1. Instructional Practice Guides Reflecting on Practice
Sandra Alberti
@salberti
@achievethecore
#CCSS

2. Student Achievement Partners – Who We Are
SAP is a nonprofit organization founded by three of the contributing authors of the Common Core State Standards
Currently a team of approximately 30; office in NY and team members located throughout the country
Funded by foundations: GE Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Helmsley Charitable Trust
Our mission:
Student Achievement Partners is devoted to accelerating student achievement by supporting effective and innovative implementation of the CCSS.

3. Our Principles – How we approach the work
We hold no intellectual property
Our goal is to create and disseminate high quality materials as widely as possible. All resources that we create are open source and available at no cost. We encourage states, districts, schools, and teachers to take our resources and make them their own.
We do not compete for state, district or federal contracts
Ensuring that states and districts have excellent materials for teachers and students is a top priority. We do not compete for these contracts because we work with our partners to develop high quality RFPs that support the Core Standards.
We do not accept money from publishers
We work with states and districts to obtain the best materials for teachers and students. We are able to independently advise our partners because we have no financial interests with any publisher of education materials. Our independence is essential to our work.

4. Getting Started: Guiding Principles for the Instructional Practice Guides
The Standards require a shift in what happens in the classroom – CCSS-aligned teaching requires aligned content
This work starts with a shared understanding of the expectations of the Standards and then specific descriptions of what these expectations look like in practice
Professional development, coaching, feedback and professional learning community conversations must be focused and coherent to support these expectations
Before we begin, who has had PLC or coaching conversations aligned to the expectations of the Standards?
In what ways? What tools or protocols have you used?
By show of hands, has anyone here
Been trained on the Instructional Practice Guides?
Worked with the Instructional Practice Guides in a school or district?
Great! During the session, we hope you’ll share some of your experiences and help offer your perspective on how these tools have been useful.
In developing these, there were a few critical principles at the center of our conversations:
CCSS requires a shift in what happens in the classroom; aligned content is fundamental to that change. Simply, CCSS aligned teaching requires aligned content.
Teachers, coaches and leaders need to understand the expectations of the standards and what they mean for practice. Shared expectations are critical for effective dialog.
Finally, PD, coaching, PLCs, etc – all of the structures that are in place to support the Shifts in practice need to be focused and coherent.

5. Purpose of the Coaching Tool
Designed to guide effective integration of the Common Core Shifts into instructional practice
Intended to help teachers in developing their practice through:
Teacher self-reflection
Teacher-to-teacher learning in PLCs, grade-level meetings or other collaborative structures
Feedback from instructional coaches and leaders
Not designed for evaluative purposes
The Coaching Tool is designed specifically to support teachers in developing their practice, and to help coaches or other instructional leaders in supporting them to do so. The Coaching Tool is intended to be used to assess effective integration of the Common Core in instruction.
This process of shifting instructional practice to meet the expectations of the Common Core must be developmental and recognize the hard work teachers are doing in implementing the strategies required by the Common Core. In support of this, we imagine multiple possible contexts for using the Coaching Tool, including in:
- Teacher self-reflection
- Teacher-to-teacher learning in PLCs, grade-level meetings or other collaborative structures
- Coaching and feedback from instructional coaches or leaders
The Coaching Tool was not designed for evaluation. It was designed to help facilitate and foster conversation about what’s happening in the classroom. The initial name for these tools was actually “evidence guides” because the focus is really meant to be on the process of gathering and discussing evidence of the Shifts.
All guides are available at achievethecore.org/instructional-practice.

6. Coaching Tool: Versions
The Coaching Tool exists for a single lesson and for over the course of the year
Coaching Tools by subject and grade:
ELA/literacy (grades K-2; grades 3-12; History/Social Studies, Science & Technical Subjects)
Mathematics (K-8, HS)
The Coaching Tool is available for daily lessons or to consider instruction over the course of the year.
It is available across grades and subjects.

7. Coaching Tool: Actions and Indicators
Each Coaching Tool for a single lesson has 3 Core Actions
Each Core Action has 3-7 indicators (look-fors)
Each indicator has an area to note the evidence that has been observed or gathered
Indicators include a binary (yes/no) or 4-point scale that may be used to further focus the evidence collected
The Coaching Tool was designed to be targeted and focused and to capture a few critical concepts specific to how aligned content and classroom practice work together.
Each Coaching Tool has 3 Core Actions. The Core Actions are targeted and specific.
There are a limited number of indicators under each Core Action. We think of these as the “look-fors”.
The Coaching Tool leaves space to capture evidence – this is the most critical part of the process and will be the basis of the dialog between teachers and coaches or peers.
Finally, there is an optional rating for each indicator. The ratings help to focus the evidence and ask the observer to consider different aspects of the evidence they capture.

8. The Shifts are the basis of the Coaching Tool
Regular practice with complex text and its academic language
Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational
Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction
ELA/Literacy
Focus: Focus strongly where the standards focus
Coherence: Think across grades, and link to major topics within grades
Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application
Mathematics
The Shifts are at the center of the Coaching Tool.
If you are working with an audience of people who are unfamiliar with the Shifts, you’ll need to spend more time here. There are a number of trainings and supports on achievethecore that can help you with developing this knowledge and understanding. (achievethecore.org/PD)

9. Standards Aligned Instructional Practice in English Language Arts (Example Grades 3-12)
Focus each lesson on a high-quality text (or multiple texts).
Employ questions and tasks, both oral and written, that are text specific and reflect the standards.
Provide all students with opportunities to engage in the work of the lesson.
When the Shifts in ELA/Literacy are effectively integrated into instructional practice, evidence of the following can typically be observed:
Evident in Each Lesson
Evident Over the Course of the Year
Students encounter an appropriate balance and sequence of texts.
Students are asked to practice the range of reading and writing tasks the Standards demand.
There is evidence of student mastery of grade level English Language Arts and Literacy Standards.
We are about to move onto an activity in which we watch a part of a lesson.
As in a real observation setting, you won’t see everything at once.
Some things should be part of every lesson.
Some will be evident over time.
Guides are structured to focus capture of evidence to facilitate discussion about what you see.

10. Standards Aligned Instructional Practice in Mathematics (Example Grades K-8)
Ensure the work of the lesson reflects the Shifts required by the CCSS for Mathematics.
Employ instructional practices that allow all students to master the content of the lesson.
Provide all students with opportunities to exhibit mathematical practices in connection with the content of the lesson.
When the Shifts in Mathematics are effectively integrated into instructional practice, evidence of the following can typically be observed:
Evident in Each Lesson
Evident Over the Course of the Year
The lessons and tasks students encounter reinforce focus and coherence across and within grades.
There is evidence of student mastery of the grade level Standards for Mathematical Content and student progress on the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
The teacher regularly and productively collaborates with other teachers to improve practice.
- Quick review of slide (similar to previous slide, but math content).

13. Instructional Practice Guide: Coaching and Lesson Planning Tools
The Instructional Practice Guide includes the Coaching Tool and the Lesson Planning Tool
Lesson Planning Tool developed as a companion tool for teachers to use to prepare
The Shifts are the basis of both tools
The same Core Actions and Indicators facilitate meaningful discussion between teachers and coaches
Many people using the Coaching Tool used it to facilitate planning discussions.
The Coaching and Lesson Planning Tools work together.
They are both based on the Shifts and use the Core Actions and Indicators.

14. Lesson Planning Tool
Much more than lesson planning – professional learning opportunity
Modular. Start with
ELA: Planning a standards-aligned close reading lesson
Math: Planning a standards-aligned lesson

17. Closing Activity: Planning to Use the Coaching Tool
Task:
Pair up with someone at your table and choose to discuss ways you might use the Coaching Tool at the school, district or state level.
Consider specific activities you might do with relevant audiences.
Discuss the following:
What existing activities or initiatives relate to the use of the Coaching Tool? How would you adapt or replace these activities?
What supports or trainings might you need to facilitate your use of the Coaching Tool?
What other individuals or groups might be most relevant to your work with the Coaching Tool?
After you discuss with your partner for 10 minutes, we’ll share out some of the ideas to the groups.
Feel free to pose questions you encountered during your turn and talk to us or the group

18. Thank You!
Sandra Alberti
Twitter: @salberti