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Tool 1.5: Quick Quiz 1. The most important determinant of student achievement is teacher knowledge and expertise.

2. Most of the achievement gap between poor minority children and students in more affluent communities can be explained by differences in the quality of teaching.

3. The majority of teachers spend 8 hours or less in professional learning.

4. Only 8% of teachers identified strong results from their learning experiences.

5. Secondary teachers reported sprnding the least amount of time working together with colleagues on instruction.

6. Teacher experience (years of teaching) is correlated with gains in teaching quality : there is little to no correlation between teacher experience and teaching quality.

7. Collaboration to improve instruction has been proven essential for improvong teacher quality.

Tool 1.6 Focus Questions

1. Why do we need to continually improve and adapt our instruction? Teacher quality accounts for the majarity of variations in student learning. Teaching quality impacts all students, regardless of their circumstances. Student achievement is higher among students with more skilled teachers. Highly qualified teachers have a cumulative effect on students. Three years of good teachers in a row can largely overcome the average achievement deficit between low-income students and others. No initiative or program a school adopts will substitute for effective teachers. Teachers are the most important influence on student learning, and the difference between effective and ineffective teaching is profound.

2. Why should we work in professional learning teams to do this? Teachers work with rapidly shifting student populations whose lives are satuated by the 21st century media culture. Teachers are discovering that tried-and-true that once worked to help students are no longer effective. Teacher expertise is the one critical factor in student achievement. Teacher must learn diffent ways t equip students witb the skills needs to to be successful. Schools need a better waybto build teacher knowledge and expertise. Working together provides teachers with benchmarks to guage their own practice and identify ways to improve.

3. How can working together on instruction make a difference for us? Collaborative team learning is more effective for teacher and student performance. Collaborating creates a new view of teaching as a joint responsibility rather than the responsibility rather than the responsibilty of sinle individuals. Students of teachers who do team-based professional learning show academic improvement more quickly than students in schools where this did not happen.

4. How can working together on instruction make a difference for our students? Student make progress in academic achievement. Teachers are more effective because of the teams desire for accomplishment for themselves and their students. Teachers support one another and teaching and learning occur.

Tool 1.7 Reflect The most powerful points I want to remember from each section of reading: - Teacher quality is the most important influence on student learning. - Teacher learning must be ongoing, job-embedded, and continually supported. - Collaborative team learning is more effective for teacher and student learning and performance. - Professional learning teams are part of the change that must take place if schools are to become 21st century learning organizations.

Tool 9.2 Pre/Post Survey 1. I am familiar with the rationale for teaching collaborating on classroom instruction. 3-Agree 2. I know the basic procedures that make up structured learning team meetings. 3-Agree 3. I feel that meeting regularly in teams to focus on increasing teachers' knowledge and expertise would be valuable. 4-Strongly Agree 4. I prefer to work alone to learn and increase my teaching expertise. 2-Disagree 5. I prefer to participate in regular meetings with colleagues to learn and increase my teaching expertise. 3-Agree 6. When we work together on committees at this school, the atmosphere is collegial. 3-Agree 7. When teachers at my school work in groups, all members participate and share responsibilities. 2-Disagree 8. I regularly read professional journals and current research on teaching and learning. 3-Agree 9. I regularly look for different teaching strategies and adjust or change my teaching practices throughout the year. 3-Agree 10. I want to learn and practice new ways to teach. 3-Agree

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