Changing Instructional Practice and Building a Culture of Collaboration MASSP EdCon 2014

Contact Information Ben Mainka, Principal Hartland High School

If you could create the perfect school, what are a few of the key elements that would exist? Question 1:

If you could change just one thing in your building what would it be? Question 2:

Marzano and Hattie say the TEACHER is the most important variable in whether or not a student learns.  Therefore, the instructional decisions made by teachers every lesson matter…BIG TIME.

What does collaboration currently look like in your school? Question 3:

Key Learning Goals 1.See how you can to help ALL teachers in your building increase instructional skill/proficiency right away - The most important function of a teacher! 2.Develop ways to help teachers to work as a team and collaborate consistently in secondary classrooms. 3.Learn how to monitor, provide feedback, and implement the Gradual Release of Responsibility Instructional Model (Fisher & Frey).

The Instructional Model  At HHS we knew we needed a consistent instructional model that was easy to grasp and made sense for ALL teachers.”  This is critical for the formulation of a common language as well as an anchor for feedback.”

The HHS Instructional Model “I do it” “You do it alone” TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY Independent Learning Direct Instruction “I do it” Guided Instruction “We do it” Collaborative Learning “You do it together” SHIFTING THE COGNITIVE LOAD *Taken from Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Fisher and Frey (2008)

Taking the First Steps  Once we knew that we had a sound instructional model, we decided that we would have barriers to implementation.”  We decided to utilize Instructional Rounds as a collaborative and learning format for teachers.”

Instructional Rounds  Instructional Rounds (IR) is a teacher learning model adapted from medical rounds in hospitals by Richard Elmore.  It involves teams of teachers and administrators visiting teachers during instructional periods and then reflecting on the instruction that was observed.

Barriers are Present Collaboration Barriers Collaboration Barriers

How Do We Do It?  Model teachers are selected by the admin or recommended by staff.  Teachers use a Google Doc to sign up for one of three sessions to participate in. Google Doc Google Doc  Teachers observe and reflect/debrief in 2-hour chunks of time.

Try it out! IR Practice IR Practice

The Debrief  Some PD and modeling work needs to be done to prep this phase.  Teachers utilize a protocol for sharing about the lesson.  The protocol keeps people on track and focused on instruction.  Careful selection of model teachers is critical to avoid hurt feelings.

Implementation Plan  Year 1 – Readiness and comfort in classroom observation.  Year 2 – Focused instructional feedback with purpose  Year 3 – Targeted rounds for parts of lessons or specific strategies/subjects.

The HHS Instructional Model “I do it” “You do it alone” TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY Independent Learning Direct Instruction “I do it” Guided Instruction “We do it” Collaborative Learning “You do it together” SHIFTING THE COGNITIVE LOAD *Taken from Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Fisher and Frey (2008) Staff Meetings, PD, reading, watching others perform in the instructional model Staff work with colleagues on how they could implement this, reflect on practice, and have expert teacher and/or administrator support Staff implements instructional components into their own classroom and then teach for their colleagues to get feedback.

Nuts and Bolts  6 subs are hired each day we do IR ($600)  18 teachers get two hours of PD when we do IR  Administrators are present during IR, but are simply members of the learning team.  All teachers are required to participate.

Revisiting the Questions  Could Instructional Rounds or a model like it benefit your school, the collaboration in your building, and teacher expertise?

The Results  Teachers are talking more about instruction in our building than EVER before.  Common language is being solidified and carried over in the evaluation process.  Collaboration has led to many instructional improvements for ALL teachers.

What Questions Do You Have? Thank you for attending!