Identifying Question 4 Students and Intentionally Planning Extensions
Ensure the Proper Setting and Support
Review Fundamental Concepts
Establish Common Pacing and Formative Assessments
Review Assessment Data
Plan Appropriate Extensions
Summary
Collaborative Team Reflection
Skill Extensions
Possible Solution 1
Possible Solution 2
Planning Examples
Summary
Collaborative Team Reflection
Interest Extensions
Possible Solution 1
Possible Solution 2
Planning Examples
Summary
Collaborative Team Reflection
Helping Students Connect Through Social Extensions
Social Extensions
Possible Solution 1
Possible Solution 2
Planning Examples
Summary
Collaborative Team Reflection
Creating Extensions as Singletons
Possible Solution 1
Possible Solution 2
Planning Examples
Summary
Collaborative Team Reflection
About the Author
Michael Roberts is an author and consultant with more than two decades of experience in education. Michael has been an administrator at the district level and has served as an on-site administrator at the high school, middle school, and elementary levels.
Prior to moving to becoming the director of elementary curriculum and instruction in Scottsdale, Arizona, Michael was the principal of Desert View Elementary School (DVES) in Hermiston, Oregon. Under his leadership, DVES produced evidence of increased learning each year from 2013–2017 for all students and met the challenges of 40 percent growth over four years, a rising population of English learners, and a dramatic increase in the number of trauma-affected students.
Michael attributes the success of DVES to the total commitment of staff to the three big ideas and the four critical questions of a professional learning community. This commitment has led to a schoolwide transition from “me” to “we”—a fundamental shift in thinking that has made all the difference.
Previously, Michael served as an assistant principal in Prosser, Washington, where he was named the 2010–2011 Three Rivers Principal Association Assistant Principal of the Year. In 2011–2012, Michael was a finalist for Washington Assistant Principal of the Year.
Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Washington State University and his master’s degree in educational leadership from Azusa Pacific University.
To learn more about Michael’s work, visit https://everykidnow.com, or follow him @everykidnow on Twitter or @everykidnow on Instagram.
To book Michael Roberts for professional development, contact [email protected].
Introduction
In September 2013, I was the principal of Desert View Elementary School (DVES) in Hermiston, Oregon. As a school, we were making the often-difficult shift to a meaningful, accountable professional learning community (PLC) from what Richard DuFour and Douglas Reeves (2016) call PLC Lite:
Educators rename their traditional faculty or department meetings as PLC meetings, engage in book studies that result in no action, or devote collaborative time to topics that have no effect on student achievement—all in the name of the PLC process. These activities fail to embrace the central tenets of the PLC process and won’t lead to higher levels of learning for students or adults. (p. 69)
During this transition, grade-level teams worked hard to create common formative assessments. Using those assessments to reflect on and adjust
