Looking Forward!

I am working towards a Professional Learning Unit (PLU) through Birmingham City Schools. It's essentially an overview of the Curriculum Departments and the various wonderful programs and people that we have with a wealth of information to share.

I recently attended one of the sessions that addressed using data to teach. Although, intuitively, we all (should) know that data should be the guiding force to drive our instruction, most of us simply do not take the time to really disaggregate assessments. As a special educator, I loved the concept that we should determine ahead of time what we consider to be mastery for a student. We must individualize instruction to allow our students to reach mastery. A major point is that, as educators, we can’t just keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results (picture someone yelling louder in English to a person who only speaks French); in actuality, we MUST teach differently. The best quote? “Every child can learn – the question is, can you teach every child?”

Formative assessments are a key element to the instructional process, to engage students and provide feedback as they learn. Last week, at the administrative retreat, we ‘revisited’ the concept of Professional Learning Communities. A large part of the discussion centered on the idea that PLCs consist of “Educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLCs operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators” (Dufour, Dufour, Esker & Many 2008).

The focus is to determine what OUTCOME we want to see for student achievement, and empowering each other to be risk takers in a supportive environment.

The primary questions, which also replicate much of what we learned in the PLU session, are:

1. What is it we want all our students to learn?
2. How will we know when each student has acquired the essential knowledge and skills?
3. What happens in our school when a student DOES NOT learn?
4. What happens in our school when a student DOES learn?

The PLC sees assessment as part of our normal routine as educators! I look forward to this coming school year where we begin working as a PLC to increase student learning!