Mission:
School Improvement
Roles and Responsibilities of
School Improvement Specialists
WV Department of Education
August 16-17, 2010
As You Enter,
• Find a marker and add your name
around the outside edge of our
Circle of Connections.
Throughout the two days,
draw lines from your name to
the names of people with
whom you interact. Watch the
WEB grow in complexity as
connections are made
throughout our session.
Guiding Questions
• What do I believe about how individuals learn
and develop? About how organizations learn
and develop?
• What high-impact strategies can I use to
improve the performance of adults and
increase student learning?
• How can I apply the Instructional Core to my
work with schools?
• How will I monitor and assess the impact of my
work?
Guiding Questions, cont’d.
• What are essential communication skills to
facilitate productive work with members of a
school community? (e.g., listening,
questioning, reflecting, dialogue, building
relationships)
• What are the BIG FIVE foci of my work? How
are they related to WV’s Standards for High
Quality Schools?
• What is my role in helping create a community
of learners across this group of specialists and
coaches?
Agenda
Monday, August 16, 8:00-4:30
Surfacing Beliefs, Identifying Roles
lunch provided
Monday Evening, 5:00-7:00
Building Community; Hors d’ouevres
Nuts and Bolts of the Work
Tuesday, August 17, 8:00-4:30
Communication skills, Theory of Action
Lunch Provided
Expectations for
Participation
• Individually, complete the four
questions on your handout,
“Expectations for Participation.”
• For each question, decide which
number on the continuum best
describes you today. Be ready to
share your ratings.
Stand Up
• Find someone NOT at your table.
Share your ratings for the first two
questions. Explain to your
partner why you chose those
ratings.
• Listen as they share and explain
the way they thought about the
first two questions.
Stand Up
• Find a different person, again not from
your original table. Share with one
another the ratings you gave for
questions 3 and 4.
• Talk about what you learned by
thinking about these issues.
Debriefs
• As we model interactive learning
strategies throughout our two days
together, we want to stop and ask you to
reflect:
– What was the value for your learning?
– How and why might you use this with school
staff or learning teams?
– How and why might teachers use this with
students?
Debrief
Expectations Survey
• Think about the value of your reflecting
on your expectations for this learning
experience. What was the value? What
did you learn?
• How might you use this reflection with
school staff? What would you hope to
accomplish? How would you modify it?
• How might teachers use this with
students?
The Instructional Core
student
teacher
content
Elizabeth L. City, Richard F. Elmore, Sarah F. Fiarman, and Lee Teitel.
Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving
Teaching and Learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
2009, p. 22.
Important Principles
• “Increases in student learning occur
only as a consequence of
improvements in the level of content,
teachers’ knowledge and skill, and
student engagement.”
• “If you change any single element of
the instructional core, you have to
change the other two.”
Instructional Rounds in Education, pp. 24-25.
The Instructional Core
We tend to focus on just one part
of the core: the teacher.
Teachers MATTER…more variability
within a school than between
schools.
teacher
The Instructional Core
Frequently, Content = standards
(intended curriculum)
Often not related to TAUGHT
curriculum
content
The Instructional Core
student
What students bring to school
Students need to be engaged in the
instructional process; they affect
what they learn
Look for Relationships
“It is the relationship between the teacher,
the student, and the content—not the
qualities of any one of them by themselves –
that determines the nature of instructional
practice, and each corner of the instructional
core has its own particular role and
resources to bring to the instructional
process.”
Instructional rounds in Education, p. 24.
The Instructional Core
Often, we address a single
component: teaching
strategies or new texts
(content) or curriculum.
Can’t be successful unless
we address all three.
Examples: standards,
student
cooperative learning,
higher level thinking,
project-based learning.
teacher
content
The Instructional Core
is Job 1
• This is your job.
• You’ll bring your own
expertise, learn from research
and other literature, and learn
from experiences of those who
have done this kind of work.
Closing the Achievement
Gap Specialists (CAGS)
• Worked for five years in
the role you are about to
assume.
• CAGS made a difference
throughout the state in
improving achievement
narrowing gaps.
Look at the Data
• For reading and language arts,
look at the graphs, figures 1 and
2. Individually, answer the
following questions:
– What conclusions can your draw?
– What questions do you have?
– What other data would you like to
see?
RLA Proficiency Increase from
2003-2008
20.00%
18.00%
16.00%
14.64%
13.42%
14.00%
CAG Gain
12.00%
State Gain
10.00%
6.00%
8.03%
7.59%
8.00%
8.04%
5.72%
4.49%
4.00%
2.77%
2.00%
0.00%
All Students
Low SES
Black
SwD
Predict
• What the state data might show
in math…for sub-groups, across
the years 2003-2008…
– For the state
– For the CAG schools
Math Proficiency Increase from
2003-2008
19.55%
20.00%
17.89%
18.00%
16.00%
14.00%
13.19%
12.56%
12.32%
12.29%
12.00%
9.70%
10.00%
8.00%
CAG Gain
State Gain
7.48%
6.00%
4.00%
2.00%
0.00%
All Students
Low SES
Black
SWD
Look at the data
• For math, figures 4 and 5.
Which of the data verified your
predictions? Which surprised
you?
Speculate
• In your table groups, think about what
the CAGS might have done to help
improve student learning and to reduce
the discrepancy between sub-groups
by race, SES, and special learning
needs.
• Appoint a Recorder to keep a list of
your group’s ideas.
How did CAG work relate to
the Instructional Core?
student
teacher
content
Throughout this session
• Reflect on what you
can do to affect the
instructional core.
• The answer determines
your success.
Session:
Learner Product
Creation of a
Personal Theory
of action
– To guide your work as school
improvement specialist
– Focused on work related to the
Instructional Core
– Identifying ways in which your work
can be assessed
What is a “Personal Theory
of Action?”
• A personal theory of action is
an “if/then” statement,
detailing the cause-and-effect
between what an individual does
and the results for student
learning and achievement.
INTRODUCTION TO THE
JOB OF SCHOOL
IMPROVEMENT
SPECIALIST:
SIX LEVERS TO ASSIST
IN THE WORK
Six Levers
• A lever is a simple machine that makes
work easier; for example, it enables the
lifting of items otherwise too heavy to lift.
• The closer the fulcrum is to the object
being moved, the easier it is (the less
force is required) to move the object.
Six Levers
• We have identified six levers that make
the work of school improvement
easier—and more possible.
• Just like the “simple lever,” the closer
the fulcrum is to the need for change,
the easier movement will be.
Six Levers
• Who is closest to the need for change
(student learning outcomes)?
• Teachers are closest; administrators
are next; you are farthest away from
students (the focus of change.)
• Use the levers with teachers and
administrators. Teach them about
these levers.
Six Levers
• Developing Relationships
• Establishing Focus and Coherence
• Creating a Collaborative Learning
Culture
• Initiating and Sustaining Change
• Maximizing Individual and
Organizational Capacity
• Promoting Data-informed Decisions
Individual Reflection:
Ink Think
• Focus your thinking on these 6 levers.
• Jot down preliminary responses for what
each means to you, as a school
improvement specialist, and how each is
important for the work that you will do.
• Work silently.
• Be prepared to record your responses on
wall charts when directed.
Prepare for Ink think
• Number off from 1-6.
• Re-group with others who have
your same number at the paper
that corresponds to your
number.
Ink Think
• For your assigned
lever, silently
create a mindmap
with others in your
group. Add to the
ideas that others
post as well as
creating your own.
Connecting
ideas
won
derin
g
Solving
problems
Sharing
ideas
Move in a Clockwise
Direction
Matching standards
• Continue using your
group’s marker
color. Read
through the ideas
generated by the
previous group(s).
Add to them; provide
examples; continue
to expand.
relevant
somethin
This n that
Another
Appropriate use
New idea
smothering
something
Ink Think:
Making Meaning
• Return to your original chart.
• Read through all of the ideas;
Identify 3-4 dominant ideas that
emerge
• Be prepared to share with the large
group
How can thought leaders
expand our views?
• Individually read the articles
assigned to your group. As you
read, highlight concepts of
interest and ideas you would like
to remember. Also, look for:
– confirmation of ideas that appear on
the wall charts; and
– concepts and ideas that did not
emerge through the Ink Think
process.
How can thought leaders
expand our views?
• Select a facilitator and recorder
for your group.
• During the next 40 minutes, you
will complete the activity and take
a self-managed break before,
during, or after you complete
your tasks.
– Read the articles
– Discuss as a group
– Add relevant and new ideas to your
group’s mind-map in black marker
After Reading,
• Facilitator will lead group
discussion using these focusing
questions:
– What do these authors add to your
understanding of our lever? What
meaning do you derive from the article
about the process of our work?
– How does the author expand your
understanding of any of the six levers?
Entire Group ensures that all members
contribute ideas.
During Discussion
• Identify discrete new ideas that
don’t currently appear on the
mind-map.
• Be sure to add them, in black
marker, so that the entire
group can benefit from your
reading and discussion.
Debrief
ink think
• Think about the process of Ink
Think. What was the value? What
did you learn?
• How might you use this learning
tool with school staff? What
would you hope to accomplish?
How would you modify it?
• How might teachers use this with
students?
SURFACING PERSONAL
BELIEFS
Reflective Questioning
• Individually, complete the left-hand column of
your handout, “Reflective Questioning,”
identifying important beliefs you hold about
how people learn.
• When you have completed that (or when time
is called) turn your attention to the right-hand
column and record ideas about the
implications for your work in schools; that is,
how will your beliefs affect your working?
Reflective Questioning
• Organize into teams of three.
• Select a role for each member:
Interviewer, Reflector, and Observer.
Reflective Questioning
Allocated Time: 8 minutes
Purpose: To reflect deeply on your
own practice and to learn from your
colleagues—while practicing
questioning, active listening, and
analysis skills.
Role of Interviewer
Interviewer: use reflective
questions to elicit reflection from
your partner about beliefs about
learning and implications for his or
her new work.
Your role is to listen intently, probe
gently when necessary, promote
thinking and reflection, and help
the reflector to make meaning for
himself or herself.
Listen and question to understand,
not to judge.
Role of Reflector
Reflector: Consider the questions
from the interviewer. Reflect to make
meaning about your beliefs about
learning—and how these might affect
your work.
Talk openly about your ideas and
questions that you have about
implications for your work. Feel free to
introduce your own questions as you
think.
Role of Observer
Observer: Listen carefully to the
interview.
A. What does the interviewer say and do
that prompts reflective thought? Include
questions, comments, and non-verbal
behaviors.
B. Listen for insights and unfolding
meaning in the comments of the reflector.
Think about what this speaker is saying
and its deeper meaning.
Debrief
Reflective questioning
• Think about the process of
reflective questioning. What
was the value? What did you
learn?
• How might you use this
reflection tool with school
staff? What would you hope to
accomplish? How would you
modify it?
• How might teachers use this with
students?
CREATING A PERSONAL
THEORY OF ACTION
Begin with the End in Mind
• Imagine a high-performing school.
• Visit the classrooms. What are
students in these classrooms doing?
What do you see, hear, and feel?
Is this classroom more
like …
A shopping mall
A county fair
A family farm
A Three-ring circus
Move to the corner where
your metaphor is posted
• If there are more than 10 people,
divide into two smaller groups.
• Introduce yourselves to others in the
group.
• Identify a recorder.
• Brainstorm ways that this classroom
is like your selected metaphor. Write
each idea on the easel paper
provided.
Debrief
Four-Corner Synectics
• Think about the process of reflecting
on the students—and then selecting a
metaphor and sharing with others.
What was the value? What did you
learn?
• How might you use this reflection tool
with school staff? What would you
hope to accomplish? How would you
modify it?
• How might teachers use this with
students?
The Big Five
• Taken from WV Standards for
High-Performing Schools
• What School Improvement
Specialists work on
The Big Five
1. Culture
2. Leadership
3. Curriculum, Instruction,
Assessment
4. Continuous Improvement
5. Student Support
The Big Five
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Culture
Leadership
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
Continuous Improvement
Student Support
Which one relates most
to improved student
achievement?
The Big Five
• Read through standard 3 and
related indicators
• Highlight ideas that will be
important to achieving the
vision
Remember the
Instructional Core?
student
teacher
content
Elmore’s Framework for
A Theory of Action
1. It begins with an “if” statement that
defines the actions an individual can
take or the behaviors to which one
might commit to impact student
learning and achievement.
Elmore’s Framework for
Theory of Action
2. The statement concludes with a
“then” statement (or statements) that
describe the impact one expects
his/her actions or behaviors to have
on students and their learning.
Elmore’s Framework
for Theory of Action
3. Both the “if” and the “then”
statements must be testable; that is,
you must be able to collect evidence
to determine whether or not both the
“if” and the “then” statements occur
as predicted.
Elmore’s Framework for
Theory of Action
4. The statement must be open ended;
that is, it must prompt you to reflect
on and modify your actions as you
learn more about the consequences.
Sample Teacher Theory of
Action
“If I teach students how to formulate
quality questions and if I provide
students with time and opportunities
for practice, then students will ask
questions that will engage them in
thinking about content at higher
levels and student achievement will
increase.”
Organize into triads:
Begin with the End in Mind
• Begin at the bottom of the page. What
is it that students will be doing…to
ensure student success in learning?
• Together, talk about 3-5 student
behaviors that would be most essential
to the desired student achievement.
• After you have talked as a group,
complete this section individually: what
would you most like to see?
Personal Theory of
Action
• Now, as a group, consider what
teachers would be doing that would
promote these student behaviors.
Think causally, “If teachers do……,
then students will do…….”
• After discussion in the triad, complete
this section individually.
Personal Theory of
Action
• Next think about what school leaders
would be doing to influence teacher or
student behaviors that you have
identified.
• After discussion in the triad, complete
this section individually.
Personal Theory of
Action
• Finally, what is it that you will do, as a
School Improvement Specialist, to
influence school leaders, teachers, and
students in order to result in improved
student learning?
• After discussion in the triad, complete
this section for yourself.
HIGH-IMPACT
COMMUNICATION
STRATEGIES
Improved Communication:
Interview Design
• Read through the five
questions on your handout,
“Improved Communications:
Interview Design.”
• Shortly, you will talk to a
colleague about each of these
questions.
Move to the Chairs
• Take something
to write with
and something
to write on
(hard surface)
Instructions for
Interview Design: #1
• Ask your assigned question to the
person across from you. Record their
answers.
• When you are the interviewer, use
good questioning skills: listening,
prompting to encourage more detail,
ascertaining the meaning behind the
words.
• When you are being interviewed,
answer thoughtfully. Continue to think
until time is called.
Instructions for
Interview Design: #2
• Move as directed.
• Ask the same question that
you asked in the first round to
the person now seated across
from you.
• Answer the question they pose
to you.
Instructions for
Interview Design: #3
• Find your original partner.
• Share the responses that you
both received. Look for
common themes.
• Summarize the responses;
prepare to share with others.
Instructions for
Interview Design: #4
• Gather with others who asked your
question.
• Together, summarize the
responses.
• Record the major themes and
responses that you heard.
• When you have your list, star the
most significant three or four items.
Debrief
Interview Design
• Think about the process of
interview design. What was the
value? What did you learn?
• How might you use this process
with school staff? What
would you hope to accomplish?
How would you modify it?
• How might teachers use this
with students?
A Thinking Routine:
Connect/Extend/Challenge
• How are the ideas presented today
CONNECTED to what you already knew?
• What new ideas did you get that EXTENDED or
pushed your thinking in new directions?
• What is still CHALLENGING or confusing for
you to get your mind around? What questions,
wonderings, or puzzles do you now have?
Reflection
• Complete the handout,
“Connect/Extend/Challenge.”
• Leave a completed copy on the
chair by the door as you leave.
• Remember the NUTS & BOLTS
get-together after a short
break…come and connect,
share, learn!
DAY TWO: SCHOOL
IMPROVEMENT
SPECIALISTS
As You Enter,
• Have you shown your
connections with others in the
group?
If you haven’t yet done so, be
sure to draw lines from your
name to the names of people
with whom you interacted
yesterday. Watch the WEB
grow as connections are
made.
Bingo
• Find your “bingo” card. Put
your name on the top.
• Find a different person to
answer each of the 16
questions.
• When you finish all 16
blocks, call out “Bingo” and
come to claim your prize!
Debrief Bingo
• What does this activity teach
us about learning?
Debrief Bingo
• What does this activity teach us
about learning?
• The group knows more than any single
individual
• Answers begin to circulate; this is a
demonstration of knowledge networking
• Both correct answers and incorrect answers
circulate—at the same speed
• Sometimes no one in the group knows and you
have to use outside resources(books, people,
etc.)—but it’s only temporary, because once one
person in the group knows, the knowledge
spreads
Re-visiting Our
Guiding Questions
• What do I believe about how individuals
learn and develop? About how
organizations learn and develop?
• What high-impact strategies can I use to
improve the performance of adults and
increase student learning?
• How can I apply the instructional core to my
work with schools?
• How will I monitor and assess the impact of
my work?
Guiding Questions, cont’d.
• What are essential communication skills to
facilitate working with members of a school
community? (Listening, questioning,
reflecting, dialogue, building relationships)
• What are the BIG FIVE foci of my work?
How are they related to WV’s Standards for
High Quality Schools?
• What is my role in helping create a
community of learners across this group of
specialists and coaches?
PROMOTING
UNDERSTANDING
THROUGH LISTENING AND
DIALOGUE
Skillful Listening
• …is an attitude as much as
skill. It communicates, “I
care about what you say. I
want to understand your
point of view.”
• …involves a paradigm shift.
Usually in conversations
– We listen autobiographically—from
our own perspective.
– We listen to decide whether to
agree or disagree—not to
understand—to decide what to say
next.
What Have Observers
Noticed…
• …about listening skills and
behaviors that encouraged
reflection, openness,
disclosure?
Skillful Listening
• …is not done only with ears. Listening is
conveyed through our:
•
•
•
•
•
Eyes
Expressions
Body positions
Verbal responses
Silence
• …goes beyond spoken words to listen for
feelings and for meaning. Skillful
listening involves sensing, intuiting. (Covey,
p. 241)
Skillful Listening
• …fulfills a basic human need.
• “Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a
human being is psychological survival—to be
understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be
appreciated. When you listen with empathy to
another person, you give that person psychological
air. And after that vital need is met, you can then
focus on influencing or problem solving.”
--Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal
Change, p. 241
Listening: Three Skill Sets
• Use of wait time
• Paraphrase for understanding
• Question for clarity
Think Time
1
Ask the question
and stop.
Let respondents
think in silence.
• Don’t repeat it.
• Don’t reword it.
• Don’t answer it.
Stop and wait.
Listen.
Why is Think
Time 1
important?
Answering is a
Process
#4. Answer
out loud
#3. Answer to
self
#2. Understand
what is being
asked
#1. Listen to
the question
Think Time
2
As participants
respond, stop
and listen. Think
about what they
are saying. Pause
to see if they
have more to say.
More robust and
thoughtful
answers
Question
Think
Time 1
Initial
Answer
Talk
Think
Time 2
P
A
U
S
E
comes
Reaction
or Followup question
P
A
U
S
E
in
burst
s
Check for Understanding
• Don’t assume that you understand someone’s
comment. Paraphrase; use your own words to
check for understanding. Ask another participant to
paraphrase.
– “So are you saying that…?”
– “Let me see if I understood you correctly. You
think …”
– “When you said __________, I understood that
to mean …. Is that correct?”
– “Lisa, will you say in your own words what you
understood Gary to say?”
Listening Involves
Questioning for Clarity
• When a statement is not clear,
or you need additional
information, ask a question to
clarify.
– Can you give an example?
– I’d like to hear more of your
thinking.
– Please say more.
– What do you mean when you say
….?
• When possible, avoid “why?”
• People often respond
defensively to questions that
begin with why.
Continuum of
Communication
Monologue
Polite
Conversation
Discussion
Collaborative
Conversation
Dialogue
Ladder of
Inference
From work by Chris
Argyris, cited in Senge
et. al., 1994
Ladder of
Inference
We move up the
ladder in
seconds— usually
without selfawareness.
From work by Chris
Argyris, cited in Senge
et. al., 1994
Ladder of
Inference
The only thing
“visible” are the top
and bottom rungs.
The loop is invisible
to others—and even
to ourselves. Rarely
do we test our
assumptions—or even
know where they
come from!
From work by Chris
Argyris, cited in Senge
et. al., 1994
Ladder of Inference
• “We live in a world of self-generating beliefs that go
largely untested. We adopt those beliefs because
they are based on conclusions, which are inferred
from what we observe, plus our past experience.
Our ability to achieve the results we truly desire is
eroded by our feeling that:
– Our beliefs are the truth.
– The truth is obvious.
– Our beliefs are based on real data.
– The data we select are the real data.”
--Senge, p. 242
A Dialogue Tool
• On pp. 48-50 of Leading
through Quality Questioning, is
a tool for dialogue.
• Read through the “suspending
judgment” section.
• With an elbow partner, discuss
how this might be helpful in
your role as school
improvement specialist.
Consultant Roles*
• Expert
– Goal is to solve an immediate
problem
– Information is gathered and
analyzed by SIS
– Decisions are made by SIS
– Principal plays a passive role
* From Peter Block, Flawless
Consulting
Consultant Roles
• Pair-of-hands
– Consultant takes a passive role
– Decisions are made by the principal
– Principal identifies specific changes for
SIS to implement
Consultant Roles
• Collaborative
– Problem-solving is joint
– SIS helps principals identify and
solve problems
– SIS and principal work
interdependently
– Decisions are made jointly
– Collaboration is essential
– Communication is two-way and
on-going
Consultant Roles
In your table group,
discuss your assigned
role:
– advantages
– disadvantages
When might it be most
appropriate to assume
this role?
Re-Group…
• Into triads so that each group
is represented by one of the
three consultant roles.
• Talk together about the role
that you believe will be most
effective for your working as
a SIS. How will you
communicate that to the
school staff?
Contract
• One way to clarify your role is
to have a discussion with the
principal and other key staff,
which can be written up into a
“contract.”
Application:
Listening and Dialogue
• In your triads, assign roles: principal,
school improvement specialist, observer.
• Purpose: Practice using listening skills in
order to enter into dialogue with principal.
Purpose of discussion is to agree upon
roles, responsibilities, and expectations
for the school leader and the school
improvement specialist.
Application:
Listening and Dialogue
• Read the attached two pages dealing
with “contract” issues.
• Before the role play, gather with 3-4
others who have your same assigned
role in order to prepare. See the
potential issues outlined on your
handout; don’t limit yourselves to these
concerns.
Application:
Listening and Dialogue
• After the role play, debrief in your
triads.
• Begin with data and observations from
the observer.
• Then share observations from the
other two members of the triad.
• Record major concerns and ideas that
surface.
BEST PRACTICES IN
QUESTIONING
Read pp. 19-27 in Leading
with Quality Questioning
• As you read, look for four A’s:
– What is an Assumption the author holds?
– What is something with which you Agree?
– What is something you would like to Argue with
in the text?
– What is something to which you would like to
Aspire?
• As you read, mark each A with a
highlighter or Post-it for easy
reference.
Questioning:
The four A’s Protocol
• Identify a facilitator for your group.
• Share an Assumption of the author;
then share each of the other A concepts
• Move around the group so that each
person contributes an idea, identifying
the place in the text from which he or
she took the idea.
• Discuss the text for its meaning to
school Improvement specialists.
PROMOTING
REFLECTION
Reflection:
The Final Word
• Read chapter 5 in Coaching
Conversations, pp. 63-77.
• As you read, identify at least three
ideas that you believe merit
discussion.
• Mark these ideas in the text or on the
handout so you can find them easily
and refer to them during the textbased discussion that follows.
The Final Word
Protocol Instructions, #1
• Gather in groups of four.
• Identify the following:
– a facilitator: someone who can keep
the group on task, following the protocol
– Timekeeper: someone with access to a
second hand; who can listen or speak
and also watch the time
– Volunteer: all group members will
have an opportunity to share; this
volunteer agrees to go first
The Final Word
Protocol Instructions, #2
• Volunteer identifies one of her ideas.
Shows the place in the text where it
can be found.
• Talks for up to 3 minutes about this
idea.
• Other group members listen,
without speaking.
The Final Word
Protocol Instructions, #3
• When volunteer is finished—or when 3
minutes is up—each group member
speaks about that same topic for up to
one minute.
• As each person speaks, other group
members listen, without speaking.
• When all have spoken, original speaker
(volunteer) has the “final word”—one
more minute on the topic.
The Final Word
Protocol Instructions, #4
• A second person volunteers; identifies
one of his idea, showing the place in
the text where it can be found.
• Continue as for first speaker until all
group members have introduced one of
their ideas.
Application:
Questioning to Promote
Reflection
• Gather in triads.
• Get an assignment (one of three
scenarios) and read your scenario.
• Decide who will be the observer; the
school improvement specialist; and the
“client”: principal, the teacher team
member, or the second SIS.
Application:
Questioning to Promote
Reflection
• Re-group so that you are with (1)
participants with your same scenario
and (2) participants with your same
role: observer, school improvement
specialist, client.
Debrief
Text-Based Protocols
• Think about the processes of Final Word
and the Four A’s as a way to make meaning
of text. What was the value? What did you
learn?
• How might you use either of these
processes with school staff? What would
you hope to accomplish? How would you
modify either one?
• How might teachers use these with
students?
FORMATIVE FEEDBACK
Formative Assessment
• What is it?
• Why is it important for teacher
development?
• How does it differ from
summative assessment?
In most schools, Teacher
Assessment = Evaluation = Ratings
Assessment
=
Evaluation
This is summative assessment
Key Differences
Summative
Evaluation
• An event
• In order to
evaluate or give a
rating
• Designed and
conducted by
Administrators
• Results used to
evaluate teacher
performance by
administrators
•
•
•
•
Formative
Assessment
A process
In order to improve
teaching
Designed and used by
both teachers and
administrators
Results used to
identify strengths
and weaknesses;
adjust support from
administrators and
others for
improvement
A Process for Engaging in
Formative Feedback
Conversations
• Two essential components:
– Include affirmations
– Provide non-directive
feedback through
questions, which give
teachers opportunities to
reflect on practice
Gloria Neubert, Improving Teaching Through Coaching, PDK Fastback 277.
Find a Partner:
Say Something
• Strategy: “Say Something”
• Read assigned passage; turn
to your partner and say
something about the passage.
Then listen as he or she says
something to you.
Dual Functions of
Feedback
• “Coaching is about
challenging and
supporting people,
giving them the gift
of your presence.”
Robert Hargrove, Masterful Coaching: Extraordinary Results by
Impacting People and the Way They Think and Work Together, p.
15
• “Coaching is not telling
people what to do; it’s
giving them a chance
to examine what they
are doing in the light of
their intentions.”
James Flaherty, Coaching: Evoking Excellence in
Others.
When you start giving
people the solutions, it’s
easy to take away their
power. You take away
their accountability….It is
better to ask questions
and to listen.
Robert Hargrove, Masterful Coaching:
Extraordinary Results by Impacting
People and the Way They Think and
Work Together, p. 56
A committed listener helps
people think more clearly, work
through unresolved issues, and
discover the solutions they
have inside them. This often
involves listening beyond what
people are saying to the deeply
held beliefs and assumptions
that are shaping their actions.
Robert Hargrove, Masterful Coaching:
Extraordinary Results by Impacting People and
the Way They Think and Work Together, p. 57
Studies of Feedback
• Hattie reviewed more than 8,000 studies
and concluded that “the most powerful
single modification that enhances
achievement is feedback. The simplest
prescription for improving education must
be ‘dollops of feedback.’”
--Hattie, p. 9, reported in Marzano, p. 103
• Could this statement apply to the learning
of teachers? What would be the
implications of your work?
Not ALL Feedback is
EQUAL
• Sometimes, student achievement is not enhanced
by feedback.
– “Simply telling students they were correct or
incorrect in their answers had a negative effect
on their learning, whereas explaining the correct
answer and/or asking students to continue to
refine their answers was associated with a gain
in achievement.”
• Displaying results graphically improves student
performance
• Using criteria against which to judge student work
also improves student achievement
--Marzano, p. 104
• “Good feedback causes
thinking.”
--Stiggins, p. 279
• The QUALITY of the feedback
determines its effectiveness.
• What is quality feedback?
Effective Feedback
Effective
Feedback
• Descriptive; specific
• Linked to criteria
understood by
teachers
• Usable amount
• Timely
• Involves teachers
• Carefully worded;
helpful, positive tone
• Includes advice on
how to improve
Ineffective Feedback
• Evaluative; vague,
general
• Based on evaluator
preference
• Too much; detailoriented
• Too late to help
• evaluator-directed
• Liable to be taken as
criticism or
misinterpreted
• Provides no
suggestions for ways
to improve
Descriptive Feedback
• Compares teacher
performance to criteria or to
predetermined standards
• Identifies strengths and
weaknesses by finding specific
examples and sharing with
teacher
• Provides facts, not
evaluations; observations, not
judgments
Linked to Criteria
Understood by teachers
Many teachers view evaluations
as arbitrary.
What could help change this
perception?
Involve Teachers in
Establishing Criteria
• Co-create rubrics for teaching a
particular grade level or content
area
• Share samples of teacher
assignments upon which teachers
can reflect: what would students
be learning as they complete this
assignment?
• Ask teachers to use the criteria to
assess their own teaching
• Engage teachers in reflection and
self-assessment
Effective Feedback
… most often asks the observed teacher to
reflect and identify personal growth
objectives
Evaluate
performance and
“tell” how to
improve
Tool for Feedback
• Here’s what…
– Provide evidence from observation: This
is what I saw or heard.
• So what?
– What does this mean? Do you have
questions about the data? Do you have
theories about them?
• Now what?
– What are the implications? Now what
would you like to continue? Do
Identify the Positives
• Identify what went well in
the observed lesson.
• Remember the focus of the
observation and relate the
positive comments to that
focus.
• Ask your colleague, “What
do you think went well?”
Now What?
• Remember, your main job is to
LISTEN.
• Ask questions that will help
the observed teacher
reflect and make decisions
that will stretch his/her
performance.
Give “Now What”
Feedback as Questions

Leading Questions
◦
◦
◦
Encourage reflection on specific methodology
Ask, don’t tell
Give teacher final decision about classroom
strategies
Examples:
1. What if you had provided students with primary
source material for this activity?
2. In what ways did this lesson utilize the principles of
strategic teaching?
3. What would it take to actively engage the reticent
learners?
Formative Assessment and
Communications: What does it
sound like?
1. Highly interactive—consider
using the 20/80 rule
2. “The Sound of Silence” because
it involves a lot of active
listening and thinking
3. Questions that invite reflection
4. Feedback that is specific,
relevant, and grounded in
evidence
The Words We Choose
Reflect Our Intent
Formative Language
• Reveals, Responds,
Advances
• Elevates and
Promotes Practice
• Describes,
Discusses, and
Develops
• Enhances, Enriches,
and Expands
Summative Language
• Rates, Ranks, and
Assigns
• Evaluates and
Pigeonholes Practice
• Tallies, Totals, and
Tells
• Complies, Conforms,
and Categorizes
Encouraging Individual
Reflection and Improvement
Organize into triads:
One to be teacher;
one to be school improvement
specialist;
one to observe the conference
Classroom Video
• Background data:
– Second grade, Texas
– Diverse student population
– High level of lower SES students
– Content focus: Martin Luther
King
– Purpose of observation: higher
level questioning
Watch the Video
• From your point of view.
• After watching, record some
ideas on your version of the
feedback form.
• Regroup with others in your
same role type to share ideas.
Simulated Feedback
Conference
Using the Here’s what, So what,
now what format, engage in a
feedback conference that
incorporates formative
assessment.
Debrief with the observer giving
feedback on the use of effective
feedback.
Debrief
• What insights did you have as
you engaged in the Reflective
Feedback Conference?
• What questions do you have?
• In what ways might you use this
tool as you seek to advance
formative assessment of
teachers?
PERSONAL THEORY OF
ACTION
Levers for
School Improvement
• Think back to the six levers,
essentially tools for the
“heavy lifting” of the work of
school improvement.
• Re-focus on the lever assigned
to your group, for which you
began an ink think chart and
read articles.
How do we know it will
work?
• One way to test the viability of
an initiative (or process) is to
create a “logic model.”
Logic Model
Planned
work
Intended
results
• Activities
• Resources
• Outputs
• Outcomes
Reasoning
• assumptions
Logic Model
• With your lever in mind, complete
the worksheet.
– What specific activities might we do to
activate this lever?
– What resources (time, money, people) will
we need?
– How will we know if we did what we intended
(outputs)?
– What are the expected results (outcomes)?
– What assumptions are we making (that
these actions will result in these outcomes)?
Regroup
• So that someone from each
lever is represented in your
group.
• Share-around the work from
your small group on the logic
model for each of the six
levers.
Take Another Look…
• …at your Personal Theory of Action. Finalize
your thinking about what you will do in the role
of SIS.
• Revise your initial writing.
• Add information about how you might monitor.
What data can you collect or observe to see if
the job was done…by all the actors?
• Consider the Instructional Core as you think
about your personal theory of action.
Critical Friend Review
• Get into pairs.
• Person #1, share your current theory of action.
Person #2, listen to understand and give feedback
around the following areas:
– Is proposed work aligned with Instructional Core?
Are all three elements represented?
– Is the work aligned with personal beliefs?
– How many of the six levers are addressed?
– Is it clear which of the consulting roles will be
assumed?
– Is the suggested evidence observable?
Collectable?
Expectations for
Participation
• Review the four questions on
your handout, “Expectations for
Participation,” which you
completed when we began
yesterday.
• Which number on the continuum
best represents your actual
participation. What surprises
you? What challenges you?
Expectations for
Participation
• In your table groups, talk about
how your expectations may
have changed and why.
• How did thinking about
personal responsibility for
learning affect your
experience?
Guiding Questions
• What do I believe about how individuals learn
and develop? About how organizations learn
and develop?
• What high-impact strategies can I use to
improve the performance of adults and
increase student learning?
• How can I apply the Instructional Core to my
work with schools?
• How will I monitor and assess the impact of my
work?
Guiding Questions, cont’d.
• What are essential communication skills to
facilitate productive work with members of a
school community? (e.g., listening,
questioning, reflecting, dialogue, building
relationships)
• What are the BIG FIVE foci of my work? How
are they related to WV’s Standards for High
Quality Schools?
• What is my role in helping create a community
of learners across this group of specialists and
coaches?
Assignment
• Have several discussions with
the school principal(s) with
whom you will work.
• Address the expectations.
• Draft a contract to review
with them. Stay authentic.
• Bring your draft contracts
with you to our next meeting.
As We Close
• On an index card, write two
things that you learned during
these two days.
• On the reverse, write one thing
you commit to do, based on our
time together.
Form an Inside/Outside
Circle for sharing