Liberty Middle School

Professional Development Day

February 17, 2012

Morning Session: Getting on the Same Page with Defining Quality Instruction and

Creating a One Page Target

Morning Session facilitated by:

Dr. Brian Clayton, Principal

Mr. Mark Hodges, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Carmen Buchanan, Instructional Coach

Getting Ready…for the day!

Mr. Hodges, Mr. Gary and Mr. Carl all helping to set up for the day’s activities

Ms.Bush and Mr. Hodges making place cards for the tables.

Learning Target for the morning:

I can identify characteristics of quality instruction related to the instructional coreStudentsTeachersContent

Do we all agree on what quality instruction looks like when it comes to the Instructional

Core? After viewing a Language Arts lesson, teachers assigned a “grade” to that lesson. We ranged from A+ to C-. The following pictures are from the activity of creating a human bar graph and the debriefing of the activity. We realized that we do not have a common vision on what quality instruction looks like in our building. Realizing this, is the first step to “getting on the same page.”

The next few slides show our teachers creating the human bar graph.

Liberty’s Bar Graph

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F

As compared to the study…..

Questions discussed during the debriefing of the “assessing” a lesson: Do you think that we would see a similar

distribution in our district? What can you infer from the distribution of the

around the room? What are the implications? What can we do to address this issue? Will a shared vision of a one page target assist

us?Pictures that follow are snapshots of the rich

discussions from the activity.

Table Talk…the components of an Impact School

Liberty was asked to create a video for the Key Leaders Network because our school possesses the characteristics of an Impact School.

Each table had a component and discussed how Liberty possesses and uses that characteristic to impact on the instructional core.

The next slides show teachers involved in Table Talk on their given characteristic. The conversations led to breaking into groups to discuss creating a one page instructional target in order to “get on the same page.”

Characteristics of an Impact School One Page Target Humanity Focus Principal Workshops Teams Instructional Coach Leverage Simplicity Precision

So…..we determined that we needed a common vision….

Without agreed upon definitions (or at least a clarification of how a person is using the term) and observational data that support the person’s assessment of a lesson, conversations about teaching and learning remain ethereal, reinforcing the teaching profession’s weak craft knowledge base, professional language, and standards of practice. We need agreed upon criteria.

Change Leadership, p 38

Creating a One Page TargetAfter the break, we broke into departments to brainstorm ideas

of what quality instruction looks like in our school. We focused on these areas:

Instruction Community Building/Collaboration Content Assess for LearningTeachers took the “helicopter” view to look down on classrooms

answering this question: If you were looking down on a classroom and were looking for quality instruction characteristics, what would the teachers and students be doing?

Creating a One Page TargetTeachers reflecting individually, divided into small

groups to affinity map their collective ideas, and narrowed their views to 2-3 for each section. Keeping with the “I Can” statements of our learning targets. The teachers began each statement with both:

Teachers will……Students will…….Here is a glimpse of this activity.

Each content area group shared their vision of quality instruction

There were many shared visions from the content areas. We are beginning to see that we are one step closer to a shared vision and a one page target.

Are we there yet?We are not there yet. Next steps:

March 5th- Leadership Teams met and compare the “Big Three” from each content area to create a rough draft of the One Page Target to be presented on March 19th. From there, the faculty will vote and commit to the level of buy in in our One Page Target of what we (everyone at Liberty Middle School) believes quality instruction looks like in our building.

As an Impact School, our morning session sessions could be summed up by:

The best jobs involve frequent, supportive, encouraging, and warm-hearted conversations. The best workplaces are electric with learning, with the buzz of new ideas, and inherent joy of growth. In the most rewarding work, we use our knowledge, minds, and hearts to do something that contributes significantly to the greater good.

Unmistakable Impact, p. 3

Afternoon Session: Strategic Teaching: The “During” part of your lesson

The afternoon session was facilitated by our strategic teaching team:

Tilary Curry, Math Department

Jamie Golliver, Social Studies Department

Amy Lyons, Science Department

Ambra Johnson, Language Arts Department

Carmen Buchanan, Instructional Coach

Learning Target

I can identify ways to engage learners for the middle (the “during”) part of my lesson.

What does “during” instruction look like?

The afternoon session focused on engaging the brain for the “fuzziest” part of the lesson.

In keeping with our sports theme for strategic teaching, teachers decided which sport the “during’ part of the lesson should look like:

Football Volleyball Track Baseball Basketball Each group brainstormed why they chose their sport and shared

to the group.

Baseball

“During” instruction is like baseball because….

Everyone has a specific job that works toward the same goal Teacher is the pitcher Sometimes students swing and miss Players share experiences to help each other advance Students cannot “catch” if it is too hard Kids also try to get ahead by stealing a base The further away the students are from the action, the less interested they are. We rely on star players No one likes to strike out Sometimes you just have to let them walk Different ways to score Sometimes there are homerun, sometimes students signs are confusing just like

baseball signs Everyone wants to score If the coach is no good….the team suffers The coach gets all the blame if there is no success

Basketball

“During” instruction is like basketball because….

There is constant engagement Requires teamwork and collaboration Being “in the zone” =During instruction Activity is related to the learning target (no question) Adjustments are often made Success is easily determined Support from team mates Definite coach interaction with the players (hands on) Small group sport with individualized instruction Requires cooperation, creativity, finesse, and style Free throws=performing well under pressure

Football

“During” instruction is like football because…..

Everyone has an assigned role Advancing the ball=advancing the mind and learning Coach facilitates, just like the teacher Whole team is engaged (even from the side lines) Adjustments are needed to be made constantly Both require a game plan Find what works/plays and keep running them Preparation ahead of time via conditioning There is a diversity of players with a diversity of roles Leaders and captain come forward Cheerleaders are always present

Track

“During” instruction is like track because…

There is a beginning, middle, and end Lots of activities (shot put, hurdles etc)

simultaneously Not much “coaching” occurring “during’ the

activity They compete as a team and as individuals The more you run and practice, the faster you go Relays are like making connections

“During” instruction is like volleyball because…

You always have to be ready All players are involved Everyone knows their roles Must be alert and interact There must be an advance/volley Rotating roles/positions-Even if there is a weakness, you have others to assist you Lots of volleys before you score There are substitutes Team encouragement if evident Must aim high Scores=assessments Variety of playing fields (gym, pool, sand) Behavior=line cannot cross it Referees (principals) and coaches (facilitators)

Brain PartnersThe rest of the session involved engaging the brain.

Components for Marcia Tate’s workshop, Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites and articles from ARI were used., Teachers met with brain partners to:

Middle part of the lesson is fuzzy- Remember the “needle” words?

Reciprocal teaching of brain facts Sharing concepts from whole brain teaching video “Y’all Do” aspect of Jot NotesThe following pictures are from the variety of activities of the

afternoon session meeting with left brain, right brain, and frontal lobe partners.

Thank you to the active participants of Liberty Middle School

It is great to be a member of Team Lion!