Quality in Education

In the educational setting, effective teachers can have the greatest impact on student achievement.  Even greater achievement can be realized when teachers facilitate students taking responsibility for their own learning.  Over the next several entries, I will journal about what I believe to be essential components of the continuous improvement classroom:

• Ground rules created by students
• Mission statements (Classroom and individual student)
• Measurable goals (Classroom and individual student)
• Classroom Data Center 
• Student data folders
• Student-led conferences
• Classroom meetings facilitated by students
• Quality tools and PDSA (Used by the teacher and students)

In order to accomplish and deploy the components of the continuous improvement classroom, a clear vision must be communicated.  It is up to educational leaders to set and communicate direction or in other words... paint a vivid picture of what it looks like.  As stakeholders better understand the vision, they are more likely to embrace it and make it theirs.  Once the vision is communicated, there must be a way to measure deployment because... what gets measured, gets done.

Below are a few resources that we use in the Cedar Rapids Schools:

• 3 Year Continuous Improvement Outcomes (Our attempt to clearly communicate the vision and expectations)
• Classroom Deployment Instrument (Our attempt to measure deployment of the elements of the continuous improvement classroom)
• What Does Quality in the Classroom Look Like?  (Our attempt to define elements of the continuous improvement classroom)

Over the next several entries, I'll share my thoughts on each of the components listed above.  What do you believe are the components to the continuous improvement classroom?  What have been your experiences?  How do you measure deployment of quality in the classroom?

Jay