1. Office of Education Improvement and Innovation
Instructional Learning Cycle:
Follow-Up Phase
Office of Education Improvement and Innovation
Instructional Learning Cycle: Follow Up Phase

2. Follow-Up Phase of ILC
In the previous two presentations, you learned about the Instructional Planning Phase. In this presentation, you’ll learn how to analyze the post-assessment and implementation data you collected during the Instructional Planning Phase. You’ll also reflect on the results of the analysis and make decisions about next steps. Finally, you’ll learn more about the School Support Team (SST) presentation. This phase of the ILC provides an excellent opportunity to capture process data by identifying which strategies were implemented with which students and how they appear to have affected student achievement. It is also an opportunity to celebrate student success and to identify opportunities for growth as teachers that will then positively influence student learning.

3. Follow-Up Phase Guiding Question
How will we use the evidence of student learning and strategy implementation to improve our individual and collective professional practice?
Before getting into the details, there is one guiding question to keep in mind as you work through the Follow-Up Phase of the ILC. If you’re unsure of how to answer any questions in the ILC Process Document or if collaborative conversations seem to be getting off track during the Follow-Up Phase, you can use this guiding question to help re-focus. The guiding question for the Follow-Up Phase of the ILC is “How will we use the evidence of student learning and strategy implementation to improve our individual and collective professional practice?” In other words, where is the data pointing us for next steps? All of the tasks in this phase are working toward answering this question.

4. Analyze Post-Assessment Results
Click on the document to download it for further review.
One of the individual tasks completed at the end of the Instructional Planning Phase was for each teacher to analyze their classroom post-assessment results and determine which students are proficient, which are close to proficient and which are far from proficient. In the first meeting of the Follow-Up Phase, the post-assessment results from all of the classes are combined and discussed. In the ILC Process Document there is a place to record each classroom’s results. Note: If the team consists of multiple grades or subject areas, only combine the post-assessment results of the same grade and/or subject area.

5. Analyze Post-Assessment Data
Conclusions about student learning
Description of the movement of students between proficiency levels
Far From
Proficient
Above
Proficient
The two pieces of information that the team needs to document following the discussion are:
Conclusions drawn about student learning based on post assessment data and
A description of the movement of students between proficiency levels between the pre- and post-assessment

6. Analyze Post-Assessment Data
What were you expecting to see?
Were the post-assessment scores higher, lower, or the same as your expectations?
Compared to the pre-assessment, did the scores go up, down or stay the same?
Some common questions that the team should ask and answer in the post-assessment analysis include the following:
What were you expecting to see?
Were the post-assessment scores higher, lower, or the same as your expectations?
Compared to the pre-assessment, did the scores go up, down or stay the same?
Which students stayed at the same proficiency level, which lost ground, which increased?
What do you want to know more about?
As you analyze and begin to discuss the data, most likely you will have more questions than answers. The questions above are only given to get the dialogue going, and you will most likely ask many other questions as well. Remember to only make observations based on the data and not to make any assumptions that are not supported by evidence. If there is information that you would like to have but is not available, make a note so that during the next ILC you can plan to capture the data that will provide the information. Make sure to capture the conversation either on paper or digitally and then to summarize the findings in the ILC Process Document.
Which students stayed at the same proficiency level, which lost ground, which increased?
What do you want to know more about?

7. Analyzing Implementation Data
Identification of Implementation Data
Collected Data
Fidelity of Implementation?
Now it’s time to analyze the implementation data. In the Instructional Planning Phase, you identified the implementation data you would collect. The implementation data collected should be combined into the table in the ILC Process Document. Next you should discuss the data collected. The purpose of this collaborative conversation is to compare how closely the actual instruction aligned with the planned instruction. In other words, you are evaluating the fidelity of implementation of the instructional plan. It is necessary to determine the level of fidelity so that in the next step you can determine if movement of student achievement levels in any direction can be truly attributed to the instructional plan.
ILC Process Document
Collaborative Conversation

8. Types of Implementation Data
That went well!
Needs some adjustments
Didn’t work
Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
Although some of the data, e.g., how often you used an instructional strategy, is quantifiable (numerical) data, you may find that much of the data captured about the implementation process is qualitative (anecdotal) data. Reflecting after instruction about how the lesson went or how the instructional strategy worked will most likely be qualitative data, and this is OK! Qualitative data can inform decisions and be acted upon just as quantitative data can. Make sure to record both types of data in the ILC Process Document so that it is captured for the team discussion.

9. Evaluating the Implementation
Was the instructional plan implemented as intended?
All of the components of the instructional plan were implemented with the agreed upon frequency.
Some instructional components were implemented as planned.
Variations in instructional practices were evident.
Some teachers implemented instructional practices as agreed upon.
At the conclusion of the discussion about the implementation of the instructional plan, you may find it useful to “rate” the fidelity of the implementation. There are many ways to do this, but one suggestion is to ask the question: Was the instructional plan implemented as intended? Then answer the question with one of the following options:
All of the components of the instructional plan were implemented with the agreed upon frequency.
Some instructional components were implemented as planned.
Variations in instructional practices were evident.
Some teachers implemented instructional practices as agreed upon.

10. Impact on student achievement
Determining Impact
The next step is to determine the impact of the instructional plan on student achievement by looking at the post-assessment data and the implementation data together. The more closely you followed the original instructional plan, the more confident you can be in the evaluation of the impact of the instructional plan on student achievement. If you made modifications to the instructional plan or if the implementation was not consistent with the original plan, it is more difficult to determine what may have caused a change in student achievement.
Impact on student achievement

11. Making Connections
What did you do intentionally during instruction to support students in achieving the learning target?
What worked well? What didn’t work well?
Did the frequency of the instructional strategy and the instructional approaches influence the results?
This is also where you can start digging into the details. What did you intentionally do during instruction to support students in achieving the learning target? What worked well? What didn’t? Did the frequency of the instructional strategy and the instructional approaches influence the results? Did the selected common strategies work? Did a certain strategy work better with certain students? Remember that everything a teacher does in the classroom, e.g., what you say, how you say it, how information is presented and your attitude, can have an impact on what students learn. So when making connections, make sure to consider whether there were other events, instructional or non-instructional, beyond what you planned to monitor that may have affected the post-assessment performance.
Did the selected common strategies work?
Did a certain strategy work better with certain students?

12. Positive Negative What worked well? What didn’t work well?
Focus on the positive as well as the negative. If there are positive or mixed results, try to identify what contributed to the successes so that it can be replicated in the future. Even if everything didn’t go as planned, there are probably some parts that went well that should be preserved. Keep in mind that student learning does not occur overnight, so when evaluating the strategies used, make sure to consider whether enough time was allowed for the strategy to actually work before changing the strategy.

13. Reflecting on Results
How did the way we actually implemented the instructional plan influence our student results?
As you analyze and discuss the connections between the implementation of the instructional plan and the post-assessment results, think about whether there were any unintended consequences of the implementation, good or bad, that may have occurred. An example of a good unintended consequence might be seeing students choosing to use graphic organizers in science and social studies without being directed to do so after you started using graphic organizers as an instructional strategy for reading comprehension. An example of a bad unintended consequence might be noticing that when all students were required to use graphic organizers some students chose the incorrect graphic organizer to support their learning. A summary of this collaborative conversation about connections between instructional strategies and student achievement including unintended consequences should be captured in the ILC Process Document.
Use of graphic organizers in other subjects
Incorrect graphic organizer

14. Instructional Practice
What Did We Learn?
What did we learn from this process about student learning and teacher instructional practice?
It is important to remember that the ILC is meant to improve student achievement as well as teacher instructional practice. At this point it’s time to discuss and capture the team’s discoveries and realizations about student learning and teacher practice and how the ILC process worked. The tendency during this discussion is to focus on the student results, but you should make a concerted effort to also discuss and capture what was learned about teacher practice. When making connections earlier in the process, you discussed how the teacher actions in the classroom were connected to the post assessment results. Look at their collective results, how did instructional practices of each individual teacher impact student learning? What did some teachers do differently than others in the classroom?
Student Results
Instructional Practice

15. What’s Next?
What are our next steps? Are we ready to move on to a new area of focus? Or do we need to adjust our instructional plan and re-teach?
Now that you have drawn some conclusions about the implementation of the instructional plan and its impact on student achievement, it’s time to determine what to do next. Were there barriers to implementation of the instructional plan that need to be addressed? What needs to be done to ensure that implementation is aligned with the instructional plan?
As results are considered, are the students ready to move on or does adjustment of the instructional plan and re-teaching need to occur? Which strategies should be kept, revised or replaced? Which students need additional support to address the targets and how will we plan so that they will continue to receive the support they need to learn the intended targets?

16. Action Items
Once all of the collaborative tasks of the Follow Up Phase are completed, there are two action items:
To identify the next steps you will take to move forward with the decisions made while reflecting on the result and
To plan for the School Support Team (SST) meeting.

17. Who will be responsible?
Plan for Next Steps
Who will be responsible?
Deadline?
In order to keep the momentum going, once you determine what will be done next, make a to-do list including who will be responsible for which task and a deadline for each task.

18. Plan School Support Team Meeting
School Level Team
Building Principal
SI Team members
Teachers participating in the ILC
Promote continuous reflection
School Support Team
District Representative
Intervention Specialist
School Improvement Facilitator
The last task of the current ILC is to plan for the School Support Team (SST) meeting. This quarterly meeting is attended by the School Level Team and the SST. The School Level Team includes the building principal, School Improvement (SI) Team members and teachers participating in an ILC. The SST includes the District Representative, Intervention Specialist and the School Improvement Facilitator. These meetings provide a regularly scheduled opportunity for schools to promote continuous reflection and data collection at the classroom level by hearing directly from teacher teams on the implementation of Instructional Learning Cycles. The School Support team meeting allows for timely gathering of information for the district to use in their progress reports to the local School Board and MDE.
Examine progress

19. School Support Team Meeting Structure
Schedule
The schedule and format for School Support Team Meetings should be developed by the school. Formats vary greatly from school to school and district to district. In a district with multiple schools implementing the ILC it may be helpful to gather all schools together for these meetings. The schedule and format of SST Meetings should be communicated early in the school year to all required attendees.
Note: Many schools meet on a more regular basis throughout the school year. Though documentation of SST meetings are only required to be submitted to MDE quarterly, schools that meet more frequently with the SST often include these additional minutes with their quarterly report.
Format

20. School Support Team Meeting Presentation
Each teacher’s name and content area or grade level
The learning targets, content focus and instructional strategies
Data collected on adult implementation and what the data suggests
Pre and Post Assessment data collected on student achievement and what the data suggests
Lessons learned from the ILC
Recommendations for what to keep the same and what to change in the next ILC
So, what should be included in the report? There is no required format for the team’s presentation, so it is up to each building or district to define what should be included and how the information should be presented. It is suggested that the presentation include the following information about the most recent ILC:
Each teacher’s name and content area or grade level
The learning targets, content focus and instructional strategies
Data collected on adult implementation and what the data suggests
Pre and Post Assessment data collected on student achievement and what the data suggests
Lessons learned from the ILC
Recommendations for what to keep the same and what to change in the next ILC

21. School Support Team Meeting Presentation
Sharing of strengths and weaknesses
Determine what support teachers may need
Sharing of additional information
Handout? Brochure? PowerPoint presentation?
Many schools do a quick pulse check on how the overall ILC process is going by asking teachers to share strengths and challenges of the ILC process during the SST meetings. SST members are then able to look for patterns and determine what support teachers may need to strengthen the process. Some teams will also share additional information such as the number of students participating, a summary of pre- and post-assessment data, how data was used throughout the ILC to inform and differentiate instruction, etc. It is also up to each building or district to determine if there is a specific format that the team should use to present the agreed upon information. Some districts have provided a nicely formatted handout such as a brochure to present the information while other teams will create a PowerPoint presentation.

22. Review
You must answer each question in the review before you can continue to the last slide of the presentation
On the next slide you will be presented with a series of questions to review the content from this presentation. Once you begin the questions, you must answer them all before you move on. After completing the review, you will continue to the final slide of this presentation.

23. Question 1: Who are the required members of the School Support Team?
District Representative, Intervention Specialist, School Improvement Facilitator
District Representative, Intervention Specialist, School Improvement Facilitator, Building Principal
District Representative, Michigan Department of Education, School Improvement Facilitator, Other external support providers A.

24. Question 2:
You should focus on two things when reflecting on what you learned during the process. They are:
Student results and instructional practice
Implementation data and pre-assessment data
Instructional strategies and content
Quantitative data and qualitative data A

25. Question 3:
Once the collaborative tasks of the Follow Up Phase have been completed what are the next action items?
Identify next steps and plan for the School Support Team meeting
Gather implementation data and post assessment data
Adjust the instructional plan and reteach
Rate the implementation for fidelity and reflect on lessons learned A

26. Conclusion
Now you’ve learned about the collaborative tasks, the individual tasks and action items related to the Follow Up Phase of the Instructional Learning Cycle. This presentation covered analyzing post-assessment and implementation data, reflecting on the results of the analyses and planning for the SST presentation. Remember that the Instructional Learning Cycle is an ongoing process even though you may only have to report quarterly. Even if the ILC is not required for your schools, it contains the components of effective instruction, and when the ILC is implemented as intended you will see great results in your classroom! Additionally, the collaborative conversations and planning are a form of professional development in which you get to converse with other adults! The first two or three times you use the ILC, it may feel cumbersome, but once you see the results and become familiar with the process, it will become second nature and the “normal” way that you do your planning!