Journey to EXCELLENCE Learning Projects Planner – Week perspective

Learning Projects Year 1 ITS 6,3,4 What is a learning project? What are the components? What is the process? How long does it take? What does it involve? What needs to be completed? What is handed in? How does it link to district/building PD? Let’s take a closer look…

The purpose of Learning Projects is to build a good foundation for future practice by examining performance, understanding the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria, and continuing professional learning.

Pacing of Learning Projects: Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Year 1 Intro Day, ITS 8, Goals LP ITS 6 LP Classroom Management ITS 3 LP Planning & Preparation ITS 4 LP Instruction ITS 7 LP Professional Growth & Year One Celebration  Year 2 and ITS 6 ITS 2 LP Content Knowledge ITS 5 LP Monitoring Student Learning ITS 1 LP Student Achievement Professional Growth & Year Two Celebration

Journey to Excellence Program and Learning Project Overview (LP Y1 tab) Individually… (4 minutes) Skim these pages and ‘code’ * important to know ? I need to know more + this was new to me At your tables… (5 minutes) What did you learn about the program and the learning projects? What questions do you still have – write on a post it and post these.

Learning Projects process: … Learning Projects are organized around a process adapted from Dr. W. Edwards Deming and include the following steps. Assessing Needs Focus – Determine area to learn more about & current level of performance Study – Determine alternative actions available – observing, research, etc. Planning – Decide how to apply alternative actions Implementing/Apply – Use the alternative actions Evaluating/Reflect –Think about how things went when compared to intent The purpose of learning projects is to build a good foundation for future practice by examining performance, understanding the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria, and continuing professional learning. The (Deming) model can be used for the ongoing improvement of almost anything and it contains the following four continuous steps: Plan, Do, Study and Act. Plan Develop a plan for improving quality at a process Do Execute the plan, first on a small scale Study Evaluate feedback to confirm or to adjust the plan Act Make the plan permanent o Deming refers to it as the PDSA Cycle (Plan Do Study Act) or the Shewhart Cycle. The Japanese call it the Deming Cycle. Others call it the PDCA Cycle (Plan Do Check Act) or the Deming Wheel.

Learning Projects “Process” Focus Study Reflect Plan Apply

Learning Projects Establish Working Agreements Content Process Commit-ment Establish Working Agreements

Establish Working Agreements Scheduling regular TIME to meet Scheduling PLACE to meet To keep our meetings productive we will… BALANCE (personal / professional) Ways to contact each other beyond scheduled times; impromptu, informal Messaging/phone guidelines

“Who is going to see this work?” Mentor Anyone else the BE chooses to share it

Beginning Educators Growth: Built into the learning projects will be self-assessment activities for the mentor and the beginning teacher using the book - A Framework for Understanding the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria. Beginning Educator Growth Planning Will be included within many of the learning projects

It’s Formative Assessment = For growth of BE over time: To “inform” Data-based Occurs regularly On-going Objective Reflective Check the Mentor Resource Manual

Formative Assessment “helping to shape, develop” Webster “…the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching to meet student needs.” (Inside the Black Box, Black & Wiliam) Check the Mentor Resource Manual

Formative Assessment … Maintains confidentiality between mentor and beginning educator “Firewall” Mentor Evaluator

Beginning Educator Evaluator Mentor

Beginning, end of the year Or… Communication with all present Beginning, end of the year Beginning Educator Evaluator Mentor Review Journey to Excellence – goals, roles, pacing Clarify Evaulator’s expectations, timeline, etc

Assumptions about Mentoring Mentoring Matters, p. x - xi Induction is an investment in retention, integration and continual growth Emotional safety is necessary to produce cognitive complexity Mentoring relationships offer opportunity for reciprocal growth and learning The central goal … is to improve student learning A successful mentoring program will be integral to the implementation of other school and district initiatives.