GETTING THE SCHOOL YEAR

OFF TO A GOOD START

Chris Matsumoto

Principal

Experimental Education Unit

Experimental Education Unit (EEU)

Applied Research Unit

Professional Development

Unit

Mission

TrainingResearch Service

TEAMING

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TEAMING Collaboration is a style for direct

interaction between at least two equal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision making as they work toward a common goal.

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BARRIERS TO COLLABORATION Real or perceived differences in power Mandating collaboration Changing decision if collaboration

produces undesired outcomes No goal at all or a goal chosen by one

party

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WHAT PIECES DO WE NEED?

NEEDED Mutual Respect Shared Philosophy Common Goals Shared Decision Making Support and Training

ACTIVITIES Respect Activity Philosophy Activity Team Goal Activity Team Expectations Activity Training Activity

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MUTUAL RESPECT ACTIVITY I feel respected by my team members

when… Share your definition of respect Listen to your team members’

perspective As an individual your job is to focus on

meeting the definition of other team members

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SHARED PHILOSOPHY What do we expect/believe… Develop a team philosophy that

everyone can stand behind Goal: Identify the beliefs that are shared

This does not mean that the team philosophy represents a comprehensive picture of an individual’s beliefs

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COMMON GOALS Identify group goal

What questions will we ask during our debriefing time?

How will we collect data?How will we celebrate the achievement of

the goal?

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SHARED DECISION MAKING How will we share…

InformationDecision Making

How will we prioritize our collaborative efforts?

TRAINING

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TRAINING AND SUPPORT What should every team member know?

KnowledgeSkillsStrategies

PrioritizeMost to least important

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TRAINING AND SUPPORT Assess Identify Current Perfromance Set goals (observable behavior) Learning

Provide opportunities or instructionProvide feedback

Evaluate PerformanceProvide evaluation or review self evaluation

GOALS Team

Areas where majority of team members are learning

IndividualAreas where an individual is learning and

the category is high priority

STAFF TRAINING MATRIX Develop a staff training Matrix to

identify the strengths, goals and plans for improvement IndividualGroup

Group Staff Training Matrix

Staff Member

Strengths Areas of Improvement

Goals Strategies/Resources

Individual Staff Training Plan

Strengths Areas of Improvement

Goals Strategies/Resources

1.

2.

3.

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CHARTING Focus is on what is happening instead of

judging performance (less subjective) Provide supporting evidence for the

conclusions in the evaluation process Increase professionals abilities to self

evaluate and problem solve Create a system that is easy to use both

by supervisors and classroom staff Create a system of evaluation that

engages both parties in a discussion rather than evaluator reporting on findings

PROCEDURE Set up observation day with staff

Select an activity that you are going to observe

Set up a time to meet the same day Select the child and staff behaviors

you going to track

PROCEDURE Conduct the observation Review the data prior to meeting with

staff Meet with staff member the same

day to discuss observation Identify next step

Follow up (based on this observation) Next scheduled observation

POST MEETING Meeting Procedure: General positive comments on activity “Do you feel you met your goals in

relation to the activity?” Look at data on chart and explain

coding system Staff member look at chart and tell

about what they see/conclusion they makeWrite ideas in the conclusion box

POST MEETING Evaluator tells about their conclusions

SAME Conclusion Affirm it when they bring it up

DIFFERENT Conclusion Wait until they have finished and then explain how

you have interpreted the data

Summary plus plan of actionGoal for staff member being observedSuggested behaviors (kid and adult) to

observe for next session Suggested activity to observe for next

session

TRAINING RESOURCES

RESOURCES

DEC RECOMMENDED PRACTICESPurpose: Provide guidance on effective

practices for improved development and learning outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families

Bridging the gap between research and practice

Based on research evidence and shared beliefs

User-friendly product

AUDIENCE Educators Practitioners Families Administration Age Group: Birth to Five

DIRECT SERVICES5 Direct Services Strands: Assessment Child-Focused Practices Family-Based Practices Interdisciplinary Models Technology Applications

RESOURCES: ASSESS AND PLAN

DEC RECOMMENDED PRACTICES WORKBOOK

Audience: individuals working in a variety of early childhood settings that provide services to young children with disabilities and other special needs

Settings Early Intervention Programs (Home and Center) Preschool Preschool Special Education Programs Child Care Programs Head Start Public School Hospital Based Programs Other programs in which children receive

educational and other services

WAYS TO USE THE WORKBOOK

Teams of Professionals and parents determine the strengths and needs of their

programMake change to policy, classroom and home

based service Individuals

Determine strengths and needs as a professional

Improve professional skill Entire Staff

Identify the professional development needs of the entire staff in a program

WAYS TO USE THE WORKBOOK

ResearchDescribing the context and the quality of

classrooms as a setting variable Program Evaluation

Summary information collected within the workbook to measure the impact on the quality of the program of professional development, technical assistance, and other interventions

ORGANIZATION (ASSESSMENT) Workbook Forms by Strand

Used to assess one or more entire strands of practices

Workbook Forms by ActivityUsed to assess all strands cutting

across a specific activitySix different activitiesBlank form to develop activity

Each set of forms can be used for two assessment periods

ORGANIZATION (SUMMARY) Strand Summary Form

Summary of performance across strandsOnly used with forms by strandTotal points and percentages for each

strand Graph for Percentage Scores across

StrandsVisual representation of the data gathered

on the summary form (percentage scores)

ORGANIZATION (PLANNING) Action Planning Form

Provides a place to record the next steps to be taken tom improve practice

Used to identify priority needs and targeted activities as well as the resources and supports required to accomplish the identified goals

Can be used with the workbook forms by strand or by activity

SCORING ASSESSMENT 2 = Fully Implemented: The practice is implemented

consistently across children, families, teachers, time and settings

1 = Partially Implemented: The practices is not implemented consistently across children, families, teachers, time, and/or settings, or the practice is being implemented but needs improvement

0 = Not Implemented: The practice is not being implemented

D/K = Don’t Know: Cannot confidently address the particular practice’s implementation

N/A = Not Applicable: Not included in the point total. The item is not relevant to the specific program (e.g., a classroom-based practice might not be relevant if the program is a home-based program).

ADDITIONAL DEC RESOURCES

Interactive Tools to Improve Practices for Young Children with Special Needs

and Their Families (CD) Four Toolkits:

Embedded instruction Systematic teaching strategies Teaching early communication skills, Monitoring children's learning

Self-paced tutorial Video clips Self-tests Resources

ADULT SUPPORT

SCHEDULES Clear and consistent schedule

Display the schedule in a way that is appropriate for the children and follow it

Use staff schedulesDisplay and use a schedule for the adults

that tells them where they should be and what they should be doing

ACTIVITIES Support participation Have high expectations Be consistent Give good, clear directions When children are participating, provide

feedback on their performance

TRANSITIONS Teach the expectations during

transitions Use pictures or salient cues Begin the activity when a few children

are ready When in doubt, teach the routine

VISUAL SUPPORTS FOR ADULTS Reminders about the purpose of

activities Make interactions more purposeful Signs in each area

FAMILIES

FAMILYThe way we view the family influences the

way we work with families. The family influences the growth and

development of the child. The family is the best determiner of its

own needs. Family support is a responsibility shared

among family members, program staff, and community agencies.

(Workman & Gage)

WHY BUILD RELATIONSHIPS? As families and professional work together

and develop collaborative relationships, they can establish a new way of addressing academic problems.

The family and the professional can benefit from each others' knowledge, experience, and understanding of the student.

Working together, families and professionals increase each others' repertoire of tools to help the student.

(Homan)

BARRIERS TO A FULL & EQUAL PARTNERSHIP

Professionals may view parent participation as irrelevant to a child's successParents seen as spectators who

appropriately seek out, understand, accept, and rigorously follow professional intervention plans

Parents in the role of information receivers and bystanders rather than partners

Parents support teacher practices, carry out the professional's requests

(Winzer & Mazurek)

A FULL & EQUAL PARTNERSHIP A family-school relationship becomes a

full and equal partnership when the parties:Truly believe each member brings

something meaningful and valued to the relationship.

Share a common purpose - the welfare of the child.

Create a sense of shared responsibility around common goals.

Base the relationship on trust, understanding and respect.

(Turnbull & Turnbull III)

As educators we strive for nothing less than the academic and life achievement of

our students. We study techniques and methods with the hope of becoming more

effective teachers. We search for the resources and information that will help our children succeed. It is here that we

make a fatal flaw. These are not our children. Despite our love and devotion to their pursuit of excellence, these children

are members of a complex and multidimensional unit called a family.

When we acknowledge this fact, we may also understand that the one true resource

children need is the very group to which they belong.

Children need their family.

Chris Matsumoto

Principal, Experimental Education Unit

University of Washington

ctm@u.washington.edu

(206)221-3868