IDENTIFYING & PRIORITIZING
PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE
December 2014
Office of Student and School Success, OSPI
Travis Campbell, Director
Sue Cohn, School Improvement Specialist
Agenda
Intended Audience: Superintendents, Principals,
Leadership Teams, Success Coaches, and
Educational Service District Leaders
 Welcome & Goals
 Identifying and Prioritizing
Problems of Practice
 Next Steps with Action Planning
 Contact Information
Bill Wagner / The Daily News
Monticello “Success Night”
Goals
Participants will have clear
understanding of:
• The concept of “Problem of Practice.”
• The relationship between steps of Assess
Need for Change and Identify Problems of
Practice.
• Protocols and tools teams can use to identify
Problems of Practice and possible causes.
• Next steps in the action-planning process.
First Step: Assess Need for Change
First Step: Assess Need for Change
Leadership teams engage in two
complementary activities:
• Collect and analyze data
(Where are we now?)
• Complete Current Level of Development
Review
(Where do we want to be?)
Next Step:
Identify Problems of Practice
Definitions:
Problems of Practice & Root Causes
• Problems of Practice:
• Identify specific, pressing concerns related to equality
and excellence in student outcomes.
• Anchored in data.
• Informed by understanding of evidence-based
practices (Expected Indicators).
• Root Causes of Problems of Practice
focus on adult practice (Indicators)
relative to student outcomes.
Complementary Questions
During this step of the cycle, teams
explore the following questions:
• What is our broad issue or “Problem of
Practice” related to student learning
and educator practice?
• What are the barriers contributing to
or root causes of this Problem of
Practice?
• What could we (teachers, leaders,
adults) do differently to ensure that
each student is successful?
More on Problems of Practice
•
•
•
•
•
Focus on the instructional core.
Are directly observable.
Are actionable.
Connect to a broader strategy of improvement.
Are high-leverage and anchored in Turnaround
Principles (e.g., Expected Indicators).
• Promote deep learning for both educators and
students.
Most importantly, they are something that you care
about that would make a significant difference for
student learning if you improved them.
Steps to Identify a Problem of
Practice
1. Develop Draft Problem of Practice.
2. Unpack Problem of Practice to identify
underlying Root Causes.
3. Select highest leverage actions (Expected
Indicators) to address Root Causes and
impact Problem of Practice.
1. Protocol: Develop Draft
Problem of Practice
• Engages team in collaborative process.
• Enables team to gain a deeper understanding
of the problem and its impact.
• Prepares team to analyze the root causes that
underlie the problem.
Time: About 30 minutes
Problem of Practice Protocol
Initial broad issue
(Student Outcomes, Educator Practice)
Focusing question
(Anchored in Turnaround Principles)
Who is affected by this issue?
(Students, Educators)
What do the data say about the focusing
question?
Inferences regarding this issue?
Draft problem of practice
Example: Broad Issue
Surfacing in Data
 State Assessment Data: Special
Education Students’ performance on
MSP in both Reading and Mathematics is
far below that of the district and the state.
 Classroom Walkthrough: CWTs are not regularly
conducted.
 Teacher Observations: Data show inconsistent use of
effective Core instructional strategies in classrooms.
 Staff Surveys: Most staff feel unprepared to support
inclusion in Core classes.
Example: Initial Broad Issue
Initial broad
issue
SWD aren’t accessing instruction and
curriculum essential for achieving at levels
(Student Outcomes,
equal to district and state peers.
Educator Practice)
Focusing questions
Who is affected?
What do data say?
Inferences regarding
this issue?
Draft problem of
practice
Example: Focusing Questions
Initial broad
issue
Focusing
questions
(Anchored in
Turnaround
Principles)
Who is
affected by
this issue?
SWD aren’t accessing instruction and curriculum essential for
achieving at levels equal to district and state peers.
• Principle 5: What do our data say…
• Principle 4:
• Do SWD receive differentiated core instruction in
general education setting?
• What examples of rigor do you see in the work all
students are being given? How about SWD?
• What supports do SWD receive from general
education teachers? Special education teachers?
• Principle 3: How have we designed the school day…
• Principle 2: What PD has been provided…
Example: Who is affected?
Initial broad
issue
Focusing
questions
(Anchored in
Turnaround
Principles)
Who is
affected by
this issue?
SWD aren’t accessing instruction and curriculum essential for
achieving at levels equal to district and state peers.
•
•
•
•
Principle 5: What do our data say…
Principle 4: …
Principle 3: How have we designed the school day…
Principle 2: What PD has been provided…
SWD, All students, General Education teachers, Special
Education teachers
Example: What do the data say?
• P5: Assessment data for SWD, for All Students
What do the data • P4, P5, P2: Perceptual data…
say about the
• P4, P5: Teacher collaboration time to analyze & act
on data
focusing
• P2: PD offerings and schedule
questions?
• P1: Observation/CWT data…
Inferences
regarding this
issue?
Draft problem of
practice
Example: What can be inferred?
• P5: Assessment data for SWD, for All Students
• P4, P5, P2: Perceptual data…
• P4, P5: Teacher collaboration time to analyze & act on
data
• P2: PD offerings and schedule
• P1: Observation/CWT data…
• P4: Students not receiving standards-based instruction
Inferences
and curriculum…
regarding this
• P5: Teachers don’t have dedicated time to analyze & act
on data…
issue?
• P2: Teachers not receiving PD around… (or they would act
(Anchored in
on it)
Turnaround Principles) • P1: Leadership not…
What do the data
say about the
focusing
questions?
Draft problem of
practice
Example: Draft Problem of Practice
•
What do the data say •
about the focusing
•
•
questions?
•
•
P5: Assessment data for SWD, for All Students
P4: Observation/CWT data…
P4, P5, P2: Perceptual data…
P4, P5: Teacher collaboration time to analyze & act on data
P2: PD offerings and schedule
P4: Students not receiving standards-based instruction and
curriculum…
Inferences regarding • P5: Teachers don’t have dedicated time to analyze & act on
data
this issue?
• P2: Teachers aren’t receiving PD …(or they would act on it)
• P1: Leadership not…
Draft problem
of practice
(Anchored in Student
Outcome Data and
Educator Practice)
Increasing rigor in classrooms and supporting
Students with Disabilities in achieving higher
levels of rigorous work.
2. Protocols: Unpack Problems of
Practice to Identify Root Causes
• Protocol 2a: Why, Why, Why
• Protocol 2b: Fishbone Analysis
NOTE: Teams use Current Level of Development
Review when engaging in these protocols. The
Review focuses the analysis on evidence-based
practices (i.e., Expected Indicators) that are
observable, teachable, and around which data can
be collected to monitor progress.
2a. Protocol: Why, Why, Why?
• Relatively quick, informal way to
identify root causes of problems.
• Through successive answers to the question
“Why?” the data team reaches agreement
on the likely root cause(s) of the Problem
of Practice.
Time: About 45 minutes
2b. Protocol: Fishbone Analysis
• Provides structure that enables team to
suggest possible causes of the problem
under investigation.
• Identifies highest leverage strategies
(i.e., Expected Indicators) to address
Problem of Practice.
• Supports team to reach consensus on
probable root causes.
Time: About 1 hour
Protocol 2b: Fishbone Analysis
School/District
Processes
Students
Step 2
Our problem of
practice is …
Step 1
Step 3
Curriculum
Instruction
3. Prioritize Root Causes
Teams use their Current Level of Development Review
to select highest leverage evidence-based practices
(Expected Indicators) aligned with their root causes.
Most importantly, select those practices
that you care about and
that would make a significant difference for student
learning if you improved them.
Next Step in the Cycle
Next Steps: Select Intervention &
Craft S.M.A.R.T. Goals
 If we do (ACTION): Provide PD focused on strategies
to serve Special Education students in Core
 Then we IMPACT: Instructional Practice and teacher
capacity to Differentiate Instruction
 That RESULTS IN: Improved performance for all
students, including students with disabilities.
 Evidence: Variety of performance and student
growth data
 Evidence: Data related to changes in educator and
organizational practices.
Supports and Resources
•
•
•
•
•
Office of Student and School Success (OSSS)
Other OSPI Divisions (e.g., Teaching and Learning)
Educational Service Districts
OSPI Website: http://www.k12.wa.us/
OSSS Website:
http://www.k12.wa.us/StudentAndSchoolSuccess/
default.aspx
Student and School Success
Contact Information
 Andy Kelly, Assistant Superintendent, Student and School
Success: [email protected] PH: 360-725-4960
 Travis Campbell, Director, Student and School Success:
[email protected] PH: 360-725-6503
 Indistar® technical assistance:
[email protected] PH: 360-725-4960
 OSSS website: www.k12.wa.us/StudentAndSchoolSuccess
Thank you!