Job-Embedded Professional Learning
Pre-Observation
VOLUME I: LAB LEARNING
Pre-Observation A clear way of thinking about the structure of a Lab Learning experience – whole day or partial day – is to frame it with three key components. While customizing is only limited by our imagination, a lab experience always has: 1) pre-observation opportunities, 2) live classroom observation, and 3) post-observation opportunities. When you talk with teacher leaders about preparing for a lab learning experience – there are really two layers. Much attention is given upfront in those first conversations – that is, Prior-toobservation day. Teachers and administrators partner to create the foundation for this job-embedded experience. This front-loading for shared commitment to creating labs has tremendous influence on how the opportunities are taken up, and the culture that will grow up around the goals for lab learning. In these early preparations, the facilitator and host meet to design the lab experience.The facilitator can review information, provide input to the plan, guide the design and calm anxiety or concerns. And then, there is the pre-observation component of the lab day. This is the opportunity for the facilitator to detail the focus of the lab, establish expectations, and prepare participants for the observation(s). Understanding the influence of a group’s time together before entering live classroom observation can result in more powerful lab designs, richer observation experiences, and greater depth of understanding for all participants. The guidance offered in this section refers to both preparations prior-to lab day and pre-observation on lab day; they go hand-in-hand.
What is the purpose of Pre-Observation? Before engaging in live classroom observation, teachers spend time together, grounding themselves in the focus of the lab, reading related research materials, setting up tools they will use during and after the observation, and understanding the context of the classroom instruction they will observe. The pre-observation time helps to guide the group through the multi-faceted observation. What should we be focused on? Who should we focus on? How do we (and other factors) affect the lesson? This time is so important to help set the purpose and thinking that needs to happen through these experiences. It is important to set a focus for the observation by setting up several meetings with the host teacher. These meetings will not only identify a focus for observation and help with answering some questions your host teacher might have, but it will also start to build an important relationship with this valued member of the team. As a facilitator, it is important to help navigate the focus and key concepts in preparation for the lesson and build in some research support to share with the group during the pre-observation time of the day.
Just starting? Some things to think about: • How can I encourage schoolwide participation? • How can I create more trust across collegial boundaries? • How will I include my administrator in conversations about teacher lab? • Who are the people I can have walk alongside me to make this an even more beneficial experience for all stakeholders? • Does our data help drive some of the focus within a subject matter or as part of a lesson? • How will this experience ultimately increase student achievement? • What research have I read recently that will help build a bridge between best practices and a focus for the lab? • What grade or group of teachers will help me spark others’ passion about our craft? • What are the obstacles for a full day of learning? And how might I/we work to overcome them? • How will I create opportunities for feedback and reflection in a lab experience? Cindy Settecerri, Birmingham Schools
If the focus of the lab is determined by the host teacher, (the preobservation time will be used to orient all the participants to this focus – a question, issue, or dilemma the host teacher is grappling with in practice. The group will listen to the host teacher’s understanding (or read about it in a reflective letter from host to group) and then explore their own perspectives, understandings and related questions. They will also link the focus to related research and instructional materials that might help them deepen their understanding or raise powerful questions to guide their observation in the classroom. Their pre-observation time is preparation for engaging in the observation with an awareness and intentional pursuit of the host teachers’ learning as well as their own. If the focus of the lab is determined by the whole group, for example, in response to data analyses, the pre-observation time is used in a similar way to ground the groups
understanding of the focus of their observation and reflection via the lab experience. However, it does not mean that all lab participants must engage the observation with specifically the same targeted focus. One of the benefits of deep preobservation work is the group may identify multiple lenses or related foci for the observation. That is, for example, to strengthen the group’s understanding of 4th graders’ struggle with a mathematical concept in division, one participant
will focus on the teachers’ language, while another focuses on the students’ behavior in response to the teachers’ instruction, while another focuses on the cognitive demand of the mathematical task. They use the pre-observation time to set up this collaborative look at the lesson and then reconvene in a postobservation examination of how these different but related observations can increase their understanding of both the teaching and learning involved.
Some examples of lab focus in Avondale School District 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010
2010-2011
Learning Focus of Teacher Lab
Grade Levels Involved
Hosted by
Participants representing
Writer’s Workshop – Implementation of Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study Writer’s Workshop – Implementation of Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study Organizing your Classroom for Literacy Literacy Centers Shared Reading Literacy Block in the Elementary Classroom Shared Reading Using Smartboard to Enhance Early Literacy Regie Routman: Writing Essentials A Peek into a Kindergarten Morning: Routines and Structures that Enhance Engagement Using Oral Language to Enhance Student Writing Reading Workshop – Structure and Purpose Guided Reading Literacy Development The 7 Habits- Student Leadership and Culture-Building Writer’s Workshop – Lucy Calkins and beyond Writer’s workshop Authors as Mentors Looking closely at Students’ writing Writer’s Workshop/ Mini-lessons: Revising our writing in Second Grade
K-2 Teachers 3-5 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers 3-5 Teachers Kindergarten Teachers
Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn
Auburn Auburn District K-2 District K-2 District K-2 District K-2 Auburn Auburn Auburn District
K-2 Teachers K-3 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-3 Teachers K-5 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teachers
Auburn Deerfield Auburn Deerfieldq Graham Deerfield Graham Deerfield Auburn Woodland
Auburn Deerfield District K-2 Deerfield Graham Deerfield Graham Deerfield Auburn Woodland
Nonfiction Writing Nonfiction Writing within a workshop model Part I: Shared Reading/WritingPart II: A Closer Look at Benchmark Assessment
3-5 Teachers K-2 Teachers K-2 Teacher
Auburn Auburn Graham
Auburn Auburn Graham
2010-2011
Learning Focus of Teacher Lab
Grade Levels Involved
Hosted by
Participants representing
Literacy Stations in Kindergarten Literacy Stations in Kindergarten Assessing the Kindergarten Child Math Workshop Literacy Work Stations Writer’s Workshop Data-supported Best Practices for Student Learning
K K K K-4 Teachers K-5 Teachers K-2 Teachers Grades 6-8
Graham Graham Auburn Woodland Graham Deerfield Middle School
District Oxford Schools Birmingham Schools Woodland Graham Deerfield Middle School
Having a Clear Focus leads to Professional Learning All teachers agree that focus is a crucial element in any learning process. The best lessons have a clear focus. The best students are able to concentrate on that focus. Generally, those students who have the most difficulty attending are the ones most likely to struggle in meeting academic standards. So, it is natural to assume that Teacher Lab learning will function most effectively when there is a clear focus, and when that focus is clearly communicated to each of the participants. Without a focus, your lab might look and sound more like the average teacher lounge at lunchtime. There will be lots of conversation about classroom behaviors and activities, but very
little communication that produces productive results. However, by beginning with the end in mind, by having a clear focus, Teacher Labs create professional growth that is rarely realized by traditional professional development.
IN THE PAST...
NOW...
We sent out invitations via email, mail or inter-school mail, with the focus of the lab clearly stated. The recipient of the invitation agreed to come to the lab if he/she was interested in that topic.
We talk to each potential participant before the lab date and ask what topic would be of interest to him/her. Then, based on the ideas that are generated, we agree upon the lab topic for that session.
One teacher agreed to be the facilitator and one the host teacher. The other participants came to the lab expecting to observe and comment on that observation.
We often observe in several classrooms. We select a focus and then each host teacher crafts an experience for the participants, which centers around the chosen focus.
One focus was chosen for the entire year.
The focus can either stay the same throughout the year, or change with each lab. It depends on the needs of the participants.
The agenda was fixed and the facilitator used every strategy available to keep the group focused on that schedule.
The facilitator allows for flexibility when it becomes apparent that the lab is effectively moving in an unplanned direction.
The host teacher tended to volunteer to be observed in an area where he/she felt confident and experienced.
The host teacher’s role can be decided during preobservation discussion at the onset of the lab day.
We always used the same schedule: 1) established norms and focus 2) classroom observation 3) debriefing with the host teacher, and 4) professional reading on the lab topic
The schedule is dependent on the topic that has been chosen. The lesson to be observed can be planned by the participants.
But, then the question arises, “What about teachable moments?� You know, those wonderful, rare moments when the agenda flies out the window and the real engagement begins. Effective planning probably clears the pathway for these moments to take place, but it is these great moments, the paths less taken, that often provide unexpected brilliance. These are the moments when a great teacher, as well as a skilled facilitator, will seize the unanticipated opportunity and move into the unknown. Our district has been offering voluntary Teacher Lab professional development for about five years. That is long enough for some of us to have begun feeling quite comfortable with attending and hosting labs. This extended time frame has also caused us to begin to look for ways to make the original formula for lab even more powerful, with the goal of increasing both teacher participation and student academic achievement. Here are some
of the changes that we are putting in place. One of our favorite labs came about as a result of the changes that we have made in the way that we determine and implement our lab focus. After consulting all of the teachers in our lower elementary wing, it was decided that we needed to collaborate further on our building writing goal. This was chosen as the lab topic. We wanted to guarantee the most effective participation possible. So, we decided to use a new approach. The plan was to begin the lab by having each grade level collaborate on finding one effective lesson that would support our schoolwide goal of increasing the sophistication of our argument/opinion writing. Then, we planned to select one teacher at each grade level to teach the lesson to her class, while the other grade-level teachers observed. The flexibility came into play when one of our kindergarten teachers came to the lab with a great lesson that she had found
online. We quickly realized that, rather than working as individual grade levels, we could all teach the same lesson,* but just tweak the independent written portion to make it developmentally appropriate for each grade level. Three teachers volunteered to teach the lesson while the other grade level teachers observed. All students produced a writing sample, which we spent the afternoon evaluating to determine what our students could do and what we needed to do next to attain our writing goal. The observing teachers then taught the same lesson to their students the following day. Resulting writing samples were shared in subsequent grade level meetings and published on the hallway walls. Each teacher agreed that this was the most powerful writing professional development in which we had ever engaged. By starting with collaboration rather than the typical observationfirst format, we completely removed the dog and pony show potential. There was not time to make it anything but authentic.
By staying flexible and choosing to use the same lesson for all grade levels, we were able to reflect on the lesson’s merits on a completely level playing field. Deb Talmage, Avondale
*These teachers have engaged a form of Japanese Lesson Study. To learn more about this professional development of systematically examining practice, with the goal of becoming more effective, check out these links: http://www.devstu.org/lesson-study http://www.rbs.org/Special-Topics/Lesson-Study/22/ http://www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lessonstudy.html
Who participates?
Are there specific roles? It is foundational to the quality of a lab experience that all participants engage in the pre-observation session. At a minimum this includes the FACILITATING TEACHER and all of the OBSERVING TEACHERS who have been freed up from classroom responsibilities for the lab learning, usually a half-day or full-day release. The HOST TEACHER may be part of this session, if a GUEST TEACHER is with the STUDENTS in the classroom. When the host teacher does not meet with the observing group for a pre-observation session, she is represented by a letter of introduction (welcome, context, and purpose, and curiosity) written to her colleagues in the lab, welcoming them to the experience and the hosting classroom, describing the context and purpose of the instruction to be observed, and sharing her own questions about the day’s focus within in the lab. As a general norm, PRINCIPALS do not participate directly in the activities of a teacher learning lab. Still, they are participants in a larger supportive sense. They partner with the facilitating teacher and the host teacher to ensure many structural logistics, such as, dates and time, meeting spaces, guest teacher funding and arrangements, district coordination if needed, and even “party-planning details” like refreshments, supplies, and technology. They may also serve as a coach or consultant to the teachers in aligning the focus of a lab to the school improvement plan, current school-based goals, or newly identified questions that the lab would assist in exploring.
Defining the roles of all lab participants is critical to an effective lab. We want participants to understand that they will be observing the host teacher with a non-judgmental lens. They will be observing the engagement of the learners. They will be noticing routines and procedures and the environment. They will not be interacting with the students or each other. In content-specific labs the participants are “wallpaper on the wall” – no comments, no photos, just looking: noticing and wondering. Conversation comes during the post-observation phase of the lab. Phyllis Ness
HOST TEACHER
The host teacher, if present with the lab group in the preobservation session, offers clear description of the classroom context, specific to the focus of lab. This description might include details about unit of instruction and the particular lesson to be observed. Depending on the focus, the host teacher will articulate her own interests, wonderings, dilemmas and/or intentions for building a lab observation around this “slice” of classroom life. If the host teacher is not present in the pre-observation session, she is in the classroom with her students, likely getting the day started and preparing the students for visitors to their classroom. The host teacher is thoughtfully intentional in talking with students ahead of time about the planned stepping in of other teachers eager to learn by observing what they, the students, are doing; how they are engaging with their school work.
Dear Friends, As I contemplate this first Teacher Lab, I have a variety of thoughts floating through my head: • What is my “big idea” for this lab in particular? • Will the students be able to pull this off… are they ready? Have they had enough practice? I’m nervous. • My colleagues, the professionals I hold in the very highest esteem, will all be in the same room with me tomorrow… will I choke? I have spent the last few weeks reading and thinking, thinking and rereading the thoughts, ideas, procedures and philosophies presented in the following books regarding literacy. • • • •
• students that seem to have an understanding of the use of their literacy ticket, and taking some responsibility for their own learning. Welcome to my room. I can’t think of a group that I’d rather make a fool of myself in front of than all of you… Marcia Hudson
So today, hopefully, you will see bits and pieces of this new learning sprinkled into what I do (we do) each and every day. AS you watch, look for: • anchor charts, and how they are used in instruction and independent practice. • how questioning is used to open a conversation rather than close it.
This model is not what you might expect. It isn’t about cute tools in organized tubs arranged in centers for the students to rotate through. This workshop model is about inquiry-based learning – which certainly might include manipulatives, centers, etc. However, it is more about the way we speak to students... asking questions instead of making statements... challenging students to explain their thinking and justify their answers. It dovetails quite nicely with all of the Visible Thinking Routines we’ve been working on. Math workshop allows for differentiation with ease and gives the teacher constant opportunities for formative assessment. I am not an expert! This is the first year I have formally used this model (and, by the way, the first year I have ever taught third grade) but the farther I get into it, the more I recognize that this type of learning is what helps students become real thinkers and problem-solvers.
THE DAILY FIVE – Gail Boushey and Joan Moser PLACES and SPACES – Debbie Diller LITERACY WORK STATIONS – Debbie Diller TEACHING WITH INTENTION: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action – by Debbie Miller
As I was reading through the ideas presented in these books, I quite often felt like I was stepping off a cliff… definitely biting off more than I could chew. However, after trial and error, reflection, and great talk with “you all,” I have begun to see a way to map these ideas together.
I am using a Math Workshop model this year which has infused a great deal of energy into our daily lessons.
Hello Everyone, I hope your first year of teaching here in Avondale is going well. It is difficult to believe that the holidays are upon us already! Your next Teacher Lab will be held on December 5 with me, Mary Cowan, in third grade at Deerfield. I am looking forward to your visit. Our focus for the day will be math and that week is a big one for us because it marks the beginning of our multiplication unit!
I have no idea exactly what you will see when you come. I know that my teaching/learning objectives will center around students recognizing that any number which can be organized into equal sub-groups illustrates a multiplication problem. We will explore the fact that these numbers have at least two ways they can be organized and link that to helping us understand multiplication facts. What I don’t know is exactly HOW the students will get there and that is the exciting part of Math Workshop! December 5th will give us all a chance to share an experience and help each other learn from it. I can’t wait to get ideas from you about how we can further enhance learning for our students. Take care,
Mary Cowan
FACILITATING TEACHER The Pre-Observation session is led by the facilitating teacher of the lab. In some groups, this role is served regularly by the same teacher. In many settings, the role of facilitating teacher can be the same person for all lab experiences in a setting. For example, some teacher leaders are released part time from classroom responsibilities to serve as a facilitator of job-embedded professional learning in the school, including the coordination and facilitation of lab days. In other settings, teachers share the role of facilitation of their lab experience. The facilitator might be identified because of the lab focus, the level of instruction, the size of the lab group, or even simply shared rotation of roles. Co-facilitators for a lab experience is also helpful in growing the capacity for facilitation within the staff.
Colleen Bugaj’s commitment to being a facilitator for this new work is captured in her reflection:
“It’s so much more useful than going to a workshop and coming back with a big packet.” Colleen’s colleagues around the table praise the courage and skill of teachers who open their practice for observation and study. Regarding participation in a teacher lab, Colleen added, “Every teacher has to engage so it becomes the norm and it doesn’t take us a whole career to figure [things] out.”
OBSERVING TEACHERS
The role of the observing teachers is to create a sense of learning community for the lab experience. They are observing to collect data connected to the group’s identified focus. They have planned for their note-taking and they enter the classroom with a sense of awe and respect for the learning that is engaged there. The observing teachers are on a mission to capture specific “noticings” that will serve as springboards in their postobservational dialogues. Their notes will grow into questions that lead to new insights about what they have observed as well as guidance for their own practices.
STUDENTS
The role of the student is just that, to be a student in the class and in the school, without added expectations to attend to the observing teachers. It is key to the authenticity of the observation aspect of lab work, that the students engage in their day as nearly they would if there were no observing teachers. Again, depending on the level of the student, this requires varying degrees of preparation and cueing. And, most will tell you the students are quickly desensitized to observers when they are engaged with the day’s learning.
Huron Valley Schools Job Embedded Professional Learning... The Journey PLANNING: Elementary Instructional Specialist/ Literacy Coaches prepared one year prior to the implementation of the 2012-13 Reading Workshop focused Lab experiences. They attended JEPL in other districts, participated in Oakland Schools JEPL Network, and dialogued with Lauren Childs and Kate DiMeo to identify a structure to meet the needs of the participants. PURPOSE: Provide teachers with the necessary support to implement the Readers’ Workshop Model with fidelity and consistency, grow professional learning communities across the district and give the gift of time.
STRUCTURE: There were three full-day sessions, scheduled three times over the course of the year, for groups of Kindergarten, First and Second and Third –Fifth Grade Teachers representing all nine elementary buildings. The focus of the sessions is as follows: • Session 1- Workshop Organization and MiniLessons • Session 2- Conferring • Session 3- Partner Grouping and Book Clubs. The schedule for the day included: • Classroom Walk Through • Workshop Topic • Observation • Debriefing • Gifting the Host Teacher with a noticing from the observation • Host Teacher Q and A • Classroom Application FEEDBACK: “It was an amazing experience. I really wish I could do it again. It was refreshing to watch the host teacher in action using the same materials and
supplies I have. It reminded me how much I can do with what I already have. The grass isn’t always greener.” “What a powerful experience. I am so grateful for the opportunity. I hope that we can have another session next year as a follow up.” “I found classroom lab to be more effective than my reader’s workshop training at xxx. It was beneficial to see a real classroom using the workshop model and what it looks like. It was nice to share with my cohorts where each other is in their classrooms, and know that I have support, that I am doing the right thing. It was a great learning experience. I would recommend it for all teachers.” “I am so thankful that I was a part of the Lab, it really did strengthen my own workshop and allowed me to take ideas and mold them to fit my students. I would like to get more shared time with peers to reflect and share about the workshops in our classrooms.”
FUTURE: The current model will continue with new host teachers and new participants. It will expand to include a Cohort I, Year 2 in other content/topics. We are identifying the interest level for implementing at the secondary level.
Are there specific tasks to tend to? It is a team effort to create and carry out a lab experience. By role, many hands contribute to embedding this format for professional learning into the ongoing, busy life of a school. Many of the tasks align with the threepart structure of the lab experience: before, during and after the live classroom observation. At right and on the next page are checklists, created and shared widely by Sheila Scovic, Rochester Schools. Teacher leaders across the county have taken this first model and tailored it for their own lab designs, varied, in part, by half-day or whole-day structures, and shaped by district policies and budgets. You will find other task checklists in the guide sections for Observation and Post-observation. They continue to serve as a great starter kit for teachers and administrators launching these opportunities with shared leadership.
Facilitator Checklist – BEFORE THE LAB Select a book that the
group will use as a basis for study and discussion. Send Sheila the title ASAP, and copies will be ordered for you. Portfolios will also be provided for your group. Send your group members a “welcome to teacher lab” email ASAP. You may want to create a group in Outlook so you don’t have to keep typing individual names. CC Sheila on your message. Information should include: • the dates you’ll be meeting, the location, and the time (8:15-3:15, 8:30-3:30, etc.) of the first meeting. • dressing professionally (no sweats, flip-flops, etc.) • arranging for subs in whatever way works in their building. • bringing a camera in case they would like to take photos.
• making sure the Teacher Host knows that the sub should be in the classroom for threeand-a-half hours in the afternoon. This will affect how long the group observes in the classroom. They will be observing more than just the focused lessons. • sending their phone numbers in case you need to get ahold of them quickly before any of your meetings. • letting them know you’ll be going out for lunch and that it is traditional for the group to buy lunch for the host. Tell them they are expected to stay for the entire seven hours. • asking the host teacher to reserve a gathering space, usually a building conference room, where the group can gather in the morning and meet in the afternoons. • info about Rochester College credit.
Make a schedule for the
Request video/DVD if
day. Include: • Time to meet before heading to the Host Teacher’s classroom; at the first meeting, talk about the note-taking format and norms. • As much morning time as possible visiting in the classroom. • After lunch, allow time for guests to ask questions based on their AM observation. • Time to read, watch a video or DVD, read an article or have a book discussion, etc. using professional materials. • Time at end for written reflection and goalsetting and sharing orally; facilitator should write down guests’ goals, too, so you can follow up at the next meeting by asking how it went. Teachers should keep their own reflection sheets.
necessary; run off any copies needed. Contact the Host before-
hand to discuss the focus for the visit. Remind the Host to let the class know about the protocol you’ll be following before the first visit. No subs or additional guests are allowed to visit, including student teachers. The Host’s student teacher may observe in the morning only.
Observing Teacher Checklist – BEFORE THE LAB Put the lab dates on your calendar and arrange for your sub in whatever way works in your building. If you must be absent, let your Facilitator know and inform your secretary so that the correct attendance numbers can be recorded for budget purposes. Bring a camera if you would like to take photos. Send your phone numbers to the Facilitator. Make sure you have read what was assigned. Bring the book and padfolio with you to each lab. Dress professionally (no jeans, sweats, flip-flops, etc.). Arrive on time! Sign in and go to the designated meeting room.
You will be going to a restaurant for lunch, and it is traditional for the group to buy lunch for the Host. Some groups decide to have members chip in each time, and guests in other labs take turns and only pay once. Stay for the entire seven hours. If you are a part-time teacher, discuss your lab arrangements with Sheila. Be aware that only the specified lab members may attend your lab. Past experience has shown that additional guests including student teachers, visitors, or substitutes from your grade level team alter the group dynamics and content of the day. Know that the Facilitator and Host are fellow teachers and are not expected to make sure you are following these guidelines. It is your responsibility to monitor your own actions and not put anyone in an uncomfortable position.
Come with a positive attitude. Being part of a lab is a privilege and an investment in you by the district. It is a special opportunity to observe, dialogue and reflect with the goal of improving your own practice. Make the most of it!
Host Teacher Checklist – BEFORE THE LAB Arrange for a half-day sub in whatever way works in your building. Half-day subs may be there for three hours and 50 minutes so it can run into lunchtime. The group will be observing for about three-and-a-half hours in the classroom so they will be seeing more than just the focused lessons. Half-day labs may still arrange for a half-day sub. Reserve a gathering space, usually a building conference room, where the group can gather in the morning and meet in the afternoons.
Check with the facilitator to see if you need to arrange for a video/DVD player for the afternoon. If you have a special on your scheduled lab day, particularly one that lasts for an hour or more, see if it would be possible to switch with another class for that day. Let your principal know that the lab group is coming. He/she may want to stop in to greet the group sometime during the day. Write a welcome note for the group. Leave it in the conference room where they will meet before coming to your classroom. Include your morning schedule and what they will be seeing during the focus lesson. Prepare your students for the lab visitors. Tell them that the teachers will be “invisible” and that they should proceed as normal.
Prepare a lesson that demonstrates best practice in the focus area. For example, if your focus area is Guided Reading, make sure you’re demonstrating a Guided Reading lesson sometime during the morning! This lesson should be one that you are confident will be successful. You are modeling what should be happening in all district classrooms at your grade level, so you should be certain that your instruction fits this category. It’s not the time to try something new or create a lesson from scratch. If you’re not sure, check with your Learning Consultant or principal for guidance beforehand. Our Teacher Lab model does not allow for additional guests, including student teachers or subs for participants who are absent. Even one extra visitor will change the group dynamics and alter the afternoon discussions. Please respectfully decline if you are asked to accommodate additional visitors during the lab.
Norms
Norms are an essential part of Teacher Lab. They are commitments developed by colleagues to guide members in learning together. They set forth expectations on how colleagues will work together to reach a common goal. Norms are developed to acknowledge and respect individual ideas. They set the guidelines for the lab, so all voices are heard and accepted. The norms help guide the meeting so everyone’s time is respected and so you become most effective as a group. Accepting the norms will positively influence the members of Teacher Lab, make a difference in the lives of the students, and enhance the community.
Suggestions for Establishing Team Norms
Norms should be established together at the beginning of the first Teacher Lab. The norms are reviewed and changes made as necessary to fit the needs of the lab. Some factors to consider for establishing norms are: • Norms are stated as commitments to act in certain ways rather than beliefs. • Each team establishes its own norms. • Less is more. A few key norms are better than a laundry list. • Violation of norms should be addressed. (Dufour, Rebecca and Richard, Eaker, Robert Professional Learning Communities at Work Plan Book. Solution Tree, 2006.)
• Should be posted in the meeting space as a reminder. • Focus on respecting all participants. • Ground rules or expectations of how meetings will be run and how people will treat each other at a meeting. (“MiBLSi
Michigan’s Integrated Behavior & Learning Support Initiative”, Michigan Department of Education 2011.)
Norms-set expectation for behaviors that facilitate learning
Prior to observations, take the time to set norms for interaction. Make sure you consider behaviors that facilitate learning. Focus on productive behaviors and avoid unproductive behaviors. In our building, we share a PowerPoint outlining norms and expectations. The key slides cover the purpose of the teacher lab, norms, schedule, thinking routines to reflect, and a culminating activity.
My experiences being a facilitator have always been very rewarding. I credit the norms for this. As a new facilitator, the idea of leading a group can be somewhat overwhelming. I knew the content that we were basing our discussion around, but what about the actual running of the meeting. One thing that takes some of the stress away is developing the norms. They set the expectations for the meeting and made my job easier. More focus can be given to the content being addressed and the discussions that surround it. Thus, having more impact for the students in the community. I would recommend the use of norms for every Teacher Lab. Jackie Allison, Avondale
Schedule at a Glance Scheduled Time
Room #
7:40-8:10 AM
307
8:15-8:40 AM
210
8:45-9:15 AM 9:15-9:45 AM
307 311
9:50-10:10 AM 10:15-10:35 AM
307 407
Host & Class Facilitators: Lisa & Shevy Krisen Little Math 6 Facilitators Crystal Doyle English 7
Focus Areas: Shared Reading and Academic Vocabulary Introductions and information about the day. Enjoy coffee and muffins. Pre-Reading Strategy: KWL (adapted) Dialog During Reading: text annotations Post Reading: locating textual evidence Fishbowl discussion activity Dialog Pre-Reading Strategy: List-Serv Lable
Facilitators Laura Amatulli Science 8 10:40-11:10 AM 307 Facilitators Dialog 11:10-11:40 AM 408 Kristy Blewett & Pre-Reading Strategy: Generate-Sort-ConnectBecky Cole Elaborate English 8 During Reading Strategy: Vocabulary in the Middle 11:45 AM-12:00 PM 307 Facilitators Dialog 12:00-1:00 PM All participants meet for lunch catered by Subway 1:00-2:45 PM 307
Lab schedules vary according to the number of observations. Make your lab a professional and relaxing experience. Take your group out or cater lunch. Making connections between colleagues will last well beyond the actual lab experience.
As the facilitator you have prepared for your teacher lab by inviting hosts and participants, designing a focused agenda, and gathering everyone together to experience authentic job-embedded professional learning. On the day of your teacher lab, you will meet in a comfortable space that facilitates discussion and reflection. One way to welcome and ensure a positive start is to provide simple breakfast fare. The physical design of the room and placement of participants will promote discussion later in the day. You will want to provide a folder containing the agenda, research references, notetaking graphic organizers, support materials, etc. Prior to the observations, you will need to begin the day with norms and protocols. Taking a few minutes to outline the day will prepare your participants, set expectations, and ensure success.
Every minute is precious. Once you have laid the groundwork, you’ll want to begin your rounds of observations. Depending on your agenda, you may be visiting one to five classrooms to observe. At this point, you and your participants will be ready to enter a colleague’s learning environment and observe not only the focus of the day but many other details from your colleague’s classroom design, interaction with students, classroom management techniques, curriculum knowledge, learning strategies, and thinking routines. You will be amazed by each person’s observations that will confirm and add to your own. In the classroom, observation note-taking is essential. Each lab experience lends itself to a specific format of notetaking or graphic organizer. In several of our recent labs, the facilitator documents the observation through video and/or photographs. While in the classroom, participants will zoom in
on what they see, hear, question, react to, and wonder. The facilitator will cue the participants when to exit the observation and return to the initial meeting place. It is important that time is given to complete and review observation notes, reflect, and connect to each participants curriculum and practice.
During Observation Checklist √ Meeting space organized and conducive to discussion √ Light refreshments available √ Norms shared (view PowerPoint) √ Agenda posted
• Participant folders available • note-taking guide • research articles • descriptors of activities to be observed
√ Classroom observations √ Note-taking (formats vary) √ Reflect and Connect activity
A look inside...
One of the norms introduced prior to classroom visits is “The Fly on the Wall.” A key component of your role as a facilitator is to guide your participants into the class with little or no interaction with the teacher or students. In some classrooms, participants position themselves in open seating. In other classrooms, participants stand along the perimeter of the room. The key is to blend into the setting as quickly, quietly, and as unobtrusively as possible. Our students have become quite comfortable allowing visitors to observe their learning. In one of our observations, students questioned the host teacher why the visitors did not return after lunch to continue their observations. They were eager for adults to see how awesome they were during a CSI: Color, Symbol, Image thinking routine. Be creative! Be innovative! Your observations may vary according to grade level, subject, focus, or host. We found a format in our building that meets the needs of the facilitator, hosts, participants, and students. In the future, our challenge will be how our design may change to meet new needs. Don’t worry about following a formula or being a model lab. Visit a teacher lab experience if you have an opportunity. Involve your colleagues and create a lab that works for you and your learners. Enjoy the opportunity to spend precious moments with other teachers. As informative and enlightening the observations prove to be, the dialog that takes place following lunch is what makes an impression in each participant’s mindset.
Shevy Jacobson
Rochester Teacher Lab Initiative
As a new consultant in the Curriculum Department, I was looking for ways of enhancing the district’s professional learning opportunities for our elementary teachers. I read Diane Sweeney’s book, Learning Along the Way, and one of the chapters described a model where groups of teachers observed lessons in a colleague’s classroom. According to Sweeney, “A prominent feature of the lab model is the opportunity for reflection and selfassessment. Lab classrooms offer varied examples of high-quality instruction, and participants are supported as they work to improve their instruction.” The ideas presented in that chapter sparked the beginning of Rochester’s first teacher labs.
In the spring of 2004, I formulated a plan for the development and implementation of our district’s teacher labs, and I made a proposal to district central office administrators. Their support led me to present my ideas to the elementary principals who embraced the concept wholeheartedly. I asked for their help in identifying and recruiting host teachers for labs that would meet four times during the year. Since we were implementing reading workshop at the upper elementary level, this became our target area to help support teachers who were interested in this type of experience. We created three multi-grade-level labs, one with a focus on Independent Reading, one on Guided Reading and one on Literature Study/Book Club. I assumed the role of facilitator for each of these initial labs. All 3rd-5th grade teachers were given the opportunity to sign up for a lab, and a drawing was held to select the visiting teachers since there were
many more interested applicants than spots available. The labs began during the 2004-5 school year. Mornings were spent visiting in the host teachers’ classroom. Lab participants (guests) observed all activities during the morning, and the host teacher, guests and facilitator met during the afternoons to debrief, collaborate, study, plan and reflect. A book study was also an important component of the lab experience, and the book was provided to each participant along with a note-taking portfolio. The labs were successful well beyond what we had imagined. Participants were very enthusiastic with their praise and appreciation. Several said that it was the best professional learning they had ever experienced.
All three hosts volunteered to facilitate a lab the following year, and several guests offered to be hosts, so we began to build capacity and expand the number of labs that were instituted each year. Variations on types of labs have been developed throughout the years including labs for specific grade levels, labs for new teachers who are new to the district, labs within individual schools, and labs with a wider focus such as differentiation and visible thinking. This year we are instituting our first lab for elementary principals. All labs have the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement by enhancing learning opportunities for teachers and administrators.
The word has spread through individual and group presentations that I have made in a variety of venues. Sharing our story and the resources that I have developed continues to be a thrilling and rewarding experience.
Sheila Scovic
What are the outcomes? As the lab group brings their pre-observation session to a close, they check for: • Clarified, grounded
purpose (whether collective or individual)
The group will have described and explored the purpose for their lab experience. They will have articulated connections between the lab focus and school improvement goals. If the group is an established schoolbased group, they likely engaged in school-based data analyses to shape the focus and design of the lab experience; they may include a summary of that analysis in the pre-observation session for participants to have a shared and clarified understanding of the issue they are exploring together.
There may be other connections as well that affirm the group’s reason for creating the lab experience.
• Shared study of the
• Identification of
individual learning targets
topic or question
The lab group will have engaged in some form of shared learning related to the topic. This often includes professional reading (e.g., ongoing book study, selected articles, research summaries) and reflective writing to clarify understandings. Some lab designs include a presentation of information from a member of the group – the facilitator, the host teacher, or an observing teacher that helped plan the lab.
Each member of the group will have had an opportunity to consider an individual learning goal they want to attend to as well, in the context of the shared purpose of the lab. For example, if the group is studying the host teacher’s approach to…
• An introduction to a colleague’s practice through written descriptions, artifacts, questions, and dialogue
A less explicit, but powerfully influential outcome of the pre-observation session is the opening up of a teacher’s practice for the professional contribution it offers for everyone’s learning. We still have so far to go in breaking down the culture of privacy that shapes the life of a teacher. The sharing of written descriptions artifacts, questions, and dialogue gently brings down the walls and grows a culture of thinking for teachers where it becomes valued to say, “here’s what I wonder…” and “I don’t know…”
• Readiness to Look and Listen
With a spring in their step – and courage, compassion, and connection in their heart— they are geared up, and ready to look and listen deeply to what the complexity of classroom life might show them. In addition to having set purpose and focus, they are likely armed with documentation tools and tips for engaging in deeply intentional observation, with a heightened sense of making the familiar strange in order to see and hear anew.
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