BISD EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER PD-4
Looking at Student and Teacher Work
OVERVIEW
According to "Turning Points", a national design for middle school change, it is important to look at teacher work such as lesson plans, assessments and other student activities collaboratively with peers in order to improve student learning. Looking at student work enables schools to: (1)understand what students know and are able to do; (2) align curriculum with the schools as they work (3) assess academic growth over time and (4) design instructional practices to reach all students. "Turning Points" provides six protocols, structured formats that will help school community engage in the process of collaboratively analyzing and discussing teacher and student work. To structure the process in which teachers look at teacher work, a protocol is used to facilitate the conversation. As teachers work with the protocols, the may modify them to fit a specific requirement. Through the use of protocols, teachers clarify problems, identify evidence to support opinions, share perspectives, and reflect on their practices. This professional development will focus on the first protocol, consultancy.
CONSULTANCY PROTOCOL
The Consultancy Protocol provides assistance in solving a problem or gaining insight into a dilemma. While useful for looking at student work, the Consultancy Protocol is especially effective for working collaboratively to problem solve around a particular instructional issue or challenge.
When teachers first begin using protocols as a way of looking at their students' work, assignments, and instructional practices, the process may feel formal or stiff. However, with time and practice the protocols create a safe, professional environment for teachers to make public their students' and their own work. As teachers gain experience, their comfort increases, as do the benefits of the process. The chosen purpose of looking at student work will dictate the details about the process: how much time it will take, who is involved, and how frequently the process is used. Academic teams who share the same groups of students usually look at student and teacher work on a weekly basis. Throughout the year, it is also important for other teams such as discipline-based teams, to regularly use the protocols to inform their decisions.
BENEFITS OF LOOKING AT STUDENT AND TEACHER WORK
- Gaining a more comprehensive understanding of what students know and are able to do over time
- Embedding professional development in teachers' daily practices to improve student achievement.
- Building a sense of community
- Fostering a culture that collaboratively assesses the quality and rigor of teacher work
- Developing shared, public criteria to assess student work
Webinar
Please watch this webinar with your department prior to your school's face-to-face professional development session.
https://cftexas.webex.com/cftexas/lsr.php?RCID=2726d5ad540fc1b2d291bca5c93a05e1
Webinar
WEBINAR FEEDBACK
Please click on the link below after you've watched the webinar to give us your feedback:
Dr. Paty Quesada
Professional Development Specialist
Email: paty.quesada@gmail.com
Phone: 0
School dates for PD4
Stell 1/13/16
Manzano 1/14/16
Vela 1/19/16
Hanna 1/20/16
Garcia 1/26/16
Perkins 1/29/16
Rivera 2/9/16
Pace 2/15/16
Oliveira 2/19/16