Facilitating Teacher Teams And Authentic Plcs The Human Side Of Leading People Protocols And Practices

As professional learning communities become more widespread, educators have learned that they can’t simply form grade-level or subject-area teams and call it a day. To profoundly affect teacher practice and student learning, PLCs need strong and knowledgeable leadership. In Facilitating Teacher Teams and Authentic PLCs, Daniel R. Venables draws on his extensive experience helping schools and districts implement effective PLCs to explore this crucial but often-overlooked need. Taking a two-pronged approach to PLC facilitation, Venables offers targeted guidance both for leading the people in teacher teams and for facilitating their work. This practical resource provides Strategies for facilitating interactions among colleagues in PLCs and building trust and buy-in. Field-tested, user-friendly protocols to focus and deepen team discussions around texts, data, teacher and student work, teacher dilemmas, and collaborative planning time. Tips for anticipating and addressing interpersonal conflicts and obstacles that commonly arise during use of protocols. Current and prospective PLC facilitators at every grade level will find this book an essential guide to navigating the challenging and rewarding endeavor of leading authentic PLCs. Build your skills, and help your team rise to the next level.

This book for school leaders details how to implement authentic PLCs in schools and districts. Its aim is not to sell the work of PLCs, but rather to assist school leaders and teachers in developing the knowledge and tools necessary to do the work of building and sustaining real PLCs. Grounded in Venables' foundational training and work with the Coalition for Essential Schools, this book unites collaboration, facilitation, data inquiry, using protocols for student and teacher work, designing comprehensive formative assessments (CFAs) and planning data-based instructional intervention into one cohesive handbook. In a step-by-step manner, this book lays out how to establish and do the work of PLCs right the first time. And for schools already dabbling with teacher collaboration and who have instituted a version of PLCs-lite, this work can help existing groups go deeper in the doing the work of authentic, effective PLCs.

An expanded examination of the Downey Walk-Through, this sequel shows leaders how to help teachers improve their practice by engaging them in reflection and professional dialogue.

Qualitative Research and the Modern Library examines the present-day role and provides suggestions for areas that might be suited to this type of research for the purposes of evaluation. The author discusses how the results from such research might be applied, and the overall impact of using this type of research to inform development of a more user-centred organisation. The book provides a thoughtful look at the implications of using qualitative research to inform decision-making processes within libraries and is written by an author and library researcher with international experience in various types of libraries, implementing/improving programs and services, and supporting user needs. Fills a gap in the current literature that hasn’t been found in journal articles written on this topic Contains practical applications of qualitative research principles, with practical examples of select projects Written by an author and library researcher with international experience in various types of libraries, including work with large-scale qualitative studies, research design and evaluation of library services

Contemporary Media Culture and the Remnants of a Colonial Past examines contemporary representations of colonialism, by developing a historically and culturally specific theory of neocolonialism in U.S. media culture. Noting how colonialism never officially ended in the United States, Kent A. Ono draws together race, gender, sexuality, and nation to examine neocolonialism in popular media narratives. The book asks, «What are the lingering traces within contemporary culture that provide evidence not only of what colonialism was but also of what it continues to be today?» Offering five case studies on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the sale of the Seattle Mariners, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Pocahontas, and Star Trek: The Next Generation--and providing current media examples in the introduction and conclusion, the book documents the persistence of colonialism in media culture. White vigilantism, prototypical colonial rescue plots, and cloaked and not-so-hidden anxieties about racial and national miscegenation all contribute towards a continuation of colonialism and a neocolonial mind-set. The book's critical examination from a historical and cultural perspective makes it possible to alter colonialism for future generations.

Your step-by-step guide to making collaborative inquiry work Collaborating for improved student outcomes makes sense. But beyond theory, do you know where to begin? How does a team gather, analyze, and then implement and evaluate learning objectives while engaging students and meeting school agendas? Without directed guidance, it’s easier said than done. Aligned to current Learning Forward standards and based on the latest professional development research, Collaborative Inquiry for Educators deconstructs the collaborative inquiry process. This step-by-step guide gives facilitators tools to move teams toward purposeful, productive, and impactful collaborative work, including A clear and concise four-stage model that provides a structure for facilitating successful collaborative inquiry Real-world examples from collaborative teams that model components of each stage Clear, direct, and practitioner-focused tone with an emphasis on action over theory Unlock your team’s ability to work together to improve instruction and increase student achievement today! "Jenni Donohoo′s immensely thoughtful and deeply practical discussion of collaborative inquiry helps teachers to live up to, and also be enlivened by, the high standards of evidence-informed judgment that define all true professions." —Andy Hargreaves, Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education Boston College "In clear and unpretentious language, Donohoo guides the reader through a challenging but practical four-step learning sequence so that teachers learn and, subsequently, students achieve—a goal to which we all subscribe and endorse." —Shirley M. Hord, Scholar Laureate Learning Forward

Ensure your school district is doing the right work, the right way, for the right reasons. With this resource as your guide, you will learn how to align the work of every PLC team districtwide--from the boardroom to the classroom. Each chapter focuses on one of four types of teams and provides practices and tools for working together to foster a districtwide culture of continuous improvement. Use this resource to align your district's work in a top-down, bottom-up cyclical process: Learn the leadership role the district office plays in supporting successful PLC at Work implementation and school-improvement efforts. Observe how collaborative teams at every level align their work districtwide to ensure high levels of learning in professional learning communities. Study real-life examples and artifacts of best practices in action. Receive protocols and templates, such as the Team Analysis of Common Assessment (TACA) form, to move student learning forward. Review a process for establishing a guaranteed and viable curriculum, and discover strategies for analyzing student learning and making data-informed decisions. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Starting at the Top--The School Board and the Superintendent Team Chapter 2: Setting the Stage--The District-Level and Principal Teams Chapter 3: Effective Leadership Matters--The School-Level Principal and Grade-Level or Content Team Leaders Chapter 4: The Key to Improving Learning--Grade Level and Content Teams Chapter 5: Imagine This School District

Discover the keys to building effective PLCs Creating an authentic professional learning community requires breaking down the walls of isolation and collaborating to improve student learning, because collectively we are more than the sum of our parts. Grounded in the award-winning author’s foundational work with the Coalition of Essential Schools, this book enables educators to hit the ground running with a research-based process that includes: Setting the foundation for collaboration and team building Facilitating protocols Examining student and teacher work Implementing teacher-designed common formative assessments Analyzing and responding to data