Teaching As Leadership A Framework and Resources Built from the Distinguishing Characteristics of Highly Effective Te

1. Teaching As LeadershipA Framework and Resources Built from the Distinguishing Characteristics ofHighly Effective Teachers inLow-Income Communities March 2010

2. 2 OVERVIEW�AN EVOLVING VISION OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING Who We Are: Our Mission, Measures, Impact What Distinguishes Highly Effective Teachers in Our Contexts? Methods: How We Learn From Our Teachers Findings: Teaching As Leadership Setting big goals Investing students and their families Purposeful, backwards planning Effective execution Continuously increasing effectiveness Working relentlessly Resources: Teaching As Leadership www.teachingasleadership.org Program: How We Are Infusing these Findings in Our Training & Support System Selection?Candidate Characteristics that Predict Success RAH to introduce the session and the presenters and do overview of agenda (5 min)RAH to introduce the session and the presenters and do overview of agenda (5 min)

3. Our Theory of Change: The Problem Facilitator: Wendy Facilitator Talking Points: [Wendy: We�ll leave the talking points up to you] Facilitator: Wendy Facilitator Talking Points: [Wendy: We�ll leave the talking points up to you]

4. Our Theory of Change: Causes of the Problem

5. I. OUR PURPOSE�Our Mission and Theory of Change Our Theory of Change looks at the underlying causes of the achievement gap and the different ways we need to address them to realize our vision of educational equity and excellence. � When we think about why this problem exists, we know that a combination of three factors are at play. First, socioeconomic disparities leave some children with inadequate pre-school opportunities, poor housing, and lack of quality health care. These children may come to school with a wide range of needs and disadvantages, and most schools are not set up to compensate for these challenges. Underlying these socioeconomic disparities and lack of school capacity are our national priorities and a prevailing ideology that enables these conditions to persist. � As a result of these underlying factors, there is an enormous disparity in academic achievement between students growing up in low-income communities and those in high-income areas. Our Theory of Change looks at the underlying causes of the achievement gap and the different ways we need to address them to realize our vision of educational equity and excellence. � When we think about why this problem exists, we know that a combination of three factors are at play. First, socioeconomic disparities leave some children with inadequate pre-school opportunities, poor housing, and lack of quality health care. These children may come to school with a wide range of needs and disadvantages, and most schools are not set up to compensate for these challenges. Underlying these socioeconomic disparities and lack of school capacity are our national priorities and a prevailing ideology that enables these conditions to persist. � As a result of these underlying factors, there is an enormous disparity in academic achievement between students growing up in low-income communities and those in high-income areas.

6. Brief Fly-over of Programmatic Structures AM � 2 minAM � 2 min

7. Our Measures: Significant Gains System We provide training to our corps members (CMs) and our regional staff to help them identify the best locally available assessments Where existing assessments aren�t available, CMs must construct their own; our training includes coaching on developing them For all CMs, program directors (PDs) vet the assessments to ensure they test the right content, rigorously

8. OUR IMPACT: INTERNAL STUDIES JW/AS � 2 minJW/AS � 2 min

9. Our Impact: Student Achievement

10. Our Question: What distinguishes teachers whose students are making dramatic progress despite the challenges of poverty?

11. Our Methods: How We Learn from Our Teachers We have recruited, selected, trained, and supported�and in various ways studied�25,000 teachers in urban and rural low-income communities across the country. Our �significant gains� system allows us to see our teachers� relative effectiveness, and allows us to study what distinguishes great from good teachers in difficult contexts. We employ a mixture of qualitative and quantitative inquiries into teachers� actions and mindsets, the training and support structures that most improve teachers� effectiveness, and the challenges to student learning in our teachers� classrooms. Among the key sources of data underlying our internal studies are: Teacher observations and debriefs Student data Co-investigative reflection sessions Rubric norming on teacher video and documents Online resources and usage Teacher surveys Teacher interviews

12. 12 Our Findings: An Overview Highly successful teachers in challenging contexts have several common approaches: Set ambitious, measurable, standards-aligned goals Invest students and their families in working hard toward goals Plan purposefully Execute effectively Continuously increase their effectiveness Work relentlessly Hook to specific pages in text Hook to specific pages in text

13. Set Big Goals: Help Students Embrace an Audacious, Inspiring Vision Set powerful, big goals that are measurable, ambitious, and meaningful.

14. Invest Students and Families: Get Everyone Intently Focused on Academic Achievement Convince students that they can succeed. Convince students that they want to succeed. Leverage role models. Reinforce efforts. Create a welcoming environment. Invest students� families and influencers.

15. Plan Purposefully: Create a Backwards Plan from the Goal, Giving Equal Attention To Macro and Granular Plans Create or obtain assessments Backwards plan your year and units. Create objective-driven lesson plans. Differentiate plans. Establish rules and consequences. Design classroom procedures.

16. Execute Effectively: Employ Specific Practices To Optimize Efficiency, Understanding and Engagement Clearly present academic content. Manage student practice. Check for understanding. Communicate high expectations for behavior. Implement and practice time-saving procedures. Evaluate and keep track of students� performance.

17. Continuously Improve Effectiveness: Review Data, Court Feedback and Engage in Frequent Self-Critique Identify progress and gaps Identify student behaviors Identify contributing teacher actions Identify underlying factors Access learning experiences Adjust course as necessary

18. Work Relentlessly: Do Whatever It Takes To Help Students Succeed Recognizing the high stakes for their students, successful teachers assume personal responsibility for dramatic student learning, even when it means going far beyond traditional expectations. These teachers think and act creatively�to navigate and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, increase�the time and resources available for student learning, and sustain their efforts over time.

19. Principles?Specific Teacher Actions

20. 20 Specific Teacher Actions?Indicators of Proficiency JW/AS � 3 minJW/AS � 3 min

21. Resources: Teaching As Leadership Teaching as Leadership, The Highly Effective Teacher�s Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap shares the six leadership strategies that the most effective teachers employ to lead their students to dramatic academic achievement despite the burdens and challenges of poverty. Ships to corps members in February 2010 Officially publication date is February 9, 2010 The accompanying website, www.teachingasleadership.com, will include a public version of TALON and be live when the book is publicly available in early February. � The publication of Teaching as Leadership provides an opportunity to� increase our impact on the achievement gap through increasing corps member effectiveness and sharing best practices and build Teach For America�s external reputation as a thoughtful and valued contributor to the fight to end educational inequity.

22. TALON: Online �how to� guides and annotated video illustrations www.teachingasleadership.org A companion to the book Teaching As Leadership, this website is designed to help teachers lead their students in low-income communities to dramatic academic gains. The structure of the site reflects the Teaching As Leadership Framework: twenty-eight teacher actions that correlate with student achievement are organized by six leadership principles that distinguish highly effective teachers. The site offers: annotated illustrations to help teachers diagnose their strengths and weaknesses as instructional leaders �how to� guides for each teacher action found to correlate with student achievement common pitfalls often encountered by teachers as they perform each action tools and resources that support the effective implementation of each teacher action This site�s primary navigation system (in the left margin of the site) reflects the structure of the Teaching As Leadership rubric: general principles?specific teacher actions?levels of proficiency. COMING SOON: An alternative navigation system is under construction. This �Help Desk� will be added in spring of 2010 and will be built around new teachers� most common concerns, helping teachers diagnose and address the root causes of those issues.

23. Brief Fly-over of Programmatic Structures AM � 2 minAM � 2 min

24. How We Select Demonstrated past achievement Perseverance in the face of challenges Strong critical thinking skills Ability to influence and motivate others Organizational ability Understanding of and desire to work relentlessly in pursuit of our vision Respect for students and families in low-income communities

25. AM � 5 minAM � 5 min

26. Training and Support Continuum

27. Training and Support Continuum

28. Program Director Management / Support