_{Guidelines for RSW include the organization of teams and selection of student work samples, guidelines for discussion and how to document reviews.}

_{Participant Roles explains the roles of faculty, principals, facilitators, coaches and district staff.}

_{Note-taking form is used by individual teachers prior to a review}

_{Documentation form helps teams track the evolution of the review process as well as the content of discussions over time.}

_{Team planning guide is used by interdisciplinary teams of teachers to plan the focus and schedule of reviews.}

_{Activity for setting review goals involves the entire school, or groups of faculty, to determine priorities for student learning.}

_{Sample student work Understand the process of reviewing student work by reading student work and excerpts from a review.}

_{Links to related sites}

 

Purpose: To involve the entire school staff in determining their priorities for student learning. Goal setting addresses the questions: Where do we want to go as a school? Why are these goals important for students? What is the extent of agreement that we as a staff have around the goals?  The work of looking for evidence of the school's goals in student learning and teaching is ongoing and forms the basis for building a culture of reflection and inquiry geared toward continuous school improvement. .

• Materials
  •  A list of goals printed on labels
  •  3x5 index cards on which to paste labels
  •  Newsprint for each group

• Time
  • 2-3 hours total

   

• Procedures

  1. The purpose of the activity is reviewed with all participants.

  2. Each individual selects the five student learning goals that he or she considers most important from a list which is provided. Each person places his/her top five goals on 3 x 5 cards one on a card. She/he may combine goals or add their own.

  3. In small groups, individuals share their goals, discuss their reasons for selecting them, and then develop a process to prioritize goals among themselves. They then select five goals that they can agree upon to share with other staff.

  4. With the entire school community, each group shares their goals and the process they used to determine them. It is important to discuss the ways in which a group reached consensus and to surface some of the differences in perspective that emerged and how the group decided to reconcile these differences in their choice of goals.

  5. The school community then develops a process similar to the one used by the small groups for coming up with the goals for their school. Goals should focus on student learning. Staff should be able to find evidence for the goals in classrooms and student work. A school may set several goals, and then decide to focus on one for its reviews of student work.

   

  
   For more information, please contact:
  Alexandra Weinbaum, sweinbau@aed.org
  Vice President School-Community Partnerships
  Academy for Educational Development
  100 5th Avenue New York, NY 10011
  212-367-4577; 212-627-0407