RunningHead:PROPOSEDYEARLONGPLANFORTEACHERLEARNING1

ProposedYearLongPlanforTeacherLearning
MelanieL.Burchard
MichiganStateUniversity

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DearFellowFacultyMembers,

I.

Introduction
WhenItakethetimetoconsiderthewaythatprofessionallearninglookshereatCesar

ChavezAcademy,Icanthelpbutthinkbacktothestartofthisschoolyear.Wespent12full
daysbeforestudentsarrived,participatinginprofessionallearning.Eachsessionrequiredour
stafftosit,listeningtoapresenter,oftendisengaged.Severalofthetopicshadbeenaddressed
alreadyinthepastandIknowmanyofuswonderedwhywewereseeingthemagain.Honestly,
andquiteunderstandably,manyofourstaffmembersbroughtpersonalworktothesesessions,
focusingmoreongettingreadyforthecomingyear,thanonthepresentations.Typically,Ihave
notimplementedanyelementsofourprofessionallearningsessionsintomyclassroom,knowing
thatithasneverbeenexpectedbyadministration.Inthepast,wewereencouragedtoprovide
anonymousfeedbackafterprofessionallearningsessionsthatopportunityneverpresenteditself
thisyear.Bythetimethose12dayspassed,Iwasexhausted.Infact,itwasalmostasthoughI
wasburntoutbeforetheschoolyearevenstarted.Afterreflectingonallofthesefacets,Iam
veryeagertochangethecourseofourprofessionallearningforthe20162017schoolyear.
Inthisproposal,Iamsuggestingthatweasastaff,begintofocusourenergieson
learningfromoneanother,ratherthanfromoutsideexperts.Therefore,wewilleachbeableto
shareourexistingknowledgeandtalentwithoneanother,whilecontinuingtogrow.As
educators,weknowthatstudentslearnbestinengagingsituationswheretheyfeelvalued,
challenged,andasthoughtheyhavesomecontrolovertheirlearning.Myplanforprofessional

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learningtakesalloftheseelementsintoconsideration,understandingthatadultlearnershave
similarneeds.
II.BackgroundandRationale
Underthisplanforprofessionallearning,wewouldutilizemanyofthestructuresthatwe
alreadyhaveinplace,asafoundationtobuild.Forexample,wewouldcontinuetocollectdata
schoolwidethroughbenchmarktesting,eachteachercreatingcorrelatingSMARTgoals.Many
ofourstaffmembersalreadyhaveadditionalsystemsforformativeandsummativeassessment
anddatacollection,butwehaveneverhadmuchguidanceconcerningtheuseofdata.This
proposaltakesthatintoconsideration,allowingforguideddataanalysis.Wewouldalso
continuetocreatecommongradingpracticesandcurriculums,yetinadoptingmyprofessional
learningproposal,wewouldhaveachancetodeterminehowtheseelementshaveanaffecton
ourstudentsandhowdatacanbestbeused.
Currently,administrationallowsforquiteabitoffreedomtoexperimentwithinour
teachingpractices.Myproposalforprofessionallearning,encouragesteacherstotakeadvantage
ofsuchexperimentationbutwouldcreateanopportunityforcolleaguestoexploreeachother's
practices.Ifmyplanforprofessionaldevelopmentwereadopted,itwouldcreateavenueforour
staffmemberstotrulytakepartineachotherschallengesandsuccesses.Inotherwords,we
wouldhavemoreconsistentopportunitiestocollaboratewithoneanother,increasingthelevelof
trustwithinthebuilding.
III.ProposalforLeadingTeacherLearning
a. Overall,thegoalofthisplanistopositivelychangetheclimateoftheschool,throughthe
increaseofteacherandstudentachievementandthecollectiveadoptionofagrowth

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mindset.Inordertoachievethesegoals,wewouldeliminatepreviousmethodsof
professionallearning,insteadfocusingonembeddedteacherlearningthroughcreating
CriticalFriendsGroups(CFGs)andparticipatinginactionresearch.Thegoalofthe
(CFGs)wouldbetoprovideteacherswithasafecommunityoflearners,allowingall
memberstohaveavoice,aswellasagreaterunderstandingofpracticestakingplace
withinourschool.Additionally,thegoaloftheactionresearchteamswouldbeto
increaseeacheducatorsdesiretocontinuallyimprove.
b. ACriticalFriendsGroupisacommunityofadultlearnerswhoareabletoprovideone
anotherwithfeedbackoverclassroompractices.Theymeetmonthlyandaccordingto
Quate(2015),canexaminestudentwork,reflectonteacherpractice,andcollaborateon
professionaldilemmas.EachmeetingwithintheCFGishighlystructured,following
predeterminedprotocolsandassigningmembersspecificroles.However,theseroles
typicallychangefrommeetingtomeeting.
ActionResearchallowsteacherstofollowthestepsofresearch,basedaroundatopicof
teacherinterest,andgroundedwithineachparticipantsclassroom.Eachresearcherisallowed
thefreedomtoselectatopicthatisofpersonalinteresttohimorher.CaroBruceandKleher
(2015)arguethat,theresearcherswillreflectontheirwork,focusonhowtobemoreeffective,
andtakeactionstoimplementimprovementsbasedonwhattheylearn.Throughoutthe
process,itisimperativethattheresearcherscontinuallyreflectontheirwork.Researcherswill
meetmonthlytodiscussprogress.
c. Allstaffmemberswillbeinvolvedincriticalfriendsgroups.Thesegroupswillconsistof
810teachersandwillbecreatedbyadministration,somewhatatrandom,butwill

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incorporatestaffmembersfromdifferentsubjectareasanddisciplines.Overall,there
willbefourgroups.Roleswithineachgroupinclude:coach,facilitator,presenter,and
responders.Duringthefirstyearofimplementation,theroleofthecoachwillbegivento
fouradministrativemembers,whowillhavebeentrainedincoachingCFGs.Meetings
willbeheldmonthlyonFridaysduringthetimewecurrentlyhaveallottedfor
professionalpresenterscometoourschool.Theywilllastfrom23hoursinlengthand
beheldintheafternoon.Eachmeetingwillbearrangedaheadoftimebythecoachbut
thesemeetingsdateswillbecommunicatedwithstaffinAugust.Priortothemeeting,
thepresenterwillutilizeaprepperiodtomeetwiththecoachandselectclassroomwork
topresent,determinereasonsforsharingthiswork,andalsotosetprotocolsforthe
comingmeeting.Allothermemberswillthenbeprovidedwithanassignedreadingto
completebeforethemeetingdate.Meetingsthemselveswillconsistofopeningactivities,
reviewinggroupnorms,usingtheselectedprotocoltodiscussthetext,usingthesame
protocoltodiscussthepresenter'swork,debriefingtheworkcompletedthatsession,and
creatingaplanforthenextmeeting.

Allstaffmemberswillalsoconductactionresearch.Thiswillbedoneindividuallyso
thateachteachercanresearchhisorherownquestionofinterest.Sinceitisvery
importantthatactionresearchbeshared,groupmeetingswillbeheldmonthlytodiscuss
researchersquestions,data,andoverallfindings.Staffmemberswillbeallowedto
choosewhichactionresearchgrouptosignupforbutwillbeencouragedtointeractwith
staffwhoareoutsideoftheirCFGs,allowingforinteractionwithavarietyofcoworkers.

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ThesemeetingswillbeheldonthesameFridaysastheCFGs.Theywilltakeplacein
themorningafterwholestaffmeetingsandrunfor12hours.Again,thecalendarfor
thesemeetingswillbeprovidedinAugust.Facilitators,ofthesemeetingswillbepeople
whohaveshowninterest,butalsothosewhoareknowntohaveleadershipskills.
Administratorswillparticipateinthesemeetingstoensurethatprotocolsarebeing
followed.Itisimportantthattheparticipantsrefrainfromofferingsuggestionsand
insteadlettheresearcherstrugglewithhisorherinquiry,onlyofferingreflective
questionstoprobefurtherresearch.
IV.Timeline
a. August(duringthefivedaysbeforestudentsarrive):
establishgroups

conductinitialmeetingstodiscussnormsandprofessionallearningcommunitymanual
showexamplesofbothCFGsandactionresearch
determineeachstaffmembersquestionforactionresearch
discussstafffeelingsandquestionstowardeitherlearningdesign
distributeprofessionallearningcalendarfortheyear
conductinitialstaffsurvey

Fall(SeptemberNovember):
developactionresearchplans
conductstudentsurvey
begincollectingandanalyzingdatawithinclassrooms
holdinitialCFG/actionresearchmeetings

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analyzefallbenchmarkdataofstudentsandshareduringstaffmeetings

Winter(DecemberMarch):

continuecollectingandanalyzingdatawithinclassrooms
continueholdingCFGmeetings,rotatingthroughpresenters
conducthalfwaysurveystodeterminestaffandstudentattitudes
analyzewinterbenchmarkdataofstudentsandshareduringstaffmeetings

Spring(AprilJune):
duringthefinalfewsessions,teacherswillpresenttheirwrittenfindingsfromtheir
actionresearchinagallery/celebrationformat
allowteacherstoreflectontheentireyear
planforfutureactionsbasedonstaffresponses
conductfinalsurveysofstaffandstudents
havestaffcreatepromissorynotesforthefollowingyear
b.TrackingProgress
Administrationwillhavealargeroleintrackingtheprogressoftheselearning
communities.Throughobservationandparticipationinthesegroups,theywillbeableto
determineoverallattitudesofthelearnersastheyeargoeson.Additionally,meetingminutes
willberecordedduringbothCFGmeetingsandactionresearchmeetingstoserveasarunning
recordofgroupaccomplishments.MemberswillalsocompletemonthlyreflectivePlusesand
Wishes(GregoryandKuzmich,2007),toassesstheeffectivenessofeachgroup.Individually,
actionresearcherswilltracktheirownprogress,completingreflectivesheetsandpromissory
notes(GregoryandKuzmich,2007)tosubmitateachmonthlymeeting.Groupsand

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administrationwillreviewtheseelements,meetingwithindividualstaffmembersiftheneed
arises.
V.EvidenceofAccomplishment
a. Administrationwillcomparedatafromthe20162017schoolyearwithdatafromthe
pasttwoyears
Writtenfindingsofteacherspresentedatthegallery/celebration
Studentassessmentofteachersandbuildingclimate
Finalstaffreflections,assessingprofessionallearningfortheyear
Administrationwillthenpresentoverallfindings,thefollowingAugust,compilinga
report
b.Benchmarktestswillprovidestudentassessmentdata
Conductingperiodicalsurveysforbothstaffandstudentswilldemonstratestakeholder
attitudes
Portfoliocompiledofeachgroupsminutes
VI.AnticipatedImpact
Overall,theimpactofthisprofessionallearningplanwillinspirestaffmembersto
becomemoreinvestedinexploringnewideas,adoptingacultureofgrowthinourschool.They
willbegintoactivelyseekadditionalopportunitiestoshareknowledgeandresources,developing
astrongersenseoftrustwithinourteachercommunity.Allowingstaffmembersopportunitiesto
haveavoiceandtotakeondifferentrolesthroughthisplanwillprovidethemwithastronger
senseofworth.Allstaffmemberswillbeviewedasbothteachersandlearners.Inexamining
elementsofourpractice,wewillalsobeabletoreachallofourstudents.Additionally,allstaff

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memberswillfeelaresponsibilityforeachstudentwithinthebuilding,notonlythestudentsin
theirspecificclasses.Bothstudentsandstaffwillfeelapositivechangeinthebuildingclimate,
takingprideinourschool.
VII.Summary
Thisplanshouldbeadoptedforthe20162017schoolyear.Thoughitmayseemlikea
dauntingtaskatthistime,developingbothCGFsandactionresearchplanswillbeinthebest
interestofallbuildingstakeholders.Thisprofessionallearningplanallowsforstafftoparticipate
inembeddedteacherlearning,ratherthandisjointedanddisengagingopportunitiesthatwehave
beenofferedinthepast.Itbuildsfromourexistingfoundationandeachlearningexperience
wouldbeconnected,clearlyculminatingintheendresult.
VIII.NextSteps
Hopefullyonceestablished,theCFGscouldbesustainedthefollowingyear.
Administrationwouldnolongerneedtotakesuchanactiverole,andinstead,staffmembers
couldserveascoacheswithintheCFGs.Actionresearchwouldalsobeacontinualprocess,with
teacherquestionseitherleadingtofurtherdelvingintoresearchduringthefollowingyear,or
exploringbrandnewtopics.Dependingonstafffeedback,actionresearchgroupscouldbe
formed,orindividualscouldcontinuetoconducttheirownprojects.Finally,theschoolcould
eventuallylookintodevelopingashadowingprogram,tosharelearningopportunitieswith
teachersinotherdistricts.

WorksCited
CaroBruce,C.,&Klehr,M.(2015).Actionresearch.In
PowerfulDesignsforProfessional
Learning
(3rded.).Oxford,OH:LearningForward.

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10

Gregory,G.H.,&Kuzmich,L.(2007).
Teacherteamsthatgetresults
.California:CorwinPress.

Quate,S.(2015).Criticalfriendsgroups.In
PowerfulDesignsforProfessionalLearning
(3rdrd
ed.).Oxford,OH:LearningForward.