Memphis City Schools

Breakthrough Leadership. Breakthrough Results.

Superintendent of Schools Kriner Cash, Ed.D.

Tripod 7Cs Professional Development Research Opportunities

The Tripod 7Cs Professional Development Research Project (Tripod PD) is conducted by Cambridge Education and supports selected math and science teachers with two exciting professional development opportunities. Based on the Tripod Student Perception Survey, which is 5% of the TEM assessment, and the 7Cs of Effective Teaching, participants will learn new ways to engage students, improve classroom learning, and reflect upon their practice. Participants in the Tripod PD project work to improve their teaching practice, student achievement, and thus their TEM profile. Teachers who register for this project will be assigned to one of the two different types of professional development activities, both of which are differentiated and explained below. Teachers in both groups also receive their Tripod student survey results in detailed reports that are designed to make student feedback as constructive and helpful as possible. Due to the nature of experimental design, treatment assignments are based on random selection. 7Cs MTP Consultancy The Tripod 7Cs MTP Consultancy provides teachers a personal consultant based on the My Teaching Partner (MTP) distance model. Due to the highly individual nature of this PD, only 120 teachers can participate. Each consultation occurs over the phone, ensuring flexibility to accommodate any schedule. Teacher participants select their own professional development goals, guided by their Tripod survey results, and with the support of their consultant. From September 2012 to May 2013, teachers spend 3-5 hours per month completing 8 consultancy cycles, attending relevant meetings, and providing project feedback. Each consultation cycle includes: Assess: Review feedback from Tripod Student Perceptions Surveys to identify areas of teaching strength and targets for improvement related to the 7Cs. Plan: Create and implement personalized action plans related to areas targeted for improvement, incorporating the resource library of 100+ videos of exemplary teacher-student interactions in real classrooms. Apply: Collaborate with consultants using the My Teaching Partner approach to analyze videos of classroom practice focusing on observed teacher-student interactions relevant to the 7Cs targets. A cycle starts when the teacher implements specific classroom strategies and captures the lesson on video. The video is submitted to the consultant, who reviews it and provides feedback. Together, the teacher and consultant reflect on classroom practice, debrief, set new goals, and plan a new cycle. Reflect: Document goals, strategies, experiences, and outcomes and submit to receive PD credit.

Online Tripod 7Cs Community The online Tripod 7Cs Community offers a supportive, interactive, closed professional network for MCS teachers only. The Community includes a wide-variety of practical resources organized around the

Memphis City Schools

Breakthrough Leadership. Breakthrough Results.
Superintendent of Schools Kriner Cash, Ed.D.

7Cs, including classroom videos, articles, lesson plans, and web sites. Participating teachers are invited to contribute strategies and experiences, as well as, participate in online discussions about the 7Cs and how they work in practice. For example, discussions might involve sharing strategies for clarifying concepts; reflecting on a strategy for challenging students; or analyzing how a teacher in a classroom video clip controls the classroom in order to optimize productivity and learning. Accessible anywhere and anytime, the online 7Cs Community provides tailored, just-in-time support. Participants must complete guided PD Pathways to earn Avatar PD credits. Each pathway requires approximately 3 hours to complete and earns 3 PD credits. While teachers are encouraged to target improvement areas based on their Tripod Student Perception Survey results, they determine which cycles they want to complete.

To learn more about the Tripod 7Cs PD Research Project, contact Chantavia Burton, MCS Tripod Coordinator, at MCSTripod@gmail.com or 901-652-6857. Also, please refer to Tripod 7Cs Research Project Overview in the TEM toolkit at http://www.mcstei.com/tem/tem-toolkit/.

The Tripod 7Cs Professional Development Research Project is in cooperation with Memphis City Schools Department of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness, Tequilla Banks, Executive Director and Office of Reflective Practice, Monica Jordan, Coordinator. 2597 Avery Avenue Memphis, TN 38112 (901) 416-5300 www.mcsk12.net