A Model of Continuous Improvement

Over the years I have watched my children participate in different activities in sports and music. A common method that is employed by coaches and instructors is using observational evidence to inform their practices or sessions. The coach or instructor adjusts and focuses their planning and action through their direct observation of the participants in the practices, games, and performances. A coach may be judged by wins and losses but the true impact of their work is seen in how they build the capacity of their players. Subsequently, when the coach is able to build the capacity of their players, they will see improved results in the wins and losses.

In school systems, there can be the temptation to judge the success of the system through broad measures such as graduation rates. However, if one accepts that the best way to impact student achievement is through the capacity of the adults who work with the students, our focus and planning should allow us to examine our actions and the observable impact of those actions on student achievement. To accomplish this, Brandon School Division wanted a model of Continuous Improvement that:

• Promotes an organizational growth mindset;
• Recognizes that staff have varied levels of experience;
• Utilizes purposeful learning experiences for teachers;
• Builds collective efficacy;
• Creates coherence across the system;
• Dedicates time within the school day; and
• Recognizes that the impact of our actions needs to be observable.

The Continuous Improvement Model in Brandon School Division builds coherence across the Division through the development of an observable vision of a learner through the lens of the Divisional priorities, specifically:

• Improved Literacy Achievement;
• Improved Numeracy Achievement;
• Decreased Indigenous Achievement Gap; and
• Decreased English as an Additional Language (EAL) Achievement Gap.

School teams determine areas of strength and areas for growth around the observable vision of a learner and design a school-level continuous impact plan. Schools utilize same grade to grade band collaborative teacher teams (CTTs) that meet once every cycle during the instructional day. The CTTs develop team-level Impact Plans and Professional Growth Plans that are aligned to school and Divisional Plans. Presentations of Impact are created at the school level and Division level using their learning artifacts to proliferate patterns of impact through the lens of the Division-wide vision of a learner. Observable and useable sources of evidence and data are determined at the classroom, divisional and provincial level to support the observation, assessment, progress monitoring, impact, and reflection in each of the vision areas.

In preparation for this work, Brandon School Division built capacity in the areas of Foundational Outcomes and Collaborative Teacher Teams. Schools utilized the Observable Impact Framework to address identified instructional challenges during the 2021/22 year. This was followed by an Impact Plan, developed by early years literacy teachers and then the observable vision of a learner for all Divisional priorities in early years, middle years and senior years the following autumn.

The Observable Impact Model is not a new initiative. The Observable Impact Model allows us to examine the work that we are currently doing, determines its observable impact, and helps us to identify the changes in practice that lead to improved outcomes for all learners. We don’t work on Observable Impact but instead we work on literacy, numeracy, and decreasing our achievement gaps for our Indigenous and EAL learners. We use the Observable Impact Model to build the collective efficacy of our educators by connecting the actions we take in our work to the impact that we can actually observe in the classroom.

Mathew Gustafson is the Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer for Brandon School Division.