1. Powerful Conversations Network Quarterly Meeting #1 September, 2013

2. Who is in the Room: Schools from These Districts…  Attalla City  Blount County  Boaz City  Chilton County  Decatur City  Etowah County  Hartselle City  Jasper City  Jefferson County  Mountain Brook City  Perry County  Talladega County  Tarrant City  Tuscaloosa City  Tuscaloosa County  Trussville City  Shelby County

3. Partners with the Alabama State Department of Education Initiatives

4. Alphabet Soup!  ABPC Alabama Best Practices Center  KLNKey Leaders Network  PCNPowerful Conversations Network  SLNSuperintendent Leaders Network  IPInstructional Partners Pilot  ACCRSAlabama’s College-and Career-Ready Standards  FAFormative Assessment

5.  Deepening of our understanding of the new ELA and Literacy Standards  Knowledge of how to explicitly teach students the thinking skills that are embedded in the ACCRS  Planning to increase our school’s collaborative capacity to successfully integrate the new standards into teaching and learning Learning Outcomes

6.  Commitment to working with a cross- school design team to develop an agreed-upon lesson  Co-creation of a statewide community of practice with PCN colleagues Learning Outcomes, cont’d

7. Organize Your Teams  Facilitator  Recorder/Reporter  Time Monitor/Materials Manager  Directions Clarifier (p. 2, Activity Packet)

8.  Be open to and respect all points of view  Listen with an open mind & expect to learn  Accept responsibility for active & equitable participation  Check for understanding  Allow think time  Welcome questions  Avoid “cyber” and sidebar conversations  Take care of creature comforts Ground Rules/Group Norms

9. Activity: School Team Dialogue and Cross-School Sharing What? Team Response to Questions and Individual Exchange of Ideas with Others Why? To share perceptions within school teams about where you are in working collaboratively to implement ACCRS and to make connections with colleagues from other schools How? Team dialogue and response to 2 questions followed by meeting and exchange of views with 2-3 individuals from other schools (See page 3, Activity Packet) (c) Walsh & Sattes, 2013

10. Activity: Compare and Contrast Three Strands What? Top Hat Organizer Why? To identify key skills and knowledge associated with each of the three strands of the ACCRS ELA and Literacy Standards and compare/contrast to identify linkages and commonalities How? Pair review of one strand; team sharing and comparison of 3 strands (pages 4-8, Activity Packet)

11. “If you want to get results, you need to treat Compare & Contrast as a learning strategy rather than an end-of-learning assessment; make sure students have clear criteria for comparing items; and guide students to deeper thinking in phases.” (p. 2, The Common Six: Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core, Silver, Dewing & Perini) Compare and Contrast

12. “If students are to become productive problem solvers, sound decision makers, and creative innovators as called for by the many reports and educational experts, educators must include the explicit development of those complex thinking skills as the action antecedents to the stated content.” (p. 3, Bellanca, Fogarty, & Pete) Authors’ Rationale for How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the Common Core

13.  Browse through the following to get an idea of the scope of the book’s content.  Table of Contents on pages ix-xiii.  Look at Table 1.1 on page 12.  Engage in a Two-Minute Table Talk with school team in response to this question: To what extent do your students possess and use these thinking skills? A 1 st Look at the Identified Twenty-one Complex Cognitive Skills

14. Activity: Overview of Text and Cross-Walk with Skills in ACCRS What? Review & Analysis of Text Why? To familiarize yourselves with the organization & contents of the selected text and assess its utility to you and your faculty How? Team selection of 2 thinking skills central to ELA/Literacy Standards & review of related section of book (page 9, Activity Packet)

15.  All 21 chapters have the same organization & content focus including:  Explanation of thinking skill  “Look—Fors and Sound Bites”  Explicit Teaching Lesson  Examples from Elementary, Middle, & High School About the Text

16. Activity: The Potential of Speaking and Listening Standards to Reinforce Reading and Writing Standards What? Four-Square Share Why? To reflect on the linkages across the 3 strands of the ELA/Literacy Standards and use a collaborative learning strategy that supports ACCRS How? Individually read short selection; follow protocol to listen actively and learn from colleagues (pages 10-12, Activity Packet)

17. To what extent does implementation of ACCRS represent a paradigm shift for your faculty?

18. 1.Emphasize much higher-level comprehension skills 2.Place equal weight on reading and writing 3.Stress the importance of critical citizenship * Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, Pathways to the Common Core, pp. 9-13 Consider Some of the Key Features of New Standards*

19. 4.Emphasize reading complex texts 5.Have clear design, with central goals and high standards 6.Convey that intellectual growth occurs through time, across years, and across disciplines * Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, Pathways to the Common Core, pp. 9-13 Consider Some of the Key Features of New Standards*

20. 7.Support cross-curricular literacy teaching 8.Call for proficiency, complexity, and independence 9.Emphasize that every student needs to be given access to this work 10.Respect the professional judgment of classroom teachers * Calkins, Ehrenworth, Lehman, Pathways to the Common Core, pp. 9-13 Consider Some of the Key Features of New Standards*

21.  Building knowledge through content rich nonfiction  Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational  Regular practice with complex text and its academic language * achievethecore.org Think about Common Core Shifts for English Language Arts/Literacy*

22. Activity: Assessment of School’s Current Culture for Successful Implementation of ACCRS What? Individual Reading, Reflection, and Rating Why? To reflect where you are as a faculty in creating a collaborative culture to support successful implementation of ACCRS How? Individually read and respond to items on page 13 of Activity Packet.

23.  Beliefs/Values  Continuous Improvement  Shared Decision Making and Teamwork  Results Oriented  Structures  Time  Teams  Team Protocols School Culture Driven By Both Beliefs/Values and Structure

24. “If you intend to introduce a change that is incompatible with the organization’s culture, you have only three choices: modify the change to be more in line with the existing culture, alter the culture to be more in line with the proposed change, or prepare to fail.” (David Salisbury & Daryl Conner, 1994) Importance of Culture

25. Activity: Assessment of School’s Current Culture for Successful Implementation of ACCRS What? Team Dialogue and Planning Why? To think together as a school leadership team about where you are and to plan for enhancement of collaborative culture to support ACCRS implementation How? Reach quick consensus on current status. Identify 3 priority SMART goals, and create a plan to attain these goals. See page 14, Activity Packet.

26. S trategic and Specific M easurable A ttainable R esults-oriented T ime-bound SMART Goals

27.  Our Reality: Last year, 10% of the graduating class completed advanced placement courses or the capstone course in a department sequence.  Our Goal: This year, we will increase the percentage of students taking advanced placement or capstone courses in a departmental sequence to 20% or higher. DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, and Many, 2006, p. 126 Example of SMART Goal

28. The SMART Goals process creates the motivation for team action and experimentation. In order to apply the SMART Goals process effectively, individuals need strong team skills, the ability to understand and use data, and a willingness to engage in continuous improvement. Why SMART Goals?

29.  Role-Alike Lesson Design Teams  Principals/Assistant Principals Break-Out Sessions—

30. Purpose: To work collaboratively with colleagues from across the state to integrate explicit instruction about selected thinking skills into a standards-based content lesson Team Composition: Teams should be comprised of 3, but no more than 5 members, who have the same or similar teaching assignments. About the Lesson Design Teams

31. Products: A minimum of 2 collaboratively developed and evaluated lessons to be shared with others Expectations: 1.Same teachers will attend all PCN QMs to ensure continuity in working of design team. 2.Design team members will begin planning at PCN, but complete work as part of regular lesson planning back home. 3.Design team members will bring feedback about lesson to the next PCN QM. About the Lesson Design Teams

32. Design Team Work at PCN Session Identify ELA/Literacy & Content Standards. Isolate thinking skills embedded in selected standards. Agree upon design for explicit instruction in selected thinking skills. Between PCN Sessions Complete lesson plan that includes explicit instruction in thinking skill, together with learning design for ACCR Standards. Teach lesson, and reflect on feedback. Prepare to share lesson and results with Design Team Members. Design Team Work at PCN Share feedback from classroom experiences. Talk about how you would improve lesson based on this feedback. Begin new cycle of planning, implementation and feedback. Suggested Process for Design Team Work

33. Principals’ Role-Alike: 6 Challenges to Implementing ACCRS 1.Develop every teacher’s ability to teach reading 2.Plan to spread literacy strands and skills across content areas 3.Accelerate student achievement; don’t add to the curriculum 4.Choose one or two priorities drawing on the school’s strengths 5.Ensure effective professional development for ACCRS implementation 6.Develop student leadership for learning.

34.  Move to designated areas taking all materials with you.  Principals move to adjacent room, and organize into groups of 4. Begin work on page 18 of Activity Packet.  Teachers and Coaches/Instructional Partners gather in area designated for your content area/grade level, and form teams of 3, no more than 5 members. Begin work on page 15 of Activity Packet.  After you’ve divided into teams of this size, find a space to work. Move to Break-Out Sessions

35.  Please complete the feedback form, and leave in the center of table as you depart.  Safe travels back home! Final Reflection and Feedback