More than 200 Los Alamitos High School teachers, students, counselors, and administrators took part in an aquarium-style study lesson teaching practices for when the U.S. fully adopts the 2014 Common Core State Standards.
More than 200 Los Alamitos High School teachers, students, counselors, and administrators took part in an aquarium-style study lesson teaching practices for when the U.S. fully adopts the 2014 Common Core State Standards.
Although State Superintendent Tom Torlakson has proposed suspending STAR Testing in high school for students this year, Los Alamitos High School is continuing to look for ways to raise the bar for student achievement while evolving instructional delivery.
“The idea for the ‘aquarium’ came about because of two things …” said Principal Joshua Arnold. “First, we’ve built a culture of networking and open doors as a result of our Instructional Rounds protocol this year… so sharing, reflecting, and analyzing lessons is just something we do around here.” “Second, we want the opportunity to define what Common Core teaching will be for ourselves,” he continued. “We believe our teachers have tons of knowledge about what works in the classroom, and providing the opportunity to critique a lesson and apply it to a specific subject or context goes a long way towards tapping into that experience.”
The Common Core Aquarium, conducted on a schoolwide Staff Development Day, featured 30 students situated in the front-center of a large college-style lecture hall on the Los Alamitos High School campus. In front was English teacher Crystal Jerabek, who delivered a lesson on “Media Analysis” in which the task was for students to “imagine they have been hired by a company to analyze the effectiveness of an ad campaign.” Behind the students in a U-shaped seating gallery was every Los Alamitos High School teacher feverishly taking notes on a steering-protocol they were given at the beginning of the lesson. It simulated an “aquarium,” in which observers watch a natural environment without disrupting or changing it. Los Al teachers studied the dynamics of teaching during the lesson’s delivery and jotted down thoughts to bring up during the “debriefing sessions” that immediately followed.
What came out during the debriefing sessions was a direction for future work in planning and delivering Common Core instruction. Also the many benefits of The Common Core Aquarium was how it allowed for future areas of focus to come from the body of teachers who ultimately will be doing the work with the students. More “aquariums” will follow, and opportunities to observe and define Common Core teaching throughout the district’s ten schools are being planned by Education Services Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Mark Johnson.
Los Alamitos Unified School District’s Superintendent, Dr. Sherry Kropp, said, “We will continue Igniting Unlimited Possibilities for Students by providing innovative forums for teachers to talk about the practice of teaching and to collectively define powerful, high-quality instruction.”
For questions about the Common Core Aquarium at Los Alamitos High School, please contact Principal Joshua Arnold at jarnold@losal.org, or Assistant Superintendent Mark Johnson@mjohnson@losal.org.