This document provides an overview of a two-day professional development workshop focused on developing professional learning communities. The workshop objectives are to increase understanding of teaching standards, research on effective professional development, and collaborative professional learning communities. The agenda includes activities to build shared understanding of standards, protocols for collaboration, strategies for teamwork and conflict resolution, and developing plans to implement these strategies back at participants' schools.

1. A Journey Worth Taking Fundamentals of Professional Learning MAKING THE CASE & DOING THE WORK August 17 and 18, 2009 Rosemary Seitel Englewood Public Schools

2. Objectives Participants will: Develop a clear understanding of the NJ Teaching Standards, the Professional Development Standards for Teachers and the National Staff Development Council’s definition of professional learning. Increase knowledge of school based change initiatives leading to increased student learning. Gain clarity of collaborative Professional Learning Communities. Use a variety of job-embedded professional development protocols. Develop a plan to share your knowledge of skillful collaboration.

3. Who’s in the room? Two Lies and A Truth On an index card write two lies and one truth about yourself. We will share out in a circle.

4. Hopes & Fears

5. Accessing Prior Knowledge Thinking Circle Map PLCs

6. August 17 & 18, 2009 Definition of Professional Development Congress has the opportunity to promote significant improvement in teaching quality in American schools by supporting legislation that will amend the definition of Professional Development in NCLB to align it to research and successful practice.

7. National Staff Development Council www.nsdc.org New Jersey Staff Development Council www.NJstaffdevelopment.org NSDC is committed to every educator engaging in effective professional learning everyday so that every student achieves A new definition PD definition in action www.nj.gov/educator/profdev/pd/teacher

8. August 17 & 18, 2009 Professional Development Standards for NJ Educators Context – where learning occurs Process - how the system organizes learning opportunities Content – What educators must understand To be truly helpful, professional development must be based on the kind of research and practices described in the standards.

9. Professional Development Standards for New Jersey Educators Process 4. Data Driven 5. Research-based 6. Evaluation 7. Design 8. Learning 9. Collaboration Content 10. Equity 11. Quality Teaching 12. Family Involvement Context Learning Communities 2. Leadership 3. Resources

10. N  S  D  C From the Editor: Enabling teachers to meet together routinely does not make them a professional learning community. Becoming a professional learning community requires intention , a focus on learning , a focus on results , a commitment to collegiality , an a willingness to reshape the school’s culture . Tracy Crow, JSD, Summer 2008

11. August 17 & 18, 2009 Standards as a Learning Tool Read your assigned standard. Discuss the rationale with your group. Prepare a presentation on the standard. Your group will present your visual and oral presentation to the large group. During presentations record key points and recommended uses in your note taking guide.

12. August 17 & 18, 2009 Teach us a Standard Key Points/Descriptors    Visual

13. Ideas-Teacher Needs-What is Valued 1.3 Think about your school. Place a check next to statements that describe the needs of your school. Use RED (1), BLUE (2) & YELLOW (3) dots to identify the top three needs

14. August 17 & 18, 2009 “ Teachers rate learning from other teachers second only to their own experiences as the most valuable source of information about effective teaching.” - Smylie, 1989

15. August 17 & 18, 2009 Professional Learning Communities Professionals in a school are coming together As a group, in community For the purpose of learning What are you learning? Why are you learning that? How are you learning?

16. August 17 & 18, 2009 Evolution of a Professional Learning Community Single teachers, individual classrooms which led to teaching what they knew of curriculum and instruction 1980s, team teaching, open classrooms which led to increase in teacher morale and motivation More recently, teacher as collaborator which has led to a focus on the team’s work Most recently, standards and student achievement which has led to educators as learners

17. August 17 & 18, 2009 “ Continuous improvement is unlikely to occur in the absence of professional communities that change the way in which teachers and administrators work together to meet the needs of students.” Louis, K.S. (2008) Sustaining Professional Learning Communities . Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin Press

18. August 17 & 18, 2009 The Research on PLCs A shared purpose about the changes and improvements on which they will work for the increased learning of students Shared and supportive leadership Supportive conditions, both structural and relational Collective intentional learning and its application Shared personal practice

19. BEFORE LUNCH Watch Video Fill out survey THINK ABOUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

20. AFTER LUNCH Teaming

21. August 17 & 18, 2009

22. August 17 & 18, 2009 Decades ago Judith Little found that most team talk floats high above the level of implementation : “distant from the real work in and of the classroom”,… “ most teams serve to confirm present practice without evaluating its worth”. In other words, without using short term assessment results as the basis for improvement.

23. August 17 & 18, 2009 Almost 20 years later the , the situation hasn’t changed . Little and her colleagues found that teams continue to discuss “ wide ranging issues ” instead of looking closely and analytically at teaching and at how their teaching effects learning on an ongoing basis. They found that the typical behaviors of non-interference, privacy and harmony still prevails at the expense of improved instruction (Little 2003).

24. Factory Model: Focus on Procedures Rather Than Results

25. August 17 & 18, 2009 Teams are the Core Teams do the work of a Professional learning Community. Well planned team decision –making is the key to success for improving academic achievement.

26. August 17 & 18, 2009 The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability for school personnel to function as professional learning communities. - Du Four & Eaker, 1998

27. August 17 & 18, 2009 A successful face-to-face team is more than just collectively intelligent. It makes everyone work harder, think harder, think smarter and reach better conclusions than they would have on their own. James Surowiecki, As mentioned in Results Now: How we can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning

28. August 17 & 18, 2009 True teamwork entails a regular schedule of formal meetings where teachers focus on the details of their lessons and adjust them on the basis of assessment results. - Collins, 2001

29. August 17 & 18, 2009 Seven Keys to Effective Teams Collaboration embedded in effective practice Time for collaboration built in school calendar Products of collaboration are made explicit Team norms guide collaboration Teams pursue specific and measurable performance goals Teams focus on key questions Teams have access to relevant information

30. August 17 & 18, 2009 Four Corners: An exercise in understanding preferences in group work Structure Action Caring Vision-making

31. August 17 & 18, 2009 Move to the corner that best represents the element most important to you initially as a group member/ most important at the start of a task In your group discuss What are the positive attributes that you bring to the group? What challenges might your group give to a group? What is a motto that represents your group Who is a famous person that captures the essence of your group? This could be a non-fictional or fictional character.

32. August 17 & 18, 2009 Types of Work for Teams Study groups Examining student/teacher work Analyzing student work Development of a product/process/plan Conflict resolution Strategic planning Problem solving processes Collecting information Generating ideas Organizing ideas Narrowing ideas Evaluating ideas Making decisions

33. Day 2-August 18, 2009 Sharing Englewood’s Journey-Abraham Alarcon Norms, Concensus Protocols-Difficult Conversations Englewood PLCs Wiki Sharing SMART Goals-ppt

34. August 17 & 18, 2009 Norms or Ground Rules Standards of behavior by which we all agree to operate while we are in this team A behavior contract Creating Publicizing Enforcing Evaluating “ Norms are part of the culture. They exist whether or not you formalize them.” -Kathryn Bloomsack, education consultant

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36. August 17 & 18, 2009 Norms Allow groups to build trust by actually doing substantive work together Create structures that make it safe to ask challenging questions of each other Build space for listening Are ways to make the most of the time people have together Open the opportunity to have deep, insightful conversations about teaching and learning

37. Arriving at Consensus All points of view have been heard. The will of the group is evident even to those who most oppose it.

38. Fist to Five 5 Fingers-I love this proposal. I will champion it. 4 Fingers-I strongly agree with the proposal. 3 Fingers-Your proposal is okay with me. I am willing to go along with it. 2 Fingers-I have reservations and am not yet ready to support the proposal. 1 Finger-I am opposed to the proposal. Fist-If I were king or queen, I would veto this proposal, regardless of the will of the group.

39. August 17 & 18, 2009 Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

40. Conflict or Conversation?

41. Responsive Turns Interrupt an encounter to change its momentum Name an encounter to make its nature and consequence more obvious Correct an encounter to provide an explanation for what is taking place and to rectify understandings and assumptions Divert an encounter to the interaction in a different direction

42. Diffusing Strategies “ Speaking of Tom, when does basketball season start this year.” Moving the conversation in a different direction. Divert “ Mr. Smith was actually opposed to the plan.” Clarifying that a statement is not true. Correct “ I thought we agreed we weren’t going to gossip.” Describing what’s going on so everyone can see it. Name “ Oh, I’m late; I’ve gotta go.” Cutting off negative conversation before it begins. Interrupt

43. August 17 & 18, 2009 True or False Conflict is always a matter of right vs. wrong. Conflicts are a result of behaviors – not personality clashes. Most conflicts resolve themselves over time. If you have a problem with someone, it’s up to you to sow the seeds of conflict. Conflicts only impact the disputing parties. We lack the skills and confidence needed to effectively address the issues we face.

44. Listening Concepts Misconceptions Attentiveness Self-awarenes Honesty & Authenticity Empathy & Respect

45. Listening Strategies Develop inner silence Listening for what contradicts our assumptions Communicating our understanding Practicing every day Practicing with terrible listeners Developing a routine

46. Listening: Experimental Learning Protocol: Find a partner. Take turns explaining the communication challenge you are working on. When your partner is talking, listen with all your heart. Discuss with your partner the strategies you employed to be a good listener.

47. August 17 & 18, 2009 Some Definitions of Conflict Conflict is… Destructive conflict is… Constructive conflict is…

48. August 17 & 18, 2009 Ideal Conflict Point Artificial Harmony Mean-Spirited Personal attacks Constructive Destructive CONFLICT CONTINUUM Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

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51. August 17 & 18, 2009 Facing a problem is no guarantee that you will solve it, bit not facing it is a guarantee that you won’t. James Baldwin

52. August 17 & 18, 2009 The Nature of Conflict Conflict is natural – neither negative or positive, it just is. Conflict is just an interference pattern of energies. Nature uses conflict as its primary motivator for change , creating beautiful beaches, canyons, mountains, and pearls. It’s not whether you have conflict in your life. It’s what you do with that conflict that makes a difference . Thomas Crum, The Magic of Conflict

53. August 17 & 18, 2009 Focus 90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems. Anthony J. D’Angelo It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it. Spanish proverb

54. August 17 & 18, 2009 Conflict Resolution Strategies Fierce Conversations The Consultancy Protocol Conflict Clarification Questions

55. August 17 & 18, 2009 What are Protocols? Agreed upon guidelines for a conversation Everyone understands the structure Permits the kind of conversation we are unused to having Vehicles for building the skills and culture Groups build trust Collaborative and substantive work

56. August 17 & 18, 2009 Why Protocols? Structure makes it safe to ask challenging questions Ensures equity and parity of each person’s issue Reflection Differing perspectives new insights Space for listening Efficient use of time

57. Consultancy Protocol

58. August 17 & 18, 2009 The point is not to do the protocol well, but to have in-depth, insightful conversations about teaching and learning. -National School Reform Faculty, Harmony Education Center www.nsrfharmony.org

59. August 17 & 18, 2009 Develop a team plan employing a “Powerful Design” Protocol With your team review the selected protocols Design a plan for using one of the protocols with a real or fictitious team Prepare a role play using the Plan for Professional Learning using a “Powerful Design” as a guideline for the demonstration

60. August 17 & 18, 2009 The use of protocols encourages an environment for learning that presumes the social construction of knowledge. It is an idea well supported by research. Hearing other people’s understandings, enables learners to gain and deepen their own understandings. - Bransford, Brown, & Cocking 1999

61. August 17 & 18, 2009 Exploring Problem Solving Processes using a Jigsaw Strategy Collecting information/data Affinity Process Generating ideas / Organizing ideas Fault Tree Analysis Narrowing and prioritizing ideas Idea writing Evaluating ideas Reverse brain storming Making decisions Weighted voting

62. August 17 & 18, 2009 The Importance of Celebrating Success Sends a vivid message about what is important Recipients feel valued an appreciated Reinforces shared values/culture Encourages and motivates others Provides evidence of short term wins Fun!

63. August 17 & 18, 2009 Celebration brainstorming Think about stopping occasionally to congratulate each other for a job well done. The goal is to structure celebrations and recognitions into the school year Share a testimonial about a special celebration or recognition you have experienced Brainstorm ways to incorporate celebrations in schools and teams

64. August 17 & 18, 2009 REFLECTION 3-2-1 What are three priorities you have for enhancing your professional development activities? What are two activities you will use to deepen knowledge of collaborative professional learning? What is one commitment you make for this year to sustain the professional learning at your site?

65. August 17 & 18, 2009 Make an individual plan for a team or committee for which you are a member How could your team benefit from using; A teambuilding activity Generations, Four Corners A problem solving process Affinity Process, Fault Tree Analysis, Idea Writing, Reverse Brainstorming, Weighted Voting A conflict resolution process The C.A.L.M. Model, Fierce Conversations A process for developing norms A “Powerful Design” protocol Action Research, Case Discussions, Assessment as PD, Tuning Protocols A celebration /recognition event or program Select and complete one of the team or professional learning templates fro a plan you will implement

66. Transforming Professional Development From: ACTIVITY DRIVEN Consensus of Opinions Pull-out Provider-driven Individual leaning Generic pedagogy Focus on the adult’s work Process orientation Professional development To: RESULTS-DRIVEN Research-based standards Daily job-embedded structures Teacher-driven Team learning Content-specific pedagogy Focus on student work Results orientation Professional Learning Adapted from Roberts, S. & Pruitt, E. (2003). Schools as professional learning communities: Collaborative activities and strategies for professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

67. August 17 & 18, 2009 N  S  D  C SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT LEADERSHIP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT QUALITY TEACHING SCHOOL CULTURE SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT DATA INTERVENTIONS VISION AND GOALS

68. Will Collaboration Work? 1.4 This

69. August 17 & 18, 2009 Decades Strategies Activity Each group is to reflect on life in a decade. We request that you depict each decade as closely as you can imagine or remember What were the major discoveries? Fads? Trends? What was home life like? Business? School life? Churches? Government? What were the demographics? Who were some of the leaders? You will have about 15 minutes to work. Each group will report out.

70. August 17 & 18, 2009 Reflections What ideas stand out most in your mind about how life has changed over the decades? What things/changes have the greatest impact on our students? How do these ideas affect our students? Work alone and record your reflections, you will not be asked to share

71. August 17 & 18, 2009 Your Opinion What are the ten major reasons our schools must change? What are your reactions to these compelling issues?

72. August 17 & 18, 2009 Your Opinion Turn to Your Elbow Partner What are the ten major reasons our schools must change? What are your reactions to these compelling issues?

73. Collaboration Why should we collaborate? What questions should guide our collaboration? Big Ideas?

74. Skillful Collaboration: Problem Solving Skills Defining the problem Getting to root causes Brainstorming solutions Decision Making Skills Building Consensus Clarifying decision modes and authority Communication Skills Listening, advocacy, and inquiry Giving and receiving feedback Resolving conflict Group Process Skills Team building Group process observations Conflict management Meeting Skills Designing and using agendas and protocols Sharing meeting roles Posting ideas Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning Conzemius, A. and O’Neill, J., 2001

75. August 17 & 18, 2009 Team builders Builds trust Acceptance of differences Surfaces commitment Create energy Motivation Personal connections Humor Sense of community

76. August 17 & 18, 2009 Evolution of a Professional Learning Community Single teachers, individual classrooms which led to teaching what they knew of curriculum and instruction 1980s, team teaching, open classrooms which led to increase in teacher morale and motivation More recently, teacher as collaborator which has led to a focus on the team’s work Most recently, standards and student achievement which has led to educators as learners

77. August 17 & 18, 2009 The Seven Norms of Collaborative Work Pausing Paraphrasing Probing Putting ideas on the table Paying attention to self and others Presuming positive intentions Pursuing a balance between advocacy and inquiry Adapted from William Baker, Group Dynamics Associates, 720 Grizzly Peak Blvd., Berkeley CA 94708(2004) Reprinted with permission from: The Adaptive School: Developing and Facilitating Collaborative Groups, Robert Garmston and Bruce Wellman,.

78. Adult Relationships in Schools Parallel Play Adversarial Congenial Collegial Roland Barth, 2005

79. Collegiality Survey A. We TALK openly with one another about practice. B. We OBSERVE one another while we are engaged in our work. C. We SHARE OUR CRAFT KNOWLEDGE with one another. D. We are actively committed to HELPING ONE ANOTHER BECOME BETTER at what we do. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Almost never Occasionally Frequently Almost always Roland Barth, 2005

80. Collegiality comes when the school leaders: Clearly State expectations for collegiality Model collegiality Reward collegiality Protect collegiality Roland Barth, 2005

81. Shift in Focus A Shift in the Work of Teachers From isolation…to collaboration From each teacher clarifying what students must learn…to collaborative teams building shared knowledge and understanding about essential learning. From each teacher assigning priority to different learning standards…to collaborative teams establishing the priority of respective learning standards. From each teacher determining the pacing of the curriculum …to collaborative teams of teachers agreeing on common pacing.

82. What Does Research Say? Text As Expert-EFFECTIVE TEACHING MATTERS-reading Jigsaw Protocol

83. Questions to Guide Reading Why do we need to continually improve and adapt our instruction? Why should be work in professional learning teams? How can working together on instruction make a difference for us? How can working together on instruction make a difference for our students?

84. Until Next Week Thank you for allowing us to learn together.

85. Protocols for Reflective Dialog

86. Phases of group development Forming Storming Norming Performing

87. After Using Tool 1 What do I know/What do we know? Reflection 1.1 Reflect: What value did working with a group add when answering these questions? Reflect: What might be (or is) the value of regularly working with a group of teachers to improve instructional practices?

88. Reflective Practice can be considered “ The practice or act of analyzing our actions, decisions, or products by focusing on our process of achieving them.” (Killion & Todnem) “ Deliberate thinking about action, with a view on improvement.” (Loughran) “ The practice of periodically stepping back to ponder the meaning of what has recently transpired...probing to a deeper level than the trail and error experience.” (Raelin)

89. Experience Learning Reflection

90. Why engage in reflective practice? Reflective practice increases learning at the individual and organizational level so that educational practice continuously improves and student learning is enhanced. Adults learn, retain, and use what they perceive is relevant to their professional needs Professional Development for All in Inclusive Schools

91. No one prepares you for the path: some stones are slippery.

92. Conditions for Powerful Reflection Trust Be present Be open Listen: with empathy, without judgement Seek understanding View Learning as mutual Honor the person & the process

93. Team norms: Protocols or commitments developed by each team to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve shared goals.

94. Theory of action for reflective practice Pause Openness Inquiry Thinking Learning Enhanced Student Learning Action Reflective Practice to Improve Schools, 2006 Corwin Press

95. Banner Questions Add to the list of banner questions.

96. Phases of group development Forming Storming Norming Performing

97. Expanding thought & inquiry Ask open questions: intonation, syntax, presupposition Respond with SPACE: silence [ SILENCE IS SOMETIMES THE ANSWER] , paraphasing, accepting, clarifying & elaborating Reframe: Apply new frames to widen views Dialog: Engage in conversations that deepen understanding

98. Reflective Writing Protocol Describe from your experience… What is it we expect students to learn? How will we know when they have learned it? How will we respond when they do not learn? How will we respond when they already know it?

99. Effective Teaching Matters By Anne Jolly You will work in groups of four. Each person will read one part of the article. Using the 4 A’S protocol The group reads silently highlighting and writing notes. What assumptions does the author of the text hold? What do you Agree with? What do you Agrue with? What do you Aspire to?

100. What is a tuning protocol? Facilitated, focused conversation Formal structure of steps and guidelines Case study Collegial experience A tool to help “tune” our practice

101. A Definition A tuning protocol is a “way a teacher presents actual work before a group of thoughtful ‘critical friends’ in a structured reflective discourse aimed at ‘tuning’ the work to higher standards.” Joe McDonald in “Three Pictures of an Exhibition (1995)

102. When is a tuning protocol used? Answer questions about student performance Inform instruction and assessment Explore efficacy of programs, initiatives Helps identify effective teaching strategies Promotes reflective practice

103. Why does it work? Risk-free way to get at what makes a difference in learning Problem-solving approach Presenters feel good, learn Work receives serious consideration Participants learn Process stimulates a learning community

104. What a tuning protocol is NOT! Opportunity for “one-upmanship” Showcase for validation Haven for venting about students, parents, administrators, instruction in earlier grades

105. The Pedigree Harvard Project Zero Coalition of Essential Schools --Joe McDonald, Brown University, 1995 Academy for Educational Development “ There is emerging evidence that some versions of looking at student work yield benefits for teaching and learning.” --Little, Gearhart, Curry, and Kafka (2003)

106. One School’s Story Research initiative at the high school Use of the tuning protocol Contributions of the tuning protocol

107. Feedback from Teachers “ To me, the value of this process is learning from other teachers their strategies for improving a lesson.” “…useful and helpful.” “ Most of our group participated enthusiastically in all steps of the protocol.” “ During the discussion, people brainstormed, productively building on their colleagues’ comments.” “ On the whole, this was a very positive experience.” “Well worth the time.”

108. The warts “ A couple of the group members appeared shy about participating.” “ The group seemed tentative at first…” “… this activity puts us in a vulnerable role.” “ The protocol feels contrived.” “ The presenter got a lot of feedback about what was wrong but had hoped for more feedback about how to achieve the specific goals he expressed.”

109. The protocol Who? Groups of 8-11 Facilitator Presenter Participants

110. The procedure Presentation (15 min.) Clarifying Questions (5 min.) Individual Note-taking (5 min.) Participant Discussion (15 min.) Warm and Cool Feedback Presenter Reflection (15 min.) Debriefing (10 min.)

111. Guidelines Respect the presenter. Watch time. Don’t skip the debriefing segment. Keep groups stable. Contribute to substantive discourse Give both warm and cool feedback. More “cool,” please

112. August 17 & 18, 2009 Warm and Cool Feedback Assumptions #1 We all want to get better in the work we do. #2 We all want to be courteous. #3 In order to accomplish #1, we need to be thoughtful, insightful, and provocative. #4 We are in this together

113. Warm Feedback Statements that let the presenter know what is working. Praise for what is effective Specific “That’s great!” =X “Good job!” =X

114. Cool Feedback Statements or questions that help the presenter move forward. What if? I wonder what would happen if… Not criticism---critique Improve the work Improve the context Not about the presenter No “should” or Why didn’t you?”

115. August 17 & 18, 2009 What can be tuned Any written form Performance or demonstration on audiotape or videotape Artwork Computer multi-media presentation Display

116. Selection criteria One piece for one student One piece from several students Multiple pieces from the same students Drafts of a single piece from a single student One that represents best or worst or middle A randomly chosen piece

117. Focusing Questions What does this work tell us about what students know and are able to do? Is this piece good enough for students in 6 th grade? How can we help this student (and all students) make it good enough? How could the instruction that surrounds this work execute a better product?

118. Importance of Debriefing GOAL—Are teachers learning about their students and their practice? Presenter discusses how the protocol worked Participants discuss how the protocol worked Sample reflection questions: What did we learn about student research? What did we learn about the protocol and ourselves? Did we actually focus on student work or on other issues? How could our process be improved?

119. Quotes “ The ability to collaborate—on both a large and small scale—is one of the core requisites of post modern society.” Fullan “ The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to function as professional learning communities.” DuFour & Eaker The most crucial questions educators can ask themselves are ‘What do we truly believe about our selves and our students?” and “Do our practices match our beliefs?” The moment teachers begin to closely examine their lessons and the results of those lessons, instruction improves and competence increases. “ Sometimes we forget that the purpose—the real agenda—of a team meeting is not to cover a set of topics, but more importantly to continuously generate solutions to instructional problems in order to get better results.” Mike Schmoker from Results Fieldbook , 2001

120. Quotes “ The ability to collaborate—on both a large and small scale—is one of the core requisites of post modern society.” Fullan “ The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to function as professional learning communities.” DuFour & Eaker The most crucial questions educators can ask themselves are ‘What do we truly believe about our selves and our students?” and “Do our practices match our beliefs?” The moment teachers begin to closely examine their lessons and the results of those lessons, instruction improves and competence increases. “ Sometimes we forget that the purpose—the real agenda—of a team meeting is not to cover a set of topics, but more importantly to continuously generate solutions to instructional problems in order to get better results.” Mike Schmoker from Results Fieldbook , 2001

121. Works Cited Easton, Lois. Collaboratively Examining Student Work: Why and How . Oct.2, 2003. Little, Judith Warren,et al. “Looking at Student Work For Teacher Learning, Teacher Community, and School Reform. Phi Delta Kappan . November 2003.

122. The world is round and the place that may seem like the end may also only be the beginning. Ivy baker priest

123. Whirlwinds Can Get in the Way of Finding Time to Collaborate