Chapter 8
Using Data to Plan Learning Community Strategies
All learning communities use data to identify and analyze the problem of practice and to provide evidence for use in discussions—and to stay away from unsubstantiated opinions. A specific type of learning community is a data team or an inquiry team, but use of data is essential for the learning community's work. Data help identify the issues and trends to inform goal setting and product development. It also informs the development of midcourse corrections when used to set milestone check-ins.
Data are also helpful because often people don't know what they don't know. The data will inform individuals of areas in which they might want some skills refreshed or expertise from colleagues.
Learning Together Templates
The following four templates may prove useful in implementing the guidance offered in chapter 7. They include a template to be completed by different learning community participants:
- Each participant: to ensure buy-in and that each person's learning needs are taken into account in the planning of the learning community
- The planners of the learning community: to ensure that they are taking into account all relevant factors when developing the learning community
- The facilitator of the learning community: to ensure successful implementation for the group during each session and in-between
- Sample learning community recording work plan
These templates help the learning community to walk the talk of mutual learning and problem solving. The first step is to hear all voices in the planning—the defining of the instruction-centered goal by the leadership team—and then the input of the potential participants on what would constitute success and their individual learning goals (participant template).
That serves as the basis for planning the problem or practice, learning methods, group membership, and data and other resources that will best meet the needs of the participants and the instruction-centered goal of the school or district (input for the learning community planner's template). The participant template also serves as reworking of the first learning community meeting—a necessary ingredient to demonstrate the seriousness of the learning community's work and everyone's mutual commitment to the group.
The third template for the facilitator itemizes the steps the conductor of the meeting needs to take to lead a productive session. The fourth template is a meeting plan summary, by which the facilitator ensures that everyone has the same recollection of what was decided and how the group has agreed to move forward.
Participants' Needs Assessment Template
(To Inform the Learning Community Planner)
Here is a template that the planner could distribute to the participants in advance of the meeting in order to accommodate their felt needs into the architecture of the learning community.
We are establishing learning communities to problem-solve and develop new approaches, tools, or products to help us achieve instructional improvements for our students. Your participation will be most valuable. We want to make sure that this effort is worthwhile for everyone and that your personal learning needs are met. Your completion of this survey will help the planners design a learning commmunty to accomplish all these goals.
Please complete by _______ and send or hand in to _______________. We look forward to productive sessions.
School or district's instruction-centered goal: (to be completed by the leadership team)
Overall goal of the learning community: (to be completed by the leadership team; include time frame)
Goal for the first meeting: To discuss various problems of practice we are experiencing and decide, as a group, on the one we focus on at the beginning. Decide on an early win and time lines.
| Suggested problem of practice I'd like the group to address. Please describe only one and be specific. | ||
| How would I define success for the learning community? What are the quantitative goals? | ||
| My personal learning goal: | ||
| How I seek to learn it (please X no more than three methods): | ||
| ___ Data analysis | ___ Read articles and books | ___ Model lessons and discuss |
| ___ Group discussion | ___ Bring back student feedback | ___ Visitation in school |
| ___ Outside experts | ___ Visitation within district | ___ Attend conference |
| ___ Workshops | ___ Explore the latest research | ___ Other (specify): |
| Membership: Whose expertise might be useful to achieve the group's goal? Note: Within a diverse group, homogenous subgroups may be created with participants who learn similarly, have various perspectives or experiences, or have the same content expertise. |
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| Experience and resources I can contribute: | ||
| What support can leadership provide? | ||
| What data are needed? | ||
| Proposed early win (specific, observable, symbolic, accomplished within three weeks): | ||
| Potential concerns (if any): | ||
Learning Community Planner's Template
School or district's instruction-centered goal: (to be completed by the leadership team)
Overall goal of the learning community: (to be completed by the leadership team; include time frame)
Goal for the first meeting: To discuss various problems of practice we are experiencing and decide, as a group, on the one we focus on at the beginning. Decide on an early win and time lines.
I. Analysis of Feedback from Potential Participants
| Main (synthesized) problems of practice identified by potential group members: | ||
| How would participants define success for the learning community? How would the leadership team define success for the learning community? Is there any discrepancy between these two visions for the learning community? What are they? How might they be resolved? |
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| A compilation of participants' learning goals: Is there any discrepancy between what most people want to learn and the goals of the learning community? If so, what are they and how can they be resolved? |
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| Learning methods: How do participants learn best? How many responded to the following methods? | ||
| ___ Data analysis | ___ Read articles and books | ___ Model lessons and discuss |
| ___ Group discussion | ___ Bring back student feedback | ___ Visitation in school |
| ___ Outside experts | ___ Visitation within district | ___ Attend conference |
| ___ Workshops | ___ Explore the latest research | ___ Other (specify): |
| Membership: Whose expertise might be useful to achieve the group's goal? Note: Within a diverse group, homogenous subgroups may be created with participants who learn similarly, have various perspectives or experiences, or have the same content expertise. |
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| Experience and resources identified by members: | ||
| What support can leadership provide? | ||
| What data are needed? What data are available? | ||
| Proposed early wins (specific, observable, symbolic, accomplished within three weeks): | ||
| Potential concerns (if any): How can these be alleviated? |
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II. Additional Planning Considerations
| When can sessions be regularly scheduled (making sure there is no conflict with another highly held value)? |
| Is technical support desirable (computers, virtual space, planning programs, etc.)? |
| What is the most promising group configuration? |
| If this is a school learning community, what resources (including personnel) are available from the district office? |
| Who will be the facilitator for each learning community? Is that person prepared to not only facilitate the group but also develop and monitor the work plan? |
Facilitator's Template
- School or district's instruction-centered goal: (to be completed by the leadership team)
- Overall goal of the learning community: (to be completed by the leadership team; include time frame)
- Goal for the first meeting: To discuss various problems of practice we are experiencing and decide, as a group, on the one we focus on at the beginning. Decide on an early win and time lines.
Present group ground rules:
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| Define success for the learning community: |
| Review three prepared problems of practice suggested by the analysis of the participant template. Have the group decide on one. |
| Methods the group will use (at least to start): |
| Experience and resources of group members. Ask each member to say what he or she can contribute. |
| Present support leadership can provide plus any constraints that need to be taken into consideration (such as there is only so much—if any—funding that can be put to the group's work): |
| What data are needed? What are available? |
| Proposed early win for the learning community (specific, observable, symbolic, accomplished within three weeks): |
| Drafting of work plan and plans for assignments and follow-up: |
Sample Learning Community Recording or Work Plan
School or district's instruction-centered goal: (to be completed by the leadership team)
Overall goal of the learning community: (to be completed by the leadership team; include time frame)
Meeting date:________________________________________
Meeting participants:_________________________________________
Problem of practice:___________________________________________
Early win:______________________________________________________
| WHO is assigned to do… | WHAT… | by WHEN |