PLSTs Fall 2016

1. BEST: Building Educator
Success through
Teamwork
New & Early
Career
Teachers
Office of Professional Development and Evaluation
Engage in
Deliberate
Practice
Foster
Professional
Learning
Cultures
Communities of
Practice
Promote
Peer-to- Peer
Collaboration
Support
Teacher
Effectiveness
Fall 2016
Teacher
Leaders

2. Nearpod
Participant Instructions
• Install the Nearpod app on your devices
from their respective app stores
• Enter the code provided by the presenter
• Enter your name when prompted

3. Nearpod
Facilitator Instructions
• Log in to your device on Nearpod
Launch live lesson
Write code on board
• Log in to your desktop on Nearpod
Enter the code from your device

4. Presentation Tips
• For response items, provide time for
participants to enter their response
 Don’t click share until all participants have
submitted their response
• For videos, ask participants not to press play
on their devices

5. Miami-Dade County Public Schools
465
Schools
40,000
Employees
21,000
Graduates
2,000 Sq. M.
356,000
Students
160 +
Countries
56 +
Languages
4th largest school
district in the
United States

6. Getting Ready
Make a name tent
You are unique in your approach to your
learning. Print or write your first name and
last name. Let your name card say something
about YOU as a leader of learning.

7. Let’s orient
ourselves with the
materials

8. Creating a
Collaborative Culture
is a Journey...

9. Get Ready to Watch
• On the next slide, you will watch a video
• As you watch the video, think about the
statement below:
Just because you know what good teaching
practices are it doesn't mean you know how
to apply them
• What does the video have to do with
professional learning?

11. I am concerned that too few teachers experience
the quality of professional development and
teamwork that would enable them to be more
effective each day. We must make sure that what
we know is essential to good teaching is
embedded in the life of all teachers.
Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director, Learning Forward

12. Goals for the Work
• Identify core elements of a learning school in which
all engage in collaborative professional learning to
improve student learning.
• Develop strategies for transforming your school into
a learning school or extend and refine your current
work to increase its impact.
• Acquire tools to assess your school’s progress toward
becoming a learning school.
• Clarify roles of the stakeholders in a learning school.
• Troubleshoot issues that are perceived as barriers to
collaborative professional learning.

13. Individually answer the following questions on your gingerbread
person as it relates to becoming a learning school.
• Head: What question(s) do you have that are important for
today’s work?
• Stomach: What gives you indigestion about building a learning
school?
• Eyes: What is important for you to see in a learning community?
• Ears: What must you listen for in a learning community?
• Hands: What expertise do you offer to collaborative learning?
• Heart: What is your core belief on the connection between school
improvement and professional learning?
What Makes You Tick?

14. Group Agreements
DIRECTIONS:
1. Check the 2 most important agreements to you
2. In a small group, identify your top 3 agreements
in order of importance
3. In a large group identify 7 group agreements

15. Why are Agreements Important?
• Set roles and responsibilities
• Build trust
• Create structures for safety
• Ensure we are efficient and effective
• Provide opportunities for deep, insightful
conversations about teaching and learning
• Provide a means for self- assessment of the work of
the team

16. Steps for creating a definition:
1. Form a group of 4 or 5 with each member of the team
2. Each member of the team chooses a different color marker and a
spot on the placemat. Leave the middle of the placemat empty.
3. Simultaneously, each teammate answers the following question
on their chosen spot on the placemat:
• What are the elements of a highly functioning learning school? No talking.
4. Each individual shares their thinking with the group.
• No interruptions
5. The team listens for similarities and differences and begins to
create a common definition of a learning school. Place the
common definition in the center. Each team will share their
definition with the larger group.
What is a Learning School?

17. • How do we advocate for and articulate professional
learning that positively impacts student learning?
• How do we create the conditions and opportunities
within our school and teams that advance teaching
effectiveness and student achievement?
• What are the strategies that learning schools use
that bring success?
Essential Questions

18. If teachers are to successfully teach all
students to high standards, virtually
everyone who affects student learning
must be learning virtually all of the
time.”
Dennis Sparks

19. Next, we will discuss the definition of professional
learning created by Learning Forward.
But first, a quick brain break on the next slide.
If you catch yourself laughing, know that…
From there to here, from here to there, funny
things are everywhere. — Dr. Seuss

20. Learning Forward’s Definition

21. Save the Last Word for Me
• Identify a statement that really resonates to each person from a
text. (Each person does this individually and silently.)
• Decide who is going first and who will go second establishing a
direction to share around in a circle.
• Begin by having the first person read out loud her/his statement –
only the statement, offering no other comment.
• Go around in a circle giving each person a chance to say how the
statement resonates or connects with her/him.
• Finish by having the first person who read the quote say why they
selected the quote – “Saving the last word” for the person who
began the round.
• Repeat the pattern with each person around in the circle.

22. Learning Forward’s Definition
Connections to the Work of Schools
The term ‘professional development’ means
activities that are an integral part of school and
local educational agency strategies for providing
educators with the knowledge and skills
necessary to enable students to succeed in a well-
rounded education and to meet the challenging
State academic standards; and are sustained,
intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-
driven, and classroom-focused.

23. Compare definitions
• What did you discover?
• What was similar?
• What was different?
Reporting on the Learning Forward Definition

24. Our Beliefs
• Professional learning that improves educators’ effectiveness is
fundamental to student learning.
• All educators have an obligation to improve their practice.
• More students succeed when educators assume collective
responsibility for student learning.
• Successful leaders create and sustain a culture of learning.
• A learning system commits to continuous improvement for all
its adults and students.
www.learningforward.org

25. Answer the questions on the next slide. It’s ok to
make assumptions! The point is to be reflective,
not correct.

26. Where Are We Now?
1. Professional learning involves teachers
working in teams to improve teaching and
student learning.
2. We believe the school’s culture affects our
willingness to be continuous learners.
3. Attaining student learning goals depends on
staff’s ability to work together.
4. Resources are available to support the
change to collaborative professional
learning.
5. District staff provide resources for school-
based, collaborative professional learning.
• STRONGLY AGREE
• AGREE
• NO OPINION
• DISAGREE
• STRONGLY
DISAGREE

27. • The group reads the text silently, highlighting it and writing notes in the
margin on post-it notes in answer to the following four questions
1. What Assumptions does the author of the text hold?
2. What do you Agree with in the text?
3. What do you want to Argue with in the text?
4. What parts of the text do you want to Aspire to?
• In a round, have each person identify one assumption in the text, citing the
text (with page numbers, if appropriate) as evidence.
• Continue in rounds
• End the session with an open discussion around the following question
1. What does this mean for our work with students?
• Debrief the text experience.
Four “A”s Text Protocol

28. Four “A”s Text Protocol

29. Get Ready to Watch
• Check out the video on the next slide.
• As you watch the video, record any
observations that reflect effective professional
learning and a cycle of continuous
improvement
• Record one observation per post it note

31. Reflection Questions
• In a small group of 3 or 4, discuss the
questions below:
What outcomes would you expect from
their work?
What would it take at the school level to
ensure educators throughout your
building are learning at such high levels?

32. Standards for Professional Learning

33. Let’s take a poll.
Which standard is more evident in your school?
• Learning Communities
• Leadership
• Resources
• Data
• Learning Designs
• Implementation
• Outcomes

34. In your own words…
What conditions and opportunities would you
need to create for the standards of professional
learning to guide the design, implementation,
and evaluation of professional learning?

35. Professional Learning and Student Results

36. • Check out the next video on using instructional
expertise to address teachers’ needs.
• As you watch the video, reflect on the
following questions:
o What is the rationale behind “Free-Up Fridays?
o How are teacher strengths identified at this school?
o How have school leaders capitalized on
instructional expertise at the school to address the
needs of teachers?
Learning Among Teachers

38. TEACHER SHARE

39. Teacher-Driven Observations

40. Teacher-Driven Observations (TDO)
• Purpose
o Collect and examine data
o Inform and improve instruction in a non-evaluative
and self-reflective manner
• It is recommended to invite two to four
observers, when possible, to collect data and
provide collective insight

41. TDO Team Members
• Lead Teacher (Observed Teacher)
o Identifies the focus for the observation
o Engages colleagues in the collection of classroom
data
o Facilitates the conversation before and after the
observation
o Uses the data observers collect to inform
instruction

42. TDO Team Members
• Observer
o Data collector, not an evaluator
o Focuses attention on the area the observed teacher
identified
o Scripts, describes, tracks, or counts only what is
seen or heard

43. Most Common Data Collection Methods
Scripting Counting Tracking
• Observer transcribes
(writes-out) interactions
among students and
between students and the
teacher, or both
• Provides data about
students’ and teacher’s
actions, statements, and
questions
• Can be relevant to most
focus areas
• Can focus on teacher,
students, or both
• Logical way to collect data
on a large number of
students
• Valuable in providing a
comprehensive view of
patterns occurring within
the classroom
• May allow for the
examination of
distribution of class time,
an actual percentage, or
specific number per the
Lead Teacher’s request
• Can focus on both
teacher, students, or both
• May allow for the
examination of patterns
of behavior occurring
within a segmented time
• Illustrates patterns of
movement or attention of
teachers and students
• Patterns are often
collected on a seating
chart
• Data is recorded by
drawing arrows to track
movement and attention
• Can focus on teacher,

44. TDO in Action
• Identify a focus question
• Select a data collection tool
• Watch the following video
• Record your observations
• Discuss the teaching and learning observed

45. Focus Question 1
• Ms. Gonzalez wants to learn how she can more effectively
group students to encourage student participation in class.
She poses this question to her colleagues:
– Which grouping strategies best contribute to student
participation?
• She requests that observers each observe one group of
students and use the method of scripting to record how
students in that group participate in the class activity,
providing data that will inform her future grouping
strategies.

46. Focus Question 2
• Ms. Gonzalez wants to increase classroom engagement,
particularly as it relates to students’ participation in class.
The teacher wants to know how she can more effectively
frame questions so that they are accessible to all students.
She asks her observers,
– Am I providing adequate context for the questions I ask?
• She requests that the observers script her questions and
students’ responses, providing her with a better
understanding of when students get confused. These data
will really help her scaffold these questions to encourage
whole class participation and engagement.

48. Let’s Try
• Find a partner
• Check out the Framework of Effective
Instruction
• Which of the elements of the FEI did your
focus question address? Explain

50. Moving Forward…
• What resources do teachers have available to support their
professional learning needs?
• How can access to online, 24/7 professional learning assist
teachers in meeting deliberate practice growth targets?

51. PD In Focus Overview
Channels
Custom Channels
Groups
Assignments
Filtered Search
Reporting

52. What is PD In Focus?

53. Getting Started – Overview Tutorial

54. Accessing PD In Focus

56. PD Facilitators (PLSTs/(Principals/Assistant Principals/PDL)
work with groups of teachers based on the needs identified by
the PD leader. Lead the learning and send assignments to
teachers.
2
3
PD leaders (Principals/Assistant Principals/PDL):
create groups of teachers and assign them to one or more
PD facilitators.
1
Teachers: complete assignments and can work with
multiple facilitators and groups at the same time. Search
videos.
Role-Based Professional Development
4
PD administrators (OPDE): who can manage members and
licenses in PD In Focus applications.

57. Functionality Based on Roles
Feature Administrator PD Leader PD Facilitator Teacher
Create Groups  
Make Assignments 
Complete Assignments    
View/Print Individual Reports   
View Video and Print Resources    
Write Journal Entries    
Rate Video and Print Resources    
Search for Videos and Print Resources    
Save Videos and Print Resources to My
Library
   
View Related Resources    
Create Custom Channels   
Import Users  
Manage Members/License  
Manage Related Resources   
You may
have
multiple
roles
assigned to
your log-in
name.

58. Turn and Talk
• Have you used PD In Focus to support your school’s
improvement initiatives?
• How could teachers use PD In Focus to support deliberate
practice growth targets?
• Have you incorporated PD In Focus in your professional
learning designs?
• How can PD In Focus support the Framework for Effective
Instruction?

59. ASCD - Supporting a Collaborative Culture

60. Quick Pair-Share Discussion

62. It’s more important than ever that
educators collaborate to continually
improve and support the success of each
learner.
Dr. Gene Carter, CEO and Executive Director of ASCD

63. • Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development
http://www.ascd.org/Default.aspx
• Learning Forward – The Professional Learning
Association https://learningforward.org/
• The Sweet Spot in Professional Learning
https://learningforward.org/
References