Welcome to the December Edition of the Learning Leader Digest!
This month, we’re excited to spotlight two key areas that drive excellence in teaching and learning: student accountability through collaborative classroom structures and the ongoing success of Learning Walk teams.
First, we continue our series on collaborative structures, focusing on how they support student accountability in the classroom. Collaborative discussions empower students to actively engage with peers, take ownership of their learning, and deepen understanding through meaningful dialogue. These structures go beyond participation – they foster responsibility as students hold each other accountable for meaningful contributions to group tasks and discussions. In this issue, we explore practical strategies to integrate these structures purposefully into your teaching.
Second, we’re thrilled to highlight the impact of Learning Walk teams in fostering collaborative growth among educators. When educators come together – through these teams, professional learning communities, or content-specific walkthroughs – they create opportunities to norm instructional practices, share strategies, and collectively enhance teaching effectiveness. These efforts not only elevate individual teaching practices but also build a culture of shared responsibility for student success.
If you or your school are interested in engaging in a Learning Walk or learning more about how these teams can elevate instructional practices, please reach out to Angela Socorso. We’d love to connect and support your efforts!
Thank you for your commitment to supporting educators and empowering students. Together, we continue to build a culture of collaboration, excellence, and continuous improvement.
|
|
|
This month, we celebrate the Curriculum Team from Brandywine School District (BSD) for their leadership in fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence. Their innovative thinking and proactive approach have led to the creation of monthly visits designed to support ELA and math instruction in middle and high schools. Through their engagement with Learning Walk teams, they have inspired growth and continuous improvement within their schools. The team's energy, collaboration, and commitment to instructional excellence serve as a model for others across the state, highlighting how intentional, targeted efforts can make a significant impact on teaching and learning
We want to recognize the incredible contributions of:
Dr. Michelle Kutch – Director of Curriculum
Tracy Selekman - Supervisor of English (Reading)
Michelle Hawley – Supervisor of Mathematics
|
If you would like to nominate educators to be recognized in the Excellence in Action section, please email Angela Socorso.
|
|
|
How do teachers effectively plan and use collaborative pairs?
|
Collaborative discussions are structured conversations where participants engage in dialogue to share ideas, build on each other's contributions, and collectively develop understanding or solutions. With collaborative discussions, students analyze viewpoints of others, support arguments, compare ideas, and evaluate thinking.
By doing so, students deepen their understanding of the content while also enhancing their communication skills. If students have limited experience with engaging in conversations, you may want to start with the written conversation strategy below. (Learning Focused 2024).
Written Conversation (Daniels and Zemelman 2004)
Written conversation is designed to simulate a discussion, taking students to deeper levels of thinking by writing to process as well as provide peer feedback.
How does it work?
1. Ask a question or provide a prompt.
2. Each student in a pair writes their response.
3. After 2 minutes, partners swap papers, read what the partner wrote, and write a response.
4. Conduct 2 or 3 rounds and then allow partners to talk with each other before moving to the whole class discussion.
|
Example of a written conversation |
Ask open-ended questions to promote dialogue:
- What do you understand and not understand in this selection?
- Do you agree or disagree with the author, and why?
- What are the important ideas in the text? Justify your ideas with reasons and examples.
- How might you explain why the distributive property works when multiplying a sum, such as 3 × (4 + 5)? Can you provide different examples to support your explanation?
- When solving a word problem involving ratios, how would you decide which method or strategy to use? Can you explain your choice of method and how it leads to the solution?
|
|
|
Administrator's Corner: High-Quality Feedback
|
The goal of this section is to provide a practical, actionable strategy that you can immediately implement to enhance the quality of feedback through clear and effective action steps.
The feedback analysis tool helps ensure feedback is actionable, specific, and aligned with high-impact teaching practices. The criteria focus on identifying growth areas, providing measurable and realistic action steps, linking feedback to instructional strategies, and including a clear rationale. Check out the chart below for examples and non-examples of effective feedback.
Feedback analysis tool
|
| Examples | |
|---|
| Strong Action Steps | Weak Action Steps
|
- Plan 2–3 higher-order questions per lesson and allow 10 seconds of wait time after each. Use notes or a rubric during instruction to assess responses for clarity, evidence, and relevance. Reflect after the lesson to adjust questioning strategies. This will foster critical thinking and deeper student engagement.
|
- Ask more higher-order questions during lessons to help students think critically. | |
- Design lesson activities that require students to justify their answers with evidence during class discussions. Use sentence starters like 'I believe this because...' to guide responses. Observe and note the use of evidence in student explanations, then provide immediate feedback to reinforce the practice. This will strengthen students' reasoning and communication skills, ensuring alignment with the objective. | - Encourage students to use evidence when answering questions. | |
- Incorporate three formative checks for understanding during each lesson over the next two weeks to ensure all students are progressing and to provide timely adjustments to instruction. These checks may include mini whiteboards, exit slips, quick polls, or brief student reflections. Track student responses and use the data to identify areas where further support is needed. | - Consider where you can incorporate formative checks for understanding. |
|
|
|
DPAS Support Workshops: Guidance for Administrators |
Upcoming DPAS for Admin. Support Workshops
Virtual workshops - Offers additional coaching and support for administrators.
- Preparing for the Mid-year Conference - PDMS #86515: 12/10/2024
- Preparing for the Summative Evaluation - PDMS #86516: 05/20/2025
For more information, contact Brandie Foxx.
|
|
|
*Looking to Enhance Your DTGSS Practice?
Join Leadership Lift: DTGSS Insights in 30.
Principals, elevate your DTGSS practice with our new 30-minute quick learning sessions designed specifically for administrators! These virtual sessions offer a time-efficient way to deepen your understanding of DTGSS and develop practical, high-impact strategies to support your teachers.
What: Quick, focused sessions on essential DTGSS practices
When: Jan. 21, Feb. 18, Mar. 18, Apri.22
Where: Virtual via Zoom (link provided upon registration)
Why Attend? Gain actionable insights to strengthen your leadership skills, enhance teacher support, and connect with other educational leaders.
Take advantage of this opportunity for professional growth—register today! Click here to register.
*Join monthly DTGSS office hours. Contact Angela Socorso for more information.
Subscribe to the Learning-Focused Newsletter to receive educational articles, helpful hints and tips, events, and news.
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
|
401 Federal Street #2 | Dover, DE 19901 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
| |
|
|
