Problem solving takes center stage in TRF training
The education landscape is in constant flux: Students grow, teachers face ever-changing challenges, and campus and district administrators strive to address the shifting conditions within their schools. There is no doubt that keeping up with the rapidly changing face of education is not easy. We must take steps to become experts in a problem-solving process that allows us to adapt to these changing needs. The most effective educators are often the most efficient problem solvers.
To that end, Texas Reading First partners delivered a professional development session titled From Data Analysis to Instruction: Finding Your Way to Implementation on January 15 at the Westin Galleria in Houston. This training challenged stakeholders to think more deeply about their daily concerns by looking beyond the surface indicators and addressing the underlying causes of these problems.
This professional development session was an extension of the December 2008 training From Data Analysis to Instruction: A Problem-Solving Approach, which was delivered to Texas Reading First partners, reading technical assistance specialists (RTAs), education service center (ESC) representatives, and Higher Education Collaborative (HEC) members. Inspired by a Curious George theme, participants at this professional development session were encouraged to “be curious” about their data. The training session included opportunities for participants to work through a scenario scripted at multiple education levels. With five different training groups, participants were asked to focus on either a student-level, classroom-level, grade-level, campus-level, or district-level scenario. Using their extensive experience from the field, participants had the opportunity to work in small groups, problem solve to identify multiple stakeholders who might affect problems within their scenario, and share some potential solutions.
The focus of the January training session was to slow down the problem-solving process and think critically about each individual step, allowing participants to be more effective in creating lasting solutions. The theme for this session was centered on travel, something with which all participants and presenters in Texas Reading First are very familiar. Inflatable Southwest Airlines airplanes and Texas state maps helped get participants in the spirit as they “took their curiosity on the road.”
Participants were asked to share a problem that they had recently encountered in the field and bring in any data related to that problem. Participants then worked within their small groups to determine the problem that they would focus on for the training session. Using the LACIRS model (Leadership, Assessment, Core Reading Program, Instructional Framework, Reporting/Accountability, Sustainability) as a framework to structure the problem-solving process, participants spent their day “traveling” though eight progressive steps toward a working solution for the selected problem. Participants began with identifying the problem from several surface-level indicators. Then, they reflected on the underlying contributing factors and identified the stakeholders who affected that particular problem. Participants “traveled on” as they discussed desired outcomes, what was needed to achieve their goals, and what was realistically within their power to achieve. To wrap up the process, participants completed a timeline for implementation, a rubric to monitor progress toward their goals, and a one-page summary of the entire process to serve as a reference. Texas Reading First partners facilitated the small groups, working to assist participants with “going deeper” and addressing the complexity of problems in education and the complex solutions that are sometimes required.
While this professional development was not a training of trainers (TOT), participants appreciated the group-work format and the opportunity to work on their own real-life problems. Several participants commented on the benefits of “traveling” through the process with others in their small group. One participant wrote, “Sharing problem solving with other people in my group allowed me to see various points of view.” Another wrote, “Having a group work together on my scenario gave me different perspectives on the problem.”
As we move into the future of education, we must focus on sustainability and lasting change. Often, this lasting change represents shifts in how we address problems that arise. The Texas Reading First Initiative encourages reflective problem-solving processes. The From Data Analysis to Instruction: Finding Your Way to Implementation training can assist us in implementing a shared problem-solving approach through deep reflection as we work toward meeting the needs of the ever-changing environment of education.