Why the Current System Does Not Produce Change

Most schools have the infrastructure for the SEEING work. We have observation protocols. We have data meetings. We have PLCs. We have professional development.

But most schools do not have the infrastructure for the CHANGING work. We do not have repeated coaching cycles. We do not have a system for tracking what teachers are trying and how it is evolving. We do not have a way for teams to examine their practice change over time.

So we do the seeing work. We notice that students are not thinking. We decide to focus on student talk. We provide professional development on discourse.

And then nothing happens. Because we did not build the system for change.

Why PD Alone Does Not Work

I have attended professional development sessions on student discourse. They are often good. Teachers learn about wait time. They learn question types. They see examples.

They leave feeling energized and like they understand.

Three weeks later, when they teach, what happens? They fall back into old patterns. Because understanding something and doing it are different things. Doing it is hard. It requires changing your practice in real time. It requires managing a classroom while students are thinking instead of while you are explaining.

So teachers go back to what feels safe. Lecturing. Explaining. Managing silence.

Because there is no structure supporting the change.

Why Data Meetings Alone Do Not Work

We have data meetings where we look at results. We see that student discourse is low. We ask: Why?

We come up with theories. And then we add another initiative. Another training. Another focus.

But we do not track what teachers are actually doing to change it. We do not observe whether they are using the strategy from the training. We do not give feedback when they try it. We do not reflect together on whether it is working.

So nothing changes. We just have a new thing we are supposed to do on top of everything else.

Why Telling Teachers to "Focus on This in Your PLC" Does Not Work

PLCs are supposed to be where teachers examine practice and learn together. And sometimes they are.

But sometimes PLCs are just another meeting. Teachers sit down. They go through an agenda. They coordinate logistics. They leave. Nothing about their practice has changed.

For a PLC to produce change, it needs real examination of practice. Looking at student work. Watching videos of teaching. Discussing what students are doing and not doing. Trying something. Looking at the results. Adjusting.

That takes facilitation. That takes time. That takes focus.

Most PLCs do not have that.

The Missing Piece

The missing piece is the system that connects all of this. That makes the seeing, coaching, trying, reflecting, and adjusting visible and sustained.

It is the system that answers: How do we know that teachers are actually trying this? How do we track what is working and what is not? How do we keep this from becoming just another initiative that fades away?

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