What is AVID?

Newcomers:

An Introduction to Basic AVID Concepts and Processes

AVID Program

Advancement Via Individual Determination

[L. avidus]: eager for knowledge

“We help our students find their voices by believing in them, helping them become academically competent, by encouraging them, and by treating them not as members of a group, but as individuals with unique skills, talents, and passions. Once our students find their voices, there’s nothing they can’t achieve.”

Mary Catherine Swanson

The Mission

of

AVID AVID’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society.

The AVID Student Profile Students with Academic Potential Average to High Test Scores 2.0-3.5 GPA College Potential with Support Desire and Determination Meets one or More of the following Criteria First to Attend College Historically Underserved in 4-year Colleges Low Income Special Circumstances

A Sample Week

in

AVID Elective Daily

or

Block* Schedule AVID Curriculum includes: Writing Curriculum College and Careers Strategies for Success AVID Tutorials Include: Collaborative Study Groups Writing Groups Socratic Seminars

Writing Curriculum Writing to Learn Writing Process Focus Lessons Timed Writing

Cornell Notes

Cornell Note Taking System

The

STAR

System

S

et up your paper

T

ake the notes

A R

pply your thinking to the notes eflect and

R

evise your notes

An example of how notes are set up… Topic Questions Subtitles Headings Heading Class Notes • Use Bullets Use Abbreviations (w/ @ etc.) Summary 3 to 4 sentence summary across buttom

Summary Summary is added at the end of all note pages on the subject (not at the end of each page).

Summary is added AFTER questions are finished.

Inquiry Method Engage in skillful questioning Higher Level Thinking Respectful dialogue

SOCRATIC SEMINARS: “a form of structured discourse about ideas and moral dilemmas.” Contribute to the development of vocabulary, listening skills, interpretive and comparative reading, textual analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Develops student centered dialogue which is at the heart of rigor.

Fosters understanding of complex ideas and information.

Collaboration Students ask, explore and answer questions Students are listeners, thinkers, speakers, and writers Students discover ideas and remember because they are actively involved Teacher becomes a coach, guiding students in their learning

TUTORIALS: Purpose Create deeper understanding of concepts covered in core content classes.

Develop skills necessary to become self-directed learners.

It's not just homework help!

Process To push each other's thinking. AVID tutorials utilize an inquiry process.

Tutors do not give answers; they facilitate the group's discovery with critical questions.

Students reflect on their learning.

Organization AVID Binder Agenda Cornell Notes Tutorial Request Forms Portfolios

Reading to Learn Connect to prior knowledge Understand Text Structure Use text-processing strategies

(during and after reading)

Reciprocal Teaching Reciprocal teaching is an instructional approach characterized by an interactive dialogue between the teacher and students in response to segments of a reading selection The dialogue is based on four processes: Questioning Summarizing Clarifying Predicting

Distinguishing Between

Reading

and

Instructional

Strategies

Reading

Strategies are deliberate, cognitive acts learners use to bring meaning to a text.

Instructional

strategies are the teaching techniques teachers model and use to help students become more independent readers and learners.

AVID Program Essentials 1.

AVID Student Selection 2.

Voluntary Participation 3.

AVID elective class offered during the school day 4.

Rigorous course and study 5.

Writing and Reading Curriculum 6.

Inquiry to promote critical reading

AVID Program Essentials

(Continued)

7.

Collaboration 8.

Trained tutors 9.

Data Collection and Analysis 10.

District and School Commitment 11.

Active and Interdisciplinary Site Team

“Rigorous curriculum is a greater factor in determining college graduation rates than class standing, standardized test scores, or grade point average.”

From: Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and

Bachelor's Degree Attainment (1999) by Clifford Adelman, Senior Research Analyst, U.S. Dept. of Ed.

What is academic rigor?

Rigor is the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is challenging

.

complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally or emotionally

Taking rigorous courses opens doors !

Source: Teaching What Matters Most; Standards and Strategies for Raising Student Achievement by Strong, Silver and Perini, ASCD, 2001.

Meeting the Challenge To help all students do rigorous work and meet or exceed high standards in each content area we must help students: Develop as readers and writers.

Develop deep content knowledge.

Know content specific strategies for reading, writing, thinking and talking.

Develop habits, skills, and behaviors to use knowledge and skills.

Meeting the Challenge

(Continued)

Why AVID Works Places AVID students in rigorous curriculum and gives them the support to achieve Provides the explicit “hidden curriculum” of schools Provides a team of students for positive peer identification Redefines teacher’s role as that of student advocate

from 2006 Summer Institute Tonya Leal, Blackstock Jr. High School 8.19.12