TEACHER TIPS help you make the most of OGAP in your classroom this year. If you have comments or suggestions about TEACHER TIPS, please let us know at  ogapmath@upenn.edu.
November 29, 2016
The Importance of PLCs

Evidence from work with hundreds of OGAP teachers has shown that the systematic and intentional use of OGAP is most effective when teachers have ongoing support and discussion through regular Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).  For OGAP to have sustaining power, teachers and teacher leaders need time to meet regularly to discuss evidence in student work, instructional implications, and implementation issues as they arise.  It can often be hard to find the time in the busy schedule of a typical school day, but it is time well spent that will have pay-offs in instructional improvement and student growth.
 
Are you meeting with your grade group partners regularly to discuss OGAP and student work? If not, what can be done to help make this happen more regularly?  What can be done now to ensure that they are scheduled more consistently for the rest of the year? 

Action Item
  • Work with your colleagues and administrators to make sure you have PLCs scheduled regularly this year that are dedicated to looking at student work in mathematics.
  • Choose an item that you and your grade partners can discuss together at your next meeting. (See Start the Year off with OGAP for suggestions of items to start with.)
  • Use the OGAP PLC protocol to structure your next meeting and/or try one of the following variations:
    • Look at a set of student work from one teacher and focus planning instruction for that teacher's classroom.
    • Use the OGAP Progression to sort your student work before the meeting to save time for discussion of evidence and instructional implications.
Did You Know?
 
You can access the OGAP Item Bank from a web browser on your desktop or laptop at  www.OGAPMath.com/item-bank.
 
Also, you can explore past issues of OGAP Teacher Tips by visiting