Creating and Leading Professional Learning Communities

Essential Question

How do I create the structure and environment to enhance and support on-line learners?

Participants will:

Declarative Standards

• Understand the importance of community in learning experiences
• Understand the characteristics of quality professional development
• Understand the strategies and actions for building community

Procedural Standards

• Define the needs of adult learners engaged in on-line learning
• Create norms to support the development and on-going support of community
• Establish effective meeting strategies and processes
• Identify appropriate learning structures in which to engage on-line learners
• Facilitate learning community dialogue

Assessment Task

1. In pairs, select a profile of teachers needing to be in a learning community. Create a plan to build and support a learning community for this team of on-line learners. Be sure to include structures that allow for best practices in learning and strategies to create supportive environments.
2. Briefly describe to another group the plan you created.

Welcome And Overview Of Learning Bridges System

Essential Question

What is Learning Bridges all about?

Participants will:

Declarative Standards

• Have a basic understanding of the mission of Learning Bridges
• Know the basics of the tools available from Learning Bridges

Procedural Standards

• Be able to explain the relevance of the Learning Bridges tools to the improvement of academic achievement.
• Be able to explain how the Learning Bridges System connects standards, assessment, instruction, and professional development.

Assessment Task

1. In groups of three, participants will review the slide show and decide which slides will be used in the training they will provide.

Learning Bridges Decision Tools

Essential Questions

• How can I assist teachers in choosing effective instructional strategies?
• How can I assist teachers in focusing effective teaching practices on student performance goals based on assessment?
• How can I assist teachers in developing their own personal plan for learning?

Participants will:

Declarative Standards

• Know the basic process used by Learning Bridges for the alignment of instructional strategies to state standards.
• Understand the features and function of the TOOLS (Teaching Practices Guide, Synthesis, and Strategy Assessment System)
• Know some basic interpersonal skills involved in facilitating and/or personal coaching, for skill development.
• Know the procedure for accessing the TOOLS.

Procedural Standards

• Facilitate an instructional planning discussion based on the Teaching Practices Guide and Synthesis System.
• Assist an individual in interpreting a School Composite Report, which leads to the development of a system-wide staff development plan.
• Coach an individual through a sample report of his or her skill level and help them to develop a plan or course of action.
• Articulate a one or two sentence explanation of Effect Size.

Assessment Task

1. In pairs, participants will coach each other in the significance of each tool (Teaching Practices Guide and Synthesis) for improving academic achievement through research-based instruction as well as its access.
2. In groups of three participants will use an Individual Strategy Assessment Report or a School Composite Report to coach an individual through the development of a brief course of action.

Curriculum Congruence

Essential Question

Are we teaching to the standards?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Know four processes (rubrics, SIP, ATLAS Learning from Student Work, and Curriculum Tuning) that can be used to examine student work.
• Know the relationship amongst the four processes.

Procedural

• Conduct a protocol.
• Use a rubric for scoring.
• Examine student work for alignment to standards.
• Have a basic understanding of the research on vocabulary.

Assessment Task

In teams of six participants will:

1. Use the rubric to score the work.
2. Use the curriculum tuning process to determine the placement of the assignment.
3. Use a protocol to conduct a session for examining student work.

Participants will individually create a graphic representation that shows the relationship amongst these three processes and student work.

School Improvement Planning

Essential Question

How can I help schools and districts create and implement meaningful improvement plans?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Understand the characteristics of high performing schools
• Understand the components of action planning
• Understand the process of facilitated planning

Procedural

• Establish SMART goals
• Create action plans
• Identify a process and a structure in which to contextualize improvement planning

Assessment Task

1. In pairs select a school profile (Elementary, Middle, or High school)
2. Identify the areas for growth/improvement

Develop an action plan with SMART goals and a strategy to move forward with the plan for the school selected.

Student Assessment And Data Analysis

Essential Question

How do I create the meaningful assessments to target the essential learning and support student growth?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Understand the different systems of thinking
• Understand the various components and considerations for designing high quality student assessments
• Understand the methods and targets of quality assessments

Procedural

• Identify the systems of thinking emphasized in and required of a specific standard
• Align standards and student learning targets with appropriate methods when designing assessments to support student learning
• Design high quality assessments to measure student achievement

Assessment Task

1. In pairs, select a standard and develop a test plan to assess that standard
2. Briefly describe to another group the plan you created.

Professional Development System

Essential Question

How can Learning Bridges support me in my efforts to address student learning needs?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Know the basic process used to align the data base.
• Know the basic components of all courses.
• Know the data available in the Administrative Reports

Procedural

• Describe the online classes, including their impact on learning, the tool kit and the three areas of research embedded into the courses.
• Register for an online course and/or assist a peer in taking an online course.
• Analyze the information in the Administrative Reports

Assessment Task

1. Individually participants will register and begin to take the free online course offered by Learning Bridges or assist someone else in registering and beginning the course.
2. In groups of five participants will play “Show What You Know”, as a way to demonstrate a breadth of understanding of the Online Course offered by Learning Bridges

Participants will be able to describe how to access the Administrative Reports and how the data will be used for monitoring and decision-making.

Group Facilitation Skills

Essential Question

What processes can I use to establish and maintain rapport with groups in helping them process problems and opportunities?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Understand the needs and dispositions of audience
• Understand value of diverse perspectives
• Understand norms for supporting group process
• Understand processes for building trust and rapport
• Understand processes for decision making and problem solving

Procedural

• Establish and maintain trust and rapport with a group
• Facilitate effective meetings with a variety of meeting tools
• Facilitate participative decision-making, planning, and meeting engagement processes
• Develop an action plan

Assessment Task

In small groups of 3 or 4, select a brief case study to which you will respond with a facilitation plan.
1. In pairs read the assigned case study (instructor will provide).
2. Analyze the case study.
3. Create an appropriate plan of action that will help you address the needs highlighted in the case study.
4. Share your plans with another group.

Closing The Achievement Gap

Essential Question

How do we shift our view of education and what we do to facilitate learning so that ALL children can learn?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Know and understand the educational paradigm of a deficit model and an asset model.
• Understand that the Urban Learner Framework is a process and not a program.
• Know the critical components of the Urban Learner Framework and their significance to closing the achievement gap.
• Understand the characteristics of culture.

Procedural

• Compare and contrast learners utilizing an asset model.
• Develop strategies that assist educators in moving from the deficit model to the asset model of education.
• Identify and create activities that will close the achievement gap based on the ULF.
• Explain how culture impacts learning and teaching.
• Develop an initial plan for change based on the themes: culture, ability, resilience and effort/motivation.

Assessment Task

1. Based on the themes of culture, resilience, and effort/motivation, participants will develop, in small groups, an initial plan for change that will close the gap in achievement.
2. Briefly describe to another group the plan you created.

Leading Systems Change

Essential Question

How do I lead change in a system?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Have a basic understanding of circular causation. (Feedback Loops)
• Know the benefit of systems thinking as it applies to change efforts.
• Understand the impact of personal mental models.

Procedural

• Be able to employ effective systems thinking in working with self and others.
• Be able to apply systems thinking principles in addressing school systems, both at the district and individual building levels.

Assessment Task

In groups of three, participants will discuss a class, team, school or district about which at least one person in the group has first hand, in-depth knowledge. Using a systems perspective and knowledge about change, the group will outline a first step intervention for moving the “system” forward.

Leadership For Change

Essential Question

How do I manage the change process?

Standard

Participants will:

Declarative

• Understand core ideas and dynamics of both personal and systems change
• Understand the process of change

Procedural

• Define a personal theory of change
• Identify strategies to support a change effort

Assessment Task

Working in teams or alone, participants will create a theory of change and identify 3 strategies that can be employed to support the implementation of the change process.