April 5, 2011 Facilitation

Strategic questions WHAT? What do facilitators do in instructional rounds? WHY? Why have facilitators in instructional rounds? HOW? How do facilitators do their work (and how do they do it better)? *This is where we’ll focus this session

Lesson #1 Set the agenda based on what the network wants and what the network needs Think Tanks Co-facilitators In that spirit, what are you wondering about facilitation?

Lesson #2 How you start matters Hopes and Fears ( Norm setting Chalk Talk So does how you continue Model Be a lead learner—your vulnerability opens the door to others Be vigilant about the practice Give the work back to the network (e.g., “What do you think...?”)

Lesson #3 The problem of practice will not be perfect. Ever. Your job is to help make the problem of practice as useful as possible for the host school and the network. Tuning a problem of practice...

SAMPLE PROBLEM OF PRACTICE: ROUND 1—HOSTS BRAINSTORM Are students being asked to do something more than remembering or literal recall? Are students doing more than “sit and get?” What kinds of student engagement and participation are observed? Are teachers implementing literacy strategies (Writing to Learn) and/or CSR’s into their teaching? To what degree are the students engaged in these strategies? Differentiation Co-teaching Facilitators strategize together before meeting with hosts What’s our diagnosis of what’s strong/weak about this problem of practice? What questions are we going to ask to help tune the problem of practice? What would you say?

ROUND 2: FIRST TUNING Facilitators and hosts meet Who’s in the room? Superintendent, principal, teachers What emerges as significant? We care about writing because we care about thinking.

ROUND 3: HOSTS REVISE AFTER CONVERSATION WITH FACILITATORS P.O.P. (FOCUS) POSSIBILITY: Recent professional development at the high school has focused on improving student learning through implementing writing to learn strategies, infusing higher order thinking questions into lessons, creating quadrant D lessons, and creating course/unit essential questions. Teachers have collected data from writing to learn strategies as a formative assessment. We are asking for the following data to be collected: How are students demonstrating their thinking? 1) What tasks/questions are being asked of students in the classroom? 2) What evidence of student thinking are teachers collecting? 3) How are the students being supported in their writing? Diagnosis? Predictions? Questions you would ask?

ROUND 4: NETWORK PROPOSES REVISIONS Hosts’ revision How are students demonstrating their thinking? 1) What tasks/questions are being asked of students in the classroom? 2) What evidence of student thinking are teachers collecting? 3) How are the students being supported in their writing? Proposed further revision from network How are students demonstrating their thinking? 1) What responses are students providing? 2) What work are students engaged in? 3) What are students writing? Now what would you suggest?...

ROUND 5: FACILITATORS CONSULT WITH ANOTHER COLLEAGUE o Deepen the problem statement: Network visitors need a good understand of the underlying problem of practice. Why has PD focused on these strategies? What has been going on with student learning, and what has the instructional practice looked like related to that student learning problem? o What focus questions best help us collect evidence to illuminate that problem? Stick close to the hosts’ questions, and offer suggestions for adjustment. o Leave question #1 (What tasks/questions are being asked of students in the classroom?) --it's more specific and clear than proposed revision #2. o For #2, I'd take the teachers out and say something like, "What evidence of student thinking do you see and hear?" and then in the network I'd talk about what that evidence might look like, with student responses being one of them (both written responses and verbal responses). o And then for #3, I might try to combine the two versions: "What are students writing? How are teachers interacting with students about their writing?"

ROUND 6... They revised one more time and did the visit...

Lesson #4 Manage the energy of the group... Friendly handshake (brains work better after physical movement...) In one minute, get up and greet as many people as you can by saying “Hello, __________ [other person’s name]” while you shake your colleague’s hand

Lesson #5 Doing rounds is not enough. The network needs to build its knowledge and skill base. Common texts are helpful, as are text-based protocols like Save the Last Word (see Appendix in Rounds book for suggestions about where to find protocols) You’re a guide, not the expert What if you don’t know much about what you think the network needs to learn?...

Lesson #6 You learn to do the work by doing the work; you learn to do it better, faster, smarter by reflecting on your practice and making adjustments. Plus-delta (5 min. version and 30-second version) Start with plus-deltas at the next meeting Help the network see its growth over time Facilitator learning—cultivate your own learning

Wrap up Key takeaways? Lingering questions? Remember: Give the work back When in doubt, ask the network