Most of us are familiar with the quote, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." In education (and daily life!), we are often presented with this quandary. Most of us can easily identify an area in which we can improve, but after that is where we get lost. Sometimes, the options we could potentially try are overwhelming, sometimes there's a lack of strategies or resources to address the problems we face, and sometimes just the fear of the unknown is enough to prevent us from trying anything at all. What's the best way? Is one way more reliable or trustworthy? Has anybody else tried this? Is this really going to do what we want it to do? When will we have time to do this? What happens if it doesn't work? What happens if it DOES work, what next?
As mentioned in a previous blog post, Corner Middle School was one of ten Jefferson County schools awarded a portion of a $1.1 million dollar grant funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). Today, we began preparatory work for our Network Improvement Community (NIC) to identify and address mathematics problems we face in our individual schools. As I sat in a room full of educators, administrators, instructional coaches, and support staff, I was in awe of the privilege it was to be selected to participate in this endeavor. I kept thinking to myself, "Out of all the districts in the United States, Jefferson County was chosen, and out of all the schools in Jefferson County, Corner Middle School & Corner High School were two of the schools trusted to begin researching potential ways to help our students become the best mathematicians they can be." WOW!
Today, we experienced "Improvement Science 101". Through what we now know as a PDSA cycle (Plan-Do-Study-Act), we will begin identifying the individualized mathematical needs of our students, planning specific ways to address those needs, trying them out and collecting very thorough data in the process, studying what worked/didn't work, and acting from there. It is basically a framework for educators to really hone in on what we do, how it affects student growth in mathematics, and keep track of what works and doesn't work, all the while having access to specialized resources and groups of people with which we will collaborate. THIS IS NOT ANOTHER INITIATIVE! THIS IS NOT ANOTHER WAY TO DO MATH! This is a tool, a "network", that we will use to make sure our kids continue to get the best possible math instruction. It's what I truly believe will push us from being GOOD to
GREAT!
During our session today, we got to try out the initial process in a non-mathematical way when we were faced with the problem of determining what US coin would spin the longest. It might sound silly, but it was the perfect activity for us to quickly work through the cycle behind improvement science in a relaxed way. We made predictions, tested them, changed the variables involved, re-tested them, and kept cycling through this process until we figured out what coin would spin the longest and the various factors that influenced just how long we could get it to spin. We tested it in small groups, made notes of everything we did, then worked in larger groups to share ideas and findings. As teachers, these are things most of us do on a daily basis in our classrooms. We have a finger on the pulse of learning and adjust our instruction minute to minute, day to day, in order to meet the needs of our students. Sometimes what works for one group doesn't work for another. Sometimes we have a great idea that works well but we fail to document it or share it with others so we can ALL see improved mathematical practices and growth. Sometimes we've tried everything we can think of and still aren't seeing the desired results. The PDSA cycle and framework will give us a more consistent structure for reviewing what works and what doesn't work on the classroom level, the school level, the feeder pattern level, and in our larger NIC groups.
I am so excited for what the future holds for our students at CMS, CHS, and throughout Jefferson County. Some of our middle and high school students have already heard that we get to participate in this process and they are pretty fired up! To quote one student: "This is amazing! Corner is amazing!" And I have to agree! It's no secret...anybody who knows me knows that I truly believe that we get to teach the best students on the planet, so it only makes sense that they deserve the best instruction and resources on the planet! We should always want that for them, and be willing to work towards that for them. It will be hard work, but it will definitely be worth it. I cannot wait to see our students grow, improve, and realize their potential as learners of mathematics.
Mrs. Rouse
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