2013 Pathways to the Prize - School Winners | Page 42

Pathways to the Prize Lessons from the 2011 SCORE Prize School Winners Pathways to the Prize Lessons from the 2011 SCORE Prize School Winners Accountability and feedback Data 6. All of the schools have processes in place to provide teachers with feedback on their instruction and hold them accountable for student achievement outcomes. 11. Prize winners en gage in data-driven instruction enabled by tracking systems and deep data analysis. For example, Fairview Elementary uses data walls. Mt. Juliet undertakes root cause analyses in order to understand the source of student challenges. a. In what ways do teachers in each of these three schools receive feedback regarding their instruction? How are they held accountable? In what ways does this compare or contrast with the feedback and accountability structures in your school? b. How does your administration hold you accountable? In what ways might your administration improve feedback structures to help improve your teaching? a. What systems exist in your school for data analysis? How might these systems be improved upon to enable teachers to use data more effectively when making instructional decisions? b. How do you use student data in your classroom? How might you improve upon your use of data to increase your students’ achievement? Professional development 7. At Mt. Juliet, school leaders reformulated professional development activities to link more closely to improvement goals. a. In what ways do the professional development activities in your school link to school goals? What type of professional development opportunities do you think align with the goals of your school? b. What type of professional development would most benefit your students and instructional practices? How might your school help identify and provide you with transformative learning experiences most suited to your needs? Collaboration 8. All SCORE Prize school-level winners emphasize teacher collaboration. For example, teachers at Fairview Elementary and Mt. Juliet High School meet in professional learning communities to study standards. a. What type of formal and informal collaboration occurs among teachers in your schools? In what way might your school improve the collaboration process? b. How do you collaborate with your colleagues? In what ways do current school structures enable or inhibit teacher collaboration? Differentiation 9. Each school promotes individualized instruction for its students by asking teachers to differentiate their instructional practices. a. Can you provide examples of what differentiation looks like in your school? What supports might the school offer teachers to facilitate differentiation? How can your school use collaboration and personalization strategies to enhance individualized instructional practices? b. How do you differentiate instruction in your classroom? Student engagement 10. Teachers at Power Center Academy use real world tasks and authentic pedagogy that encourage depth of understanding and student engagement. For example, when learning about slope students have the opportunity to go into the neighborhood and measure the slopes of sidewalks to see if they comply with building codes. a. How do teachers engage students and encourage depth of understanding at your school? What does active engagement look like in classrooms at your school? b. What type of tasks and instructional strategies do you use to actively engage students? What techniques can you use to improve upon student engagement? 42 Appendix: Discussion Guide Appendix: Discussion Guide 43