1. Journey to EXCELLENCE
Learning Projects
Planner – Week perspective

2. 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…

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Learning Projects
“Process”
Focus
Study
Reflect
Plan
Apply

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

9. 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

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. Beginning Educator
Evaluator
Mentor

16. 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

17. 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.