Key Action I.2

Establish the Vision

What is the goal?

The goal of this key action is to prepare the Selection Team and Review Committee to understand the standards and Framework and develop a shared vision of effective instruction for each relevant subject for all students.

Why this key action is important

Interviews with early implementers were clear and conclusive: to make a difference in student learning, materials selection and implementation has to start and end with a vision of great instruction for students, aligned to the expectations of the Framework. From the start, everyone involved needs to focus on that aspiration. Otherwise, this process will become an exercise in compliance. Early implementers who launched into rubric development without first developing a common understanding of the expectations for students and a vision of instruction saw competing visions pulling in different directions during selection and/or implementation. This is the key action that differentiated selection success among early implementers.

Explanation of language

We use the term expectations for students interchangeably with standards and Frameworks. These terms refer to the stated expectations for student performance for that year. We also reference sample test items, meaning sample items from CAASPP. We use the terms content area and subject interchangeably to refer to the discipline of focus (math, ELA, etc.). We use the term vision of instructional excellence to describe a statement of the essential elements of effective instruction for that content area, informed by content-specific pedagogical practices. We use the term walkthrough tool to describe an observation guide that can be used on an informal, regular basis to reflect on the content fundamentals in the vision. We use the term core beliefs to describe the foundational principles about student learning that will guide and support selection and implementation.

steps

guiding questions

notes & resources

  • 1.
    What are our desired outcomes for this training?
  • 2.
    What are the key activities we want to prioritize?
  • Educators bring a variety of experiences and perspectives to this work. Establishing a common foundation and viewpoint of the subject area prior to selection gives everyone a common starting point.
  • This training should feel like school—doing problems and tasks together as a group. This should not be about “breaking down the standards,” but rather seeing what the standards look like in action.
  • Review the resources shared by the California Mathematics Coherence Initiative for direct resources to support the development of Framework training plans and rollout.
  • 3.
    Who will lead this training? Does our County Office offer training on the Framework?
  • 4.
    If we are doing it in-house, how many facilitators do we need?
  • Whoever facilitates this training needs to know the standards and content discipline deeply, and also be effective at designing and facilitating adult learning.
  • Generally, you have the following options. Leverage someone in your system. Find someone in a neighboring system. Ask for help from the County Office. Find an independent consultant or PD provider who can come to you.
  • 5.
    How much time do we need?
  • 6.
    Where and when will it take place?
  • 7.
    What materials will we need?
  • 8.
    What do participants need to do in advance?
  • 9.
    What feedback do we want to get from participants?
  • 1.
    What is the vision of instructional excellence for this subject that we want to anchor our work?
  • 2.
    What would we want to see in instruction in every lesson?
  • 3.
    What would we want to see in instruction in every unit?
  • A vision is most concretely articulated as a walkthrough tool—what would we want to see in the enacted daily instruction in this subject? Some aspects of the vision may feel like they live at the unit (not daily) level.
  • Some early implementers took the Selection Team and Review Committee to observe classrooms or watch videos of a lesson to look for evidence of the vision and standards in action. These experiences often revealed differences of opinion that helped refine the vision and key needs for the materials.
  • 4.
    What are the core beliefs that will be the foundation for our work?
  • 5.
    How do we anticipate that these core beliefs will be challenged? How will we handle it if/when they are?
  • Changing materials often accompanies a fundamental shift in expectations for students or educators. Naming your agreements about Core Beliefs (e.g., that all students are capable of high-level work) can create a touchstone you can return to throughout the process.
  • For early implementers, this step was the first place that questions about whether students would be able to do the work came up. See the resource Key Messages for Maintaining High Expectations for Students for research and talking points that you can use in these conversations.
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Workbook

This workbook is designed to help a school or system leadership team work through the implementation process together. Assemble your team, print or download the workbook, find your starting point, and dig in together.

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