DiscussionGuide Staff Class Discussion Guide

Discussion Guide

From Staff Room to Classroom

A Guide Planning and Coaching Professional Learning

Robin J. Fogarty and Brian M. Pete

Introduction

In addition, to the team activities suggested in the “Tools to Use”, at

the end of each chapter, to encourage reflection and processing, this

set of discussion questions is intended to accompany the book study,

From Staff Room to Classroom: A Guide to Planning and Coaching

Professional Learning by Fogarty and Pete. The questions are catalysts

for the rich and robust professional conversations that are part and

parcel of every study.

The sequence of questions moves from criterion-based questions

related to the various chapters, to a final, overarching question that

speaks to the essence of the concept highlighted in the chapter. In turn,

some questions serve to crystallize pertinent information, while, the

essential questions seek to illuminate philosophical insights about

professional learning.

The questions can be cut apart and used as bookmarks for each

chapter. Also, the questions may be used, effectively, as a pre-reading

strategy, as a guide, during the reading or as post reading prompts for

lively discussions. In addition, teams might assign various questions,

target one question as the pivot point for discussion or, embrace the

essential question for an in-depth professional, conversation.

At the end of the day, the questions are only as integral to the book

study as the collegial conversations they generate. Enjoy!

Robin and Brian

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 1

A Guide to the Change Process

1. Tell a story of a school change that you have experienced

and assess the stages that Guskey (2000) delineates: 1)

Professional Development 2) Change in Practice 3) Change

in Practice 4) Change in Beliefs.

2. Discuss a professional development initiative that has

followed Fullan’s (1982) change process: 1) Initiate 2)

Implement 3) Institutionalize

3. Discuss other books, in addition to, Who Moved My

Cheese-Johnson (1998), If the Horse You’re Riding Dies Get Off

-Grant and Forsten (1999), and, The Tipping Point-Gladwell

(2000), that you have used with staff as you talk about how

we, as adult learners, respond to change.

Essential Question

If the truth is inevitable that, “the only constant is change”,

what profound insights about change will impact the work

we do everyday with adult learners?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 3

A Guide to Site-Based Professional

Learning

1) Cite one reason that professional development fails

(Lieberman) and provide a personal experience story as an

illustration of what happens.

2) Knowing the seven critical qualities that accompany

sound professional learning experiences (sustained, job-

embedded, collegial, interactive, integrated, results-oriented

and practical), select one element and decide what happens

when that element is missing.

3) Understanding that professional development means

finding time in the schedule, review the ten “time options”

delineated in the chapter and add other “finding time”

strategies that you have used successfully.

Essential Question

“Change is what teachers do and think. It’s as simple and as

complex as that” (Sarason). Thus, with the classroom as the

ultimate site of change, what are “critical lessons learned”

about site-based professional learning?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 2

A Guide to the Adult Learner

1. Explain why you think Malcolm Knowles (1973) called

adult learners, “the neglected species” and if you agree or

disagree with this assessment.

2) Compare and contrast adult learners to typical school-

age learners.

3) Using Zemke and Zemke’s (1995) ideas about 30 things

we know for sure about adult learners, share one take away

you will incorporate in your everyday work with adult

learners.

Essential Question

Knowing that adult learners are, “a neglected species”, yet,

the most pragmatic learners on the face of the earth, how

do we, as change agents, address this constant challenge?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 5

A Guide to the Role of Presenting

Professional Learning Experiences

1) How is the presenter the messenger? What are some of

the pitfalls of this messenger service? How does that

messenger deliver with sweeping success?

2) Share what it means to, “read the audience”, by citing

several telling examples.

3) Agree or disagree with the slide presentation “Rules”,

heard from a techno-savvy presenter: “Use Visuals. Use

color. Use animation. Use sound. Limit words per slide 5-8.

Do not read slide to audience. Provide your own narrative

to the slide.”

Essential Question

“Tell them what you are going to do. Do what you say you

are going to do. Tell them what you did” are the guiding

principles for the perfect presentation. Why does this

“bookend model” of professional learning present a

paradox of sorts for the modern day change agent?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 4

A Guide to the Role of Designing

Professional Learning

1) Discuss the pros and cons of using graphic organizers or,

planning templates, as a way to organize your thinking in the

planning process.

2) Explain how the designer role requires expertise in both

the art and the science of planning, preparing, and providing

professional learning.

3) Describe how the fishbone analysis is like an outline

delineation and discuss one advantage of the fishbone

graphic as a planning tool.

Essential Question

With the rapid rate of change in an information-laden,

technology-rich century, how does the “less is more”

principle apply to professional learning?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 7

A Guide to the Role of Coaching

Professional Learning

1) Trust is the key to a coaching relationship. How do you

develop rapport and a trust?

2) Coaching is about reflective conversations that foster

transfer and authentic implementation. Rank the kind of

collegial conversations you prefer.

“Collegial Conversations” a.____face-to-face

b.____ hand-written journals

c.____electronic exchanges

d.____team time

3) Track and share a time you can recall from school or

from your life, when you exhibited the characteristics of

one of the six levels of transfer (Fogarty and Pete):

Overlooked, Duplicated, Replicated, Integrated, Propagated,

Innovated.

Essential Question

There’s a folk truth that, “The most expensive suit a man

buys is the one he only wears once.” If the most expensive

staff development is the one, participants don’t ever use

again, how do change agents foster change that lasts and

endures?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 6

A Guide to the Role of Facilitating

Professional Learning

1) Facilitate means to step aside and “ease the way for the

learner”. What does that look like and sound like in a large

group? Small group? Working with an Individual?

2) How easy is it to invite the participants into the learning?

How hard is it to get them intensely involved? Or vice

versa!

3) How do you help participants “interpret” or reflect on

the meaning of what they have been doing in an activity?

What works for you, every time?

Essential Question

“It’s not about us. It’s about them.” How do we, as change

agents transfer our knowledge, skill and passion to the adult

learners in our care? How do we garner genuine participant

ownership?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 9

A Guide to Sustained Professional Learning

1) Discuss the following descriptions of the four roles of

the change agent: Designer, one and self; Presenter, one

with all; Facilitator, one with team; Coach, one with one.

2) If change occurs through, collaborative conversation,

professional dialogue, and think tanks, how do change

agents support professional learning communities in these

endeavors?

3) Professional learning means, giving back to the

profession. Share one idea that you champion that could be

an article you might write or a presentation you might

make at a conference.

Essential Question

If sustained professional learning means, “it’s not going

away,” how can collegial, collaborative and reflective

conversations permeate the climate and culture of the

organization for enduring change?

From Staff Room to Classroom I

Chapter 8

A Guide to the Anatomy of a Workshop

1) Discuss Joyce and Showers’ research statistic that

indicates, with coaching in place, peer coaching or expert

coaching, the likelihood of authentic implementation of the

skills and concepts (genuine transfer) increases to 95%.

Hypothesize why.

2) “The person doing the talking is the person doing the

learning.” How do we as well-intentioned experts, “stop

talking”, and encourage the participant to do the talking?

3) How is accountability a factor in “practicing teachers into

change” and how is this related to “fidelity of

implementation”?

Essential Question

There is evidence that, “Real and lasting change results from

both, top down initiatives or grass roots, bottom up

initiatives. What matters is the design!” How might we

validate that statement and embrace it in our work with

adult learners?

From Staff Room to Classroom

A Guide to Planning and Coaching

Professional Learning

Robin J. Fogarty and Brian M. Pete

From Staff Room to Classroom II

The One Minute Professional

Developer Planner

Brian M. Pete and Robin J. Fogarty

Based on their vast experience conducting professional

development sessions, Brian Pete and Robin Fogarty present

144 strategies for leading workshops, professional learning

communities, and staff meetings. 208 pages

From Staff Room to Classroom II

Item# N8038 978-1-4129-7499-8 $30.95

This book shares deep expertise with tools to successfully

guide staff to the highest levels of effectiveness, ultimately

leading to greater student achievement.154 pgs.

From Staff Room to Classroom

Item# N8001 978-1-4129-2604-1 $28.95

DiscussionGuide Staff Class Discussion Guide

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