1. Continuous Improvement Session 4
BISD
Investigates
Continuous Improvement Session 4
August 18:
Welcome the members of the ALT.

2. World Café For our final ALT Day, we will focus on only
one strategy: the
World Café. We will
Use it to review
Continuous
Improvement.
The World Café is a grouping strategy that allows participants to discuss things that matter to them. It can be used in the classroom to explore questions, ensure full participation, connect perspectives and share insights/discoveries.

3. World Café http://www.theworldcafe.com
You have been provided a hard copy of the full text of the reference guide. If participants want the full text, they can download it at this site.

4. World Café Courses (Table Topics)
First Course – 15 minutes
What does a Continuous Improvement classroom look like?
Second Course – 15 minutes
What tools do teachers use in a
Continuous Improvement classroom?
The next two slides will serve as the agenda for the day. It should also allow participants to think ahead about the table topics.

5. World Café Courses (Table Topics)
Third Course – 15 minutes
What learning arrangements and
cooperative strategies will you see in
a Continuous Improvement classroom?
Final Course – 20 minutes
Members will return to their first course table to debrief and discuss.
Note that the final course has twenty minutes. One of the things that you might emphasize is that they need to write their names on the “tablecloth” during the first course, so that they can remember to which table to return in the final course.

6. World Café Etiquette Focus on What Matters Contribute Your Thinking
Speak Your Mind and Heart
Listen to Understand
Link and Connect Ideas
Listen Together for Insights and Deeper Questions
Play, Doodle, Draw – Writing on the Tablecloths Is Encouraged
Have Fun!
At this point, have your guests choose their first table, and appoint a table host. There will be stickers for your table hosts.

7. World Café First Course
No more than four people will join the table host to discuss:
If someone walked into a Continuous Improvement Classroom, what could he/she expect to see?
“Walk the Walls” – what would be on the walls?
Divide your ALT group into table groups with no more than 4 people at each table. One person at the table will be the host at each table and will stay at that table the entire time. There is a host sticker for that person to wear. For the 1st course everyone at that table will need to sign the table cloth so that they will remember what table they began at. They will have 15 mins to discuss the answers on the slide. Have them write, doodle, draw pictures or whatever they would like to do to represent what they talked about during this course on the table cloth. This will help the host when we get back for the last round remember what was said.

8. If a visitor came into a continuously improving classroom
They would see…
The classroom mission statement displayed and being referred to.
Classroom goals and measures aligned to learning standards/TEKS
TEKS written in kid friendly language
Data indicating progress towards classroom goals
Plus/Delta from the previous day/class
Chairs/desks/tables arranged to support collaborative work in achieving classroom goals
Fluid PDSA cycles
After the first course of the World Café is over read through the slide and remind them of some things that a visitor might see if they came into a CI classroom.

9. They might also see…
The school mission statement posted and being referred to.
Flow charts of key classroom process such as morning routine, homework, etc.
Regular classroom meetings at which goals are reviewed, progress is shared, PDSA cycles are being
Students using personal data folders to monitor progress toward personal goals.
Stakeholder satisfaction survey results.
Read through slide.

10. Classroom Mission Statement
Revisit and Refine
Classroom Mission Statement
Every class needs a mission statement.
This is a process you will do with every group of students.
Don’t put up a mission statement that will never be used.
Make learning and discipline connect to their mission statement. Make their behaviors accountable to their statement.
Our goal is just to briefly to revisit and refine what we have learned about CI this year. These next slides are just reminders and refreshers about what some of the key components to CI. Read through the slide reminding them what a mission statement is and tips that go along with making and using one.

11. This is another great example for how to get started on a writing mission statement. The teacher had the students think of qualities for a quality 4th grade classroom. From these ideas they wrote their mission.
This is a different way of looking at writing a mission statement.

12. Classroom Goals and Measures
Revisit and Refine
Classroom Goals and Measures
Publish and post classroom learning goals that align to the state standards, focus on the class learning priority, and address closing the performance gap.
Strategic Goals are goals that carry you through the school year or the semester.
These should be long-term goals.
Strategic goals should be SMART
Specific
Measurable
Aligned to learning standards
Results focused
Time framed
Refresh their memory about classroom goals and measures. Read through slide.

13. Strategic goals can be written as a whole class or as individual students.
Pictures to help remind them.

14. TEKS or Learning Standards
Revisit and Refine
TEKS or Learning Standards
Pick one subject area-start small.
Decide in what six weeks you are going to teach that TEK/TAKS Objective/learning standard
TEKS or TAKS objectives should be written in kid-friendly language
Post these for your students to see and track as you go throughout your year.
Remind them that TEKS and/or learning standard should be posted and understood by the students. Read through slide.

15. Data should be posted and reviewed on a regular basis.
Revisit and Refine
Data
This is a must-have when you are focusing on continuous improvement in your classroom.
Data should be posted and reviewed on a regular basis.
We have given you many tools for data collection.
Data is a must for CI. Remind them of some key points. Read through slide.

16. PDSA PDSA is the heart of continuous improvement.
Revisit and Refine
PDSA
PDSA is the heart of continuous improvement.
Remember that a PDSA cycle should be fluid and moving.
Don’t over think PDSA.
Plan-does not have to SMARTly written, should highlight important TEK or TAKS objective for the week
Do-can involve students but does not always have to, can provide choice and should be a quick and painless process
Study-Asses TEK, assessments should be short and meaningful, if the majority were successful move on to next plan, if not re-teach. This is where you can also include a plus/delta
Act-This is the RX for the deltas, what didn’t work
Remind them that PDSA is the heart of CI. That this is where improvement is taking place and should be done in a CI classroom. Read through slide.

17. This is another way to use PDSA
This is another way to use PDSA. This helps walk both you and your students through the process.
Another great way to think about PDSA and how to use it.

18. World Café Second Course
No more than four people will join the table host to discuss:
What tools are the most helpful in tracking student progress and improvement?
What tools do you still need to know more about to utilize fully?
“Walk the Walls” – what tools would be on the walls?

19. Toolbox PLAN Issue Bin Consensogram Force Field Analysis DO
Revisit and Refine
Toolbox
PLAN
Issue Bin
Consensogram
Force Field Analysis DO
Affinity Diagram
Tic-Tac-Toe Choice Boards
Lotus Diagram
STUDY
Plus/Delta
Student/Stakeholder Surveys
Run Chart
ACT
These are the tools and their categories of use. This has a poster to go with it from the previous sessions.

20. ISSUE BIN
An Issue Bin captures ideas and questions that deserve further discussion or clarification at a later or more appropriate time. It provides the opportunity for all members of the group to anonymously comment or question without interrupting the established time frame.
Read slide

21. ISSUE BIN
Read slide

22. Consensogram
A consensogram identifies baseline knowledge or opinion of a group on selected concepts or issues. It can be used as pre- and post- assessment or evaluation.
Read slide

23. Consensogram
This example uses a template that can be changed with a marker.

24. Force Field Analysis
The Force Field Analysis method is used to identify those forces that help and those that could hinder or prevent a group from closing a gap between where we are now and where we want to be.
Read slide

25. Force Field Analysis
This is a more simplified example than we used, but it gathers the information in a way that can help to improve the process.

26. Affinity Diagram
Another way to present the diagram is by giving students/stakeholders the labels ahead of time, so that they can place Post-it notes under each category.

27. Affinity Diagram
Teachers can either provide the topics or they can determine the topics after the students use the post-its.

28. Tic-Tac-Toe Choice Board
Tic-Tac-Toe is a simple way to give students alternative ways of exploring and expressing key ideas and using key skills. Typically, the Tic-Tac-Toe board has 9 cells in it, like that of the game. This can, of course, be adjusted.
There are blank boards for your groups to use for writing the activities.

29. Activity with repetition
Tic-Tac-Toe Board
A great idea for giving the students choices on the “do” however still having some teacher control over what they do. Have them pick 3 things to make a tic-tac-toe.
Cooperative group activity
EXCEL activity
Independent practice
Higher level thinking activity
Pencil and paper activity
Activity with repetition
This is a great way to give them choice and still have some control of what they are going to be doing. Remember you can leave a free space if you feel like your students can fill in an activity that they can do and come up with on their own.
Problem Solving activity
ESL activity
Activity with manipulatives

30. Revisit and Refine
Lotus Diagram
The lotus diagram supports students in engaging in creative thinking and critical analysis as they explore new ideas. Students develop deeper understanding by examining a variety of related areas by breaking broad topics into components.
Emphasize that this tool is used to categorize and expand on information by breaking the broader topic into components.

31. Lotus Diagram Revisit and Refine
Emphasize that this tool is used to categorize and expand on information by breaking the broader topic into components. They can be quite sophisticated, or simple, like this one.

32. They do not have to be done EVERY day.
Revisit and Refine
Plus/Delta
Plus/Deltas can be done in your PDSA or after a class or learning experience.
They do not have to be done EVERY day.

33. Plus / Delta (+ / r)
These can be displayed and done as a group, or done individually like this one.

34. Stakeholder Surveys (External Customer Surveys)
Surveys provide an excellent way to validate customer requirements and confirm that you and your students are working on what’s important.
It is always a good idea to send something back to your stakeholders that let them know you heard what they had to say and give them some of idea of how you are going to address their concerns.

35. Stakeholder Surveys (External Customer Surveys)
This sample would work in most classrooms.

36. Run Chart It helps collect and interpret data.
It helps create a picture of what is happening in the situation you are analyzing.
It helps find patterns in the data allowing for valuable insights.
It helps compare one section of data to another, helping to check for changes.
Description of chart. Emphasize that it is most often used to show change over time; it can be a connected bar graph if you want to show data over time.

37. Run Chart

38. Fast Feedback Form
This form can be used to gauge stakeholder perception and satisfaction.
Use these forms to collect input and feedback from stakeholders.
There is a blank template on Day 3 materials.

39. World Café Third Course
No more than four people will join the table host to discuss:
What will the students be doing?
What learning arrangements are used?
What cooperative learning strategies will be used?
“Walk the Walls” – what planning designs would be on the walls?

40. Appointment Clock
Utilize an appointment clock to pair students for pair / share opportunities.
An appointment clock allows for pairing and sharing with different partners throughout the course of a lesson.
You need to make a
3:00
6:00
9:00
12:00
appointments

41. Chairs/Desk Arrangement
Revisit and Refine
Chairs/Desk Arrangement
Keep in mind that you are focusing on teamwork and a sense of learning community therefore how the furniture in your room is arranged could play a vital part in the culture of your classroom.
We have not spent a lot of time on this topic. However if you are trying to build a sense of teamwork and learning community how your classroom is organized and set up can lend itself to cooperative learning.

42. Think / Pair / Share
1) Think. The teacher provokes students' thinking with a question or prompt or observation. The students should take a few moments (probably not minutes) just to THINK about the question.
2) Pair. Using designated partners (such as with Clock Buddies), nearby neighbors, or a deskmate, students PAIR up to talk about the answer each came up with. They compare their mental or written notes and identify the answers they think are best, most convincing, or most unique.
3) Share. After students talk in pairs for a few moments (again, usually not minutes), the teacher calls for pairs to SHARE their thinking with the rest of the class. She can do this by going around in round-robin fashion, calling on each pair; or she can take answers as they are called out (or as hands are raised).
This describes how the strategy works in the classroom.

43. Gallery Walk
This learning strategy allows students to walk around the classroom and see what thoughts others have had about topics.
Often, students can add to what’s already on the gallery posters.
This describes how the strategy works in the classroom.

44. World Café Fourth Course
All original members of the table should rejoin the host.
During this time, spend some time discussing what others have written on your table.
Have your ALT group go back to their first course table (the one they signed their name on). During this time the host will lead the discussion and share what the other groups discusses while they were there at that table. Hopefully he will be able to use the words and/or drawing on the tablecloth to help guide him through this discussion.

45. Dessert The icing on the cake!
A sense of learning community.
Shared accountability toward achieving class goals.
Excitement for learning
Respect for different talents, competencies and perspectives.
A willingness to collect and analyze data to improve learning system.
A commitment to continual improvement.
This is the most important part of CI. It is what we are all here for and what we want happening in our classrooms.

46. Application Systems check/plan for next year.
Evaluate where you are currently with continuous improvement.
Please be honest.
This is your roadmap for next year. It will help you see where you are and where you would like to be.
Contact principals
For their application time they can meet as a grade level or a department to do this together or they can go to their classroom and do it individually. Please stress that it is important that they look at where they currently are (not where they want to be) and to be honest with themselves. This will hopefully allow them to make some plans for next year as to what they can add to their classroom as far as CI is concerned. Finally their principals have been given the option to collect and evaluate their checks to get an idea of where their campus is as a whole. They will let you know more details about that.

47. Plus/Delta
Before you leave today please use the Post-it notes on your table to write a plus and a delta for today.
We will provide you with an envelope if you will please place your pluses and deltas in that envelope and intercampus mail it to Judi Bell we would greatly appreciate it.