Episode Details
Back to EpisodesCross-Curricular Teaming and PLCs with Gregory Leavitt
Description
Gregory Leavitt, principal of Draper Park Middle School in Utah, shows how professional learning communities and cross-curricular teams work side by side in a school of 1,550 students. Nine teams of four teachers share the same 150 to 180 kids and follow a set agenda, so no student hides behind a big school.
The structure runs on time and trust. A Friday late start, with students arriving at 9:30, gives teachers two hours to meet. Each team sends its notes to Leavitt in Google Docs, and he spot checks a few in 20 minutes, using what he calls the old math teacher trick.
What you'll learn
- Start a cross-curricular team with one group of teachers who want to try it, as Leavitt did, and let it grow.
- Ask subject-level PLCs the three questions Leavitt's teams answer: what should students know, how will you know, and what will you do if they don't.
- Build a weekly grid of the vocabulary each class is teaching so teachers can connect content across subjects.
- Limit student problem solving to about 20 minutes, assign someone to each problem and follow up at the next meeting.
- Spot check a few teams' notes on your own rotating schedule, and send back a quick comment so teachers know you are reading them.
Chapters
- 0:00 Meet Greg Leavitt and Draper Park Middle School
- 4:15 How cross-curricular teams started in a big school
- 7:17 Subject-level PLCs and the three questions
- 9:50 Why cross-curricular teams help students and parents
- 13:07 The weekly meeting agenda and Friday late start
- 15:14 Using common vocabulary to connect subjects
- 17:09 Keeping student problem solving from becoming nagging
- 19:07 How Leavitt reviews nine teams' notes
Times are for the episode without ads. Your player may be off by the length of any ads.
Questions this episode answers
What should a cross-curricular team meeting agenda include?
Leavitt's teams cover four things: cross-curricular activities, common vocabulary, student problem solving, and team activities and celebrations. They use a problem solving log to track kids week to week, and teachers add questions for the principal at the end of the agenda.
How do I keep team meetings from turning into a complaint session about students?
Leavitt tells teams to spend about 20 minutes on their top student issues, define the problem, assign someone to solve it and follow up next meeting. He also suggests putting the student discussion at the end so it doesn't eat the whole meeting.
How can a principal keep up with the notes from many PLC teams?
Leavitt has nine teams send notes through Google Docs. He scans for questions, then spot checks a few teams on his own schedule, since nobody knows which notes he will read. He says most of his feedback is a quick comment back to the team.
About Gregory Leavitt
Principal of Draper Park Middle School in Draper, Utah, and the 2013 Canyons District Administrator of the Year.
Links and resources