedunderstandingofwhatoneyears
progresslookslike.Thisclarifiedexpectations.Teamshadanimportantroleindefiningandmeasuringexpectedprogress.
Teams
developtheirassessmentstogetherasagroupandarepartofthedecisionmakingaboutwhatcountsasvalidandreliable
assessmentandachievementinformation.Ongoingmoderationamongsttheteam,andoversightbytheteamleader,leadstoareal
robustnessinteacherunderstandinganddecisionmakingaboutstudentprogress
andachievement.Overthepasttwoyears,
considerabletimehasbeenspentonthevalidityofassessmentandachievement.
(Amediumsized,urbancontributingprimary

school)
Manysuccessfulschoolsdevelopedmatricesorexemplarsofworktoshowwhatcharacterisedeachyearsexpectations.
Theseweresharedwithstudentsandtheirparents.Sometimeswalldisplayssharedtheseexpectations.
Teachersworkedtogethertomakesurethattheirmoderationofwritingwasconsistent.Theymoderatedwithteachersfromotherschools
whowereinthesameclusterofschools.TheirLearningWallsidentifiedwhatexcellentwritersdid.Indicatorswereagreedbytheteacherand
thestudentsintheclass.Theindicatorscouldbeusedtosetpurposefulintentions/goalsthatindividualstudentscouldselectfromandwork

towards.Theindicatorsalsoprovidethemesforteachersandactasaccountabilityprompts.TheLearningWallshelpedbothparentsandthe
teachertoframediscussionswiththechildonwhatheorsheneededtolearnnextinordertoworktowardsbeingabletodowhatallexcellent
writersdo.Excellenceisoneoftheschoolsvalues.
(Asmall,ruralfullprimaryschool)

Successfulschoolsdevelopedspecificplansforfocusingteachingandassessmentonwhatmatteredmosttomakeexpectedprogress.
Studentdataunderpinseverydecisionmaderegardingstudentlearningandachievement,curriculumdesign,teachingpracticeand
resourcing.Seniorleadersandteachershaveputinplaceaschoolwidewritingplantoincreasethefocusondeliberateactsof
teachingwriting.Theyalsodevelopedaglossaryofkeytermsforconsistencyinthelanguageoflearningusedtodescribeprogressin
writingacrosstheschool.Syndicateshavecreatedassessmentwallstotrackandmonitortargetstudents.Moderationisdone
throughtheuseofwritingprogressionscombinedwiththeuseofeasTTle(onlineassessmenttool)andthePaCT(progressand
consistencytool).Theteachershavealsoparticipatedinwritingmoderationwithotherschools.Teacherswerebecomingmore
consistentintheirjudgementsovertime.
(Amediumsized,ruralcontributingprimaryschool)

Pleaseshareyourhighlightswithapartnerorinteams.

Nowconsider
PlanningforAcceleration:

RaisingStudent
Achievementthrough
TargetedActionsDec
2015.ERO
Successfulschoolsusedfour
keyprocessesintargeting
progresseffectively.They
included:

Asateamwhatdoesthismeanandthen

Inyourroomandforyourtargetstudentswhat
doesthismeanintheteachingofwriting
?(Looks
like?)

beingclearaboutwhat Team:Wheretheyareagainstthecriteriaandwhere
theygonext
progresslookslike

settinggoalsandtargetsto
shapedesired
progress

applyingstaffcapabilitiesto
achievedesiredprogress

Myclass:Usingthecriteriaforsuccessandactively
participatinginthis
Team:Beingreflexiveabouttheendpointof
accelerationfortamariki,undertakingthisinaflexible
manner

MyClass:Specificpartneringtoachievecollaborative
goals
Team:Supportingoneanotherwithprofessional
discussionsandsharingsuccessandchallenges

Whatcanweplantodoaboutthisnow?

Havevisiblesamplesthatareconsistent
acrosstheteam.

Havingregularconversationswith
professionalfriendstocometothemost
effectivepractice.

Workcollaborativelyandhaveprofessional
conversationsonaregularbasis.


judgingprogress
usingqualityevidence.

MyClass:Askquestionsofotherteacherstoseehow
theymovetheirstudentstoindependence
Team:Takingsamples,optimalenvironmentfor
success,positive,PaCT,whatisyourgoal?

MyClass:Beingsure,usinganobjectivetool,PaCT

EROfoundprofessionallearningconversations
werecentraltoeachprocess.

Bringthisintolinewiththechildrens
learningwithintheclassroomcontext.
Usingeastle(standardisedsamples)and
thechildrensworkassamples.