Changing
Instructional
Practice and
Building a Culture of
Collaboration
MASSP EdCon 2014
Cont
act
Info
rmat
ion
Ben Mainka, PrincipalHartland High School
If you could create the
perfect school, what
are a few of the key
elements that would
exist?
Question 1:
If you could
change just one
thing in your
building what
would it be?
Question 2:
Marz
ano
and
Hatti
e sa
y th
e TE
ACHE
R is
the
mos
t im
porta
nt v
aria
ble
in
whet
her o
r not
a st
uden
t le
arns
.
Therefore, the instructional decisions made by teachers every lesson matter…BIG TIME.
What does
collaboration
currently look like
in your school?
Question 3:
Key
Lear
ning
Go
als
1. See how you can to help ALL
teachers in your building increase
instructional skill/proficiency right
away - The most important
function of a teacher!2. Develop ways to help teachers to
work as a team and collaborate
consistently in secondary classrooms.3. Learn how to monitor, provide
feedback, and implement the
Gradual Release of Responsibility
Instructional Model (Fisher &
Frey).
The
Inst
ruct
iona
l Mo
del
At HHS we knew we needed a consistent instructional model that was easy to grasp and made sense for ALL teachers.” This is critical for the
formulation of a common language as well as an anchor for feedback.”
The
HHS
Inst
ruct
iona
l Mod
el“I do it”
“You do it alone”
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Independent Learning
Direct InstructionDirect Instruction
“I do it”
Guided Instruction“We do it”
Collaborative Learning“You do it together”
SHIF
TING
THE
COG
NITI
VE LO
AD
*Taken from Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Fisher and Frey (2008)
Takin
g th
e Fir
st
Step
s
Once we knew that we had a sound instructional model,
we decided that we would have barriers to implementation.”
We decided to utilize Instructional Rounds as a collaborative and learning format for teachers.”
Inst
ruct
iona
l Ro
unds
Instructional Rounds (IR) is
a teacher learning model adapted from medical rounds in hospitals by Richard Elmore. It involves teams of
teachers and administrators visiting teachers during instructional periods and then reflecting on the instruction that was observed.
How
Do W
e Do
It?
Model teachers are selected by the admin or recommended by staff. Teachers use a Google Doc to sign up
for one of three sessions to participate in. Teachers observe and
reflect/debrief in 2-hour chunks of time.
The
Debr
ief
Some PD and modeling work needs to be done to
prep this phase. Teachers utilize a protocol
for sharing about the lesson. The protocol keeps people
on track and focused on instruction. Careful selection of model
teachers is critical to avoid hurt feelings.
Impl
emen
tatio
n Pl
an
Year 1 – Readiness and comfort in classroom observation. Year 2 – Focused
instructional feedback with purpose Year 3 – Targeted
rounds for parts of lessons or specific strategies/subjects.
The
HHS
Inst
ruct
iona
l Mod
el“I do it”
“You do it alone”
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Independent Learning
Direct InstructionDirect Instruction
“I do it”
Guided Instruction“We do it”
Collaborative Learning“You do it together”
SHIF
TING
THE
COG
NITI
VE LO
AD
*Taken from Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Fisher and Frey (2008)
Staff Meetings, PD, reading, watching others perform in the instructional model
Staff work with colleagues on how they could implement this, reflect on practice, and have expert teacher and/or administrator support
Staff implements instructional components into their own classroom and then teach for their colleagues to get feedback.
Nuts
and
Bol
ts
6 subs are hired each day we do IR ($600)
18 teachers get two hours of PD when we do IR Administrators are
present during IR, but are simply members of the learning team.
All teachers are required to participate.
Revis
iting
the
Ques
tions Could Instructional
Rounds or a model like it benefit your school, the collaboration in your building, and teacher expertise?
The
Resu
lts
Teachers are talking more about instruction in our building than EVER before. Common language is
being solidified and carried over in the evaluation process.
Collaboration has led to many instructional improvements for ALL teachers.
What Questions
Do You Have?Thank you for attending!