Ally

**PLC Meeting Location:** UH **PLC Meeting Time:** 11:15 AM- 1:15 PM
 * PLC Group Name:** The A Team

As an anticipatory set for today’s lesson, please read the article “Getting "Inside Inquiry": Teachers' Questions Transform Their Practice“ []
 * Hour 1**
 * //ENGAGE//**

// http://gse.gmu.edu/research/tr/ //
 * //EXPLORE//**

// How will you need to know if you need to make a teacher inquiry in your classroom? // // What steps do you need to take to determine what you will need to do? // // How will you know if what you changed is working? //
 * Hour 2**
 * //EXPLAIN//**

// Activity- Let's say that you are teaching a 1st grade classroom and your student's are having a difficult time transitioning from centers to going back to their desks. What would you do to make transitioning more smooth in the classroom? //
 * //ELABORATE//**

// Let's say that you are teaching a 5th grade classroom and your student's are having a hard time focusing after recess. What would you do to grab their attention and to keep them focused? //

As a group, make a list of teaching strategies of your own about which you have a wondering. You probably have things in common! Take turns selecting one to focus on and formulating a “wondering” about that strategy. Help each member to make a plan to initiate, analyze, and write-up this inquiry? What questions does each member have that the group can help sort out about the process?

1. As a group, reflect on what you have learned today about studying your own teaching practice. Why should teachers ask questions about their own teaching? How would your job be different if you approach it with an inquiry stance versus approaching it with no intention to ask questions?
 * Hour 3**
 * //EVALUATE//**

Asking questions about your own teaching practices allows the opportunity for constructive criticism. It’s necessary to continue to ask questions and reflect on your own teaching practice because that is how you learn and grow as a teacher. This feedback can provide insight into areas that need improvement or the opportunity to learn new strategies. As a teacher, it enables you to accurately identify the source of the problem; you the teacher, student behavior, classroom management, or outside influences on the student, teacher, or classroom.

2. As a group, draft a brief statement (approx 1-2 paragraphs) of what you learned or new understandings you came to during this discussion. What did you agree with/about, and what did you not agree with/about? How do you KNOW you learned and grew?!

During our meeting today we learned that many members of our PLC have similar teaching strategies in the classroom and have a similar wondering about them. Evaluating ourselves as a teacher constantly is essential to growing and improving through our careers. It is a cyclical process that should be constantly happening through teaching, evaluating, and modifying, then teaching again, over and over. We all agreed that we tend to lean more to the children that we feel are having more troubles than the other students. Some of us use physical touch as a way of praising for behavior management, for example, giving them a pat on the back or even giving them a high five and telling them good job. We had a discussion about how physical touch might be a drawback because some students don’t feel comfortable with being touched at all. Also we had a discussion about how maybe the student’s age would come into effect with giving hugs and praising them with a pat on the back. We agreed that maybe this strategy would possibly work better with the younger student’s. As a group, we didn’t really have any disagreements with anything that we discussed. We all agreed that the praising should be used with caution when it came to giving them a pat on the back and so on.

3. As a group, please look at the Assignments page for the description and grading rubric for the Inquiry #3 assignment. You will be selecting a teaching practice of your own to study. The format is the same as your other inquiries, and is detailed on the Assignments page for this assignment.

4. Individually, please send your “PLC Check” as an email to Dr. Pierson and Caroline (mpierson@uh.edu; Caroline Liu yliu7@mail.uh.edu): --What/Who worked well in today’s PLC meeting? --What/Who didn’t work so well in today’s PLC meeting? This PLC check is due emailed by Friday (10/29) at midnight.