Leadership Guide to success - Agile Mind · 2017-03-14 · Leadership Guide to Success...

Agile educators. Agile learners. Agile tools to support high achievement.

Vision, Structure, and Implementation of Agile Mind Course Programs

LeadershipGuide to success

Vision, Structure, and Implementation of Agile Mind Course Programs

LEADERSHIP GUIDE TO SUCCESS

© 2015 Agile Mind, Inc.

Copyright © 2010-2015 by Agile Mind, Inc.

No part of this resource shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means—electronically, mechanically, or via photocopying, recording, or otherwise, including via methods yet to be invented—without express written permission, except under the following conditions:

1) Agile Mind partners may copy and disseminate this leadership guide within their school or district to implement our course programs, without obtaining further permission. Any portion reproduced must retain the copyright notice listed above.

2) Other organizations or individuals must obtain prior written permission for the use of these materials.

We have made extensive efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information in this resource and to properly acknowledge original sources. If you find an error, please email us at [email protected]. For those seeking permission to use materials, please contact Deborah Zimmerman, Permissions, Agile Mind, Inc., 101 Montgomery Street, Suite 825, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Welcome to Agile Mind ...................................................................3Our Approach .........................................................................................................4Agile Mind Course Programs ................................................................................5Agile Mind Tools for Leaders and Teachers ........................................................6Partnership Through Professional Development ................................................7A Vision of Success ...............................................................................................8Implementation of a New Innovation ....................................................................9Our Commitment to Leadership ..........................................................................10Leadership Planning for Success .......................................................................11Structures for a Successful Implementation: A Checklist for Leaders ...........12Structures for a Successful Implementation: An In-Depth Guide ...................14Implementation Timeline and Key Milestones ...................................................18Partnership Roll-out Guide ..................................................................................19Instructional Improvement Systems: Partner Inventory...................................20Instructional Improvement Systems: Exploring Agile Mind .............................21Classroom Observation Guide ...........................................................................22Measuring Our Progress......................................................................................24Ongoing Leadership Support ..............................................................................25Professional Services Plan..................................................................................26

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Leadership Guide to Success

© 2015 Agile Mind, Inc.

3Agile Mind, Inc.


Introduction: Welcome to Agile Mind

The work of Agile Mind is built on a core belief: all students deserve access to, and support succeeding in, high quality, rigorous mathematics and science courses. Since our founding in 2002, Agile Mind has been committed to providing the highest quality tools, programs, and services to America’s middle and high school districts. We respectfully partner with dedicated educators to nurture their students’ intellectual passions and to prepare them for success in postsecondary education and the 21st century workplace. Our tools and resources directly support schools in their efforts to:

� Transform student achievement in mathematics and science � Foster student engagement and productive persistence � Enhance educator effectiveness � Ensure teacher satisfaction and retention

Research and Development Partners

Agile Mind course programs are grounded in years of research and experience from our partners at leading educational research institutions. We work with our research partners and with a community of scholars and educators nationwide to apply qualitative and quantitative research to the systematic improvement of our curricula, our formative assessments, and our student and educator supports.

The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin serves as the intellectual leadership and the lead author of the instructional content in our middle school, high school, AP®, and Academic Youth Development course programs. The Dana Center develops and scales math and science education innovations to empower educators, administrators, and policy makers in supporting successful transitions throughout the K–14 system for all students, especially those who have historically been underserved. The Dana Center’s portfolio of initiatives, grounded in research and more than 20 years of experience, centers on mathematics and science education from prekindergarten through the early years of college, focusing in particular on strategies for improving student engagement, motivation, persistence, and achievement.

The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) serves as lead author of the instructional content in our high school biology services. BSCS, nationally recognized for its excellence in science education, is a nonprofit corporation that endeavors to improve all students’ understanding of science and technology by developing exemplary curricular materials, supporting their widespread and effective use, and providing professional development.

The Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is a principal collaborator in the research and development of Intensified Algebra I. LSRI is a collaboration among international, national, and UIC-based researchers to improve educational opportunities for an array of learners. LSRI’s mission is to improve instruction and learning by creating a new, larger, and streamlined institute to function as a campus-wide, multidisciplinary unit with greater impact, visibility, and leveraging of resources.

Our mission—and our promise to you—is to provide the programs, tools, and instructional improvement systems you need to transform student engagement and achievement through exemplary, sustainable teaching practices.

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Our Approach

To date, Agile Mind has served nearly three million students and 30,000 educators. Here is how we approach our work. 1) We empower students and teachers with a comprehensive, aligned system for teaching and learning. Agile Mind course programs are much more than a digital curriculum. They are a complete set of tools to help teachers work more effectively and to help students take responsibility for their learning:

� Rigorous, coherent course curricula built for our next-generation standards, enriched by animations, multiple representations, and simulations of central concepts

� Job-embedded professional development—with daily guidance, lesson plans, and activities � Rich formative assessments � Robust practice, homework, and test prep resources for students � Real-time data and reports � Face-to-face consultative, research-based professional development for teachers and leaders

2) We equip teachers and leaders to fulfill their crucial role as the heart of instructional improvement. Agile Mind programs are designed to equip teachers and leaders with resources worthy of the challenges they face every day. We use 21st century technologies to provide the tools, knowledge, and support educators need to elevate their practice for all of the students they serve. 3) Our tools and resources are built for next-generation standards, not just aligned to them. Agile Mind’s foundational research and development partner, the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin, has been involved from inception in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)—and in the deeper learning they represent. Leveraging that knowledge and expertise, our programs have been built from the ground up to incorporate the vision as well as the requirements of these next-generation standards. Our professional development services are specifically designed to address the practice and content standards envisioned by these more rigorous academic and college readiness requirements. 4) Our task is nothing less than preparing students for success in college and beyond. Core to Agile Mind’s pedagogical approach is the knowledge that 21st century skills (also called “noncognitive factors”), such as motivation, positive self-belief, and productive persistence, are fundamental to a student’s success in school, college, and career. Agile Mind mathematics and science programs are designed to incorporate breakthrough findings in the learning sciences, neuroscience, and psychology on these noncognitive factors and their effect on student learning. These concepts are explicitly taught in our family of Academic Youth Development programs. 5) Based on the latest research, our robust formative assessment tools drive great teaching. A rich body of research indicates that formative assessment—in which teachers collect and analyze data on student progress to inform instructional decisions over the course of a lesson, unit, or marking period—produces greater growth in student achievement than virtually any other improvement effort. Every Agile Mind course program encompasses thousands of formative assessments, most of which can be automatically graded and reported in real time, providing instantaneous, targeted feedback for learners while enabling teachers to use data to impact instructional decisions.

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Agile Mind Course Programs

Our portfolio of course programs spans middle school mathematics through Advanced Placement® Calculus and Statistics, as well as high school Biology and Academic Youth Development, a unique family of programs based on new knowledge emerging from the psychological and learning sciences designed to strengthen academic identities, enhance classroom participation, and raise achievement.

Academic Youth Development (Adolescent Learning) Our Academic Youth Development (AYD) encompasses both established and emerging research on student motivation, effort, and learning—as well as powerful knowledge on the malleability of intelligence—and is designed to increase the number and diversity of students who persist and succeed in STEM courses and in high school. They help students transform their academic identities and engage as learners while strengthening classroom culture.

� Summer-Start Academic Youth Development – Three-week summer program designed to support transition into Algebra I and high school.

� School-Year Academic Youth Development – Taught during advisory, homeroom, or after school; supports students in grades 8–10 and their teachers in applying AYD to schoolwork across the content spectrum.

� An Educator’s Course in Academic Youth Development – Professional development experience to engage with research underpinnings and applications of AYD.

� Intensified Algebra I – Designed for students one to three years behind in mathematics; combines Algebra I content with AYD ideas to help students succeed in Algebra I the first time within one academic year.

Mathematics Agile Mind mathematics courses are explicitly built for next-generation standards. They are designed to help students develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics—to produce empowered mathematical thinkers and learners—and to support teachers in creating conditions that foster rich academic discourse.

� Mathematics 6

� Mathematics 7

� Mathematics 8

� Algebra I

� Geometry

Science Through in-depth exploration, students “do” science: they make and test predictions, analyze data, and develop explanations based on evidence.

� Biology

Agile Assessment Agile Assessment provides educators with flexible tools for creating high quality formative assessments and for capturing real-time data that can be used to affect student learning every day. Thousands of research-based items are aligned to next-generation standards.

� Algebra II

� Precalculus

� AP® Calculus

� AP® Statistics

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Agile Mind Tools for Leaders and Teachers

Agile Mind’s course programs are designed as a comprehensive teaching and learning system, including rigorous, standards-based curricula, embedded professional support, formative assessment tools, practice, homework and test prep resources, and data analytics and reporting. These resources and tools support teachers and leaders in their daily practice.

Agile Mind’s learning systems:

� Support exemplary planning opportunities to sustain effective teaching practices

� Provide teacher and student access to the course content through daily, rigorous, comprehensive, college preparatory delivery of instruction in mathematics and science that fosters high academic achievement and persistence

� Enhance the teaching and learning experience by strategically using technology to help teachers monitor instruction and differentiate effectively

Professional Support: Plan the Course – Overview of daily and long-term instructional planning toolsScope and Sequence – Alignment of course content and objectives to standardsAdvice for Instruction – Daily instructional guidance from expert curriculum designers Prepare Instruction – Concept preview, with notes on prerequisite skills, advice for preparation, and materials Deliver Instruction – Strategies to address content and practice standards, foster engagement, and facilitate discourseProfessional Essays and Videos – Educational research and showcases of best practices to support professional inquiry

Instructional Content: Overview – Introduce concepts with real-world scenarios (through visualizations and animations)Exploring – Students explore concepts fully through hands-on inquiry and multiple representationsSummary – Review and solidify students’ understanding of concepts and new academic language Student Activity Sheets – Companion to visualizations and animations; support engagement with concepts

Course Materials: Course Topics – Topic-by-topic summary of how concepts are introduced, developed, and reinforced throughout course Animation Index – Searchable list of how course concepts are depicted using animations and visualizations About the Course – Overview of course content, pedagogy, connection to other courses, as well as author profilesAlignment to Standards – Listed by topic (topics-to-standards) and by standard (standards-to-topics) Glossary – English, Spanish, and visual representations of key concepts

Assessments: Guided Assessment – Formative assessment items in a variety of dynamic formats (e.g., drag and drop, fill in the blank) More Practice – Like Guided Assessment, include hints and feedback to help build mastery and confidenceMultiple Choice – Simulate high-stakes tests to demonstrate content mastery students will need for end-of-year examsConstructed Response – Complex, multistep problems that are printable and ideal for group and project work

Reports: Enrollment – Monitoring system-wide roles and logins Usage – Student and teacher participation at the system, school, and classroom levelQuiz – Student performance over time by school, class, and individual student

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Partnership Through Professional Development

Agile Mind’s mission, and our promise to our partners, is to support you in reshaping student achievement through exemplary, sustainable teaching practices. Our research-based instructional programs, tools, and professional development services can transform teaching and learning outcomes in your school. Our professional development services are designed to inspire and equip educators to enact high-yield strategies—through use of our programs—that increase student engagement, achievement, and persistence in mathematics and science. Through our work together, our partner schools report significant gains in the number and diversity of students who achieve at high levels, thus preparing to leave high school ready for college and for the contemporary workplace. To achieve those objectives with partner schools and districts while accommodating the challenges you face in budget, time, and logistics, our professional development and support offerings are designed to leverage next-generation technology and personal services. We are there as partners, supporting you with:

� Formal cycles of annual planning, implementation, professional development, and review � National and regional institutes � Ongoing professional development—both personal and online � Anytime access to online and phone support � Timely evaluation and reporting

Agile Mind Professional Services

Agile Mind Institutes: Institutes are 2.5-day conferences designed to support professional development for new and experienced Agile Mind teachers, coaches, and instructional leaders. Sessions are differentiated for participants based on their assessed needs and interests—the courses taught, their experience using Agile Mind, and their roles in implementation. Participants also have the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and learn promising practices with Agile Mind educators from neighboring schools and school districts.

Advisor Services (on-site professional development): Advisor Services provide ongoing support for teachers and leaders. They are customized to meet assessed needs and support the goals of the implementation. Prior to meeting with teachers, Agile Mind Advisors analyze data and contact instructional leaders to review progress and plan each session. Services are designed for working with groups during collaborative planning or scheduled release time. They may also include in-class observations and coteaching sessions. Advisors provide service summaries to leaders and follow up with teachers by email. Webinars may be provided and delivered throughout the school year to support teachers and leaders.

Working with the Agile Mind Professional Services team has helped spur a dramatic shift in the mindsets, motivation, and practices of our teachers and instructional coaches. Through our professional development work with Agile Mind advisors, they were inspired to go back to their classrooms and hold their students to higher standards. Donna DeSena, Hillsborough Public Schools, Florida


A Vision of Success

Achieving transformative results requires vision, commitment, and persistence. Agile Mind’s partners around the country provide meaningful evidence that schools serving a broad range of students can accomplish significant gains by using our programs effectively. The case study below demonstrates how one of our partners achieved dramatic increases in student achievement through the use of our course programs. This case also bears out the research on the implementation of new educational innovations: a profound impact is achieved through sustained, purposeful effort by teachers and leaders. Greatest gains have been achieved through:

� Purposeful engagement and support from leaders � Frequent and consistent use in and out of the classroom by teachers and students � Use of in-person and online professional support by teachers

Rio Grande City High School Among our most successful partner schools is Rio Grande City High School (RGCHS) in Rio Grande City Independent School District in Texas. The student population in the district is 99% Hispanic, 85% economically disadvantaged, and 26% limited English proficient. Before partnering with the Dana Center and Agile Mind, the school’s students were achieving significantly below the state average on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), a standardized test administered to all public school students in the state. Since implementing Agile Mind programs in mathematics, the district has dramatically increased student achievement in mathematics. Over the past ten years of our partnership, the RGCHS passing rate increased 120%, compared to a 20% increase across the state. The RGCHS passing rate on TAKS now exceeds the state average by over 25%. Since 2012, even with a shift to a new statewide assessment system—the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR)—RGCHS students have consistently outperformed their Texas peers, exceeding both the state average and, by a wider margin, that of Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students.

Number or Percentage of

Adopters

Time

Period of Rapid Growth

Rate of adoption of an innovation over time.

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Implementation of a New Innovation

In measuring the success of implementation, we ask: What is a reasonable time for comprehensive enactment to take place? How rapidly can individual teachers and their students benefit? How soon can these benefits be measured by external exams? What can we do together to support and accelerate realization of tangible benefits?

We are delighted to work with you to ensure the most rapid, effective implementation possible given the conditions in your schools and your community. Implementation is a process, not an event. Education researchers report that comprehensive implementation of any new innovation in a multischool district is a three-to-five-year process.

The level of commitment of leaders, their actions, and the structures they put in place can profoundly affect the

buy-in and engagement of their individual users. In Agile Mind implementations, we have observed that:

� Individual teachers report immediate benefit from the use of standards-centered visualizations of concepts, of formative assessments, and of real-time performance data to inform their instructional decisions. They report gains in student achievement on high-stakes exams within one to two years.

� Every teacher has concerns about a new innovation. Consistent with the authoritative findings of Rand Corporation studies (Hamilton 2008), teachers work to preserve their autonomy in the classroom and will work to advance district and school initiatives to a greater degree when their professional judgment is honored and respected. With support from Agile Mind, leadership can help teachers become comfortable with and experience the value of our course programs by working with teachers to develop shared expectations for enactment, rather than by forcing them to adopt rigid use strategies.

� In working with committed leaders in both multischool districts and small systems with stable faculty,

we observe the process, from implementation to significant, measurable improvements on external exams, taking two to three years. However, we have seen determined schools produce gains in as little as one year.

Over a decade of work in partnership with educational leaders has shown that the key ingredients in helping teachers implement more quickly and effectively are the transparency of leadership’s commitment, clarity of expectations, meaningful follow-through, and purposeful self-assessment.

Implementation is a Process � Initially, implementation growth is slow.

� As more support structures are put in place, growth becomes more rapid.

� Finally, growth in implementation levels off as use becomes robust and later users adopt.

Year one is a learning stage, and it’s tough. Year two is better. Year three, we got this. Ryan Mikus, Principal, Shelbyville MS, Indiana


Our Commitment to Leadership

Site and district leadership are crucial to effective implementation of any innovation. We at Agile Mind commit to you, the leadership team, our most dedicated efforts, including the rapid sharing of promising practices that benefit your teachers and the students they serve. In consultation with our partners, we have observed the following:

� Some teachers are characteristic “early adopters” who quickly enact our programs extensively; others observe the early adopters before proceeding. Some begin by strengthening their confidence and teaching skills by studying our just-in-time professional development resources outside of class; with supportive leadership, most migrate to more comprehensive participation within a year.

� Teachers report that our programs help them enact much more engaging, highly effective instruction and formative assessment. They use the programs with increasing intensity for in-class instruction, and they appreciate the deep alignment of all components—including the embedded assessments—to the standards against which their students’ learning will be measured.

� Teachers note that our daily instructional support and planning tools—in particular the Advice for Instruction—increase their productivity while reducing preparation time. They say that they are able to accomplish more with more of their students.

� Rich, prescriptive assessments improve students’ learning outcomes, both because of their design and because teachers receive online, real-time performance reports for every student that enable them to differentiate instruction.

� Through use of the testing features embedded in every topic of instruction, teachers say they help their students build critical preparedness for high-stakes tests.

� Teachers implement more rapidly when they receive positive recognition for their work in program implementation. You will speed up implementation efforts by recognizing and rewarding their initiative.

� Teachers require your support in getting students online for out-of-class study and problem solving. Many mistakenly assume that students cannot get online—and thus unwittingly deprive students of an opportunity to take responsibility for their learning outcomes. For adolescent learners, this experience is essential to their success in higher education and the contemporary workplace.

Through our work with nearly three million students and 30,000 educators, we have found that adult learners have different learning and adoption styles—just as students do. As a successful administrator, you will want to support varied adult learning experiences, while keeping your school and district objectives front and center.

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Leadership Planning for Success

To guide leaders who are looking to optimize the pace of adoption and to ensure that they champion the most high-yield practices, we have outlined the typical process for implementation of our programs. We report the structures and strategies that, if addressed effectively, will shorten the learning curve and increase the rate of adoption. Our objective is to support your instructional improvement efforts by helping teachers create classrooms that produce powerful mathematical and scientific thinkers.

To implement Agile Mind’s programs effectively and create measureable changes in student achievement, it is crucial to develop your vision of success with participating leaders and teachers and to establish a clear set of shared expectations with all stakeholders. Regular, transparent communication about those goals—and your district’s progress toward them—will help support your teachers by providing them confidence, focus, and stability.

Agile Mind does not possess a monopoly on best practices in educational leadership. Nevertheless, through our work with partners we have identified specific structures and strategies that speed the implementation process and empower teachers and leaders to make decisions that support students’ learning. These structures are intended to complement—not supplant—your systems’ existing initiatives, resources, and tools. Use them in concert with your existing structures to help translate your vision into action.

Agile Mind enables your teachers to realize that opportunity by tightly integrating curriculum, learning assessment, and professional development. Schools with Agile Mind change lives.

Structure Current status/ Completion date

Responsible party/Implementation Strategy

Supporting Tools or Systems

Implementation Planning

� Implementation goals

� Existing systems inventory

� Clear expectations for teacher and student usage

� Key district and school contacts

� Roll-out/communication plan

� Progress monitoring framework

� Data sharing

Infrastructure, Resources, and Materials

� Technology infrastructure and resources

� Out-of-class resource management (e.g., computer lab access)

� Address barriers to technology use

Integration and Alignment of Resources

� Scope and sequence alignment

� Assessment tools

� Other resources (e.g., reporting tools)


Structures for a Successful Implementation: A Checklist for Leaders

The following are some critical elements of a successful implementation. Use this chart to develop plans and monitor progress for each structure or strategy within your school or district.

Professional Development

� Professional development plan for teachers and leaders

� PD calendar and planning time

� Expectations and supports for planning

� Use of professional supports (Advice for Instruction)

� Align observation tools

Structure Current status/ Completion date

Responsible party/Communication strategies

Supporting Tools or Systems

Monitoring Implementation Progress

� Classroom observations

� Teacher and student usage reports

� Assessment data

� Advisor service and administrator reports

With Agile Mind, students are showing gains and experiencing greater success in mathematics while simultaneously increasing their level of confidence and their belief in the impact of their own effort. Kelly Morales, Math Curriculum Specialist, Paramount School District, California

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Fill in the chart with the necessary information to describe the status and plan for each structure within your school or district.

A Checklist for Leaders continued...


Structures for a Successful Implementation: An In-Depth Guide

Based on the specific needs of your system and your existing initiatives, your Agile Mind support team will assist you in addressing these crucial implementation structures. Implementation Planning:

� Establish long-term goals and outcomes for the Agile Mind partnership.

With the support of an Agile Mind Professional Services Director or Advisor, the leadership team should establish specific goals for the implementation, develop plans to monitor and evaluate the participation in Agile Mind, and share these plans and expectations with participating teachers.

� Take stock of existing initiatives and systems that the Agile Mind partnership can help support.

Our aim is to align the Agile Mind partnership in support of existing initiatives and infrastructure. Enumerating your instructional improvement systems and the status of your district’s strategic initiatives will help in identifying opportunities to leverage Agile Mind’s tools to complement or supplement your existing systems.

� Develop clear expectations for teacher and student participation.

Clear expectations for teacher and student participation in and out of the classroom, accompanied by the support necessary to overcome barriers to enactment, are critical to helping your implementation progress quickly. In successful implementations, leadership teams identify benchmarks for increasingly effective use over time by both teachers and students and monitor progress against those expectations. Teachers need support as they implement any new innovation. The leadership team should work with their Agile Mind Director or Advisor to assess teachers’ ongoing needs and to strengthen the confidence and commitment of all users. Leadership should identify emerging team leaders and those worthy of recognition.

� Identify district/school leads and key contacts.

A successful implementation requires an engaged leadership team that plans the implementation and supports and monitors progress. This team typically consists of a district-level and building administrators, as well as science/mathematics coordinators. Each school should have an Agile Mind leader who will help coordinate implementation efforts and ensure that teachers have the support they need to be successful.

� Communicate clearly with teachers about your vision for the implementation of Agile Mind.

Informing teachers as early as possible of your vision for Agile Mind in your district, and how that vision is expected to impact their classroom practice, will immeasurably increase the success of your implementation. When possible, involve key faculty in early implementation planning, and always inform participating teachers about expectations and timelines.

� Develop a plan to guide and monitor your implementation.

An implementation plan, developed and agreed upon by key stakeholders, is central to a successful enactment. Include leaders at both the district and school levels in the development and refinement of a comprehensive implementation plan. It should incorporate the structures outlined in this document and clearly identify expectations for all stakeholders, including how progress towards implementation goals will be measured.

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� Identify how and when student achievement data will be shared with Agile Mind.

Data guides everything we do at Agile Mind—from determining enhancements to our course programs to shaping our professional development resources and tools. We rely on our partners to provide data to indicate the extent to which we are helping to achieve our shared implementation goals. Articulating up front the metrics that will be used to measure impact and the means by which (and by whom) the data will be shared helps ensure clarity and efficiency during the course of the implementation.

Infrastructure, Resources, and Materials:

� Ensure that teachers have the infrastructure and materials they need to successfully enact the programs in the classroom.

Successful implementation requires a computer, projection device, and reliable Internet access for all classrooms that will participate in Agile Mind course programs. In addition, school leadership should identify any long-term technology needs, such as increased bandwidth or lab resources, as appropriate. It is also important to consider the costs and systems for providing teachers and students with the materials that support implementation (for instance, printing costs for Student Activity Sheets).

� Allocate the resources that teachers and students need outside the classroom.

Teachers and students need resources outside of the classroom, such as in the computer lab or the library, so that every participating student can reliably complete 60–90 minutes of online assignments each week that are automatically graded and reported. Consult with your technology department to plan for this support of your implementation.

� Resolve any barriers to effective use of technology resources.

Additional supports related to technology may be required, such as helping teachers who are hesitant with new technology, organizing classrooms to facilitate the use of the computer and projector for presentation, or ensuring that district technology firewalls don’t undermine reliable access to online resources. District technology directors should be involved from the outset to help identify and address potential challenges early in the implementation process.

Integration and Alignment of Resources:

� Align your pacing guide to the Agile Mind scope and sequence.

Districts typically choose to align their pacing guides to Agile Mind course programs using our Alignment to Standards and Scope and Sequence components. This ensures coherence and clarity for teachers in their planning. Consider using departmental meetings or professional development days to align your Agile Mind course programs to pacing guides and classroom resources.

� Integrate Agile Mind’s assessment tools with your current school or district assessments.

Agile Mind’s formative assessment tools and robust reporting capabilities enable teachers and administrators to assess student progress in real time. Districts often use these tools as part of their school- or district-wide assessment of student progress toward district and state benchmarks. Some districts accomplish this objective through the use of Agile Assessment, some through course programs, and some through both.

An In-Depth Guide continued...


� Identify and align existing resources with Agile Mind.

Integrating a new innovation into practice includes evaluating how it will work with existing resources. Agile Mind offers a comprehensive system of teaching and learning designed to work well with many other resources. Collaborate with your Agile Mind Professional Services Director or Advisor to identify how existing resources should be used in tandem with Agile Mind. Monitoring Implementation Progress:

� Plan regular classroom visits to monitor and support teacher development.

The observation, evaluation, and refinement of practice are all part of any improvement effort. Campus principals, assistant principals, or math/science coordinators should conduct regular classroom observation of teachers using Agile Mind programs. The Classroom Observation Guide can be used alongside your existing classroom walk-through or observation tools to help assess the level of usage of Agile Mind tools and resources at the classroom level and to identify some of the aspects of a successful Agile Mind classroom that observers can look and listen for.

� Monitor teacher and student participation in the programs to evaluate alignment with established and communicated guidelines.

Participation in the course programs may vary, but the expectations established during implementation planning can serve as a guide. We have found that daily use by teachers in planning and delivery and 60–90 minutes of student online work outside the classroom every week for homework and review are optimal to reshape student achievement on external measures of success.

� Use assessments and reports to track student progress.

Agile Mind assessments and reports dramatically alter teachers’ ability to identify and respond to instructional challenges and student misconceptions. Teachers can make assignments from content or assessments, create tests that model high-stakes exams, and use the associated real-time reports for individuals and classes to enhance instruction for all students. Leadership should include in the implementation plan specific guidance for teacher and student use of assessments and reports.

� Use Advisor Service reports and Administrator reports to evaluate your ongoing implementation.

Advisor Service reports provide leadership with detailed feedback about the state of the implementation and the action steps for improvement, while Administrator reports provide usage and performance data. These resources help leadership identify successes and challenges, develop strategies to support hesitant or struggling users, and refine their ongoing implementation plans.


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Professional Development:

� Construct a Professional Development Plan for teachers and leaders.

In addition to robust embedded professional support, Agile Mind provides in-person and virtual professional development through Agile Mind Institutes, webinars, and Advisor Services. While Advisor Services are customized to meet partner needs and adapted to address conditions on the ground, it is important to articulate goals for teacher growth through the course of implementation. Effective professional development plans are aligned to existing goals and initiatives and take into account resources, systems, and personnel available within the district to help support and sustain the professional learning of teachers in the use of Agile Mind tools and resources.

We also know from experience that the buy-in and engagement of our partners’ leaders at all levels are critical to successful implementations. Participation in Agile Mind leadership professional development will help ensure that leaders are empowered with tools and resources within the Agile Mind system that are relevant to the unique role of leaders in monitoring and supporting effective instruction in Agile Mind classrooms.

� Align professional development calendars and structures, including dedicated collaboration time for teachers.

It is crucial that leadership plan Agile Mind professional development as part of the district and building calendars. These services are designed to enable teachers to work closely with an Advisor and their peers to assess their participation in the programs, reflect on opportunities to enhance their practices, and develop specific action plans. Thus, they are an invaluable part of the ongoing success of your district’s implementation.

Collaborative planning time enhances the work of the entire teaching team. In addition to Advisor sessions, this time gives teachers the opportunity to plan to facilitate common content or assessments, to review usage and performance data, and to determine their needs for their next Advisor session.

� Ensure that teachers are using professional development resources—specifically, Advice for Instruction.

Agile Mind places at teachers’ fingertips a comprehensive set of professional development resources to support instruction. Advice for Instruction in particular provides page-by-page guidance from the authors and other exemplary teachers to help your instructional team engage students and increase achievement. Teachers who use Advice for Instruction with fidelity report two significant results: 1) they facilitate more successful lessons, and 2) planning time decreases while gaining focus. Thus, it’s particularly important to articulate expectations (and supports) for the use of Agile Mind tools in planning instruction.

� Align the Classroom Observation Guide with district walk-through/observation forms.

The Classroom Observation Guide is a tool that can help leaders understand the connection between their system’s criteria for effective teaching and the purposeful utilization of Agile Mind’s systems, tools and resources. Agile Mind does not possess a monopoly on effective teaching practice, nor do we aim to prescribe how leaders should observe their teachers. Rather, the Classroom Observation Guide articulates elements and strategies that an observer can look and listen for in an effective Agile Mind classroom.


Date to Be Completed

Activity or Service

Person(s) Responsible Notes Completed

Implementation Call

Curriculum and Assessment Alignment

Leadership Session(s)

Agile Mind Institute

Rosters Sent to School Support Services

Advisor Services

Data Collection and Progress Monitoring

Mid-Year Review

End-of-Year ReviewData Sharing


Your Partner Services Manager and Professional Services Director or Advisor will guide you through the implementation process. This chart provides a starting place for tracking activities and making notes of action items or dates to be scheduled.

Implementation Timeline and Key Milestones

Date Constituency Action Item Owner

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Critical for success is the construction and communication of a vision for your partnership with Agile Mind that is shared with all of your stakeholders. This tool is designed to help you reflect on the purpose of our partnership and how to share that message with your team. Need – What are the most pressing challenges you intend to address by partnering with Agile Mind? It could be multiple needs—some related to teacher development, others to student achievement. Be as specific as you can.

Rationale – Of all the solutions you were considering, why did you choose Agile Mind?

Vision and Goals – What do you hope to accomplish through your partnership with Agile Mind? This year? In the long-term? How will we know that we are successful?

Involving Your Team Who are the critical stakeholders who need to understand the Need, the Rationale, and the Vision? How will you share these with them? In what format? When? Make sure to consider the priorities and concerns of your constituents as you craft your message.

Partnership Roll-out Guide

Instructional Improvement System

Leader Responsible

Existing Tools and Systems Goal

Grade Level, Team,or Teacher Planning

Professional Development

Classroom Observations

Data Analysis at District and Campus Level

Data Analysis with Teachers


At Agile Mind we support teachers and leaders in leveraging our tools and resources to advance toward our partners’ goals. We aim to position ourselves in support of existing initiatives and infrastructure. Understanding your instructional improvement systems will help us in identifying opportunities to leverage Agile Mind’s tools to fill gaps or complement your existing systems.

Instructional Improvement Systems: Partner Inventory

21Agile Mind, Inc.


Agile Mind’s course programs are designed as a comprehensive teaching and learning system. This resource is intended to facilitate exploration of the various components – including rigorous, standards-based curricula, embedded professional support, formative assessment tools, practice, homework and test prep resources, and data analytics and reporting – from the perspective of an instructional leader.

Instructional Improvement Systems: Exploring Agile Mind

Agile Mind Component Instructional ToolsWhat do you notice? What stands out?

Instructional ImprovementHow can this component promote teacher effectiveness? What support might teachers need in leveraging this component?

Content � Overview (Preview) � Explorings (Lessons) � Summary

Professional Support � Plan the course � Scope and sequence � Activity Sheets � Advice for Instruction

• Prepare Instruction • Deliver Instruction

� Professional Essays • Print Essays • Video Essays

Formative Assessments Assessments � Guided assessments � More practice

Testing � Multiple choice � Constructed response

Course Materials � Course topics � Animation index � About the course � Alignment to standards � Glossary

Reports � Enrollment � Usage � Quiz


Because the design of Agile Mind course programs and professional supports is informed by the latest research in teacher effectiveness, many partners find that their existing classroom walk-through forms work well when conducting observations of Agile Mind instruction. This tool is intended as a complementary resource to help evaluate the level of usage of Agile Mind tools and resources at the classroom level and identify some of the aspects of a successful Agile Mind classroom that observers can look and listen for. It is not reasonable to expect to see all of the elements listed below during a single visit; rather, it can be used as a reflection tool for teachers and leaders to help identify and prioritize professional learning needs.

Classroom Observation Guide

Indicator Beginning Use Developing Use Advanced Use

Plan

ning

and

Pre

para

tion

Advice for Instruction

Advice for Instruction is utilized for planning and delivery inconsistently or without clear purpose or intentionality.

There is clear evidence that Advice for Instruction is utilized for planning and delivery of instruction.

Teacher builds off of Advice for Instruction, integrating a variety of instructional strategies based on the suggestions in the AFI.

Usage of system components

Teacher uses most components of the system.

Teacher uses all components of the system in some capacity.

Teacher utilizes all components and resources purposefully, thoughtfully integrating other instructional resources (e.g. manipulatives) based on Advice for Instruction, student needs and professional judgment.

Long-term planning and

pacing

Teacher struggles to deliver one block/lesson in one day of instruction, which may lead the class to fall significantly behind the course scope and sequence.

Teacher is able to deliver one block/lesson per day most of the time, keeping pace with the course scope and sequence within one topic (ahead or behind).

Instruction is paced such that teacher is able to address all of the learning objectives within the allotted instructional time according to the Agile Mind scope and sequence.

Cla

ssro

om E

nviro

nmen

t

Participation Structures

Teacher primarily uses whole class instruction and independent work with occasional opportunities for students to work with partners and small groups.

Teacher uses a variety of participation structures—whole class, small groups, partners, independent work—identified in Advice for Instruction to provide students multiple opportunities for participation.

Teacher selects and leverages participation structures—whole class, small groups, partners, independent work—informed by Advice for Instruction to ensure students have equitable opportunities for participation.

Student online participation

Students interact with a limited number of Agile Mind components in class. Teachers primarily direct student use of online tools.

Students complete some assessments and practice activities online, occasionally accessing the system outside of school. Students are supported with individual or small-group use of online tools.

Students access multiple components (e.g. course content, assessments, Animation Index) inside and outside of classroom for instruction, practice and assessments. Students have ownership of online tools, with their usage integrated into rich classroom discourse.

Discourse

Conversations are largely teacher-led. Students’ speech is limited to answering teacher questions or reading online content.

Teacher uses questions and strategies recommended in the Advice for Instruction, often asking students to explain their thinking using reasoning and appropriate evidence.

Teacher builds off of suggestions in the Advice for Instruction, challenging students to respond to and build on each other’s ideas.

23Agile Mind, Inc.


Indicator Beginning Use Developing Use Advanced Use

Supporting multiple learning

modes

Instruction is skills-oriented rather than focusing on the connections between ideas and multiple ways they can be explored and represented.

Agile Mind tools, resources and content (e.g. animations) are used to provide a variety of entry points to the content. Concepts are presented using multiple representations and connected to real-world scenarios.

Students are knowledgeable and confident in the use of strategies and Agile Mind tools to monitor and support their own learning. Teacher leverages Agile Mind tools, resources and content to meet students where they are, promoting a deep conceptual understanding of concepts and helping students connect ideas to their own experiences.

Inst

ruct

ion

Animations and Visualizations

Teacher uses visualizations and animations to launch, develop or review content consistent with Advice for Instruction.

Teacher engages students in exploration, discussion and sense-making of animations and visualizations to develop students’ conceptual understanding of key math content. Teacher helps students make connections between animations and visualizations, student discourse, and the tasks in the Student Activity Sheets.

Animations and visualizations are used to launch rich academic discourse. Students leverage visualizations and animations (including the Animation Index) independently and collaboratively to develop their conceptual understanding and make connections between ideas.

Academic Literacy

Teacher presents information to students, paraphrasing text. Students occasionally utilize comprehension strategies.

Teacher employs a variety of instructional strategies and embedded resources (e.g. Glossary, Language notes) to support student comprehension of text.

Mathematics class is seen as an opportunity to develop students’ academic literacy skills, including critical analysis of text and effective written communication.

Student Activity Sheets

Student Activity Sheets are used occasionally as independent practice.

Student Activity Sheets utilized throughout the lesson consistent with the Advice for Instruction.

Student Activity Sheets are fully integrated into instruction inside and outside of class and are utilized to differentiate for individuals, pairs and groups and facilitate student discourse.

Checking for Understanding

Teacher uses embedded tools (e.g. check buttons) occasionally to check for understanding.

Teacher uses embedded tools regularly to check for understanding.

Teacher uses a combination of embedded tools, instructional strategies, observations and Assessment items throughout the lesson to check for understanding and adjust instruction.

Ass

essm

ent a

nd R

epor

ting Use of online

assessment tools

Online assignments are used occasionally or are printed out and completed offline.

Online assignments and assessments are used with regularity and purpose.

Online assessments are integrated into structures and routines of class and leveraged in concert with other formative assessment tools.

Use of reports

Teacher (and leader) are aware of reports but use them infrequently.

Teacher (and leader) access reports sporadically and occasionally adjusts instruction based on data.

Teacher (and leader) regularly and systematically use reports to make instructional decisions. Students are engaged in conversations about data.

Agile Assessment

Teacher with access to Agile Assessment uses it rarely or sporadically.

Agile Assessment is used regularly as a formative assessment tool.

Agile Assessment is utilized systematically as a formative assessment tool.

Classroom Observation Guide continued...

Goals Indicator(s) Mid-Year Progress End-of-Year Progress

Student Achievement

Teacher Effectiveness

Student Engagement

Teacher Satisfaction


It’s important to articulate goals for an implementation. Agile Mind works with partners to improve practices and outcomes for students and teachers in critical areas: student achievement, teacher effectiveness, student engagement, and teacher satisfaction. Our overall aim, however, is to support our partners in achieving outcomes that are aligned with their existing goals and initiatives. Agile Mind programs also include a variety of tools and resources to help leaders collect and analyze data to monitor progress toward desired outcomes.

Measuring Our Progress

25Agile Mind, Inc.


Ongoing Leadership Support

Even as Structures for a Successful Implementation (pp. 12-17) are secured in place, leaders can continue to support a purposeful instructional improvement agenda in meaningful ways. Consider some of these suggestions, which are based on over a decade of collaborative learning with our partners.

Communicate your support � Clearly articulate the rationale vision for the partnership with Agile Mind, how it aligns with system goals

and initiatives, and the value it can provide for teachers and leaders.

� Continue to show commitment to Agile Mind in visible ways. Recognize those who demonstrate initiative in participation—in your staff communication, during faculty meetings, or in personal notes.

� Foster student participation and online review and practice through community involvement and communications with parents (e.g. highlighting best practices or progress in school newsletters).

Set reasonable expectations � Show how Agile Mind can be implemented progressively over time rather than in a single leap; establish

practical expectations about what is attainable. Set goals for your system—and use the Classroom Observation Guide to measure progress—but remember that teachers’ individual implementations can vary greatly.

� Leverage usage and classroom observation data to measure. Revise targets as appropriate.

� Recognize the importance of teachers’ agency in driving the implementation.

Support a culture of purposeful innovation and intellectual risk-taking � Recognize the challenge teachers face in implementing any new innovation, and show support for their

efforts and successes.

� Challenge teachers to use the Agile Mind professional development resources, particularly the Advice for Instruction, Animation Index, and search features to increase their comfort with the programs and tools and to identify new instructional strategies.

� Embrace the fact that teachers may refine or improve their existing strategies for implementation. Refer teachers to the Classroom Observation Guide to assess their current participation, and encourage them to set goals for specific categories of usage throughout the school year.

Encourage teachers to collaborate and share successful practices � Provide common planning time to teachers of the same courses and to vertical teams to collaboratively

plan upcoming instruction using Agile Mind programs.

� Connect teachers with others whose early concerns have been addressed and who will be supportive.

� Provide a forum for teachers to discuss their questions, challenges, and successes with Agile Mind, and be responsive to their needs. Celebrate success publicly at staff or departmental meetings.

Provide ongoing professional development opportunities � Frame Advisor Services as an opportunity for teachers and leaders to deepen their knowledge of the

standards and to broaden their instructional repertoire.

� Involve teachers who are experienced with Agile Mind programs in providing assistance to others and presenting or modeling the effective utilization of Agile Mind tools and resources.


Professional Services Plan

Professional Services are central to our model of service, so we want to collaborate with you to make the most productive use of our time with your teachers and leaders. This tool is designed to help teachers and leaders articulate professional learning goals that will guide the planning and delivery of Professional Services. Those services will be customized to meet the needs of your team members. During the year, your Agile Mind Professional Services Director or Advisor will meet with you to review the progress of your implementation and evidence of student learning and teacher development, and to make adjustments accordingly.

In our efforts to promote effective use of Agile Mind course programs, our goal is to work “hand in glove” with our partners to support the professional growth of their teachers and leaders. To that end it is important to help us understand existing goals, initiatives, and infrastructure so that we can coordinate our training and support efforts.

Goal Indicator/Metric Status

Professional Development Goals – Teachers

Goal Indicator/Metric Status

Professional Development Goals – Leaders

Target Date Target Audience Focus/Objective Notes/Follow-up

Planning Considerations � A successful implementation is dependent upon the support of participating teachers, your leadership, and

the Agile Mind Professional Services team. Advance planning for professional development makes potential logistical challenges easier to anticipate and greatly increases the likelihood that teachers’ participation in the programs will progress in effectiveness over time.

� The first Advisor session typically occurs within the first 4–6 weeks of the school year. This is crucial to reinforce teachers’ work with the programs and to expose them to tools and methods they may not yet be using.

Planning Considerations

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