SAM Facilitator Support Training Three Anchors of Effective SAM Facilitation

The purpose of SAM is to systematically expand each school’s sphere of success Every school has a sphere of success – groups of students for whom the current practices are working Every school has groups of students for whom the current practices are NOT working SAM is designed to build a school’s capacity to systematically increase the proportion of students for whom practices work, through data-based inquiry and leadership development The Purpose

If we continue to do what we’re doing, we will continue to get the results we’re getting  In other words: What got us here won’t take us there Working Assumptions

To get different results we need to do something different To do something different we need to challenge our assumptions  Challenging our assumptions creates dis-comfort and results in learning

The work of SAM is therefore positioned at the edge of what we know Focused on a small group of students outside the sphere of success who:  Are the SAME in some way – share a component of the curriculum they are struggling to master  And who are DIFFERENT in some way – struggling for different reasons Framework

Focusing the work on a small group of students: Makes the work manageable Provides an experience of what is possible Illuminates the systemic issues that need to be addressed to support and sustain continuous improvement in student outcomes WHAT we focus on

TEAMS: groups of teachers who own both the problem and the solution TARGETS: specific measurable objectives for discrete groups of students TASKS: Activities intentionally designed to achieve identified targets HOW we organize the work

It is the Job of the Facilitator to design and anchor the work of the Teams Facilitation

Provoke and Support Learning Keep the Focus on Results Ensure Timely, Honest and Actionable Feedback The Three Anchors of Facilitation

Anchor #1: Learning Zone Danger Zone Learning Zone Comfort Zone

Provoke and contain the anxiety associated with learning Operating outside the “comfort zone” produces anxiety. To keep participants in the “learning zone,” facilitators design activities that provoke enough anxiety to promote learning, then contain anxiety if participants begin to “turn off” or “shut down” Make your moves transparent Facilitators model the behaviors they want participants to master by clearly communicating what they are doing and why they are doing it Facilitator Moves

Acquiescing to participants’ desire to remain in or return to their “comfort zone” Facilitator Pitfall

Ensure that the targets participants select are manageable, clear, and specific Ensure that participants identify valid and reliable methods for determining if and when their targets have been met Anchor #2: Results

Hold the targets firmly and publicly Let the work and the participants push against the targets Help participants manage distractions – use each distraction as a teachable moment! Facilitator Moves

Facilitator-owned, rather than participant-owned targets Managing distractions FOR the participants, rather then teaching them how to manage themselves Facilitator Pitfalls

Learning is adjusting our behavior in response to feedback from the environment We learn to do the work, by doing it We adjust our behavior based upon “feedback” and “data” about how effective our actions have been in getting us where we want to go Anchor #3: Feedback

Timely – The more frequent the feedback, the more opportunities there are for learning. Facilitators design for frequent feedback Honest – F eedback is only useful if it is accurate. Facilitators provoke and support the speaking of truth. Actionable – Feedback is only useful if it identifies specific behaviors that can be changed in particular ways. Facilitators insist on low-inference references and examples Facilitator Moves

Designing so that the facilitator, rather than the participants and/or the student results, are the primary source of feedback Softening impact (and muddling the learning) by using vague language or sandwiching feedback on what needs to change between expressions of praise for what doesn’t Facilitator Pitfalls