ImagineIt Phase 5
Phase 5 required me to meet informally with some colleagues and then a test run with a focus group of students. My colleagues are the administrators and my focus group of students were my math department team members. Both meetings were to focus on my two areas of dilemma: teachers (the culture of the department) and curriculum (struggle between content and time).
I met with administrators informally asking for feedback about my PLC implementation. The best advice here was to work on norms. (We had norms, but these would be helpful to review before each meeting). Another suggestion was to formalize the review of curriculum with a consultancy protocol. The trend here was to provide teachers with very specific steps as to how to move forward. The formal protocols would allow them to understand expectations and guide them in collaborating.
For the teachers, I focused on one course team. The most interesting trend came from the question, “What were the biggest hurdles about turning our work group into a professional learning community?” Most teachers said they considered us to already be a professional learning community. In terms of curriculum, they asked that we prioritize tasks and maintain a positive attitude (norms again!).
Overall, I need to provide protocols that will give the team members guidelines for participation and this includes norms. I am encouraged by the positive responses from both administrators and teachers. I think that is extremely important to remember as I move forward. Not every QuickFire (task I ask the teachers to work with me on) is a success. But, there are lesson to be learned and we need to keep moving forward.
I met with administrators informally asking for feedback about my PLC implementation. The best advice here was to work on norms. (We had norms, but these would be helpful to review before each meeting). Another suggestion was to formalize the review of curriculum with a consultancy protocol. The trend here was to provide teachers with very specific steps as to how to move forward. The formal protocols would allow them to understand expectations and guide them in collaborating.
For the teachers, I focused on one course team. The most interesting trend came from the question, “What were the biggest hurdles about turning our work group into a professional learning community?” Most teachers said they considered us to already be a professional learning community. In terms of curriculum, they asked that we prioritize tasks and maintain a positive attitude (norms again!).
Overall, I need to provide protocols that will give the team members guidelines for participation and this includes norms. I am encouraged by the positive responses from both administrators and teachers. I think that is extremely important to remember as I move forward. Not every QuickFire (task I ask the teachers to work with me on) is a success. But, there are lesson to be learned and we need to keep moving forward.