Collaborative Teams That Work: The Definitive Guide to Cycles of Learning in a Plc, Sloper Colin, Grift Gavin

Build a mathematics teaching community that promotes learning for K-12 educators and students. This user-friendly resource is divided into two parts, each covering a key team action for mathematics in a PLC at Work(TM). First you'll discover how to coach highly effective mathematics teams within your professional learning community. Then you'll learn how to utilize collaboration and lesson-design elements within your math curriculum for teacher team reflection, data analysis, and action.

Learn to lead math teacher teams and foster effective collaborative teaching strategies:

• Build a collaborative math learning culture that engages and promotes learning for students and staff members.
• Optimize coaching and foster equity and belonging to encourage collaboration.
• Engage in mathematics lesson study to help teams learn from one another and reflect on effective strategies in teaching mathematics.
• Develop norms, SMART goals for teachers, agendas, and a plan for working effectively as a collaborative team in a PLC at Work(TM).

Contents:
Preface
Introduction
Part 1: Develop PLC Structures for Effective Teacher Team Engagement, Transparency, and Action
Chapter 1: Five Inspirational PLC Leadership Practices
Chapter 2: Five Leadership Strategies for Effective Collaboration in Mathematics
Part 2: Use Common Assessments and Lesson-Design Elements for Teacher Team Reflection, Data Analysis, and Subsequent Action
Chapter 3: How to Create and Nurture a Culture of Change, Growth, Reflection, and Improvement in Your Mathematics Program
Chapter 4: How to Lead a Culture of Transparency and Learning With Mathematics Assessments
Chapter 5: How to Lead in a Culture of Transparency and Learning With Mathematics Instruction
Chapter 6: How to Lead a Culture of Collective Responsibility
Epilogue
Appendix A
References and Resources

Books in the Every Student Can Learn Mathematics series:

• Mathematics Assessment and Intervention in a PLC at Work(TM)
• Mathematics Instruction and Tasks in a PLC at Work(TM)
• Mathematics Homework and Grading in a PLC at Work(TM)
• Mathematics Coaching and Collaboration in a PLC at Work(TM)

Contents:
Section 1
Preface--Districtwide Planning
How to Use this Plan Book
Section 2
Monthly PLC Work (July Through June)
Monthly Calendar
Daily Planner
Monthly Reflections Tool
Section 3
Midyear Self-Reflection Tool
End-of-Year Self-Reflection Tool
Project-Planning Tool
Meeting-Planning Tool

Use this resource to help students feel engaged with their learning and increase their classroom performance:

• Study the foundational theories behind the standards-based grading system and how it interacts with and is supported by the PLC process.
• Learn how to use grades to effectively communicate students' mastery of learning standards.
• See what makes ungraded homework and independent practice a better tool to improve learning and enhance students' motivation to study.
• Understand the value of allowing students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning when taking assessments.
• Gain valuable insights for administrators and leaders into the multiyear journey of implementing standards-based grading.

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Standards-Based Grading in a Professional Learning Community
Chapter 2: How Grades Communicate Current Levels of Learning
Chapter 3: How Homework Serves as Ungraded Practice
Chapter 4: How to Provide Students With Multiple Opportunities to Demonstrate Their Learning
Chapter 5: Criteria for Administrators and Leaders Implementing Standards-Based Grading
Conclusion
Appendix

Use this resource to address the unique PLC challenges of your school or district:

• Become familiar with the skills and concepts necessary to build a strong collaborative foundation for your PLC.
• Study the strategies and methods used by schools that have successfully implemented a rigorous and thorough PLC process.
• Utilize the book's concepts and skills to experiment and develop customized procedures and strategies as a collaborative team.
• Receive concrete learning targets that will help you develop your own process of PLC implementation.
• Understand how to effectively spread the message of your PLC to your school board, parents, and community stakeholders.

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: "We've Met for Years, so Why Hasn't It Changed my Practice?"
Chapter 2: "If We're Collaborating, Why Aren't You?"
Chapter 3: "We're Supposed to Focus on a Few Things, but How Do We Decide What They Are?"
Chapter 4: "How Do You Find Time to Support Learning When There Are So Many Other Issues to Deal With?"
Chapter 5: "Won't We Just Move On to Something Else Next Year?"
Chapter 6: "How Do We Know If We're on the Right Track?"
Chapter 7: "What Can We Do to Help?"

Help your team identify what students need to know by the end of each unit and build student self-efficacy:

• Understand how to collaboratively plan thematic units in grades 3-5.
• Study the seven unit-planning elements and learn how to incorporate each in essential unit design.
• Review the role of the PLC at Work(R) process in enhancing collaborative student learning and teacher collaboration.
• Observe three model fraction units, one for each grade level.
• Receive tools and templates for effective unit planning.

Contents:
Introduction by Timothy D. Kanold
Part 1: Mathematics Unit Planning and Design Elements
Chapter 1: Planning for Student Learning of Mathematics in Grades 3-5
Chapter 2: Unit Planning as a Collaborative Mathematics Team
Part 2: Fraction Unit Examples, Grades 3-5
Chapter 3: Grade 3 Unit--Fraction Understanding
Chapter 4: Grade 4 Unit--Fraction Equivalence, Addition, and Subtraction
Chapter 5: Grade 5 Unit--Fraction Addition and Subtraction
Epilogue: Mathematics Team Organization
Appendix A: Create a Proficiency Map
Appendix B: Checklist and Questions for Mathematics Unit Planning
References and Resources

Use this resource to learn the vital strategies necessary for building and improving teams:

• Become familiar with the common issues that prevent CTE educators from engaging in the collaborative PLC process.
• Learn why and how the PLC process benefits both CTE educators and students.
• Learn how CTE educators can create collaborative programs that are tailored toward CTE fields of study.
• Receive professional guidance and concrete, achievable teaching strategies for creating an effective PLC process.
• Access a checklist of crucial action steps for career tech teams at the end of each chapter.

• Review essential elements of effective PLCs and how these essential elements influence the instructional coaching of collaborative teams.
• Study the Strategy Implementation Guide (SIG) and Pathways for Coaching Collaborative Teams tools and how to use them in the coaching of collaborative teams.
• Acquire new insights, confront new questions, and explore new approaches that promote higher levels of student learning and effective professional learning communities for teachers.
• Discover numerous strategies to use during the effective group coaching of collaborative teams at every stage of learning to meet adaptive challenges.
• Learn the benefits of "drilling deeper" into the PLC process, as well as viewing the teacher as a reflective practitioner.

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Making a Commitment to Coaching Teams
Chapter 1: How Teams Create Habits of Professional Practice
Chapter 2: The Essential Elements of Highly Effective Teams identifies
Part II, Understanding Essential Elements of Highly Effective Teams in a PLC
Chapter 3: Learning Together--The Power of Collective Inquiry
Chapter 4: Staying Restless--The Impact of Continuous Improvement
Chapter 5: Being Urgent--The Value of an Action Orientation
Chapter 6: Getting Better--The Significance of a Focus on Results
Part III: Coaching Collaborative Teams in PLCs at Work
Chapter 7: Coaching for Assessing a Team's Current Reality
Chapter 8: Believing in Your Team--Coaching Collective Efficacy
Appendix A: Stages of Learning and Essential Elements of a Highly Effective PLC
Appendix B: Action Planning Template
Appendix C: Communicating the Roll-Out Plan
References and Resources

Use this resource to maintain a healthy collaborative team and stay on top of instruction:

• Review the foundational components of the professional learning communities (PLC) process, such as establishing norms, setting SMART goals, and developing common assessments.
• Improve team planning and organization.
• Utilize many reproducible forms and tools to improve collaboration and to collect and organize information.
• Recognize the positive cultural shifts that occur for teams that follow the PLC process.
• Explore additional resources to help deepen your knowledge of the work of collaborative teams.

Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: PLC Fundamentals and Processes
- Cultural Shifts in a PLC
- A Simultaneously Loose and Tight Culture
- Stages of Collaboration for High-Performing Teams
- Norms
- Smart Goals
- The Continuous Improvement Cycle
- Priorities for Learning
- Systems of Intervention and Tiers of Response
Part 2: Additional Resources
- Year-at-a-Glance Guide for Site Leadership and Collaborative Teams
- Index of Protocols and Templates
Part 3: Weekly Planners
- Forty weekly planning pages (provides space for six class periods and lists weekdays across the top, Monday-Friday) with text and activities to inform, inspire, and challenge educators.
Part 4: Epilogue and References
- Epilogue
- References and Resources

Build a strong, highly impactful team committed to learning for all. Written by eight professional learning community (PLC) experts, this practical guide addresses the most common challenges educators face when building collaborative teams and working collaboratively. Each chapter offers a variety of templates, processes, and strategies to help your team resolve conflict, focus on the right work, and take collective responsibility for student learning.

Rely on this book to troubleshoot collaborative learning and team development in your PLC:

• Gain an understanding of the PLC framework and the unique qualities of effective collaborative work.
• Learn about collaborative teams, what goes into making them, and how to utilize them effectively to drive change and professional development for teachers and other educators.
• Become familiar with the ways in which interpersonal issues affect collaborative teams, and gain collaborative tools for conflict resolution and team building for teachers and staff.
• Learn how a toxic work culture can contribute to the failure of collaborative learning and how to combat this toxic school culture.
• Explore how educators in nontraditional schools or singletons can use the collaborative process to their advantage.

Contents:
About the Authors
Foreword by Mike Mattos
Introduction
Chapter 1: Organizing Schools Into Effective Collaborative Teams
Chapter 2: Managing Team Members Who Disengage
Chapter 3: Establishing Clarity on What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do
Chapter 4: Planning for Targeted and Effective Team Interventions
Chapter 5: Working Together in a PLC
Chapter 6: Changing to a Positive School Culture
Chapter 7: Involving Nondepartmental Members in a PLC
Chapter 8: Supporting Singleton Teachers in Collaborative Teams
Chapter 9: Dealing With Cautions, Conflicts, and Commitments
References and Resources
Index

Use this resource to ensure every early childhood student gains the strong foundation necessary for an excellent education:

• Understand how the PLC at Work process and early childhood learning go hand-in-hand.
• Learn the various aspects of what goes into creating an effective PLC for early childhood learning.
• Explore the environmental, cultural, and academic needs of an early childhood learner in the formative years.
• Map out effective curricula that encompass the practices embodied by PLC at Work and promote social-emotional learning.
• Grasp the importance of operating effectively as a whole-school team.

Contents:
Chapters
Introduction
Chapter 1: How the PLC Process Supports Collaborative Teams: Creating a Foundation of Learning
Chapter 2: What We Want Out Students to Know and Be Able to Do: Building a Curriculum
Chapter 3: What We Want Out Students to Know and Be Able to Do: Determining Essential Standards and Mapping Curriculum
Chapter 4: How We Know Students Have Learned: Unwrapping Standards and Setting Goals
Chapter 5: How We Know Students Have Learned: Designing Assessments
Chapter 6: How We Respond When Some Students Do or Do Not Learn: Conducting Data Discussions and Progress Monitoring
Chapter 7: How We Respond When Some Students Do or Do Not Learn: Planning Instruction Epilogue