An ASCD Study Guide for Align the Design: A Blueprint for School Improvement

Most of the questions contained in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own, but you might consider pairing with a colleague or forming a study group with others who have read (or are reading) Align the Design: A Blueprint for School Improvement.

Introduction

1. What are two reasons that school improvement efforts fail? Give some examples from your own experiences. Discuss the difference between processes and programs as they relate to school improvement.
2. The five blueprint processes work together to improve schools. Discuss each process and its importance for raising student achievement.
3. Many schools and districts have improvement processes in place but they are not aligned to work together. Why is this problematic for school and district leaders?
4. What makes full implementation different from other efforts to utilize a new method or strategy?
5. Why are relationships important in school improvement?
6. How does the analogy of architecture and building construction fit with school improvement?

Chapter 1: Developing Curriculum Leadership and Design

1. How has the standards movement affected curriculum development practices?
2. Discuss the relationship between curriculum and instruction during the curriculum revision process. What activities need to occur to align this relationship?
3. How is professional development embedded in the curriculum revision process? Why is it important for district teams to function as professional learning communities?
4. Why should the curriculum leadership staff be involved in supervising principals?
5. We suggest that central office administrators play three roles in relation to curriculum development — visionary, gatekeeper, and change agent. Which role do you feel is most crucial and why?

Chapter 2: Aligning the Design for School Improvement

1. How are the blueprint processes aligned? Describe how alignment might look in a school or district.
2. Discuss the benefits of aligning each of the five blueprint processes. Are the benefits of alignment worth the effort? Why or why not?
3. This chapter discusses three types of vision. What type of vision exists in your school or district?
4. How do school leaders develop a shared vision?
5. What does it mean to focus, follow-up, and finish? Of these three, which do you believe is most challenging? Why?

Chapter 3: Making Sense of the Data

1. In what ways can you relate to the opening anecdote in this chapter? What is the difference between "doing data" and real data analysis?
2. What kind of data do you review on a regular basis? Make a list of available data sources and another list of data you would like to have but don't currently see or use.
3. Consider what data you need but currently don't have. Think about why you do not have these data now. Discuss the barriers to data access and collection. What steps could you take to overcome these barriers? Who needs to be involved in the solution?
4. Describe the State of the Schools report outlined in this chapter. What is its purpose? In what ways do you see this as a useful tool?
5. If you were creating a State of the Schools report for your district, what data would be most important to include? Where and how would you collect this information?
6. What is the relationship between the State of the Schools report and the school portfolio? How are these two documents aligned?

Chapter 4: Providing Accountability for the Data

1. Have you ever been a part of a data "dog and pony show"? What benefits and liabilities do you see from this one-time presentation?
2. Describe a data consultation. What are the roles for the district supervisor and the principal?
3. This chapter lists five ways to use data to improve achievement. Which of the five starting points are most useful to you? What do you need to do to make better use of the data that are available to you?
4. What happens after a data consultation? What does the central office supervisor do? What does the principal do? Why is follow-up critical for the success of this power tool?

Chapter 5: Working the Plan for School Improvement

1. What value do you see in creating a plan for school improvement? What are the primary barriers to effective planning efforts?
2. Consider your current school improvement plans. Is the primary function of those plans to fully implement the district curriculum and best instructional practices? If not, what is the primary focus?
3. What is the connection between a well-articulated curriculum and school improvement planning?
4. Explain the difference between a goal, a strategy, and an action step by using examples from your own school or district.
5. How can you monitor a school improvement plan? Why is monitoring important?
6. Compare the three roles that a central office administrator can take in regards to school improvement planning. Is one role more influential or important than another?

Chapter 6: Creating Powerful Professional Development

1. Access the national standards for staff development from NSDC's Web site (www.nsdc.org) and discuss the implications of implementing these standards for professional development in your school or district.
2. What are the pros and cons for each type of human resource for professional development—the guru, the consultant, the coach, and the teacher leader? How might you use these professionals as you design professional learning?
3. How can professional development in a school be aligned with the school improvement plan?
4. How does a district professional development program align with data, school improvement plans, and curriculum development?
5. What is the value of identifying look fors? Who benefits from this practice?
6. Practice creating look fors for a curricular area using one of the processes described in this chapter. Debrief with your colleagues about what parts of the process seem easiest to execute and which require more consideration.
7. Which of Guskey's five levels of evaluation are most often used in your school or district to evaluate professional learning activities? Which are most often overlooked?
8. Discuss how you use student learning outcomes to measure professional development. How does student achievement align with what teachers are learning?
9. What roles can central office administrators play to ensure that their staff has access to high-quality professional development?

Chapter 7: Supervising Teaching, Learning, and People

1. Compare what you know about walkthroughs to our description of walkthroughs in the book. How does our view of walkthroughs differ from what you know?
2. What does it take to create a climate of trust and respect? How does this relate to supervision?
3. How does supervision align with professional development and data analysis?
4. What is the purpose of displaying student work? How are student displays related to supervision?
5. What is the difference between walking around and a principal walkthrough?
6. Distinguish between a principal walkthrough and a supervisory walkthrough. How does the supervisory walkthrough raise the bar for principals and central office administrators?
7. Compare the postobservation conference framework with your own experiences in supervisory conferences.

Chapter 8: Creating Leaders for School Improvement

1. Of all the characteristics of strong leadership, which do you think are most important? Why?
2. We chose integrity, courage, and compassion as highly desirable traits. Define each of these traits and give examples of what a leader does to convey these traits. Compare your definitions to ours.
3. How do relationships affect school improvement efforts?
4. How does your organization develop the capacity of others to carry on the work after a leader resigns or retires? What happens when capacity building is overlooked?
5. Develop a flowchart of your school or district governance structure. Who makes the decisions regarding each of the blueprint processes? How is governance shared?
6. Make a list of communication tools used in your setting. Which are internal? Which are external? How can internal communications improve the efficiency and effectiveness of school improvement?
7. Why is creating a vision important for school improvement? What is your personal vision for schooling?

Summary Discussion

1. This book outlines processes for improving schools. After reading and discussing each process, what connections do you make between these processes? Why do you think the book is entitled Align the Design?
2. After reading the book, what changes will you think about making in your school or district? Describe how principals and central office administrators can work together to make these changes a reality.

Align the Design: A Blueprint for School Improvement was written by Nancy J. Mooney and Ann T. Mausbach. This 200-page, 8" x 10" book (Stock #108005; ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-0625-3) is available from ASCD for $21.95 (ASCD member) or $27.95 (nonmember). Copyright © 2008 by ASCD. To order a copy, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 (in Virginia 1-703-578-9600) and press 2 for the Service Center. Or buy the book from ASCD's Online Store.