Regional Educator Networks – Soaring to New Heights EFFECTIVE & SUSTAINED TEACHER LEARNING Naomi Norman, Interim Assistant Superintendent Washtenaw ISD

Regional Educator Networks – Soaring to New HeightsEFFECTIVE & SUSTAINED TEACHER LEARNING

Naomi Norman, Interim Assistant SuperintendentWashtenaw ISD and Livingston ESA

Scott Menzel, SuperintendentWashtenaw Intermediate School District

www.miteacher.org/about-networks.html

Washtenaw and Livingston Counties inSoutheastern Michigan

14 School Districts

• Largest: Ann Arbor 17,000 students

• Smallest: Whitmore Lake 900 students

Urban, Suburban and Rural

75,000 students

5000 teachers

A quick question What is your greatest frustration related to professional development for teachers?


What kind of teacher learning matters most?

Learning

Learning is a social activity. You learn from the company you keep.

Smith, Frank, (1998). The Book of Learning and Forgetting. Teachers College Press. New York, NY. p45.

Learning Learning is self-determined. An outsider can never direct a living system to learn, they can only disturb and support it.

P9 Sessa, V., & London, M. (2006). Continuous learning in organizations: Individual , group, and organizational perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Mahwah, NJ.

Joyce and Showers ModelTraining Methods & Levels of ImpactJoyce & Showers (1980)

Training MethodHow do we achieve it?

Level of Impact Evidence of ImpactWhat does this look like?

Didactic presentation oftheory & concepts

Awareness Participant can articulategeneral concept & identifyproblems.

Modeling/demonstration(i.e. live, video)

ConceptualUnderstanding

Participant can articulateconcepts clearly & describeappropriate actions.

Practice in simulatedsituations with feedback(i.e. role play, written exercises

Skill Acquisition Participant can begin to useskills in structured or simulated

situations.

Coaching & supervisionduring application

Application of Skills Participant can use skills flexibly in actual settings.

Knowing Doin

g

Regional System Levers

Organizational Structures &

Processes

Groups of Teachers

Teacher


Regional Networks as a System Lever


Right and Wrong Drivers of Reform

Right

Capacity building

Group work

Instruction

Systemic solutions

Wrong

Individual teacher and leadership quality: promoting individual versus group solutions

How do we build it as a SYSTEM?

“Systemness” Each layer in the system considers one layer above them.

Moving from MY learning to OUR learning.

Instead of MY classroom it is OUR classrooms.

MY school becomes OUR schools

MY district becomes OUR region

My county becomes OUR counties

Shared “Good Enough” VisionEvery 5 years we revisit our focus for instructional improvement

Every year we revisit the impact/value of each of our networks and determine level of resource support

Each network is grounded in the same assumptions

Theory of Action/logic model is articulated

Key assumptions about shared vision and work:

• Not all districts have to join all initiatives

• Initiative has to be relevant to all districts

• Once we adopt a perspective, we don’t train in other competing approaches

• If a teacher were to engage in ALL networks, the work would be consistent and aligned. In other words, every network is simply an entry point to a particular kind of high quality instruction.


Adolescent Literacy Steering Committee, a subcommittee of the Effective Practices/Assessment Workgroup, Washtenaw County Intermediate School District, March 2006

Blueprint for Engaging Students in Literate Thinking in Washtenaw County

Key Elements of Blueprint for Engaging Students in Literate Thinking

County Approach to Adolescent Literacy

System and Individual Capabilities that Support Effective Literacy Instruction

Initiatives to Support Effective Literacy Instruction

Hoped-for Outcomes

Purposes

Align processes and proceduresLeadership teamAssessment processesTeacher collaborationLiteracy plansProfessional developmentCoordination of outside support

Framing ideas:Common Expectations for literacyPersonalizing learningMultiple forms of assessmentEffective instructional practicesTeaming

Align infrastructure Extended time for literacy Creation of classroom librariesIntensive academic literacy class

Increase in student agency and thinking skills

Increase in student reading comprehension and writing skills

Decrease in the gap between low performing students and others

Increase in teacher collaborative practices

Increase in cross-district collaboration

Alignment of district, building and ISD literacy goals

Syst

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ties

Coordinated Professional Development

Form county cohort of trainers and team facilitators with content area focus using existing models such as•Reading Apprenticeship•Writing Apprenticeship•HI-Class•Critical Friends Groups

Strengthening student, teacher and system capabilities to support the development of “literate thinkers”.

Utilizing a metacognitive model that builds agency and efficacy in students so they can fully access the curriculum. (Giving students the tools to be thinkers.)

Apprenticing students in discipline-specific reading, writing, and oral language instruction.

Building strong teacher collaborative processes.

Strengthen Leadership and Collaboration CapabilitiesFacilitating change processCollaborative group techniques

Strengthen Instructional CapabilitiesConceptual understanding of importance of literate thinkingDevelop skills and knowledge Application of effective literacy-related instructional practices

Facilitator’s Network

Support a cross-county network of literacy facilitators for training, collaboration, and leadership purposes.

Leadership & Design Teams

Focus leadership and design team model on supporting building leadership teams address literacy professional development needs.

Leadership Support

Support development of building-level literacy teams

Support building and district leadership

Develop and maintain working relationships with community partners

Our networks and how they are organized

Design for Learning…there are few more urgent tasks than to design social infrastructures that foster learning.

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. p225

.

Student Learning Need

Moral Imperative

Teacher Learning Need

System Coherence

County or regional instructional group decides if the topic/area warrants further investigation, forms a subcommittee to investigate, and if reasonable, recommends forming a network.

The Superintendents’ group officially approve the forming of a network and allocates the resources.

Example: Poor literacy performance by 6th-11th grade students led to the Adolescent Literacy Networks

Example: New state policy on evaluation led to forming the Teacher Evaluation Network

Example: Culture & Diversity

Example: Need for teachers to understand how to unpack the Common Core Standards led to Assessment Literacy Network

Entry points for networks


Life Cycle of a Network


Phase 1Phase 2

Phase 3Phase 4

Engaging Students in ‘Literate Thinking’

Form County-wideSteering Committee

Develop a shared vision

Articulate vital components of effective literacy instruction and infrastructure

Determine county-wide implementation plan

Coun

tyD

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ict

Scho

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assr

oom

Develop County-wide Literacy Facilitator Group

Develop and practice strong literacy, leadership and collaboration skils

Provide training for building and district leadership teams

Form cross-district literacy team

Develop a shared vision

Articulate vital components of district literacy work in terms of instruction and infrastructure

Coordinate literacy work across buildings with attention to transition years

Maintain c ross-district literacy team

Monitor progress toward a coordinated literacy program within district

Review data

Sustain County-wide Literacy Facilitator Network

Provide training and support across districts in literacy and teacher collaboration

Provide support for building leaders and leadership teams

Participate in County-streering committee

Participate in district literacy team

Develop literacy facilitators and organize small learning teams

Two teachers attend summer training and ongoing training throughout year to become formal facilitators within building, district and county

Teachers form a small, literacy leadership team within school and train team members in literacy and collaboration strategies

Measurable change in instruction in literacy leaders’ classroom (2 classrooms)

Provide school-wide training in literacy skills and provide learning teams with further skill development

Provide formal literacy training for entire school staff

Form additional small learning teams to focus on instructional strategies and assessments related to literacy

Measurable change in instruction in the classrooms of the literacy team members (4-6 classrooms)

Research & Development Forming Scaling Up Institutionalized

Reading Apprenticeship

Assessment Literacy

Study of Early Literacy

Adaptive Leadership

Writing Collaborative

Science Workgroup

Mathematical Practices

Instructional Consultation Teams

Cultural Proficiency

Teacher Evaluation Network

Coordinated School Health

LIFECYCLE OF A NETWORK

5 years

Interdisciplinary Literacy


Research & Development Forming Scaling Up Institutionalized

NETWORKS OVER TIME

2004 2015

Adaptive Leadership

Interdisciplinary Literacy

Assessment Literacy

Writing Collaborative

Reading Apprenticeship

Study of Early Literacy

Cultural & Diversity Task Force

Science Workgroup


Coordinator Steering Committee

Superordinate Group of Teacher Leaders

Cohorts of Teachers

Cohorts of Teachers

Cohorts of Teachers

Cohorts of Teachers


Red line represents average expected growth for each grade level

Staffing and Resource Allocation ESA Level Approx .5 FTE to lead/coordinate network

Substitute teacher costs for core teacher leader group ($800 per teacher)

Stipends for steering committee summer and after school work ($800 per steering committee member)

Approx $70,000 per year expense ($30,000 in revenue)

District level Pay for cohort training sessions ($300 per person, sometimes districts have to pay summer stipends to teachers also)

Districts use PD time, common planning time to do work.

Capacity to lead, train, support is all local

Share teacher leaders with other districts for cohort training days


Literacy NetworksAdolescent Literacy and Early Literacy

Michigan Reading Journal Article:

The Study of Early Literacy: A Network Model for Teacher Professional Development.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5fdFPQ37hDsbEVaQU96aXBMYWs/view




Inquiry Area – Early Literacy What early literacy instructional best practices help to produce literate, lifelong learners?


Invite your core group of educators and commit to focused inquiry

Classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, principals, literacy coaches.

Tap community or university partners

Start as you intend to continue (if you want all disciplines represented, make sure they are all there. If you want diversity in age, gender, race/ethnicity, make sure you have that representation)

One to two years to read, study, learn about the instructional challenge and various approaches to addressing it.

Involve researchers, experienced teachers, find places around the country that are doing great work.

Identify core approach to take for the next 5 years.


Pilot with a group of teachers and test your theoryAction research

Data collection and reporting

Feedback and adjustment


Define your approach and form your first group

Approach this as the first group of instructional leaders, so the work is about the pedagogy as well as how to track progress, provide feedback to each other, and work with peers


Build cohorts and use feedback Always work in cohorts or teams where teachers can build trust, relationships, and challenge one another over time

Collect and use feedback. Know where teachers struggle and where they find success.

Collect data because it is useful for teachers. Find a way to aggregate that data.

Use the teacher leader group to determine how to face challenges.


What lessons did we learn?

Unintended positive consequences

Strong teacher leaders make good principals. These teachers are frequently selected for formal leadership roles. Nearly all new principals that are selected from within our districts have been one of our network leaders.

Networks are being recommended and led by local district leaders. Our team isn’t directly supporting all our networks.

We don’t run into the challenge of offering a workshop and having no one attend. It is very collaborative and co-planned, so we know well ahead of time if there are challenges (ie with substitutes, staffing, leadership, etc.)

Our districts have aligned school and district improvement plans and asked if they could pay us for this work.

Collecting data to the student level creates a high level of understanding of how the network is impacting student learning (where it works and where it doesn’t)

We can offer simultaneous training in all districts on the same day.


Negative Unintended consequences

Negative Outcomes of Social Capital:◦ Exclusion of outsiders◦ Excess claims on group members◦ Pressures for conformity◦ Downward leveling norms

Pressure to push weak instructional models through the strong network relationships

P206 Coburn, C.E. & Russell, J. L. (2008). District policy and teachers’ social networks. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

September 2008. Vol 30 No. 3 pp203-235.

Final Thought

Stewardship not leadership “The alternative to leadership is stewardship. Stewardship asks each one of us to be responsible and accountable for the outcomes of the system we design. Stewardship is shared accountability, which is fueled by a shared commitment to service. …Stewardship transcends leadership.”

Banathy, B.H. (1996). Designing social systems in a changing world. New York, Plenum Press.

Questions?

Documents

Regional Educator Networks – Soaring to New Heights EFFECTIVE & SUSTAINED TEACHER LEARNING Naomi Norman, Interim Assistant Superintendent Washtenaw ISD