FROM ISOLATION TO

COLLABORATION

Samuel Pea
ELA Project
Pepperdine University
CPSEL 3.1
City School is located in West Los Angeles
First opened its doors in 2012
Started with a total of 150 students in 6
th
and
7
th
grade
Constructivist/Progressive philosophy to
education


CPSEL 1.1
City School Staff
Principal
One Assistant Principal/Teacher
24 Teachers
2 Aides
1 Office Manager
1 Office Assistant

CPSEL 1.3
City Charter Middle School
Student Population (YEAR 2)


137 students in 6th Grade
122 students in 7th Grade
55 students in 8th Grade


CPSEL 2.1
City Charter Middle School
Demographics





Two or mor e
Races
12%
Unspecif ied
3%
Asi an
17%
Af r ican
Amer i can
14%
Hispanic
17%
Whit e
37%
CPSEL 2.1
PAR Team



Jeff, 6th Grade
English/Administrator
Sam, 7th-8th
Grade Math/SPED
Jessica, 6th-7th
Grade Science
CPSEL 6.2
Teachers have expressed a need for
effective Professional Development that can
be applied to the classroom to improve
student learning

Professional development has not been
effective and is not intentional

Peer teacher observations are not practiced

Teachers have many preps and additional
duties


CPSEL 1.1
Inquiry Question
What impact does differentiated
professional development have on
Teacher Confidence?


CPSEL 1.1
Educational Vision




Education is meant to equip students with the
proper tools necessary to obtain and interpret
information

Education is never meant to be limited to the
school setting, but to extend beyond school
walls and for a lifetime by instilling an ability and
desire to learn and grow
CPSEL 1.2
To give teachers opportunities to grow
and improve their pedagogy through
effective professional development and
Peer Teacher Observations
Project
CPSEL 1.1

Surveys given to Teachers


Workshop on Constructivist Teaching


Workshop on Home/School Communication


1
st
Round of Teacher Observations


2
nd
Round of Teacher Observations


Share Key Learnings & Reflections



Timeline
CPSEL 1.2
October
Decemb
er
January
February
March
April
Mixed Methodology
Qualitative
Survey given to all
teachers in October

Questionnaires
given after each
peer teacher
observation
Quantitative
Questionnaires


Surveys
CPSEL 2.2
City School Workshops
CPSEL 2.2
Constructivism (December)
Home/School Communication (January)
What is constructivism?
What should a constructivist classroom look like?
What methods are teachers using to communicate with
parents & students?
How often are teachers communicating with parents &
students?
Teacher Observation Template
Procedure Observations of
Teacher
Observations of
Students
Entering the
classroom
Do Now
Planner
Handing in papers
or materials/passing
out papers or
materials
Direct Instruction
Group Work
Behavior
Interventions
CPSEL 3.3
Confidence Level Results
(Observers)




4.3
4.1
0
1
2
3
4
5
Confidence
Level before
Observation
Confidence
Level after
observing
another peer
CPSEL 2.1
Participation Results
(Observers)
YES
100%
Participation in future
observations
CPSEL 5.3
Confidence Level Results
(Observed Teachers)




4
4.5
0
1
2
3
4
5
Confidence
Level before
observation
Confidence
Level if being
observed
again
CPSEL 5.3
Participation Results
(Observed Teachers)
YES
86%
NO
14%
Was being observed a
benefit to you
professionally?
CPSEL 5.3
Teacher Observer Interview
CPSEL 5.2
Resistance from Administration
Some teachers did not want to be involved in
peer teacher observations
Scheduling peer teacher observations often
resulted in finding coverage for teachers
Lack of Time





CPSEL 5.4
KEY
LEARNING
S
Communicati
on is Vital
Teachers
need to
Receive
praise and
consistent
feedback
Teachers
were very
receptive to
observing
and being
observed
Confidence
Level among
observed
teachers
increased
CPSEL 5.3
Leadership vs. Management




Providing vision for
Project
Leading and
Encouraging PAR
team
Creating a SHARED
VISION
Encouraging BUY-
IN from all teachers
to participate

Scheduling PAR
Meetings
Creating teacher
observation
schedules
Communicating
through email and in-
person
Purchasing
Starbucks Gift cards
for PAR Team

CPSELS 5.2 & 5.4
Develop
PLCs for
upcoming
school year
Department
s
Collaborate
and
develop
Common
Lessons
Peer
Coaching/
Modeling
from
veteran
teachers to
new
teachers
CPSEL 3.2
References
Rick DuFour (Work Together But Only if You Want To)
Quality teaching is not an individual accomplishment, it is
the result of a collaborative culture that empowers teachers to
team up to improve student learning

Thomas Guskey (Evaluating Professional Development)
Observation helps break down the isolation of teaching by
having colleagues work together on shared improvement
goals.

Elliot Eisner (The Kind of Schools We Need)
The school needs to be designed in a way that affords
opportunities to teachers to learn from one another. Teachers
would have opportunities to observe other teachers and
provide feedback.
Spencer D. Hansen (Inviting Observation)
Peer observation is to make teachers more comfortable
observing, sharing instructional ideas, and learning from one
another.



CPSEL 5.2
Personal Transformation
Gave me more confidence as a teacher in
being able to develop and deliver constructivist
based lessons
Developed confidence as a SCHOOL
LEADER
Relationship building is KEY to having
teachers and staff buy into your vision
FAILING FORWARD


CPSEL 5.3
Final Slide
Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your
masterpiece, make friendships a fine art, drink deeply
from good books- especially the Bible, build a shelter
against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings
and
pray for guidance every day.
-John Wooden
CPSEL 5.1