Section III: After the Learning

Step 3: Personal Reflection (Five Minutes)

Ask each member of the group to take five minutes and silently reflect on the following questions: “How guaranteed is the curriculum; do all students have access to the same rigorous curriculum? How viable is our curriculum; are we able to teach the curriculum given the time we have available to us?” Ask participants to record and retain their comments; their reflections will be used during the section III debrief with a coach.

Section III: After the Learning

Next Steps and Follow-Up for Coaching Teams

The goal for this part of the module is to extend participants’ thinking. First, ask team members to review the working definition of a GVC they developed in step 1 of this module. Ask the participants if they would make any changes after participating in the previous training session.

Next, ask participants to discuss their level of involvement in identifying what is essential (or what all students should know and be able to do). Are external voices (textbook publishers or state departments of education) driving the curriculum, or is what’s essential an internal decision within the purview of teams? Or is the decision a balance of external and internal interests?

Finally, explore how the team feels about each member’s commitment to teach what the team agrees is essential without adding or deleting content. Do participants think the GVC makes what students should learn clear while leaving the decision of how to teach it to members of the faculty and staff?

Refer to the SIG for prerequisite two (page 239) and the Pathways for Prerequisite Two (2.1–2.5; page 244) to help determine the team’s current reality, identify some possible next steps, and agree on a plan for moving forward.