PD Model Elizabeth Goff

Professional Development Model

School Background Information

Apple Elementary is a Title I school serving approximately 900 students, K-5. The student body is diverse and is comprised of approximately 50% African-American students, 30% Latino students, and 20% Caucasian students. The school’s principal has seven years of experience as principal, all at Apple Elementary. The faculty is made of teachers ranging in experience from two years to twenty-seven years, with the majority of faculty members holding at least 10 years of experience. Approximately 50% of the faculty members have advanced degrees, as well. Each grade level has between five and eight homeroom classrooms. In addition to regular faculty, the school has used Title I funds to employ a full-time math coach, full-time literacy coach, and full-time reading recovery teacher. The school has met AYP goals consistently.

Rationale for Professional Development Focus

The School Improvement Team (SIPT) met over the summer to discuss school performance data and goals for the new school year. While overall test scores met standards, the sections of reasoning and problem solving in the math testing data were consistently weak areas across grade levels for Apple Elementary students. During the summer meeting, the SIPT members also presented the feedback from their grade level teams on a professional development needs assessment form. A majority of teams expressed a desire to focus on professional development in math. The focus for professional development has been heavily on literacy for the past three years, and many teachers expressed a need to strengthen their teaching strategies in the math content area. Additionally, the school has piloted a program called “Every Day Counts” which is a math program that builds grade level by grade level. One teacher in each grade has been the pilot classroom for the program and this school year the program will expand to each classroom. For all of these reasons, math will be the focus of the professional development for the school this year.

Professional DevelopmentModel Components and Rationale for Model

  • Every Day Counts Math Program Professional Development Training
  • Every Day Counts is a calendar math program that builds conceptual math understanding through visual, auditory, and tactile activities; more information can be found about this program at the following site:
  • Learn more teaching strategies to ensure student learning, including math reasoning and problem solving which is a local school focus (Borko, 2004; Wei, Darling-Hammond, & Adamson, 2010)
  • Program builds across the grade levels; coherence with school goals (Wei, Darling-Hammond, & Adamson, 2010)
  • Builds the knowledge base of teachers and provides active learning during training (Borko, 2004; Joyce, 2002; Wei, Darling-Hammond, & Adamson, 2010)
  • Program will be imbedded directly into day-to-day use (Wei, Darling-Hammond, & Adamson, 2010)
  • Support will be provided over the year (Borko, 2004; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007)
  • Math Coaching
  • Math coach will model at least one Every Day Counts session in each classroom to provide specific technique demonstrations in a real setting (Gagen, Bowie, 2005; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004)
  • Math coach will observe at least one Every Day Counts session in each classroom in order to provide feedback (Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007)
  • Support and follow-up will be provided after each of these sessions during the teacher’s planning period (Bambino, 2002; Olsen, 2008; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007)
  • Professional Learning Community (PLC)
  • Create PLCs with the goals of ensuring student learning, collaborating across grade levels, focusing on results (DuFour, 2004; Servage, 2008)
  • Provide teachers with a selection of books so they may choose a personal focus and build the professional community within our school (Borko, 2004; Olsen, 2008); book choice will determine the PLC placement
  • Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn, by Suzanne H. Chapin, Catherine O’Connor, and Nancy Canavan Anderson

Mathematics in Focus: K-6, by Jane F. Schielack and Dinah Rice Chancellor

  • Number Talks, by Sherry Parrish
  • Teaching Mathematics through Problem Solving: Pre-kindergarten-Grade 6, by Frank Lester
  • Use face-to-face meetings and a PLC wiki for communication and collaboration during the school year (Duncan-Howell, 2010; Kim, Miller, Herbert, Pedersen, & Loving, 2012)

Overall Plan for Professional Development Hours

15 hours of meeting time/training

22 hours of PLC (approx. 2+ hours each month)

3 hours of math coach demonstration and observation with follow-up

Total: 40 hours

Schedule of 2013-2014 Professional Development

PD Meeting Dates / Times / Content
August 7, 2013 (Pre-planning) / 8am-12pm / *Background on PD Focus
*Everyday Counts (EC) Training: Aug./Sept./Oct.
*Make and Take
*Professional Learning Community (PLC) Training
*PLC formation through book choice
August 8, 2013 (Pre-planning) / 8am-9am / *Wiki training for PLC collaboration
October 9th (Early Release) / 12pm-3pm / *Everyday Counts (EC) Training: Nov./Dec./Jan.
*Make and Take
*PLC Check-In/Support
January 6th (Teacher Work Day) / 8am-12pm / *Everyday Counts (EC) Training: Feb./Mar./Apr./May
*Make and Take
*PLC Data Analysis
April 9th (Early Release) / 12pm-3pm / *PLC groups present key ideas from books
*Discuss lessons learned
*PLC Check-In/Support
*Generate ideas for next year PD plan (at post planning)
PLC Meetings
First Tues. of each month
and
Virtual / 2:45-4:00pm (each first Tues.)
Virtual (when convenient) approx. 1-1.5 hours each month / *Discuss what students need to know
*How to assess/how do we know student learned
*Strategy when students don’t learn
*Strategy when students do learn
Coaching Sessions / Teacher/Coach choice; approx. 3 hours over the school year / *Coach will demonstrate EC in the classroom setting with follow-up
*Teacher will conduct EC with coaching observation and feedback

First Session Agenda and Additional Handouts

Professional Development: First Meeting Agenda

August 7th, 8am-12pm

Welcome!

Overview of Professional Development Focus

  • Math Reasoning Data
  • Math Problem Solving Data
  • Team Needs Assessment Feedback

Overview of Professional Development Plan

  • Everyday Counts Training
  • Formation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
  • Book Choice
  • Face to Face and Virtual Collaboration (Wiki Training)

Activities

  • Everyday Counts Training (8:30-10:00): Please go to your pilot team member’s classroom. This team member will lead your team in a training of the program for the first 3 months of school use (Aug./Sept./Oct.). The training is specific to your grade level. The training will also include a make and take of materials that you can use with your students from the very first day of school.
  • Break (10:15-10:30)
  • Professional Learning Community Overview (10:30-11:30): (please see attachments)
  • Guiding Questions
  • Norm Setting
  • Tasks of PLC
  • Documentation
  • Browse Book Choices (11:30-12:00)
  • Please make your selection and sign up on the Google Docs link (check your inbox). Sign up by August 10th.

Guiding Questions for the PLC

Please keep these questions in mind as we collaborate this year.

What do we expect children to learn?

(standards)

How do we know when they learn it? (assessments)

What will we do when they don’t learn? (intervention)

What will we do when they do learn? (differentiation)

Norm Setting

It is important for your PLC to discuss some of the following expectations for the group. Settling on norms at the beginning of the year will help your PLCs be more effective and use time efficiently.

Set norms:

-PLC group meets the first Tuesday of each month from 2:45-4:00pm

-Virtual discussions are at your convenience, but first postings must be placed on wiki by the 20th of each month

-Wiki posts are documentation of meeting

-Face to face meetings need meeting minutes sheets for documentation

Meeting Time Norms:

-Discuss expectations for starting and finishing on time.

-Discuss expectations for attendance.

-Where will you meet (when face to face)? Will this change?

-Who will turn in minutes of meeting? Will this change?

-Are there expectations for length of wiki postings?

Discussion Norms:

-Are there expectations for wiki postings? What points should be included each month?

-Are there expectations for response posts?

-During face-to-face meetings, how can we insure productive discussions? (listening, making sure all have a voice, helping one another stay on topic)

Planning/Collaboration Norms:

-Are there expectations for bringing student data to meetings?

-Are there expectations for assigning and keeping up with book readings?

-How do we make group decisions (especially if not all agree)?

-How do we treat one another during these meetings? What is our ultimate goal?

-How can we increase professionalism and build community through our PLC?

Tasks of the PLC

PLC Meeting Minutes (Face-to-Face Meetings)

Names of participants (sign in here):

Standards to focus on this month:

How do you know if student learn the content? What assessments will you use/create?

Ideas for intervention and differentiation based on your PLC book:

Where are you meeting next month? What are the to-do’s for the month?

Remaining Professional Development Sessions and Components with Descriptions

Second Meeting: Wiki Training

(August 8th, 8am-9am)

-1 hour of wiki training for PLC collaboration

-Teachers will learn how to create, post, respond, and edit on the PLC wiki

-Discuss on-line etiquette norms

-Basic function support resource sheet will also be handed out

Third Meeting: Everyday Counts (EC) Math/PLC Support

(October 9th; Early Release Day; 12pm-3pm)

1 ½ hours of EC math in-service: materials overview/preview the Nov/Dec/Jan program

-This training will be done by grade level in the classroom of the piloting teacher

-Active demonstration of the program will take place

-Teachers have a chance to interact with materials, as well

30-45 mins. of make and take session for math materials

-Teachers can make resources they feel will be best for their students

-These materials can be integrated into teaching on a day-to-day basis

30-45 mins. to discuss the PLC groups, what’s going well, where are there issues?

-Clarify the goals of PLC

-Review PLC process

-Address questions and concerns

Fourth Meeting: EC Math/Data Analysis

(January 6th; Teacher Work Day; 8am-12pm)

1 ½ hours of calendar math in-service: materials overview/ preview Feb/Mar/Apr/May

-This training will be done by grade level in the classroom of the piloting teacher

-Active demonstration of the program will take place

-Teachers have a chance to interact with materials, as well

30-45 mins. of make and take session for math materials

-Teachers can make resources they feel will be best for their students

-These materials can be integrated into teaching on a day-to-day basis

1 ½ hours of examining student data

-Teachers will bring mid-year benchmark assessment data

-Work with PLC to decide on next focus to insure student learning (What standards need revisiting?)

-Collaborate to determine how to assess the learning of the students

-Plan strategies for intervention and differentiation from book choice (and other resources)

-Teachers will share highlights of student learning and share how this was accomplished

Fifth Meeting: PLC Book Sharing/PLC Support

(April 9th, Early Release Day; 12pm-3pm)

2 hours of PLC group presentations

-PLCs will share/present strategies from their group book choice

-Each team will individually present for approx. 20 minutes on the important lessons learned relating to student learning growth with a Powerpoint, Prezi, charts, video, etc.

45 mins. to discuss the PLC groups, what’s going well, where are there issues?

-Discuss the pros and cons of the wiki as a collaboration tool

-Address questions and concerns

*Assessment of PD will take place over post planning

-Teachers will completeneeds assessment surveys for next school year (addressing student needs/personal teaching needs)

-Teachers will also complete a survey regarding their experience with current PD (including EC training/coaching experience/PLC experience/Wiki collaboration experience)

-Information from the PD survey will be shared during the School Improvement Planning Team summer session

Professional Learning Communities

(throughout school year; approximately 22 hours)

-PLC groups will be formed by book choice

-Books will be examined during the first PD meeting; a Google doc will be used for book preference sign-up

-Groups can have no more than 12 people (there are enough books for three PLC groups per book)

-Teachers will meet with their PLC group face-to-face once each month from 2:45- 4:00pm(minutes will be turned in for each face-to-face meeting)

-Teachers will spend at least an hour each month posting to the wiki board for collaboration

-Math and literacy coaches, as well as administrators, will add to wiki discussions on a regular basis

-PLC groups will set norms for meetings and wiki discussions

-Some norms are set* (such as meeting times and first postings to collaborative wikis by the 20th of each month); norms should reflect the goals of the PLC (*see first PD

meeting handout materials)

-Teachers will read their selected book over the course of the school year

-The book will be a basis for math strategies for intervention and differentiation

-The PLC group will present strategies from the book they have chosen to the faculty during the April PD meeting

Math Coaching

(approximately 3 hours during the school year)

-During the school year, each teacher will plan a time for the math coach to come in and model an EC lesson (45 minutes)

-Follow-up to this demonstration will occur during the teacher’s planning time that day (45 minutes)

-During follow-up, teachers and coach will discuss areas of student understanding and weakness, as well as strategies within EC that may be appropriate for students

-Also during follow-up, the teacher will discuss one or two areas that he/she would like the coach to focus her observation on (see next bullet point)

-The coach and teacher will plan a time for the coach to come and observe the teacher in action with the EC program (45 minutes)

-The coach will focus her observation primarily on the areas that the teacher has asked for specific feedback

-During the follow-up (45 minutes), the coach and teacher will talk about the lesson, focusing primarily on the teacher’s requested areas, feedback will provide “next steps” for the teacher’s successful program implementation

-The teacher and coach may schedule another demonstration and/or observation if desired