The REL West K-6 Literacy Improvement Partnership is working closely with staff in the Washoe County School District (WCSD) in Reno, Nevada, to strengthen implementation of a writing curriculum using improvement science strategies — such as the “Plan-Do-Study-Act” (PDSA) cycle — to select and iteratively test improvements in instruction and collect short-term data on its effectiveness. Participating teachers engage in grade-level inquiry or “learning huddles,” which provide opportunities for peer support as teachers examine data and evidence together and engage in testing change ideas as they strive to improve students’ writing.
This one-hour archived webinar includes an overview of the inquiry cycle structure, an explanation of the design features of the discussion protocols, and examples of change ideas and related data tracking to demonstrate how teachers are learning about improving instruction. WCSD practitioners will discuss their early experiences and lessons learned while facilitating and participating in the learning huddles.
Who Will Benefit
This webinar was designed for district leaders, instructional coaches, and school leaders interested in engaging teachers in structured inquiry protocols for curriculum implementation and improvement in any subject.
What You Will Learn
Viewers will:
- Learn about the theory and practice of teacher learning huddles and how they reflect an improvement science PDSA inquiry cycle
- Through huddle examples from WCSD, understand the design features and leverage points to facilitate learning about instruction
- Explore ways to support teacher learning through inquiry in their context
Presenters
- Kim Austin, Senior Program Associate, REL West at WestEd
- Darl Kiernan, Early Literacy Learning Facilitator, Northwest Regional Professional Development Program
- Sola Takahashi, Senior Research Associate, REL West at WestEd
