Leadership focus . . .

Yesterday, we had our teacher leadership meeting focused on creating a deeper understanding of the Classroom 10 characteristic of key content and checks for understanding. Nancy and Kristin used a video of an elementary classroom lesson to assist us in observing and labeling behaviors aligned with the key components necessary to make learning visual and understood by all students. In one meeting we were able to combine learning and observing, two of the elements necessary for successful staff development that will actually influence behavior. Though I did not leave as an expert, I know that these learning opportunities result in me feeling better about my understanding and capacity to observe and provide feedback and reflection for others.


Through this and other experiences, we are bringing much more clarity to our Classroom 10 goal beginning next year. The emerging focus is on the instructional practices that are necessary to take advantage of the research findings and potential for this work to influence student achievement. These best practices will guide our document development work and content for adult learning. Here is a link to the power point used yesterday to support our learning. Under PD Resources for Classroom 10, click on the power point for key content.

Feedback from teachers about this learning opportunity was positive with suggestions for increasing the opportunity to incorporate videos into our adult learning model.
• The video lab is a great way to show people what you want rather than telling people what to do.
• Make sure to get a variety of videos for different subjects and ALL grade levels.

I also want to share this additional comment on the feedback form because I believe that it captures the current reality for most teachers in our system.
• . . .connections, bringing it to our attention that we already do most of these it is just a matter of being more conscious and deliberate rather than doing something new.

Yes, for most teachers it will not be new learning. We will become more focused in lesson planning to ensure that best practices are embedded in the goals and activities for the day and that we are more intentional about when and how we check for understanding. Lessons will end with a summary and students with the opportunity to reflect on what they learned that day in relation to the identified key content.

In a later post I will share the other learning component of the day focused on language and culture. Until then, if you were a participant in yesterday’s learning opportunity please consider sharing with us your observations, thinking, and feelings.