4Dx Pages 65-76 Reflection 2:

Pages 70 and 71 outline the characteristics of a compelling scoreboard.  We have dabbled in scoreboards.  Based on the descriptions outlined in the chapter, what are we doing well?  What might we need to consider improving/adjusting?  Do our scoreboards flip the "game on" switch?

4Dx Pages 65 - 76 Reflection 1:

Pages 65 - 67 generate a sense of excitement and competition about the purpose and importance of creating a compelling scoreboard.  After rereading these pages, how would you respond to the following quote from page 66: "If the lead and lag measures are not captured on a visual scoreboard and updated regularly, they will disappear into the distraction of the whirlwind."? 

4Dx Pages 44-64 Reflection...What are Lead Measures?

Pages 44 - 64 bring a great deal of clarity to the difference between lag and lead measures.  In your own words, what are lead measures and why are they critical to WIG achievement?

4Dx Pages 44-64 Reflection...Brainstorming Lead Measures:

Lead measures eliminate the element of surprise that only focusing on lag measures will have.  If our campus wildly important goal is that students will demonstrate at least a full year's growth in order to meet end of year performance standards in literacy, what actions do you think will have the greatest leverage to move the lag measure?  What do we need to do differently as a campus, grade level, classroom teacher?  What barriers do you foresee and how will we overcome them?  What practices do we need to increase?  abandon?  What action do we need to take?

4Dx Pages 23-43 Reflection 3:

"As Steve Jobs often said, 'I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do.'" - 4Dx page 43-

After reading 4Dx and after our professional learning in August, what does this quote mean to you? What implications does it have for our campus, your classrooms, students, and you this year?

4Dx Pages 23-43 Reflection 2:

Our brains are hardwired to focus on one thing at a time with excellence.  Review the text on the bottom of page 25 - page 27. Students will often have more than one area needing growth or improvement.  If we push too many goals for students, it goes against the brain's hard wiring, yielding mediocre results at best.  We must look at each student carefully and ask ourselves, "What is the one area where change will have the greatest impact on student achievement?"  

How then will we determine what is wildly important for students?  What battles will we choose to win the student achievement war?  What if the wildly important for a student isn't in the content area you teach? How will we resist the urge to add more goals for students?

4Dx Pages 23 - 43 Reflection 1:

"To our wildly important goal we want to devote our best effort." - 4Dx-

What might happen if we (campus/grade level)/you (individual/classroom) spent 20% (or...76 minutes in the day) of your energy focused on the wildly important?