Academic Year 2014

Increasing Student Ownership and Responsibility for Their Academic

Learning (SOAR)

South HillsArlington Heights

Diamond Hill Jarvis

What is SOAR?Increasing Student Ownership and Responsibility for Their Learning

• Teachers and other school personnel have high academic expectations for students

• Teachers and other school personnel provide instructional supports to help students meet high expectations

• Teachers and other school personnel provide organizational supports to help students meet high expectations

• Teachers and other school personnel use techniques to deeply engage students in academic work.

Core Elements of SOAR

Why SOAR?

Research by the National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools in Fort Worth found students who demonstrated SOAR did the following:

Students come to class prepared, complete assignments well and on time, make up missed work in a timely manner, and seek additional help when they are struggling.

1Indicators of SOAR

Students are engaged in class, ask questions when they are confused, monitor their own learning, and attempt to master material with which they struggle.

2Indicators of SOAR

Students believe they can achieve challenging tasks and that it is in their control to succeed in school.

3Indicators of SOAR

Students are personally invested in academic success.

4Indicators of SOAR

Students demonstrate life skills such as initiative, self-direction, productivity, and accountability.

5Indicators of SOAR

• Students: Students have a low sense of self-efficacy in setting and meeting high academic goals even though they have high aspirations for college.

• Professionals: Educators have a low sense of self-efficacy in preparing students for academic success.

• Need: A significant percentage of high school students do not attain the cognitive skills, life skills, and habits of mind that are necessary for academic success.

• District: There is a lack of shared understanding across high schools of rigor, high expectations and student engagement.

Fort Worth Innovation School investigations highlight the following:

The SOAR Conceptual Prototype

The SOAR Conceptual Prototype

– A whole school model to ensure a culture where all students develop skills and habits of mind that will lead to success; aligned with district strategic plan and priorities for college and career readiness.

DIDT and SIDT Present: SOAR Conceptual PrototypeIncreasing Student Ownership and Responsibility

GrowthMindset

Problem-SolvingSOAR

Explicit Teaching of Growth Mindset

Students will be able to approach challenges as learning opportunities.

• Recognize that effort is essential for academic growth• Be open-minded when facing new situations that seem

difficult or unfamiliar• Figure out how to adjust when you make mistakes• Recognize that some mistakes may lead to

improvements and / or creative solutions

Meaningful work can also teach students to love challenges, to enjoy effort, to be resilient, and to value their own improvement.… We can design and present learning tasks in a way that helps students develop a growth mindset.

Dr. Carol S. Dweck, Even Geniuses Work Hard

Explicit Teaching of Problem-Solving Skills Relevant to Life and Academics

Students will be able to use and apply general and content-appropriate processes to identify and respond to problems through the lens of a growth mindset.

Examples of Processes and Skills:

• Identify the problem or question• Analyze and synthesize known information• Gather missing information• Develop possible solutions• Test and justify solution• Reflect on the process

Whole School:

Shared responsibility in which everyone contributes to high expectations; department and school-wide instructional and organizational supports for sustainability.

What will SOAR Schools do this

year?

What a SOAR Pilot Year Looks Like:

• Introduction to SOAR: SIDT to conduct PD lesson with school staff

• Introduction to Growth Mindsets: SIDT to conduct PD lesson with school staff

• Research and Development: SIDT and DIDT develop other lessons during and in between NCSU meetings

• Piloting at Innovation Sites: Teachers implement lessons in professional development settings and then translate to classrooms

• Organizational Supports: SIDT and DIDT coordinate and pilot the PD/Continuous Improvement Cycle

• Human Centered: Ongoing data collection and feedback from multiple stakeholders

• Continuous Improvement: Iterative process to try out and refine the SOAR prototype in fall and spring semesters

SOAR Program Roadmap

Phase 0 Learning from the

District

2012

Phase 1 Innovation

Design

01/2013 – 06/2013

Phase 2 Research &

Development, Testing, Piloting

07/2013 – 12/2013

Phase 3Piloting and

Implementation

01/2014 – 06/2014

Phase 4In-School Scale-

In / Plans for Scaling Up in

District07/2014 – 05/2015

Going to Scale

06/2015 - Onward

Identification of differentiating practices between HVA & LVA high schools

Identification of design challenge

Development of prototype concept

Capacity building of DIDT

Development & testing of prototype components

Piloting of prototype during PD and in classrooms

Formative evaluation & progress monitoring

Capacity building of SIDT & DIDT

In-depth and broader implementation at innovation sites

District-level scale-up plans

District leadership responsible for scale up in other schools

Iterative cycle: refinement of prototype based on data/feedback

Continued piloting of prototype in PD and in classrooms

Development of implementation plan

Capacity building of SIDT & DIDT

SOAR: Increasing Student Ownership and Responsibility for Their Learning

• A philosophy that supports the whole student• A systematic school-wide approach• An opportunity to foster life-long learning

experiences and build a culture of continuous improvement

“The beauty of Project SOAR is that it has its roots

in the positive and successful work already

happening in FWISD. Too often, solutions are

foisted upon our schools. This is of our school, by

our schools, and for our students. Project SOAR

has the potential to entirely change the

educational experience of our students and our

teachers.”

Mike SorumDeputy Superintendent, Leadership, Learning, Student SupportFort

Worth Independent School District