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I think we need to decide as a school what team time looks like. We are only an effective grade level "data" team if we are agreeing what this model looks like.  It's really only beneficial to look at grade level "data" if we are, as a team, targeting student needs and sharing the instruction of these needs.  If we are keeping our own kids then is it really beneficial to spend time as a grade level discussing "data" together??

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I think we need to decide as a school what team time looks like. We are only an effective grade level "data" team if we are agreeing what this model looks like.  It's really only beneficial to look at grade level "data" if we are, as a team, targeting student needs and sharing the instruction of these needs.  If we are keeping our own kids then is it really beneficial to spend time as a grade level discussing "data" together??

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I know the reading/math specialists and special education teachers are sent out of district for professional development. It would be awesome if we could dedicate some time to sharing out what their learning was from their professional development. That way the learning can impact the entire school population and not just a small percentage of the population.

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Our team needs to keep the agenda short and specific. There tends to be agend-hijacking because there’s not sufficient time. We need to meet more often and/or longer on a regular basis.
I agree with having one well-trained facilitator dedicated to our team.
I think our team should have short term and long term goals for enhancing learning for each content area.
I’d like to learn about shifting to performance task assessments. Would it replace our monthly assessments?
We need a better understanding of why are kids are highlighted on our monthly data sheets. What are the monthly benchmarks - not just midyear and year-end.
One weakness- data analysis to satisfy “downtown” with RW pre and post and WE on-demand assessments.

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It is great having a set time each week to meet as a team. I look forward to that time possibly moving to the end of the day next year.

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It is great having a set time each week to meet as a team. I look forward to that time possibly moving to the end of the day next year.

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Our team is most effective when we have a set agenda and a facilitator who keeps us focused. I do find at time when we do not have a facilitator that we venture off track, time is wasted and the focus becomes unclear. We definitely can work on this area.

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I appreciate having a set time to meet as a team on a  weekly basis! i also see one of our strengths as meeting on the fly, or making time when we need more time together. I do feel strongly about having an agenda and specific goals for each meeting in order to us the time efficiently. Having a facilitator is a great way to stay focused. Our old reading department head always acted as our facilitator and lead our meetings-keeping everybody on the same page and focused. I think it made a big difference in the effectiveness of our meetings. I'm thrilled to be starting up our data teams again because that gives us time to focus in our students individually and highlight or red flag those who need special attention. It also holds us teachers responsible for keeping up with data to be sure we're moving kids when appropriate.

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I appreciate having a set time to meet as a team on a  weekly basis! i also see one of our strengths as meeting on the fly, or making time when we need more time together. I do feel strongly about having an agenda and specific goals for each meeting in order to us the time efficiently. Having a facilitator is a great way to stay focused. Our old reading department head always acted as our facilitator and lead our meetings-keeping everybody on the same page and focused. I think it made a big difference in the effectiveness of our meetings. I'm thrilled to be starting up our data teams again because that gives us time to focus in our students individually and highlight or red flag those who need special attention. It also holds us teachers responsible for keeping up with data to be sure we're moving kids when appropriate.

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One strength I see within our IDTs are sharing of strategies and honesty about what is working/not working in our classrooms.  Just being given the time to meet is also a strength!l

An area for growth is possibly taking the "team" meeting out of IDT time and using that week to tie up any loose ends from a math, LA, or SRBI meeting.  A lot of times we have discussions at these meetings about "next steps," but when we meet in another month there are a number of other issues to address/discuss. Team meetings need to be happening more frequently than once a month.

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"...in the life of an authentic PLC, there will be hard issues, delicate subjects, and discussions that require participants to take risks, be vulnerable, and trust their PLC members. When they get there, they had better be a strong, established team ready to tackle the challenge."
All I can think of is "build it and they will come." You know, from that movie Field of Dreams. We need the time to keep building, learning and growing together. Glad it could be worked into our schedule this year. Next year will be even better if it can be at the end of our school day. We can devote more time and thought to issues, ideas etc.
Also, seeing an authentic PLC at work maybe through a video session would also be helpful.

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As many have said, I feel part of a pretty strong team who listens to each other, offers feedback and helpful ideas, and focuses on meeting student needs. However, I feel that we do not bring assessment results and data to meetings for the team to review and focus on. As the article suggested, it would be helpful to compare results so I can identify what practices work and what I need to reteach/improve.

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One strength we have is a strong team. As mentioned in one article it is important to have a strong team before you need it. Our team is there to support each other and is a place where we feel safe to share our successes and struggles.

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Strengths: Norms for productive teamwork, designated time to meet.
Growth: Use of data for instructional planning, examplars for data analysis, focus on practice and team PD needs.

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I agree that social capital is as important, if not more important than human capital.  Your relationships with others are what ultimately determines your level of success.  I also learned that it is important to see the forest for the trees.  There has to be an end goal that focuses all of the little steps.-Craig

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Instructional Data Teams vs. Team Meetings

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Instructional Data Teams vs. Team Meetings

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The IDT format and regularly scheduled meetings are a great start.  However, they have become a series of team meetings focusing on the logistics of teaching within our current curriculum.  At the content area focus meetings, we work on developing assessments, unpacking units, and adjusting pacing (all valuable and necessary actions), but that often leaves little to no time to look at student data and grow our practice.  The IDT notes format gives great guidance to that work but it has been overshadowed by the other curricular work that still needs to be done.

The article focused a lot on the process and protocol for the PLC which is something we need to grow next.

"Often, the members of such a team have plunged into the work and begun to set agendas and norms, examine data, and look at teacher work right away without taking time to establish themselves as a strong team."
I think we jumped into the IDTs without a strong enough focus on the desired outcomes.

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Strengths of our PLCs:        Having a set time this year for IDTs was a great first step in getting all team members together on a regular basis.  This time has provided us to collaborate with our teams and support one another.  Moving forward, one area of growth that is needed is to have a clear agenda set for the next IDT meeting at the end of each meeting.  In doing so, I believe we can delve into our instructional practices and have richer conversations about student performance.  We can share and plan how we are going to change our instruction to improve student learning.  

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Strengths of our PLCs:        Having a set time this year for IDTs was a great first step in getting all team members together on a regular basis.  This time has provided us to collaborate with our teams and support one another.  Moving forward, one area of growth that is needed is to have a clear agenda set for the next IDT meeting at the end of each meeting.  In doing so, I believe we can delve into our instructional practices and have richer conversations about student performance.  We can share and plan how we are going to change our instruction to improve student learning.  

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"The most common reason for a PLC's failure: the team has neglected to build a foundation of collaboration among its members.  Often, the members of such a team have plunged into the work and begun to set agendas and norms, examine data, and look at teacher work right away without taking time to establish themselves as a strong team."
While our teams do collaborate, there has never really been any explicit instruction around HOW to collaborate, how to operate as a PLC, or what the outcomes of an effective PLC should be.

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Sharing Responsibility vs One Facilitator?

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Sharing Responsibility vs One Facilitator?

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I'm not sure I agree with a team having one role for the year. I think it's important for all members to take ownership and learn each others practices. Our team used do have meetings this way and it promoted empathy and deeper understanding.

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I feel like I am part of a strong team in this school. We actually enjoy each others company and respect each other opinion. We often collaborate and share ideas that are working in our classrooms. One article mentions " building a team first", I think my team has that covered , where we struggle is what to do in IDT. Yes, we know what the focus for the meeting is on but we have not been trained in how to be an effective facilitator. We go through the motions as well as we can but we aren't sure what we are actually supposed to be doing. Then when it comes to filling out the notes from the meeting we don't know how to the fill out the form because we weren't analyzing data or discussing instructional practices. We were COLLABORATING but not doing the "real" work that is supposed to be happening in a PLC. I think we need more support in what a PLC SHOULD look like and mold our meetings and conversations . We need to see it in action not just read about it.

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Process is important- however a focus on results is essential for quality teams. 

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Process is important- however a focus on results is essential for quality teams. 

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Even when focusing on social capitol, a facilitator is vital to the success of the group process. 

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Even when focusing on social capitol, a facilitator is vital to the success of the group process. 

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One area of strength for me personally, is the collaboration I engage in with my colleagues.  There is always constant communication about the progress and areas of focus for our shared students.  An area of growth for me personally, would be in making my assessments more authentic. I can achieve this goal by utilizing the already present and strong system of collaboration with other teachers, to see what authentic assessments they are using in their classrooms. 

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One area of strength for me personally, is the collaboration I engage in with my colleagues.  There is always constant communication about the progress and areas of focus for our shared students.  An area of growth for me personally, would be in making my assessments more authentic. I can achieve this goal by utilizing the already present and strong system of collaboration with other teachers, to see what authentic assessments they are using in their classrooms. 

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Building strong teams is paramount to outcomes that matter for students.  Belief in the team is important. 

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Building strong teams is paramount to outcomes that matter for students.  Belief in the team is important. 

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Best Practice in IDT would include consistency and using assessment to drive instruction.  Making the connection between assessment and instruction can be overlooked if the focus is on meeting mandates or eliminating challenges. 

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Best Practice in IDT would include consistency and using assessment to drive instruction.  Making the connection between assessment and instruction can be overlooked if the focus is on meeting mandates or eliminating challenges. 

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IDT’s this year have been helpful in promising time with colleagues. I think we do analyze student data fairly consistently and the pd days used to do this even more are beneficial. It would also be great if a portion of time was dedicated to sharing strategies, resources and ideas with one another of lessons we thought were great.

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I agree that we should really get more focused with our IDT team and “identify areas of the curriculum where students are struggling and name individual students for follow-up intervention and enrichment.” Somehow, it seems that there has always been a different focus to our meetings. I would love to really be able to use the IDT note sheet that was provided at the beginning of the year as a guide to focus our IDT time. The role of one constant facilitator might help focus the teams more as well.

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There are many IDT strengths.  It is awesome that we are given the time each week to come together as a team of professionals.  We collaborate across disciplines to improve student learning and to share strategies.

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There are many IDT strengths.  It is awesome that we are given the time each week to come together as a team of professionals.  We collaborate across disciplines to improve student learning and to share strategies.

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A goal would be to analyze student data in more detail during our meetings.

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http://www.davidgeurin.com/2017/11/how-dare-you-try-to-be-great.html

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Regarding the article on facilitating teachers and PLC's I agree in the value of social capital. I think our school finds the value in it too as I see us do more of it each year. There is value in the human capital like PD's but I think the timing of those PD's (when they are presented to teachers) is also important too. Trying to fit important professional development that may require all day training  into a two hour window or doing PD at the end of June can hurt it's effectiveness. 

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Regarding the article on facilitating teachers and PLC's I agree in the value of social capital. I think our school finds the value in it too as I see us do more of it each year. There is value in the human capital like PD's but I think the timing of those PD's (when they are presented to teachers) is also important too. Trying to fit important professional development that may require all day training  into a two hour window or doing PD at the end of June can hurt it's effectiveness. 

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We used to be able to see grade level data on our spreadsheets. Now with Google docs we can’t that makes it hard to compare and share data

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Expectation vs Belief
"People in all professions generally achieve not to the highest level of expectation placed upon them, but to the highest level of belief by leaders that they can (Covey, 2014).

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Our strengths are the way we conduct ourselves professionally during these meetings. We use each meeting time to the fullest, collaborate, and share strategies to improve student success. A goal would be to continue to develop more pre/post assessments for our reading units so that we have data to look at during these "data teams." I think we could get some great feedback looking at the data across our grade levels and work on a plan to improve the work of students.

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To grow our IDT’s we can review and share student data, discuss teaching practices and strategies that will help support student growth. We could research online webinars that our team could watch and discuss to grow our instruction.