Digging deeper

Knowing students as learners

Jan had discussed the science of learning with brian and the other middle school principals in
their cohort meeting last week and she knew she was ready to take the next step. She was
confident that reaching the school goals would depend on the whole staff getting better at
understanding the learning needs of their students. As the learning leader in the school, she
needed to barness the talents of her staff to know more about their students, work
collaboratively across subject areas, and focus on learning across the scool. How can we
better know our students as learners? was the theme of the plan. Jan felt fortunate that Mr.
Chapman had already agreed to work closely with her to demonstrate the strengh of this
approach to the entire staff.
For Eastville Middle Schools next professional development meeting, Jan wanted to provide
her staff with an example that would show the power of this approach, so she asked Mr.
Chapman to discuss Paul s neurodevelopmental profile and how he had come to know Paul
as a learner. He started by describing Paul s overall strengths and affinities. Then he shared a
story with the group about Pauls struggles, particularly the difference between his class
participation and how he performs on tests. He described how Paul makes rich and valuable
contributions during class discussions, shines during team projects, and develops creative and
effective work products. In addition, Paul often takes on a leadership role when working in
groups and encourages his team members with his positive attitude. Conversely, he struggles
with tests, often achieving disappointing results. Mr. Chapman also made a point of weaving
multiple examples of how he had observed Pauls peer interactions, talked with his parents,
looked closely at his work samples, reviewed his cumulative folder, and talked with Pauls
other teachers.
One specific example he shared with the Eastville staff was Pauls class notes. Mr. Chapman
made a copy for each teacher to look at as he discussed some interesting clues that work
sample revealed. While Paul had a few key words related to the various science topics they
had discussed in class, the pages of his notes consistently included pictures drawn in the
margins. For example, on the day they discussed force and friction, Paul had drawn a detailed
image of a machine that used force to propel an object through the air. While his written
notes were scarce, his picture demonstrated many of the elements of the concepts they had
learned that day. This was Mr. Chapmans first concrete clue that one of Pauls strengths was
in spatial ordering.


By this point in the meeting it was readily apparent to the entire Eastville staff that Mr.
Chapman knew Paul well. Ms. Cox, who was Pauls social studies teacher, skeptically
commented, I have Paul for the same amount of time you do each week, and I didnt know
that he belonged to the local soccer league and was good at spatial things. Thats somewhat
interesting, but it sounds pretty time consuming to fi gure out.

Jan had been watching her staffs body language as they listened to Mr. Chapmans
description of Pauls learning profile, and she wasnt surprised that Ms. Cox had asked that
question. She knew that there would be varying degrees of acceptance among her staff, which
was one of the reasons she was so pleased that Mr. Chapman was already fi nding success
with this approach in his classroom. He would be a key asset to gaining staff buy in this year.
His response to Ms. Coxs question seemed to alleviate some of her anxiety, especially when
he explained that Paul was currently his most puzzling student and acknowledged that it did
require more time and effort to get to know him deeply. Mr. Chapman concluded his portion
of the meeting by reinforcing the need to know students better, especially the struggling ones,
and how helpful a depth of knowledge about the science of learning was to the process.

As the staff broke into small groups and began their discussions, a common theme emerged.
Jans staff recommended that they all learn more about the science of learning and the
neurodevelopmental framework. It seemed to be an essential element to getting to know
students more deeply, and it was evident that Mr. Chapman had a great command of that
body of knowledge. There were a few people who wondered about their ability to learn the
scientific concepts to the degree that Mr. Chapman had, but Jan was pleased that there was no
real division among her staff. They had collectively made a recommendation to her, which
was a large improvement over the pedagogical wars of past initiatives. She felt confi dent that
she could act upon their recommendation, but she would defi nitely be enlisting the help of
the principals cohort to think through a realistic plan.

This chapter will explore
Developing a students neurodevelopmental profile
Mining sources of data to inform a students profile
The art of kid watching: being careful observers of students
Establishing a trust fund among members of a students learning community


Affinities: Topics that a person pursues with a passionate interest (for example, whales) or
skills and activities that a person loves to do, even if they are not particularly good at them
(for example, cooking). Read more about leveraging affinities in Chapter Five.


A Portrait of a Student
Every student has a unique combination of strengths, affinities, and weaknesses each is an
individual masterpiece. Our future leaders think differently, work differently, and share their
strengths in individual ways, diversity that will enable us to meet the needs of a global
economy and workforce in years to come.

Educators have the privilege and responsibility of celebrating and nurturing the unique minds
that come into classrooms and schools. One might think of schools and classrooms as
galleries for the many masterpieces entrusted to our care care that involves not only
protection and nurturing but opportunity for growth. In the same way we appreciate art for its
unique qualities, we can also come to appreciate learners for their individual learning profiles
the strengths, affinities, and weaknesses that influence how students engage with the demands
of school. There is the student whose receptive language supports a voracious appetite for
reading, particularly mysteries. Another student exhibits strengths in expressive language,
effortlessly using words to eloquently share an idea or experience. Another student struggles
to generate words and sentences but can use images and diagrams to communicate ideas and
feelings as effectively as his language oriented peers. Each of these students adds value to the
classroom, especially when her or his strengths and affinities are acknowledged and nurtured.
PICTURE THIS !
In the same way teachers acknowledge and nurture variation among their students, your
school staff represent diverse strengths and weaknesses. Consider the teacher whose strengths
in social cognition combined with years of experience make her ideal for mentoring new
teachers. There is also the media specialist who uses her creativity to develop top - notch
technology activities for teachers to use with their students. Both teachers add value to the
culture of the school.


Teachers like Mr. Chapman are continually seeking to understand the unique learning
profiles of their students to paint a portrait of what enables each student to be successful. An
appreciation for and desire to better understand diverse learners are essential to creating
learning environments that are learner centered. Across the grades, students encounter
rigorous academic expectations. A deep understanding of students learning needs enables a
teacher to develop the strategies necessary to support them in successfully achieving these
expectations. At the same time, rigorous content must be relevant to those who are learning it.
Leveraging students affinities amplifies the connections between content and interest, making
the learning more relevant and increasing the motivation of students to engage in scholarly
pursuits, both now and throughout life. Rigorous and relevant learning experiences require
healthy student teacher relationships, relationships that are built on teachers knowing students
well.

Educators are equipped with a variety of tools for understanding students, including data
from assessment, grades, and observation. For many years, IQ scores have served as a widely
accepted component of measuring ability and achievement. While this type of information
can certainly help inform the picture, it is far from the full description of any student. As
Douglas Reeves states in his book The Learning Leader, Not everything that counts can be
counted, not everything that can be observed can be expressed in quantitative terms.
Applying this concept to understanding students, we have to consider what can be learned
from multiple sources of information.

Keys to Knowing Learners
Mining Data from Multiple Sources
Lorna Earl presents a model of thinking about assessment along three dimensions: assessment
of learning (using a summative measure to document and report a students progress at the
end of a chapter, unit, or class), assessment for learning (gathering a wide range of data to
inform and adapt instruction and learning activities), and assessment as learning (monitoring
ones own learning and using that information to adjust ones understanding). Each of these
approaches to assessment provides insight into which students are learning and what is being
learned (or not learned). The important information we as learning leaders must uncover is
why students struggle and how they learn best. In learner centered classrooms and schools,
educators use data from many sources and use that information to uncover the learning needs
of students. A piece of the puzzle for acquiring a deep understanding of students as learners is
the quantitative data we can gather from variou sources. Using data to make decisions about
teaching and learning is not a new idea among learning leaders. Current trends in education
encourage schools to make use of formative assessments as a means to take quick, frequent
snapshots of student progress and use those data immediately to inform curricular and
instructional decisions what Earl refers to as assessment for learning. Many schools
conduct interim assessments throughout the academic year as a way to track students
ongoing progress in mastering the concepts and skills defined by state or local standards.
Results of end - of - grade or end - of course tests also serve to measure student progress (that
is, assessment of learning).