Education Transformation Office The Importance of Developing a Common Language and Effective Communication Education Transformation Office

Common Board Configuration (CBC) DATE: June 11, 2013 VOCABULARY: -communication -feedback -relationship EXIT SLIP: Review Essential Question BELL RINGER: Acronyms – Test Your Knowledge BENCHMARK: Communication AGENDA: I Do: Model communication skills We Do: Practice listening skills They Do: With a partner, brainstorm and plan what information they will bring back to the Reading Leadership Team You Do: Role play effective communication OBJECTIVE: Participants will have a thorough understanding of effective communication skills. HIGHER ORDER QUESTIONS: How will I ensure that teachers successfully incorporate collaborative strategies during group work? HOME LEARNING: Review today’s lesson and reflect on how you would implement if you were a coach next year. ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How can I communicate effectively?

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Purpose Why do we need common language? How do we develop a common language? How can we communicate effectively? Share the purpose of this session with participants. Understand the need for their Reading Leadership Team to develop a common language Experience an activity their Reading Leadership Team could use to work toward developing a common language. Brainstorm terms their Reading Leadership Team might need common language for

Why Do We Need Common Language? Divide participants into groups of 3-5. Give each group a list of words to define (provided below). After each group has defined their words prove a context for the words. For example give one group the words foot, square, solid, mean, power, curve, root, product, peck and yard. After they have define each ask them to redefine the words within the context of math. This activity is from Sharon Kane’s book Literacy & Learning in the Content Areas, page 175. Facilitate dialogue about the importance of developing their own common language within the context of their school and their Reading Leadership Team. Math foot solid root peck square power product yard mean mean Science motion force fault degree wave current resistance host matter charge Social Studies key bill race legend product plain ruler crop run cabinet English case mood tense article subject tone romance dash voice stress

Words Group 1: Foot, solid, root, peck, square, power, product, yard, mean Group 2: Motion, force, fault, degree, wave, current, resistance Group 3: Key, bill, race, legend, product, plain, ruler, crop, run, cabinet Group 4: Case, mood, tense, article, subject, tone, romance, dash, stress, voice foot solid root peck square power product yard mean mean Motion, force ,fault, degree, wave, current, resistance, host, matter, charge Key, bill, race, legend, Product, plain, ruler, crop, run, cabinet Case, mood, tense, article, subject, tone, romance, dash, voice , stress

What are Some Terms Your Reading Leadership Team Might Need to Explore Together? Screening assessment Progress monitoring Diagnostic assessment Dynamic assessment Static assessment Evaluation Phonological awareness Phonemic awareness Phonics Fluency Expressive vocabulary Receptive vocabulary Comprehension Metacognition Sources of information Pragmatic working system Lexical working system Schematic working system Semantic working system Syntactic working system Graphophonic working system Writing as a process Reading as a process Literacy Remind participants there is no ‘required’ list of terms their Reading Leadership Team needs to learn although updating and labeling familiar concepts with new terms does have the potential to promote new thinking. They should develop understanding and a common language for the terms that come up as they learn and work together. Invite participants to investigate these terms as they meet with their colleagues. Assembling working systems – bringing together information networks that interact and function as a whole used to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully. Assessment – documentation of student’s strengths and needs collected systematically over time to document change and guide instruction. Comprehension – critical and defensible interpretation of content in context. Diagnostic assessments – help teachers plan instruction by providing in-depth information about students’ strengths and needs. Diagnostic measures are conducted at any time during the school year when more in-depth analysis of a student’s strengths and needs is needed to guide instruction. Dynamic assessment – documentation of student’s strengths and needs collected systematically over time while the student is involved in a particular process. Evaluation – critical appraisal of students’ strengths and needs based on theory and research. Expressive Vocabulary – words that are used in speaking and writing. Fluency – the ability to read text quickly, accurately, and with proper expression. Formal assessment – reliable and valid documentation of students’ strengths and needs collected systematically over time used to guide instruction and program implementation. Graphophonic working system – in-the-head knowledge of how sounds and letters interact to construct words. Informal assessment – documentation of students’ strengths and needs collected systematically over time; that may be interpreted differently from teacher to teacher to guide instruction. Lexical working system – in-the-head knowledge of receptive and productive vocabulary. Literacy – the ability to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully by reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing. Metacognition – in-the-head ability to think about one’s thinking. Phonological Awareness – one’s sensitivity to, or explicit awareness of, the phonological structure in language. It encompasses an awareness of individual words in sentences, syllables, and onset-rime segments as well as awareness of individual phonemes in words. Phonemic awareness – in-the-head ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. Phonics – a method of instruction that teaches children the relationships between the letters of written language and the individual sounds of spoken language. Pragmatic working system – in-the-head knowledge of an author’s intent in reading and having a sense of audience in writing. Productive vocabulary – cognitive inventory of words used when speaking and writing. Progress monitoring assessment – systematically collected documentation of students’ strengths and needs used to show change overtime and guide instruction. Reading as a process – how individuals assemble working systems to construct meaning from print. Receptive vocabulary – cognitive inventory of words used when reading, listening and viewing. Schematic working system – in-the-head knowledge of content and context; background knowledge or prior experiences. Screening assessment – initial appraisal of students’ strengths and needs. Semantic working system – in-the-head knowledge of various concepts used to make sense and construct meaning. Sources of information – elements or working systems used to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully. Static assessment – outcome measure of students’ strengths and needs based on a given criteria. Syntactic working system – in-the-head knowledge of the grammar or structure of a language. Working system – productive network of information used to construct meaning and communicate meaningfully. Writing as a process – how individuals assemble working systems to communicate comprehensively and meaningfully.

Points to Ponder What are the implications of this information for your Reading Leadership Team? What information will you share during your Reading Leadership Team’s planning time today? How will your Reading Leadership Team identify terms that need to clarify as a group? Should a definition be provided or just a list for consideration? Why might it matter? How could this common language be developed school-wide? In small groups participants brainstorm and plan what information they will bring back to the Reading Leadership Team from this breakout session.

Effective Communication This first exercise demonstrates the importance of detailed directions for ensuring consistent results (Silberman 2006). This is also a good icebreaker for your first team-building meeting. Give everyone one sheet of paper. Tell people to close their eyes and listen to your directions. Give the directions as follows: Hold the paper in both hands. Fold the paper in half. Tear off the lower left-hand side of the paper. Fold it in half again. Tear off the upper right-hand side of the paper. Tear off the lower right-hand side of the paper. Then, say, “If you did a good job of listening and I was effectively communicating, all of our papers should look the same. Now, open your eyes.” Inevitably, everyone’s papers will look completely different, and this usually garners a few laughs. This will clearly illustrate that, without detailed directions, you cannot expect the same results from everyone.

Article: What Teachers Want from their Coaches How does communication play a role in these expectations from the teachers? Build Trust Demonstrate Competence Give Respectful, Specific Feedback Avoid Assumptions about Individual Abilities Consider Various Learning Styles Make Change Meaningful by Empowering Teachers Take Time to Build a Relationship Jigsaw Activity: Each group will share out their interpretation of the assigned section and relate it to effective communication. How does communication play a role in these expectations from the teachers?

“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship” – James Comer (1995)

Language of Coaching Tell me about your purpose in/when … Tell me about your lesson/focus of… Describe the students’ behavior when . . . After this lesson, can you describe how the outcomes matched your goals? Were there any shifts in your instruction? How did you figure that out? What challenges did you encounter in the lesson? How are you planning to go about this… What are you planning for with the next lesson… “What Teachers Want from their Coaches” Reflect on a positive experience with your coach Reflect on a negative experience with your coach How can you change a negative statement to positive?

The Principal Coach Relationship An effective principal/coach relationship can be achieved by having the coach and principal: Collaborate Create an action plan Develop or participate in the Reading Leadership Team Review and discussing the coach’s log and calendar Attend common planning to know what are the look fors when he/she conducts their walkthroughs Communicate and share ideas with the leadership team

The Principal can… Support and protect the role of the coach Share a common vision for the coach’s role with the whole faculty Protect the coach’s time Guard some time for professional development for the coach and by the coach Revise and guide the coaches through the discussion of their weekly logs Create tier action plans to guide coaches and administrators work

Leadership Team Coaching Model

Questions & Discussions Do participants have any questions?