Leading Deep Conversations in Collaborative Inquiry Groups

What New Writing Teachers Talk About When They Talk About Teaching

“…Teachers use talk to process, interpret, and analyze teaching experiences; interactions with other peer instructors (Nelson et al 2010) and mentors (Rust 1999) are crucial to teacher development and growth (Cohen 2008;Miller 2008). Our set of interviews makes visible a continuum of talk about teaching, from mediated to less mediated, with the more-mediated discussions of the pedagogy seminar classroom on one end of the continuum and the informal interactions of the communal TA office at the other end.…”

Learning to notice

“…There is an affective dimension to facilitating peer coaching with video feedback that includes creating a safe environment with characteristics of intimacy and vulnerability in which teachers feel comfortable sharing their work and examining each other's teaching. However, research studies also warned for superficial conversations as a result of school cultures based on congeniality and avoidance of conflict, resulting in teachers keeping away from asking each other questions or probing each other's ideas and beliefs, performances, and outcomes in students (Nelson, Deuel, Slavit, & Kennedy, 2010). Also (school) politics and power relations can affect what can be said and what is valued (Lefstein & Snell, 2011).…”

“…Some authors have suggested that models and protocols could help practitioners to focus on outcomes (Ermeling, 2010;Hall, 2009;Nelson, Deuel, Slavit, & Kennedy, 2010). During the last two decades, various models have been developed to enhance and study the process of reflection by teachers.…”

Common Core State Standards : elementary teacher perceptions of administrator supports with a focus on professional learning communities and walk throughs.

“…This time is used for teachers to share successes and failures in order to collaborate with one another to reach a common goal of student achievement. The main characteristics of a PLC is to focus on student learning, reflective dialogue between teachers, and continually improving upon learning goals, and instructional practices (Nelson, Deuel, Slavit, & Kennedy, 2010;Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). According to DuFour, Eaker, Many, and DuFour (2006), PLCs require teachers to shift their focus from teaching to students learning, collaborating, and holding one another accountable to continue to improve instructionally.…”

“…The main characteristics of a PLC is to focus on student learning, reflective dialogue between teachers, and continually improving upon learning goals, and instructional practices (Nelson et al, 2010;Vescio et al, 2008). Schools that adopt the PLC model reserve time for teachers to collaborate together to continue to find solutions to problems, evaluate what students are learning, or not learning, and continue planning instruction based on this information (Woodland & Mazur, 2015).…”