DDES students can do more than they ever thought possible!
Students at DDES do more than they ever thought they could. Within the motivating context of an expedition, students dig deeply into compelling content such as insects, the history of Denver through the lens of transportation, voting rights throughout history in America, and climate change. Along the way, they learn and apply critical thinking, communication, and literacy skills to complete real work that matters. The skills they learn impact their work in increasingly sophisticated contexts, both within and beyond a school year. Our goal is for students to be able to read complex texts and compose writing pieces for short tasks, long-term projects, and a variety of assessments.
In math, DDES students work on solving problems flexibly, accurately, and efficiently. In order to build these skills, students practice foundational and fluency skills in service of solving tricky problems. They consider multiple approaches to solving problems in order to build flexibility and determine the best strategy to address the question. Students study and apply a variety of thinking models to increase their mental math and problem solving abilities. Every day, students in math grapple with complex problems to practice and apply their skills of flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency.
Our definition of achievement includes performance on traditional measures, such as state and interim assessments. We believe that when students work on purposeful and engaging work such as expedition products and math grapples, they will be able to demonstrate what they’ve learned within these assessment contexts.
We also monitor and measure achievement by asking students to articulate what they’re learning, reflect on their growth, and make meaningful revisions. When students do this accurately, they demonstrate deep ownership of the learning process and impactful metacognitive skills. Throughout a student’s academic career, these deeper learning skills will be at least as influential as their mastery of academic knowledge and skills.
Learning Targets
The goal of a lesson is never a mystery to kids at DDES. Teachers visually post, unpack, and reference learning targets to create clarity about what students will know and be able to do by the end of the lesson. Additionally, students use the learning targets to reflect and set goals for improvement to demonstrate ownership of their learning.
To start a lesson, teachers and students work together to unpack the target. They zoom in on tricky and important words and discuss what the learner will need to do to meet the target. Students may have an opportunity to reflect on where they think they stand on the target before the lesson begins. Multiple times throughout the lesson, they will check in on the target again to determine how they are progressing and what their next steps are. Finally, students will demonstrate how they’ve met the target through a product or assessment.
Students not only develop ownership of their own process as learners, they also demonstrate metacognition about what they do and don’t understand, and what they should do next. We know this is a skill that will serve them well beyond their time at DDES.
Student-Led Conferences and Portfolios
Twice per year at DDES, students demonstrate their deep learning by reflecting on their progress during conferences with their parents. These conferences are led entirely by the students and require significant analytical thinking and preparation. Throughout the year, students curate a portfolio of work that represents how they’ve grown as a learner. They regularly analyze their work samples and write reflections and how the products connect to their progress. Prior to each conference, they practice verbal presentation and synthesis skills so they are ready to lead their parents through a meaningful conversation about their learning.
Celebrations of Learning
Once students have completed high quality final products, they share and celebrate their learning by presenting to authentic audiences. During these presentations, students formally articulate what they’ve learned. They demonstrate critical thinking by effectively addressing questions from their audience and sharing the most salient information and components of the learning process.
Our evidence includes several different presentations of learning in which students presented to a public audience. Audience members were always given the opportunity to ask students questions about what they learned and why it was important. Second graders shared the impact of transportation over the course of Denver’s historical development with travelers at Union Station. Kindergarteners shared their opinions about why we should all save the bees to pedestrians on the 16th Street Mall, and hosted an author’s reading at The Tattered Cover, a local bookstore. Fourth graders set up an installation at the Alliance Center, a sustainability work hub, to share the impact climate change has had on the Island of Kiribati. They also hosted a museum exhibition at History Colorado to share Colorado’s “Unsung Heroes.” DDES students have raised the bar on what it means to share and celebrate learning in elementary school.