Opening Doors to Equity: A Practical Guide to Observation-Based Professional Learning / Edition 1

by Tonya W. Singer

Overview

The transformative professional learning model that advances equity in your school!

How do we make educational equity a reality, lesson by lesson? Author Tonya Singer shows how team observation and learning can strengthen schools and support educational achievement by all students. Including video clips of actual teams, this book helps to:

• Implement best practices for observation-based professional learning
• Work as a team to create a culture of deep collaboration that closes opportunity gaps among students
• Use observation-based data to better reach culturally and linguistically diverse learners
• Develop and implement strategies that build students’ skills for future success

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452292236
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	11/21/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Tonya Ward Singer is the founder of Courageous Literacy LLC, an organization that helps K-12 educators advance literacy and language learning in culturally and linguistically rich schools. Teachers and administrators describe Tonya’s work as groundbreaking, dynamic, practical, relevant, and impactful.

Tonya is the author of bestsellers EL Excellence Every Day and Opening Doors to Equity. She co-authored Breaking Down the Wall and literacy curricula for international publishers. Tonya has taught across multiple grade levels and excels as an international consultant helping schools build collective efficacy of all teachers through job-embedded, impactful professional learning.

Beyond her work in schools, Tonya co-facilitates dialogues in non-profit organizations committed to truth seeking and transforming legacies of racial oppression.

Contact Tonya at: @Tonya Ward Singer

www.tonyasinger.com

Table of Contents

Foreword Lois Brown Easton vii

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Author xvii

Chapter 1 A Call to Action 1

Reaching Every Child in 21st-century Schools 4

A Rationale for Observing Together 13

Professional Learning for Equity 14

Beyond the Elephant 18

Chapter 2 Observation Inquiry 19

Observation Inquiry Overview 20

Collaborative Inquiry in Classrooms Together 23

Multiple Cycles to Plan-Teach-Observe-Reflect-Plan 26

Protocols to Foster Deep Collaboration 31

Getting Started 33

Chapter 3 Opening Doors: Building Buy-In and Trust 39

Inspire Action 41

Honor Fears 45

Establish Safety 47

Foster a Growth Mindset 51

Address Individual Needs 55

Chapter 4 Asking Questions That Matter 57

Identifying a Problem to Solve 58

Aligning With Local Initiatives 60

Writing a Problem of Practice 63

Asking Questions to Drive Inquiry 65

Facilitation Challenges and Solutions 70

Chapter 5 Planning for Inquiry 75

Goals for Student Learning 75

Assessment and Success Criteria 76

Planning Instruction 80

Facilitation Tips for Efficient, Effective Team Planning 83

Chapter 6 Observing Together 89

Focusing the Observation: The Prelesson Meeting 90

Taking Notes in a Lesson 93

Formative Evidence Examples 99

Using Video 107

Chapter 7 Describing and Analyzing What We Observed 111

Step 1 Describe Without Judgment 116

Step 2 Organize Data 119

Step 3 Make Generalizations 122

Teach and Practice the Protocol 124

Chapter 8 From Observation to Action 127

Step 4 Link Cause and Effect 128

Step 5 Apply Learning to Plan 142

Step 6 Set Individual and Team Goals 143

Chapter 9 Deepening Learning Across Multiple Lessons 147

Building From Lesson to Lesson 147

Kindergarten: Advancing Collaborative

Conversations About Texts 150

Second Grade: Deepening Insights About Language 153

Middle School: Elevating Thinking Across the Content Areas 158

Strategies for Facilitating Deep Learning 160

Chapter 10 Evaluating and Expanding Our Impact 169

What Have Students Learned? 170

What Have Teachers Learned? 173

How Do We Expand Learning Beyond the Team? 180

How Do We Sustain Continuous Learning? 188

Appendix A Launching Observation Inquiry 193

Appendix B Easy Protocol Reference 201

References 203

Index 209

Editorial Reviews

Our teachers’ experience engaging in this book with Tonya Ward Singer was transformational. Effective scaffolding and engagement strategies for Academic English Learners have now become a consistent part of their routine for our experienced teachers.

Pamela Carpenter

Opening Doors to Equity is truly a facilitator’s dream. I could take it and use it well with teachers to engage in professional learning. The process is definitely tried and true – it speaks well of the author’s experiences in real schools with real educators. On the basis of the amount of yellow highlighting I did in each chapter, I would say this is an incredibly powerful book.”

Lois Brown Easton

"Tonya Ward Singer’s, Opening Doors to Equity – A Practical Guide to Observation-Based Professional Learning is a rich text for administrators and teacher leaders concerned with supporting the growth of others. It combines practical ideas to build a strong learning culture with ideas to take full advantage of ‘open doors’ to move a compelling equity agenda forward. "

Beate Planche

I recommend this book without hesitation. . . Gone are the days for teachers to be working ‘behind closed doors’ . . . Go forth and TEACH like the world works–– collaboratively with teams!”

Harriet Gould

"Tonya Ward Singer skillfully provides educators with a powerful professional learning model that is based on the most recent work and relevant research in the field. This book is a practical guide for making the complexities of teaching diverse learners more visible—to others and to our selves—and for fostering rich professional conversations that are focused on improving the teaching of all students. "

Jeff Zwiers

"The author is able to look at the challenges of learning for students and teachers in a way that is engaging so that everyone can feel accepted and encouraged. This book looks at literacy issues openly and realistically. All points of view can be valued if the suggestions are implemented as recommended. Learning for all is not only the goal but also can be the reality. "

Barb Keating

"This book is a must read for principals, instructional coaches, teacher leaders and others charged with the task of providing meaningful professional development for teachers. As a how-to guide, the practical suggestions within this book provide a relevant framework for implementing classroom-based inquiry. The online videos are icing on the cake! "

Judy Brunner

"This exceptionally valuable book provides a clear process I can use to engage with my colleagues around learning. I appreciated the ideas and practical information that will ensure that my professional learning group focuses on student learning as evidenced in real lessons. The tools that Tonya Singer provides are useful and relevant, not to mention tried and true.

To ramp up professional learning, this is the tool that will start your engine. "

Douglas Fisher

"I'm rarely impressed with books that claim to be "practical guides" because most use that title without sufficient understanding of the nuts-and-bolts details of implementation that are required to justify such a label. Your book is a delightful exception. Congratulations on outlining a wonderful resource for educators."

Brad Ermeling

Opening Doors to Equity is extremely practical, clear, and easy to understand and implement. Most importantly, the practice supports sustainable professional learning of any content area or strategy, especially relevant now as we are transitioning to Common Core State Standards and in need of examining the effectiveness of the many new practices we are implementing.”

Katherine Strach

"The author of has compiled a cornucopia of best practice and top research under one roof in the learning community. The text directs and explains a culture where te achers assist each other in collaboration assisting students in growth and readiness for an ever changing world. "

Lyndon Oswald

"With all the changes taking place in education, this process of teachers working collaboratively together can both improve our instructional practice and open doors for us to support each other in ways we have not in the past. Both the improvement and support are vital in education at this time. "

Leslie Standerfer

The writing, the depth, the flow, examples are all exciting and well done. Very appropriate for teachers. I recommend the book because of the detailed information, clear step-by-step process.

Margarita Calderón

The writing, the depth, the flow, examples are all exciting and well done. Very appropriate for teachers. I recommend the book because of the detailed information, clear step-by-step process.

Margarita Calderón