Increasing Group Learning Time

"Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend." ~Theophrastus

And....once it's spent, you can never get it back.

Therefore, the premise of collaborative inquiry is to work toward developing highly efficient and effective teams, so time is not wasted and impact is maximized.

Last week several of us got to spend time in a workshop with Dr. Laura Lipton.  Day one of the session was all about providing us with structures, strategies, and principals for facilitating collaborative inquiry teams.

While reflecting upon the workshop, I wondered if there was a video from Dr. Lipton about data teams.  I found one that I want to share entitled, Growing as a Group: Effective Use of Teacher Time. 

In this video, she discusses the 5 Assumptions of Effective Group Work.  I’ll list them below the video, but also want you watch the 6 min video as she explains the assumptions and their application.

1. Assessment and Feedback drives group growth.
2. Group development and task accomplishment intertwine.
3. When groups change the way they talk, they change the way they work.
   
4. Comfort with discomfort is necessary for group learning.
5. Patterns become habits, and habits become norms.

In two places in the video, she mentions group assessments and/or inventories.  If you group is looking for one, see the below links:

• Component A Resources
  • Got Data? Now What? Reflect Upon Your Experiences
  • Got Data? Now What? Scaled Group Inventory
  • Got Data? Now What? Self Assessment Inventory
• Component B Resources
  • Gap Analysis Tool
  • Meeting Reflection Tool
• Component C Resources
  • Got Data? Now What? Determining Your Stage of Group Development

If you have other resources to share, please email them to Margie Johnson at margie.johnson@mnps.org.

Here’s to a great week of learning and growing……  Countdown to spring break: 8 days.  :)