Understanding the Nature Understanding the Nature and Purpose of Co-and Purpose of Co-

construction Meetingsconstruction Meetings

Te Kotahitanga Co-construction groups are examples of Professional Learning Communities +

So what is a So what is a Professional Learning Professional Learning

Community?Community?

Dr Helen Timperley“A professional learning community is

one in which teachers update their professional knowledge and skills within the context of an organised school-wide system for improving teaching practices. In addition teachers’ efforts, individually and collectively, are focused on the goal of improving student learning and achievement and making the school as a whole become a high-performing organisation.”

Making the distinction

Members of a professional community:

o Share ideaso Share resourceso Work togethero Support one another

Research shows that the impact of professional communities is that the quality of professionals’ lives may be improved but there is little impact on student achievement.

Making the distinction continued

Members of a Professional Learning Community:

o Share strategies and ideaso Share resourceso Work togethero Support one anothero Test the impact of their

practice for its effectiveness in raising student achievement

Research shows that when teachers meet regularly to focus on outcomes for students there are associated gains in student achievement.

Contextual factors such as the student’s skill level, the decile ranking of the school etc. are not significant in identifying high-achieving schools.

The factor that makes the most difference is the way schools focus on using student achievement information. Such schools constantly monitor student progress. Teachers then use the information to adjust their classroom teaching to ensure improvement.

The difference is the focus on evidence of outcomes for students

‘‘

““simply gathering data, however systematically or routinely, will not of itself improve schools. There needs to be a commitment to scrutinise such data, to make sense of it, and to plan and act differently as a result”

David Hopkins: School Improvement for Real. Routledge. Falmer 2001David Hopkins: School Improvement for Real. Routledge. Falmer 2001

Te Kotahitanga Co-construction

Communities Shared vision A clear focus on the goal of raising

Māori student achievement via GEPRISP and the ETP

A belief in the agency of teachers (agentic) and a willingness to challenge deficit theorising in self and others

A supportive, solutions-focused context

Te Kotahitanga Co-construction

Communities Clear focus on student learningFocus on Māori student learning

rather than teaching

Clear criteria and knowledge about what counts as achievement including relevant, benchmarked achievement information - for class, for Year level, National

Teachers make full use of valid, relevant and quality information that leads to student achievement.

Te Kotahitanga Co-construction

Communities Deprivatisation of Practice

Teachers reflect, then share and discuss the progress of their students based on achievement information

Teachers discuss possible teaching strategies to improve student achievement

Te Kotahitanga Co-construction Communities

Learning talk Teachers adopt an attitude of inquiry – the focus is on learning to enhance learning

Analytical, critical and challengingAnalytical - analyses the impact of

teaching practice on student outcomes

Critical - evaluates the outcomes of the analysis

Challenging - challenges teachers to try new strategies

Te Kotahitanga Co-construction Communities

CollaborationTeachers discuss and react to one another’s teaching and assessment practices

Teachers demonstrate respect for others’ ideas and opinions

Teachers allow each other time to understand and challenge

Teachers develop shared goals and may support one another to achieve them

The Essential ElementsCollect and analyse the evidence (Share

student and teacher experiences, share student outcomes)

Describe current practice (including review of previous goals)

Examine the theory behind it (theorise on this evidence in terms of practice)

Explore possible changes in practice (set new goals)

Reflect on change (Test the impact of their practice for its effectiveness in raising Māori student achievement through the collection of evidence)

Helen Timperley states:

Traditionally student’s learning difficulties or slow progress have been seen as a problem within the student, not as a reason to think about how the instruction offered, may or may not have benefited that particular student. We appreciate students are different in their rates and processing of learning, but we want to challenge the idea that all differences in achievement are due to differences in students’ abilities or home backgrounds. We suggest that learning to teach the more-difficult-to-teach students happens best within a professional learning community because the issues are usually too complex for one teacher to address alone.

None of us is as smart as all of us.

from “Shifting the Focus: Achievement information for

professional learning”- Dr Helen Timperley

“The main measure of the effectiveness of professional development is the extent to which it results in improved student learning and achievement.”

Remember

If you always dowhat you’ve always

doneyou’ll always get

what you’ve always had

Possible further reading

Using Evidence in Teaching Practice: Implications for Professional Learning. Helen Timperley & Judy Parr (2004)

Shifting the Focus: Achievement Information for Professional LearningHelen Timperley