This document provides an overview and introduction to a Community of Practice (CoP) for staff development. It outlines the following key points in 3 sentences: The CoP aims to impact classroom practice and student achievement through collaborative learning, application of lessons, and sharing experiences. Members commit to a two-year term where they will explore technology integration, lesson design, and student learning through activities like action research, collaborating on lessons, and examining student work. Each CoP group will establish group norms to guide how they work together and hold each other accountable for making progress towards their learning and application goals throughout the year.

1. WELCOME to Community of Practice! (CoP 101)

2. That’s US! What’s Up? Overview/review of CoP (what they are, how they work, what this one is about) Why we are using CoPs for S.D. (benefits, links to student achievement and Alt Comp, Personal Learning Community) Rules of Engagement; Norms (what do they look like, what will happen in them)

3. Definition? What is a CoP? How does it work? “ The concept of a Community of Practice (abbreviated as CoP) refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.” (from Wikipedia)

4. Edina’s Communities of Practice… … have been designed by colleagues to be engaging staff development opportunities. You are making a two year commitment to this group of colleagues for intellectually rigorous study with classroom/work applications. We will actively learn about and apply best practice through in-depth follow-up in our work, and then we’ll share what we learn. Our intent is to impact classroom practice and student achievement through a sequence that includes ‘ questioning-learning-trying-talking. ’ We will consider various technologies as well as curriculum improvements and/or adaptations.

5. CoP Objectives – Personalized Learning for US! Become comfortable using laptops for our own learning. Explore lesson design and classroom management with One to One computing. Design lessons that incorporate one to one in your classroom. Implement and evaluate the lessons (Year two for most)

6. Schedule? August 26 – 8:00-11:30 October 20 – (EHS student day) 9:30-12:00 February 13 – 8:00-10:30 April 10 -1:00-4:00 or 11:30-2:30 (if working lunch)

7. How is this Staff Development? Staff Development is: every educator engaging in effective professional learning every day so that every student achieves. Professional learning is the application of what we do in the classroom; every day . Professional learning includes trying and talking with one another about what we learn. Professional learning is the best support for student achievement we know of!

8. How Do We ‘Apply’ the Learning? Each CoP must commit to some type of ‘work embedded’ application and follow-up; we don’t learn without this application step any more than our students do Each CoP will decide how to collect and share the evidence of application as well as what those ‘artifacts’ might be Each CoP can decide to: Do Action Research Collaborate on Lesson Design Examine Student Work Combine pieces of these choices

9. What’s Action Research? Action Research is a process through which teachers collaborate in evaluating their practice jointly…raise awareness of their personal theory…articulate a shared conception of values…try out new strategies to render the values expressed in their practice more consistent with the educational values they espouse…record their work in a form that is readily available to and understandable by other teachers…and thus develop a shared theory of teaching by researching practice. John Elliott. (1991). Action Research for Educational Change. Philadelphia: Open University Press/Milton Keynes .

10. What’s Lesson Collaboration? A common lesson is planned by a group – in response to a student need. As they plan, teachers predict what the responses of certain types of students might be. One person teaches the lesson while others observe the students in that classroom. Revisions are made based on the group’s suggestions and you repeat the teaching/observation cycle in a different classroom, sometimes with the same and sometimes with a different lesson on the same topic/goals

11. What’s Examining Student Work? Teachers bring to the table evidence : students' writing, math problem-solving, science projects, artwork, and whatever other evidence they can gather-in written notes or audio or video form-of what kids are producing every day. Again, the CoP determines the collection based on an identified need or group of students with needs. Instead of disappearing into the bookbag or the wastebasket, these artifacts become a valuable mirror of how practice does or does not reflect its intentions. Unlike a standardized test, their evidence speaks directly of what teachers and students actually do and learn. Like a compass reading, it can then translate into informed action: changed perceptions of students; revised curricula and teaching strategies; new goals and a sense of direction for a faculty. Rather than first focusing on the work's quality, these processes ask teachers to suspend judgment and describe its qualities-bringing multiple perspectives to bear on what makes students tick and how a school can better reach them.

12. What Do We HAVE to Do? Meet at specified times and place Stay with the CoP you selected Work to actively engage in and support your own learning and that of your colleagues Decide if the CoP work you are doing can be part of your Alt Comp student achievement goal Decide a classroom/work application plan (ex:AR/LD/SW) Try it out. Share. Try again. Share some more. Listen. Revisit the impact of your application with the colleagues in your CoP

13. Norms – For each CoP How CoP members interact with and communicate with each other during their time together How CoP members interact with and communicate with each other in between meetings How CoP members will be responsible and accountable for moving the work forward and accomplishing goals

14. What should be included in OUR group norms? Your group norms should be your own. Work collaboratively to set the norms that will help your group function in a professional manner. Ex: How will you handle absences/tardiness? “Attendance at all CoP meetings is expected and it should be understood that each teacher is responsible for the content and “homework” of every CoP meeting.” “ Attendance emergencies” should be handled internally within your group.

15. How should we enforce our norms? According to Joan Richardson in her article, “Norms Put the ‘Golden Rule’ into Practice for Groups ”, groups should, “talk about violations and how you will deal with them. (nsdc.org) How would the members like to be notified if they have violated norms? All members should be responsible to enforcing norms. Enforcement can be as simple as raising a hand when you feel a norm has been violated, giving a “time out” signal, saying the word, “norm” or putting some object in the middle of the table when a norm has been broken.

16. What are Norms? “ Norms determine the way in which groups solve problems, make decisions and do their work. They influence interactions between members and set parameters of acceptable behaviors.” Dr. Carolyn Knight Group expectations, also called group norms , are created to set the standards of appropriate and needed team behavior. Why are norms important? The group needs “rules” to help them to work together to not only deal with difficult issues in an objective and consistent way, but also to confirm what each member will do in the normal course of business to make the team succeed. Who should set the norms? Group norms are most powerful and effective when group members create them. This is why we are asking each CoP to set and enforce group norms.

17. Norm Ideas Show up Be present Respect start/end times Treat each other with dignity and respect Practice being open-minded Object on table or signal if a norm is violated Come prepared; be accountable to the group Share Maintain confidentiality

18. Off to a Great Year! Remember that our CoP is an opportunity to learn with and about one another and to personalize our learning to benefit students Those ideas both require personal, professional leadership and participation from all of us