Deeper Learning plan

Creating a foundation for a collaborative learning communityCreating a foundation for a collaborative learning community

The

DEEPERLearning

The Guide offers a framework for planning that addresses the reality that school transformation is an incredibly challenging task that will not work as a top-down mandate and requires time, collective effort, and a shared focus on vision and goals. The Guide is a resource and tool that can be used by district staff and professional development providers in addition to school-level leaders.

The Framework

The Planning Guide is based on the book, Deeper Learning: How Eight Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century. Deeper Learning, as described by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, is the means for teaching students to use their knowledge and skills in a way that prepares them for real life by mastering core academic content, such as language arts, history, math, and science. The students also learn how to think critically, collaborate, communi-cate effectively, direct their own learning, and believe in themselves. The book is intended to inspire parents, educators, and external stakeholders about what is possible and to provide examples of key strategies and common practices used by eight different schools to ensure students develop Deeper Learning (DL) outcomes.

The Planning Guide offers practical guidance on the conditions that have to be established for schools to truly change their practices to ensure students leave school with the sophisticated content knowledge and skills needed to be critical thinkers, problem-solvers, collaborators and communicators. It is our hope that the Guide, with its series of exercises and set of resources that demonstrate how schools can create the conditions that are necessary for Deeper Learning, will help you develop a strategic plan to transform your school.

About This Guide

The Guide is organized so that users can understand the entire theory of action behind transforming a school for Deeper Learning and the depth of commitment, planning, and implementing that will be required. The Guide is also organized so that a team can use it as a multi-day exercise, such as a two or three-day workshop, or a team can work through each phase of the planning process throughout multiple two-hour working sessions over a two- to six-month timespan.

For schools that are just beginning the journey of school transformation for Deeper Learning, the Guide should be used in its entirety and, if possible, facilitated by somebody who is skilled at supporting group processes, such as a district representative, school coach, professional development or technical assistance provider. If your school has a history of low academic performance, it is imperative that you use a facilitator to guide you through the planning processes within the Guide as well as support you in the implementation of your plan. It is vital that you begin the planning process at least two to three months, or even earlier, before you want to implement your plan. Timing depends on the scope of activities you need to implement and the resources and capacity you have in place to implement your plan. Completing the self-assessment in Phase Two will help you understand the depth and breadth of what your plan will consist of to transform for Deeper Learning and then help you establish a timeline for the planning and implementation process.

The Guide is also designed to be used by schools that have a continuous improvement attitude. This includes schools that have been focused on developing their students as deeper learners for a period of time but want to re-assess the prevalence and depth of their structures, strategies and practices in producing Deeper Learning outcomes. Because the Planning Guide is designed so that each phase and exercise can be used independently, a school can enter at any specific phase, e.g., visioning, assessing, planning, or monitoring. For instance, you and the School Leadership Team, if not the entire staff, may want engage in Phase 1 to determine if your values for teaching and learning are reflected in your vision of your school or you may simply want to enter at Phase 2 where you conduct the self-assessment exercise after reviewing the core components of the theory of action for Deeper Learning. An understanding of the theory of action as well as the self-assessment results may inspire you to move to Phase 3 where you review and re-prioritize your current strategies. We still recommend that, if possible, a third party, such as a district representative, coach, professional development or technical assistance provider, who is skilled at supporting group processes, facilitate your continuous improvement process.

HOW and BY WHOM Should the Guide be Used?

The Guide was specifically designed for schools that are interested in transforming for Deeper Learning and are looking for a way to get started. The Guide includes multiple exercises that take schools through a methodical planning process. This includes four phases:

1. Establishing a vision that reflects the values of Deeper Learning.

2. Assessing the degree to which each component of the theory of action currently exists within your own school based on your understanding of the conditions that must be in place to transform for Deeper Learning.

3. Planning for DL by identifying key strategies you can implement based on the theory of action.

• Establish and communicate the vision for DL.

• Conduct and complete the self-assessment on the four conditions for DL.

• Identify key strategies to ensure the four conditions are adequately addressed.• Set benchmarks to use to monitor progress toward implementing the strategies.

BROAD REPRESENTATION Ideally, your design team includes a representative cross-section of your staff members from different departments, grades, and experience at the school. Veteran educators offer a perspective different from that of newer staff members, while cross-departmental membership ensures good thinking about the most effective strategies to employ across all departments. Representation from all departments is critical because the DL relies on coherence across subject areas.

CAPACITY Consider who has the capacity to do this work. Transformation is hard work, and your school needs individuals on the design team who are excellent problem-solvers, relationship managers, and expert coaches. It is also important to select people who have strong relationships across the school, as they can be helpful in gaining buy-in and communicating effectively to all the stake-holders. Having a data-savvy person may also be useful.

COMMITMENT It may seem obvious, but your design team should be filled with individuals who are interested in and committed to implementing the vision for Deeper Learning.

While the Guide provides you with a methodological planning process, it is best to consider the Guide as an iterative inquiry-based process where you assess, design, implement, and then measure, reflect, and adjust your plan on an ongoing basis. For this reason, we recommend that you form a Deeper Learning Design Team to plan, support and monitor your school’s transformation process. There may already be several key leadership teams or committees at your school, such as a School Leadership Team or a “School Improvement Team” either as mandated by Title I or to focus on student achievement, that you may want to repurpose into your new “DL Design Team.” However, you may want to establish a whole new team for the sole purpose of helping your school plan for DL. Only you can decide what is most advantageous and what will provide a strong start to the planning process.

You will be relying on this team to play a number of roles across all four phases:

There are a few key principles to consider when building your design team:

Form a Deeper Learning Design Team

The key is to identify a core cadre of individuals who can shape the change, be committed to transforming your school for Deeper Learning, and connect non-instructional decisions to student learning.

Deeper Learning Design Team Composition

The table below reflects how one school has organized their DL Design Team. Review this and, as a group, discuss whether you have a team in place at your school that can play the role of the DL Design Team, and is representative of the principles listed previously, or if you need to reconstitute a current team or create a new team to help plan for DL. It is crucial to be thoughtful and deliberate about this team’s composition, purpose, role, and responsibility.

DL DESIGN TEAM COMPOSITION | E X AMPLE

Names of Individuals Who Currently

Make Up the Team or Whom You Want

to Consider for the Team

Consider the Role, Number of Years

at the School, Subject, Grades,

Specialty, etc.

Has Problem Solving Skills

Has Strong Relationships

in SchoolHas Data Expertise or

Other SkillsCommitment to Deeper Learning

9th Grade English teacher. The only teacher in the school with less than 3 years’ experience.

He is always helping to solve problems for his grade-level team.

Everybody likes Daren because he helps them with their technology

Social media/tech

Always works to expand students’ skills beyond content knowledge

A founding teacher at the school; teaches 9th-12th grade science classes

Active in school-wide and grade-level committees

Knows everyone and is well respected

Is always developing new projects

Always pushes students to reflect on the why of what they are learning

Spanish teacher for 5 years

Develops creative ways to teach foreign language

Works to integrate Spanish with Humanities and Social Studies

Coordinates Community Service

Works holistically on student reading, writing and speaking skills

Counselor at school for 7 years

Works effectively with students and families

Works with teachers across all grades

Encourages a holistic view of student

Works hard to prepare students for college and career

Math teacher for 8 years

Involved in national math education organizations

Chairs the Academic Standards Committee

Leads teachers in interpreting student test scores

Dedicated to the academic success of students

Social studies teacher for 5 years

Active in developing collaborative projects

A leader on her grade-level team

Good tech and social media skills

Always pushing students to develop critical reading and writing skills

History teacher for 10 years

Helped revise history standards

Founded a teacher reading group

Uses debates to teach historical perspectives

Works with students on writing and speaking

BROAD REPRESENTATION CAPACITY COMMITMENT

Consider the Role, Number of Years

at the School, Subject, Grades,

Specialty, etc.

Has Problem Solving Skills

Has Strong Relationships

in School

Has Data Expertise or Other Skills

Commitment to Deeper Learning

Name Your Deeper Learning Design Team

YOUR DL DESIGN TEAM

Names of Individuals Who Currently

Make Up the Team or Whom You Want

to Consider for the Team

BROAD REPRESENTATION CAPACITY COMMITMENT

THE FOUNDATION OF THE GUIDE:

1 James W. Pellegrino & Margaret L. Hilton. 2012. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Research Council. and embedded in the web version: National Research Council: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13398

HOW THE GUIDE IS ORGANIZED:You can search the Guide online (www.DLplanningguide.com) by whatever phase you want to explore or exercise you want to use. You can also print the Guide in its entirety or by selected phases and exercises.

Phase 1 is designed to help you determine if the vision for teaching and learning at your school is aligned to Deeper Learning. It provides exercises to help you develop a cogent vision statement that reflects Deeper Learning and identifies processes you can use to communicate this vision to develop a shared understanding of the values and direction of your school among your stakeholders.

Phase 2 is designed to help you assess the degree to which each component of the theory of action currently exists within your own school. You will be able to review a definition of each component of the theory of action as well as specific examples of a range of practices that illustrate how the principles within the definition have been applied in various schools before using the self-assessment tool to determine the degree to which each condition currently exists within your own school.

Phase 3 is designed to help you begin planning for transformation. It includes a process and a set of tools for you to identify and prioritize strategies and develop Strategic Action Plans that will comprise your plan.

Phase 4 provides you with a process and tools to help you monitor the implementation of the Strategic Action Plans you created during Phase 3.

The Guide is based on a theory of action that reflects the conditions the schools from the book, Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century, have established to ensure all students master content knowledge, are critical thinkers and problem solvers, productive collaborators, effective communicators, and learn how to learn and develop an academic mindset. We grouped these conditions into four core components of a theory of action for Deeper Learning. All four components are essential and must be established sequentially for your school to transform for Deeper Learning. The theory of action is as follows:

If a culture in which educators and students trust and respect one another and feel responsible for each other’s success as learners is established; and teachers function as professionals in a collaborative community, then teachers can design or adapt learning experiences that are meaningful to students which will lead students to regularly engage in acquiring and applying knowledge and skills through the deliberate practice of Deeper Learning outcomes. This will result in students leaving school with the knowledge of how, why, and when to apply content knowledge and a set of non-cognitive skills to answer questions and solve problems related to the challenges of college, career, and life (knowledge transfer1).

THE RESEARCH BEHIND THE GUIDE:A recent study by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) 2 substantiates the effectiveness of DL practices on student performance. The study surveyed 1762 students drawn from 22 schools in New York and California serving low-income students and students of color that were associated with Deeper Learning Networks. These networks serve a diverse and traditionally underserved group of students. The study compared them to similar students in non-Deeper Learning schools. The results demonstrate that attending DL schools benefited students regardless of their background or whether they lived in an urban or suburban district. The findings include:

These results support the proposition that DL enables teachers and principals to help students master content knowledge, become critical thinkers, productive collaborators and effective communicators who have an academic mindset and are self-directed. Furthermore, a study by the National Research Council, Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century, identified instructional principles that enable students to transfer knowledge, including content knowledge in a subject area and procedural knowledge of how, why, and when to apply this knowledge to answer questions and solve problems in the subject area:

• Students — regardless of their prior level of academic achievement — attained higher standardized test scores on both state assessments and an OECD PISA-based test. These assessments measure core content knowledge and complex problem solving skills.

• Students are more likely to graduate from high school on time than students in comparison schools.

• Graduates are more likely to enroll in four-year colleges and enroll in more selective institutions.

• DL Students benefit from greater opportunities for project-based learning, internships, and longer-term cumulative assessments.

• DL Students report higher levels of collaboration skills, academic engagement, and motivation to learn compared to their non-DL peers.

2 Kristina Zeiser, James Taylor, Jordan Rickles, and Michael S. Garet, Michael Segeritz. 2014. Findings from the Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. www.air.org/project/study-deeper-learning-opportunities-and-outcomes.

• Begin with clearly-defined learning goals and a model of how learning is expected to develop.

• Use assessments to measure and support progress toward goals.

• Provide multiple, varied representations of concepts and tasks.

• Encourage questioning and discussion.

• Engage learners in challenging tasks, with support and guidance.

• Teach with carefully selected sets of examples and cases.

• Encourage student motivation.

• Use formative assessment to provide feedback.

• Empower and encourage students to become more self-directed, creative, and cooperative by inculcating cultural norms and using inquiry based instruction.

• Develop students’ capacity to identify key ideas, relationships, issues and skills within context beyond memorizing content.

• Make curricula more engaging, memorable, and meaningful by explicitly connecting learning to real-world issues and concerns.

• Extend learning beyond the classroom by forming strong partnerships with businesses, community organizations, research institutions, and colleges and universities.

• Inspire students to do their best by identifying their talents and interests and customizing learning to discover the motivational “hook” for each young person.

• Incorporate technology to enhance the school’s approach to learning and expand the resources available to students.

Our own book, Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century (www.thenewpress.com/books/deeper-learning), is based on a qualitative study of eight public secondary schools that showed that the schools share a common set of practices designed to promote Deeper Learning outcomes. The schools all:

The eight public schools in our book, Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century (New York: New Press, 2014) include:

Avalon School is a charter school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Avalon opened in 2001 and serves 185 students in grades six-12. Total minority enrollment is 30 percent of the student body and 30 percent are on free or reduced price lunches. Thirty-two percent of the students are classified as Special Education and 5 percent are classified as English Language Learners. The school operates on a teacher-owner governance model, has no principal or director and uses the Envisions model.

Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine, serves 335 students in grades nine-12. Total minority enrollment is 31 percent of the student body. Fifteen percent of the students are classified as Special Education, 21 percent are classified as English Language Learners, and 45 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch-es. Casco Bay High School is one of four public high schools within Portland and operates within the Portland Public School District. Founded in 2005, CBHS is a school of choice and uses the Expeditionary Learning Model.

Impact Academy of Arts & Technology is a college preparatory charter school founded in 2007 and operated by Envision Schools. Impact Academy operates within the Hayward Unified School District, in the San Francisco-Oakland area. The school serves 460 students in grades nine-12. Total minority enrollment is 82 percent of the student body and 66 percent of the student population is eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Eight percent of the students are classified as Special Education and 17 percent are classified as English Language Learners.

High Tech High is a college preparatory charter high school in San Diego, California that serves 562 students in grades nine-12. Total minority enrollment is 66 percent of the student body and 37 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Ten percent of the students are classified as Special Education and 4 percent as English Language Learners.

About the Schools

King Middle School in Portland, Maine serves 537 students in grades six-eight. Total minority enrollment is 39 percent of the student body and 54 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Students at King speak 28 different languages and come from 32 countries. Fifteen percent of the students are classified as Special Education and 30 percent are classified as English Language Learners. King Middle School is one of three public middle schools within Portland and operates within the Portland Public School District. In 1988 King Middle School adopted the Expeditionary Learning Model.

MC2 STEM High School in Cleveland, Ohio was founded in 2008 as a public-private partnership that is a subset of Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s New and Innovative Schools Program. Two-hundred and eighty-nine students in grades nine-12 attend classes at campuses embedded in business and school sites around the city. The ninth grade is located at the Great Lakes Science Center; the 10th grade is located at General Electric Lighting’s Nela Park Campus while upper grades are located at Cleveland State University. Total minority enrollment is 88 percent and 100 percent of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Slightly more than 12 percent are designated as Special Education and 1 percent are English Language Learners. School is in session year-round, with students working for ten weeks, taking a three-week break and then repeating that pattern for four ten-week terms throughout the year.

Rochester High School serves 565 students in grades nine-12. It is the only public high school in rural Roch-ester, Indiana, and operates within the Rochester Community Corporation School District. Ninety-two percent of the students are Caucasian, 44 percent are eligible for free or reduced price lunches and 15.2 percent of the students are classified as Special Education. In 2007, Rochester High School adopted the New Tech Network Model.

Science Leadership Academy (SLA) is a magnet STEM high school located in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that opened in September 2006. SLA is a partnership between the School District of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. The school enrolls 484 students in grades nine-12. Total minority enrollment is 68 percent of the student body and 49 percent of the students receive free or reduced price lunches. Eight percent of the students are classified as Special Education and 1 percent are classified as English Language Learners.

Monica R Martinez, PhD, is an education strategist and consultant, author, presenter, and appointee to the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Dr. Martinez is former President of the New Tech Network and the Vice President for Education Strategy at KnowledgeWorks. She was a senior associate at the Institute for Educational Leadership where she founded the Washington, D.C. based National High School Alliance. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of 10,000 Degrees and previous to this, AdvancED and Grantmakers for Education. Dr. Martinez is the coauthor of Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools Are Transforming Education in the Twenty-First Century. She is available to lead workshops on the DL Planning Guide. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area. (www.monicarmartinez.com )

Dennis McGrath, PhD, is a Professor of Sociology at the Community College of Philadelphia, where he won the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award. He is the coauthor of Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools Are Transforming Education in the Twenty-First Century and the author of The Collaborative Advantage: Lessons from K-16 Educational Reform, among other works. He lives in the Philadelphia area.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We want to thank the many people who contributed to the development and refinement of this Planning Guide. An early version of the Guide drew upon elements of “deliverology,” a strategic planning process created by Sir Michael Barber and supported by the Education Delivery Institute. A later version was significantly revised after a teacher team at Avalon School – Carrie Bakken, Gretchen Sage-Martinson, Nora Whalen, Kevin Ward – field tested the Guide during a three-day workshop and after Diana Laufenberg, Lead Teacher and Managing Director for Inquiry Schools, piloted the Guide in planning sessions with two schools. Based on these experiences, the Guide was improved to include less narrative, more exercises and specific tools, such as rubrics, and examples of Deeper Learning in practice. Following this revision, a number of people from the policy, research and technical assistance sectors reviewed the Guide and provided additional feedback. These individuals included Ace Parsi from the National State Boards of Education; Loretta Goodwin from the American Youth Policy Forum; Rebecca Wolfe from Jobs for the Future; Elizabeth Foster from The National Commision on Teaching and America’s Future; Helen Soule from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills; Colet Barlow from the Montana State Department of Education; Aaron Maurer, Iowa Teacher of the Year Finalist and Instructional Coach, Bettendorf Schools in Bettendorf, Iowa; Greg Butler from Collaborative Impact; and JoEllen Lynch from Springpoint. We are grateful to each of them for their many thoughtful suggestions. We also thank Marc Chun of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for his careful reading of the Guide and helpful recommendations in addition to funding the Guide so it may be free and available to all.

About the Authors

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

NeXTsTePs

.

Establishing Your Vision for Students STEP 1. Recognizing the Value of Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 2. Understanding Deeper Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 3. Developing a Clear and Coherent Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 4. Communicating Your Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Understanding and Assessing the Conditions for Deeper Learning STEP 1. Understand the Theory of Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

STEP 2. Understand and Assess the Four Components of the Theory of Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Component 1: Establish a Strong School Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Component 2: Teachers Function as Professionals in a Collaborative Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Component 3: Teachers Design Meaningful Learning Experiences for Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Component 4: Deliberate Practice of Deeper Learning Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

STEP 3. Understand Your Self-Assessment for Deeper Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Planning for Deeper LearningSTEP 1. Identifying Potential Strategies for Deeper Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 2. Setting Strategic Priorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 3. Creating Strategic Action Plans as the Basis of Your Plan

for Deeper Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 4. Putting it All Together as Part of a Plan for Deeper Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Monitoring Your Plan for Deeper LearningSTEP 1. Strategy Leaders Assess their Strategic Action Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEP 2. Deeper Learning Design Team Assesses Implementation

. . . .Progress of the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93. . . . . . . STEP 3. Communicating Implementation Progress to the Key Stakeholders.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conclusion

Additional Resources for Deeper Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

1

13

69

90

3

14

3

9

15

15

30

41

53

67

69

72

76

83

91

95

9798

OV E R V I E W

This phase is where your school establishes a vision that can be used to guide your school through a transformation process for Deeper Learning (DL). For this reason, this section defines the value of developing a clear and shared vision and uses exercises to help you explore the meaning of Deeper Learning and its implications for your school’s values and vision. While you may not use the term “Deeper Learning” at your school, think about the ways that your school values and helps students develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be successful in college, career, and life.

Establishing Your Vision for Students

1. Understand DL outcomes and practices in the book, Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Schools Are Transforming Education in the 21st Century.

2. Develop a clear and coherent vision for your school.

3. Devise a plan on how you will communicate the vision to key stakeholders.

The Steps for Phase One are:

1

The vision statement is a living document at these schools and, as a result, every feature of the schools, from their physical design and messages they send to students to the use of time and pedagogy reinforce and communicate their vision.

STEP 1: Recognizing the Value of VisionSome people see vision setting as something to dread rather than as an opportunity to define what they value. As a result, the process for vision setting often degenerates into endless conversations or word-smithing that produce a vague statement of lofty aspirations that is placed on a banner or website and quickly forgotten. However, a strong and shared vision brings direction, purpose, meaning, and commitment to everyone associated with the school, including staff, students, family, and partners, guiding individuals in their daily work, decisions, and behavior.

The processes and exercises you will do in this Phase are designed to help your school develop a vision that clearly articulates student success as it relates to DL in particular. They will help establish a shared understanding of what your school is trying to achieve and help everyone commit themselves to Deeper Learning.

Avalon School prepares students for college and life in a strong, nurturing community that inspires active learning, engaged citizenship, and hope for the future.

At Casco Bay, we challenge and support our students to become college-ready through our 3Rs: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. Our aim is for each student to “Get Smart to Do Good”.

Impact Academy is dedicated to transforming students’ lives by preparing them for success in college and in life.

Science Leadership Academy (SLA) provides a vigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Students at SLA learn in a project-based environment where the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection are emphasized in all classes.

High Tech High will ensure all students develop the academic, workplace and citizenship skills for postsecondary success.

King Middle School is dedicated to the idea that we can create a school where all kids succeed at a high level.

VISION STATEMENTS | EXAMPLES

2

STEP 2: Understanding Deeper Learning

STEP 3: Developing a Clear and Coherent Vision

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (www.hewlett.org/programs/education/deeper-learning/what-deeper-learning) describes DL outcomes that we will use in this Planning Guide as:

Mastery of Core Academic Content: Students build their academic foundation in subjects such as reading, writing, math, and science. They understand key principles and procedures, recall facts, use the correct language, and apply their knowledge to complete new tasks.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students think critically, analytically, and creatively. They know how to find, evaluate, and synthesize information to construct arguments. They can design their own solutions to complex problems.

Collaboration: Students work productively in groups. They communicate and understand multiple points of view and they know how to cooperate to achieve a shared goal.

Effective Communication: Students communicate effectively in writing and in oral presentations. They structure information in meaningful ways, listen to and give feedback, and construct messages for specific audiences.

Self-directed Learning: Students can direct their own learning. They set goals, monitor their own progress, and reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement. They learn to see setbacks as opportunities for learning and growth. Students who learn through self-direction are more adaptive than their peers.

Academic Mindset: Students develop an academic mindset that enables them to have a strong belief in themselves. They trust their own abilities and believe their hard work will pay off, so they persist to over-come obstacles. They also learn from and support each other. They see the relevance of their school-work to the real world and their own future success.

For schools that are just embarking on transforming for DL, it is important to take the time now, at the outset of this journey, to revisit your current educational vision, determine if it is aligned to DL goals, and revise or create a whole new vision statement. If your school has been focused on Deeper Learning to some degree over a period of time and want to re-assess their progress, you may want to revisit your vision and ensure it provides sufficient direction and remains ambitious. Either way, you should ensure that your school has a vision that is appropriately ambitious, describes what you want your students to know and reflects your school’s values, unique strengths, and goals. As discussed in the User’s Guide, we recommend you use a team of individuals to help with this, particularly the DL Design Team.

3

D I REC TI O N S:

If you are working through this Planning Guide in a group, write down your current vision statement on a flip chart for everyone to see. Then, as a group, answer the questions in this section and record them on flip chart paper. 1. Vision Statement:

2. What does the vision statement mean, particularly if there is heavy use of “jargon” or “labels,” such as “lifelong learners” or “college ready” or “social emotional learning”?

3. How does your current vision statement impact your school? For instance, consider a time when the vision statement has been helpful in your school. What made it valuable?

4. What is your district’s vision and how does this impact your school?

YOUR CURRENT VISION STATEMENT

You will return to these questions later in this section. For now, that is all you need to do.

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BOOK DISCUSSIONWe recommended that the entire school, or at least the school leadership team, read Deeper Learning: How Eight Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century to establish a collective understanding of DL as well as the values and practices inherent in the schools in the book. The purpose of using the book is to help your school begin to form a broad agreement about what students should know and do and how your school can achieve this.

D I REC TI O N S: The exercise involves bringing your school staff or school leadership together to discuss a set of key questions about the various practices and the ethos driving the practices depicted in Deeper Learning: How Eight Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century. You may want to distribute the discussion questions ahead of time so your staff has a chance to reflect on them and prepare for the conversation.

If you are leading the book discussion, you may want to identify specific passages you find meaningful as a way to initiate or sustain the conversation. Consider asking the participants to follow up their answers with an example from your school as a way to bring the book back home. The first question is designed to serve as a “warm up” question or “ice-breaker” to help initiate the book discussion. Ideally, everyone should contribute to the questions below:

1. What do you find most appealing about these schools? Do you have a favorite story, student, or teacher?

2. All of the schools described in the book have strong cultures. Describe the culture. What do you think are the most important elements of the school culture that communicate the vision and empower teachers and students to engage in Deeper Learning? How can schools begin to develop a culture that supports DL? Who can lead, support, or sustain this within a school?

3. What do you think is most different for teachers at these schools?

4. What are the most powerful ways that the teachers develop DL outcomes – critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, self-direction, and academic mindset? Is there an example of the teachers’ approach that you found most striking? How are teachers able to do this consistently within the school?

5. Students in these schools have multiple opportunities for authentic, meaningful and relevant learning experiences. What are the most effective ways of connecting student learning to the real world? How do these connections change the nature of learning?

6. The schools place great emphasis on customizing or personalizing learning for students. Why is this important for learning? What are the most powerful ways that the schools customize or personalize learning?

7. All of the schools use technology at some level. How is technology used most effectively by teachers and students to support the culture, the pedagogy, and/or DL outcomes?

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DOES OUR SCHOOL REFLECT THE EDUCATIONAL REALITIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY?

D I REC TI O N S:

As an additional exercise, or if you or your school has not read the book yet, pose the following reflective questions as a way to ground your staff in the value of DL. This exercise will help you view education in the light of current and emerging societal trends that determine the knowledge and skills students will need to successfully function in contemporary society.

1. What do you think have been the five most important changes in the world in the last 10-15 years and what will be the important changes over next quarter century?

2. What is most important for your graduates to know and be able to do in light of the changes you identify in Question 1?

3. What outcomes did your team identify in Question 2 that are consistent with Deeper Learning outcomes?

4. How will you know if your students have developed the knowledge and skills you identify as the most important? (Example of DL outcomes: Number of internships; college enrollment; SAT scores, etc.)

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FINALIZING YOUR VISION

D I REC TI O N S:

1. Based on Exercise 3, or if you did not answer Question 3 from Exercise 3, please do so now: Did your team identify outcomes consistent with the principles of Deeper Learning as part of the school’s vision? If so, which DL outcomes did your team identify?

2. Recognizing you may not use the term Deeper Learning and returning to your vision statement from Exercise 1, identify examples from your school’s current vision statement that reflects the value your school places on Deeper Learning.

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3. What are some examples of how your students are currently developing DL outcomes?

4. How does your school’s vision statement need to be revised to communicate the value you place on Deeper Learning from Questions 2 and 3?

5. What barriers do you anticipate in enacting your vision for student learning where it becomes a living document like the vision statements of the six schools listed previously?

6. Write your school’s current or revised vision statement here in the Planning Guide and if you are working in a group, write the vision statement on flip chart paper so that you and the group working through this Guide can refer to the vision when making decisions and setting priorities.

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STEP 4: Communicating Your VisionA vision for a school has value only if it is well-understood by staff, students, families, and external stakeholders and if there is a genuine collective commitment to the vision. Defining your school’s specific vision is a critical first step toward transformation for Deeper Learning but it is equally important to successfully communicate it to all of your school’s stakeholders — students, parents, teachers, non-teaching staff, higher education institutions, district personnel and local community-based organizations, institutions and businesses.

In developing an effective communication plan to advance your vision for students to develop Deeper Learning outcomes, answer the following questions:

♦ What is the overall or “big” message that you want to communicate about your vision? ♦ Who is the targeted audience you want to reach? ♦ What is a specific communication goal you have for this target audience? ♦ What specific message does each target audience need? ♦ What channels will you use to communicate your message for each of your

target audience? ♦ How will you know you were successful at communicating your message?

Potential “BIG” messages may include:

♦ Students will be prepared and expected to go to college. ♦ This is the pathway to achieving that goal. ♦ Students will learn through project based learning. ♦ We believe the city is our school and will extend learning outside of the school.

Potential communication strategies to target specific audiences. Examples may include:

♦ Teachers ♦ Non-teaching staff ♦ Students ♦ Parents ♦ Community members/neighbors ♦ Higher Education Institutions ♦ Local community based organizations and businesses ♦ The District as well as the Superintendent ♦ School Board

A coherent and well-articulated vision of what your school represents and what students are expected to achieve is the

foundation for all aspects of the school.

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Potential communication goal(s) for your message(s):

♦ Ensure our students will be accepted by postsecondary institutions but in particular, recognize our value in developing students who master content knowledge, are critical thinkers and problem solvers, effective communicators, productive collaborators, can learn how to learn, and have an academic mindset.

♦ Attract businesses to serve as partners for multiple learning possibilities such as contributing to student’s projects, serving as mentors or tutors, providing internships, etc.

♦ Use community based organizations as hubs for learning in the community. ♦ Ensure the district and school board supports our efforts to achieve our vision and that we do not

have competing priorities.

Equally as important as identifying the “what of the message” and the “who for the message” is “what specific channels will be used to advance your communication goal(s)?” You will want to be sure that from the start you have a system to communicate your intentions, plans, and activities and consider the multiple venues you can use to communicate about the work your school is embarking upon.

Potential communication channels:

♦ The school’s website or social media ♦ An online portal that is accessible only by staff or parents ♦ The school’s orientation program ♦ Staff meetings ♦ Parent meetings ♦ Business or community newsletters, e-news, social media venues ♦ School newsletter

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D I REC TI O N S For each stakeholder, identify the key message you want them to know regarding your vision to transform your school for DL. Identify the communication channels you can use with each stakeholder.

CREATING YOUR COMMUNICATION PLAN

We believe the city is our school and will extend learning outside of the school and therefore, learning experiences will need to integrate field-based experiences.

Staff Meetings, Teacher Portals, Professional Learning Communities

FACULTY | EXAMPLE

MESSAGESTAKEHOLDERS KEY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

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You cannot risk failing to communicate your vision and intentions effectively with everyone. Such a failure will make transformation more challenging because everyone will not have an understanding of the vision and therefore the direction and values of the school.

CONCLUSION:It is our hope that you understand that a vision must be well articulated, easily understood, and communicated to all of the school’s stakeholders.

A clear and shared vision not only advances the values and goals of the school but serves as the first step in planning for transformation. For the next phase, you will learn more about the theory of action to transform your school for Deeper Learning and assess your school on the degree that the four components of the theory of action are in place at your school based on your understanding of the conditions that must be in place to transform for Deeper Learning.

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OVERVIEW

Now that you have established what Deeper Learning means and have a clear vision of what your school wants students to know and do, this phase is designed to help you understand the conditions that have to be in place for Deeper Learning and the degree to which each of the four components of the theory of action currently exists within your own school. You will be able to review a definition of each component of the theory of action as well as specific examples of a range of practices that illustrate how the principles within the definition have been applied in various schools before you use the self-assessment tool to determine the degree to which each component currently exists within your own school.

This phase is completed when you use the results from the self-assessment to identify the strengths and challenges your school currently has across all of the conditions. A set of resources for each component is included in the final section of this Guide.

Understanding and Assessing the Conditions for Deeper Learning

• Understand the theory of action and how each component is related to establish the foundation for Deeper Learning (DL).

• Understand each of the four components of the theory of action, including the range and types of practices used to implement each component based on the examples provided in the book, Deeper Learning.

• Assess what your school currently has in place specific to each component of the theory of action.

• Understand the strengths and challenges your school currently has across all of the core components of the theory of action for DL based on your self-assessment.

The Steps for Phase Two are:

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STEP 1: Understand the Theory of ActionTo help you create the foundation for Deeper Learning, we have developed a theory of action that reflects the conditions the schools from the book, Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools are Transforming Education in the 21st Century, have established to ensure all students master content knowledge, are critical thinkers and problem solvers, productive collaborators and effective communicators who know how to learn and develop an academic mindset. We grouped these conditions into four core components of a theory of action for Deeper Learning. All four components are essential and must be established sequentially since they rely on and build upon one another. The theory of action is as follows:

If a culture in which educators and students trust and respect one another and feel responsible for each other’s success as learners is established; and teachers function as professionals in a collaborative community, then teachers can design or adapt learning experiences that are meaningful to students which will lead students to regularly engage in acquiring and applying knowledge and skills through the deliberate practice of Deeper Learning outcomes. This will result in students leaving school with the knowledge of how, why, and when to apply content knowledge and a set of non-cognitive skills to answer questions and solve problems related to the challenges of college, career, and life (knowledge transfer1).

1 James W. Pellegrino & Margaret L. Hilton. 2012. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Research Council. and embedded in the web version: National Research Council: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13398

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Incoming Students are Immediately Immersed in the School’s Culture and Approach to Learning

Programs or sets of activities are used to enculturate incoming students into the school’s distinctive approach to teaching and learning. The set of activities most often entails a well-designed orientation program. The orientation program is designed to immerse incoming students in the cultural values and practices and the type of learning that will be expected in the school. Orientation is much more than an information session on the policies and procedures of the school. Instead, incoming students explore questions, work in groups, design

Part I: Definition First and foremost, principals and teachers establish a culture where educators and students trust and respect each other and feel responsible for one another’s success as learners. A school’s culture is grounded in the values of Deeper Learning, including inquiry for mastery of core content and critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, communication, self-direction, and an academic mindset. Establishing a strong culture of trust and respect across the school lays the foundation from which the next three components of the theory of action for DL can be developed.

STEP 2: Understand and Assess the Four Components of the Theory of Action

Establish a Strong School Culture

Part II: Examples

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products, and identify their interests. Students from the upper grades are strategically used to orient students to the school as well as model school values. Activities may include having potential incoming students shadow a current student, having upperclass students design and participate in the orientation program, or using a peer mentoring program for new students.

At MC2 Stem High School in Cleveland, Ohio, the orientation program focuses on introducing the new students to the core elements of the school, e.g., mastery grading, project-based learning and the meaning of a Capstone (cross-subject project). Volunteers from the senior class take responsibility for the first day of orientation for new students by offering examples of projects they have done and discussing them. On the second day of orientation, the 10th and 11th grade students lead the new students in a penny launcher competition to illustrate the design process at MC2. The incoming freshmen receive a collection of ten common items, including cardboard, paper clips, pencils, soda bottles, and rubber bands that they can use to design their penny launcher. To encourage creativity, the new students form teams and are given only broad direction on how to use the objects they have selected to de-sign the mechanism that will launch a penny. Each team is given a budget to buy eight of these items. By the time the teams begin the competition, the new students have a significant experience of prototyping and the design process with the support of the upperclass students. Additionally, the incoming students gain a sense of the responsibility that is placed upon them to direct their own learning , problem solve, be analytical, communicate, and contribute to the success of others by working in a team.

At Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, new students are immediately introduced to the school’s core values— Inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection through the orientation program, City Expedition. To familiarize new students with the use of essential questions in learning, the teacher shares with the students the questions they will need to consider when studying their assigned sites— What are the different parts of an urban environment and its population? How do we come to understand the urban environment? What are the lenses we can use to understand the urban environment? Juniors and seniors travel with the incoming freshmen to observe different sites throughout the city and help them use the core values and identify the learning behaviors that promote success. SLA Program Coordinator Jeremy Spry notes, “The older kids are really important in socializing the new students… they model the culture they have already bought into at SLA. They [the upperclassmen] tell the new students that this is a great school and that the work they do here is meaningful. They also help answer questions and give the new students a sense of what things will be like here.”

At Impact Academy in Hayward, California, prospective students are offered a formal day to shadow classes once a month as a way to introduce students to the school’s culture and learning values. Ninth and tenth graders serve as tour guides and take the prospective students around the school to sit in on classes. There is usually a panel discussion during lunch where current students talk about what it is like to attend the school, and then the prospective students are invited to observe the weekly whole-school meeting. A sophomore student at Impact Academy shared her experience when sitting in on a class, specifically a Socratic Seminar, a common form of class at Impact, during the shadowing experience: “I didn’t know what to expect of a Socratic Seminar but after observing it, I could see the school was more about students learning for themselves and from one another rather than from teachers.” The student felt that observing the Socratic Seminar was “an eye opener” and led her to attend the school.

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At Avalon School in St. Paul, Minnesota, the peer support offered during orientation is extended into the school year through a formal peer-to-peer mentorship program. The first day of orientation concludes with a group dinner in the school café where upperclass mentors and their new mentees meet and pair up to talk with one another. Avalon teachers encourage new students to use their mentors as a resource by asking questions such as: “If you could do your freshmen year over differently, what would you do?”, or “What was the best advice you got when you were a freshman?” The mentors help most by talking with the underclassmen about their own challenges, such as not being able to get started on a project or failing to log in their hours for work they did. Upperclass students at Avalon eagerly volunteer to be mentors because they feel that it is an honor and a way to give back to the school.

At High Tech High in San Diego, California, teachers provide opportunities during the year for students from the upper grades to help students in the lower grades plan for the future. Larry Rosenstock, the founding principal, shares the following: “We have the juniors and seniors talk with the younger students about the work [projects] they are doing, what they experienced in their internships, and the colleges they are considering or are currently applying [to]. Juniors and seniors who are first generation college students talk about going to visit the University of California, Berkeley or preparing for the SATs. It can’t get any better than that!”

The School’s Core Values are Reflected in the Physical Design and Use of Space

The physical design of a school and the way space is used, such as the configuration of classrooms, common areas, and walls reflect the school’s values and approach to learning.

High Tech High is designed to look and feel more like a high-tech workplace than a school, to support the school’s approach to learning. The expansive interior and exterior windows connote the openness and transparency of student work and teacher practice. The open space inside and outside of the school along with comfortable, modular furniture provide informal meeting areas to support the norm that students and teachers work collaboratively in groups and across disciplines. The specialty labs show the value placed on using technology for learning and designing products— from engineering for robotics, to biotechnology, to graphic design. The entire campus is designed wireless to ensure students can research, communicate, collaborate, write, and create products. Student work is showcased throughout the school— on walls, in specialty labs and even on the ceilings where projects such as mobiles and sculptures are suspended from the exposed truss systems. The regular use of the central common meeting space with high-quality sound and projection systems shows the value placed on students demonstrating their work publicly through presentations and performances.

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Avalon School is designed to look like an innovative tech firm rather than a school. Avalon’s building design combines open and fluid spaces with individual workspace for students and small rooms that serve as collaborative workspaces, larger classrooms where advisories can be paired and an all-school-community gathering space which also doubles as the café. The school itself is located in an industrial park. Student work is not only displayed inside the school but outside the school where there is a garden with a chicken coop. The chicken coop and garden are both student projects, initiated and maintained by students. The presence of student work continually reinforces the idea that students should always think big about the possibilities of project-based learning.

Science Leadership Academy, housed in a former office building, uses the limited opportunities there are in an old vertical building to create collaborative space. There is an open area next to the principal’s office with a long desk where teachers sit and work throughout the day. As a result, students frequently drop by and sit with a teacher or set of teachers to ask questions or seek advice. The principal’s office has two entrances, one from the outer hallway and one from the school office. The doors are constantly open to communicate his availability to work with teachers and students. This also enables the principal to maintain awareness of the activities occurring within the school.

Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine, is located in the top floor of a large traditional high school. Teachers have limited collaborative space across the school and within classrooms. They must constantly reconfigure classrooms to support collaboration— from pairs of students reviewing one another’s work to groups of four to six students working together on a project. Freed from always being at the front of the room, teachers circu-late throughout the classrooms, sitting with groups that are working on a project, conferring with individual students, or conducting a mini-tutoring session with three or four students. Sometimes the entire class sits in a circle in a classroom as a means to encourage community and collaboration among students. As Nancy Hagstrom, the Casco Bay Spanish teacher, says: “We use circles so students can always see each other. It’s easier to have open communication when you can see people rather than looking at the back of people’s heads.”

Impact Academy is in a traditional building and therefore strategically uses the wall space to communicate the school’s learning expectations and values while simultaneously developing students’ academic mindset. For instance, the Senior Hall, a central hallway that all students pass through daily, is used to communicate the school’s expectations that all students will go to college. Posters of graduating students are displayed on one side of the hallway. Designed by the seniors, they include a photograph and a description of career ambitions, such as aerospace engineering, graphic design, nursing and psychology. The wall’s other side displays the destinations of the graduating seniors and includes the seniors’ acceptance letters and admission certificates.

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Common Language is Used ConsistentlyCommon language is consistently used by the principal and teachers to describe the core values of the school, the learning approach, and high– quality student work. The consistent use of common language by all staff promotes a shared understanding by students of the learning process and expectations of the school. As Marina Penalier, eighth grade science teacher at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, says, “I, and all the teachers, use the same language from class to class…so the students know what we mean and what we care about.”

Science Leadership Academy (SLA) uses common language as a way for students, in the words of the Principal Chris Lehman, “to talk in much more coherent ways about their work with their teachers.” For this reason, teachers consistently use the same five terms— inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection—SLA’s core values— to establish and reinforce expectations of how students will learn. The core values are part of how each curricular unit is designed by teachers but also part of a common grading rubric where students have to demonstrate the use of these values in conducting their work. In addition, each quarter students are assessed on a set of criteria in all of their classes. These criteria are design, knowledge, application, process, and presentation. As Principal Chris Lehman says, “When everyone uses the same language of assessment, then students don’t have to spend time figuring out the adults to guess what makes for a good paper, and even before they begin working they have a well-developed sense of the elements of a quality product.”

Impact Academy consistently uses 21st Century Leadership Skills to denote student learning outcomes. Leadership skills are defined as the ability to think critically, collaborative productively, communicate powerfully, and manage projects effectively. Posters are displayed in hallways and classrooms that define the leadership skills along with a set of actions needed for students to exercise a particular skill. For example, on one poster critical thinking is defined —“We think deeply in order to create new understanding”— and described—“We identify (name it and explain it); we analyze (break it down); we evaluate (judge it); we justify (establish it with argument); we connect (link it); we synthesize (put it together); we apply (use it in a new way).” The 21st Century Leadership Skills are integrated into the grading rubrics and students are expected to demonstrate them in all their projects and through their classroom participation. Additionally, students must demonstrate these leadership skills in both their Sophomore Benchmark and College Success Portfolios.

Rochester Community High School in Rochester, Minnesota uses school-wide learning outcomes to communicate expectations to students. Teachers are responsible for developing these learning outcomes in courses that include criteria such as content mastery, critical thinking, technical literacy, collaboration, communication, and work ethic. To ensure consistency in expectations, each teacher uses a common rubric to assess student work against this set of criteria.

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Students are Known Well and Supported by an Adult and Peers

There are structures and activities in place where students are known well and supported by an adult and peers. The structures or activities provide opportunities for frequent conversations between teachers and students, between other adults and students, and between students and their peers. The structures or activities most commonly used are advisories, mentorships, internships, and group work.

At Casco Bay High School the acronym, “HOW”– “Habits of Work” – is used to communicate the values and dispositions students need for learning. HOW expects students to: Be Accountable, Work Ethically, Build Community, Work Collaboratively, Persevere, Pursue, and Do Your Personal Best. Teachers use a schoolwide rubric called “Class-room Habits of Work” (HOW) to assess the degree to which students integrate the school’s core values into their activities. Teachers also use the rubric as a tool with which to talk with students so they better understand how they should approach learning. A teacher may draw upon the rubric’s categories to ask a student: “How were you accountable to other students for your part of a project? How did you persevere when you encountered a difficulty with your project? Do you feel that you gave your personal best in this project?”

Avalon Charter School uses advisories to have sustained interactions with students. Advisories help to develop a support system for students. Staff uses advisories to identify how students are progressing emotionally and academically in their work and to build community among students. The Advisory always begins with a “check in”— any kind of question that will help the teacher and the group get a sense of where a student is, how they are feeling. Check-ins are useful in developing a sense of community and shared purpose. Team building activities are also done through an advisory to strengthen peer relationships. Kevin Ward, English teacher and Co-Program Coordinator at Avalon, states, “Advisory is the most powerful thing we do. The fact that students check in for twenty minutes every day to talk and listen to each other, no matter what the topic, before going on their way, is a powerful ritual.”

Casco Bay High School uses advisories to help guide the growth of each student and to ensure there is a way for students to support each other. On the first day of freshman year the teachers use Crew (their term for advisory) to establish the value placed on trusting, respecting and supporting one another. Teachers have the new students form into a large circle and tell them, “This is what you will do for the rest of your high school career. Crew is your family, listen when somebody is talking, and if you have a problem, bring it to the community.” The students consistently meet with the same teacher over the next four years. According to Appelbaum, “Crew becomes the students’ family,” or as one student says, “It’s like a mini school family within a school.”

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Rochester High uses group work as a means to build relationships and engender trust between teachers and students. English teacher Dan McCarthy says, “The role of the teacher is so much more involved with the students than in the old way of teaching. If you don’t like students, you don’t want to do group work… My relationship with students is completely different now that we teach with groups. Before I was always struggling to build connections.” Amy Blackburn, the bio-health science teacher, says, “In this model, you are involved with students from the start. You are facilitating and helping them, not talking at them for 45 minutes in a one-way conversation. Instead, you might talk for 45 minutes with 17 different kids.” Amy also comments on the change she saw as a teacher when Rochester began using student groups noting, “When students are working in groups, I become their coach. I am guiding their work, observing and interacting with the groups…Group work at Rochester makes teachers accessible.”

At High Tech High (HTH), advisories are just one opportunity for teachers to respond to the students. As Laura McBain, Director of External Relationships, puts it, “We have advisories at HTH, but we don’t depend on them to be our only way to develop relationships with students. It is about creating the opportunity for a conversation… I have a student who knows I keep food in my office, so he’ll drop by to grab something to eat. But I turn that into a conversation every single time to find out what is going on in his life. We always end up in an extended conversation where he knows I am there to help him with whatever he needs. Other students may connect more to one of their subject area teachers and use that as their primary adult relationship to help them at school instead of the teacher who leads their advisory.”

MC2 STEM High School’s 10th grade campus is located in a professional facility, GE Lighting’s corporate campus, to give students opportunities to develop relationships with professionals in the STEM fields. The students are able to choose among a set of GE employees who have volunteered for the “buddy program.” The program provides students with regular contact with an adult professional. Andrea Timan, GE Volunteer Coordinator, says,“ The most important thing they do is just talk. The employees give a kid a different perspective, a different vantage point to look at things.” During most lunch hours, students and employees can be seen scattered around the GE dining room talking with one another.

Community and Collective Responsibility are Established Through Schoolwide Events

and Support for Student Voice

The schools design and use a consistent set of activities to establish a sense of community. This sense of community develops students’ collective responsibility for the school and each other. Engendering this sense of community and collective responsibility is most often accomplished through the use of school-wide events, community service, and opportunities for students to influence school policy.

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Impact Academy holds weekly community meetings to reinforce the message that students are part of a larger community and that they are expected to promote the success of their fellow students. Each week the vice principal collaborates with different students and advisors to lead a one-hour assembly during what is normally used for advisory classes. The time together is designed to be fun and also to publicly “give props,” where one student is called out and given “proper respect” for a positive act they did that week. Community meetings are usually held by lower and upper division (9th/10th and 11th/12th grades). The lower division community meetings focus more on community building and social/emotional skills, whereas the upper division community meetings focus more on internships, panel discussions by graduates, and provide college information. Sometimes community meetings are combined so that lower division students meet with upper division students. This encourages mentorship by the older students. Four times a year, the entire school meets for Whole School Community meetings, which parents and alumni attend. Impact staff sees this as one of the most important ways to build community.

Casco Bay conducts weekly all-school meetings that include many activities to help build community and peer support. Leadership and responsibility for each all-school meeting rotates by advisory group. The advisory group is responsible for selecting a student who best embodies one of the Pathways to Success core values, such as “Pur-sue Personal Best” or “Work Ethically.” Outstanding student work is also showcased, especially just before or after a project is completed. Toward the spring semester, some of the meetings end with a “Movin’ On Up” ceremony when seniors who’ve been accepted to college climb the “Movin’ On Up” ladder and place their name and the name of the school where they have been admitted on a banner on the wall.

Avalon has a service learning week as a community building activity but specifically to promote engaged citizenship and responsibility for the community as well as the school. Some of the service week projects are teacher- facilitated while others are directed by the students. During the week, students operate as teams in their community to identify problems and work toward solutions, doing everything from cleaning up vacant lots to developing public art projects and working with early childhood centers. Some service events are part of an individual or group independent project, enabling students to receive course credit. For instance, two students had a hunger and homelessness project where they volunteered at a local food bank. The project raised their awareness that there were students at Avalon whose families needed food support. As a result, the students created a food shelf at the school that is discreetly accessed.

Student Leadership Academy engenders students’ responsibility for the school by using students in roles that support teaching and learning. For instance, a group of up to 40, called the “tech squad,” are responsible for providing technology support to the whole school for the one-to-one laptop program. Students have to apply for the tech squad, and-when accepted, take two software development classes before providing tech support. The tech squad helps maintain all the laptops and technology peripherals. They also record problems, maintain inventory, and order parts. As the students advance in their software development classes, they can start working with the faculty technology coordinator to provide support for SLATE, the school’s web portal. Also, upper class students can serve as teaching assistants for the lower division classes. One student who excelled in math served as a teaching assistant for a calculus class her junior year and for an introductory math class her senior year.

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Rochester Community High School has established a process for students to contribute to school-wide policy issues as a way to engender responsibility for the school and for their actions. Students can challenge current policies or petition the school administration to institute new ones. A student provides an example of how students influenced a decision on the use of mobile technology in schools: “We were able to convince the administration to change the school policy so we could use our iPods and cell phones in class, at lunch, and in hallways. We pointed out the contradiction in being a school focused on using technology that prohibited students from using it.” In response to the students’ proposal, the administration allowed the use of the iPods and cell phones. However, the administration created some limitations, such as prohibiting the use of such devices during lectures, and established consequences, including that if students misuse the privilege, the policy could be discontinued.


• In the far left-hand column of the self-assessment rubric, review each principle of the core component on creating a culture of trust, respect and collective responsibility.

• Review the differences between the various levels of implementation (Level 1, 2, 3, or 4) for each principle related to creating a culture of trust, respect and collective responsibility.

• After understanding the ratings, determine the extent to which your school currently has implemented the principle.

• Write down the numeric rating as to the extent to which your school currently has implemented the principle.

• Then write down specific evidence that supports your rating.

CONDUCTING A SELF-ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENT 1D I R E C T I O N S :

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Incoming students are immediately immersed in the school’s culture and learning approach

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Not valued or simply exists within school policy

Initiate or establish key activities, practices, or structures

Multifaceted implementation that is practiced somewhat consistently across the school

Comprehensive and highly systematized implementation, with consistent practices across the whole school

There is a short student orientation for new students. The primary purpose is to introduce staff and communicate policies and procedures. Information is provided in a one-way exchange by the principal and/or teachers.

The orientation for new students is conducted for a few hours or less, is principal- or teacher-led, includes some interactive activities reflective of the school’s culture and learn-ing approach. Orientation includes some students from the upper grades who are nominally used throughout the year to help enculturate incoming students to the school.

The orientation for new students is conducted for at least a full day. The program is principal- and/or teacher-led and involves students tangentially in planning. Orientation includes interactive activities that immediately immerse new students in the school’s culture and learning approach. Some students from the upper grades are involved in a leadership role, serving as role models and helping new students throughout the school year.

The orientation for new students is compre-hensive, is one full day or more, teacher- and student-led, and highly interactive and engaging. Upperclass students plan and lead many of the inquiry and design activities and exercises to immediately immerse new students in the school’s culture and learning approach. Students from the upper grades con-tinue to help incoming students through formal and informal mentorship opportunities.

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The school’s core values are reflected in the physical design and use of space

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School space, as in the physical design of the facility and classroom configurations, reflects a hierarchical organizational structure with a focus on “control” through the use of restricted space and the display of multiple rules and consequences.

Some aspects of the school space, as in physical design of the facility and/or use of classroom configurations and the use of wall space, communicates some of the core values of the school, and approach to learning.

The physical design of a school and the way space is used, such as the con-figuration of classrooms, common areas, and walls reflects the school’s values and approach to learning. Some student work is displayed in the school to show the quality of work expected of the students.

The physical design of a school and the way space is used, such as the configuration of classrooms, common areas, and walls reflects the school’s values and approach to learning. Additionally, student work is prominently displayed in centralized areas of the school to show the quality of work expected of the students.

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Beyond written policies, there are no examples or use of shared language used by the principal and teachers or displayed in the school. Schoolwide measures do not address core values

There are some visible examples of shared language about the school’s core values; occasional discussions of the core values occur; and a few of the core values or learning outcomes are integrated in student assessment tools by some teachers.

There are multiple venues that the principal and teachers use most of the time to depict the core values of the school, the learning approach, and high-quality student work. This includes either visible messages of the core values displayed across the school, regular discussions about the core values; or the learning outcomes are integrated in student assessment tools by most of the teachers.

There are multiple venues that the principal and teachers use to consistently describe the core values of the school, the learning approach, and high-quality student work. This includes including visible messages of the core values displayed across the school, regular discussions about the core values, and the learning outcomes are integrated in student assessment tools by all teachers.


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Common Language is Consistently Used

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There are no structures, activities, or informal activities in place for students to be known well by an adult and their peers.

There are mostly informal opportunities or singular structures in place for students to be known well and supported by an adult and their peers.

There are some structures and activities in place for students to be known well and supported by an adult and peers. The structures or activities provide opportunities for frequent conversations between teachers and students, other adults and students, and between students and their peers.

There are structures and activities in place, such as advisories, mentorships, internships and peer group activities for students to be known well and supported by an adult and peers. The structures or activities provide opportunities for frequent conversations between teachers and students, other adults and students, and between students and their peers.


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Students are known well and supported by an adult and peers

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There are schoolwide or grade level activities led by administrators to address emergencies or school policies. There are no community-building activities where students can interact with each other as a whole school or by grade level and contribute to the school. There is no process whereby students can address schoolwide policies.

There are occasional community-building activities led by the teachers or administrators where students can interact with each other as a whole school or by grade level and contribute to the community or school. There is not a structured process for students to address school-wide policies. Student involvement in policymaking is not encouraged.

There are consistent but limited community-building activities led and designed by students and staff where students can interact with each other as a whole school or by grade level and contribute to the school. There is not a structured process whereby students can address schoolwide policies but it is encouraged informally by teachers.

There is consistent regular use of a variety of community-building activities led by students and staff where students are able to interact with each other as a whole school or by grade level and contribute to the school. There is a structure process whereby students can address schoolwide policies.


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Community and collective responsibility are established through school-wide events and support for student voice

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1. Once individual reflections and ratings are complete, each team member should share his or her rating and evidence for the rating. Both the ratings and evidence should be captured on a flip chart for everyone to see. Group members should not challenge each other during this reporting period.

2. After all ratings have been recorded, the group should calibrate the ratings and establish consensus, or as much agreement as possible, on the ratings for each category.

3. Once some level of consensus is reached, the facilitator should record the collective rating and evidence in support of the rating.

4. Using the group’s collective rating of each principle, identify and record areas of strength and challenges for your school for Component 1.

REFLECTING ON THE SELF-ASSESSMENT RATINGSD I R E C T I O N S :

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Teachers Function with a High Degree of AutonomyPrincipals have the responsibility to establish trust among the teachers. Trust empowers individuals to be their best selves and creates a sense of accountability between and among the staff. In Deeper Learning schools, teachers are trusted and function as professionals with a high degree of autonomy.

Part I: Definition In a trusting and respectful school culture, teachers function as professionals with a high level of autonomy, share in the leadership of the school, and direct and design their own professional development. Establishing a culture of trust, respect, and collective responsibility across the school (Component 1), and where teachers function as professionals in a collaborative community (Component 2), lays the foundation from which the next two conditions of the theory of action for Deeper Learning can be enacted.

Teachers Function as Professionals in a Collaborative Community

Avalon School believes that trusting teachers empowers them to work more effectively with students. Avalon teachers describe what it means to be trusted as a professional as “having the freedom to try new things within the parameter of the school’s values, particularly around personalizing or hooking students into learning. Every teacher can be a Beta for an idea and then examine it and keep the practice…or try something else.” One teacher was challenged in trying to engage a new group of middle school students. Searching for a new idea, she went to a training session on the use of high-tech fabric. The teacher designed a curricular unit around creating wearable technology. She presented her idea to her fellow teachers and gained budget approval to purchase materials for her class. The teacher was later able to report back that the curricular unit “completely engaged the students.” Because they are

Part II: Examples

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Teachers Share in the Leadership of the SchoolPrincipals who treat teachers as professionals share the leadership of the school with them. At Deeper Learning schools, teachers have substantial influence on school-based decisions, especially around issues of teaching and learning, including their own professional development. Teachers commonly take on responsibilities many principals save for themselves, such as hiring staff, creating school schedules, developing partnerships with off-campus organizations or businesses, and even dealing with funders. Furthermore, teachers formally and informally assume multiple roles, including that of grade team coordinator, teacher mentor, and coach. This is in part due to the flat organizational hierarchy at Deeper Learning schools.

At King Middle School, teachers take instructional leadership roles. For over ten years, the school has had an instructional leadership position known as the “teaching strategist.” The teaching strategist is hired by the principal and is responsible for setting the professional development agenda as well as managing the professional development experiences, liaising between teachers and working with the district and the school development provider from Expeditionary Learning. When the one-to-one computer initiative was implemented, one of the teachers

trusted and there are a clear set of values and opportunities for communication, Avalon teachers are able to identify and develop new learning opportunities for their students. One teacher noted that, “When teachers are treated as professionals, everyone gets a voice enabling us to focus on working with students and trying new things, not being mad [at the administration] and having water cooler conversations…we have a heavy sense of responsibility for the school, but we share that burden with twenty-one other teachers.”

Science Leadership Academy uses cultural values to denote respect and professionalism are expected in all aspects of the teachers’ work. With the cultural values in place, the founding principal, Chris Lehmann, notes that he does not micro-manage teachers’ daily activities. Instead, he encourages teachers to design their own curricula based on rigorous standards, the use of quarterly benchmarks, and the school’s core values. Social science teacher Diana Laufenberg says, “The respect he expects for one another translates into a culture of responsibility to the community. As a result, we constantly pull together in the same direction.”

King Middle School teachers exercise autonomy within the structure of six “houses,” with two houses per grade level. Within the houses, teams of teachers design their own curricula and decide how to integrate subjects as they develop interdisciplinary expeditions. As a house, the teachers decide how to configure the schedule to best fit the activities of the learning expedition, including when key performance tasks and assessments will occur. Beyond that, teachers have autonomy for student discipline, the use of technology, and developing partnerships with outside groups and experts. As David Grant, formerly a Teaching Strategist for King says, “Teachers recognize that they cannot exist independently at a school but that everything can be negotiated for the sake of student learning.”

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served as the technology integrator, supporting teachers, and students’ capacities to use technology for learning when the one-to-one laptop program was implemented. Some teachers play a dual role, such as an education technician and teacher, project manager for expeditions, or house chair. To ensure coordination, the principal meets monthly with the

“house chairs” to address house-level business, issues related to expeditions and how students are progressing.

At Casco Bay High School, teachers share in decision making through their participation on the leadership team or other key committees. Members of the leadership team are responsible for making decisions on all important issues of teaching and learning as well as general administrative policies, including the Academic Program, Course Offerings, Intensives, Assessment, the Grading Guide, School Governance, Co-Curriculars, and Attendance. Every teacher has an opportunity to serve on the leadership team and membership rotates among the teachers to ensure everyone shares in shaping the direction of their school. Some teachers have served on the committee since the school was founded while others rotate on and off to concentrate on specific school issues. For instance, one teacher left the leadership committee to become the Committee Leader for the Professional Learning Communities Committee. This committee was of greater interest to her as it meets regularly with the principal to design and schedule all of the professional development. As a teacher at Casco Bay High School said: “We run the school. We decide on the schedule, the projects, and the calendar.”

Avalon School is unique because it is owned by a teacher co-operative, meaning there is no principal and the teachers manage the school as self-governing professionals. Avalon has one to three program coordinators each year who manage many of the instructional and operational features of the school while teaching part time and conducting one advisory class. The remainder of the teachers share in the responsibility for the many tasks needed to run a school by serving on committees, including committees for selecting the curriculum; setting the budget; hiring new teachers and reviewing the performance of current teachers, and appointing their leaders.

Science Leadership Academy has a strong, team-oriented staff. Teachers take on many responsibilities re-lated to the overall functions of the school. For this reason, teachers serve on a number of committees. Their commit-tee work enables them to contribute to the school’s culture and provide input on decisions about every aspect of the school. Standing committees include: Professional Development, Orientation, Diversity, (navigating equity and diversity in the classroom and the school), Whole School Events (student-led conferences, the Open House, interviews) and Social Events (such as the Prom). This year the Diversity Committee exercised leadership by organizing a conversation with all teachers to discuss the shooting of an African American teen by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Anticipating that students would want to talk about the shooting and the ongoing demonstrations in Ferguson, the discussion provided an opportunity for teachers to gain a better sense of the issues and how best to present them to the students. As part of the faculty discussion, teachers who had already explored ways to integrate the event into their curricula shared classroom activities and resources.

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Teachers Direct Their Own Professional Development and Learning

Teachers prioritize and direct their own professional development. Principals value their teachers’ vast experiences and wealth of knowledge and want them to be active participants in the construction and tailoring of professional development. Professional development is growth driven, collectively constructed, tailor made, context specific, and embedded in the school. Because teachers design their own professional development, they are very engaged and work productively with their colleagues.

At Casco Bay High School, time for professional development is built into the schedule each week. The Professional Learning Communities coordinate professional development. They are organized by grade level and facilitated by one of the teachers on the Professional Learning Community Committee. The focus of the Professional Learning Community is decided upon by the teachers, as when the 10th grade teachers identified integrating evidence-based arguments across the curriculum as their area of focus. Teachers also regularly bring in their lesson plans and examples of student work to seek feedback from one another. Professional development may also be offered by a third-party provider, such as Expeditionary Learning, which helps the teachers develop their curricula; the District on the Common Core; or through the school’s own Professional Learning Communities. The committee meets monthly with the principal to discuss professional development opportunities.

At King Middle School, teachers work together for one week before the beginning of the school year, at the Summer Institute. During this time, teachers share new projects they have created for their students with the entire faculty and solicit feedback on how to improve the new learning experiences. Each grade-level team uses the week to revise at least one of their integrated curricular units in light of teacher suggestions. During the school year, teachers have access to a professional learning community. The focus of professional learning communities depends on the priority that has been identified for the year by teachers. For instance, the professional development communities might focus on Standards-Based Grading. Teachers work with one another on how to write narratives and provide feedback to one another.

At Science Leadership Academy, professional development needs are determined by the teachers through multiple avenues. An interest survey is distributed at the beginning of the school year where teachers identify topics for professional development. Teacher committees, such as Diversity or Attendance, meet with the principal and identify topics and times for professional development and teachers individually suggest ideas to the principal. A committee of teachers reviews this information and, along with the principal, organizes the professional development calendar for the year to ensure that it reflects common concerns. Then the professional development areas are prioritized by the Professional Development Committee and assigned to teachers or teacher committees. One hour of the weekly common meeting time is used for professional learning. After every session the teachers who coordinate and direct the event, along with the principal, reflect upon the process and discuss how to refine and build upon it for future sessions.

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Teachers Have Time to Work TogetherGood teaching requires teamwork and structured opportunities for teachers to collaborate. During this collaboration time, teachers are able to draw upon their expertise and experience to work on the learning experiences they are conducting, designing or revising; develop solutions to both classroom and schoolwide issues; and strategize how about how to improve their individual practice and student learning.

At High Tech High, professional development is determined in part by a personal learning plan. Completion of the plan is part of the teacher’s annual contract requirements. Teachers have to set goals and identify a set of competencies that addresses how they intend to grow as an educator, a colleague and a leader in the school. The plan is shared with the school director in the fall and progress is reflected upon in staff meetings and again with the school director in the spring. Teachers document their work on their digital portfolios so that students, parents and staff members can see the work they are creating in their classrooms. New teachers begin three weeks before the start of the new term. They work alongside more senior teachers in a hands-on experience in building products, to help them understand the students’ experience of working in a project-based environment. At the end of the program, each new teacher creates syllabi for their classes, an inquiry journal, a project design plan and a digital portfolio. The training culminates in a presentation of learning where each teacher shares with peers their products, take aways and next steps for their classroom.

At King Middle School, eighty minutes of common planning time is built into the schedule every other day for grade level teams to work together. Each session is used differently. One common planning time is used for teachers to work on a curricular unit. Teachers may address the goals and challenges of the unit, provide feedback to one another on the unit, or simply monitor its daily logistics. One of the weekly sessions focuses on student progress, reviewing which students are not performing well, flagging the issues that have to be addressed, and discussing how to provide additional academic support to the students, especially Special Education students or English Language Learners. When there is a third common planning session, it is used to address the most immediate needs that require collective problem solving or to meet with a parent or the students’ social workers.

At Science Leadership Academy, teachers have two hours available on Wednesday afternoons to work together. During this time, teachers work in groups by grade level, advisories, or academic subjects. When teachers meet, they may focus on revising a curricular unit that integrates multiple subjects; revising a curricular unit in response to data on student performance; or discussing schoolwide issues such as eliciting strategies to reduce the number of students who are late to school. For instance, one Wednesday afternoon the teachers meet by grade level to discuss the results of the peer observations they recently conducted. These discussions are then shared with the rest of the school staff which triggers an in -depth conversation about the type of directions teachers need to give to

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students when they launch a project. Principal Chris Lehman says, “Whatever the topic, the focus at these meetings is to always ask the question, ‘How can we do better?’”

High Tech High teachers meet daily, one hour before the students arrive. Some mornings teachers meet together by subject where they share resources they developed that align to the course maps for the year. Other days, the teachers discuss books on topics of common interest specific to teaching and learning, share scaffolding resources with each other, or present a lesson, project, or task to receive feedback through a protocol teachers have designed. One day of the week is specifically reserved for teachers to meet in study groups or action groups. The groups are developed by the teachers and topics change based on the needs of the school. For example, one study group may examine the advisory structures or activities while another group is working on the budget for the next calendar year. Each teacher is required to be on at least one study group. During the weekly all-staff meetings, the study groups report on the progress of their work.

At Avalon, teachers use time before the school year begins and throughout the year during common planning time to review policies and practices. For instance, before school started one year, teachers identified that student learning was being affected by the lack of consistency in the project process. While the teachers wanted to maintain flexibility for the many students who need accommodations, they also wanted there to be some non-negotiables regarding what had to be completed by students. Working as a group, the teachers revised the project process to have clear guidelines that students would have to adhere to. Following the decision on the revised project process, a teacher designed a diagram to help students understand the requirements for their projects. This diagram was incorporated into a mural in the entryway of the school.


1. In the far left-hand column of the self-assessment rubric, review each principle of the core component on teachers function as professionals in a collaborative community.

2. Review the differences between the various levels of implementation (Level 1, 2, 3, or 4) for each principle related to treating teachers as professionals in a collaborative community.

3. After understanding the ratings, determine the extent to which your school currently has implemented this principle.

4. Write down the numeric rating as to the extent to which your school currently has implemented the principle.

5. Then write down specific evidence that supports your rating.


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The structures and policies at the school control teacher’s work. Teachers are required to follow a school or district curriculum and pacing guide and discouraged from any deviation.

The structures and policies at the school control and standardize teacher work, inhibiting any autonomy and creativity. Nonetheless, the principal expresses support for teachers who improve student achievement outcomes in their classes. These teachers are able to deviate from the standardized curriculum and pacing guide.

The structures and policies at the school indicate that teachers are trusted. They are able to function some-what as professionals with a high degree of autonomy. The school does not have a standardized curriculum or pacing guide. Most teachers either use other curricular or design their own.

The structures and policies at the school indicate that teachers are trusted. They are able to function as professionals with a high degree of autonomy in creating learning experiences that will be most effective with students and in making decisions about students.


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Teachers function with a high degree of autonomy

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The structure and policies at the school are hierarchical and bureaucratic. The power and control lies predominant- ly with the principal and other administrators. Teachers do not have any input in school-wide polices.

The structure and policies at the school are hierarchical. A schoolwide leadership team exists where the teach-er’s role is advisory in nature. There are some instructional support roles but primarily through hierarchical structures such as department chairs or administrators.

The structure and policies at the school are not hier-archical and bureaucratic. Teachers have substantial influence on school-based decisions, especially regarding issues of teach-ing and learning, including their own professional development. Yet, hiring, creating school schedules, developing partnerships with off-campus organizations or businesses, and dealing with funders remains primarily the responsibility of the principal.

The structure and policies at the school are not hier-archical and bureaucratic. Teachers have substantial influence on school-based decisions, especially regard-ing issues of teaching and learning, including their own professional development. Teachers commonly take on responsibilities such as hiring, creating schedules, developing partnerships with off-campus organizations or businesses, and dealing with funders. Teachers formally and informally assume multiple roles.


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Teachers share in the leadership of the school

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The district or principal prioritizes teachers professional development. It is typically district-or principal-designed and led through an outside professional development provider. Professional development is only offered before the school year and at designated professional development days set by the district.

The principal prioritizes and directs teacher’s professional development with some input from teachers. The principal and teachers value collaboration to improve teacher practice, but there are no structures to support school-embedded professional development in teacher teams.

Teachers are able to priori-tize and direct their own professional development There are limited though dedicated times for teachers to work collaboratively to improve their practice. Professional development for these limited opportunities takes a variety of forms, including using peers, outside professional development providers, or district staff.

Teachers are able to prioritize and direct their own professional development. They have the time, support, and opportunities to work collaboratively to improve their practice. Professional development takes a variety of forms, including workshops, study groups, mentoring, peer classroom observations, and numerous other formal and informal learning experiences.


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Teachers direct their professional development and learning

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The principal and the teachers alike do not recognize that good teaching requires teamwork. Teachers operate mostly in isolation.

The principal and teachers value collaboration but there are no structured opportunities for it to take place. Teachers have to take individual initiative to carve out time during or after the school day to work on the learning experiences they are conducting, designing or revising; develop solutions to both classroom and schoolwide issues; or strategize how to improve student learning.

The principal and teachers value collaboration and have structured opportunities for all teachers to draw upon their expertise and experience to work on the learning experiences they are conducting, designing or revising; develop solutions to both classroom and schoolwide issues; and strategize about how to improve student learning. Teachers are active and engaged in the limited struc-ture opportunities and take individual initiative to carve out time during or after the school day to work together.

Teachers have access to multiple opportunities to work together to draw upon their expertise and experience to work on the learning experiences they are conducting, designing, or revising; develop solu-tions to both classroom and schoolwide issues; and strategize how to improve student learning. Teachers are active and engaged in at least two or more structured opportunities per week to collaborate.


Teachers have time to work together

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1. Once individual reflection and ratings are complete, each team member should share his or her rating and evidence for the rating. Both the ratings and evidence should be captured on a flip chart for everyone to see. Group members should not challenge each other during this reporting period.





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Learning is Unified and CoherentTeachers design learning experiences to be unified around central concepts and ideas as a way to help students acquire understanding of content knowledge. Teachers use themes and essential or guiding questions to drive subject-specific learning as well as to integrate otherwise separate courses. As a result, students have a coherent and meaningful context for every assignment, classroom activity, fieldwork experience, and project they under-take, as well as a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

Part I: Definition If a culture in which educators and students trust and respect one another and feel responsible for each other’s success as learners is established (Component 1), and teachers function as professionals in a collaborative community (Component 2), then teachers can design or adapt learning experiences that are meaningful. Teachers design or use learning experiences that are meaningful by ensuring that they are unified around central concepts, coherent, aligned to standards and Deeper Learning outcomes, related to “real life,” and include opportunities for students to demonstrate their mastery of knowledge and skills.

Teachers Design Meaningful Learning Experiences for Students

Part II: Examples

At King Middle School, “Sustainability” is the theme used to frame a curriculum unit called Creating Currents. The teachers use two guiding questions to link together everything the eighth-graders will learn and do over the ten weeks: “How do we capture and use nature’s energy?” and “How can you change your energy consumption to improve the world?” While exploring these questions, the eighth grade students learn about alternative forms of energy and how

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to collect and analyze data in math and science classes; how to design and build generators that transfer energy in technology education class; develop research and writing skills in English and write a land use proposal in social stud-ies. Throughout all these activities the guiding questions are critical in helping students identify key ideas, relationships, issues and skills across subjects.

At Casco Bay High School, specific themes are used for each grade level and the curriculum for each course reflects the theme. For instance, “community” is the theme used to frame the freshman year curriculum. During the first trimester, students address the guiding questions, “What is a community?” and “How is a community formed?” in biology, literature, art, and history. During the second trimester, the theme is extended as students focus on the question of how a community is sustained through participating in an expedition, “Sustaining Maine.” “Sustainability” is the theme for the junior year. The guiding question for the year is, “How does a community sustain itself in the face of resource degradation and economic adversity?” To address this question, juniors first study the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. They begin with a mini project in chemistry class that introduces the basic science needed to understand climate change. While the juniors are studying the composition of fossil fuels and their interaction in the atmosphere in chemistry, they are also studying the Industrial Revolution in humanities. This provides them with an understanding of the origins of modern dependence on fossil fuels. All of this knowledge serves as the foundation for the next expedition, where students research and write a policy proposal that makes recommendations for alternative energy. Brooke Teller, the chemistry teacher, comments, “The students are getting the historical context so they under-stand the use of energy in our country and in the world. What they are doing in social studies connects with science, what they do in English connects back to science and social studies.”

At MC2 STEM High School, classes are integrated each quarter through the use of themes, called Capstones. During one quarter of the freshmen year the theme of the Capstone is “bridges.” In math, students come to under-stand the structure and stability of bridges through a study of trigonometry and mathematical concepts such as angles, trusses, and geometric strength. In physics, students learn to use force and thermal analyses to determine the soundness of the structure of a bridge. In English and social studies classes students explore the real and metaphori-cal implications of bridges. In English the students read Romeo and Juliet and explore the ways in which love can bridge and divide families, while in social studies students learn about the Civil Rights Movement in America as a metaphorical bridge to equity and social justice.

Science Leadership Academy uses themes for each grade level. The ninth grade theme is Identity and the Self; the 10th grade theme is The Self and Systems; the 11th grade theme is Change in Self and Systems; and the 12th grade theme is Creation. Conceptual questions are used to extrapolate the meaning of the themes. The conceptual questions for the 11th grade are: “What causes systemic and individual change?”, “What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?”, and “What is the relationship between the self and a changing world?” The essential questions offer an ideal context for Diana Laufenberg, 11th grade government and American history teacher, to teach a unit called Political Participation and Suffrage. The essential questions frame the historical material students study as they trace the evolution of the American political system and study how previously excluded groups such as African Americans and women have gained the right to vote. Diana further engages students through her own questions for the unit: “How has the right to vote affected the development of the country through history?”, “What is the role of the individual in the electoral process?”, and “How can change in the electoral process affect society?” “Studying the evolution of the voting system in the United States,” Diana says, “is the perfect expression of the junior theme… we explore the interplay between the system of voting and the individual throughout history. Decisions of politicians affect the daily lives of individuals and understanding how they can empower themselves with information to work within the system to make change is huge.”

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Learning is Aligned to Standards and Deeper Learning Outcomes

Learning experiences are purposefully designed, or “backward mapped,” to be aligned to subject-specific content standards as well as key Deeper Learning outcomes such as problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Backward mapping is used to teach toward the “end point” or learning goals, ensuring that teaching is focused on important learning outcomes and that content is well organized and sequenced. The consistent focus on proper alignment of learning experiences promotes understanding of course content and the acquisition of Deeper Learning outcomes.

At King Middle School, teachers design their curriculum based on state standards. Peter Hill, the science teacher, strategically uses key standards to teach his eighth graders fundamental concepts of electricity in prepara-tion for two lab classes he conducts as part of the “Creating Currents” curricular unit. One standard is that “students will understand and use examples of energy transformations from one form to another to explain that energy cannot be created or destroyed.” The second standard is a key science literacy standard, “Compare and contrast the infor-mation gained from experiments, simulations, video or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.” As a result, the students have to conduct five short experiments to compare and contrast static and current electricity in a lab called “It’s Electric!”

At Impact Academy, teachers align their curriculum to two sets of outcomes— “core competencies” and “21st Century Leadership Skills” — in addition to the state’s academic standards. The core competencies are defined as inquiry, analysis, research, and creative expression in core content areas. “Twenty-First Century Leadership Skills” are defined as the ability of students to think critically, collaborate productively, communicate powerfully and manage projects effectively. Both the 21st Century Leadership Skills and the core competencies are integrated in the grading rubrics and students are expected to demonstrate them in all their projects and through their classroom participation.

At Rochester High School, teachers use content standards and a set of schoolwide learning outcomes from the New Tech Network as the foundation for the projects they use or design for students. For instance, when Amy Blackburn designed her cloning project, she aligned it to key content standards reflecting fundamental concepts of life and physical sciences and to the following skills: oral communication, written communication, and collaboration.

At Science Leadership Academy, all of the teachers use the “Understanding by Design” method to design the curriculum. Understanding by Design is a framework that supports developing standards-based curricula. The process helps teachers clarify learning goals and design appropriate learning activities that support these standards and goals. For instance, when Caitlin Thompson designed a review of pre-algebra to initiate the fall algebra course, she back-mapped her lesson to the Math Common Core Standards in addition to developing key conceptual understandings she wanted students to develop for algebra. Thompson also aligns her curriculum unit to reflect SLA’s core values— inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection.

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Learning is Related to Real LifeTeachers design learning experiences to include frequent opportunities for students to have real experiences as a natural part of learning. These learning experiences provide opportunities for students to interact with “real” professionals and experts in various fields; assume a “real” role of a professional when doing a project; or connect historical events to contemporary issues and problems that are “real” or relevant to students’ lives.

Science Leadership Academy uses its partnership with the Franklin Institute, the premier science education institution in the Philadelphia area, to give students regular contact with professionals. Every Wednesday afternoon, freshmen take mini-courses taught by museum or research staff. Students choose courses from medicine and immunology, to engineering and astronomy, to computer programming and product design. Many of the mini-courses are linked to the museum’s popular exhibits such as the life-size walk-through heart that illustrates the circulation system; the Sports Challenge that uses virtual-reality technology to illustrate the physics of sports; the Train Factory’s climb-aboard steam engine that focuses on engineering; the Space Command’s simulated earth-orbit research station; and a fully equipped weather station.

Teachers at King Middle School design their curricular units to ensure that students engage with experts. For instance, when students from the sixth grade York House participated in a cross-disciplinary unit that linked all their courses to the 2012 Presidential election, students were taken to the local Republican and Democratic headquarters. Staffers talked to the students about the election process and explained how political professionals design campaigns. Students were able to pose questions to campaign experts as they learned about topics such as how volunteers are used in a political campaign and the techniques employed to identify likely voters. On another day, two members of the Green Independent Party came to the school and made a presentation, teaching the students about an alternative party. Two local political analysts, Ethan Strimling (Democrat) and Phil Harriman (Republican), who have their own Maine-based television show, also came to the school to speak to the students. The television hosts further expanded the students’ knowledge of voting and elections by explaining what a political analyst does and telling them about their own backgrounds and political perspectives on the national, state, and local campaigns.

At King Middle School, teachers also develop partnerships with local organizations that provide students with the opportunity to assume the role of a professional through a unit or lesson. For instance, when the Windsor House seventh grade teachers conducted their project, “Alien Invaders,” they arranged for students to work as scientists by partnering with the Gulf of Maine Scientific Research Institute (GMRI), a local non-profit marine science center. The GMRI’s biologists gave a presentation to the students on the negative impact of invasive species on the Maine environment. They showed students how to create a set of species identification cards that is downloaded from the GMRI website by citizens. Students assumed the role of “scientists,” as they identified and cataloged specific invasive plants in the region.

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At MC2 STEM High School, sophomores assume multiple professional roles during the Sophomore Project. The Sophomore Project is the centerpiece of the 10th grade year. The project has students replicate the work done by GE employees as part of a product development cycle– formulating an initial idea, fabricating a prototype, creating a final product and then developing a business and marketing plan to launch the product. Students first work as engineers alongside actual GE engineers on the design of a LED fixture they conceive, such as a necklace or belt flashlight, and build a working prototype at the MIT Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) located on the campus. Following the fabrication phase, the students work as management and marketing professionals alongside GE managers and marketing specialists to develop a business plan. When the student teams complete the product development cycle, they work as sales representatives, displaying and explaining their products at a “trade show” at the GE International Lighting Division campus. The final presentation is meant to resemble the annual trade show the employees attend each year to present new products. GE employees across the Division attend the trade show and walk among the tables that each student team has set up to “sell” their products.

At MC2 STEM High School, ninth graders assume the role of a NASA engineer. In the morning the students participate in a workshop with NASA engineers on geometric shapes for self-supporting structures that they have been learning about in their engineering class. In the afternoon students go to the Center’s testing labs, where they bring the model bridges they have been building in their engineering class to the testing lab where NASA engineers test their structural integrity. The NASA engineers video record the structural testing, just as they do in their own work in the lab. Following the test, each student group sits down with one of the engineers to watch the video and examine the stability of their model bridge. Phil Bucur, the engineering teacher, says, “As the students review the video, they actually see how the engineering concepts of stress, strength, and structural multipliers relate to load bearing design, and the engineers talk with them about how they use math and physics concepts in their everyday work.”

At King Middle School, the expedition, “The Four Freedoms,” provides eighth grade students with opportunities to connect historical events to contemporary issues. Through a variety of court cases, newspaper and magazine articles, videos, debates and guest lecturers, students trace how the ideas of key freedoms— Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear— have evolved. Students examine Norman Rockwell’s famous paintings of the four freedoms printed in the Saturday Evening Post in 1943 to understand how the freedoms were understood in 1940s America. Teachers then provide opportunities for students to connect historical events to contemporary issues by having students read more recent court cases related to freedom of speech. Through various learning activities, students compare and contrast the past and present.

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Students Demonstrate Their Mastery of Knowledge and Skills

At Deeper Learning schools teachers include multiple performance assessments throughout their curricular units (or learning experiences) as a way for students to demonstrate their learning on a continuous basis. Teachers also build in opportunities for students to publicly demonstrate their knowledge and skills as a culminating assessment to provide students meaning and accountability for the quality of their work.

At King Middle School, every curricular unit ends with a culminating product. For the Four Freedoms expe-dition, students create a Freedom Collage as an artistic representation of how they view the nature of one of the four freedoms in the United States today. Students further demonstrate what they have learned by writing an “artist’s statement,” a five-paragraph essay where they reflect on both Norman Rockwell’s paintings and their collage. Each student’s collage and essay are displayed as a set at the Portland Public Library and the community is invited to view the students’ artwork. As a culminating event for King’s “Creating Currents,” a Green Expo is held in the school’s cafeto-rium, open to the public, where students can demonstrate what they learned about generating electricity, the scientific method, and the engineering design process. Students display their model wind turbines, lab reports, energy audits and public land reuse proposal at booths alongside local environmental groups and vendors. The highlight of the event is when the student teams participate in the “Voltage Wars” to determine whose wind turbine generates the most electricity.

At Impact Academy, students demonstrate their learning to their families and community members three times a year at an exhibition. At the Fall Exhibition, seniors demonstrate their science problem-solving abilities by present-ing research they conducted on their families’ ecological footprint and discuss how they gathered their data and the methods they used to analyze results. Freshmen present the gravity cars they built and explain the physics principles underlying the choices they made in their designs. Some of the 10th grade students assumed the roles of prosecutor, defense attorney, defendant or witnesses to demonstrate their analytical abilities by prosecuting Napoleon, the leader in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, in a mock trial. Other 10th graders presented an art piece they created along with their artist statement that described the choices they made in their piece to express their sense of identity. The ninth grad-ers demonstrated their understanding of a novel they read in their English class by conducting a Socratic Seminar in which they discussed the plot and analyzed the choices made by the characters.

At Casco Bay, teachers design culminating experiences at the conclusion of a curriculum unit. At the end of the major 10th grade curricular unit, “Appalachia Unplugged,” juniors present a multi-media documentary of the oral history research they conducted in West Virginia as part of a partnership with a local Habitat for Humanity chapter. The presentation of the documentary is a major event held at the Salt Institute, a local nonprofit that is another school partner. The event is well advertised as part of the students’ project and up to two hundred people attend—

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parents and students mainly, but local volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and Portland residents as well. The evening starts off with a welcome from a student and a musical performance of bluegrass by students and a staff member from a local nonprofit who taught the students about the music of the region they were studying. The evening culmi-nates with the showing of the multimedia documentary followed by questions from the audience about the students’ experience and how they put together the documentary. The following week the students repeat the performance via Skype for the people who were interviewed by the students as well as for other community members and Habitat volunteers who gather at The Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Center in West Virginia for the showing.

At Rochester High School teachers incorporate opportunities for students to publicly demonstrate their work. After Amy Blackburn’s biomedical science students completed their project to design a more efficient emergency room for their local hospital, they presented their recommendations to actual hospital Emergency Room (ER) personnel and administrators. One student group recommended that when the patients arrive at the ER they immediately be assessed by a nurse and directed to one of the two different waiting rooms— one room for those patients who needed immediate care due to their type of illness or injury and another room for those patients who had basic medical needs. Another group of students recommended the hospital implement a more sophisticated patient tracking system as a way to ensure that the medical staffs from various departments within a hospital are able to treat the patient in a coordinated and timely manner. The students explained that better patient tracking would prevent situations such as a medical technician’s coming to a patient’s room to draw blood and finding that the patient had been sent to another department for tests. A third group of students recommended that the hospital ER move to a reservation system as a way to deal with less urgent health issues. The students used the example of a patient with strep throat: “If you have strep throat and you know you will need to come to the hospital anyway, you can just call ahead of time to set up a convenient time versus if you are in an auto accident and just have to get to the hospital right away.” The hospital staff had an opportunity to ask each group detailed questions about the students’ ideas and they considered implementing some of the students’ recommendations.

Teachers Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

1. In the far left-hand column of the self-assessment rubric, review each principle of the core component on teachers design meaningful learning experiences for students.

2. Review the differences between the various levels of implementation (Level 1, 2, 3, or 4) for each principle related to teachers design meaningful learning experiences for students.

3. After understanding the ratings, determine the extent to which your school currently has implemented the principle.

4. Write down the numeric rating as to the extent to which your school currently has implemented the principle.



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There is no value, policy, expectation or support for teachers to design curriculum or learning experiences that are unified around central concepts and ideas as a way to help students acquire understanding of content knowledge.

There is an informal expectation for teachers to design learning experiences that are unified around central concepts and ideas as a way to help students acquire understanding of content knowledge. A few teachers by grade level or department use themes and guiding or essential questions in their class but rarely to integrate subjects across grade levels.

All teachers are expected to design learning experiences that are unified around central concepts and ideas as a way to help students acquire understanding of content knowledge. Teachers, including most of those who teach extracurricular courses, are supported in designing these types of learning experiences. Some teachers may use this to integrate their subjects across a grade level.

All teachers are expected to design learning experiences that are unified around central concepts and ideas as a way to help students acquire understanding of content knowledge. Teachers, including those who teach extracurricular courses, are supported in designing these types of learning experiences. For instance, grade levels may have themes or essential questions to integrate subjects across grade levels.


Learning is unified and coherent

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There is no value, policy, expectation or support for teachers to design learning experiences that are aligned to key Deeper Learning outcomes such as problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Teachers are expected to only align learning experiences to subject-specific content standards.

There are some written guidelines and support for teachers to design learning experiences that are aligned subject specific content standards and key Deeper Learning outcomes such as problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, self-direction, academic mindset, and communi-cation. Some teachers do this on their own initiative or based on their previous experience and training.

There are guidelines and support for teachers to design learning experi-ences that are aligned with subject -specific content standards and key Deeper Learning outcomes. This includes clearly written guidance on backward- mapping methods, including planning on how to assess student progress in reaching desired outcomes. Most teachers utilize these methods.

All teachers are expected to design learning experiences that are aligned to subject-specific content standards and key Deeper Learning outcomes, with an explicit and consistently used methodology to backward-map learning and project activities to desired outcomes.


Learning is aligned to standards and Deeper Learning outcomes

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There is no value, policy, expectation, or support for teachers to design learning experiences that include frequent opportunities for students to have real-life experiences.

There are some expectations and written guidelines for teachers to design learning experiences that include frequent opportunities for students to have real-life experiences. Some teachers design lessons that provide students with at least one of the following: connect historical events to contemporary events; solve real problems through the use of integrated course work; provide opportunities for students to interact with professionals and experts in various fields; or opportu-nities for students to assume the role of a professional in their research or when developing a product.

There are clear schoolwide values, priorities, guidelines for teachers to design learn-ing experiences that include frequent opportunities for students to have real-life experiences. Most teach-ers design lessons that go beyond connecting historical events to contemporary events, including having students interact with “real” professionals and experts in various fields or having students assume the role of a professional in their research or when developing a product.

There are clear schoolwide values, priorities, guidelines and support for teachers to design learning experiences to include frequent oppor-tunities for students to have real-life experiences. All teachers design lessons with multiple opportunities that include connecting historical events to contemporary events; having students inter-act with “real” professionals and experts in various fields, or having students assume the role of a professional in their research or when developing a product. Most often teachers integrate course work in designing these experiences.


Learning is related to real life

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There is no value, policy, expectation, or support for teachers to include multiple performance assessments throughout their curricular units as a way for students to demonstrate their learning on a continuous basis.

There are some written guidelines for teachers to include multiple performance assessments throughout their curricular units as a way for students to demon-strate their learning on a continuous basis.

There is a clear schoolwide value and priority for teachers to include multiple performance assessments throughout their curricular units as a way for students to demonstrate their learning on a continuous basis. Many teachers also build in opportunities for students to publicly demonstrate their knowl-edge and skills as a culmi-nating assessment. Some teachers participate in the events and parents attend.

There is a clear schoolwide value, priority, and support for teachers to include multiple performance assessments throughout their curricular units as a way for students to demonstrate their learning on a continuous basis. All or most teachers also build in opportunities for students to publicly demon-strate their knowledge and skills as a culminating assessment. There are a wide variety of public displays and demonstrations of student work occurring all year long in all subject areas, including displays and presentations of work from group interdisciplinary projects. All teachers and a significant number of parents and community partners attend the event.


Students demonstrate their mastery of knowledge and skills

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Students Master and Apply Core KnowledgeIn Deeper Learning schools, students are expected to master core content. Students have multiple opportunities to understand knowledge, theories and techniques by applying them to new tasks and situations.

Part I: Definition According to the theory of action, when teachers design or adapt learning experiences that are meaningful (Component 3), then students are regularly engaged in acquiring and applying knowledge and skills through the deliberate practice of DL outcomes (Component 4). As a reminder, Deeper Learning outcomes include the mastery of core content; critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration; communication; and developing self-direction and an academic mindset.

Deliberate Practice

of Deeper Learning Skills

Part II: Examples

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At MC2 STEM High School, the ninth grade math teacher, Kathy Staveteig, helps students apply math concepts to the design and engineering process. She teaches her freshmen geometric measures, shapes, and designs by having them design fractals known as Koch snowflakes. The students use Corel Draw, a software program they previously learned in their math class. When students complete their designs, they cross the hall to the MIT Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) where they link the design they created through Corel Draw to the production equipment, to build their lighted Koch snowflakes. Students download the design they developed in class, use the Epilog Laser to cut snowflakes out of Masonite, refine their snowflake by using a high resolution table-top milling machine and test their LED lighting system. Once completed, the students’ lighted snowflakes are exhibited at an annual holiday display in Cleveland, Ohio.

At King Middle School, sixth grade students apply what they have learned about politics and the electoral process by staging a mock election at their school. In preparation for the event, students divide up all of the classrooms by state to represent each state’s electoral votes, stage a voter registration drive at the school, and post campaign posters for national and state candidates and issues across the school. After the mock election, students apply their math skills by examining the election results, comparing their results to the national and state returns, and preparing a series of graphs that showcase the comparisons.

At Casco Bay High School, juniors develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills through multiple integrated courses. The curriculum is purposefully designed for juniors to be able to synthesize and transfer what they learn in chemistry and humanities to formulating a policy recommendation on alternative energy. In chemistry class, students are introduced to the basic science underlying climate change, including the composition of fossil fuels and their interaction in the atmosphere. At the same time, they study the Industrial Revolution in humanities class. This gives them an understanding of the origins of the modern dependence on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy. All of this knowledge serves as the foundation for students to use in a policy proposal that makes recommendations for alternative energy use in their state.

At Science Leadership Academy, 11th graders in American history apply their knowledge of the political process to a citizen lobbying project. After developing their understanding of the legislative process, students are tasked with identifying an issue of concern to them in Philadelphia, such as housing, poverty, or services for young people. Once the students choose their issue, they identify stakeholders, review policy positions and identify any recent or pending legislation to explore the role of advocacy groups in lobbying political leaders, such as City Council. To share their views on what they are learning about their issue, students engage in class discussions, online class discussion forums, and blogging. After their initial research and discussions, students attend sessions of the Philadelphia City Council to observe how legislation is introduced and hear the pertinent deliberations on their issue. The project concludes with students making individual in-class presentations on what they learned and putting all their documentation on-line for others to access who are concerned with their issue.

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Students Think Critically and Solve Complex Problems

In Deeper Learning schools students have regular and sustained opportunities to conduct research and analyze and synthesize historical and contemporary information. Students practice finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing diverse sources of information and evidence to formulate accurate hypotheses, well-reasoned arguments and coherent explanations.

At High Tech High, Dan Wise, the former history teacher for Modern World History, uses debates in his class with tenth graders as a way to develop his students’ critical thinking. Research is the primary activity to ensure students analyze and synthesize information. Students first conduct extensive background research and write a two-page “historical brief” on one of six historical topics that Dan identified as central to the course. Dan structures the students’ efforts by directing them to take notes and to put anything interesting they find into one of three columns: pro, con, or facts. After they complete the summary of their research, Dan has the students analyze and synthesize information by developing an outline for each side of the debate that will become a persuasive essay as well as their argument for the debate. Dan provides a template where students can make notes about their questions and lines of argument. For students who have trouble coming up with outline ideas, Dan asks them to argue with him as a way to isolate the “big ideas” for different parts of an outline. Dan continuously assesses how students are progressing by scheduling check-ins with the whole class. He also provides multiple opportunities for students to integrate their analyses and practice their arguments. For instance, Dan has students pair up to explain their topic without using their notes. Finally, Dan builds in class time for mock debates as the final act in preparing for the thirty-five minute debate.

At Science Leadership Academy, students in Joshua Block’s 11th grade history class participate in a mock trial of Cortez to develop critical thinking skills as part of a unit on the Age of Discovery. For the mock trials, students have to prosecute or defend a group that could be considered primarily responsible for the conquest of the Aztec Empire— Cortes, King Charles V, the Aztecs, or the System of Empire itself. In preparation for the mock trial, students have to interpret key events of Cortez’s journeys and conquests from the points of view of both the Aztecs and the Spanish. Each member of the student group is responsible for finding at least five specific pieces of evidence that can be used by both the prosecution and the defense in the trial, including relevant quotes, maps, historical analyses, and pictures of artifacts. Students develop analytical and synthesis skills as they examine the evidence. Websites enable them to view primary sources, such as translations of Cortez’s own journals and copies of letters that were written to him. These sites also provide access to secondary sources, such as scholarly articles, papers, and book reviews, to build an understanding of the world of the explorers. With the students having easy access to a rich store of material on the period, the teacher is free to help them make sense of Cortez’s journals and correspondence, consider what that material reveals about the historical period, and evaluate the reliability and usefulness of the secondary sources. In preparing for the mock trial, students develop a solid base of research as they select, evaluate and make use of relevant information from a variety of sources.

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At Casco Bay High School, students use what they learn in their courses to solve local problems. As part of the ninth grade curricular unit on ecology, economy, and equity, students are tasked with identifying and solving a problem in the city of Portland or the immediate school community that has implications for environmental sustainability, using what they learn in their science and humanities courses. Students conduct research, interpret data, and identify the most valuable and credible sources for understanding the issue they are investigating. In the next phase of the project, students develop a recommendation for change to help make the community more sustainable. One student developed a project on what she termed “the overconsumption of clothes” that resulted in a proposal to encourage everyone in the community, beginning with her fellow CBHS students, to think about exchanging clothing they no longer want instead of buying new clothes. Another student conducted a research project on the lack of public transportation in Portland, based on the difficulties he experienced in getting to school. The student’s research led to a proposal for ridesharing to increase school transportation options for students.

At Rochester High School, teachers use mock trials to help students become critical thinkers. When the students learn about the theory of evolution in Leah Hinderlider’s science class, they have to conduct research on both Darwin and Lamarck’s theories of evolution, to identify evidence to support arguments about which theory they prefer. Leah wants students to practice their research skills by reviewing primary documents but to use the research to weigh evidence and identify relevant points in preparation for the mock trial. In the past, when Leah taught about global warming, she had the class conduct another mock trial where Al Gore prosecuted George W. Bush for policies that harm the climate. Students prepared for the mock trial by working in groups to conduct their research and to discuss the scientific evidence on global warming and the theory that global warming is part of an historical climate cycle that will correct itself.

Students Work CollaborativelyIn Deeper Learning schools students have frequent opportunities for group work and collaboration with their peers, teachers, and experts. This requires teachers carefully scaffold the skills needed for students to collaborate productively. As students learn to collaborate they develop the ability to organize people, knowledge, and resources toward a goal; provide and receive feedback, and understand and incorporate multiple points of view.

At King Middle School, teachers carefully scaffold the skills needed for collaboration. Most teachers introduce group work as a small part of a classroom activity. For instance, eighth graders in York House first learn how to be “critical friends.” They sit in small groups to discuss a chapter they read the night before, giving students the opportunity to practice sharing their opinions, listening to one another, and learning the basic norms of academic discourse. In another class, the team’s math teacher, Ann Young, has students work in groups to learn the concept behind a math formula. Ann writes a formula on the white board that is intentionally perplexing and incorrect. The students then have to work together in groups to explain why the formula is not true. Ann says, “I do this to help the students understand the value of drawing upon each other’s knowledge and perspective to solve problems that individual students struggle to solve.”

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Students Communicate EffectivelyIn Deeper Learning schools students learn to convey meaning, express important concepts, present data and conclusions in writing and orally to an audience, and listen attentively. To learn these skills, students are constantly communicating through a large number of writing and speaking assignments. These assignments call on students to practice multiple forms of writing, including essays, journal reflections, technical reports, poems, and short stories. Students also make oral presentations to peers, the entire school community, or audiences outside of the school, which may involve a producing a video, documentary or podcast, designing an infographic, or developing a presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi.

At Science Leadership Academy, students practice collaborating productively through structured opportu-nities to use peer feedback in groups. In Larissa Pahomov’s 12th grade English class, students work in groups of four to offer feedback to one another on a paper they have written. Each student in the group reads her paper aloud to the group and the other students listen carefully and then give specific comments and suggestions. In another of Larissa’s classes, students use Wiki Spaces to create a poetry portfolio, drawing upon students’ desire for social networking to promote peer collaboration and feedback. After each student completes her own poem, she reads another student’s work and provides a critique on Wiki Space. The peer feedback guides the writers through multiple revisions of their poems. At the same time, the writer’s response helps her partner learn to offer more useful critiques.

At Rochester High, students successfully work in teams because the teachers carefully plan and support group work. The teachers begin by assigning students to specific groups, ensuring that each group contains students of differing levels of ability and self-direction. The teachers also develop a process so that there is a division of tasks within the groups, with each student choosing a specific responsibility and signing a group contract. Housed in Echo-Rochester’s learning management system; the contract identifies each student, her contact information, her assigned role, and her self-identified strengths and areas of growth. It also lists the project’s goals and tasks that must be completed as a team as well as the team agreement, such as: “each team member must complete homework as assigned.”

At Casco Bay High School, juniors engage in an intensive collaboration to complete a multimedia product that is the culminating product of an extended off-site project in West Virginia called Junior Journey. Before traveling to West Virginia to conduct oral history interviews for the multimedia documentary, students are assigned to groups and are given specific roles within the group— interviewer, recorder, observer, photographer, and team organizer. Students have multiple opportunities to develop and integrate the skills they need to conduct their interviews, take photographs, and turn all their work into a coherent documentary through guided practice. Once the students return home, as a group, they must review the transcripts and examine the observer’s notes and photographs to integrate all the work of each student group into one coherent multimedia piece.

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At MC2 STEM High School the integrated “Capstone” projects provide students with opportunities to practice communication skills. The first 10th grade Capstone at MC2 is “the Age of Enlightenment.” The objective of this integrat-ed curricular unit is for students to understand the basic ideas of the Enlightenment and trace the continuing impact of Enlightenment ideas up to the present. In English class, students have to incorporate enlightenment themes and ideas into a multi-genre creative writing portfolio. During the project, students learn about and practice different forms of writing, including monologues, one-act plays, free verse and formal poetry, and short stories. At the end of the Capstone, students write about and present an experience of being “enlightened.” In the Science and Engineering classes, students use a light box they designed and built using lumen and lux levels of different environments and lighting to represent the diffusion of light and the creation of shadows and distortions. Students have to give an oral presentation on the design of their box. The Capstone has multiple opportunities built in for students to write and present their work. Students write poems and short plays in English; use software to write an original piece of music in math; and present on how they designed and built a circuit board in physics and a speaker in engineering class capable of transmitting sound. The speakers the students build are displayed at a culminating event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located next to their Science Center.

King Middle School, eighth grade students learn about energy consumption and alternative energy while they simultaneously develop their writing skills in English and Social Studies. In English class the teacher leads the students in a number of writing exercises to prepare them to describe the results of the home audit they conducted in science class. In social studies, students write a land use proposal in the form of a five-paragraph persuasive essay. For the land use proposal, students have to choose an appropriate location for a wind turbine based on the attributes they have stud-ied in science class, including wind category, elevation, obstructions, turbulence, and access to an electrical grid. The proposal has to include the both the benefits and drawbacks of wind power. This cost-benefit analysis must integrate both the science and engineering of power generation as well as how to respond to community concerns about the siting of large wind farms. At the conclusion of this curricular unit, students have to explain their land use proposal as well as the wind turbine they built.

At High Tech High, history teacher Dan Wise has students submit multiple drafts of their work to one another as a way to help them refine their writing skills. For the family history project, each student is required to conduct an extensive oral history research project detailing their family’s immigration to the United States. The students then have to turn their research into a short story that will be included in a book on the immigration experience. Instead of the teacher reading multiple drafts of each student’s stories, Dan has students review and edit each other’s work. Peer editing reinforces the importance of the writing and improves every student’s work. Dan found that by using the peer editing process the year before, the student groups had so improved each other’s work that he was able to include every student’s story in the published book. At exhibition night, students present their own stories.

At Science Leadership Academy, students have an opportunity to work on their written and oral communi-cation skills outside of the traditional classroom setting through the mini-courses offered at The Franklin Institute (TFI), the school’s partner institution. For instance, as part of a mini-course, and in preparation for a major symposium on sustainability that was held at TFI, the coordinator of the symposium had students conduct a recycling audit of TFI. The students were provided with technical advice by staff at TFI and a local waste management company. After completing the audit, the symposium coordinator and Luke Van Meter, SLA’s partnership coordinator, helped the students interpret their findings, consider the recommendations they would make, and the best way to present and convey their ideas at the TFI Sustainability Symposium before public officials, business and community leaders and then with the TFI operations and the senior management teams.

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Students Develop the Capacity for Self-Direction and an Academic Mindset

In Deeper Learning schools teachers emphasize the importance of students becoming self-directed and developing an academic mindset. For students to develop the capacity to direct their own learning they must have multiple opportunities to reflect on their work and the choices they make during the learning process. Reflection promotes what educational psychologists call metacognition, i.e., the ability to reflect on the choices one has made and the strategies one has chosen in the learning process. To help students develop an academic mindset, they need frequent opportunities to identify their interests, understand the standards of high-quality work, and see themselves as capable of doing quality work. Through these experiences students come to internalize a clear model that underlies their ability to be self-directed learners and to develop a strong academic mindset.

At Science Leadership Academy, teachers use the bi-annual Report Card Conference as a way for students to take responsibility for their own learning and to signal this growing self-direction to their parents. Unlike the traditional teacher-parent conference, this conference is led by the student, not the teacher. In preparation for the conference, the student and teachers go through the student’s work from each subject and decide which of the sample papers, assignments, or tests best reflect the student’s strengths and weaknesses. These documents are presented at the conference. Teachers like Pia Martin use questions to help students prepare for the conference: The first set focuses on their success— “What do I do well? How will I build on this?” The second set of questions focuses on their challenges—“What have I not done well?” “How can I improve this?” Teachers work with the students on how they will display and explain what they have learned, as they want to help each student “find their voice and learn to speak for themselves, knowing that this is a process that takes a great deal of time and effort.”

At Avalon Charter School, the independent project proposal process is designed to help students develop their responsibility for learning. When students propose a project, they must first identify the academic standards toward graduation they will meet. Then they must make, and later explain and justify, a series of decisions about the approach they will take to meeting the standards, the materials they will use, and how they will demonstrate they have met the standards. For instance, when a student did a project on the history of the Great Depression, he used his artistic talents to create an installation for display in the school. As part of his research, the student reviewed hundreds of pictures from the Great Depression. In the end, the student selected a series of fifteen photographs that captured key events of the period to demonstrate what he had learned from his research. The series included photographs illustrating the impact of the WPA on the Twin Cities, such as a photograph of a mural depicting farming painted by a WPA artist on a wall in a St. Paul post office. The student wrote a series of descriptions of the photographs included in the exhibit. The students also served as a docent for the exhibit to explain his work to students and parents who visited the school.

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At King Middle School, teachers have the students write in journals as a way to reflect on their learning. Gus Goodwin, the technology education teacher, uses electronic journals to help students “make their thinking visible” so they understand their own learning process. This also helps the teacher support the student with their learning. When the eighth grade students designed and built wind turbines, Gus set up a series of prompts for the students to reflect on the design process as part of their reflective electronic journal. The prompts included: “After you test the perfor-mance of your wind turbine, describe something that you observed during the wind test. What did you do to revise your design based on your observation? What experiments did you conduct to test your revision? What did you learn?” The students are directed to answer by writing specific and detailed entries. On another occasion, Gus had students write in their journal about a time when they experienced failure and how that failure helped them improve in response to a quote he gave them as a prompt: “Success is success but that is all that it is. It is failure that brings improvement.”

Casco Bay High School freshmen make a presentation at the end of their first year to their advisory “Crew” as part of “Freshmen Finales”. To help the freshmen prepare for the oral presentation to their peers, the humanities teachers have the students write their responses to three questions: “Who am I?”, “How am I doing?”, “What are my plans for the future?” For the first question, students write about a passion they have. To address the question, “How am I doing?”, the students write an overview of the work they have done over the year, noting where they excelled and where they were challenged. Finally, the students have to write about what they see themselves doing after high school. For sophomores, the year-end culminating event that emphasizes the importance of reflection and self-assessment is called “Sophomore Passage.” Like Freshmen Finales, the reflective process is facilitated through the humanities class. The students’ Crew serves as the audience for the presentation. Again, the students review their work, reflect on what they have learned, and talk about where they are headed by responding to three guiding questions that are similar to their freshmen year: “Who am I?”, “What do I do to enhance the school community?”, “Who do I want to be like as an adult?”

Impact Academy uses two key transition points in high school to have students reflect on their learning and prepare for their future. At Impact Academy, promotion to the Upper Division requires that each 10th grade student complete a Benchmark Portfolio to demonstrate they are ready for the 11th grade. To graduate, each 12th grade student has to complete a College Portfolio to demonstrate they ready to go on to college. Both portfolio processes require that students select and offer an extended reflection on representative pieces of their work. This includes discussing what the student has learned and the skills gained and how each example of work is linked to a leadership skill. Seniors also have to explain their educational philosophy and provide evidence. Students review their Portfolio before a faculty committee where they orally defend their work and respond to questions from committee members, providing examples or evidence to support their statements

At Rochester High School, teachers use several approaches to help students develop an academic mindset and take responsibility for their own learning. Teachers Ryan Helt and Valerie Hoover have designed a formal process they use in their Digital Media class to help students develop both their short-term and long-term goals. At the beginning of every school year, students have to identify and record their individual goals. Every quarter, the students revisit their goals and rewrite them based on their progress. A junior felt like this process of goal setting changes the role of teacher to that of coach: “Just like in sports where we have coaches and good relationships with coaches, our teachers are looked at as coaches as well. They give us direction, tell us what they want from us, but don’t tell us how to get there every inch.”

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1. In the far left-hand column of the self-assessment rubric, review each principle of the core componenton teachers design meaningful learning experiences for students.

2. Review the differences between the various levels of implementation (Level 1, 2, 3, or 4) for eachprinciple related to teachers design meaningful learning experiences for students.

3. After understanding the ratings, determine the extent to which your school currently hasimplemented the principle.

4. Write down the numeric rating as to the extent to which your school currently has implementedthe principle.


CONDUCTING A SELF-ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENT 4

D I R E C T I O N S :





Students are expected to learn subject-based core knowledge. However, there is no specific aspiration, opportunity or support for students to be able to extend and apply core knowledge from subject areas to new tasks and situations.

There is an explicit learning goal for students to be able to understand, extend, and apply core knowledge from subject areas to new tasks and situations. There is some support and opportunities for students to be able to extend and apply core knowledge from subject areas to new tasks and situations.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunities and support for students to be able to understand, extend, and apply core knowledge from subject areas to new tasks and situations. Students have multiple opportunities to deliberately extend core knowledge from subject areas to new tasks and situations and apply facts, techniques, and theories.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunities and support for students to be able to understand, extend, and apply core knowledge from subject areas to new tasks and situations. Students have consistent opportunities to deliberately extend core knowledge from subject areas, to new tasks and situations and apply facts, techniques, and theories

Deliberate Practice of Deeper Learning Outcomes

Students master and apply core knowledge

E VI D E N CE

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There is no specific aspiration, opportunity or support for students to deliberately develop and exercise critical thinking and complex problem solving.

There is an explicit learning goal for students to think critically and solve complex problems. Some students are exposed to learning activities directed at developing these skills in a few subject areas.

There is an explicit learn-ing goal for students to think critically and solve complex problems. There are multiple opportunities for students to deliberately use critical thinking and problem solving skills in most subject areas. Most students are engaged in conducting research, analyzing and synthesizing historical and contempo-rary information, and using evidence to formulate accurate hypotheses, well-reasoned arguments and coherent explanations.

There is an explicit learning goal for students to think critically and solve complex problems. There are multiple and consistent opportunity for students to deliberately use critical thinking and problem solving skills across all subject areas. Students are engaged in conducting research, analyzing and synthesizing historical and contemporary information, using evidence to formulate accurate hypotheses, and well-reasoned arguments and coherent explanations.


Students think critically and solve problems

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There is no specific aspiration, opportunity or support for students for students to develop and practice collaboration skills.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support to practice collaboration skills. Students have the opportunity to work collaboratively in some subject areas or minimally as part of many of their classes.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to practice collaboration skills. Most students have the opportunity to work collaboratively in many of their subject areas, including opportunities to work in groups to produce work or to provide feedback to one another in their classes.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to practice collaboration skills. All students have the opportunity to work collaboratively in many of their subject areas, including opportunities to work in groups to produce work where they have to organize people, knowledge and resources toward a goal, provide and receive feedback to one another, and understand and incorporate multiple points of view.


Students work collaboratively

E VI D E N CE

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There is some aspiration and limited opportunity or support for students to develop and practice their communication skills, primar-ily through written work as a result of state standards.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and sup-port for students to practice effective communication skills in some subject areas through written work and oral presentations.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to practice communication skills. Most teachers provide multiple and diverse activities for students to convey meaning, express important concepts, and present data and conclu-sions in writing and orally to an audience.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to practice communication skills. All teachers provide multiple and diverse activities for students to convey meaning, express important concepts, and present data and conclusions in writing and to an audience. Students practice communicating through writing and speaking assignments that call on students to practice writing in a variety of forms, including essays, journal reflections, technical reports, poems, short stories, and multiple forms of oral presentations to peers, the entire school community, or the public.


Students communicateeffectively

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There is no specific aspiration, opportunity or support for students to develop as self-directed learners with an academic mindset.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to devel-op as self-directed learners with an academic mindset. On occasion, or episodically, students have some oppor-tunities to reflect on their work in some subject areas and identify their interests.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to develop as self-directed learners with an academic mindset. Most students have consistent opportunities to identify their interests, assess the quality of their work, understand how they learn, and engage in efforts to reflect on their work, strengths and challenges.

There is an explicit learning goal, opportunity and support for students to develop as self-directed learners with an academic mindset. All students have consistent opportunities to identify their interests, assess the quality of their work,understand how they learn, and engage in efforts to reflect on their work, strengths and challenges in a substantive way across subject areas. There are multiple structures or rituals through curriculum, advisories, and other learning activities directed at developing these skills in all subject areas.


Students develop the capacity for self-direction and an academic mindset

E VI D E N CE

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Now that you understand each of the four components of the theory of action, the next step will help you identify the strengths and challenges your school currently has across the four core components before you begin planning for Deeper Learning.

REFLECTING ON THE SELF-ASSESSMENT RATINGS

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Using your self-assessments from each of the four components, the group should answer the following questions and record them in the table on the following page and/or on a flip chart.

1. What are the top three to five strengths of our school across all of the conditions for Deeper Learning?

2. What are the top three to five challenges for our school across all of the conditions for Deeper Learning?

3. What do you think has to improve to address the four conditions for Deeper Learning?

Note: If there is any difficulty coming to consensus on the strengths and weaknesses, have the team vote using dots or stars.

IDENTIFYING YOUR SCHOOL’S STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES

STEP 3: Understand Your Self-Assessment for DLNow that you have assessed what your school currently has in place to address each condition of the theory of action for Deeper Learning, you are ready to identify the strengths and challenges your school has across all of the components of the theory of action.


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Now that you understand each of the four conditions for DL as part of the theory of action, and have identified the strengths and challenges your school currently has across all of the four conditions, you can begin creating your plan to transform your school for Deeper Learning in Phase Three.

CONCLUSION:

DELIBERATE PRACTICE OF DL OUTCOMES

STRONG SCHOOL CULTURE

PROFESSIONAL AND COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY

TEACHERS AS LEARNING DESIGNERS

FOR DEEPER LE ARNING

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OVERVIEW

As part of Phases 1 and 2 you established your vision and identified the strengths and challenges your school has across each of the four components of the Deeper Learning Theory of Action. For Phase 3 you will develop a set of Strategic Action Plans that address these strengths and weaknesses as part of your planning process.

Planning for Deeper Learning

• Identify potential implementation strategies based on the self-assessment you conducted in Phase 2.

• Prioritize strategies for your school to lay the foundation for the transition to Deeper Learning.

• Develop Strategic Action Plans for each priority your school will implement to address the core components of the theory of action.

• Put your vision statement, self-assessment, and all of your Strategic Action Plans together as a basis of your plan for Deeper Learning.

The Steps for Phase Three are:

STEP 1: Identifying Potential Strategies for DLThis section provides you with a process and a set of tools for you to begin creating a strategic plan that will help you and your school establish the four components based on the strengths and challenges you identified in the self-assessments you conducted in Phase 2.

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IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL STRATEGIES


This activity is designed for you to begin to identify potential strategies to address each of the components of the theory of action for Deeper Learning. Use the table below:

1. In Column A, identify and record any structures, activities, or practices you already have in place that, if done better or more intensively, would address your challenges or weakness for each of the four components.

2. In Column B, record the challenges or areas of improvement based on the self-assessment your team conducted during Phase 2.

3. In Column C, identify and record new structures, activities, or practices you need to implement to address your challenges or weaknesses for each of the four components. The examples you reviewed during Phase 2 can serve as a source of ideas.

4. In Column D, identify and record any existing structures, activities, or practices that your school currently has in place which should be discontinued because they do not address your challenges or weaknesses for each of the four components or even contradict your vision for DL.



FOR DEEPER LEARNING

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This is an example of an area of challenge a DL Design Team identified as well as the strategies they identified to address the area of challenge.

One school identified school culture as a weakness, recognizing that there was a lack of trust, respect, and collective

responsibility. While students and parents felt the teachers were very caring, teachers did not feel the students

sufficiently respected one another or the teachers. In fact, there were a high level of discipline-related issues that

resulted in a large number of in-school suspensions. After reviewing the self-assessment, the team identified

the need to restructure two current programs, add a new one, and discontinue a specific practice. The team felt that

the existing orientation program could be restructured to be less about the school rules and policies and more of

an opportunity to acculturate students to the social and academic expectations of the school. The team wanted

the revised orientation program to instill norms of trust and respect among students and teachers that could be

strengthened through advisories. The team then examined ways to increase the time allotted for advisories as well

as ways to use advisories to promote team building and increase the personalized attention given to students.

After further discussion, the design team also recognized that they could expand the mentorship program they

had recently launched. The team decided that establishing a mentorship program would provide more peer-to-peer

support. This would instill a greater sense of responsibility for one another among the students. While the team

could not identify an activity that needed to be discontinued, they did recommend that the disciplinary policy be

reformulated to reflect the greater focus on trust, respect, and responsibility.



HOW A SCHOOL IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL STRATEGIES

| E X AMPLE

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STEP 2: Setting Strategic PrioritiesYou probably have identified more potential strategies than you will be able to implement. If that is the case, this section is designed to help you set your priorities so that you can keep your strategies to a manageable number.

When considering how to prioritize your strategies, you need to consider the following:

1. The sequential order of the Deeper Learning theory of action given the components build upon one another.

2. The strategies that will have the most impact on your school. Focusing on potential impact is a good way to avoid the problem of having too many competing priorities as this can easily derail a change effort.

3. The strategies that will be easy to implement and will have an immediate and visible impact.

4. The strategies that will be longer-term, and perhaps more difficult to implement, but have the potential to have a major impact on student learning.

You will want to prioritize strategies by component first, and then include a mix of both easy and more difficult implementation strategies as the easy ones produce “early wins” and help generate momentum while the more difficult ones improve long-term outcomes. The following exercise takes you through this process. If you know which strategies you need to prioritize, you may want to skip this exercise and move to the next section.

FOR DEEPER LEARNING


FOR DEEPER LEARNING

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SETTING STRATEGIC PRIORITIES D I R E C T I O N S :

Using a 2×2 matrix, you will you identify the potential impact of each potential strategy and the degree of difficulty to implement that strategy that you identified.

1. Label the Matrix for the component the strategies are intended to address.

2. Using the Y-axis of the matrix, mark the potential impact of your strategy on a core component as high or low.

3. Using the X-axis of the matrix, determine the degree of difficulty to implement a strategy and place this on the matrix.

4. Do this for all of the potential strategies you have identified by core component.

*The 2x2 Matrix is adapted from a tool used by the Education Delivery Institute

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ANALYZING THE 2X2 MATRIX


Analyze the 2×2 matrix and answer the following questions about your potential strategies for each core component:

A. What potential strategies have a limited impact and are difficult to implement?

B. What potential strategies have a limited impact and are easy to implement?

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C. What potential strategies have high impact but are difficult to implement?

D. What potential strategies have a high impact and are easy to implement?

E. Based on the above questions, which potential strategies should be your top priorities?

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STEP 3: Creating Strategic Action Plans as the Basis of Your Plan for Deeper LearningNow that you have identified your strategic priorities to address your challenges in establishing the conditions for Deeper Learning (the four components of the theory of action), you can begin to develop Strategic Action Plans to use for implementation. A Strategic Action Plan will enable you to define the purpose of each of your strategies and the theory of action, as well as identify the success measures or outcomes, key milestones, the breadth or reach of the strategy, and a timeline to implement the strategy. A Strategic Action Plan is designed to be explicit and detailed, yet simple enough so that it can be used to direct the work of the school, but also that of the individual who will be responsible for implementing the strategy. Equally as important, it becomes a living document that anyone can refer to who is interested in the strategy.

Below is a chart that lists the most important components that must be addressed in a Strategic Action Plan. After you review this list, you will create a Strategic Action Plan using a template that addresses each of these components.

Strategy Guiding Principle

*The Strategic Action Plan is adapted from a tool used by the Education Delivery Institute. www.deliveryinstitute.org

Compose a clear purpose statement for the strategy— the reason your school will undertake a specific strategy— or, said differently, the problem this strategy is trying to solve.

Identify the intended outcome and what will change when this strategy is successful, including the indicator(s) that will be used to measure success.

Describe why and how you believe that the strategy will help your school achieve the desired outcome Express this in one or more cause and effect or “If… then…” statements.

Identify how many grades and/or students the strategy will reach.

Identify the key activities that must occur for implementation to be on track. Provide the overall timeline for implementation of these activities.

Identify who will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the strategy.

Identify what risks and constraints might throw the work off course and how will they be managed.

Name the strategy.

Provide a concise and simple description of the strategy.

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Strategy Guiding Principle

*The Strategic Action Plan is adapted from a tool used by the Education Delivery Institute. www.deliveryinstitute.org

After you have established the key components of your strategy, you need to consider the implications the strategies will have on the overall resources of the school. They include the following:

Resources Implications

What are the policy or compliance implications at the school or district?

What are the implications for the budget? Consider curriculum, staff, and technology costs. Identify available funding sources if known.

What are the implications for the curriculum?

What are the implications for PD? Consider level of training, days and times, and opportunities for ongoing coaching?

What are the implications for staffing?

What are the implications for scheduling or space?

What are the implications for SPED and ELL students?

What are the implications for technology? Consider bandwidth requirements, hardware, licenses/software, and technical support.

How you will communicate changes to parents and students? What, when, and how will you communicate to them?

What risks and constraints might throw the work off course and how will they will be managed?

If you would like to see how these components are addressed in a Strategic Action Plan, see the example that follows Exercise 4.

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CREATING A STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN D I R E C T I O N S :

Part I: Strategic Action Plan

1. Individually or collectively, complete Part I of the Strategic Action Plan. 2. If you have time, individually or collectively, complete Part II of the Strategic Action Plan.

Strategy Name:

Strategy Lead:

Purpose Statement:

Theory of Action:

SET OF

ACTIVITIES

DATE TO BE COMPLETED

WHO

DATE

COMPLETED

CHALLENGES AND HOW

WILL THEY BE ADDRESSED

DEFINITION OF SUCCESS/ OUTCOMES

S TR ATEGIC AC TION PL AN TEMPL ATE

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Part II: Resource Implications IMPLICATIONS/NEEDS

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant implications for budget. Consider curriculum, staff, and technology costs. Identify available funding sources (if known).

CURRICULUM IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant implications for curriculum.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant school or district policy or compliance implications.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT(PD) IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant implications for PD. Consider level of training, days and times, and opportunities for coaching.

STAFFING IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant implications for PD. Consider level of training.

SCHEDULING/SPACE IMPLICATIONS Enter the implications for scheduling for space.

SPECIAL EDUCATION OR ELL IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant implications for SPED students. Enter relevant implications for ELL students.

TECHNOLOGY IMPLICATIONS Enter relevant implications for technology. Consider bandwidth requirements, hardware, licenses/software, and technical support.

COMMUNICATION TO STAFF, PARENTS/STUDENTS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS Consider how you will communicate changes to staff, parents, students and other key stakeholders. See the Communications Plan from Phase 1.

RISKS Identify the risks and constraints that might throw the work off course.

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Description, Purpose, Desired Outcomes and Theory of Action A school has decided that students will publicly present high-quality work following their completion of a project or curriculum unit to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts and mastery of skills. Examples of the components of a strategic plan for this initiative are embedded throughout the chapter as an example of the planning process.

DESCRIPTION: What is the strategy? All teachers will provide students with the opportunity to have an authentic experience where they present what they have learned to adults outside of the school.

PURPOSE: Why are we undertaking this strategy? What is the problem this strategy is trying to solve? Our teachers want to increase motivation and accountability for high-quality work that demonstrates the students’ understanding of key concepts and mastery of skills by providing students with an authentic experience where they have to use knowledge and core skills to present what they have learned to adults outside of the school.

DESIRED OUTCOME: If the strategy were successful, what would be the outcome? One hundred percent of our students will publicly demonstrate at least one project that two teachers agree demonstrates at least three of six Deeper Learning outcomes (mastery of core academic content, critical thinking, working collaboratively, communicating effectively, learning how to learn and having an academic mindset).

THEORY OF ACTION: Why and how do we believe that the strategy will help us to achieve the desired outcome? Express this in one or more “If… then…” statements. If students are motivated by the chance to publicly present their work, then they will be more likely to engage in the practices of Deeper Learning, such as reflecting on and improving their work.

REACH: How many grades and/or students will the strategy reach? The first year, all grades will demonstrate their work publicly at least one time. The second year, all grades will demonstrate their work publicly at least three times.

S TR ATEGIC AC TION PL AN | E X AMPLE

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Milestones and Timeline A school has decided that students will publicly present high-quality work that demonstrates their understanding of key concepts and mastery of skills following their completion of a project or curriculum. Examples of the components of a strategic plan for this school are included throughout the chapter.

SAMPLE MILESTONES AND TIMELINE:

• On a specific date, all teachers will receive professional development on how to design and scaffold support for students demonstrating their work publicly.

• On a specific date, school staff will identify a set of potential individuals/an/or organizations who can serve as audiences for the public demonstration of student work.

• On a specific date, multiple public presentations of student work are scheduled.

• On a specific date, five classes where teachers have received professional development and support have scheduled a public demonstration of their students’ work.

Strategy Leader A school has decided that students will publicly present high-quality work that demonstrates their understanding of key concepts and mastery of skills following their completion of a project or curriculum. Examples of the components of a strategic plan for this school are included throughout the chapter.

STRATEGY LEADER: Who is accountable for implementing this strategy? Martha Washington is the Strategy Leader of the assembly committee. She coordinates with her committee to structure the assemblies and to schedule students presentations, and she works with the DL Design Team on a rubric teachers will use to assess Deeper Learning outcomes.

Resources What resources will we need? The biggest resource needed for this strategy is professional development. This will require time and identifying expert resources or individuals to help teachers develop quality performance assessments that are authentic and demonstrate student’s understanding of content, critical thinking and problem solving, productive collaboration, self-direction, and an academic mindset.

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COMMUNICATION AND STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT:

Who are the relevant stakeholders? How will you communicate with them and incorporate their feedback? The primary stakeholder groups for this project are teachers, parents, and students.

TEACHERS: The Design Team and the Strategy Leader will use the spring planning period to make sure teachers are familiar with the strategy and incorporate their feedback on the rubric to assess student work. The DL Design Team and the Strategy Leader will continue to communicate and solicit feedback from teachers during staff meetings throughout year one, where it will be a standing agenda item.

PARENTS: The DL Design Team will engage a small group of parents or outside community members to provide feedback on the strategy but to also serve as external participants of the public demonstrations. Throughout the year, information about the program will be distributed through the school newsletter and added to the school website.

STUDENTS: Students will find out about the public presentation of their work over the summer.

Risks Mitigating Strategy

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Risks Mitigating Strategy

A. Vision

Now that you understand Deeper Learning outcomes-mastery of content knowledge, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, communication, an academic mindset and self-direction, list the most important learning outcomes you identified for your graduates during Phase 1 from Exercise 3, questions #2 and #3.

STEP 4: Putting it All Together as Part of a Plan for Deeper Learning

Integrate your responses from previous activities and exercises from Phase 1 to Phase 3 into this template. This will serve as a basis of your DL Plan.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER D I R E C T I O N S :

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List the names and positions of the individuals whom you identified to be on the Deeper Learning Design Team that will help your school plan for and implement the strategies to transform to Deeper Learning from the User’s Guide:

Write your current or revised Vision Statement from Phase 1, the last question in Exercise 4.

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B. Areas for ImprovementThis section integrates the areas for improvement you identified during Phase 2/Step 3/Exercise 5 to address the core components of the theory of action.


1. In the first column, name the component of the theory of action.

2. In Column B, list the biggest challenges or areas of improvement that you identified in Exercise 1 in this phase based on the team’s analysis of the self-assessment in Phase 2.

3. In Column C, using Exercise 3 from this phase, Question E, identify if this area for improvement will be a priority and be addressed.

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C. Summary Strategic Action Plan MatrixThe purpose of this matrix is to provide you with an overview of the strategies you and your team just created in order to understand how each one is connected to another and to help you monitor whether the key milestones for each strategy are being met while addressing the intended outcomes.

1. In the left-hand column, list the name of each of the Strategic Action Plans you wrote for the four components of the theory of action for Deeper Learning.

2. Based on Part 1 of the individual Strategic Action Plans, list the key implementation milestones, the date the milestones will be achieved, and the intended outcomes of each strategy.






FOR DEEPER LEARNING

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3. Using Part II of the Strategic Action Plan, list the key implications by category of each strategic priority.

Strategy Budget Curriculum Policy Prof Dev Staffing Scheduling/ use of Space

Special Populations Technology Communication

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D. Creating your Communication Plan

D I R E C T I O N S : Identify the key messages you want every stakeholder that is involved with your school to know about and the vision and the strategies you intend to use to transform your school for Deeper Learning. Then identify the communication channels you can use with each of the key stakeholders.



FACULTY | EXAMPLE

MESSAGESTAKEHOLDERS KEY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

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CONCLUSION:

E. Immediate Next Steps

D I R E C T I O N S : Based on the Summary Strategic Action Plan Matrix and your Communication Plan, identify the most immediate next steps within the next 30 days to be successful in implementing the four conditions for Deeper Learning.

As discussed in the User’s Guide, planning for implementation is an arduous process. But without it, you cannot achieve transformative change. All too often, we are so eager to dive right into the work that we tend to be too hasty in the roll-out.

“A vision without a plan is just a dream. A plan without a vision is just drudgery.

But a vision with a plan can change the world.”—Old Proverb

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OVERVIEW

For Phase 3 you or your team learned what a strategy is, how to prioritize your strategies, and then integrated them as well as elements from previous phases into a single plan to lay the foundation for Deeper Learning at your school. For Phase 4, you will establish a process to monitor and assess your plan.

Monitoring Your Plan for DL

• Establish a monitoring process for each Strategy Leader so that he or she may assess progress toward relevant strategic action goals.

• Establish a monitoring process for your Deeper Learning Design Team to monitor and assess the progress of the Strategic Action Plans as well as the overall plan for DL.

• Consider how to inform the school community of progress toward implementing Deeper Learning.

There are three fundamental challenges in assessing progress once a plan is completed. The first challenge

is the most common— everyone gets busy and forgets about the Strategic Action Plan and it falls by the wayside.

The second challenge happens when nobody collects the data or information to monitor the progress of the

implementation of any of the Strategic Action Plans. And the third challenge is that there is not a system in place

to monitor the plan. This section helps you institute a system to maintain a focus on implementing your strategies

throughout the school year.

The Steps for Phase Four are:

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STEP 1: Strategy Leaders Assess Their Strategic Action PlanWhen your Strategic Action Plans were created, a Strategy Leader was identified to implement or oversee the implementation. In the monitoring phase, the Strategy Leader is now responsible for determining the progress and quality of implementation of the specific strategy. The Strategy Leader accomplishes this by consistently collecting and reviewing data, or evidence, such as key implementation milestones, having sufficient resources, and achieving the successful outcomes or metrics noted in the Strategic Action Plan. By consistently using data as evidence for a specific Strategic Action Plan, the Strategy Leader can identify any problems with implementation, consider the nature and causes of problems, and seek solutions.

STRATEGY LEADER ASSESSMENT

• Implementation milestones have been met

• The data indicates that the strategy is having an impact

• Any challenges to implementing the strategy

• Where help or support is needed to implement the strategy

• Next steps to more fully implement the strategy


See template on the following page to continue this exercise.

Using the Strategic Action Plans, have each Strategy Leader review data and identify evidence that the plan is progressing by reviewing and identifying the following:

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Strategic Action Plan Progress Monitoring Template Name of Strategy

Name of Strategy Leader

Use the template below as a way for Strategy Leaders to record or track progress and communicate progress to the Deeper Learning Design Team.

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STEP 2: Deeper Learning Design Team

When your school began the planning process, either a current standing committee was repurposed or a new group

was established — the Deeper Learning Design Team — to transform your school. This team is responsible for

monitoring the implementation of the plan. It makes decisions based on the progress and effectiveness of the

strategies and communicates to all stakeholders. The Design Team becomes the driver of the Deeper Learning plan.

Just as each Strategy Leader needs to conduct an individual assessment of the progress of her specific Strategic

Action Plan(s), the Deeper Learning Design Team needs to have a consistent process and specific times to review

and weigh the data and evidence brought forward about the progress of specific Strategic Action Plans by the

assigned leader. The goal of this meeting is twofold – to understand whether your school is on or off track towards

addressing the four components of the theory of action and to collectively problem solve any challenges that are

inhibiting progress and success. The meeting is meant therefore, to support your Strategy Leaders in successfully

implementing the Strategic Action Plan.

There is no one best way to set the schedule for the individual and team assessments. Your guiding principle

is to ensure the meetings are held consistently and when they are, that they are structured, disciplined, and

comprehensive to ensure a consistent view of progress against all of your school’s strategies and an opportunity

to collectively commit to and troubleshoot any problems that may hinder the implementation of the plan.

Assesses Implementation Progress of the Plan

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Have each Strategy Leader present their evidence to the entire Deeper Learning Design Team. Use the template below to establish consensus on the progress of each strategy, including identifying the problems or challenges; how best to address them; and determining the next steps as well as the individual responsible for fulfilling the next steps.

After the Strategy Leaders present their evidence, the Deeper Learning Design Team needs to agree that there is evidence of successful implementation and impact. If the evidence is weak, the DL Design Team needs to identify the problems or challenges with the Strategy Leader and decide how to address them.

DEEPER LEARNING DESIGN TEAM ASSESSMENT


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Questions to Consider When Addressing the Challenges:

1. Should any deadlines for completion be changed? Be careful about making these changes – know why efforts have fallen behind schedule before changing the schedule.

2. Are there sufficient resources (money, time, professional development, etc.) to achieve the strategies?

3. Are there any priorities that should be changed to put more focus on achieving the set of activities that are not being implemented in a timely way?

4. What are the trends regarding the progress (or lack thereof) across all of the strategies?

5. What actions, if any, are needed beyond the Deeper Learning Design Team, particularly from the school principal and/or district?

Sometimes the solution to the problems may simply be to empower or support the strategy leader or require that the principal or somebody else with authority get involved and deploy appropriate support and/or resources. No matter what the issues are, the Deeper Learning Design team needs to gain consensus on progress and collectively problem solve any challenges that the Strategy Leader encounters in implementing her Strategic Action Plan.

STEP 3: Communicating Implementation Progress to the Key Stakeholders

CREATING YOUR COMMUNICATION PLAN

For every stakeholder that is involved with your school, identify the key messages you want to convey to them to let them know how your school is progressing toward transforming for Deeper Learning. Then, identify the communication channels you can use with them.


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Having a system or process in place to track progress will help you; your Strategy Leaders; the Deeper Learning Design Team; and school leadership maintain focus during the busy school year. More importantly, using a consistent and frequent assessment process will help everyone proactively address any challenges and roadblocks.

CONCLUSION:



FACULTY | EXAMPLE

STAKEHOLDERS MESSAGE KEY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

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NEXT STEPS

This Guide is designed to lead you through the process of visioning, assessing, planning and monitoring to help your school transform to Deeper Learning. You have spent a great deal of time and energy learning, and hopefully doing, what it takes to the lay the foundation for your school’s transformation.

• We would like to know what you found useful about the Guide and how it can be improved, particularly as an online tool.

• We would also like to learn how you used this Guide.

1. Did you use the Guide as a reference/resource for your district or your school?

2. Did you use this Guide to plan for school transformation, and if so, did you use it as a multi-day exercise or as part of a longer workshop?

3. What is your role, are you a district staff member, principal, teacher, professional development provider, policymaker, researcher, etc.?

• We would like to know other resources you feel are invaluable and/or would complement this Guide. Please send your recommendations.

Contact us with Feedback: [email protected]

Please email Monica Martinez with any comments, suggestions, stories, etc. If you would like for her to lead a workshop, present on the book, Deeper Learning, or lead a book club discussion, contact her at [email protected].

By now, you recognize the kind of capacity and support you will need in order to fully implement the strategies that address the conditions necessary for Deeper Learning with quality and fidelity. Each of the four components requires a whole different level of capacity, time, and resources, especially Component Three, Teachers Design Meaningful Learning Experiences, and Component Four, the Deliberate Practice of Deeper Learning. In some cases, you will be able to leverage the existing capacity within your building — it has certainly been done before — while in other cases, you may need to reach out to district, regional, or a third-party, such as an outside facilitator, professional development providers, particularly those who are part of the Deeper Learning Network, or even the authors of this Guide. We recommend this particularly if your school has a history of low academic achievement of students over multiple years.

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USING THIS GUIDE: Research on Deeper Learning:

BOOK Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools Are Transforming Education in the 21st Century by Monica R. Martinez & Dennis McGrath. http://www.monicarmartinez.com/books/

REPORT Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcome by American Institutes for Research (AIR). http://www.air.org/project/study-deeper-learning-opportunities-and-outcomes

REPORT Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century by National Research Council Report. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13398

Related Research:REPORT An Up Close Look at Student Centered Math Teaching by American Institutes for Research (AIR). http://www.nmefoundation.org/resources/student-centered-learning/an-up-close-look-at-student-centered-math-teaching

REPORT Student-Centered Schools: Closing the Opportunity Gap by Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/news/articles/1217

PHASE I: ESTABLISHING YOUR VISION FOR DEEPER LEARNING Deeper Learning Defined:

ARTICLE: The Quest for Deeper Learning by Barbara Chow. http://deeperlearning4all.org/press-release/quest-for-deeper-learning

Additional Resources for Deeper Learning

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PAPER Understanding Academic Mindset as a Critical Component of Deeper Learning by Camille Farrington. http://www.hewlett.org/uploads/documents/Academic_Mindsets_as_a_Critical_Component_of_Deeper_Learn-ing_CAMILLE_FARRINGTON_April_20_2013.pdf

VIDEO An Introduction to Deeper Learning from the Perspective of Multiple Models that are Part of the Deeper Learning Network. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/deeper-learning-a-series-overview

WEBSITE The Definition of the Deeper Learning Competencies by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. http://www.hewlett.org/uploads/documents/Deeper_Learning_Defined__April_2013.pdf

Establishing Your School’s Vision:BOOK ASCD: Chapter 2 of How to Help Your School Thrive by John G. Gabriel and Paul C. Farmer. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107042/chapters/developing-a-vision-and-a-mission.aspx

RESOURCE The Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) Tools for Schools. http://www.ccebos.org/tools/

VIDEO Rahil, a Student at Impact Academy in Hayward, California, describes what the school’s Deeper Learning approach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2ZqZ6S6Jok

PHASE 2: UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSING THE CONDITIONS FOR DEEPER LEARNINGComponent 1: Establishing a Strong School Culture

ARTICLE The Secret Weapon: Getting to Know Your Students Well. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald013.shtml

ARTICLE A Tale of Two High School Advisory Programs by Meeno Rami, Science Leadership Academy. https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/06/18/high-school-advisory-programs/

BLOG Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom is Key by Rebecca Alber. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/deeper-learning-collaboration-key-rebecca-alber

BOOK Trust in Schools by Barbara Schneider and Tony Bryk. http://www.amazon.com/Trust-Schools-Improvement-Sociological-Associations/dp/0871541793/ref=s-r_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1419221142&sr=8-3&keywords=Tony+BryAssociations/dp/0871541793/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UT-F8&qid=1419221142&sr=8-3&keywords=Tony+Bryk

BOOK Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools by Megan Tschannen-Moran. http://www.amazon.com/Trust-Matters-Leadership-Successful-Schools/dp/1118834372/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UT-F8&qid=1419214623&sr=8-1&keywords=Trust+Matters

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PODCAST What Does School Culture Look Like? Big Picture School. http://www.bigpicture.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/what-is-school-culture.mp3

VIDEO Advisory: Check-in and Support. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/benefits-of-advisory-eed

VIDEO Schools Designed for Learning. Denver School of Science and Technology. American Architectural Foundation (AFF). http://www.archfoundation.org/2013/01/schools-designed-for-learning-the-denver-school-of-science-and-tech-nology-3/

VIDEO High School Math Teacher Uses Peer-to-Peer Tutoring So Students Understand The Responsibility Of Helping Each Other Learn. http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/teaching-channel/Peer-to-Peer Tutoring

Component 2: Teachers Function as Professionals ARTICLE Teacher Profile: Qualities of 21st Century Teachers, A List of Teacher Qualities from the Asia Society. http://asiasociety.org/education/international-studies-schools-network/teacher-profile

ARTICLE Teacher Roles: Technology Alone Won’t Transform Teacher to Facilitator by Monica R Martinez and Dennis McGrath in Kappan Magazine (September, 2014). http://pdk.sagepub.com/content/96/1/41.full

BOOK The Principal: Three Keys to Maximizing Impact by Michal Fullan. http://www.amazon.com/Principal-Three-Keys-Maximizing Impact/dp/1118575237/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UT-F8&qid=1419215139&sr=1-1&keywords=the+principal+three+keys+to+maximizing+impact

RESOURCE A Guide Designed to Help Individuals Create or Support Teacher-Powered Schools based on the book, Trusting Teachers with School Success by Kim Farris. http://www.teacherpowered.org/guide

VIDEO Kelly Wilson From High Tech High Shares Her Approach to Establishing an Adult Learning Community. http://howtovideos.hightechhigh.org/video/254/Adult+Learning+Community%3A+Kelly

VIDEO Dan Bickel, Area Administrator, Talks about How to Prioritize, Monitor, and Coordinate Resources for Educator Learning, a Standard by Learning Forward. http://learningforward.org/standards/resources#.VJO3bP_AA

VIDEO Using a Learning Walk to Learn from Colleagues. http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/teaching-channel/

VIDEO Shirley Hord, Scholar Laureate, Talks about Learning Communities. http://learningforward.org/standards/learning-communities#.VJO3uf_AA

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Component 3: Teachers Design Meaningful Learning Experiences

ARTICLE Two Dozen Ways to Deepen Student Learning. http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/teaching-strategies-deeper-learning.shtml

ARTICLE Using Understanding by Design to Design Learning Experiences that are Unified Around Central Concepts and Ideas, a Four-Phase Process for Implementing Essential Questions. http://www.teachthought.com/learning/a-four-phase-process-for-implementing-essential-questions/

ARTICLE Describes What Good Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity & Innovation Look Like in the Context of Project Based Learning. http://bie.org/blog/how_to_use_the_4cs_rubrics

ARTICLE MC2 STEM High School Designs Rigorous Projects that Blend STEM with other Core Subjects. http://www.edutopia.org/stw-college-career-stem-pbl

ARTICLE Ideas for Teachers on How to Develop and Support Group Work for Collaborative Learning in the Classroom. http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/collaborative-learning.html

BLOG Getting to the 4Cs with Project-Based Learning (PBL) from the Partnership for 21st Century Learning. http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1249-is-there-a-best-way-to-develop-the-4cs-in-all-students

BLOG AND INTERVIEW Science Leadership Academy Students Describe the Good Parts and the Hard Parts of Learning through Inquiry. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/10/students-tell-all-what-its-like-to-be-trusted-partners-in-learning/

VIDEO PBS News Hour Highlights Expeditionary Learning’s Inquiry Based Approach to Teaching at King Middle School in Portland, Maine. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education-jan-june13-learning_05-06/

VIDEO Highlights Hands On, Project-Based Mode of Instruction at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) School Outside of Fresno, CA. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/video/?video=cart

VIDEO Using Standards to Facilitate Deeper Learning. http://www.americaachieves.org/issues/common-core-in-practice-great-teachers-demonstrate-moving-to-deep-er-learning?bcpid=2324725292001&bckey=AQ~~,AAACGDPFg8k~,w0femIdt92JI4VFi2Xmzt6rwNjjo-NjD&b-clid=2296617881001&bctid=2305437163001

VIDEO Text Analysis for Deep Understanding of Content and Critical Thinking. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/12th-grade-text-analysis-lesson?fd=1

VIDEO Taking a Stand: Eighth-Graders Develop Critical Thinking Skills. http://vimeo.com/101559969EL

VIDEO Building Conceptual Understanding of Math for Students at an Expeditionary Learning School. http://vimeo.com/channels/deeperinstruction

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VIDEO How Teachers Work Together in Connected Schools to Integrate Their Curriculum Across Different Disciplines. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/video/?video=integrated

VIDEO Engaging Students in Real and Meaningful Learning at Life Academy in Oakland, California. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/video/?video=good

VIDEO Students Doing Work that has Meaning. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/engage-students-meaningful-work-hth

VIDEO Tiny House, an Integrated Project at High Tech High School. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/tiny-house-collaborative-project-hth

VIDEO Focus on Project Based Learning at Impact Academy in Hayward, CA Addresses the Four C’s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghx0vd1oEzM#t=92

Component 4: Deliberate Practice of Deeper Learning SkillARTICLE Students at High Tech High Produced Spanish Books and Gave Them to Spanish Children to Practice their Use of the Language. http://www.hightechhigh.org/unboxed/issue3/cards/8.php

BLOG Nurturing Collaboration: Five Strategies by Joshua Block. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/nurturing-collaboration-5-strategies-joshua-block

BLOG P21 Discusses How to Develop a Digital Communication-Collaboration Mindset. http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1517-bellanca-digital-collaboration-it-is-not-like-putting-on-your-shoes

RESOURCE New Tech’s Contract to Support Students Doing Group Work. http://www.newtechnetwork.org/sites/default/files/resources/samplegroupcontract4.pdf

VIDEO Two Students Work Together on a Student-Created Project for an Authentic Audience. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/real-world-student-projects-hth

VIDEO Highlights the Power of Quality Work-Based Learning Opportunities on Student Learning. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/video/?video=workbased

VIDEO: Performance as a Culminating Activity. http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/teaching-channel/

VIDEO: Using Socratic Seminars. http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/teaching-channel/ http://www.edutopia.org/blog/resources-pbl-perfor-mance-assessment-bob-lenz

VIDEO: Using Portfolio Defense to for Students to Demonstrate Their Learning Outcomes. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/success-portfolio-defense-eed

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VIDEO Students at Normal Park Museum Magnet School Create Various Types of Museum-Style Exhibits to Demonstrate their Understanding of Academic Topics. http://www.edutopia.org/practice/using-exhibits-assessment

VIDEO High School Students Reflect on Practicing the 21st Century Skills Needed for Personal and Workplace Success. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZxYSe26O9I#t=167

VIDEO David Olio, a High School AP English Teacher in South Windsor, CT Explains How He Uses a Critical-Friends Peer-Review Protocol to Help Students Learn to Revise and Edit their Writing. http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/teaching-channel/

District Resources:ARTICLE Road Maps to Deeper Learning by Bernie Trilling. This article presents a prism model of the deeper learning ecosystem, identifying the common themes of teaching and learning practices which have been successfully utilized to develop 21st century competencies. http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1549-deeper-learning-a-new-model-of-transformation

BOOK The Leader’s Guide to 21st Century Education: 7 Steps for Schools and Districts by Ken Kay and Valerie Hill. A 7-step blueprint for districts to move forward in the quest to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century. http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Leaders-Guide-to-21st-Century-Education-The-7-Steps-for-Schools-and-Districts/9780132117593.page#sthash.Juxc58zt.dpuf

REPORT: Ten Principles of Effective School Design that Lead to Deeper Learning by New Visions for Public Schools. http://www.newvisions.org/page/-/Prelaunch%20files/PDFs/NV%20Publications/10principleslong.pdf

For more informat ion contact : monica@monicarmar t inez .com www.monicarmar t inez .com

For more information contact: [email protected] www.monicarmartinez.com Book design and infographics by Carol Ehrlich, presentationzones.com

Documents

Deeper Learning plan