CWT Strathfield SEG

Belmore South Public School

Belmore South PS June 2011

Goals:

To have teachers taking responsibility for their own work so that they will be directing their own professional learning towards developing knowledge and skills.

Improved teacher practice and motivation will see students engaged in their own learning with improved quality of students work and learning outcomes.


Guiding Principles

We learn to do the work by doing the work, reflecting on the work and critiquing the work

Separate the person from the practice Learning is an individual and collective

activity Trust enhances individual and collective

learning Learning enhances individual and

collective efficacyBelmore South PS June 2011

Prerequisite for CWT at the

Organisational Level Strong well informed leadership Teachers working in teams External and internal support

professional development Coherent curriculum School improvement plan


But there is more to it . . . What is happening at the classroom

level? What is the level and kind of work

the students are doing in the classrooms?

How are the beliefs and understandings of the adults who are working with the students constraining their learning?


A CWT focuses on the Instructional

Core “ In its simplest terms, the instructional core is composed of the teacher and the student in the presence of content

. . . a focus on the instructional core grounds school improvement in the actual interactions between teachers, students and content in the learning environment”. Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to improving Teaching and Learning, 2009 City et al


Student

Content

Teacher

7 Principles of the Instructional Core

1 Increases in student learning occur only as the consequence of improvements in the level of content, teachers knowledge and skill and student engagement.

2 If you change any single element of the instructional core you have to change the other two.

3 If you can’t see it in the core it is not there.

4 Task predicts performance.

5 The real accountability system is in the

tasks that students are asked to do.


7 Principles continued

6 We learn to do the work by doing the work not by telling other people to do the work, not by having done the work at some time in the past by ourselves or others.

7 Description before analysis, analysis before prediction, prediction before evaluation.

From: City et al 2009Belmore South PS June 2011

A CWT is a . . .

quick, research-based-focused way to collect data means of focusing on best practices snapshot of what’s happening in the school method for analysing patterns and trends in

teaching and learning structure for improving student learning and

increasing student achievement decision making device used to inform

professional development planning. tool for increasing school-wide reflective practice way to begin talking with teachers about we can

all work towards improve the instructional program


A CWT is not a . . .

way of documenting teacher appraisalsand formal observations

tool for informal teacher observations device for collecting information about

individual teachers reflection on teachers that uses

evaluative or judgmental language


Planning with a Focus

In this phase the leadership team identified a focus to guide the walkthroughs. The school’s priority area is Reading.

Beginning with a clear focus ensures the CWT is purposeful, meaningful and focused.

The focus for our first rounds of CWT’s wasProblematic knowledge.

The focus for our second round of CWT’s is Connectedness.


The CWT Process

1 Planning the Focus – Executive and Staff2 Administration of dates, team members

and expectations - facilitators3 Conducting the CWT – CWT Teams4 Collecting and Analysing the data for

trends and patterns and developing a presentation for whole staff – CWT Teams

5 Reflection by whole staff led by CWT Teams


Connecting to Metaphors


Exploring our Focus

This is a vital part of the process . . . Develop a common language. Bring perceptions of the focus into

alignment. Understand what the focus “Looks,

sounds and feels like . . .” in a classroom.

Develop strategies that support the implementation of the focus into classroom practice.


Collecting Data

The data that is collected should only be in relation to the identified focus. There is NO JUDGEMENT to be made. The CWT only deals with what is OBSERVABLE.

There are 4 questions to guide this: What is the teacher doing? What are the students doing? What is the task? Does the classroom environment

support the learning focus?


What is the Teacher doing?What are the instructionalstrategies being used? modelling, scaffolding, sharing examples of good work and poor

work, questioning, listening using Visible Thinking Routines do the strategies relate to the CWT focus? what grouping formats are obvious?


What is the Learner doing? What are the students doing? Are the students able to verbalise what they are doing? Is the task the students are doing the one

the teacher asked them to do? What kinds of materials are they using? Is the level of student work stage

appropriate? Is the work challenging? How engaged are the students?


What is the Task?

Identify the learning goal Are the learning goals evident to the

student? Do the learning goals meet stage level

outcomes? How are the students engaging with the

task? The instructional task is the work the

students are asked to do, not what the teachers think they are asking the students to do.


What elements of the Learning Environment support the Task?


Learning to see unlearning to judge When educators visit classrooms they

have an idea of what they want to see based on their past experiences and what they know of effective classrooms.

By contrast during CWT’s there is a need to suspend judgement and gather evidence.

The discipline of description is the core practice on which CWT’s are based.


To support the process …

It is necessary to decide: what is observable in advance how the observation will be

undertaken how to discuss what is seen


Analysing data

The emphasis is on patterns and trends in the instructional program rather than on what is happening in the individual learning environments.

Look for patterns and trends that are of concern and those that should be celebrated.


Reflecting on the Data

The Reflective Process “maps the linkages between thinking, action and student learning”. Reflective practice to Improve Schools (2006) York-Barr et al. P.9

TPL models reflection and thinking about classroom practice using Visible Thinking Routines


Reflection protocols

The reflection is structured around the these questions:

1.What do you see?2.What do you think about it?3.What does this mean?4.What do we do now? / Where to

next?


Doing the CWT’s

CWT’s are timetabled throughout the year.

Our schedule is 6 in a year with 1 in Term 1 and Term 4 and 2 in Term 2 & 3

Staff know the day and date of their CWT from the beginning of the year.


A typical CWT Day timetable Begins at 8.00 am with a briefing session CWT Teams are facilitated by either our HAT or

our AP/Curriculum 2 teams of 4 operate with a visiting executive in

each. CWT’s begin at 9.30am and continue until 1.00 pm 2 to 3 CWT teams meet to debrief , to discuss

patterns and trends observed around the elements of the focus.

The CWT teams develop a presentation for their colleagues and tasks to promote reflection on their findings.


CWT Learning Spaces protocol 4 to 7 minutes in each learning environment ,

stay within the agreed time limit as this honours the process with the teacher

Use time to look around at key elements CWT is focusing on

Take the picture do not become part of it (also take photos/video as a record)

Talk to students as appropriate Do not do any writing or recording while in the

room Recording is done outside of the learning

environment.Belmore South PS June 2011

Key Insights

Suspension of judgement is essential Identification of cause and effect relationships

is embedded in the process There is a a need to challenge each other to

produce the evidence – taking us out of the realms of being nice to a culture of challenge

Avoid commenting on what is not seen in the classroom

Describe evidence but become discerning about what is worth noting.


Implications for practice Much practice to develop skills to

become focussed non-judgemental observers

Subtle evidence needs to collected to support observations

A common language and shared understanding needs to be developed

Need for common processes, protocols and language around observations


Further implications . . . Important to develop proforma for

note taking and collecting evidence as a basis for feedback and discussions

Time needs to be allocated for CWT’s to become embedded

Protocols will support the development of a culture of “challenge” (show me the evidence)


Launching a Network

Considerations: Practice focussing on practice Setting expectations and norms to

support a culture of trust, problem solving and continuous improvement

Skills of feedback and reflection Action Planning for improvement in

practice


Whereto next . . .

Developing a different proforma for data collection

Presenting quantitative and qualitative evidence of trends and patterns

Developing Action Plans based on trends and patterns
