Describing Recommendations and District/Campus Improvement Initiative/Action Research Lessons Learned
This year I participated in efforts to increase academic rigor and teacher accountability in the classroom. These initiatives are part of the District/Campus Improvement Plan (D/CIP) each year; however, with the implementation of STAAR/EOC, it has become even more critical for K-12 educators to address higher order skills, such as analysis, and synthesis. In addition, we were interested in defining 21st century skills and incorporating strategies for developing those skills in students.
To establish a systematic method of teaching 21st century skills, the high school administrators sought training and analyzed some instructional models that research has shown to be effective. Two years ago, we began the search for an effective and innovative instructional model. The result of our research culminated in piloting a Project Based Instruction (PBL) model last school year. We selected this particular model because it systematically addresses not only the scope and sequence of curricula, but also 21st century skills such as collaboration, real-world application and transference of knowledge, technology and new media, etc. Data were collected and compared to traditional instruction. The outcomes were promising, so this year we asked the PBL teachers to mentor other teachers in their departments who were interested in PBL. We are continuing to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, and we are using the data to adjust and improve the effectiveness of PBL implementation.
In order to increase rigor, it is necessary to have an effective accountability system. The high school administrators developed a schedule that provided a walk-through for each teacher every week. Each administrator was given a section of the campus to walk-through classrooms within that week’s time. The administrators rotated the sections of the campus so that administrators visited different teachers each week until they completed the rotation and began it again. However, something always happened to cause us to put off the walk-throughs, which resulted in all of us scrambling to complete our walk-through assignments at the end of the week. Many times we did not complete them. Since this strategy clearly did not work effectively, we brainstormed/tried some other strategies. Ultimately, we decided to schedule (seemingly random) days and times for walk-throughs, just as we would a meeting. Now, at least once a week we have a designated day and time that we all conduct walk-throughs at the same time. Surprisingly, it only takes us about 30 minutes each time. This has worked very well. We have been able to more readily see trends and patterns of both positive and negative behaviors of teachers. The negatives are addressed immediately and as a result more effectively.
The overarching theme of my experiences with participating in these activities is how clearly the experiences illustrated to me the importance of having a plan with explicitly stated goals and objectives. Those goals and objectives must be based upon needs assessments derived from valid, reliable data. The plan must be a living document that is consulted periodically in order to stay on the path, and the means by which goals are attained must sometimes be reassessed and altered.
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