New Haven Unified School District Evidence Fair
The New Haven Unified School District Evidence Fair is an example of a reflective practice that the district uses with its instructional leadership teams (ILT); it is just one example of what a Practice Exchange might look like. In New Haven, every school in the district has an instructional leadership team, and all teams meet together for district-wide professional development approximately every six weeks. Near the end of the year, at the evidence fair, each ILT shares a story of what its school has accomplished and what new challenges emerged with respect to the school's instructional focus. The evidence fair is an opportunity to celebrate successes and to get feedback from other schools to shape future plans and professional development.
You may view the extended excerpt (25 minutes) or browse by section of the Evidence Fair.
In the first clip we look in on a traveler and talker during the Evidence Fair. As a representative of a community of practice, this particular literacy coach shares the middle school's learning journey around academic talk. Participants used a reflections form to document their learning from the gallery walk.
During this section of the Evidence Fair, participants used a Consultancy/Tuning Protocol adapted by the National School Reform Faculty.
In the second clip we hear the facilitator providing guidelines on how the process will work for three school communities of practice participating in a consultancy conversation.
In the third clip the group designated to share describes the work they have been doing on several initiatives related to reading. They conclude by naming a question on which they'd like group feedback.
In the fourth clip, the two other groups serving as listeners ask questions to clarify.