Protocol Practice

Teachers using protocols during meetings or professional learning communities has brought back a memory from when I taught 4th grade. I’d like to share…

I can remember my first time facilitating a Socratic seminar with my 4th graders. Well not exactly. I do not remember the text we used or the questions that was asked. I am unable to recall how long the conversation lasted, or the follow-up activities that I provided. What I DO remember were is how anxious I was getting during the seminar and how depressed I felt after I finished. Nothing happened as planned, yet I could not understand why.

I remember selecting “a text” that was modeled during the training, and even used frequently asked opening, core and closing questions. I remember explaining to the students the process and the norms, yet the conversation lacked depth, interaction, and any signs of student listening or thinking skills. How could this be possible when I did everything exactly as it was modeled to me during the training? I’m not sure if at the time I was able to answer that question, however now I know that even for me learning, implementation, and improvement is a process.

We (my students and I) were committed to try again even though it would have been easier to dump the process and continue with the familiar question and answer routine. Once again a common text was selected, questions were prepared, and the norms and process was reviewed. To improve on the experience we wanted to focus our own behaviors and decided to videotape our event. Immediately after the seminar, we watched our video without comments (yet there was quite a few moments of laughter- these are 4th graders), and the watched a second time with a purpose.

Groups of students were assigned to look for evidence of specific behaviors including signs of referring to the text, demonstration of listening, and indication of students asking questions. As a class we discussed what we saw and what we should do next. This process reinforced behaviors and identified areas of improvement. Is was amazing how our critiques were professional and free from any ridicule. We continued with the videotaping throughout the year and eventually found the seminar process engaging, thought provoking, and fun. Just like it was during the initial training.

My expectations never changed, just my timeline. As teacher leaders continue to use protocols to engage conversation, the practice of refining and improving the process is essential for success.

Effective math questions: to promote problem solving

What information do you have?
What do you need to find out?
What strategies are you going to use?
Will you do it mentally?
Will you need pencil and paper?
Will you need a formula?
What tools will you need? Will a calculator helps?
What do you think the answer or result will be?

Source: www.pbs.org/teacherline

Root Cause and Impact

When an intervention does show results in the classroom it is not necessarily the fault of the client or the students. It usually means that the appropriate intervention was not identified or implemented correctly.

Last year I was working with a teacher who shared with me that the students were always off task instead of doing their classwork. I visited his classroom and he was right many of the students were off task. As a result of several conversations with the teacher we implemented several interventions that focused on procedures and classroom management strategies, but each time I return to measure impact of the interventions many of the students were still off task. I will admit that both of us were very frustrated and every intervention we had tried so far had not worked.

Then one day I happened to observe his class during a question and answer period. He was allowing unison responses from the students. Unison response occurs when groups of students shout out the answer to the teacher's question. What this means is that no student is being held responsible for his/her learning because there was always a student who knew the answer and would shout it out. Common sense says just because one student knows the answer it does not mean that all the students in the class know the answer.

I met with the teacher and we implemented a strategy. He use a clip board to call on students by name and he redirected those who shouted out answers. After two weeks these strategies reduced the amount of unison response by two thirds. This change in his practice caused a major change in the students’ behavior during questing sessions and the students became more involved in their classwork because they never knew when they would be called upon to respond.

This example does not mean that all the other interventions were ineffective it was just that once the root cause of the problem was identified and the appropriate combination of interventions were implemented the learning environment improved.

Study Group Protocol: Diversity Begins at Birth

Most of us believe that everyone looks at the world the same way with just a few minor differences. This may not be a true assumption. Dr. Kevin Leman author of The Birth Order Book says that there are some recognizable differences in patterns of behavior in people that are partially due to the order of their placement in the family. It is a fascinating field of study, and certainly worth exploring if one works with children and families.

Procedures
1. Explain to participants that: birth order plays a role in our development; there are often common experiences and feelings shared by people of the same birth order; this is an opportunity for us to discover those commonalties.
2. Ask participants to gather themselves into four corners of the room by the following birth orders:

• oldest child,
• youngest child,
• middle child,
• and only child.

Explain that middle means anyone who is not an oldest, youngest, or only child.

3. After participants move to their corner's ask them to identify a recorder and a presenter. The recorder writes down the major points of the discussion and the presenter will share the team’s discussion with the large group.
4. Then the team shares their experiences as the (oldest child, youngest child, middle child, or only child) in their family with each other identifying commonalities for the recorder.

5. Next the team answers and records their agreed-upon responses to the following questions:

• What were the advantages of being a _________ child?
• What were the disadvantages of being a _________ child?

4. When each team is ready, ask the persenter in each team to share the responses with the large group.

Question for Debriefing:
1. If birth order has such an effect on a person’s behavior, “What effect would race, religion, cultural, and ethnic background have on a person’s behavior?”
2. Knowing this, “What is a teacher’s responsibility in dealing with diversity in the classroom?”

Leman, Kevin (1985) The Birth Order Book. New York: dell Publishing

Developing Active Reading with Effective Questions

Before reading ask….

1. What can you predict about the story form the front and back cover of the book?
2. What does the title tell you about the story?
3. Who or what do you predict this story will be about? Why?
4. Where and when do you think the story will take place?
5. What other stories have you read that are like this one? In what ways?
6. Have you read anything else by this author? Do you see any similarities between this story and the author’s other stories?
7. What questions do you have about this story?

Use the comment section and add pre-reading questions you have used to motivate or focus students.

Source: www.pbs.org/teacherline

Are we teaching too much?

In many European and Asian countries, teachers spend no more than half their work week in classroom instruction. They spend 17-20 hours per week teaching and devote the remainder of their 40-45 hour work-weeks to planning, collaboration, meeting with students, and observing their peers (Darling-Hammond, 1999). In the United States teachers average 5 to 10 more hours per week in the classroom than their counterparts in top-performing European and Asian countries, and thus have less time for planning together, collaborating, and implementing job-embedded professional-development strategies that are common in other countries.

Are public school teachers given too great a teaching load?
What would you do with 5 to 10 hours of non-teaching time per week?

Prior Knowledge

One of my colleagues stressed that “teachers need to know what the student’s prior knowledge is so they can understand at what point the student is at in the learning process.” There was little disagreement on that issue, what followed was just an engaging conversation of strategies to determine student’s prior knowledge.

Then I began to wonder what support would look like if coaches determined a teacher’s prior knowledge. Coaches should not assume the teachers that they are supporting are lacking in knowledge or skills, when their barriers just might be experience. As part of the coaching process, what strategies have you used to determine a teacher’s prior knowledge?

I'm Done!

When working on the Induction Plan, is it possible to be done?

I was listening to a liaison explain how her school was “done” with their Induction Plan. The more I thought about the word- “done”, the more I realized I was not sure of the meaning. Could it be as simple as finishing all of the sections of the planning tool? My first reaction was to look at the Six Steps of Induction. Step 3 addresses writing the plan while Step 4 focuses on expanding the lines of ownership. By “done” was she implying that they are ready to monitor (Step 5) or just move on to Step 4? I know eventually in order for me to get clarity of the “done” comment I will need to speak to the Liaison.

I am continuing to wonder that if monitoring is not a stop and go activity, but an ongoing process, is there ever a “done”?

Plan, Do, Study, ACT

In the ACT stage of PDSA, if the result was not achieved, examine the interventions and adjust or change them using knowledge obtained from the Study phase of PDSA. If the interventions were successful and the expected result was achieved, then the client incorporates the new strategy or procedure into his/her practice. The question then becomes, “What is the next steps in continuously improving the clients practice?”
Source: http://www.rootcauseanalyst.com/

Identify a Promising Instructional Coach

The most gifted athletes rarely make good coaches. The best violinist will not necessarily make the best conductor. Nor will the best teacher necessarily make the best instructional coach. So it's critical to distinguish between the skill of performance and the skill of coaching the performance, two entirely different skills. The best predictor of the future is the past. If a teacher shows coaching potential outside of the job, s/he may have potential on the job. Here are several traits to help identify whether someone is capable of learning to coach.

1. A teacher who looks for challenges is a potential coach.
2. Teachers who are consistently seeking solutions or improving have the potential to coach.
3. A teacher who believes that there is always a better way to do something is a potential coach.
4. A teacher who is willing to take responsibility is a potential coach.
5. A teacher who confronts problems and won't let go has coaching potential.
6. A potential coach is mentally tough. Coaching creates an undeniable tension with one's peers. The separation comes from carrying the responsibility of assessing performance.
7. Peer respect doesn't reveal ability, but it can show character and personality.
8. Potential coaches have a quality about them - that when they speak, people listen.

Induction Team/Shadow Program

We have chosen our Induction Team/Staff Development Team at Coconut Palm Elementary. We chose our team leaders because they are aware of teachers and their needs. We meet and discuss what Induction is and how we want to go about creating an atmosphere where all of our teachers, not just the new ones, would benefit from the process. We came up with seven topics for panel discussions with the entire faculty. Child Study, Conferencing, Time Management, End of the Year procedures, and others will be addressed. Our panels will come mostly from our faculty. However, when needed, we will use outside experts. The faculty will be invited two weeks before the event and will enjoy commercials to promote the discussions also. Hopefully, this will begin a school-wide staff development plan that will help our new as well as experienced teachers progress in their field.

We are also implementing a Shadow Program for all of our Support Staff and Committee Chairpersons. This will hopefully lead to a situation where someone is ready to step into a position long before it is vacant.

Source: Kim McCarthy, Coconut Palm Elementary

Preparing for FCAT

Teachers should always use the "same language" that the FCAT uses because it reduces the chances for students to be confused. New Teachers received an invaluable document from the Florida Department of Education called Reading and Math Performance Task Specifications. This document has an abundance of information. Presently the best sections for New Teacher to review with their students are:

1. The test stems (the ways the questions will be asked) and
2. The content limits. Both of these areas will help students to be better "test takers" and also help new teachers become aware of how the FCAT is presented.

Source: Susan Littlefield, Curriculum Support K-12

Quotes from Outstanding Coaches

Coaches in sports sometimes say things in the most insightful ways . The quotes below were collected from several sites on the internet. As you read these quotes think about how they apply to our work as teachers. Please respond to one or all the quotes in the comment section.

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes." -- John Wooden

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to." -- George Allen

"Coaches have to watch for what they don't want to see and listen to what they don't want to hear."
--John Madden

"A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are."
--Ara Parasheghian

"Great teamwork is the only way we create the breakthroughs that define our careers."
--Pat Riley

" Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer." --Rick Pitino

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”--Lou Holtz

“It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.”--Bear Bryant

"Sit up straight, listen, and participate."--Pat Summitt

Teaching Is One Thing… Learning is Another

Teaching and learning are not the same. Teaching is conveying information. Learning requires some kind of engagement on the student part in the process of receiving the information.

Many dedicated teachers express their frustration that their students do not seem to be learning. Some seem to feel like saying, “What do you mean you don’t know this, I taught it!” Teachers that focus on teaching, especially teaching for the next of many standardized tests, cannot believe that their students aren’t learning because the information was covered.

Learning requires an exchange between the teacher and the students. The following suggestions may help teachers move from teaching at students to helping students learn. This can reduce a teacher’s frustration and subsequent fatigue that comes when you teach your heart out and the results do not reflect your efforts.

* Focus on cognitive and metacognitive processes of learning. This means teaching your students how to learn on their own. Don’t just tell your students to take notes, teach them how to take notes and give them guided practice until they become proficient at taking notes. Teach them how to summarize, make analogies, create metaphors, conduct research, and work in cooperative groups, always using guided practice until they master the skill.

* Check in with your students often during the course of a lesson. Stop during the lesson and asks questions like, “What did I just say?, How can you use this information?, How does this information impact your life? and/or “What do you think will happen next?” Questions like this help to get the student engaged in the lesson. Questioning also give the teacher an opportunity to conduct formative assessments to see what the students have learned thus far.

* The person working is the person learning. Ask yourself everyday, “Who did most of work in class today?” and “Who was on stage the students or me?” Some students have to work harder than others to learn but everyone has to work and everyone can learn. The teacher’s role is to provide motivating learning activities that engage the students and the student’s role is to work on rigors assignments, this combination will lead to an increase in student learning.

* Maintain high expectations for all students. Maintaining high expectations is about the teacher’s behaviors not the students. Teachers that have high expectations for all student exhibit behaviors like calling on all students in the classroom, circulating and assisting all students, positive verbal and body language toward all students, gives all students opportunities to demonstrate responsible behavior, and most importantly, the ability to move on and help a student even when that student is not cooperative.

How To Be An Ineffective Teacher

Don't take responsibility for results. Its not me I covered the material. The research is clear the only way to increase student achievement is with a competent, qualified teacher.

Make excuses for your students. I believe all my students can learn but... The effective teacher not only establishes high expectations for their students, they also model appropriate professional behavior in their relationship with others.

Don't plan just cover the textbook. I have more than enough to cover in the textbook to worry about planning. In a standards-driven- system the effective teacher identifies learning objectives, develops appropriate assessments, and designs lessons that provide students an opportunity to learn those standards.

Be a "know it all.” Been there done that. Effective teachers, no matter how good they are, know that they can always improve their instructional practice.

Show no interest in professional development. I have a college degree and am State Certified; I don't need anything else. Effective teachers are enthusiastic life long learners and constantly seek ways to improve their lives and practice.

Let's have some fun, what do you think are some other qualities of an ineffective teacher?