Quality in Education

The Center for Comprehensive Reform and School Improvement's December newsletter focuses its message on the topic of "Using Classroom Assessments to Improve Teaching" and states "Involving the learner is at the heart of the shift from assessment that measures learning to assessment that promotes learning."  Engaging students in the utilization of in-process measures or "short-cycle" assessments provides regular, ongoing feedback and sets the stage for continuous improvment.  How do you check the pulse of your system without in-process measures?

This theme is consistent with the continuous improvement approach found in classrooms that have embraced quality.  Classroom data centers and other visual representations of progress are examples of "in-process" measures to gauge performance.  Logically following are the implementation of individual student data folders in which students monitor and track progress with in-process measures aligned to classroom goals. These student-friendly approaches empower the learner and provide meaningful data that educators use to inform instructional practices.

In a previous blog entry, Jeff Lucas made reference to in-process measures and shared the following comment- "In the 2007 version of the Education Criteria for Performance Excellence (i.e. - Baldrige Criteria, due to be available in the next few weeks) we have added a note on "in-process measures" specifically to address a common misconception in education circles. In-process measures are not the same thing as formative assessments. They are measures of process performance at critical points that tell you how well the process is performing. This is different from chunking the overall desired outcome (summative assessment) into smaller pieces and measuring them along the way (although also an important practice). In-process measures are more often about the qualities of the inputs (e.g. - student time devoted to a task/skill, teacher selection of instructional methodologies) and outputs (e. g. - % of student work requiring higher level thinking skills, % of teacher feedback that provides actionable information about improvement). Having a well thought out set of these in-process metrics can be instrumental in identifying root causes."

How do you check the pulse of your systems?  What "in-process" measures do you keep to know how a system is performing?  Can educators optimize their improvement efforts without in-process measures?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 07:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guest blogger, Superintendent Dr. Dave Markward, shares his thoughts about the strategic plan. He writes "The days of thick, ponderous documents are over..." Read on and be sure to share your comments!

In his book, Results Now, Mike Schmoker cites Kouzes and Posner (1995) when he states, “Certainly, by now, schools should know that ‘strategic planning doesn’t work’ – and never did.”  Doug Reeves (The Learning Leader) expresses similar sentiment in his criticism of ‘Documentarianism’, relating that “its adherents believe that with just the right school improvement plan…the deity to whom they pray will grant educational miracles.”

I’ve read and extracted significant amounts of useful information from the writings and presentations of Mr. Schmoker and Mr. Reeves. They have done much for many through the years.   I do caution, however, to not accept the criticism as a reason to avoid developing a solid, yet flexible, strategic plan.  As the late Madeline Hunter suggested, “Do your thinking on your seat not on your feet.”  Just as I’ve witnessed struggling teachers who neglected to prepare a plan for the day and the unit of study, there are examples of schools and school districts adrift in the sea of improvement, moving at the whim of the tides and winds as a result of not having strategically charted their course.

It seems to me that, as is so often the case, the devil is in the details.  There is certainly a difference between not having a plan and having a plan so cumbersome that it is a detriment, rather than a help.  Two scenes from movies come to mind to illustrate the point.  The first, Tommy Boy, stars Chris Farley.  At one point, Tommy has to rapidly change his clothes in the restroom of an airplane.  (Please recall that Chris Farley was a very large man.)  Into the small space he goes to immediately address the task of changing.  What’s missing?  He has not a hint of a plan.  In the next few minutes he tears the clothes hanging device from the wall, is hit in the head by the toilet seat, gets his foot caught in the stool, and eventually is trapped when his tie is sucked into the bowl while accidentally triggering the flushing mechanism.  Finally, he slams backward against the door bursting into the seating area. There he comes to rest on the floor with much of his original clothing still on.  No plan = lots of activity; little progress.

The second scene is from Saving Private Ryan.  As the landing craft approach the beaches at Normandy, thousands of troops disembark to wade ashore and join the action.  Each solider is laden with huge packs and equipment to support survival on the beach.  Unfortunately, many of the soldiers never made it to shore.  For those dropped off in deep water, the gear that they were carrying was too much.  The equipment that was to keep them alive so weighted them down, that they sank, never to surface again.  Although the planning was extensive, it was, in some cases, overdone.  The individuals were simply too laden to be able to move about and respond to what was happening around them.

In the Cedar Rapids Community School District, we approach strategic planning in a realistic manner.  We know that the enactment of a plan is inversely proportional to the thickness of the document.  We utilize a ‘Strategic Plan on a Page’ to communicate the district’s vision, mission, core values, goals, and guiding philosophy to all constituents.  Schools align their improvement plans to the district plan, through the identification of measures as part of their SMART goal development process. In turn, classroom teachers align their efforts to those of the school.  At each level, goals, actions, and measures are developed.  The documents are thin, with clear understanding of the need for flexibility and adaptation. 

The days of thick, ponderous documents are over in CRCSD.  The need for planning on our seats, however, is very much a part of our culture of continuous improvement.

-Dave Markward, CRCSD Superintendent

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What are your thoughts about the strategic plan?  What does your school improvement plan look like?  In your classroom, do you have key goals, action plans and measures?  How do you streamline your guiding documents and plans so they are actionable?

Do you have something to share???  If you would be interested in "guest blogging" on the Quality in Education blog, send me an email with your topic and time line for submission.  All ideas and topics are welcome! 

-Jay Marino

Posted by Jay Marino at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

People often ask "what is continuous improvement anyway?  I decided to do an Internet search to find out how others define continuous improvement. Below is my own definition.. what's yours?

What is Continuous Improvement?

Continuous improvement (CI) is a philosophy, an approach and a paradigm rather than a program or instructional materials.  CI is designed to provide a positive and collaborative school climate and an enthusiastic, participatory learning environment focusing on being better tomorrow, next week, next month and next year.  CI is about understanding that being “good” is good enough; there is always room for improvement.

The goal of CI is to engage every student through empowerment, ownership and accountability for their own learning.  This is accomplished through creating a “student centered environment” that involves students in the implementation of the components of the continuous improvement classroom including:

·  Classroom ground rules:  Students participate in the creation of classroom expectations that all agree to follow in order to accomplish the mission of the classroom.
·  Classroom mission statements:  Students collaboratively create a mission statement that focuses the learning for the year and gets everyone “on the same page.”
·  Classroom SMART goals:  SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented and Time bound.  It is important that all classrooms in the school have goals and action plans that are aligned to school improvement goals.  Students participate in goal setting that put a “laser like focus” on instruction.
·  Classroom data centers:  Once goals have been created in student-friendly language, it is important that students participate in the collection and monitoring of progress toward the goals.  The data center is the collection point to monitor academic progress.
·  Individual student data folders:  To connect every learner to the classroom goals, students maintain a data folder that tracks and measures their individual progress toward their goals.
·  Classroom meetings:  Effective classrooms take time to revisit the classroom data center, mission and goals to make sure that continuous improvement is progressing.  This forum provides students an opportunity to problem-solve and modify the classroom system to obtain maximum results.
·  Student-led conferences:  In a student-centered classroom, students are expected to be able to articulate their own progress of learning demonstrated through the review of their data folder.  Students (instead of the teacher) facilitate the conference with parents.
·  Quality tools and PDSA in the classroom:  21^st century learners prepare for creative problem solving in the world ahead by learning and applying quality tools and the Plan Do Study Act cycle of continuous improvement.  These CI tools and processes keep productivity at its peak!

Students play a unique role in continuous improvement driven systems. They are not only served by the system, but are active workers and participants in the system. The product they produce is learning, through a dynamic interchange between and among students and their teachers. Learning is focused on “what’s most important” and students are able to monitor their performance and readily observe their academic/instructional progress.

They are able to track their own progress in individual data folders and monitoring class progress toward goals in a classroom data center. Consequently, students become more receptive to learning when they are active participants and learn powerful 21^st century skills that will prepare them for the world ahead.

What is your definition of continuous improvement and quality?

Jay

 

Posted by Jay Marino at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

There has been much research conducted in search of the characteristics of highly effective schools.  A study out of the Washington state does a nice job of summarizing these components into 9 key areas (below).  Not surprising to continuous improvement proponents is the first characteristic which could be referred to in the Baldrige criteria as "setting and communicating direction".

1.       Clear and Shared Focus
2.       High Standards and Expectations
3.       Effective School Leadership
4.       High Levels of Collaboration and Communication
5.       Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Aligned with Standards
6.       Frequent Monitoring of Teaching and Learning
7.       Focused Professional Development
8.       Supportive Learning Environment
9.       High Levels of Community and Parent Involvement

The description of "Clear and Shared Focus" reads "Everybody knows where they are going and why. The focus is on achieving a shared vision, and all understand their role in achieving the vision. The focus and vision are developed from common beliefs and values, creating a consistent direction for all involved."

Does your school exhibit the characteristics of effective schools?  How do you establish clear and shared focus in your school or classroom?  What do you think are the characteristics of ineffective schools or classrooms?

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In many K-12 school systems, it appears that the elementary staff are the first to buy-in to the continuous quality improvement approach.  Not too far behind are the middle school and junior high staff since the elementary students soon find their way into their classrooms.  Continuous quality improvement initiatives at the high school level are often implemented at a slower pace. 

Secondary educators seem to be embracing the concept of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) which, in essence, is rooted in the spirit of continuous improvement.   The "Big Ideas" of PLC's include teams asking questions like:

• What do we want students to learn?
• How will we know when students have learned it?
• How will we respond when students aren't learning?

To obtain an aligned system, is it critical to have a unified approach to continuous quality improvement efforts?  Should quality look the same at the elementary and secondary levels?   How do school systems better support and encourage a continuous approach at the high school?  Do you know of any high schools that have truly embraced continuous improvement?  Who are they and what do they look like?

Share you thoughts and opinions about continuous improvement at the high school level! 

Jay

Posted by Jay Marino at 07:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)