Protocols

**‘Always Urgent Never Important: Protocols as Tools for Focussing Discussion on Issues that Matter Most’ - Tina Blythe**
//including notes from the Study Group sessions//


 * Protocols**
 * Structured conversations
 * They hold at bay habitual responses to issues or students work
 * Important to match the protocol to the purpose
 * Important to keep to the integrity of the protocol, the structure and the kinds of questions being asked


 * The Collaborative Assessment Protocol**

__What it is not__: evaluation of student work or about solving a particular problem. Our rush to judge students’ work can limit our capacity to really see what the student is really doing

To evaluate is to make value judgements about a student work, to assess is to ‘sit with’

__What is it purpose__: This protocol surfaces important questions about teaching and learning.

This protocol allows you to closely ‘sit with’ one student’s work and use the knowledge of other colleagues in understanding student learning.

The purpose is to promote thinking on teaching and learning. It interrupts our natural and habitual ways of thinking and working. It can surface some powerful issues about teaching and learning.

You could also use it to examine teacher work

__Some suggested norms for protocols__
 * Treating the student/teacher with respect
 * Watch your ‘airtime’
 * When in doubt listen
 * No monopoly on expertise - everyone has something to offer
 * Assume good intent all the time
 * If you feel ‘affronted’ deal with the issue within 24hrs or let it rest
 * Slow to judge, quick to support

(In this session we examined a series of paintings by a Yr 2 student. The focus was the ‘Night Sky’ but the student was also asked to explore an ongoing problem faced in the creation process. At the end of each session the teacher asked the student to reflect on their work What did you do? How did you do it? What did you learn?

This background is not revealed at the beginning of the protocol - the focus is, ‘What is the student learning?’ - rather than the intention of the teacher

__Protocols as a model of Professional Learning__ Protocols offer a colleagial model of pd - that is exploring and accessing the professional knowledge within the group, rather than seeking understanding from ‘outside’ It is a model of professional learning where teachers examine their own work and the work of their students, to learn about their practice and their student’s learning.

It is a different model of PD in that it offers process not content. ‘It creates a space where the group learns something that could never be known ahead of time.’

Protocols also cultivate skills necessary for good teaching and learning. Skills such as


 * Observation
 * Listening
 * Asking good questions
 * Consideration of different possibilities

__Issues for Facilitators__

Facilitators have the responsibiltiy of creating the environment of trust There is the question of authority - eg: authority given from the school, from the group, from yourself (the authority from self can be the most difficult)

Facilitation of the protocol won’t be perfect the first time, it is a learning experience that takes time ‘Anything work doing is worth doing poorly’!

Use the protocol handout with the steps as a visible resource during the process as a guide to facilitation for the group. (it can be a way of managing the process, ‘The protocol says we now........)

If people are getting off track or not responding to the stages, 'own the responsibility' of not setting it up properly for participants, and draw them back to the protocol

__‘Learning from Success’__ This protocol can be a good one to use to begin with, particularly if participants want to focus on what they are successful at rather than entering into a critical discussion of their practice or student work

'Whip Reflection' - whip around the group with each person stating one insight

(see H/O) Focus is on intense listening, on speaking without interruptions and on silence It gives attention to people
 * The Mini Lab Protocol**

Debrief the protocol - important to listen to people’s experience of the protocol The debrief brings to light the issues/challenges of the protocol for the group

__Resources:__ The Power of Protocols Looking at Student Work Questioning

[|NSRF website] [|NSRF - protocol]