Rigor/Relevance Framework
the rigor/relevance Framework,
developed by the international
center for Leadership in Education,
has four quadrants. Each is labeled
with a term that characterizes the
learning or student performance
at that level.
Quadrant A — Acquisition
students gather and store bits
of knowledge and information.
students are primarily expected
to remember or understand this
acquired knowledge.
Quadrant B — Application
students use acquired knowledge
to solve problems, design solutions,
and complete work. the highest
level of application is to apply
appropriate knowledge to new
and unpredictable situations.
Role of the Coach
When Pennsylvania’s Department
of Education set the criteria, it asserted that the coach was to be a master
teacher first and a technology person
second, with the idea that the position
would mature well beyond the role of
tech support. In our district, this position is now a full-time instructional
coach specializing in the educational
process behind digital age learning.
Working with teachers across disciplines, the coach has gained a unique
perspective that allows him to work
as a conduit for both new ideas and
best practices. He works one on one
with teachers daily by co-planning
and co-teaching lessons and helps
design and facilitate staffwide professional development.
Beyond the CFF program, our
coaching initiative receives support
in resources, training, and networking via our local educational service
district and the Pennsylvania Institute
for Instructional Coaching (PIIC), a
statewide network of coaches funded
by the Annenberg Foundation. This
support has been instrumental in
making effective use of coaching,
which in turn has helped our teachers make great strides in embedding
technology, rigor, and relevance to
enhance student outcomes.
Quadrant C — Assimilation
students extend and refine their
acquired knowledge to be able to
use that knowledge automatically
and routinely to analyze and solve
problems and create unique
solutions.
Quadrant D — Adaptation
students have the competence
to think in complex ways and also
apply knowledge and skills they have
acquired. Even when confronted with
perplexing unknowns, students are
able to use extensive knowledge
and skill to create solutions and take
action that further develops their
skills and knowledge.
About Our District
Hampton High School, located 10
miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, serves 1,100 students in grades
9–12. Our district has a strong academic tradition, and more than 90%
of graduates continue their education.
For four consecutive years, Hampton
has been ranked among the top 6%
of the nation’s high schools by
News-week magazine and was awarded a
“silver” ranking by US News & World
Report for three consecutive years,
marking it among the top 3% of U.S.
high schools.
Four years ago, our district and
many others in Pennsylvania received
an infusion of technology from a state
grant initiative called Classrooms for
the Future (CFF). The grant provided
plenty of equipment for our high
school, including laptops, LCD projectors, and interactive whiteboards in all
core classrooms. The grant also provided funding and training for a full-time instructional technology coach
and required online courses for staff.
The CFF initiative began with a
“ready, fire, aim” philosophy that
encouraged teachers to explore new
tools and approaches with the support of a coach, who acted initially as
a resource provider and trainer. As
time progressed, teachers began to
aim their use of technology, weeding
out what did not work for them and
adopting and improving what did. The
role of the coach also began to shift
beyond just resource provider to co-planner, co-teacher, and embedded
professional developer.
Focus on Assessment
In addition to our coaching initiative,
for the past six years, Hampton teachers have been using assessment portfolios as a vehicle to improve the quality
of instruction through the accountability of more rigorous and relevant
assessment. These portfolios represent
a catalog of each teacher’s assessment
tools mapped in real time and are
used to guide and ground professional
discussions, co-teaching, planning,
Working with teachers across disciplines, the coach has gained
a unique perspective that allows him to work as a conduit for
both new ideas and best practices.
