Building a Collaborative

Community through Classroom

Learning LabsTeresa McDougall and Dr. Dorothy VanderJagt

Changing the Culture of

Classrooms, Buildings, and

Districts Through Classroom

Learning Labs

The Ripple Effect…………………..Teresa McDougall and Dr. Dorothy VanderJagt

@tmcdicoach

@dvanderj

What are some elements of collaboration

you believe are needed for students to

achieve and thrive?

What are some elements of collaboration

you believe are needed for educators to

achieve and thrive?

What are elements of professional

development you value?

Traditional form of Professional Development

Compared to Classroom Learning Labs

Classroom Learning Labs:● Relationship is peer-peer

● Teacher reflects, chooses area for

professional growth,

● Focuses on student learning and

evidence of the learning

● Facilitator and colleagues follow up

with host and guest educators to coach

and collaborate

● CHOICE

Traditional Form: ● Relationship is expert-novice

● Expert/supervisor evaluates,

areas for discussion

● Focuses on teacher actions

● Generally one time session

The outcome of powerful conversations

regarding instructional practice results in

change and adjustment in teacher practice

resulting in increased student

achievement.

Schools with professional collaboration exhibit

relationships and behaviors that support quality work

and effective instruction, including the following:

● More complex problem-solving and extensive sharing of craft knowledge

● Stronger professional networks to share information

● Greater risk-taking and experimentation (because colleagues offer support

and feedback)

● A richer technical language shared by educators in the school that can

transmit professional knowledge quickly

● Increased job satisfaction and identification with the school

● More continuous and comprehensive attempts to improve the school,

when combined with school-level improvement efforts

(see Fullan and Hargreaves, 1991, for an excellent review)

Teachers and administrators spend time observing

each other, and they instruct each other in the craft

of teaching through formal and informal

demonstrations.

Collegial environments favor in-depth problem solving

and planning. Interactions among staff and

administrators foster more successful staff

development, ongoing refinement of instruction, and

improved teaching.

Schools with Strong Collegial Orientations

As Susan Johnson (1990) found in her

study of teachers and their work:

The teachers made it clear that continuing collegial

interaction benefits both them and their students. It

sustains them through difficult times. It deepens their

understanding of subject matter and pedagogy, supplies

them with novel approaches, and allows them to test

and compare practices. It encourages cooperative

approaches to school change. It promotes high

professional standards and a more coherent

instructional experience for children. (p. 178)

Key aspect of collaborative cultures

is the teachers' sense of efficacy

- "the extent to which a teacher believes that he or she

has the capacity to affect student learning"

(Ashton, Burr and Crocker, 1984, p. 29).

-Teachers with a high sense of efficacy believe that their

efforts and expertise will have more impact on student

learning than such external variables as parental

support, class size, student motivation, and student

socioeconomic background (Smylie, 1988; Rosenholtz, 1989).

In what ways do you have or support

collaboration in your classroom, building,

or district?

Structures and Activities That Support

CollaborationWhen staff have more opportunities to

collaborate in activities that are

positive, self- directed, and important

to them, a culture of collaboration is

more likely to develop (see Little, 1982; Fullan and Hargreaves, 1989).

Building Collaboration Across the

Building, District, and County

1. Reflective dialogue.

2. De-privatization of practice

3. Collective focus on student learning

4. Collaboration

5. Shared norms and values

Social and human resources to

enhance professional community● Openness to improvement -- support for risk taking

● Trust and respect -- teachers honored for their expertise

● Cognitive skill base -- effective teaching based on expertise in the knowledge and skills of teaching

● Supportive leadership -- focused on shared purpose, continuous improvement, and collaboration

● Socialization -- The school culture must encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative ones, in a daily process aimed at working toward the school vision and mission.

The Goal of the CLL is to Develop More

Reflective Practitioners

“It is a well-accepted fact among educators that what a teacher

does in the classroom has a direct effect on student

achievement.”(Nye, Konstantopoulos, & Hedges, 2004)

A number of researchers have reported results that support

professional development that “is situated in practice, is ongoing,

promotes collaborative inquiry and critical discourse, and is

focused on improving student learning.” (Mast & Ginsberg, 2010, p. 257)

(Ball & Cohen, 1999; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1999; Lyons &

LaBoskey, 2002)

“Effective professional development for teachers should help them

“explore the upsides and downsides of experience, making their

practice transparent and their knowledge public in the presence of

others.”(Cheryl Craig and Margaret Olson 2002 p. 117)

What are some ways the professional

development you provide or have experienced,

encourages teachers to develop a habit of

thinking to be more reflective in their own

practices?

What is the Classroom Learning

Lab?Professional Learning

created and provided

for Educators by

Educators that has a

ripple effect on

teaching and learning

What are the Adopted Protocols?1. Pre-Lesson Coaching Conversation

2. CLL:

Pre Brief

Classroom Observation

DeBrief-Collaborative Conversations

3. Follow Up:

Coach or Facilitator follows up on the goals stated

by participants.

Instructional Dialogue

The more we have collaborative

conversation, we realize they are like

layers of an onion.

Developing the CLL

A teacher must have a general idea

of what constitutes

effective teaching.

Growing a teacher’s domain

knowledge so they know what strategies and

behaviors are generally effective in their areas of

expertise, while developing the practice to grow more

effective strategies to meet the needs of their

students.

Impact on the Classroom Culture

Abby’s Reflection on her own instruction and student learning.

“Increased Classroom or Student Dialogue”

“Questioning to get to students thinking”

“Use of Formative Assessments to make instructional

decisions”

“Beginning to become aware of some of the subtleties

going on the classroom”

“Use of multiple cooperative and collaborative strategies

and groupings.

The CLL has impacted my teaching and student

learning by helping me find the areas that I am

doing well in and those areas that I need to

improve.

Collaborating with other teachers has also given

me a wealth of ideas and knowledge. It also

fosters teachers to want to collaborate more,

which is an ideal way to grow in our profession.

Students are engaged and eager to learn. (Michele Stutzky, Teacher, Grandville Public Schools)

Impact on the Classroom Culture

Impact on the Building Culture

● Increased interest in participation in learning from colleagues

● Meaningful conversation around instructional thinking that

probably wouldn't have happened

● Growing in our ability to provide high quality insight

● Building leadership capacity in the teaching ranks

● Helped our district align in a common area

● Brings value to the craft of teaching-seems we honor the

decisions/moves a teacher makes because there is a pre-brief and

debrief platform where they defend/justify their thinking(Michelle Krynicki, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Godwin Heights 2015)

Theresa’s thoughts on the impact CLL has had on her building.

Impact on the Building Culture

We are seeing the CLL evolve. Unique collaborative learning models

reflecting the desires of our teachers are starting to develop. We have

noticed more teacher teams collaborating within schools (even some

outside of their own school in cross-grade teams) to improve instruction

in a variety of content areas. The collaborative spirit is growing. (Michelle Becker, Instructional Coach, Forest Hills Public Schools 2015)

Impact on the County Culture● Teachers focus on teaching and learning

○ Implementation of the standards

○ Innovative ideas

○ Inquiry

○ Implementation of new curriculum

○ Seeking feedback

○ Student evidence of learning

● Developing curriculum and resources○ Cross collaboration

● Administrators share strengths and weaknesses○ Their curriculum, student data, or needs of teachers-areas they

would like to develop

Impact on the County Culture

Cross districts and county Lines CLL

Cross district sharing of ideas and

resources

Collaboration on curriculum,

resources, instructional practices,

innovative ideas.

Teacher Reflections on the CLL Professional

Learning Experience

● “Being a member of the group has pushed me to grow as a

teacher. Also, it has pushed me to look more closely at the

Instructional Model. I have thought much more about why I do

what I do in the classroom. Getting ideas from other teachers

and being able to talk together is incredibly valuable.”

● “It pushes me to the next level of instruction. It encourages me

to take risks and be reflective on my teaching. I have taken a

piece of every members lesson and used it in my own

classroom.”

● “Thank you so much for this opportunity! I’m so

happy that I took a chance and said yes. :)”

Impact on Student Achievement

One Middle School teacher shared after participating in a

CLL where the host teacher modeled scaffolded questioning

in her class dialogue to get to student deeper thinking.

After a month of implementing more questioning and

providing students more opportunities to share thinking, he

noticed an increase in student test scores by 15%-20%.

In what ways do the CLL compare to

what you envision for your

colleagues?

What are you wondering about?

What questions might you have?

Resources for you to access

http://cllicoach.weebly.com/

@tmcdicoach

@dvanderj

The Literature

Reflecting on Teaching and Learning● Peer mediation:

● Communities of practice (Wenger, 2014)

● Reflection-in-action (Schon, 1983)

● Progressive discourse (Wells, 2000)

● Peer coaching (Joyce & Showers, 2002)

● Expert mediation

● Responsive and directive coaching (Ippolito 2009)

● Student-centered coaching (Sweeney, 2011)

● Cognitive Coaching (Costa & Garmston, 2002)

● Video mediation

● Video clubs in Mathematics teacher noticings (Sherrin, 2011)

Research to Support Our Work

Cambourne, B. (1995). Toward an educationally relevant theory of literacy learning: Twenty years of

inquiry. The Reading Teacher, 49(3), 182-190.

DuFour, R. & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for

enhancing student achievement. Bllomington, IN: National Education Service.

Houk, L, (2010). Demonstrating teaching in a lab classroom. Educational Leadership, 67.

International Reading Association (2010). Standards for Reading Professionals. Retrieved March 26,

2013 from:

http://www.reading.org/General/CurrentResearch/Standards/ProfessionalStandards2010.aspx

Lacina, J. & Block, C.C. (2011). What matters most in distinguished literacy teacher education

programs? Journal of Literacy Research. 43(4), 319-351.

Marker, E. & D’Onfrio, A. (2010). A different kind of coaching: The professional preparation of

graduate level reading specialists combining video coaching with concurrent feedback. College

Reading Association Yearbook, 31, 95-112.

Sweeney, D. (2010). Student-centered coaching: A guide for K-8 principals and coaches.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Tomlinson, C.A. & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by

design: Connecting content and kids. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development:

Alexandria, VA.

Wenger, E. (c2007). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Communities of practice.

[http://www.ewenger.com/theory/. Accessed May 9, 2014.

Zhang & Miller in R. Goldman, R. Pea, B. Barron & S. Derry (Eds.) (2007). Video research in the

learning sciences. New York, NY: Routledge.

Building a Collaborative

Community through Classroom

Learning LabsTeresa McDougall and Dr. Dorothy VanderJagt

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Going Paperless with Google AppsKelly Kermode – Forest Hills Public Schools