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 Developing Individual Plans > Peer Input > Activities

Activity #1 - Reflective Interview
Activity #2 - Peer Protocol

Activity #1 - Reflective Interview (30 minutes)


(Found on pp.51-52 in Richard Sagor's Action Research available for purchase from the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) at http://www.ascd.org)

Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to provide the opportunity to obtain peer input to help clarify project focus, formulate research questions, establish learning goals, develop a data collection and analysis plan, or interpret data results. This activity is especially helpful when Developing Individual Plans, but it may be used at any time throughout this project.

Preparation: This activity should be conducted in a location where participants are not likely to be interrupted.

Process:
This process is appropriate for dialogue about any topic that is related to teaching and learning, concerns an important concern to the teacher (administrator), and can be addressed or changed by the teacher (administrator). See pp. 13-14 in Sagor's book for the process in this activity.

Reflection and dialogue:

At the end of the interview, consider these questions:

  • Was my topic or issue worthy of further investigation in a teacher-research project?
  • How passionate am I about further investigation of this topic/issue?
  • How strong is the potential impact if this issue/topic on student learning in my classroom?
  • What specific questions do I want to answer about this topic/issue?
  • What possible interventions could I plan and implement to address this topic/issue?
  • What would I need to know and learn to do if I were to investigate this topic/issue further?


Activity #2 - Peer Review Protocol

Purpose:The purpose of this activity is to obtain feedback from colleagues to help refine plans and work with data.

Preparation: Prior to this activity, participants have drafted their project plan, have collected data, or have analyzed data.

Process: Participants work in pairs or triads. Presenting:

  • One person presents his/her project for 3-4 minutes and the partner(s) listen.
  • Partner(s) may ask clarifying questions but no comments are offered.
  • Partner(s) offer warm feedback (positive comments supported by reasons and examples) for 3-4 minutes. Presenter listens and takes notes but does not comment.
  • Partner(s) offer cool feedback (questions, suggestions, clarification needs supported by reasons and examples) for 3-4 minutes. Presenter listens and takes notes but does not comment.
  • Presenter uses notes to ask for clarification or more information.
  • Switch roles and repeat to offer feedback for partners.

Reflection and dialogue:

The group may want to debrief after everyone has received feedback considering questions like the following.

  • What was the most helpful part of this process as a presenter? As a peer?
  • What was the hardest part of this process as a presenter? As a peer?
  • What would you change next time?

After this activity, individual participants can reflect on the feedback they received to determine what suggestions they choose to follow, what additional questions they need to consider, and how they might clarify parts of their project in the revision process.

Handout: Peer Review Protocol handout is available.