AliWeitzerandJennaSilber

CI5434
UniversityofMinnesota
Summer2016

AreaFour:DeliveryPlan

Inandbetweensessionleadership:
Duringeachsession,wewillbeteamteachingtheslidecontent,aswellasleadingdiscussions
andscaffoldingtheneedsofeachteacherlearneraccordingtotheLearningSpiral(Lyons,
2001).Betweensessions,wewillbeavailableforteachersupportandquestions.

NSDCstandards:

Standard

Howitisaddressed

1.Organizesadultsintolearningcommunities Schoolanddistrictgoalsarefocusedaround
whosegoalsarealignedwiththoseofthe
increasingteachereffectivenessand
schoolanddistrict.
increasingstudentachievementinreading.
ProperlyimplementingtheGradualRelease
ofResponsibilitymodel,withafocuson
independentpractice(conferring),isaligned
withbothgoals.
2.Requiresskillfulschoolanddistrictleaders
whoguidecontinuousinstructional
improvement.

Inordertocontinuethelearningprocesson
conferring,theschoolanddistrictleaderswill
makesurethatteachershaveaccessto
additionalresources,suchasprofessional
textsandliteracycoaches.

3.Requiresresourcestosupportadult
learningandcollaboration.

Administrationwillprovidepresentersaccess
tothemanybooksthatarelistedinthe
resourcesection.Teacherswillhaveaccess
tothebooksandmaycheckthemout,as
needed.Theywillalsoreceiveanyandall
copiesthatarenecessarytocompletethe
sessions.

Administrationwillalsoemploy(a)literacy
coach(es)topresentandprovideongoing
coachingandsupporttoteachers.

4.Usesdisaggregatedstudentdatato
determineadultlearningpriorities,monitor
progress,andhelpsustaincontinuous
improvement.

Statewidestudentreadingassessmentdata
showstheneedtotrainteachersinraising
studentachievementscores.Conferringisa
researchbasedwaytoaddressthat.
Teacherswillalsobecollectingstudentdata
throughtheirfrequentconferencestomonitor
progressandsustainstudentimprovement.

AliWeitzerandJennaSilber
CI5434
UniversityofMinnesota
Summer2016
5.Usesmultiplesourcesofinformationto
guideimprovementanddemonstrateits
impact.

Teacherswillberequiredtolearnfrom
instructors,readings,videosandeachother.
Theywillapplytheknowledgegainedfrom
eachsourceinadailyactivityandreflect
upontheirlearning.

6.Prepareseducatorstoapplyresearchto
decisionmaking.

Awidevarietyofresearch,included
peerreviewedwork,wasconsideredwhile
creatingtheseriesofprofessional
developmentsessions.Teacherscan
comparestudentreadingstrengthsand
needsbyanalyzinganecdotalnotesgathered
duringeachreadingconference.

7.Useslearningstrategiesappropriatetothe
intendedgoal.

Thegoaloftheprofessionaldevelopment
sessionsistogetteacherstounderstandthe
differentaspectsofareadingconferenceand
learnhowtoimplementthepractice.
Teacherswilllearnabouttheaspectsby
watchingvideosofexpertsandpeers,
providingeachotherwithfeedback,reading
excerptsfromhighqualitytextsand
collaboratingwithpeerstocreatedata
collectionforms.

8.Appliesknowledgeabouthumanlearning
andchange.

Theseriesofprofessionaldevelopment
mirrorstheGradualReleaseofResponsibility
modelthatteachersareexpectedtousewith
students.Teachershavetheopportunityto
receivefeedbackfromtheirpeersandliteracy
coaches.

9.Provideseducatorswiththeknowledge
andskillstocollaborate.

Teachersparticipateinactivitieswherethey
applytheknowledgeandskillstheylearned.

Example:watchingvideosofaconference
andidentifyingdifferenttypesofquestions.

10.Prepareseducatorstounderstandand
appreciateallstudents,createsafe,orderly
andsupportivelearningenvironments,and
holdhighexpectationsfortheiracademic
achievement.

Conferringisthemostindividualized
instructionteacherscanprovidetheir
studentswith.Whilehavingconferences,
teacherscanappreciatewhatallstudents
knowandcanworkwiththemina
nonthreateningenvironmenttopropelthem
forwardintheirlearning.

11.Deepenseducators'contentknowledge,
providesthemwithresearchbased

Theprofessionaldevelopmentsessionsare
designedtofittheneedsofteachers.A

AliWeitzerandJennaSilber
CI5434
UniversityofMinnesota
Summer2016
instructionalstrategiestoassiststudentsin
meetingrigorousacademicstandards,and
preparesthemtousevarioustypesof
classroomassessmentsappropriately.

surveywasgivenbeforethesessionswere
createdtoensurethatwearebuildingupon
teachercontentknowledge.Avarietyof
researchbasedinstructionalstrategiesare
includedindailysessions.Inaddition,
teachersaregivenadditionalresourcesto
usetoextendthelearning.

12.Provideseducatorswithknowledgeand
skillstoinvolvefamiliesandother
stakeholdersappropriately.

Teacherscanusetheanecdotalnotes
collectedduringtheirreadingconferencesto
sharewithparents,familiesandstakeholders
todemonstratethelearningthatishappening
intheclassroom.

NationalStaffDevelopmentCouncilsStandardsforStaffDevelopment(2001)

Developingaprofessionalcommunity:
Teacherswillbecollaboratingwithvariousindividualsandgroupsduringtheseprofessional
developmentsessions,includingtheirgradelevelteams,tablegroups,partners,andtheentire
staff.Throughscaffoldingandfacilitatingprofessionalconversationscenteredondataand
learningactivities,wewillencouragecollaborationanddevelopmentofaprofessionallearning
community.Schoolwidechangeisonlyachievablethroughteacherandadministratorteamwork
(Taylor,2011)

Sustainablefollowup:
Teacherswillhavetheopportunitytogetfeedbacksurroundingaselfselectedaspectof
conferringbyaliteracycoachorpeer.Teachersmayalsovideotapethemselvesleadinga
readingconferencetobringtoacoachingsession.

Nextsteps:
Teacherswillpracticeconferringforamonth,receivingindividualizedcoachingandsupport
fromtheliteracycoach.Afterthatcoachingcycle,teacherswilltakeanothersurveysothatwe
canseewhatisgoingwellandwhatareasneedtoberevisited.Thefollowingprofessional
developmentwillbemoredifferentiated,asitislikelythatteachersneedsmayvarywidely.
Somepossiblelearningopportunitiesare:
Bookstudy:Serravallo,Feigelson,Fountas&Pinnell,etc.
Usingtheinformationfromourreadingconferencesandapplyingittowriting
conferences
Analyzinganecdotalnotesthatarecollectedandpreparingforupcomingconferences
Implementinganyofthetopicscoveredinthisseriesofprofessionaldevelopment
sessions
Reevaluatinggoalsandsettingnewones,ifnecessary

AliWeitzerandJennaSilber
CI5434
UniversityofMinnesota
Summer2016

References

Lyons,C.&Pinnell,G.(2001).
SystemsforChangeinLiteracyEducation:AGuideto
ProfessionalDevelopment.
Chapter2.PearsonEducationCanada.
NationalStaffDevelopmentCouncilsStandardsforStaffDevelopment.(2001).Retrievedfrom
http://www.ode.state.or.us/opportunities/grants/nclb/title_ii/a_teacherquality/nsdcstandar
d
s.pdf
Taylor,B.(2011).Catchingschools:Anactionguidetoschoolwidereadingimprovement.
Portsmouth,HM.Heinemann.