The Action Reflection Process: Supporting All Students in Inquiry-based Science

Maintain ongoing communication with appropriate administrators. Freeing school staff to meet together requires district- and school-level support. Therefore it is critical that administrative leaders and principals are aware of the work that team members are doing so that they can support the work. They are invaluable in solving problems with team members or curriculum, but they need to be informed. They also need to see documentation and summaries of the results. We have shared both examples of student work and rubric scores with administrators. We have also consistently described how the work the students were doing was tied to the district and state goals. District administrators and principals need to see the results for teachers and students as well as collaborate with facilitators in ongoing discussions about how to use the process to further professional development needs. This was developed as a collaborative process with teachers, administrators, and researchers. In order for it to maintain its usefulness, it needs to grow and change with the needs of the participants.



			Formatively evaluate the Action Reflection Process. Teams can use the evaluation to discuss how to refine the process to better meet their needs or to develop a new focus for the team's work. Team members will be able to describe how to modify the process for a local school culture/environment. Facilitators may ask the group how to help participants gain more ownership of the process. Encourage a school principal or assistant principal to attend action reflection meetings to show support for the difficult work that teachers are doing and so that she or he will learn the process. When principals are knowledgeable about the process and contribute to determining the goals of the team's work, they are able to determine how the Action Reflection Process fits into the way they expect staff to do their work. Ultimately, district leaders and principals will determine the accountability for participation in the Action Reflection Process. For example, a principal may ask teachers to demonstrate that they are collaborating with colleagues through providing meeting notes or developing portfolios of student work from the three students they present at the team meetings. It is essential to collaborate with the school principal to determine how the process can meet the needs of the staff in their school and expand to include more teachers. Maintain ongoing communication with appropriate administrators. Freeing school staff to meet together requires district- and school-level support. Therefore it is critical that administrative leaders and principals are aware of the work that team members are doing so that they can support the work. They are invaluable in solving problems with team members or curriculum, but they need to be informed. They also need to see documentation and summaries of the results. We have shared both examples of student work and rubric scores with administrators. We have also consistently described how the work the students were doing was tied to the district and state goals. District administrators and principals need to see the results for teachers and students as well as collaborate with facilitators in ongoing discussions about how to use the process to further professional development needs. This was developed as a collaborative process with teachers, administrators, and researchers. In order for it to maintain its usefulness, it needs to grow and change with the needs of the participants.

Site hosted by ©2000 Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). All Rights Reserved.