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#6 Harkness Rollout & Planning

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Goals

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Rollout & Planning

Coaching & Support

Agenda

  • Share coaching experiences & expertise
  • Review & discuss Harkness Cycle & alignment to current frameworks
  • Discuss rollout & planning prioritizes & strategies for the first 6 weeks of school

Agenda

  • Review & discuss coaching techniques for Harkness
  • Determine areas for continued focus/prioritization

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Where do you feel most well-equip to support staff this year? (Your superpower!) Where do you anticipate you’ll need the most support, in particular as it relates to Harkness?

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Rollout & Planning

Know your people.

Build collective ownership & language.

Prioritize intentionality over speed.

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Know Your People

  • Lay the foundation during BOY 1<>1s
    • Move at the speed of trust
    • Communication & coaching preferences
      • In particular how the prefer to give/receive feedback & praise
    • Hopes and vision in alignment with school mission
    • Have teachers identify where support is most needed
  • Identify your observation & debrief expectations
    • Have a shared document that can be populated in advance of your 1<>1
  • Don’t be afraid to model & do things together
    • Continually acknowledge the brilliance & effort

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Intentionality Over Speed

  • Culture & relationships set the foundation
    • Identify key relationship skills/SEL traits
  • Lesson preparation & execution (Teaching is Thinking)
  • Emphasize “heavy-lifting” and community building over numbers when discussing Harkness
  • Find age + content appropriate scaffolds
    • EX Students put up two fingers when they want to talk next during the first quarter, and students call on one another
  • Build skills from day 1 & start in small groups before you get to 12-14
    • Groups can be as small as 2 then begin to grow as students grow their skills, expertise, & comfort

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Timeline (Semester)

Beginning of the year

Build strong classroom culture, relationships, systems & routines.

Start of Q2

Begin to intentionally let students apply, practice, & reflect on skills in pairs. Identify key student scaffolds & supports for all learners.

End of Q2

Students take a leadership role and apply skills in discussion with a teacher present.

Mid-Q1

Create classroom norms. Teachers identify & prioritize key “Harkness” skills for an upcoming unit. Introduce & teach skills.

Mid Q2

Students apply skills in small groups (both traditional and Harkness style) led by the teacher. Teacher provides students with feedback on performance.

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Teacher Discussion Expectations & Associated Support

Teacher Expectation

Each classroom creates norms

Associated Support

Review of standardized processes or best practices to build norms in PD. Language is displayed in the classroom and reiterated during opening routines, systems, and closing routines. Integrate norms into praise and feedback for students

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Build Collective Ownership & Language

  • As an administrative group, align on Harkness rollout & messaging to students & continued messaging/training to staff members
    • One grade/content “owning” skill development
    • Common language/norms across a group of students shared with all teachers
    • Tomorrow, we’ll collect staff ideas of key skills that they might want to prioritize/incorporate in the first few weeks
  • People will ask about the role of assessment and planning this is an opp to lead based on your vision for each classroom
  • What readiness conditions should you align on before each teacher begins to Harkness?
    • Time? ETR? Case by case?

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What is the team’s body language?

What is the team saying?

What is the team doing?

  • Sitting comfortably SMART, no slouching
  • No hands over mouth
  • Eye contact
  • Nodding
  • Only pens in hands
  • Speak freely (don’t raise your hand)
  • No hands on face or over mouth
  • No distracting sounds
  • Minimal fidgeting

 

 

 

 

  • “I agree”
  • Speaking professionally
  • Give clear examples and use text
  • “I strongly and respectfully disagree”
  • “I would like to add on”
  • “Can you explain that?”
  • “How did you get that answer?”
  • “I feel/think this…..because…”
  • Speak loudly and articulate
  • No interruptions
  • Share CLEAR thinking
  • No off task behavior, stay on the subject
  • Equal participation (everyone has a chance to speak)
  • Take risks
  • Be fearless
  • Mistakes are OK
  • Don’t be a “know it all”
  • Active listening (see handout)
  • Give respectful feedback
  • Help one another
  • Synergize
  • One person speaking at a time, others are quiet
  • Ask questions
  • Debate
  • Give your point of view
  • Follow directions
  • Everyone is active
  • Don’t make anyone feel left out

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The Harkness Cycle

    • Students and teachers should reflect (individually and as a group on progress towards goals frequently. Teachers and students should use reflection to inform future goals, tracking, and preparation.
    • Teachers and students must hold each other accountable for high-quality conversation. Teachers use various tracking tools to evaluate whole group progress and grade individual students. Teachers should give students frequent feedback so that students can continue to grow and improve.
    • Students and teachers should be prepared for the discussion. Student preparation can be scaffolded and adjusted by the teacher in a variety of different ways. Preparation can be done over the course of a week, class period, or for homework depending on the grade and content.
    • All strong teams must build a foundation or trust and respect. The same is true of students working together at the table. Students are more willing to take risks, challenge each other, and develop ideas together when they have established trust.

Trust/Respect

2A, 3C, 3D, 3F

Preparation

1B-1E

Reflection

3E, 5A

Feedback and Accountability

3E, 4B, 4D, 5C, 5D

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Questions for Discussion

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  • What might an authentic rollout look like in your community?
    • What does your team envision prioritizing with staff? (Planning, skills, etc)
  • What universal discussion supports might be put into place? (preparation sheets, reflection time, norms, etc)

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Harkness Coaching & Support

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Timeline (Semester)

Phase 1

Build strong classroom culture, relationships, systems & routines.

Start of Q2

Begin to intentionally let students apply, practice, & reflect on skills in pairs. Identify key student scaffolds & supports for all learners.

End of Q2

Students take a leadership role and apply skills in discussion with a teacher present.

Phase 2

Create classroom norms. Teachers identify & prioritize key “Harkness” skills for an upcoming unit. Introduce & teach skills.

Mid Q2

Students apply skills in small groups (both traditional and Harkness style) led by the teacher. Teacher provides students with feedback on performance.

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Coaching

  • Narrow the focus
  • Identify the “lever” of change or focus
    • Co-determine via discussion, observation, grounded in evidence (video, student work, minute by minute discussion Qs)
  • Concrete action steps (1-2 max) directly related to discussion
  • Align on practice or support

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Coaching Cycle (1/week @ BOY, 2/month every other)

Coaching Prework

Review and read student facing materials (text, problems)

Observation

Verbatim notes + exemplar and themes for discussion.

EOD Day of observation

Debrief Meeting/1<>1

~24-48 hours before

Class period

Email

Within 48 hours of conversation

30 Minute conversation

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Observation [Before]

  • Read & review
    • Lesson plan
    • Readings/problems
    • Student facing work
    • Teacher exemplar (if applicable)
  • Review previous observation notes & goals

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Observation [During & Directly After]

  • Read & review
    • Lesson plan
    • Readings/problems
    • Student facing work
    • Teacher exemplar (if applicable)
  • Notes & observations
    • Teacher action/student action
    • Send within 2 hours with themes/think abouts

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Debriefs & 1<>1s [Within 48]

  • Human check-in (5)
  • Class/broader check-ins (can be populated by either coach or coachee 24 hours in advance) (5)
  • Reflect on success (5)
  • Introduce/ discuss the coaching focus “see the model” (10)
    • Discuss factors, supports, potential action steps
    • If applicable, see a “model”
  • Name action items (5)
  • Support & resources (5)
    • Email follow up
    • Additional coaching meeting
    • Meeting extension for practice
    • Observe another staff member
    • Co-plan

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Harkness Professional Development

  • Come back to norms as a broader team
  • Build momentum & internal expertise
    • Highlight & share best practices
  • Emphasize structures & systems created by instructors, not just instructors themselves
  • As an administrative team, use the cycle to ID an area of development across teachers
    • EX Across teachers/content we aren’t seeing alignment between our essential question/central task and the prep work that students are doing before they get to the table
    • PD Focus might be writing questions, teacher moves at the table related to pace, etc