Slides for my workshop using the Descriptive Review of a Child protocol

1. A Protocol for Meeting a Student’s
Needs: The Descriptive Review of a Child
All Learners Learning Every Day
Cameron Paterson and Sarah Hill
cpaterson@shore.nsw.edu.au
shill@shore.nsw.edu.au
@cpaterso
@hill_sarahrose

2. Understanding Goals
• How can protocols help us to deepen
our understanding of our students?
• How can we use that knowledge to
better meet students’ academic, social,
or physical needs?
• How can protocols be used to improve
our skill and focus in working with
students and colleagues?

3. Spirit in which you participate

4. “Protocol”
A structure
(or a series of steps)
for guiding a conversation

5. Features of Protocols
• Roles
• Norms
• Purpose
• Steps
• Facilitation
• Reflection
Tina Blythe, 2016

6. The Descriptive Review of a Child
Purpose:
- A protocol for allowing us to know a student better –
and as a result use that knowledge to better meet
their academic, social, or physical needs.
- Not intended to solve a problem or change a child.

7. Introductions (5 minutes)
Introduce the presenters, the process, the
child, and the focusing question

8. Description of Child (20 minutes)

9. Summary of Presentation (5 minutes)
Dominant Themes
Patterns
Restatement of Focusing Question

10. Clarifying/Probing Questions (15 minutes)
Burning questions – ones that participants feel
they must have an answer to in order to go
further.

11. Pop-Ups (5 minutes)
What did we hear you say?
One from everyone

12. Summary of Presentation (5 minutes)
Dominant Themes
Patterns
Restatement of Focusing Question

13. Discussion/Recommendations
(15 minutes)
Focus on ways to support the child’s
strengths – not change the child – and
create harmony in his school life.

14. Presenter Response (5 minutes)

15. Debrief (5 minutes)

16. The solutions to all of
the problems in
schools, are to be
found within schools.

17. In triads, how could you use the
Descriptive Review of a Child in your
own practice? (5 minutes)

18. Using Protocols
 They are tools for the work of supporting teacher
and student learning (not the work itself).
 They must be chosen with a specific purpose in
mind.
 It takes some practice before they can be used
most effectively.

19. How do protocols help?
 Help create opportunities for and allocate time to
essential conversations about teaching and
learning.
 Provide routines and structures to scaffold
collaborative analysis and planning.
 Support interactions that enable us to develop and
demonstrate our understanding of and respect for
the variety of perspectives and experiences by our
colleagues.

20. Protocols
(Almost) all protocols will enhance:
Clarity (making the purpose explicit)
Safety (creating clear expectations for roles and participation)
Equity (enabling/encouraging everyone to participate)

21. Challenges of Using Protocols Well
 Weathering the “learning curve.”
 Deciding when to use a protocol.
 Choosing the appropriate protocols for the
purposes.
 Resisting the impulse to problem-solve (at least for
a time)
 Documenting learning and building on previous
discussions.
 Facilitation.
 Time, time, time.

23. “They constrain
participation in order
to heighten it.”

24. Final whip reflections

25. Presenting teacher