Teacher Teams

Collaboration, Cooperation and Collective Efficacy

The teacher team model is based on collaborative and collective practices where a philosophy of experimentation with a practice of trying, failing, reflecting and sharing are at the core. It is only through practice within a safe and nurturing environment that we will be able to grow as educators and better meet the needs of all our UNIS Junior School students. The goal of teacher team practice is to focus on collective practice with collective efficacy as an end goal. What this means is that every student who attends UNIS will receive the same education, due to collective and collaborative practices within the team. It will allow for greater consistency in delivery of the curriculum while at the same time allowing for the individuality of each teacher to meet the specific needs of the children in their room. Effective Teacher Teams have three common characteristics: 1. They love problems 2. The are able to clearly identify problems 3. They aim collective work towards solving the identified problem a. In order to solve the identified problem, there is often a need for PD and support from sources either within the team or outside the team.

This is not about my child in my classroom but our children in our school.

As a UNIS Junior School, we com m it to two m eetings per 8 day cycle; one with a grade level meeting (GLM) focus and the other as a Student Learning Meeting (SLM ). W e com m it to using protocols twice a month during our Student Learning M eetings.

Teacher Teams | UNIS Junior School | 2013.14

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I love this idea, now how do we make it happen at UNIS?
Setting of norms within each team Norms should be seen as your highest aspirations for the group. Creation of norms: Discussion and understanding that collaboration does not mean congeniality, collegiality. Collaboration is the mutual support given within a team to help in addressing the identified problems and areas for growth. Creation of meeting norms Consensus on norms (what will and will not be tolerated) Norm maintenance use of debriefing discussion prompts (see attachment titled Enabling Structures for Successful Team Meetings) Agreement to create a parking lot sheet for each meeting. Suggested roles for team members (to be rotated each meeting) Facilitator Also known as the task master or stick-to-the-agenda police The facilitator keeps the teams focus on agenda items, preents side conversations and makes sure that all voices are heard, with room for each persons reactions, interpretations, conjectures, and analysis. Timekeeper Assumes the responsibility of maintaining the meetings momentum by providing appropriate time-checks for the facilitator, keeps meetings on track, makes sure meetings begin and end on time. Note-taker Uses the meeting agenda as a guide. The note-taker: Writes down team members suggestions and comments Records decisions and action points made by the team Sends the notes (or places in a shared drive) to the team for discussion and preparation for the next meeting Norms/Process Checker At the end of the meeting, asks the group to choose a debriefing question, checks with the group about the success of the meeting, and encourages each participant to reflect on and answer the questions aloud.

Teacher Teams | UNIS Junior School | 2013.14

Debriefing discussion prompts: These are some sample questions for the group to discuss. Only one or two of the questions should be used for any given debriefing session. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Was the agenda clear? Did we follow it? Did we accomplish our goals for this meeting? Has todays team conversation helped us think about how we work with students and if so, in what ways? If not, why not? Was practice shared in concrete, accessible ways during this team meeting? Did all members have the opportunity to share their views and did we actively listen to one another? What questions emerged for us as a result of todays team conversation? Did we hold each other accountable for work we said we would do at our last meeting? Did we end the meeting with a clear direction of where we go from here?

What does an effective agenda look like? 10 minutes for administrivia 80 minutes for PD or focused work on the instructional goal 10 minutes for debriefing discussion questions Who will lead the 80 minute section of PD or focused work? This will depend on the work being done. For each goal set by the team, an instructional leader will be self-identified. This allows for the development of teacher leaders across the Junior School as well as allowing for shared leadership.

Teacher Teams | UNIS Junior School | 2013.14

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The crucial piece setting your teams instructional goals
Adaptive versus technical change Most of us spend our lives working in the technical change arena. Shifting the focus of our meetings and work to adaptive work is a challenge and an opportunity. It requires a shift in focus, mindset and acceptance that we will all feel disequilibrium at varying levels during the process. In keeping this focus, we will try and keep the environment vibrant and supportive, both within the team and through continued open dialogue with the administration. Knowing that leaders are prevalent throughout the Junior School, we will maintain our confidence that together we can affect change that will enhance the student learning taking place in all classrooms. Identifying the dilemma of practice in your team Identifying the area where growth is needed can be challenging. It is helpful to think of it as identifying the stones in your shoes. Think of areas you have struggled with in the past (eg; differentiated Math instruction, classroom management, pastoral care, formative reading assessment, etc.) As a group, note these areas on index cards Together, find the commonalities and group the cards. This will help come up with common dilemmas, which can be addressed in small parcels or in large chunks of time throughout the academic year. Dilemmas must be: Observable Actionable Be a high level for change in the way students learn or teachers teach Identifying the Instructional Leaders for the tagged dilemmas of practice. Instructional Leaders will be self-identified in the team. Should the dilemma be an area where there is no self-identified leader in the team, the team leader will speak with the administration to determine if there is another person within the faculty who could act as the Instructional Leader or if outside PD can be facilitated. Leaders are all people who are able to identify a problem and then solve it.

Teacher Teams | UNIS Junior School | 2013.14

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The use of protocols when looking at student work or teacher practice
Protocols are used as a tool to structure conversation. The provide identified roles and norms for behavior during a meeting session. The purpose of the protocol will be different depending on the situation and the chosen protocol to follow. Norms for protocol use: Respect No monopoly on expertise Share the air Respect the role of the facilitator You are only allowed to bring work of students you are most concerned about. Protocols should be used twice per month during the Student Learning Meeting. As best practice for protocol use says that you should only use 2-3 in the first year, this is what we will do. GLCs and Administrators will work together to determine which protocols would be most useful once the dilemmas of practice have been identified.

Teacher Teams | UNIS Junior School | 2013.14