Anne Jolly's Diary

Entry 6: When I was young, I used to secretly hope to find a magic bottle - one with a genie who would suddenly poof out and announce dramatically, "You have one wish, so you'd better make it good." Well, if I had one wish for education, I would wish for the single thing that I believe would have the most powerful impact on student learning. I would ask the genie to redesign teachers' schedules and build in time for them to work collaboratively - time to plan, learn, share, and reflect together on ways to teach students more effectively.

Teacher collaboration is the heart of the study group process. The more I learn about this process, the more convinced I am that it will make a significant difference for teachers and students. It has all the right ingredients. Just imagine a whole faculty reaching consensus on a common focus centered around improving student learning. Picture groups of teachers working together to increase their knowledge base; to design and develop dynamic teaching strategies based on student needs. Envision teachers meeting regularly, supporting each other, sharing information on what works and what doesn't, then revising strategies and lessons accordingly. Would those things make difference in student achievement? Research says these things make a big difference.

But I do have a question about the name,"study groups." It sounds a bit passive. Maybe "action groups" would be a more accurate description. That may not sound original, but it describes the process better.

Entry 7: Here's a couple of winners in the "No Surprise"category. (1) There's no such thing as one-size fits-all; and (2) what works in one setting may not work in another setting. Those may sound more like tired cliches than stunning revelations, but they took on new meaning for me this week. One of the four schools I'm working with meets almost all of the criteria for being ready to begin a collaborative group process. Another school apparently doesn't meet a single criterion for readiness, beginning with the fact that teachers there don't even want to work together.
This obviously constitutes a challenge. I know what I want this process to accomplish, but knowing where to start and how to start may be a deciding factor in the success of this project.

Entry 8: Today I watched a science teacher make truly heroic efforts to involve and motivate her eighth grade students - all 150 of them. I figure she spent at least 30 minutes before school getting all that lab equipment ready. Maybe longer. Then, after working with students throughout the day, she stayed after school to clean up and prepare activities for tomorrow. She finally left for home lugging a large canvas bag stuffed with papers. Guess she's going to grade papers on her family time. Every year the teacher work load and the pressure increases, and the stakes get higher.

I wonder how she will feel about taking on a new responsibility. How will this dedicated teacher react to another meeting - something else to consume part of her already insufficient preparation time? I'm totally sold on the need for ongoing professional learning and growth. Exciting stuff! I see the potential for great things - the establishment of professional, collaborative groups of teachers meeting to increase their own teaching capacities and their students' learning. But my beliefs aren't worth much if the teachers don't share them.

In my "worst-case-scenario" moments I wonder, What if teachers don't buy in to this process? Before I would agree to participate in more meetings, I would need to see the value for myself and my students. Then I would be willing to try the process. Once I got involved, I would have to find that the results were worth the effort - that they were relevant and useful in dealing with problems I face each day in the classroom. Somehow I must maximize the probability that those conditions will occur, and that teachers will be genuinely enthusiastic about participating.

Entry 9: Impact Teams! That's the name I've been looking for! That name accurately describes these professional study groups as purposeful, action-oriented teams of teachers dedicated to impacting student learning. As I talked with a colleague about the project this morning, my brain kicked in for no apparent reason, the name leapt right out of my mouth. We both liked it. So, "Impact Teams" it is!

Now I can refer to this project as the "High Impact Project" rather than "The Project on Building Teacher Capacity Through Conducting Action Research on Designing and Delivering Effective On Site Teacher Development." Sure rolls off the tongue more easily. It also keeps people's eyes from glazing over when I talk with them about it.

Entry 10: So where am I now? Not far enough, as I see it. I need to find out where the teachers and schools are in terms of believing they need to change and improve teaching practices. I must be able to engage them in dreaming about what learning could be - what it must be - for the students they teach. Then they will be ready to decide what we must do to get there. Some, like the overworked science teacher, will already be perceptive enough to see the need for a new type of professional development, and will jump in with both feet. (Interestingly, the harder a person works, the more willing he/she is to work harder.) These committed teachers can help to create the sense of excitement about the Impact Team process.

This is going to work. I have a series of meetings with teams of teachers and principals next week to give them the full picture. I can't wait!