Professional Learning Communities Heritage Middle School

1. Professional Learning CommunitiesHeritage Middle School How Data Drives Instruction

2. PAST After school interventions Interventions are optional for students Inconsistency between teachers Results were not always effectively used CURRENT Idea behind PLC is that interventions happen within the school day Mandatory for students who need intervention Consistency between teachers Use results daily to modify instruction Changes in Our PLC Structure

3. Mathematics Three Year Trend • 7.3% increase from 2007 to 2008 • 13% increase from 2008 to 2009 • Increases in the last five years have been between 4% and 7% • Percentages have not been close to 70% (the highest was 62% in 2007)

4. What Does Our PLC Look Like? Data analysis-current data based directly on specific standards and student achievement Common planning based off the data-includes specific lessons, re-grouping, and re-teaching Communication and reflection-analyze new data and reflect on effectiveness of interventions Very little PLC time is spent discussing things that are not directly related to student learning

5. Data Drives Intervention • Teachers look for questions students struggled with and analyze possible reasons for difficulty. • Teachers use data to design intervention for specific indicators. • Data is used to find instruction that increased student achievement for specific indicators.

6. Teacher Results • Teachers receive results comparing classes by indicators.

7. How Data Changes Instruction • Data from common district assessments is used to monitor mastery of indicators. • Students use data to self-evaluate their progress with the standards. • Data is used to identify standards that need to be re-taught. • Data is used to determine intervention groups. • Data is used to revise instruction in various PLC’s to increase student achievement.

8. Standards Based Education Academic Content Standards

9. Types of InterventionWhat are we doing when students aren’t achieving at high levels? • Re-teach material • Small group instruction • Re-group/re-teach with all three teachers • Re-group/re-teach within our classrooms • Re-take assessments • Lunch support • After school support *Most of our support is within the school day and is mandatory for students who are not achieving

10. Common Planning All planning is data driven! • Engaging Lessons Are Shared • Problem of the Week • Common Assessments • District Assessments

11. Engaging Shared Lessons • Teachers create one lesson on a concept they feel confident teaching • All three teachers pick a different concept • Each teacher teaches their lesson to all three math classes over a three day period • Planning time is saved and more engaging lessons are created • Teachers feel confident in their content and can reflect and make changes to their lesson

12. Problem of the Week • All teachers create and use the same problems • O.A.T. level and format • Writing in math is emphasized and practiced daily • DRASTIC improvements on short-extended response items *A big change we made this year was creating our own problem of the week to include higher level thinking and reasoning

13. Common Assessments • Created weekly/bi-weekly • Created by the whole team (including the intervention specialist) • Questions model the O.A.A. format • Questions from all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy are used • All students take the assessment on the SAME day

14. How Common Assessments Improve Instruction • The common assessment items are standard-based. Questions are written in O.A.A. format and include varying levels of thinking. • The instruction is guided by the common assessments items that are selected before instruction begins. • There is consistency between what is being assessed and the assessment method. • District assessments are also created using common assessment items.

15. District Assessments • Teachers collaborate to build common assessments at the beginning of the nine weeks. • Learning activities are designed around concepts on the district assessments. • Common assessments (quizzes) are also built into the quarter and are designed around the common district assessments. • Common district assessments are administered at the end of each quarter. • Results are quickly sent to teachers. • Intervention begins based off results.

16. Communication and Reflection • Teachers collaborate throughout the whole process • Common lesson plans, activities, homework, practice, notes, assessments, etc. • Framework and structures of classes are very similar, but there is still room for individual teaching styles and strategies • Teachers communicate on a daily basis for reflection and improvement • Intervention specialist attends all meetings and collaborates

17. Challenges and Solutions Challenges Solutions Utilize all available staff Set standard time for re-group lessons (45 min.) Variety of grouping methods to choose from After a few re-groupings, students names were learned and behavior problems significantly dropped • Insufficient staff for regrouping • Rotating schedule • Grouping • Don’t know students

18. Challenges and Solutions-cont. Challenges Solutions Different models-sometimes they were included-other times they were not Library computers/staff Refocused meeting time to concentrate on data and planning-added our own PLC time Plan ahead and utilize all available space • Honors and resource classes • Lack of computers for enrichment group • Lack of common planning time • Lack of rooms for re-teaching/re-grouping