SIG: Cohort 1 Year 2 Activities Summary1May 3, 2011

COHORT 1, YEAR 2 ACTIVITIES SUMMARY

Introduction

In accordance with school SIG plans and the Cohort 1, Year 2, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between LAUSD and UTLA, SIG participants will partake in approximately 30 hours of activities and professional development around educator effectiveness and teacher evaluation. Specifically, the MOU states

The complete MOU can be accessed at under the Nov 15 entry.

For the 2011-2012 school year, we will apply what we learned from last year’s workshops and learning activities, and test-drive new teacher evaluation tools and growth and development modules. Participants will also have the opportunity to develop plans aroundmeasuring educators’ contributions to the school community,determining the total effectiveness result from multiple evaluative measures, creating differentiated compensation systems for their respective schools, and tailoring the multiple measures evaluation system to non-teaching certificated positions. And as with last year, we will have a book study around school improvement and educator effectiveness. Besides participating in district-developed activities, schools can also create their ownactivities related to educator effectiveness using the same proposal process as last year. School-developed activities can take up to 16 of the 30 required hours and must be approved by the Ad Hoc subcommittee. For detailed information about each of the activities, please go to the SIG website:

Teachers New to SIG & School-Developed Activities

Teachers who are new to SIG will attend a condensed version of the Teaching and Learning Framework workshops in 2010-11. The chart below breaks down the hours bydistrict and school-developed activities, as well as teachers with and without year 1 training:

District-Developed Activities

For schools that choose only district-developed activities, most of the hours will come from the Growth and Development Module. Teachers can also choose to go through the complete Formal Observation Cycle, which will take the full 30 hours. Only 40 teachersin SIG can participate in the Formal Observation Cycle.

Suggested Timelines

Growth and Development Cycle (returning teachers)

# / Activity / Month / Hours / Running Total / Type
1 / Wisdom of Practice Refresher Course / Feb / 1 / 1 / Online course
2 / Teacher Self-Assessment / Feb-Mar / 3 / 4 / individual
3 / Growth and Development Module / Mar / 6 / 10 / In-person workshop
4 / Peer Observation* / Mar-Apr / Optional, during school hours
5 / Follow-up Module / Mar-Apr / 3 / 13 / In-person workshop
6 / Individual Reflection / Mar-Apr / 3 / 16 / individual

*The format of the peer observation is still in development.

Formal Observation Cycle (limited to 40 teachers)**

# / Activity / Month / Hours / Running Total / Type
1 / Wisdom of Practice Refresher Course / Feb / 1 / 1 / Online course
2 / Web Platform Training / Feb-Mar / 2 / 3 / In-person workshop
3 / Teacher Self-Assessment / Feb-Mar / 3 / 6 / individual
4 / Lesson Design / Mar / 3 / 9 / individual
5 / Pre Observation Conference / Mar / 2 / 11 / meeting
6 / Observation / Mar / During school hours
7 / Lesson Design Reflection / Mar / 3 / 14 / individual
8 / Post Observation Conference / Mar / 2 / 16 / meeting
9 / Stakeholder Survey / Mar-May / 2 / 18
10 / AGT Reflection / Apr / 3 / 21 / individual
11 / Individual Growth Plan*** / Apr-Jun / 3 / 24 / individual
12 / Growth and Development Module / Apr / 6 / 30 / In-person workshop

**According to the terms of the MOU, teachers who want to participate in the Formal Observation Cycle and are up for Stull this year will have their regularly scheduled evaluation deferred to next year.

***Teachers who complete the Formal Observation Cycle will receive $500 to further their Individual Growth Plan goals.

Facilitator Training for Growth and Development Modules (select teachers)****

# / Activity / Month / Hours / Running Total / Type
1 / Training Session 1 / Feb / 4 / 4 / In-person workshop
2 / Training Session 2 / Feb / 4 / 8 / In-person workshop
3 / Growth and Development Module / Mar-Apr / 8 / 16 / workshop facilitator

****Based on last year's feedback, we plan to train NBCTs in our SIG schools to facilitate this year's Growth and Development Modules for the peer observation cycle. NBCTs who are selected will attend training sessions andconduct workshops in lieu of the peer observation cycle. If you are interested in becoming a facilitator, please fill out the online application form. NBCTs will be selected based on their location and availability and their reasons for wanting to become facilitators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the due date for selecting the Formal Observation Cycle?

A: Last week of February is the latest given the amount of coordination that is needed to assign observers and set up the accounts for the web platform.

Q: What should I do if I am up for a Stull this year?

A: According to the terms of the MOU, teachers who want to participate in the formal observation cycle and are up for Stull this year will have their regularly scheduled evaluation deferred to next year.

Q: What if I want to back out of the Formal Observation in the middle of the cycle?

A: Your hours will be counted for the activities that you had completed and you will fulfill the rest of the hours through the book study, program development, and/or Stakeholder Survey.

Q: What is the approval process for school-developed activities?

A: Because Year 3 might be full implementation of the teacher evaluation process, we recommend that participants select activities from one of the three options in preparation for the next year. However, if a school decides to develop its own activity, we will use the same review form and process as last year. Please consult your administrators and SIG coordinators regarding this process.

Q: Can I complete less than 30 hours of SIG educator effectiveness activities?

A: No. As with last year, all participants are beholden to their respective SIG school plans, of which educator effectiveness is a major component.

Q: When will we be paid the $1500 stipend?

A: Like last year, the hours will be certified in June and payment will be sent in July. We will again use the Google spreadsheet to track hours.

Appendix

Description of Growth and Development Module:

  1. Wisdom of Practice Refresher Course: Online course that provides an overview of the Teaching and Learning Framework and introduces the Teaching and Learning Rubric. (1 hour)
  2. Teacher Self-Assessment: Individual activity. Teachers will reflect broadly on their current practice according to the Teaching and Learning Framework, rating themselves with the rubric and providing evidence as needed. Teachers have the option of sharing their Self-Assessment with the observers. (3 hours)
  3. Growth and Development Module: These workshops will focus on three of the essential components of the LAUSD Teaching and Learning Framework: 1) Questioning; 2) Designing Instruction and Engaging Students in Learning; and 3) Designing Assessment and Using Assessment in Instruction. Workshops will also provide training on peer observation and allow participants to coordinate the logistics of the peer observation. (6 hours)
  4. Peer Observation (optional): Peer observers collect evidence and observation data related to the areas of interest
  5. Follow-Up Module: Workshop. Participants return for a follow-up module to share the results of their action plan and then further develop/refine their practice. (3 hours)
  6. Individual Reflection: Individual activity. After the post observation meeting, teachers will reflect on their practice based on the feedback and evidence and complete a growth plan. (3 hours)

Description of Formal Observation Cycle:

  1. Wisdom of Practice Refresher Course: Online course that provides an overview of the Teaching and Learning Framework and introduces the Teaching and Learning Rubric. (1 hour)
  2. Web Platform Training: In-person workshop introducing the web platform that will be used to record, analyze, and report data from the observation cycle. The web platform is also the point of contact between the observers and teacher. (2 hours)
  3. Teacher Self-Assessment: Individual activity completed through web platform. Teachers will reflect broadly on their current practice according to the Teaching and Learning Framework, rating themselves with the rubric and providing evidence as needed. Teachers have the option of sharing their Self-Assessment with the observers. (3 hours)
  4. Lesson Design: Individual activity completed through the web platform. After scheduling the formal observation and conference dates with the observers, teachers will prepare a lesson plan. Teachers can use the lesson design template on the web platform, which is aligned to the Teaching and Learning Framework, or use their own design template. (4 hours)
  5. Pre-Observation Conference: Meeting with observers. Teachers will have the opportunity to provide the context for their lesson and clarify any questions the observers may have about the lesson. Observers can use the conference to collect additional evidence of the teacher’s lesson meeting the standards of the Teaching and Learning Framework. (3 hours)
  6. Observation: Observers will stay for the duration of the lesson and collect evidence. (Time varies)
  7. Lesson Design Reflection: Individual activity completed through web platform. After the lesson, teachers will submit student work, review evidence collected by observers, and reflect on the lesson against the rubrics. (3 hours)
  8. Post-Observation Conference: Meeting with the observers. Teachers will discuss student work analysis and reflect on evidence against rubrics, and then make suggestions for improvement. After the conference, observers will score the teacher by each element in the Teaching and Learning Framework based on the evidence collected from the lesson observation and conferences. Teachers will review the scores and acknowledge the ratings. (3 hours)
  9. AGT Reflection: Individual activity completed through web platform. In preparation for the Individual Growth Plan, teachers will analyze their AGT results as well as other assessments that may inform their instruction, such as teacher-created formative and summative assessments, periodic assessment, inventories, diagnostics, etc. (3 hours)
  10. Individual Growth Plan: Individual activity completed through web platform. Teachers will look at all of the data collected from the observation cycle, scoring, assessment results, and last year’s Stakeholder Survey results (if available) to select strength and challenge-based goals for further professional development. After the supervising administrator reviews and approves the growth plan, teachers can use the $500 growth fund to further their professional development goals. (3 hours)
  11. Growth and Development Module: These workshops will focus on three of the essential components of the LAUSD Teaching and Learning Framework: 1) Questioning; 2) Designing Instruction and Engaging Students in Learning; and 3) Designing Assessment and Using Assessment in Instruction. (6 hours)

Contact Information

SIG Office
Nader Delnavaz
Administrative Coordinator
333 S Beaudry Ave,
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-241-0357 (o)
213-241-8466 (f) / Financial Analyst
Mabel Capistrano

Administrative Assistant
Gina Falcon
/ Project Manager
Paul Hsu

424-241-3411 (c) / SIG Website

(temporary location)

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