Inquiry Team User Guide

Prepared by Marsha Volini – CFN 204

Inquiry Work Creates Powerful Opportunities for Teacher Leadership

(School Perspectives on Collaborative Inquiry, 2010)

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“Leadership is about being committed to being a better teacher”(School Perspectives on Collaborative Inquiry, 2010)

Teacher Leaders Guide Inquiry Teams Through

Instructional Inquiry Cycles…

Instructional Inquiry Cycle

Examine student work/data

Select a content area, usually ELA or Math

although middle schools may select Science or SS

Examine teacher work including classroom visits

Define instructional strategy

and set goals

Engage external research-based

resources

Take action: Implement

instructional strategy

Monitor student progress with

common assessments

Revise and repeat inquiry cycle

Steps to Guide Inquiry Work1. Use the Progress Report to identify content focus areas – this will

show how students are doing generally in the different content areas.

2. Use data from Progress Report, ITT, CEP, etc. to identify a Problem of Practice

3. Use the Inquiry Target Tool (ITT) to see individual student information and to sort the data in different ways (see the ITT Tutorial @http://sharepointsite.net)

4. Use the CEP to see school-wide identified priorities5. Check the NCLB to see if the school is required to improve the

performance of a particular sub-group of students6. Use Assessment Data (NY Start, Performance Series, Acuity,

teacher created assessments, student work, etc.) to identify sub-skills that students are struggling with

7. Break down the identified sub-skills into learning targets 8. Analyze the conditions of learning under which students were

taught the sub-skills and learning targets

Steps to Guide Inquiry Work9. Analyze Curriculum Artifacts (CCSS, NY State Standards

curriculum maps, lesson plans, etc.) and determine what was actually taught, not what was intended to be taught

10. Establish a baseline from which to measure growth11. Set an ambitious and realistic long-term goal (by June…)12. Set frequent, measurable, interim benchmarks (short-term

goals)13. Implement systemic change strategies (to the curriculum,

pacing calendars, materials, lesson plans etc.)14. Evaluate and monitor student progress15. Revise change strategies and action plans accordingly16. Create new cycles of inquiry (document them in Inquiry

Spaces)

Questions to Guide Inquiry Work What is “it” that students cannot

do, but MUST do? What are we, as a collaborative,

coherent team going to do to ensure that our students learn “it”?

Is there misalignment between what students need to know and what they are taught?

Do we need to revise our curriculum based on student needs?

How are we going to prove that our practices worked?

Using Data to Improve Instructional Decision-making…

Teachers say …(School Perspectives on Collaborative Inquiry, 2010)

“It has helped me as a teacher because I can reflect on my teaching and instead of saying, ‘Oh, that did not work.” I can say, ‘Oh, that is why it did not work.’”

“If I spend just those 15 minutes of prep time during the morning to enter student data, it really makes a big difference in the end because I have something that I can bring to the inquiry team and show them what works or does not work for the students.”

“I did not know anything about formative assessment and the value of diagnostics until inquiry.”

“Even if you have two kids and they both are a level D in reading, their issues are not the same. The data helps you identify specifically where each was weak.”

Basic Elements of Effective Inquiry• Identify something small and

essential that students do not know.• This is called a “learning target”. It

makes gaps between specific students’ learning needs and what students need to know manageable.

• It’s foundational. (Without it students cannot move forward.)

• It’s a lever. (If students master it, they can apply it in many contexts.)

• It’s heavily valued on the high-stakes test.

SUB-SKILL FOCUS

Defining a Problem of Practicefrom: Instructional Rounds in Education by Richard Elmore

Focused on the instructional core Directly observable Actionable (within the school’s

control and can be improved in real time)

Connects to a broader strategy of improvement (Inquiry Teams focus on school-wide goals)

Is high-leverage (if acted upon, it would make a significant difference for student learning)

It helps focus the attention of all teachers

Instructional Core

Solving a Problem of Practice“If you want to improve learning, you have to improve teaching”

Richard Elmore

Problem-solving is based on cooperation and collaboration Use standardized data to identify what students cannot do, but

MUST be able to do Consider data not as an indicator of student achievement but as an

indicator of teaching success (or lack of) Have a strong technical core of knowledge and discourse about

what effective practice is Calibrate practice to external benchmarks and peer review Real improvement comes when you visit a classroom where

somebody is doing the same thing you are -- only much better

Richard Elmore

Pitfalls to Creating a Collaborative, Coherent Definition of Effective Practice

All teachers do not use a common language to define effective teaching

Benchmarks for effective instruction are inconsistent across the grade

Distribution of knowledge is uneven Teachers teach behind closed doors

and do not welcome visitations by peers

Teachers practice as individuals with individual styles

Teachers are not receptive to changing their practice: “This is the way I learned it when I went to college”.

Richard Elmore

Defining Conditions of Learning What “is” taught (curriculum) How is “it” taught (lesson design) How well is “it” taught (teacher

practice) Who teaches “it” (classroom teacher,

SETTS, ESL, AIS, para, etc.) How much time was spent teaching

“it” What materials were used to teach

“it” What format was used (i.e. whole

class, small group, partner work, etc.)

Defining SMART Goals

Sample SMART Goals… By June, students’ writing organization skills will improve at least two

proficiency levels from October to June on the writing portion of the practice ELA exam we administer, as measured by the NY State 8th grade writing rubric

Students’ reading comprehension skills will improve as evidenced by a move from Fountas and Pinnell levels G/H in September to at least level N by June

By June, 80% of students will move at least 200 scale score points in reading comprehension from September, as measured by Performance Series.

By June, students will increase their independent communication skills by moving from the October baseline score of Phase I of the PECS system, with assistance, to the Phase III of the PECS system, without assistance

Low-inference Observations …

“Hey, you have the same problem I do, so let’s take a look at this together.”

(School Perspectives on Collaborative Inquiry, 2010)

Deprivatize Classroom Practice

Defining Classroom Intervisitations

Use Low-inference Transcripts Look for patterns in school-wide instruction Focus on the skills and sub-skills of the Inquiry Work Create a plan for visiting classes Do not put identifying information about a teacher on a transcript Look for “how” the lesson is taught (lesson design) Focus on the level of questioning; use of academic vocabulary; length of student

responses

Ask What is the lesson plan in use in each classroom? Do you see patterns (i.e. 3 out of 5 classrooms use a “Do Now”) To what extent are lessons consistent? What does the teacher write on the board? What does the teacher say? What does the teacher asks students to do? (tasks)

Suggested Format for Inquiry Team Meetings

Each Collaborative Inquiry Team has a facilitator who guides the team and attends Core Inquiry Team meetings

The facilitator keeps the meeting flowing – no single person dominates the discussion A team member is designated to keep minutes and enter updates into Inquiry Spaces in ARIS At the beginning of each meeting, the team reviews and discusses the outcomes of the

previous week’s actions During the sessions, members may create common assessments and lesson plans; analyze

research-based resources, data, student work, lesson plans and best practices; and plan for intervisitations

Team members agree upon next steps (i.e. learning targets and instructional techniques) for the upcoming week

At the close of each session, the facilitator, with consensus from team members, sets the agenda for the next meeting

Filling Out the Inquiry Space Profile Worksheet

Tutorials are found on our Network website.

Go to: www.cfn204.com

Under resources: Click on Marsha Volini

Final Thoughts… Inquiry is teachers working together to

identify common challenges, analyze data, and test research-based instructional approaches

Data , including reviews of student work, drives the decision making

Collaborative inquiry focuses on one common practice at a time

Inquiry “action plans and strategies” are instituted in all team members’ classrooms

Results are judged by one common assessment

“Results” are shared with Core Inquiry Team to ensure they become school-wide practices

Interventions are informed by research-based best practices