Initiatives That Matter: Process

The book, Intentional Interruption, points to the dilemma that most educators don't spend enough time on problem analysis, and that limitation hinders the potential of what we're able to do in schools.

I suggest that school initiatives resemble Hattie's strategy for moving from unknowing to knowing in his book, Visible Learning for Teachers, Maximizing Impact on Learning, with the following steps:

1. Choose a goal based on research, data, observation, need, and adequate problem analysis.
2. Define the goal explicitly.
3. Design the goal's success criteria specifically.
4. Determine a timeline for the goal. 
5. Determine the goal's structure, strategy(s), and schedule.
6. Share the goal's rationale, definition, success criteria, timeline, structure, strategy(s) and schedule with the entire learning community. 
7. Assess the goal's strategies and success along the way with formative assessments. Review and revise strategies as needed. Collaborate with the learning community to achieve the goal. 
8. At the end of the goal's time line, assess the success criteria.  Evaluate the assessment, determine next steps, and share the results with all members of the learning community including students, families, educators, leaders, and community members. 

A full-circle learning approach that utilizes the steps above and template below will develop trust and team within the learning community whereas goals that include only a few of these steps will lack the promise and potential possible.

Goal Setting/Achievement Template

Goal Definition
Rationale	Observation: Need: Research: Problem Analysis:
Success Criteria (summative assessment)	To achieve this goal students will be able to:
Goal Timeline
Structure and Schedule
Strategies:
Formative Assessments
Summative Assessment
Next Steps