Powerful Conversations Network Quarterly Meeting #1 September, 2013.

Powerful Conversations Network

Quarterly Meeting #1September, 2013

Who is in the Room: Schools from These Districts…

Attalla City Blount County Boaz City Chilton County Decatur City Etowah County Hartselle City Jasper City Jefferson County

Mountain Brook City Perry County Talladega County Tarrant City Tuscaloosa City Tuscaloosa County Trussville City Shelby County

Partners with the Alabama State Department of Education Initiatives

Alphabet Soup!Alphabet Soup!

ABPC Alabama Best Practices Center KLN Key Leaders Network PCN Powerful Conversations Network SLN Superintendent Leaders Network IP Instructional Partners Pilot ACCRS Alabama’s College-and Career-

Ready Standards FA Formative Assessment

Deepening of our understanding of the new ELA and Literacy Standards

Knowledge of how to explicitly teach students the thinking skills that are embedded in the ACCRS

Planning to increase our school’s collaborative capacity to successfully integrate the new standards into teaching and learning

Learning Outcomes

Commitment to working with a cross-school design team to develop an agreed-upon lesson

Co-creation of a statewide community of practice with PCN colleagues

Learning Outcomes, cont’d

Organize Your Teams

Facilitator Recorder/Reporter

Time Monitor/Materials Manager

Directions Clarifier

(p. 2, Activity Packet)

Be open to and respect all points of view Listen with an open mind & expect to learn Accept responsibility for active & equitable

participation Check for understanding Allow think time Welcome questions Avoid “cyber” and sidebar conversations Take care of creature comforts

Ground Rules/Group Norms

Activity: School Team Dialogue and Cross-

School SharingWhat? Team Response to Questions

and Individual Exchange of Ideas with Others

Why? To share perceptions within school teams about where you are in working collaboratively to implement ACCRS and to make connections with colleagues from other schools

How? Team dialogue and response to 2 questions followed by meeting and exchange of views with 2-3 individuals from other schools (See page 3, Activity Packet)

(c) Walsh & Sattes, 2013

Activity: Compare and Contrast Three StrandsWhat? Top Hat Organizer

Why? To identify key skills and knowledge associated with each of the three strands of the ACCRS ELA and Literacy Standards and compare/contrast to identify linkages and commonalities

How? Pair review of one strand; team sharing and comparison of 3 strands(pages 4-8, Activity Packet)

“If you want to get results, you need to treat Compare & Contrast as a learning strategy rather than an end-of-learning assessment; make sure students have clear criteria for comparing items; and guide students to deeper thinking in phases.” (p. 2, The Common Six: Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core, Silver, Dewing & Perini)

Compare and Contrast

“If students are to become productive problem solvers, sound decision makers, and creative innovators as called for by the many reports and educational experts, educators must include the explicit development of those complex thinking skills as the action antecedents to the stated content.” (p. 3, Bellanca, Fogarty, & Pete)

Authors’ Rationale for How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the

Common Core

Browse through the following to get an idea of the scope of the book’s content. Table of Contents on pages ix-xiii. Look at Table 1.1 on page 12.

Engage in a Two-Minute Table Talk with school team in response to this question: To what extent do your students possess and use these thinking skills?

A 1st Look at the Identified Twenty-one Complex Cognitive

Skills

Activity: Overview of Text and Cross-Walk with Skills in ACCRS What? Review & Analysis of Text

Why? To familiarize yourselves with the organization & contents of the selected text and assess its utility to you and your faculty

How? Team selection of 2 thinking skills central to ELA/Literacy Standards & review of related section of book (page 9, Activity Packet)

All 21 chapters have the same organization & content focus including: Explanation of thinking skill “Look—Fors and Sound Bites” Explicit Teaching Lesson Examples from Elementary,

Middle, & High School

About the Text

Activity: The Potential of Speaking and Listening Standards to Reinforce Reading and Writing Standards What? Four-Square Share

Why? To reflect on the linkages across the 3 strands of the ELA/Literacy Standards and use a collaborative learning strategy that supports ACCRS

How? Individually read short selection; follow protocol to listen actively and learn from colleagues(pages 10-12, Activity Packet)

To what extent does implementation of ACCRS

represent a paradigm shift for your faculty?

1. Emphasize much higher-level comprehension skills

2. Place equal weight on reading and writing

3. Stress the importance of critical citizenship

* Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, Pathways to the Common Core, pp. 9-13

Consider Some of theKey Features of New

Standards*

6. Emphasize reading complex texts7. Have clear design, with central goals

and high standards6. Convey that intellectual growth

occurs through time, across years, and across disciplines

* Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, Pathways to the Common Core, pp. 9-13

Consider Some of theKey Features of New

Standards*

7. Support cross-curricular literacy teaching

8. Call for proficiency, complexity, and independence

9. Emphasize that every student needs to be given access to this work

10.Respect the professional judgment of classroom teachers

* Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, Pathways to the Common Core, pp. 9-13

Consider Some of theKey Features of New

Standards*

Building knowledge through content rich nonfiction

Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

* achievethecore.org

Think about Common Core Shifts for English Language

Arts/Literacy*

Activity: Assessment of School’s Current Culture for Successful Implementation of ACCRS

What? Individual Reading, Reflection, and Rating

Why? To reflect where you are as a faculty in creating a collaborative culture to support successful implementation of ACCRS

How? Individually read and respond to items on page 13 of Activity Packet.

Beliefs/Values Continuous Improvement Shared Decision Making and Teamwork Results Oriented

Structures Time Teams Team Protocols

School Culture Driven By Both Beliefs/Values and Structure

““If you intend to introduce a change that If you intend to introduce a change that is incompatible with the organization’s is incompatible with the organization’s culture, you have only three choices: culture, you have only three choices: modify the change to be more in line with modify the change to be more in line with the existing culture, alter the culture to be the existing culture, alter the culture to be more in line with the proposed change, or more in line with the proposed change, or prepare to fail.”prepare to fail.”(David Salisbury & Daryl Conner, 1994)

Importance of Culture

Activity: Assessment of School’s Current Culture for Successful Implementation of ACCRS

What? Team Dialogue and Planning

Why? To think together as a school leadership team about where you are and to plan for enhancement of collaborative culture to support ACCRS implementation

How? Reach quick consensus on current status. Identify 3 priority SMART goals, and create a plan to attain these goals. See page 14, Activity Packet.

Strategic and Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Results-oriented

Time-bound

SMART Goals

Our Reality: Last year, 10% of the graduating class completed advanced placement courses or the capstone course in a department sequence.

Our Goal: This year, we will increase the percentage of students taking advanced placement or capstone courses in a departmental sequence to 20% or higher.

DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, and Many, 2006, p. 126

Example of SMART Goal

The SMART Goals process creates the motivation for team action and experimentation. In order to apply the SMART Goals process effectively, individuals need strong team skills, the ability to understand and use data, and a willingness to engage in continuous improvement.

Why SMART Goals?

Role-Alike Lesson Design Teams

Principals/Assistant Principals

Break-Out Sessions—

Purpose: To work collaboratively with colleagues from across the state to integrate explicit instruction about selected thinking skills into a standards-based content lesson

Team Composition: Teams should be comprised of 3, but no more than 5 members, who have the same or similar teaching assignments.

About the Lesson Design Teams

Products: A minimum of 2 collaboratively developed and evaluated lessons to be shared with others

Expectations:1.Same teachers will attend all PCN QMs to ensure continuity in working of design team.2.Design team members will begin planning at PCN, but complete work as part of regular lesson planning back home.3.Design team members will bring feedback about lesson to the next PCN QM.

About the Lesson Design Teams

Suggested Process for Design Team Work

Principals’ Role-Alike: 6 Challenges to Implementing

ACCRS1. Develop every teacher’s ability to teach

reading2. Plan to spread literacy strands and skills

across content areas3. Accelerate student achievement; don’t add

to the curriculum4. Choose one or two priorities drawing on the

school’s strengths5. Ensure effective professional development

for ACCRS implementation6. Develop student leadership for learning.

Move to designated areas taking all materials with you.

Principals move to adjacent room, and organize into groups of 4. Begin work on page 18 of Activity Packet.

Teachers and Coaches/Instructional Partners gather in area designated for your content area/grade level, and form teams of 3, no more than 5 members. Begin work on page 15 of Activity Packet.

After you’ve divided into teams of this size, find a space to work.

Move to Break-Out Sessions

Please complete the feedback form, and leave in the center of table as you depart.

Safe travels back home!

Final Reflection and Feedback