Teacher Teams That Get Results
61 Strategies for Sustaining and Renewing Professional Learning Communities

Edited by:

Gayle H. Gregory - Educational Consultant, Burlington, Ontario
Lin Kuzmich - Educational Consultant, KCS, Inc., Loveland, CO

Other Titles in:
Leadership | Professional Learning Communities | Team Building

March 2007 | 280 pages | Corwin

'Ready-to-use templates and clear instructions make this material user-friendly and clear. Especially helpful is the cross-reference matrix showing how a strategy can be used in more than one area.'ùWilliam Osman, President, New Jersey Staff Development Council'An excellent introduction integrates the five 'theaters of the mind' in a brief and coherent way.'ùChristelle Estrada, Director of Professional Development Services, Salt Lake City School District, UTA comprehensive set of tools for achieving lasting results and sustaining a professional learning community!Sustaining results-oriented team efforts is hard work, and achieving diversified solutions to complex issues over time requires commitment and creativity. To support the momentum of learning communities, Teacher Teams That Get Results: 61 Strategies for Sustaining and Renewing Professional Learning Communities provides an illustrated collection of ready-to-use tools and examples of plans in action for results-oriented faculty and staff.Focusing on the where, what, why, how, and when to use each of the 61 strategies, best-selling authors Gayle Gregory and Lin Kuzmich offer the tools your team needs to succeed. You will learn to:Create and sustain a growth-oriented climate that encourages feedback and builds trustShare knowledge and skills to expand and optimize resultsBuild resilience, develop creative solutions, and manage changeDetermine priorities and create excellence during goal setting, tying data to practice, and analyzing resultsAn indispensable guide for teachers, teacher leaders, and school administrators, this handbook is ideal for school and district staff serving as meeting and workshop leaders and facilitators.

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction: Tools That Get Results

Purpose for This Book

What We Know About Adult Learning

Brain Bits

Adult Learning Principles

Learning Styles

What Different Learners Need

Initial Group Development

Phases of Group Development and Behaviors

Benefit of Professional Learning Communities

Getting the Intended Results

Learning Teams That Get Results

Tools to Succeed as Teams

In This Book

1. Creating a Growth Oriented Culture

Strategy 1. ABC Conversations

Strategy 2: Birthday Month

Strategy 3: Community Circle

Strategy 4: Concept Formation

Strategy 5: Consultation Line

Strategy 6: Find Someone Who

Strategy 7: Four Corners

Strategy 8: Give and Go

Strategy 9: Mapping the Journey

Strategy 10: 3-2-1

Strategy 11: Nominal Group Process

Strategy 12: Personal, Interpersonal, Task Model (P.I.T.)

Strategy 13: Processing Pause

Strategy 14: Random Partners

Strategy 15:Synectics

Strategy 16:T Chart and Y Chart

2. Sharing Knowledge and Skills

Strategy 17: DIP Party

Strategy 18: Four Corner Cards

Strategy 19: Inside Outside Circle

Strategy 20: Jigsaw

Strategy 21: Know, Want to Know, Learned (KWL)

Strategy 22: Perspective Lens

Strategy 23: Pluses and Wishes

Strategy 24: Plus, Minus, Interesting

Strategy 25: Promissory Note

Strategy 26: Right Angle

Strategy 27: Round Robin, Round Table

Strategy 28: Round the Room Brainstorming

Strategy 29: Star Gazing

Strategy 30: Think, Pair, Share

Strategy 31: Wallpaper Poster

3. Building Resilience and Creating Solutions

Strategy 32: Checking the Oil

Strategy 33: Communication Matters

Strategy 34: Doubling Up

Strategy 35: Environmental Scanning

Strategy 36: Field Force

Strategy 37: FLOW

Strategy 38: Gallery Walk

Strategy 39: Graffiti

Strategy 40: Hot Buttons

Strategy 41: Journey Mapping (Also Known as Histo-Mapping)

Strategy 42: Musical Chairs

Strategy 43: Parking Lot

Strategy 44: Roadblock Removal

Strategy 45: The Question Matters: Reviewing Student Work

Strategy 46: Two Sides of the Story

4. Determining Priorities and Creating Excellence

Strategy 47: Building on Success

Strategy 48: Cause and Effect Planning

Strategy 49: Celebrations and Next Steps

Strategy 50: Current Snapshot

Strategy 51: Four Squares for Creativity

Strategy 52: Lesson and Unit Studies

Strategy 53: Prioritizing the Impact of Solutions

Strategy 54: Prioritizing Work and Learning

Strategy 55: Probable and Preferred Future

Strategy 56: Pros and Cons

Strategy 57: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Strategy 58: The Interview

Strategy 59: The People Ladder

Strategy 60: Think Abouts…

Strategy 61: Data Chats

5. Putting It All Together

Part One: Initial Group Development

Part Two: Sustaining Groups Over Time and Through New Initiatives

Putting It All Together: Examples for Implementation

Keeping Notes, Logging, and Our Methods

Keeping Your School, Team Culture, and Climate Healthy

Summary

References

Index

"I enjoyed reading Teacher Teams That Get Results and anticipate using some of the activities with groups that I facilitate."

Terry Crawley, Coordinator for School Planning and Professional Development

Archdiocese of Louisville, KY

"Excellent introduction integrates the 5 'theaters of the mind' in a brief and coherent way. I have not seen this done as well in other educational books."

Christelle Estrada, Director of Professional Development Services

Salt Lake City School District, UT

"Ready-to-use templates and clear instructions make this material user-friendly. Provides respected sources and a range of examples and applications. Especially helpful is the cross-reference matrix showing how a strategy can be used in more than one area."

William Osman, President

New Jersey Staff Development Council

"Provides flexible and relevant strategies that educational leaders can use to create a structure for meaningful conversations and moving forward in the sometimes messy business of learning communities. This book provides the nuts and bolts of getting to the big picture—something that's been needed for a while. My colleagues and I will find this guide useful in our quest to improve student learning."

Kim Bailey, Director of Staff Development

Capistrano Unified School District, CA

"This fits so well with work we are presently doing, and I am so pleased to see the brain research and practical strategies reflected everywhere! The authors' approach to teacher teams has been at the heart of the work I’ve been doing for the past 8 years with schools and leadership teams."

Kerry Bailey, Literacy Consultant

Maine Department of Education

"A remarkable volume by two authors who understand what a collaborative school is and how to make it work. This is a must-purchase. It is a book to use and use and use, and it is a solution to administrators who dream of a collaborative culture replacing a political, warring, and insular climate."

Teacher Librarian, June 2007

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61 Strategies for Sustaining and Renewing Professional Learning Communities

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