I always enjoy doing the Artifact Box protocol - and I think it is especially useful when looking at data. The only thing that might have helped us go deeper in our analysis was to get an overview of the district demographics and a cheat-sheet of some of the acronyms. It was powerful to look so deeply and detailed at a district driven by data, and the ability to see the fundamentals we've been learning about in class in practice at White River.
I agree with having a bit more background going into our small group discussions. We were fortunate to have Danielle in our small group who came from White River last year so she answered most of our questions for us.
Katie --I am with you. Today's activity the Artifact Box gave me a very hands on perspective. Having all poster boards by tiers is a powerful tool. I made connections to analyzing data in a new way such as learning styles, demographics, intervention strategies. I am so thankful for this kinds of opportunities that make me grow as a leader.
As usual, so much good stuff. It's good to see that the PLC can actually work! It's nice to know that it's a long process, that's heartening. But the cynic in my would like to check-in in 5 years to see if it's still going strong. I suspect it will be. It sounds like they've done it right with a firm cultural foundation.
I also appreciated hearing that it was not a process that was magically put into place overnight or even in just a year or two, but rather an ongoing process that is continually being improved and changed.
I agree with you Nicole. I appreciate the fact that White River leaders were frank up front by telling us that it took: time, collaboration among staff & leadership team, and lots of study of data and redos for this process. Love it.
I liked breaking up into small groups and looking at the different artifacts. I liked having three focus questions to answer within the small group as well. A suggestion would be to have maybe where your school district started and where they are now with the information. Since so much work has been done in your district about creating quality and thoughtful PLCs, I would love to have even some information or tips on how to get started in that process. Thanks!
Ditto on the Sharing! Hearing from others about the process and length of time to build this kind of culture could be a great teaching tool for breaking down barriers that impede/hamper this kind of culture.
I really enjoyed the protocol that was implemented in the the class tonight! I felt that it was a very useful way of summarizing a lot of different material in a short about of time (The divide and conquer strategy). One thing that I would have loved was a little bit more time to discuss strategies to implement the data boards or similar in a High School context. I know that I can follow up and get this answers! So thank you so much for the presentation!
I am intrigued by the data boards and was not aware of them until starting this program. I think they are a fantastic way to capture the big picture about student growth and success, and love that it is applicable to all grade levels!
The artifact box protocol was a great activity that allowed us to dig into some data while still learning from the work of others - great use of our time. Although I enjoyed seeing and analyzing the data - I believe listening and "seeing" a model that is successful is important. I appreciated your candidness and sharing about the "Journey" as it is a continual work in progress. Two areas that I will continue research and work towards is implementing PBIS and data boards. I loved seeing the student's faces and how they show growth from year to year by leaving the pictures from the pervious years attached. Great process - powerful!
As others, I enjoyed the data boards. This is a system we've considered in the past, and have passed on for some reason or another. I wonder if creating digital data boards systems would sacrifice the benefits found by White River. If done with much thought and design, couldn't it possibly be even more powerful, collaborative, and responsive?
I'm curious about whether or not the students who have been placed on these boards have the data readily available to them as well. Do they know they are on a board in the staff rooms? Also wondering if students having that knowledge would increase student achievement. I would imagine so, but would love to know.
Corey, I have seen the data boards done digitally/Smart Board. It was equally as great. I considered trying to replicate it but just have not found the time.
First, thank you for letting our team come present and share about our RTI and PLC process. White River has looked into having a way to do the data boards electronically. Will check into the SmartBoard technology that is new for my team this year. It would be great to have it layered in a digital way it would be a great way to increase the collaborative and responsiveness.
Ryan, ALL of our elementary students are on the boards. We share the student growth and data with them weekly in the progress monitoring which is the next layer to the data boards. Student like to see their weekly growth and it does make a significant difference in student achievement to share the growth with them and set individual student growth goals.
The artifact protocol helped us analytically examine tools that are used in high-functioning, culture rich, PLC's. I liked allowing specialized eyes (elementary, secondary) choose the artifact that most connected with their work. In this way we tapped our collective expertise in order to synthesize the usefulness of the artifacts. I enjoyed hearing from each group member, and would have actually enjoyed just a little more time in our small group. I also appreciate writing questions and having them attended to immediately.
I agree... .I liked having a choice of what data to look at (elementary, secondary). I didn't realize that one of the options was information about a unit and I wish I had chosen that artifact to analyze. I think it is powerful to plan units as a basis for the RTI work. It was obvious that the artifacts represent years of dedication to the process. I appreciated the opportunity to see the amazing potential that the RTI process has.
Michele - I felt the same way. I would have liked to complete the rotation one more time to look at some additional artifacts. Great sampling of data types and the extent to which collecting data must include.
I too agree that it would have been great to do one rotation to look at the math data and one rotation to look at the behavioral data. Our group was so intrigued by the behavioral that we didn't spend as much time reflecting about math. When they pulled the math up back in the whole group I was able to see more of the application.
I hadn't been part of the artifact protocol before. I can see how the description, assumptions, and questions is a great way to keep the focus on nonjudgemental observations that are not threatening or evaluative. I was able to hear perspectives from everyone and gain insight from their questions.
I agree that the way it was structured into description, assumptions, and questions promoted non-judgmental observations but rather allowed for common theme and questions to surface. I enjoyed using this protocol to allow us to dig into a number of artifacts with limited time.
I see tremendous value in the data boards and will be touching base with Shauna to find out more information on the creation process. Big take away - artifact box protocol. Effective way to look and share data on students, starting with a big picture and moving into kid by kid.
Thank you very much to our presenters this evening. Being able to see the data boards at both the elementary and secondary levels was very valuable. In regards to the artifact folder protocol, I thought this was a great alternative to the "jigsaw" and allowed for the groups to easily identify questions or themes that emerged to then bring back to the whole group for further discussion.
I enjoyed the presentation tonight. I love to see leadership passion, and there is definite passion in this leadership team. Being able to take time to analyze and review the toolbox was helpful and inspiring. I just finished reading Leadership of Learning, which focuses on the PLC culture and best practices within those teams and your presentation tonight aligned beautifully with the message. It was great to see what I just researched put into successful practice!
I was so excited about all the presentations. I went out and bought three new books! (Love Amazon!) Michelle and I created a OneNote Notebook that we did not have time to present. I love it as it will be something that I look forward to using to refine and reflect on this process. If anyone was interested in the OneNote Notebook focused around The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All students - WE would love to share it with all of you! Great Night! Thank you!
Kris, I would love to see the OneNote about "The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students." Let me know if you have time before or after class one evening.
The presentation on Tuesday really helped me visualize best practices regarding cultivating a culture of inquiry and collaboration. This was my first experience with the Artifact Box Protocol, but it will definitely not be my last. Examining artifacts in a group with a focus on individually describing, making assumptions, and questioning artifacts gives voice to all participants and reinforces the power of forming collaborative structures. It didn't matter what artifact you selected, you could tell White River places an immense value on working together as a team to analyze problems as a team and design and implement interventions on a continuous basis. It was really nice to see the research on collaboration applied in a setting that makes sense and focused on improving student learning kid by kid, skill by skill.
Thank you for letting our White River team come and present it was an honor to be able to share about RTI and PLC. Thank you Glenn for all your leadership in helping us become great future administrators.
The link to the opening day video is http://www.whiteriver.wednet.edu/learning_in_white_river/opening_day_video
Nick Hedman is the Principal at Wilkeson Elementary his email is nhedman@whiteriver.wednet.edu Our staff would welcome you to come visit our RTI meeting and see how they work
Cody Mothershead is the Assistant Principal at White River High School. His e-mail is cmothershead@whiteriver.wednet.edu. WRHS has an amazing process for documenting and tracking behavior that is effective and efficient. Thanks Cody for bring the high school perspective. I always learn something new when you present about what yours teams are doing.
The synergy of the night and knowing that we are All in This Together as leaders makes the effort worth it. Some of you mentioned wanting to see what PLCs in action looks like .... specifically in White River. We have regular scheduled visitations that school teams find helpful to see teachers collaborating together with Unit Plans and Common Assessments. The next one is on December 7th in the AM and this link: http://whiteriver.wednet.edu/learning_in_white_river/professional_learning_community/p_l_c_resources will connect you to resources for PLCs and link you to the registration form if you have some folks who want to visit. You can see any grade level and network with other schools in the greater NW.
I always enjoy doing the Artifact Box protocol - and I think it is especially useful when looking at data. The only thing that might have helped us go deeper in our analysis was to get an overview of the district demographics and a cheat-sheet of some of the acronyms. It was powerful to look so deeply and detailed at a district driven by data, and the ability to see the fundamentals we've been learning about in class in practice at White River.
ReplyDeleteI agree with having a bit more background going into our small group discussions. We were fortunate to have Danielle in our small group who came from White River last year so she answered most of our questions for us.
DeleteKatie --I am with you. Today's activity the Artifact Box gave me a very hands on perspective. Having all poster boards by tiers is a powerful tool. I made connections to analyzing data in a new way such as learning styles, demographics, intervention strategies. I am so thankful for this kinds of opportunities that make me grow as a leader.
DeleteAs usual, so much good stuff. It's good to see that the PLC can actually work! It's nice to know that it's a long process, that's heartening. But the cynic in my would like to check-in in 5 years to see if it's still going strong. I suspect it will be. It sounds like they've done it right with a firm cultural foundation.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Book Displays. I felt all these books would be worthy of my library when I create it my Administrator use.
DeleteI also appreciated hearing that it was not a process that was magically put into place overnight or even in just a year or two, but rather an ongoing process that is continually being improved and changed.
DeleteI agree with you Nicole. I appreciate the fact that White River leaders were frank up front by telling us that it took: time, collaboration among staff & leadership team, and lots of study of data and redos for this process. Love it.
DeleteI liked breaking up into small groups and looking at the different artifacts. I liked having three focus questions to answer within the small group as well. A suggestion would be to have maybe where your school district started and where they are now with the information. Since so much work has been done in your district about creating quality and thoughtful PLCs, I would love to have even some information or tips on how to get started in that process.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
My question also goes along with yours - would White River be willing to share if teams came to learn from their current practices?
DeleteDitto on the Sharing! Hearing from others about the process and length of time to build this kind of culture could be a great teaching tool for breaking down barriers that impede/hamper this kind of culture.
DeleteI really enjoyed the protocol that was implemented in the the class tonight! I felt that it was a very useful way of summarizing a lot of different material in a short about of time (The divide and conquer strategy). One thing that I would have loved was a little bit more time to discuss strategies to implement the data boards or similar in a High School context. I know that I can follow up and get this answers! So thank you so much for the presentation!
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by the data boards and was not aware of them until starting this program. I think they are a fantastic way to capture the big picture about student growth and success, and love that it is applicable to all grade levels!
DeleteYes --I am wondering how will data boards impact staff if we use them at the high school level.
DeleteThe artifact box protocol was a great activity that allowed us to dig into some data while still learning from the work of others - great use of our time. Although I enjoyed seeing and analyzing the data - I believe listening and "seeing" a model that is successful is important. I appreciated your candidness and sharing about the "Journey" as it is a continual work in progress. Two areas that I will continue research and work towards is implementing PBIS and data boards. I loved seeing the student's faces and how they show growth from year to year by leaving the pictures from the pervious years attached. Great process - powerful!
ReplyDeleteAs others, I enjoyed the data boards. This is a system we've considered in the past, and have passed on for some reason or another. I wonder if creating digital data boards systems would sacrifice the benefits found by White River. If done with much thought and design, couldn't it possibly be even more powerful, collaborative, and responsive?
DeleteI'm curious about whether or not the students who have been placed on these boards have the data readily available to them as well. Do they know they are on a board in the staff rooms? Also wondering if students having that knowledge would increase student achievement. I would imagine so, but would love to know.
DeleteCorey, I have seen the data boards done digitally/Smart Board. It was equally as great. I considered trying to replicate it but just have not found the time.
DeleteFirst, thank you for letting our team come present and share about our RTI and PLC process. White River has looked into having a way to do the data boards electronically. Will check into the SmartBoard technology that is new for my team this year. It would be great to have it layered in a digital way it would be a great way to increase the collaborative and responsiveness.
DeleteRyan, ALL of our elementary students are on the boards. We share the student growth and data with them weekly in the progress monitoring which is the next layer to the data boards. Student like to see their weekly growth and it does make a significant difference in student achievement to share the growth with them and set individual student growth goals.
The artifact protocol helped us analytically examine tools that are used in high-functioning, culture rich, PLC's. I liked allowing specialized eyes (elementary, secondary) choose the artifact that most connected with their work. In this way we tapped our collective expertise in order to synthesize the usefulness of the artifacts. I enjoyed hearing from each group member, and would have actually enjoyed just a little more time in our small group. I also appreciate writing questions and having them attended to immediately.
ReplyDeleteI agree... .I liked having a choice of what data to look at (elementary, secondary). I didn't realize that one of the options was information about a unit and I wish I had chosen that artifact to analyze. I think it is powerful to plan units as a basis for the RTI work. It was obvious that the artifacts represent years of dedication to the process. I appreciated the opportunity to see the amazing potential that the RTI process has.
DeleteMichele - I felt the same way. I would have liked to complete the rotation one more time to look at some additional artifacts. Great sampling of data types and the extent to which collecting data must include.
DeleteI too agree that it would have been great to do one rotation to look at the math data and one rotation to look at the behavioral data. Our group was so intrigued by the behavioral that we didn't spend as much time reflecting about math. When they pulled the math up back in the whole group I was able to see more of the application.
DeleteI hadn't been part of the artifact protocol before. I can see how the description, assumptions, and questions is a great way to keep the focus on nonjudgemental observations that are not threatening or evaluative. I was able to hear perspectives from everyone and gain insight from their questions.
ReplyDelete
DeleteSome of you asked about the word cloud generator I used for the book report assignment.
https://tagul.com
I agree that the way it was structured into description, assumptions, and questions promoted non-judgmental observations but rather allowed for common theme and questions to surface. I enjoyed using this protocol to allow us to dig into a number of artifacts with limited time.
DeleteI see tremendous value in the data boards and will be touching base with Shauna to find out more information on the creation process. Big take away - artifact box protocol. Effective way to look and share data on students, starting with a big picture and moving into kid by kid.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much to our presenters this evening. Being able to see the data boards at both the elementary and secondary levels was very valuable. In regards to the artifact folder protocol, I thought this was a great alternative to the "jigsaw" and allowed for the groups to easily identify questions or themes that emerged to then bring back to the whole group for further discussion.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the presentation tonight. I love to see leadership passion, and there is definite passion in this leadership team. Being able to take time to analyze and review the toolbox was helpful and inspiring. I just finished reading Leadership of Learning, which focuses on the PLC culture and best practices within those teams and your presentation tonight aligned beautifully with the message. It was great to see what I just researched put into successful practice!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited about all the presentations. I went out and bought three new books! (Love Amazon!) Michelle and I created a OneNote Notebook that we did not have time to present. I love it as it will be something that I look forward to using to refine and reflect on this process. If anyone was interested in the OneNote Notebook focused around The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All students - WE would love to share it with all of you! Great Night! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteKris, I would love to see the OneNote about "The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students." Let me know if you have time before or after class one evening.
DeleteThe presentation on Tuesday really helped me visualize best practices regarding cultivating a culture of inquiry and collaboration. This was my first experience with the Artifact Box Protocol, but it will definitely not be my last. Examining artifacts in a group with a focus on individually describing, making assumptions, and questioning artifacts gives voice to all participants and reinforces the power of forming collaborative structures. It didn't matter what artifact you selected, you could tell White River places an immense value on working together as a team to analyze problems as a team and design and implement interventions on a continuous basis. It was really nice to see the research on collaboration applied in a setting that makes sense and focused on improving student learning kid by kid, skill by skill.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting our White River team come and present it was an honor to be able to share about RTI and PLC. Thank you Glenn for all your leadership in helping us become great future administrators.
ReplyDeleteThe link to the opening day video is http://www.whiteriver.wednet.edu/learning_in_white_river/opening_day_video
Nick Hedman is the Principal at Wilkeson Elementary his email is nhedman@whiteriver.wednet.edu Our staff would welcome you to come visit our RTI meeting and see how they work
Cody Mothershead is the Assistant Principal at White River High School. His e-mail is cmothershead@whiteriver.wednet.edu. WRHS has an amazing process for documenting and tracking behavior that is effective and efficient. Thanks Cody for bring the high school perspective. I always learn something new when you present about what yours teams are doing.
The synergy of the night and knowing that we are All in This Together as leaders makes the effort worth it. Some of you mentioned wanting to see what PLCs in action looks like .... specifically in White River. We have regular scheduled visitations that school teams find helpful to see teachers collaborating together with Unit Plans and Common Assessments. The next one is on December 7th in the AM and this link: http://whiteriver.wednet.edu/learning_in_white_river/professional_learning_community/p_l_c_resources
ReplyDeletewill connect you to resources for PLCs and link you to the registration form if you have some folks who want to visit. You can see any grade level and network with other schools in the greater NW.