10/14 Faculty Meeting Summary and Reflections

I'm sure it's odd to say that I enjoyed the faculty meeting yesterday; however, I really did.  Your participation, your laughter, your candor are all valuable to me (and to one another, I hope).

The Learning Goal for yesterday's meeting was that "Teachers will be able to make connections between the following concepts:

• Intersectionality and Low Expectancy (DQ 9),
• Intersectionality and Relationships/Classroom Community (DQ 8), and
• Low Expectancy and Relationships.

Teachers, all of us really, show mastery with this goal when we adjust our teaching (or leadership, etc.) based on our understanding of these concepts (Hx SIP Goal 1).

During our September faculty meeting, we discussed the importance of monitoring our response to students based on our (conscious or unconscious) biases*. We discussed this in terms of valuing and respecting all students (DQ 9.39), asking questions of the same frequency/depth (DQ 9.40), and probing for incorrect answers in the same manner for all students (DQ 9.41).

During our October faculty meeting, we discussed connections between our (conscious or unconscious) bias and how we build relationships with students.  We discussed this in terms of all students feeling known and accepted by their teachers (DQ 8.36), and feeling cared for (DQ 8.37) and in terms of displaying objectivity and control (DQ 8.38).  

In a socially just and equitable classroom and school, we must work to understand the intersections at which we are situated, the intersections at which are students might be situated, and how this might (or might not) affect (for better or worse) our expectations of and relationships with our students (and one another).

There were three dominant elements (and, thus, three desired effects) to yesterday's plan:

• DQ 1.1: Providing Clear Goals and Scales (understanding what the learning goal and scale mean),
• DQ 2.11: Elaborating on New Information (drawing conclusions that were not explicitly taught), and
• DQ 3.14: Reviewing Content (accurately representing previously taught critical content).

Based on your participation and the information each group shared via the handout, I am confident that all of us understood, drew accurate conclusions, and recognized critical content from the last faculty meeting. Thank you.

Click here to review the presentation from yesterday's meeting.  Click here to see the Cloze Activity (a recommended Marzano activity) we used for DQ 3.14. 

*As a brief reminder, these biases may come from the intersection of our multiple (and unique) identities and experiences.  We stand at the intersection of a variety of raced, sexed, gendered, aged, abilitied, etc., identities.  I favor the metaphor of intersections because it includes us all, still leaves room for conversations about race, ability, and other identities, and limits, I hope, divisive feelings of feeling other than (as an unintentional result of a one-identity-at-a-time approach).