Powerful Task Design: Rigorous and Engaging Tasks to Level Up Instruction

by John V. Antonetti, Terri Ann Stice

Overview

How can educators use technology to increase students’ engagement in activities essential to rigorous learning? What are the most effective tools for analyzing, designing, and refining those tasks of learning? And finally, how can we increase the cognitive rigor and thoughtful integration of technology into learning tasks, in order to better prepare students for college and beyond?

In Powerful Task Design, these questions and more will be answered, as you get to know the Powerful Task Rubric for Designing Student Work. Applicable for educators across all disciplines and grade levels, you’ll use the tool to analyze, design, and refine cognitively engaging tasks of learning. This guide will help you

• Explore and use the Powerful Task Rubric piece-by-piece in an easily digestible format to help you delve into the tool’s design components.
• Use technology to complete interactive tasks, and understand first-hand how technology is a critical design component in student task design that brings about more profound and relevant learning.
• Identify opportunities for creating powerful tasks in the areas of engagement, academic strategies, questions, and cognition.
• Supplement your task design arsenal with tools like the Diagnostic Instrument to Analyze Learning (DIAL).

This must-have resource brings together the research and strategies educators need to design engaging, powerful learning tasks. Student performance has a direct correlation to the power of the learning task - this book will help you positively impact both. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506399133
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	03/01/2018
Series:	Corwin Teaching Essentials
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

John Antonetti is a learner. He has had the great fortune to visit classrooms throughout North America in an effort to answer the question "What truly engages learners?" From thousands of students in pre-K through Graduate School, John has learned the three facets of powerful learning tasks--intellectual, academic, and emotional engagement.

John Antonetti is a teacher. He has taught A.P Chemistry and Kindergarten and most grades in between in his home state of Arkansas. Once described by Larry Lezotte as a "teacher's teacher," Mr. Antonetti works with schools across the country and Canada on student engagement, writing, rigor and relevance, powerful task design, and high-yield best practices. As the former Director of Curriculum in the Sheridan School District in Arkansas, he took what he learned in his home district and developed strategies and protocols that work across all school types. He has partnered with five school districts that were awarded the nationally-recognized Broad Prize for Urban Education. While hands-on work in schools is his passion, John is also a highly-sought keynote speaker. His humor and parables are recognized by teachers, administrators, and parents as relevant examples of the power of teachers.

Antonetti is the author of the book, Writing as a Measure and Model of Thinking which utilizes the engagement cube and practical tools to increase student thinking in all subject areas. With his late business partner and friend, Jim Garver, John co-authored the ASCD best-seller 17,000 Classroom Visits Can't be Wrong: Strategies that Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement.

Whether he's on the Kinder carpet or in front of 4000 teachers at an international conference, Antonetti continues to learn.

?Terri Stice transitioned to education 23 years ago when she accepted a position as a preschool teacher. Shortly thereafter she moved to K-12 public schools where she truly found her passion, sharing her technical expertise with students, teachers, and administrators both from the classroom and as District Technology Coordinator. In July 2000, she joined the GRREC staff as Technology Coordinator and in 2005 her position was transformed into Director of Instructional Technology and Support Services. During her tenure at GRREC she has been selected as a National Professional Development provider for Discovery Education, and The Verizon Foundation. Terri has received the honor of being named an Apple Distinguished Educator, an Apple Certified Foundations Field Trainer, a Google Certified Teacher, a School Culture Assessment Trainer and a Kentucky Colonel. She has earned a Master of Science degree in Instructional Media Education, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction: The Power of the Task
1. The Work of School
A Task Is a Task
Task Predicts Performance
The Design Components of a Task
Technology in a Working Model, or When Terri Met Sally (Ahem, John)
The Powerful Task Rubric for Designing Student Work
2. Analyzing Learning With the Powerful Task Rubric
One Content, Five Tasks
Where Was the Power?
3. The Power of Engagement
The Qualities of Engagement
Interaction as Engagement
A Task Is Powered Up
4. The Power of Academic Strategies
It Starts on the Playground
Strategies of Personal Response
Identifying Similarities and Differences
Summarizing and Note-Making
Note-Taking Becomes Note-Making
Reflection in Note-Making
Nonlinguistic Representations
Generating and Testing Hypotheses
Reflection and Closure
5. The Power of the Question
Where Does a Question Come From?
See-Think-Wonder
Where Do Teacher Questions Come From?
How to Open a Question
Technology and Questions
6. Engaged in What? The Power of Cognition
Cognitive Demand
Learning Through Accepting Meaning
Thinking and Making Meaning
Making Meaning on Top of Meaning
Sliding Across the Cognitive Continua: A Hierarchy, Not a Sequence
Math Cognition and the Task Rubric
Encoding and Memory
7. Power Up: Using the Diagnostic Instrument to Analyze Learning
The Diagnostic Instrument to Analyze Learning
Premises and Research Behind the DIAL
Using the DIAL
Three DIAL Implementations
Tips for the Tool
8. Putting It All Together
Final Thoughts
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

With this collaboration, John's expertise with designing engaging and rigorous student tasks is combined with Terri's vast knowledge of effective technology use in the classroom. Both John and Terri have worked with our district's teachers and administrators and have helped bring about increased teacher effectiveness. This book is the perfect next step resource for our district's continuous improvement journey as well as for any educator ready to effectively take their student task design practices to the next level and meaningfully engage today's 'techie" student.' "

Kelli Bush

An easy-to-follow tool for educators wishing to reflect on the rigor of their classroom tasks with excellent tips to take learning to the next level!

Clint Heitz

"Powerful Task Design will help you rethink how to get the full value from the technology tools you have available in your classroom. I found John and Terri’s work to be both practical and transformative. Teachers will come back to this book time and time again as we are challenged to find ways to push thinking, rigor and engagement to a higher level for your students. "

Amy Berry

"Antonetti and Stice once again provide outstanding leadership, research, and guidance through an ever expanding and vital conversation on learning design. This book further shifts the conversation from technology to learning, from simply rehashing techno-centric approaches, to ready-to-implement rich learning experiences for students further empowered through digital tools and resources.

In this book, you'll discover creative solutions to interesting digital instructional design challenges from real classrooms and real students. These best practice models will help any teacher, new or experienced, formulate a blueprint for digital learning experience design - with a tremendous emphasis on learning and cognitive engagement. I especially love the connections made in Chapter 5 with technology and questions. Through this book, John and Terri demonstrate that they are two highly connected teachers who 'get it.' "

Dr. Marty Park

"John and Terri turn the bubble-sheet culture on its head – offering readers a path for implementing rigorous and engaging tasks that promote meaning making and sustained learning. Through Powerful Task Design, they provide a way of thinking about our main goal in the classroom – creating rigorous and engaging tasks that power up learning. I love this book! The cognitive demand, thinking strategies, and engaging qualities of this book WILL change the way I interact with my own learners…and my two small children. "

John Almarode

As educators we are on a continuous journey to stretch and grow to our fullest potential and we all have a ‘ceiling’ of effectiveness. The interactive approach of #Powerful Task Design will serve as a valuable tool for educators as the stretch and growth toward a higher ceiling.”

Kellianne Wilson

"Finally! A resource that focuses first on the TASK (what it is we are asking of our students) and then the RESOURCES (what technology is at our disposal to accomplish the task?). For decades now, the process has been backwards and the focus has become bells-and-whistle-technology that is mistaken for authentic engagement. This book will give tangible tools for the teacher toolbox while keeping the eye on the rigor prize for students. "

Matthew Constant

"Antonetti and Stice push educators to create well-designed tasks that fully engage students and create powerful results. We want the students to learn first and then utilize technology tools to make learning more meaningful. Combining Antonetti’s brilliant work with his engagement cube and Stice’s technology genius is 'just mind-blowing.' "

Allen Martin

"It is painfully obvious that something needs to be done to do more than simply engage students; we need to cognitively engage them and this book gives you the tools with which to do just that. Everything is here for you to make those changes. "

Melody (Dani) Aldrich

"Are you grappling with how to create an instructional task that both challenges and engages? Do you continue to struggle with issues related to effective integration of technology into lesson designs? Are you seeking to understand how rigor and engagement can move beyond overused and empty clichés? Explore these and other essential questions in this highly practical, well-researched book that offers practitioner-friendly tools brought to life by a treasure-trove of examples across the content areas of k-12 classrooms. Inviting reflection and personal response at strategic points, the authors skillfully integrate video and other technology with written text to create a book that exhibits the design principles they propose. Powerful Task Design is a must-read for individual educators and a practical guide for PLCs. "

Jackie A. Walsh

"As educators we are on a continuous journey to stretch and grow to our fullest potential and we all have a 'ceiling' of effectiveness. The interactive approach of #Powerful Task Design will serve as a valuable tool for educators as the stretch and growth toward a higher ceiling."

--Kellianne Wilson, Secondary Instructional Supervisor

"An easy-to-follow tool for educators wishing to reflect on the rigor of their classroom tasks with excellent tips to take learning to the next level!" --Clint Heitz, Instructional Coach

"Antonetti and Stice once again provide outstanding leadership, research, and guidance through an ever expanding and vital conversation on learning design. This book further shifts the conversation from technology to learning, from simply rehashing techno-centric approaches, to ready-to-implement rich learning experiences for students further empowered through digital tools and resources.

In this book, you′ll discover creative solutions to interesting digital instructional design challenges from real classrooms and real students. These best practice models will help any teacher, new or experienced, formulate a blueprint for digital learning experience design - with a tremendous emphasis on learning and cognitive engagement. I especially love the connections made in Chapter 5 with technology and questions. Through this book, John and Terri demonstrate that they are two highly connected teachers who ′get it.′"

--Dr. Marty Park, Chief Digital Officer for the Office of Education Technology, Kentucky Department of Education (10/20/2017 12:00:00 AM)

"Antonetti and Stice push educators to create well-designed tasks that fully engage students and create powerful results. We want the students to learn first and then utilize technology tools to make learning more meaningful. Combining Antonetti's brilliant work with his engagement cube and Stice's technology genius is ′just mind-blowing.′"

--Allen Martin, Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (10/5/2017 12:00:00 AM)

"Are you grappling with how to create an instructional task that both challenges and engages? Do you continue to struggle with issues related to effective integration of technology into lesson designs? Are you seeking to understand how rigor and engagement can move beyond overused and empty clichés? Explore these and other essential questions in this highly practical, well-researched book that offers practitioner-friendly tools brought to life by a treasure-trove of examples across the content areas of k-12 classrooms. Inviting reflection and personal response at strategic points, the authors skillfully integrate video and other technology with written text to create a book that exhibits the design principles they propose. Powerful Task Design is a must-read for individual educators and a practical guide for PLCs."--Jackie A. Walsh, Author and Consultant

"Finally! A resource that focuses first on the TASK (what it is we are asking of our students) and then the RESOURCES (what technology is at our disposal to accomplish the task?). For decades now, the process has been backwards and the focus has become bells-and-whistle-technology that is mistaken for authentic engagement. This book will give tangible tools for the teacher toolbox while keeping the eye on the rigor prize for students."--Matthew Constant, Chief Academic Officer

"It is painfully obvious that something needs to be done to do more than simply engage students; we need to cognitively engage them and this book gives you the tools with which to do just that. Everything is here for you to make those changes."--Melody (Dani) Aldrich, High School English Teacher

"John and Terri turn the bubble-sheet culture on its head - offering readers a path for implementing rigorous and engaging tasks that promote meaning making and sustained learning. Through Powerful Task Design, they provide a way of thinking about our main goal in the classroom - creating rigorous and engaging tasks that power up learning. I love this book! The cognitive demand, thinking strategies, and engaging qualities of this book WILL change the way I interact with my own learners...and my two small children."

--John Almarode, Author, Visible Learning for Science and From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers

"With this collaboration, John′s expertise with designing engaging and rigorous student tasks is combined with Terri′s vast knowledge of effective technology use in the classroom. Both John and Terri have worked with our district′s teachers and administrators and have helped bring about increased teacher effectiveness. This book is the perfect next step resource for our district′s continuous improvement journey as well as for any educator ready to effectively take their student task design practices to the next level and meaningfully engage today′s ′techie" student.′"

--Kelli Bush, Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning

"Powerful Task Design will help you rethink how to get the full value from the technology tools you have available in your classroom. I found John and Terri's work to be both practical and transformative. Teachers will come back to this book time and time again as we are challenged to find ways to push thinking, rigor and engagement to a higher level for your students."

--Amy Berry, National Board Certified Teacher, Coordinator for Student Services (10/5/2017 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher