Re-Thinking Collaborative Planning - The WIlde Lake Way!

This past Friday morning, members of the WLMS leadership team helped me introduce the Classroom-Focused Improvement Process (CFIP) to the entire faculty here at WLMS. CFIP is our school's major improvement initiative this year.

What is the CFIP? 
It is a question-based protocol for data dialogue to be carried out by collaborative teams as they focus on planning their next instructional unit, leaving the daily lesson planning to the creativity of individual teachers. 

CFIP is a six-step process for increasing student achievement that is planned and carried out by teachers meeting in grade level, content, and vertical teams as a part of their regular lesson planning cycle. (Source mdk12.org/process/cip/index.html)

Our staff is re-thinking collaboration and more specifically how we can provide more time for teachers to plan engaging lessons, develop formative and summative assessments that inform instruction and develop strategies to re-teach students when they don't understand a particular skill or content the first time it is taught.

Here's how we plan to implement CFIP:

Using CFIP in Disciplinary (Content) Meetings (Steps 1-3): 

• Analyze Quarterly Assessment Data and other content specific data sources using the CFIP protocol
• Review content/course standards; identify essential content/skills for each course; and share ways that grade levels in the same subject can support each other
• Align objectives, develop common assessments and share exemplary lessons and units
• Develop re-teaching and enrichment strategies for each course

Using CFIP in Interdisciplinary (Grade Level) Meetings (Steps 5 &6): 

• Conduct interdisciplinary data conversations focusing on student needs found in the grade level group (Example: “In English, the students are having trouble with subject-verb agreement. If you have a chance during your content area instruction, please highlight this concept.”)
• Share what each content area is teaching on a monthly basis (Curriculum Mapping)
• Collaborate on ways to teach common skills and content among disciplines
• Share best instructional practices and assessments
• Examine student work samples
• Support the reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in the MCCSC
• Establish grade-level standards
• Coordinate homework, project and testing schedules
• Create and implement exemplary lessons and cross-curricular units 
• Review Team Improvement Plans and update plans at least once a year

Using CFIP to transform Kid Talk (Steps 4-6):

CFIP Collaborative Planning  (2 times a month) (Steps 4-6)

• Content partners will share exemplary lessons, align unit objectives and develop common formative assessments to inform their instruction. 
• Use student data from common formative assessments developed collaboratively to answer questions like: What did the students, as a whole, do well? What are their current academic needs?  What in-class enrichments and interventions will we put in place for individual students?  How will we improve our future instruction?
• Use the Draft CFIP Reporting Form to document the objective, assessment and outcomes.
• The Draft CFIP Reporting Form will be shared with entire interdisciplinary team.

                                

CFIP Reporting (2 times a month)  (Step 5)

• A collaborative meeting where the Draft CFIP Reporting Form  will be used to share student concerns, celebrations, interventions and enrichments that are being implemented.

• Staff will continue to discuss behavioral/attendance data, provide FYIs and updates about students, analyze D's and E's list, develop action plans and make referrals to appropriate supports and interventions.

This is an update from an earlier post http://lessonslearnedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2011/09/re-thinkng-school-improvementthe-cfip.html.