Theory U: Presencing Emergence

At our ending CFG retreat this year we're going to utilize a framework/method called Theory U.  I'll bring you a copy of a diagram I created for us, but as I was researching I was so interested in all the many ways other people illustrated the framework.  Here are a few!









To see these images in a larger format, try a Google images search for Theory U and follow the links .

To learn more about the Theory U/Presencing model, visit the Presencing website. 

CFG/FLG Announcement (and notes from our last meeting)

We began our CFG meeting last week by looking at a quote by Rachel Carson and reflecting on where we are finding wonder in our classrooms.  As we shared our reflections, I jotted down some of the phrases people used as they spoke.  It was an inspiring list, especially as we consider our hopes for our new schedule.  I share it here with you:

space they need

support to empathize

their gifts inspire depth of engagement

giving them a voice

take a break from the routine

using materials to explore a concept

What does wonder look like to you?

How do I define what wonder looks like in each child?

Growth mindset

Really listening to each other

Asking questions

Information can be kindling or a barrier to wonder

Primary sources

A different way to open kids' minds

What do you notice?

Thinking like historians

Theories

A learner asks questions

If you know all the answers, ask bigger questions

What is the bigger question?

Make our brain go in both ways

How to think in divergent ways

Kids outside

Unexpected places

Make space for stories

He's a wonderer!

Not tidy.

What motivates people

Beautiful stories

Diversity of life's choices

Something deeper about who we are as people

Slow down enough

Digging in

Feel the spark of wonder

This weekend I had the chance to listen to the excellent podcast link that Janet sent out, an interview with Ron Ritchhart about his new book Creating Cultures of Thinking. When he talked about the distinctions between what we expect of students and what we expect for students, this list came to mind. How will we spend our time together if the things on this list are what we expect for our children?

Speaking of how we spend time together...

A few of you asked me to advocate for CFG being offered as a way to meet our FLG requirements.  I've talked with David about this a few times over the last two years, but recently David brought this up at an administrative retreat and we met together to finalize a plan. David has agreed that the CFG can serve as your FLG group if you desire, with the following agreements:

1) When your Year One comes up, participate in filling out the inventory and goal setting.  During your goal-setting conference with David, let him know you'd like the CFG to be your FLG.

2) When you’ve articulated your goals, you bring them to the CFG. This is your cohort. 

3) You still attend whole FLG check-ins 2X a year with the people who started the same year that you did.

4) Most designated FLG times can be used to prep for protocols, gather student work to present or work on portfolios. 

5) The LS CFG doesn't need someone from another division—this group is open in a different way. 

6) On the April inservice day John and Chris may ask us to demonstrate protocols for this year’s new FLG group. 

7) If you want to drop your already-existing FLG, you should talk to John or Chris. Otherwise, tell your Division Head you'd like the CFG to serve as your FLG when you meet for your goal-setting meeting.

I hope this is welcome and helpful news to many of you!  If you are planning to use the CFG as your FLG at this time, please let me know. 

January Meeting

Happy New Year!


We'll meet at 3:30 on January 13th in the Charlton Room to learn about the 4th grade team's work with their International Issues experiences. We'll use a Consultancy Protocol to guide that work. We'll also spend some time considering Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail with a Text Rendering Experience. 

Some extension resources related to January's CFG:
Teaching Tolerance is hosting a Twitter chat on MLK Day: Monday, Jan. 18th at 6 pm Central Standard Time. The focus is how to deepen classroom coverage of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. 

An electronic version of Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail is available here. Dori recommended these additional  resources:

Coretta Scott King offers a personal context to the Birmingham jail letter in her interview with Mike Wallace (start at 8:25 and listen to the end).   

Dr. King's Addison Jr. High School speech is directed at students and offers his direct message to young people.  It is a good read and has some powerful and provocative thoughts. What possibilities are there in this speech?

Dori also passed along an article from Teaching Tolerance, "Resist Telling a Simple Story". 
From that article:  Telling only one story of civil rights marginalizes the voices we ignore. It also prevents us from doing exactly what the story of civil rights is supposed to teach us to do―fight for justice in our own communities as those before us did.

Also from Teaching Tolerance, a comprehensive resource called "The Five Essential Practices for Teaching the Civil Rights Movement."  There are links there with more information and resources for each of these five key practices:

Practice 1. Educate for empowerment.

Practice 2. Know how to talk about race.

Practice 3. Capture the unseen.

Practice 4. Resist telling a simple story.

Practice 5. Connect to the present.

You might also be interested in this recent article from The Atlantic titled "The Revolutionary Aims of Black Lives Matter," using the Letter from Birmingham Jail as a point of connection to the Black Lives Matter movement.  

December Meeting

Don't miss it! This month's CFG is on Thursday, Dec. 10th in the DVR from 3:30-5:30 and will feature an original new protocol for refining project work. Also bring your Touchstones (click here for a new version called Touchstars) and something to write with. Thanks, Beth, for providing snacks! See you there!

November Meeting

Hello, friends!

It's finally time for us all to gather and dive into our work together for the year! We'll meet on Wednesday 11/11 in the Charlton Room/Morris House from 3:30-5:30.  We'll be using the Issaquah Protocol and Tuning Protocol to look at two different pieces of curricular work. 

If you are new to our CFG, take a few moments to look over the Touchstones, the guiding principles of the CFG.  We'll read these on Wednesday as we begin.  When you arrive you'll find a candle lit and should enter the room in silence and begin writing.  There will be a prompt on the agenda if you need it, or you are welcome to write what you need to process your day and shift gears. at 3:40 the candle will be blown out so we can welcome one another, read our Touchstones and begin. 

Also helpful for Wednesday might be this guide to types of feedback--we'll use warm and cool feedback in the Tuning Protocol. 

Looking forward to seeing you all!
Kirstin

2015-2016 Meeting Schedule

Hello, Friends!

Thanks so much for your feedback regarding our meeting schedule for the 2015-2016 school year. Our list of interested participants has grown to 16 faculty members, and I hope the following schedule allows all of you to participate.  Wednesdays and Thursdays were the overwhelming favorites for meeting dates, but choosing one over the other would exclude a few people, so we'll again go with an alternating schedule. All meetings will run from 3:30-5:30.  We hope that all of you can make it for the whole meeting, but if arriving at 4:15 would allow some of you who teach after school classes to attend, please let me know and I'll try to arrange the agenda on those days to enable your participation in a full protocol. 

The schedule I entered into the LS Faculty Calendar and submitted to Anne for the AS Calendar are as follows:

Wednesday, Nov. 11th in the Charlton Room
Thursday, December 10th in the DVR
Wednesday, January 13th in the Charlton Room
Thursday, February 18th in the DVR
Wednesday, March 9th in the DVR
Thursday, April 7th in the Charlton Room
Thursday, May 12th in the DVR
Wednesday, June 8th, location TBA

If I find out about conflicts or venue changes from Lyn or Anne I will let you know ASAP. At our first meeting we can send around a sign-up sheet for snacks and for being the focus person for protocols. 

I look forward to seeing you Nov. 11th!

April Meeting

We'll be meeting at Janet's house for our April 16th meeting to hear from Claire and Dori in a  Back to the Future Protocol, Tuning Protocol or Charrette (still deciding!) and a Consultancy Protocol. Check your email for directions--looking forward to seeing you there!