Literacy Coaching and Collaboration

1. Literacy Coaching and Collaboration Session 3 EDUC 611

2. Session 3 Objectives In Session 3 we will: • Review Session 2 Content • Analyze the best practices that have been identified from the experiences of Collaborative Practice Groups • Develop an understanding of how to design and develop a survey • Participate in One Minute Papers • Evaluate two new facilitation techniques (One Minute Papers and Glows and Grows) • Participate in Threaded Discussions Benedictine University

3. Session 2 Review Session 3 EDUC 611

4. Session 2 Review • A collaboration is a purposeful relationship in which all parties choose to cooperate in order to accomplish a desired shared outcome • A collaboration has a life cycle that can be described in terms of 5 clusters divided into 14 phases • Clusters range from Launch (rationale or ‘need’, person responsible), People/knowledge base, Structure/Systems, Culture building, Accountability/Sustainability • Phases are subsets of clusters and do not necessarily occur in sequence • Collaborative leadership is a process used to guide a diverse group to find solutions to problems that affect them all • Uses supportive and inclusive methods • Requires a different concept of power: i.e., the more power we share, the more power we have to use • A collaborative leader chooses to play a proactive role and a partner chooses to play a participatory role in the collaboration…both roles are essential Benedictine University

5. Session 2 Review • A Literacy Coach acts as a collaborative leader who accepts responsibility for a collaboration • A literacy coach manages a collaboration through process and relationship management • A literacy coach supports teachers and effects change • A literacy coach’s role, from a systems perspective, is to assist staff in examining broad issues • This is complex, so the principal’s help may be needed • Building of trust between group members is essential to facilitate a healthy change process • Openness to the ideas/feelings of others is a basic requirement Benedictine University

6. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups Session 3 EDUC 611

7. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • This article presents the ‘best practices’ that have been identified from the experiences of Collaborative Practice Groups from around the world over the past 15 years • Each trait in the article discusses a ‘habit’ and explains how these traits have made a difference in communities Benedictine University

8. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 1: Applying the Collaborative Model to the Group Activity: “Walking the Walk” • In this habit, the author describes how managing Collaborative Cases and Collaborative Practice Groups are similar • A few examples are: • Effective Collaborative Groups set clear agendas and identify goals • Effective Collaborative Groups find ways to follow through on assigned tasks • Effective Practice Groups continually remind themselves to look at the big picture and the broader interest or goals • Effective Practice Groups understand that respectful communication is critical to achieving goals Benedictine University

9. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 2: Planning. “If you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there” • This habit discusses the significance of creating a “big picture” about group goals/objectives • While planning processes vary from group to group, generally a good strategic planning process will include the following four segments: • Discovery • Inquiry and Analysis • Acceptance • Implementation Benedictine University

10. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 3: Vision. “How far down the Rabbit Hole do you want to go?” • This habit discusses how effective groups are not afraid to dream big and are willing to identify bold agendas • Key concepts in Habit 3 are: • Vision in Financial Issues • Collaborative Practice Parallels • Carving new ground • Dealing with the Naysayers Benedictine University

11. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 4: Action. Developing a system for getting things done • This habit discusses the importance for groups to “get things done” • The ability to act on ideas is a key ingredient that separates the effective groups from those that get bogged down (e.g., “analysis paralysis”) • Key concepts in Habit 4 are: • The right people • The right systems • Practice Parallel Benedictine University

12. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 5: Practice Standards. Placing a priority on high standards of practice • This habit discusses the importance that effective groups place on assuring that their members are well trained and have high levels of skill and commitment • Key concepts in Habit 5 are: Benedictine University

13. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 6: Collaboration Among Collaborators Keeping Peace among the Peacemakers • This habit discusses the importance of groups finding ways to address keeping the “peace” before divisive issues create divisions in the group • Collaborative professionals should be above these kinds of problems BUT… the reality is that we are all human and issues of ego, hurt feelings, pride, etc. will occur with some frequency • The key is to accept that such issues will occur and to find direct and transparent ways of addressing them as they occur Benedictine University

14. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 7: Seeking Help. Knowing what you don’tknow • This habit discusses the importance of groups recognizing when to seek outside assistance • As Collaborative Groups get larger, at some point the need for outside help becomes • More critical, as administrative tasks expand • More affordable as revenue grows Benedictine University

15. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 8: Having Fun. Appreciating the lighter side • This habit discusses the importance for groups to find a way to lighten upthe process! • Effective groups and committees consistently report having a good time • If they are not having fun, they will stop showing up for meetings and activities • Members who develop friendships within their group are more willing to volunteer time and money to their Collaborative group Benedictine University

16. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups • Habit 9: Idea Sharing. Drawing on the abundance of common resources • This habit discusses the importance for groups to look to other groups to find ideas, forms, resources and experts, • Each group can “stand on the shoulders” of the groups that have already been down the same road • For this system to work, there need to be “givers” as well as “takers” so that the supply of materials and ideas continues Benedictine University

17. Nine Habits of Highly Effective Practice Groups Conclusion: • Collaborative Practice Groups make an enormous difference in helping Collaborative Communities grow • Practice Groups can help your Collaborative community achieve its local goals • To bring the energy and excitement of the Collaborative Community to your group, consider applying these” habits” to your group Benedictine University

18. Survey Designand Development Session 3 EDUC 611

19. Surveys • Writing a useful survey is much tougher than you think! • Surveys are a mechanism for obtaining quantifiable data that address your objectives

20. List Your Objectives • The survey should be guided by your objectives • What is your purpose in creating the survey – what do you want to find out? • Each survey item should deal with an objective • A common mistake… • Gathering data you didn’t need and can’t use

21. Achieve Clarity • Principles of Effective Survey Writing: • Simple words • Short, direct statements • Easy-to-use scales • Explicit meaning

22. Ensure Proper Flow • Introduction: • Start with an explanation of purpose and clear directions • Early questions are usually the easiest to answer • “Like” items should be grouped together • Multiple choice/Likert scale are easiest to score, but open-ended questions often give the most unexpected, enlightening information • Avoid using the “other” option if possible (unless you ask for an explanation/clarification) • Demographic information usually goes at the end

23. Generate Credibility • Document should look clean, uncluttered, and professional • Use of white space is very important • Varying fonts across instructions and questions can help • Using sections, subheadings, and other organizing practices is a plus

24. Survey the Right People • You may decide to use a ‘screener’ • This allows you to give a full survey only to those who qualify as members of your population of interest • e.g.; Are you a college student? __yes __no

25. Design Tips • Depending on the size of your population, you may want to pretest your survey • A pretest is a trial run • Make sure pretest subjects provide comments on wording, meaning, grammar, etc. • Assume that you will edit a first draft

26. Open-Ended vs. Closed-Ended Questions • Open-ended questions are questions to which there is not one definite answer • Open-ended questions may be a good way to break the ice with a survey, giving respondents an opportunity to answer in their own words • e.g.: "Are there any other comments about the course you would like to add?" • The drawback to open-ended questions is that the responses are more difficult to catalogue, interpret and categorize • http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm • Fink, A. (1995). How to ask survey questions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

27. Open-Ended vs. Closed-Ended Questions • Closed-ended questions have a finite set of answers from which the respondent chooses • The benefit of closed-ended questions: • Easy to standardize • Data gathered lend themselves to statistical analysis • The down side to closed-ended questions: It is more difficult to write clear and unambiguous questions (clearly asks for the desired information) than open-ended questions • This is because the evaluator must design choices to include all the possible answers a respondent could give for each question • http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm • Fink, A. (1995). How to ask survey questions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

28. Likert Scales • The participants must indicate how closely their feelings match the question or statement on a rating scale • The number at one end of the scale represents least agreement, or "Strongly Disagree," and the number at the other end of the scale represents most agreement, or "Strongly Agree" How important do you think standardized test scores are to a fifth-grader's education (circle one number): Very ImportantNot Very Important 1 2 3 4 5 • http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm • Fink, A. (1995). How to ask survey questions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

29. Happy Dale High School Mathematics Department Survey Example • Please check in the appropriate space below: • ____ Male ____ Female • ____ Freshman ____ Sophomore ____ Junior ____ Senior • This scale has been prepared so that you can indicate how you feel about the statements below. Please circle one of the letters on the left indicating how you feel about each statement (SA, strongly agree; A. agree; D. disagree; SD. strongly disagree). • SA A D SD 1. I understand explanations given by my teacher. • SA A D SD 2. I can see the board and overhead screen clearly. • SA A D SD 3. When something is unclear, I am not comfortable asking a question in class. • SA A D SD 4. Being in a class taught by two teachers helps me to be more attentive. • SA A D SD 5. I am not doing very well in this class. • SA A D SD 6. My teacher is available for extra help. • SA A D SD 7. I am not comfortable participating in this class by responding to teacher questions. • SA A D SD 8. I am confused by explanations given by my teacher(s). • SA A D SD 9. It’s hard for me to see the board and overhead screen from where I’m seated. • SA A D SD 10. I am comfortable asking a question in class if I don’t understand something. • SA A D SD 11. I find it harder to pay attention in class with two teachers. • SA A D SD 12. I am doing pretty well in this class • SA A D SD 13. My teacher is not available when I need extra help outside the classroom. • SA A D SD 14. I am comfortable participating in class by responding to teacher questions.

30. Multiple Choice • When you want the participants to pick the best answer or answers from among all the possible options • Include specific directions about how many answers to select directly after the question. e.g.; Why don't you use the school's cafeteria services? (circle one): • a. It's too expensive. • b. Serving times conflict with my class schedule. • c. The location is inconvenient. • d. The food quality is poor. • e. Other (please explain):_______________ • http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm • Fink, A. (1995). How to ask survey questions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

31. Ordinal • When you need all possible answers to be rank-ordered… “Please write a number between 1 and 5 next to each item below. Put a 1 next to the item that is MOST important to you in selecting an on-line university course. Put a 5 next to the item that is LEAST important. Please use each number only ONCE.___” • a. Availability of instructor for assistance.___ • b. Tuition cost for the course.___ • c. Ability to work in groups with other students.___ • d. Quality and quantity of instructor feedback.___ • e. Number of students enrolled. • http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm • Fink, A. (1995). How to ask survey questions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

32. Design Checklist • Have you selected objectives? • Have you asked questions that will address them? • Are your prospective survey participants appropriate? • Are the questions reasonable (actually answerable)? (e.g., how many bowls of cereal did you eat last year? What were the room numbers of your classes last semester?) • Are the questions clear and easy to understand? • Is the survey brief and concise? • http://www.jou.ufl.edu/people/faculty/mweigold/adv3501/Designing%20a%20survey(l9)_files/frame.htm

33. Survey Information Sources Information for this presentation obtained from: • http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/surveyquest/index.htm • http://www.jou.ufl.edu/people/faculty/mweigold/adv3501/Designing%20a%20survey(l9)_files/frame.htm

34. Two New Facilitation Techniques Session 3 EDUC 611

35. 1. One Minute Papers: Whole Group Activity • This technique was developed by Dr. Charles Schwartz and first appearing in the scholarship of Robert C. Wilson (1986) • This exercise involves students responding anonymously, with a minute of writing at the end of a lesson, to some variation of two questions: • "What was the most important thing you learned during this class?" and • "What important question remains unanswered?" • The responses are then collected and reviewed by the instructor and class Benedictine University Web source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3325/is_2_11/ai_n29397982/?tag=content;col1

36. 2. Glows and Grows • This is another wrap-up technique that a literacy coach could use as he/she facilitates a collaboration • Glows: What were some of the great highlights of the session? • Grows: What do you want to learn more about? • Example: • Brainstorm glows and grows of today’s session • Write on whiteboard or chart paper Benedictine University

37. Session 3 Assignments Session 3 EDUC 611

38. Assignments Due: Session 4 • Read: • Toll, Chapter 5 • Casey Chapter 3 Benedictine University

39. Session 3 & 4 Objectives Session 3 EDUC 611

40. Session 3 Objectives In Session 3, we have: • Reviewed Session 2 Content • Analyzed the best practices that have been identified from the experiences of Collaborative Practice Groups • Developed an understanding of how to design and develop a survey • Participated in One Minute Papers • Evaluated two new facilitation techniques (One Minute Papers and Glows and Grows) • Participated in Threaded Discussions Benedictine University

41. Session 4 Objectives In Session 4, you will: • Review Session 3 Content • Complete the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II and discuss the implications of style/learning differences for a literacy coach • Analyze and evaluate a video on ‘Active Listening’ • Examine the work of a Literacy Coach • Gain an understanding of how a Literacy Coach gets started in the position • Examine ways that a Literacy Coach can begin a collaboration Benedictine University

42. Session 3 Wrap-Up Activity Session 3 EDUC 611

43. Wrap-Up Activity Plus/Delta: • What are your Pluses & Deltas? • What worked for you + (Plus) • What would have been better for you ▲ (Delta) Benedictine University

44. Literacy Coaching and Collaboration Session 3 EDUC 611