Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The professional learning programs involved employees of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), including all of the personnel for the Centers for Instructional Leadership (n=21), Directors for Student Excellence (n=3), District Superintendents (n=8), and Community Superintendents (n=18), as well as many personnel from DoDEA Headquarters (n=51). In total, we delivered programming to 101 different individuals. Changes/Problems:As a cooperative agreement, this project has involved ongoing, close collaboration with DoDEA, often negotiating fine details to ensure the project activities are aligned with the immediate and emerging needs of the stakeholders. On a broader scale, an example of a negotiated investment is the creation and refinement of a Learning Walkthrough Tool and Guide that will be applied DoDEA-wide beginning in January 2018. The idea for a common Walkthrough emerged through Virginia Tech's facilitation of strategic planning during the leadership symposium in September 2016, and the ongoing work extended through professional learning activities facilitated during the leadership symposium in June 2016. Another example of changes to anticipated program delivery is the inclusion of DoDEA Headquarters (HQ) personnel in many of the professional learning modules. While HQ was not originally identified as a target audience, we added a three-hour face-to-face workshop delivered exclusively for HQ personnel, and we facilitated two 90-minute webinars for DoDEA's Assessment Task Group, which was composed primarily of HQ personnel. These changes have helped to promote a common language and a broader approach to continuous school improvement than was originally articulated. Beyond adjustments to plans for delivery of professional learning, there were also significant changes to plans for evaluation. As we learned more about the evaluation needs associated with the project and the relationship with the expertise of the external evaluation group (AmHighEd), it became apparent the original team and approach was going to be insufficient. We terminated our contract with AmHighEd and requested a no-cost extension on the project to allow additional time for the comprehensive CIL evaluation report. In some ways, the extended time may align with best practice, because DoDEA is still working to fully staff the CILs, which in turn dictates the need for more time to generate and share artifacts for consideration in the evaluation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training and professional development is directly aligned with the project goal two, which involves facilitation of train-the-trainer modules in virtual and in-person delivery formats. Highlights of professional learning offerings include: Three sessions on data-based decision-making and strategic planning for 2016 DoDEA Leadership Symposium at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, with 38 participants. Two sessions on strategic planning with DoDEA CIL Chiefs (and a few headquarters personnel) in December 2016. Three, three-hour webinars for Module 1, "The Role of Professional Learning Communities in Continuous Improvement," with 64 participants. Three, three-hour webinars and one in-person workshop for Module 2, "Developing Capacity with Professional Learning Communities," with 69 participants. Three, three-hour webinars for Module 3, "Implementing Change with Professional Learning Communities," with 68 participants. Three, five-day, on-site Professional Learning Institutes on "Instructional Leadership Skills for Continuous Improvement," with 48 participants. Two 90-minute assessment webinars with DoDEA Assessment Task Group in May 2017. Multiple sessions on continuous improvement skills for instructional leadership for the 2017 DoDEA Leadership Symposium at Fort Benning, Georgia, with 67 participants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As a cooperative agreement, this project has involved ongoing, close collaboration with DoDEA, often negotiating fine details to ensure the project activities are aligned with the immediate and emerging needs of the communities of interest. One change to anticipated program delivery was the inclusion of DoDEA Headquarters (HQ) personnel in many of the professional learning modules. While HQ was not originally identified as a target audience, we added a three-hour face-to-face workshop delivered exclusively for HQ personnel, and we facilitated two 90-minute webinars for DoDEA's Assessment Task Group, composed primarily of HQ personnel. These changes have helped to promote a common language and a broader approach to continuous school improvement for all of DoDEA's communities of interest. When providing reports to the DoDEA Project Lead, we have typically provided both full reports and summary reports, with the idea that the summary reports are appropriate for sharing within DoDEA among communities of interests. Examples of these reports include: Summary Report of Post-Session Assessments for Modules 1-3 [Report Date: May 18, 2017] Summary Report of Post-Session Assessments for Spring 2017 Professional Learning Institute [Report Date: May 18, 2017] Summary Report of DoDEA CIL Professional Development Needs Assessment [Report Date: June 9, 2017] Insights on Progress from DoDEA Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) for the Centers for Instructional Leadership (CILs) [Report Date: July 18, 2017] Summary Report on Insights from Focus Groups with DoDEA's Centers for Instructional Leadership [Report Date: August 20, 2017] What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will do the following to accomplish the phase one project goals: 1. Continue established communication processes with DoDEA. 2. Confirm final deliverables and process the necessary project re-budget. 3. Finalize structure for Instructional Leadership Toolkit and ensure all requested tools from phase one of the project are reflected in the Toolkit. 4. Finalize project evaluation components of phase one.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Within the major goals of the project, we can identify key accomplishments to date: System-wide, standards-based, collaborative model for continuous school improvement. Conveyed a structure and support for guiding improvement efforts, including: Presenting framework to serve as DoDEA's Cycle for Improvement (Figure 2). Facilitating leadership symposium sessions on "Continuous Improvement, Theories of Action, and Strategic Planning"; "Data Walkthroughs and Root-Cause Analysis;" and "Continuous Improvement Skills for Instructional Leadership." Facilitating small group meetings on "Planning for Success"; "An Appreciative Approach to Improvement"; "Assessment Inventory: Optimizing the Portfolio of Purposes"; and "Assessment-Related Ideas that Everyone Almost Certainly Already Knows but Might Benefit from Discussing." Providing templates and protocols for theories of action, root cause analysis, strategic planning, action planning, and marketing through DoDEA-wide CIL newsletter. Convening Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) meetings to facilitate broad involvement in planning processes. Provided comprehensive support for development of a Learning Walkthrough Tool and Guide, including: Sharing tools and resources to guide a common approach. Facilitating internal reviews of preliminary drafts of the Tool and Guide. Facilitating leadership symposium sessions on "Learning About the Learning Walkthrough: Components and Implementation." Delivering a complete 44-page PDF guide, including job aids and sample reports. Train-the-Trainer program and Continuous Improvement Toolkit to use with the CIL cadre districts, and schools. Provided structure and guidance for practical approaches for professional learning by shaping professional learning content with the following: Train-the-trainer curriculum maps, instructional guide template; professional learning needs assessment; protocol for feedback loops; and professional learning evaluation instrument. Facilitated train-the-trainer modules in virtual and in-person delivery formats, including: Three, three-hour webinars for Module 1, "The Role of Professional Learning Communities in Continuous Improvement," with 64 participants. Three, three-hour webinars and one in-person workshop for Module 2, "Developing Capacity with Professional Learning Communities," with 69 participants. Three, three-hour webinars for Module 3, "Implementing Change with Professional Learning Communities," with 68 participants. Three, five-day, on-site Professional Learning Institutes on "Instructional Leadership Skills for Continuous Improvement," with 48 participants. Provided a framework and initial content for DoDEA's Continuous Improvement Toolkit to be presented and maintained via Schoology. Comprehensive CIL evaluation report. While the comprehensive CIL evaluation report is forthcoming, we have already prepared components, and the data has been insightful for guiding the ongoing work: Key considerations emerged from discussions with DoDEA CIL LAB: Findings highlight early evidence of changes occurring as a result of professional development activities and investment of time and energy of CIL personnel. Investment to build awareness and trust with instructional leaders has both immediate and long-term benefits for establishing a solid foundation for learning and leading continuous improvement. Formal and informal networks are starting to emerge as a result of professional development, expanding communication channels and building new ones. Systematic data-informed processes are emerging and contributing to decisions about professional learning. The alignment of core values and desired results are having an impact on the daily work of instructional leaders as DoDEA builds the capacity for the "One DoDEA" vision. The module essential questions yielding the most change in knowledge were: How can CIL leadership turn around module 1 and support the embedded work associated with collaborative practices in a way that shifts the culture from one of teaching, to one that is about student learning? [0.9 change related to module 1] Why are protocols in the PLC process important, and when is it appropriate to use them? [0.8 change related to module 2] What opportunities do learning walkthroughs present to facilitate collaboration between schools, districts, and CILs? [0.7 change related to module 4e] How do the 3 big ideas of PLC and the 4 critical questions of a team drive the work of collaboration? [0.7 change related to module 1] How can the CIL help school leaders to leverage knowledge about the change process? [0.7 change related to module 4a] The Professional Development Needs Assessment revealed CIL priorities: Respondents appreciate focused and timely professional learning experiences. The competencies with highest priority for professional learning are in the areas of "Professional Development" and "Facilitative Leadership Skills." The most recent data reveals the highest priority competency is "Implement Professional Learning Experiences," followed by "Cognitive Coaching." Collaborate closely with DoDEA to achieve all project goals. We engaged in post-award kick-off meetings to clarify project deliverables, and we have worked to adapt as new considerations emerged. We convened weekly check-in meetings with DoDEA Project Lead, discussing project related activities, based on a consensus agenda. We have used the existing DoDEA LMS structure (i.e. Schoology) as the platform for sharing project-related resources and are in the process of ensuring the organization and final form of these resources are meeting the needs of DoDEA. We worked with DoDEA to convene three meetings of a DoDEA Leadership Advisory Board, which provided input related to the project deliverables. We fulfilled DoDEA Project Lead requests related to delivery dates for participant programs, travel and security procedures, points of contact at project program delivery sites, and coordination of travel arrangements.
Publications
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