Slides for the CAS Summer Leadership Institute Retreat for 2015

1. Finding Coherence
Mission, Leadership, & Focus
CAS Summer Leadership
June 25th 2015
http://digitallearningforallnow.com
http://www.slideshare.net/jpcostasr
costa@educationconnection.org
Jonathan P. Costa

2. All the
things
you have
to do..
…and all
the things
you want
to do.

3. Focus Relentlessly on Those Things That Matter Most

5. Leadership
Focus
Engagement
Ownership
Rigor
Alignment
Mission
To prepare every
student for
learning, life, and
work in the 21st
century.
Coherence Pathways
Mission
Leadership
Focus
Jonathan P. Costa
Goals
MeasuresPractices

6. Our Mission
To prepare
EVERY student
for learning, life,
and work
in the 21st century.

7. The Pareto
Leverage Principle
Some things
are more
important
than others.

8. Coherence Pathways
G = Goals P = Practices M= Measures Jonathan P. Costa S= Students A = Adults O = District/Building
Leadership
Focus
Engagement
Ownership
Rigor
Alignment
Mission
To prepare every
student for
learning, life, and
work in the 21st
century.

9. Student
Goals
- Common
Core/21st
Century Skills
& Content
Professional
Goals
Evaluation & support
goals, SLOs, focus
goals & other
Organizational
Goals
Improvement targets
related to DPI,
SPI or other goals
Instructional
Strategies
CC/21CS goal
aligned
teaching
methods
& strategies
Assessing
Learning
SB &
other valued
summative,
formative,
standardized and
non-
standardized
measures
Professional
Growth
Aligned with
high leverage
student goals
and
PL Standards
Professional
Measurement
45
40
Organizational
Plans
District or
building
level plans
or strategies
aligned with PL
Standards
Organizational
Measures
DPI
SPI
5
10
Other…
Connect the Levels

10. The What: High Leverage Goals for Student Learning
Critical & Creative
Problem Solving
“Making sure the Main Thing remains the Main Thing”
Analyze &
Construct
Arguments Based
on Evidence
Meaningful &
Purposeful
Communication
Digital Literacy
& Information
Fluency

11. Remember, if it says “Goal,” it should be about
what the student is learning….
1. Student Goals
(focus on the student)
• Every student will create and present a proficient
critical stance argument based on evidence from
specific historical events from American History.
2. Adult/Classroom Goals
(focus on the group)
• All of my developing students will
proficiently construct and defend grade
level historical arguments based on
evidence.
3. Building/District Goals
(focus on the whole)
• All students will
construct and
defend arguments
based on evidence.
Jonathan P. Costa

12. Finding Focus – Learning Targets and
Success Criteria for Four High-Leverage, Higher-Order Thinking Skills
Jonathan P. Costa
Meaningful and Purposeful Communication and Collaboration Age Appropriate Critical & Creative Problem-Solving
• Learners develop written, oral, graphic and/or electronic media communications that
convey information/opinion/ response/reaction for a variety of contexts and audiences.
• Learners choose a communication format, including the application of digital tools to
create/support it, that is appropriate, efficient and effective for the purpose and
audience.
• Learners clearly and logically communicate content that is well organized so that
listeners/readers/viewers can follow line of reasoning.
• Learners clearly and logically communicate content that is well organized so that
listeners/readers/viewers can follow line of reasoning.
• Learners respond to audience comments, reactions and suggestions.
• Learners actively engage in communication and there is strong evidence of the
effectiveness of the communication in achieving its purpose.
• Learners engage throughout the process, demonstrate respect, interact positively with
others, and react appropriately to varying situations.
• Learners use critical, deductive processes to create coherent representations of
problems and identify the most important issues that need to be addressed for the
problem solving process to be successful.
• Learners formulate and ask questions to clarify information to improve responses and
approaches.
• Learners identify creative, potential solutions and then apply criteria or decision
making to narrow the choices to viable potential solutions.
• Learners plan and implement their solutions, monitoring and adjusting the process as
necessary.
• Learners reflect critically on learning experiences and problem solving processes.
• Learners demonstrate resilience and persevere in the process of solving or attempting
to solve difficult problems
Analyzing and Constructing Arguments Based on Evidence Obtaining Digital Literacy & Information Fluency
• Learners distinguish between fact and opinion and identify when the use of each is
appropriate.
• Learners identify an argument’s progression and instances where logic is faulty or
parts are unconnected.
• Learners listen, view or read arguments and render opinions supported by
information, other opinions and/or experiences.
• Learners construct arguments for specific purposes incorporating data, definitions,
and established results.
• Learners present and share arguments using appropriate methods for audience and
purpose.
• Teacher encourages learners to question each other’s assumptions and premises and
to use these interactions to strengthen their own arguments.
• Learners incorporate a variety of resources, including digital resources, to support
communication, solve problems, and engage in inquiry as pathways to support the
construction of new learning.
• Learners use appropriate search and access strategies are used to acquire information
from a variety of sources to provide a foundation for addressing problems using
inquiry based strategies.
• Learners evaluate, organize, and synthesize information when constructing responses
and can provide a supporting rationale for their actions.
• Teacher encourages the use of digital resources and tools to extend learning beyond
the course content and support each student’s personalized learning experiences.
• Learners use digital tools and information resources that demonstrate the appropriate
application of the ethical and legal guidelines that define digital citizenship

13. Let’s Spend a Few Minutes Reflecting on What You Have Learned So Far…
Big Picture – Concepts or themes you are thinking about…. Specific items that were interesting or surprising…
Things that made the most sense and you believe would have the biggest impact on practice in your district or building…
Things that challenged your thinking or that you are still struggling with…

14. Coherence Pathways
Mission
Leadership
Focus
Jonathan P. Costa
Goals
MeasuresPractices
Where would
you place
what you
learned today
in this
framework?
Red?
Green?
Purple?
Blue?

15. Student
Goals
Student by
student
Professional
Goals
Classroom based
student growth
Organizational
Goals
Building/District based
student growth
Instructional
Strategies
Assessing
Learning
Professional
Growth Strategies Professional
Measures
Organizational
Strategies
Organizational
Measures
Connect the Levels

16. Applying Lessons Learned From New Work within the Coherence Framework
Goals Measures of Success Practices/Strategies Leadership/Focus
What are the most important
high leverage skills we need to
focus on to ensure every student
achieves success in life learning
and work beyond school?
How will we measure the
growth of student progress
toward mastery of these skills?
What are the most critical
teaching behaviors and practices
that we need to ensure are
present in every classroom to
support the growth of these
skills?
How am I changing conditions as
an instructional leader to ensure
success, focus and coherence at
this level?
What are the growth targets for
my students in these high
leverage skills and what is my
professional practice focus
related to high leverage teaching
behaviors?
What are the growth target
measurements and professional
practice target measurements I
will use to gauge my success in
reaching my goals?
What professional learning
strategies would be most helpful
to build my own capacity to
meet my students goals and my
professional practice indicators?
How am I changing conditions as
an instructional leader to ensure
success, focus and coherence at
this level?
As a district, what are we doing
to focus the entire learning
community on the importance
and neccissity of our most
important community
expectations for learning – high
leverage skills?
- What are the critical student
success indicators and
indicators and how do we
report them at the building
and district level.
How would improving the
learning environment and
creating opportunities for
student centered learning
change your school/district?
How am I changing conditions as
a building district leader to
ensure success, focus and
coherence at this level?
1. Student Level
(focus on the student)
2. Professional Level
(focus on the adult)
3. Building/District
Level
(focus on the whole)

17. Applying Strategies and Lessons Learned From Thursday Sessions – In a Coherence Framework
Level Goals
Measures of
Success
Practices/Strategies Mission & Leadership
1.
Student
Each student will
improve their
ability to:
- Critical success
indicators reported at
the student level.
- Instructional strategies - Conditions that provide focus and coherence
2.
Professional
As a class/group,
we will improve
student ability to…
- Critical success
indicators reported at
the teacher/classroom
level.
- Instructional strategy improvement professional learning
strategies
- Conditions that provide focus and coherence
3.
Building &
District
As a district, we will
improve how every
student:
- Critical success
indicators reported at
the building and
district level.
- District/building level professional learning strategies - Conditions that provide focus and coherence