student learning data related to a specific instructional focus and examine their current instructional practice. They generate hypotheses for how their instructional practice impacts student learning, develop strategies for improving practice or implementing appropriate interventions, and then implement these strategies. They gather evidence about changes in student learning and teacher practice and then modify instructional practices accordingly. Weekly data inquiry cycle meetings provide a formal and facilitated time for content area teams to meet; teams can then use their common planning time during the week to work on implementing the strategies introduced in those meetings (e.g., by developing shared units and lessons, or refining shared instructional strategies to be tested). Vertical content area are composed of teachers who teach the same subjects in different grades. In addition to participating in a weekly data inquiry cycle meeting, team members meet together in daily common planning time for 65 minutes. Depending on the content area, teams often use this common planning time to accomplish the following: Review upcoming and lessons and discuss how teachers could enhance them with specific instructional strategies drawn from professional development Consider teachers’ observations or student work to share and debrief Review videos of one another’s practices, as predetermined by the team The work of vertical content area teams is not performed in isolation. For instance, each vertical content area team has a designated team leader who facilitates common planning time and data inquiry cycle meetings, and represents the team on the schoolwide instructional learning team discussed below. These team leaders share information from the vertical content area teams to the entire school and back, thus ensuring consistency and the spread of best practices. For example, prior to an instructional learning team meeting, during vertical content area team planning time, the team leader may ask, I representing our viewpoint well when I attend the instructional learning team “Am meetings? Does anybody need to add anything to make sure the information we are sharing is accurate? Are there
student learning data related to a specific instructional focus and examine their current instructional practice. They generate hypotheses for how their instructional practice impacts student learning, develop strategies for improving practice or implementing appropriate interventions, and then implement these strategies. They gather evidence about changes in student learning and teacher practice and then modify instructional practices accordingly. Weekly data inquiry cycle meetings provide a formal and facilitated time for content area teams to meet; teams can then use their common planning time during the week to work on implementing the strategies introduced in those meetings (e.g., by developing shared units and lessons, or refining shared instructional strategies to be tested). Vertical content area are composed of teachers who teach the same subjects in different grades. In addition to participating in a weekly data inquiry cycle meeting, team members meet together in daily common planning time for 65 minutes. Depending on the content area, teams often use this common planning time to accomplish the following: Review upcoming and lessons and discuss how teachers could enhance them with specific instructional strategies drawn from professional development Consider teachers’ observations or student work to share and debrief Review videos of one another’s practices, as predetermined by the team The work of vertical content area teams is not performed in isolation. For instance, each vertical content area team has a designated team leader who facilitates common planning time and data inquiry cycle meetings, and represents the team on the schoolwide instructional learning team discussed below. These team leaders share information from the vertical content area teams to the entire school and back, thus ensuring consistency and the spread of best practices. For example, prior to an instructional learning team meeting, during vertical content area team planning time, the team leader may ask, “Am I representing our viewpoint well when I attend the instructional learning team meetings? Does anybody need to add anything to make sure the information we are sharing is accurate? Are there
11TurnaroundFieldGuide.docx