Dear Parents and Community:
On Friday, January 15, we will have our second (and final) early dismissal day this school year to provide professional development for teaching staff in the afternoon. This week we will be working on a protocol to analyze student writing K-12 as a way to build consensus on our writing programs and practice. By collaborating on curriculum and instruction, we develop a perspective on academic needs and best practices in the classrooms to create a consistent and assured learning experience for every student.
We do understand that these shortened student days create disruptions in family routines; however, opportunities for our staff to work together ultimately impact student achievement. Thank you so much for your cooperation and support in our educational endeavors.
For your information, I am attaching the protocol we will be using to examine student work. (All writing pieces that we discuss are anonymous.)
Sincerely,
Dr. Frances Wills Superintendent of Schools
Dismissal times: HS-10:15, MS-11:00, ES-11:45
Protocol for Small Group Examination of Student Work
Protocol from National School Reform Faculty (www.nsrfharmony.org)
STEP 1: First faculty member provides context (2 minutes).
◦ What were the students asked to do?
◦ How was the task implemented?
DO NOT provide any background information about the student or the student’s work. Avoid statements about whether this is a strong or weak student.
(Here’s the hard part! During steps 2 and 3, the faculty member sharing work cannot talk and can only take notes. It is sometimes helpful to pull away from the table a bit to take notes.)
STEP 2: The group describes what they see in the student work (3 minutes)
In round robin fashion, group members respond to the question:
◦ “What do you see?”
The focus here is on describing and avoid judgments about quality.
◦ Example: The student wrote in all 4 parts of the graphic organizer (descriptive) vs. The student did a good job using the graphic organizer well (judgment).
STEP 3: The group brainstorms implications for instruction (3 minutes)
Group members respond to the questions:
◦ What are possible next steps for further teaching?
◦ What strategies might support student learning?
STEP 4: The whole group reflects. (2 minutes)
Group members respond to the question:
◦ How has the sharing and discussion caused us to think about our practice or our students’ practice related to writing in our discipline?