Focused Conversation Agenda

Audience: Teacher Team # of Participants: Administration + Teacher Team + Facilitator Location:School Focus/Topic: Teacher Moderation Date: TBD

Rational Aim(s): To develop common understanding of levels of achievement and assessment criteria (I), analyze assessment results, set individual/class/team/school learning improvement goals, and determine next steps regarding instruction/intervention/student feedback (II and III) / Experiential Aim(s): To be confident in assessing student work and excited to implement learning improvement goals

Opening:

- Introduction: Share rational and experiential aims

- Parameters: Working assumptions (everyone has wisdom, we need everyone’s wisdom for the wisest result, there are no wrong answers, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, everyone will hear others and be heard)

- Process: Review and discuss curriculum and assessment tool information, assess and discuss student work and teacher moderation assessment results, review and discuss complete set of assessment results

- Concrete beginning point: Curriculum (Outcomes and Indicators), Assessment Tool Information (Common Formative and/or Value-Added Assessment), and
Student Work

Time: TBD

Level of Question / Teacher Moderation During I ~ Questions / Sharing Process / Time
O
Objective / <Review and discuss curriculum and assessment tool information>
- As outlined in the curriculum (outcomes and indicators)and assessment tool information (value-added assessments),what are the expectations regarding student demonstration of their learning?
PLC Essential Question: What do we want students to learn?>
PLC Essential Question: How will we know students have learned it?>
R
Reflective / - How does the assessment tool information surprise/encourage/discourage you?
- How does the assessment tool information confirm/refute your observations regarding student learning/teaching and learning beliefs?
Level of Question / During Teacher Moderation II ~ Questions / Sharing Process / Time
O
Objective / <Assess and discuss student work and teacher moderation assessment results>
- What is the assigned level of achievement?
- Which descriptors best match the student work?
- What evidence from the student work helped you determine the level of achievement?
R
Reflective / - How do the assessment results surprise/encourage/discourage you?
- How do the assessment results confirm/refute your observations regarding student learning/teaching and learning beliefs?
I
Interpretive / - What patterns or trends arise from the data? Strengths/weaknesses?
- Are there aspects of the assessment data for which you require additional information?
- How might you prioritize the learning weaknesses identified? Use learning strengths to support student learning?
- What are you currently doing to meet student learning needs both for the individual and for groups of learners? How might you frame your instruction to move student learning forward(Literacy/Numeracy Framework, Instructional Environment Model, Structural Innovation, and Intervention First)?
- How might you include students in the assessment process and provision of feedback?
PLC Essential Question: How will we respond when students don’t learn?>
PLC Essential Question: How will we respond when students have already learned?>
D
Decisional / - What are possible next steps?
- What decisions are you willing to commit to? Roles and responsibilities? Times line?
Level of Question / Teacher Moderation During III~ Questions / Sharing Process / Time
O
Objective / <Review and discuss complete set of assessment results>
- What factual statements can you make based on the assessment data?
R
Reflective / - How do the assessment results surprise/encourage/discourage you?
- How do the assessment data confirm/refute your observations regarding student learning/teaching and learning beliefs?
I
Interpretive / - What patterns or trends arise from the data? Strengths/weaknesses?
- Are there aspects of the assessment data for which you require additional information?
- How might you prioritize the learning weaknesses identified? Use learning strengths to support student learning?
- What are you currently doing to meet student learning needs both for the individual and for groups of learners? How might you frame your instruction to move student learning forward(Literacy/Numeracy Framework, Instructional Environment Model, Structural Innovation, and Intervention First)?
- How might you include students in the assessment process and provision of feedback?
PLC Essential Question: How will we respond when students don’t learn?>
PLC Essential Question: How will we respond when students have already learned?>
D
Decisional / - What are possible next steps?
- What decisions are you willing to commit to? Roles and responsibilities? Times line?

Closing:

- Review process and decision

- Thank you for time, sharing, and leadership

Adapted from the work of ICA Associates Inc. by Ian Pettigrew, Peel District School Board (October, 2006)