Thursday walks are the highlight of the week for cabinet members. It's our opportunity to interact with students, observe the cohesiveness and systematic implementation of professional learning, and discuss district actions to support continuous school improvement at each campus.
Throughout our first round, we did collect district-wide data on the implementation of two observable instructional actions: task aligned with the target and students could describe the learning target. This data collection was a continuation from last year and provided insight into our progress of standards-based instruction. We were not looking for compliance, but the impact on students. Below you will see the data after visiting most campuses this fall.
Based on 86 classroom visits, 74% of the students asked were able to describe the learning target.
Based on 93 classroom observations, 81% of the observed tasks aligned with the visible target. Just to be clear, this data does not reflect if the target was standards-based or if the task was at the taxonomy level of the target. We were only observing that the targets were visible to students and that students were able to describe it.
How to plan for alignment? Key questions to ask when planning: What is the standard asking of students? What do they need to know and be able to do to accomplish it? How will I know students are making progress towards mastery?
Overall, across the district, we are seeing the increased cohesiveness of implementation of these strategies, as well as the use of standards-based learning targets, success criteria and students working in teams. This is exciting! It's not easy to live out the intentions of a strategic plan, and we are seeing it happen in real life! I have personally had conversations with a few teachers that talk about how the transformation of standards-based planning and student-centered instruction has brought joy back into teaching! So don't give up! If you are in the mud, productively struggling--you have support. Engage in instructional rounds, access your instructional coach, engage a peer in a look-and-learn, ask your principal for feedback, invite L4L team members to join in PLC planning and/or data analysis. No one is alone! The impact on our students will make it all worthwhile!
Our professional learning plan is a major lever in this journey to achieve our district mission and vision and it is an expectation to put the professional learning into practice. This next round, cabinet members will be looking for the use of learning targets and success criteria and if students can explain how they use them in their learning. This is not about the perfection of implementation, but about impact. When students are clear about what they need to know and be able to do, they will be more likely able to achieve the target. I will keep you updated on our progress as a system and look forward to our second round of Thursday walks!
"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." ~Pat Riley
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