COLLABORATIVE LITERACY CURRICULUM NTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO ADVANCE ...

INTRODUCTION

CCC COLLABORATIVE LITERACY: CURRICULUM INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO ADVANCE TEACHER PRACTICE

CCC Collaborative Literacy is a unique English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum suite that marries best practices in literacy instruction with social and emotional learning. It consists of the Being a ReaderTM, Being a WriterTM, and Making Meaning? programs. The Collaborative Literacy curriculum improves teacher practice through an intentional design that encourages educators to learn and develop effective instructional practices as they teach. Collaborative Literacy lessons provide teachers with the opportunity to

T internalize effective practices in literacy instruction and prompt them to think more

deeply about teaching, learning, and literacy development. Teachers who use

F Collaborative Literacy lessons deepen their content knowledge and develop their

pedagogical expertise every day as they engage with the curriculum and its embedded

A professional learning.

Collaborative Literacy integrates social and emotional learning into evidence-based

R literacy practices that engage students in reading and writing workshops, small-group D reading, and word study. These practices, when employed across the English Language

Arts instructional block, encourage large-scale improvements in students' academic and social development. Over time, teachers who use the curriculum as the basis for professional learning improve how they carry out each practice in the classroom.

The program developers at Collaborative Classroom continually solicit input and feedback from teachers to better understand the challenges they face. We rely on teachers' experience and expertise to inform our lesson construction and curriculum development. It is our intention that Collaborative Literacy honors those who do the important work of teaching students; to this end, our hope is that teachers will find the curriculum organization, lesson structures, and instructional practices deeply supportive

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as they plan for, teach, and respond to their students.

THE ROLE OF THE LEADER

As a building-level leader responsible for the implementation of Collaborative Literacy, you play a singular role in its success in your school or district. This guide and its related support materials are designed to help you and your team plan, launch, monitor, and support all program activities during the first year of implementation and beyond. These materials help you ensure that the curriculum takes root and provides a lasting benefit for all students and adults in your school or district.

We know that, in your role, there may be many competing priorities and limited time to accomplish them all. While this guide lays out a continuum of activities to ensure successful implementation, we understand that you may need to adapt these

T recommendations to fit your circumstances--and we encourage you to do so.

Collaborative Classroom's position is that each school and district implementing

F Collaborative Literacy holds the expertise and knowledge to adjust the professional

learning plan so that it works best for its own culture. This knowledge is critical to

A ensuring the adult learning processes result in positive student learning. R RECOMMENDED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PATHWAY D The Professional Learning System for Collaborative Literacy: Leader's Guide

provides a pathway that can be adapted for diverse settings. This guide includes the rationale for our recommended sequence and describes the resources needed to support teachers and leaders across the life of the implementation.

The guide's organization is based on our experiences with what teachers need to know and learn across the first year of implementation and into Year 2 and beyond. Teachers new to the Collaborative Literacy pedagogy will develop their effectiveness and understanding of the teaching practices over several years. With this in mind, we have provided recommendations for introducing and revisiting critical elements of instruction

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across the curriculum.

Our proposed pathway begins at the start of the first year of implementation by

preparing teachers to teach the lessons. Then, over the course of Year 1 and into

subsequent years, the pathway guides individuals and groups of teachers in using the

provided online resources to explore Collaborative Literacy's teaching practices and

program supports more deeply, based on their knowledge, expertise, and areas of

concern. This approach allows for ongoing, locally focused learning; offers a pathway for

continuous improvement; and, over time, creates consistency from year to year and class

to class.

The table below provides a summary of recommended action items presented in each chapter that will help guide you to successful implementation of Collaborative Literacy. Use this table to keep track of the suggested action items for each phase of

T implementation.

F Pre-implementation DRA Phase

Chapter 1: Plan for Successful Implementation

? Introduce Collaborative Literacy to stakeholders.

? Create and share suggested schedules.

? Develop pacing guides that align with grading periods.

? Begin reviewing and aligning Collaborative Literacy implementation with other district initiatives.

? Develop a process for sharing resources.

? Craft and share the implementation

plan.

? Provide opportunities for teachers to deepen content knowledge.

? Identify personnel who will help lead the implementation.

? Begin working with district or school staff who can be content specialists for Collaborative Literacy.

Chapter 2: Launch Collaborative Literacy

? Distribute program materials to teachers.

? Allocate time for teachers to review materials and begin planning.

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Year 1 Implementation Phase

? Share the professional learning plan with teachers.

? Work with teachers and leaders to ensure that adequate time is allocated for implementing Collaborative Literacy.

? Communicate clear expectations for program implementation.

? Allocate time for learning groups to engage in the norm-setting activity using the "Norm Setting" meeting agenda.

? Conduct the "Curriculum as Professional Learning" staff meeting.

Chapter 3: Support

? Have teachers use the "Fall Teacher

Early Implementation

AFT Chapter 4: Support

Winter and Spring

DR Implementation

Reflection" tool to set learning goals.

? Visit classrooms to assess the status of implementation.

? Use pacing guides to collect implementation data.

? Allocate time and resources for teachers to participate in professional learning activities.

? Schedule time for teachers to engage in the professional learning activities during early implementation.

? Use the "Winter and Spring Teacher Reflection" tool to help teachers review and revise their learning goals.

? Use pacing guides to support teachers and to monitor student learning.

? Collect data on the implementation during classroom visits using the "Evidence of Classroom

Implementation" tool.

? Allocate time and resources for teachers to participate in professional

learning activities.

? Make a plan for supporting any new teachers.

Chapter 5: Reflect on Year 1 Implementation

? Conduct needs assessment using the "Teacher Self-survey" tool.

? Gather data on Year 1 implementation of Collaborative Literacy and support teachers in identifying and setting learning goals for Year 2 using the "Year-end Reflection" meeting agenda.

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Year 2 Implementation Phase and Beyond

Chapter 6: Prepare for Year 2 and Beyond

? Share status of Collaborative Literacy implementation with stakeholders.

? Schedule Collaborative Literacy introduction and planning sessions for new teachers.

? Craft and share the district's or school's ongoing Collaborative Literacy professional learning plan with stakeholders.

? Confirm roles and responsibilities of district and school personnel for implementing the professional learning plan.

? Continue to develop district or school

staff who can be content experts for

Collaborative Literacy.

T Chapter 7: Support

Ongoing Professional

DRAF Learning

? Revise and share suggested schedules and pacing guides as needed.

? Continue working on the alignment of

Collaborative Literacy with other district initiatives.

? Each year, review the implementation data and feedback from teachers to determine ongoing professional learning needs.

? If you are a district leader, work with building-level leaders to learn more about the professional learning needs in their schools and help them plan for how they can offer support and feedback to their teachers.

? Check in with teachers about their individual and grade-level goals and plans for ongoing learning with the Collaborative Literacy implementation.

? Schedule time and allocate personnel to support teachers with ongoing professional learning.

? Select and prioritize professional learning sessions based on student data and teachers' goals.

? Monitor implementation by visiting classrooms, working with leadership teams, meeting with teachers, conducting surveys, and analyzing student data.

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