During a group discussion, draw a representation of the conversation. Connect-the-dots to show the pattern of talk. For example, if the teacher initiates the talk, a student responds to the teacher and then the teacher asks another student a question, the diagram would look like this:

Since you are working to increase student conversation, your goal may be a diagram more like this:

When students get used to using this diagram, you can ask them to self-monitor small group discussions. Just give one member of the group a sticky-note and ask them to track the discussion. It will be “evidence” of their accountable talk.

Setting up Accountable Talk
Kids are used to talking to a partner (think-pair-share), but you can also try some different grouping configurations.  Start by introducing the concept in a mini-lesson. Make a chart with the different styles you show them and practice, practice, practice. Kids love this; you can time them moving from one configuration to another. When you practice talking, encourage them to extend their conversations by asking their partner “why?”.  When they get stuck, tell them to refer to the accountable talk prompts. Listen in to different conversations so you can highlight great accountable talk.  Create a rubric in order to give students feedback about the quality of their discussions. Also try using a diagram to track discussion.

Home Base
When you begin a mini-lesson, expect all the students to sit on the floor facing you. If you run into trouble with kids sitting too far away, or not wanting to sit next to each-other, just assign seats on the floor and be finished with that discussion.  When you introduce another arrangement, practice moving to and from “home base” – quietly and quickly.

Partners
Students should sit next to their “talk-partner” everyday.  Encourage them to sit knee-to-knee, look one another in the eye and listen attentively. When you practice partner talk, cue students to take turns talking. For example, you read a passage aloud and say, “Now turn and talk to your partner about Charlie’s big decision.” After a few minutes say, “Now make sure your partner has a chance to talk.” Use partner talk when you want every student to express their opinion… and be accountable for the intended learning.

Groups of Four
Two partner groups can join forces for a group of four. Don’t use this configuration if you expect each student to thoroughly justify an opinion. Instead, you can use it to “take a poll” in which students contribute and briefly explain. Also, when you feel very comfortable with your students’ ability to have quality discussions you can let them have free-form talk in groups of four.

Whole Group Circle
Use the group circle when you have an opportunity to build community through accountable talk. Maybe you read a book about civil rights and you want to discuss how it relates to issues in your classroom. Students are often shy in this configuration and might rely on you to get keep the conversation going. Once they get more comfortable, try to step back and let them take over. 

Why use Rubrics for Staff Development?
Rubrics create transparency. When teachers and administrators work together to define specific performance indicators, there is no secret criteria on which teachers are evaluated. Everyone knows the behavior and evidence that will result in certain performance “scores”.  As useful as this end product is, the process of developing the rubric is far more valuable. Thinking through exactly what it means to be “advanced” or “proficient” in a particular area is very powerful. In addition, teachers have more buy-in to the evaluation process. When teachers define the criteria themselves, you can move from “Us versus them” toward, “We’re in this together”.

Start Small
Making rubrics collaboratively takes a long time. Don’t make the mistake of trying to create a rubric for every subject in one planning day. It’s difficult work. If you have a school-wide focus, begin with that.  Think through categories before you start. While teachers appreciate participating in defining performance criteria, they don’t want to start from zero. It might take several sessions to complete a rubric. You can do your collaborative work on big pieces of chart paper and then compile and type it up when it’s complete.

Communicate Expectations
If your rubric defines “beginning”, “proficient” and “advanced” teaching, tell your teachers where you expect them to be. Maybe you expect all teachers to operate at some baseline. For example, if teachers drop below the “beginning” criteria, they can expect some intervention. In addition, you might expect a certain amount of growth through the year… especially in professional development focus areas.

Using the Rubrics
Ask teachers to periodically use the rubrics for self assessment. Print copies of the rubric and ask teachers to highlight where they are now. They can then articulate their areas of need for professional development. Also use the rubrics for informal observations and evaluation. You might tell the staff, “This week we’ll be focusing on the ‘procedures’ section of the rubric. Our feedback will be related to the criteria outlined there.”

Step 2: Break down your topic into 3 or 4 parts
You want to follow the data cycle (see below) for each sub-topic. For example, if my focus is small group work in reading, I might break it down into 4 parts: planning small groups, promoting student discussion, appropriate texts, and small group assessment.

Step 3: Use the data cycle to make a year-long staff development outline

Plan the entire data cycle for each of your sub-topics. In my example, the ouline might look like this:

Quarter 1- Sub-topic: planning small groups
Sep 4th: Baseline assessments
Sep 10th: Set goals for quarter during team meetings
Sep 12th-Oct 25th: Strategy work – sessions 1-8 (specifics determined collaboratively)
Oct 17th: Lesson Study #1
Oct 27th: Assessments
Nov 1st: Data Day #1 (to analyze assessment data/goals)

Continue similar cycle for other sub-topics through rest of school year.

Step 4: Strategy Work
Decide how you will cover your material. What degree of collaboration will make sense for your staff? If you have many new teachers, you may need to deliver information in whole-staff meetings. If your staff experience is varied, you may need to plan differentiated staff development. In any case, it makes sense to include teachers in decisions (especially when it comes to setting acheivment goals).  The lesson study is a great way for teachers to work together on a common focus.

Also see posts about accountable talk discussion prompts and grouping configurations.

The Questioning Pyramid
You can think of discussion prompts as a pyramid – very broad, open-ended questions at the bottom and increasingly specific questions as you move up.

Scaffolding Questions
Questions at the base of the pyramid require more thought and lend themselves to student-directed discussion. They are also much more difficult and may result in blank stares and awkward silences. If students are not used to answering such broad questions, you can scaffold up the pyramid. Always start with the most broad, then move toward more specifics if the students get stuck. Your can always lead them back to the base as the discussion gets going.

What?

1. What is the intended learning? What are the skills, concepts, habits of mind being developed?
2. To what standard(s) is the lesson content connected?
3. What difficulties, misunderstandings, or misconceptions might students have about this content?
4. What theories of teaching and learning support this lesson design?

 How? 

5. How will the teacher model/explain clear expectations for the students’ learning?
6. How will each activity promote rigorous thinking?
7. How will students be grouped for learning? How is the grouping related to the lesson content?
8. How will accountable student talk and collaboration be encouraged in an atmosphere of mutual respect?
9. How will students make public their thinking and learning?
10. How will assistance be provided to individual students (struggling students as well as those needing an extra challenge)?
11. How will student learning be assessed by the teacher and by the students themselves?
12. How will student accomplishment be recognized?
13. How will the teacher do things differently the next time? How will instruction proceed form here?

 Why? 

14. Why is the lesson content appropriate to the students’ learning needs and prior knowledge?
15. Why are these instructional strategies/learning activities appropriate to the lesson/goals?

 Questions derived from The Institute for Learning’s Content-Focused Coaching model.

The Purpose of Peer Observations
The purpose of a peer observation should be actually doing the observation. That’s it. You’re creating a culture in which teachers learn from eachother, but be careful how you approach the observations. Don’t underestimate the emotional aspect of allowing fellow teachers to observe. For some teachers, it can be very, very scary. Do not to assign teachers to learn something specific from someone else (at lease not at first). Creating a “master teacher” and “learning teacher” dynamic is very threatening.  Allow them to set their own agenda for the observation.  If all the teachers are required to complete an observation, you’ll have experienced teachers observing rookies and vice versa. You never know what they’ll get from their time: management ideas, specific lessons, organization tips or a new line of communication about instruction.

Taking Notes During Peer Observations
Here are some questions to consider:
1. Objectives – what are you looking for during this observation?
2. Observations – what behaviors did you see from teacher/students?
3. Questions – what questions would you like to ask the teacher?
4. Action Plan – do you see anything you’d like to implement in your own class?

Download a peer observation form.

Use this form for taking notes during a peer observation.