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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

ActivitiesandInformationProcessing
Strategy

Process

Tips

ABEachTeach

PairsdesignateonepartnerasAandoneasB
PersonAreadsonesectionoftext
PersonBreadsadifferentsectionoftext
Whenbothareready,theteachsectiontotheirpartner
Pairsconcludebydevelopingasummaryofthetext

DifferentfromJigsawasthis
usesdifferenttextsina
relevanttopicbaseObtaining
avarietyofperspectivesand
practices

AnalogyPrompts

Useananalogyasapromptforcomplexideasandissues?
HowdidthestagecoachesoftheAmericanWestmanageto
raceacrossgreatdistancesinjustafewdays?

Pushesabilitytothink
alternativelyandfocuson
brainstorming

AssumptionsChallenge

Participantssetaside24goodideasfromageneratedlist
Eachideasisexploredforconditionsinwhichtheideawouldbe
productiveandconditionsinwhichitwouldbe
counterproductive
Discusshowgoodideasarerarelyrulesbutinsteadrepresent
principles

Generateandselectsideas
thataddresstheneedsofthe
groupstressthatitisnot
aboutarightorwrong
conversation
Includeateachingpointof
pausing,paraphrasing,and
inquiring

Invitememberstolisttheirassumptionsrelatedtoachallenge
oraninitiative.
Invitegroupmemberstoinquireandinvestigateabouttheir
assumptions
Whatinformsthem?Whatmightbealternativeassumptionof
samedata/reasoning?
Whichassumptionsaregeneralizableandwhicharesituational

Individualslistassumptionaboutatopic
Participantschooseonethatmostinformstheirbehavior
Participantswriteonsentencestripin812wordsandpostit
Facilitatormodelsinquiry

Providesvisualcuesfor
complexideasexplores
assumptionstoclearthemind
priortodialogueand

AssumptionsInquiry

AssumptionWall

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

Individualsinquiryabutpostedassumptioninaroundrobin
fashion

discussion

BrainstormModel

Definesubjectortopic
Giveeveryonethinktime
Invitememberstocalloutideas
Recordinbrainstormingformat(bubble,web,etc.)
Codethefirst10givenavalue(cost,interest,etc.)
Computesomeratioforeachvalue

Fastwaytogenerateideas
andexploretopics

CardStackandShuffle

Participantsresponsetotwostems,suchasGoodstudent
writers.andGoodteachersofwriting
Placeresponseonseparate3x5cards
Groupcollectscardsandshufflesthem
Passalongtoneighborgroupandtheyshuffleagain
Theypullcardbycardfordialogue
Listassumptionsandimplications

Reviewassumptionsand
implications

Advisemembersofthefollowing
SingleloopLearning=groupsmodifyactionsaccordingtothe
differencebetweenexpectedandobtainedoutcomes
DoubleloopLearning=Groupsquestionthevalues,
assumptions,andpoliciesthatledtotheactionsinthefirst
place
Identifyandlistintendedandunintendedresultsofanaction
Identifyandlistmismatchesbetweenintentionsandoutcomes
Questionswaysinwhichtheframingimpactoutcome

Seediagramonp.196

Facilitatorposesfollowingquestions
Whatisyourrelationshiptothisconflict?
Howdoyoufeelaboutit?
Whatareyourexpectations?
Whataretheworstpossibleoutcomesofaddressingthis
conflict?

Systematicandobjectiveform
ofaddressingconflicts

CausalLoopDiagram

ConflictConversation
Template

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

Corners

Wheretheworstpossibleoutcomesofnotaddressingthis
conflict?
Whatarethebestpossibleoutcomesofaddressingthis
conflict?
Whatdoyouimaginetheotherperson/groupthinksarethe
worstandbestoutcomes?
Whatareyouwillingtodotoachievethebestpossible
outcome?
Whatwouldyouliketheotherperson/grouptodotoachieve
thebestpossibleoutcomes?
Postideas/statements/etc.inthecornersordifferentareasof
theroom.
Facilitatorpromptsmemberstomovetooneofthestatements
Groupsdiscusswhattheychosethistopicandexplore
previousknowledgeontopic

Buildtrustandcollaborative
culturesharingbestpractices
andknowledge

Done/YettodoQuestions

ProvideorcreateTcharttogroups
Havegroupsdetermine
MembersrecordDoneitemsandYettoDoitems
orderingandimportanceof
Canbedoneasgrouporindividuallytoexposemisconceptions upcomingtopics/tasks

EnergySourcesTeam
Survey

Acquireasurveyfrom
www.adaptiveschools.com
Teammembersrespondindividually
Tabulatescoresforenergysources
Usedataasdialogueforthemeeting

Buildsandaddressculture
andongoingenergyofteam

FirstTurn/LastTurn

Formgroupsof48
Silentlyandsimultaneously,membersreadasectionoftext
andhighlight34itemsthathaveparticularmeaning
Facilitatornamesapersontostartineachgroup
Inturn,membersshareoneoftheiritemsbutdonotcomment
onit.Theysimplynameit.
Inroundrobinfashion,groupmemberscommentaboutthe
identifieditemwithnocrosstalk

Systematicdialoguewhen
exploringideas

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

FishboneDiagram

531

FocusedReading

ForceFieldAnalysis

Initialpersonwhonamedtheitemnowshareshisorher
thinkingabouttheitemandthereforegetsthelastturn
Repeatpatternthroughthegroup
Drawafishbonediagramonlargepaperorhandout
Codesectionsofthechartrelatedtocurrentexistingcondition
oftheissue.
Brainstormfactorsthatmightbeaffectingtheexistingcondition
andrecordonthediagram
Exploreprosandconsofvariouscombinationsofsolution
approaches

Subgroupscandodifferent
branchesandthencombineat
theend

Membersidentify5keywordsthatrepresentideastopics
Shareideasoneatatimeinroundrobinfashion,explore
deeperasneeded
Select3centralideas
Iftheseideasweretogointoacontainerwithalabel,what
wouldthatlabelbe?

Usedassummativeor
organizingtoolforinformation

Membersreadmarktextforpurposes
Affirmspriorknowledgeandassumptions
Callspriorassumptionsandknowledgeintoquestion
!Surprisesyou
?Somethingthatyouwanttoknowmoreaboutorgenerateda
questionfrom
Smallgrouporwholegroupexplorationofmarkings

Wholegroupshouldfocus
moreonsurprisesand
questions

PostaTChartwithtopicorgoal
LeftSide=ForcesforandRightSide=ForcesAgainst
Memberslistforcesthatfallintoeithercategory
Membersparaphraseandquestionasneeded
Votetomark3strongestforcesoneachside
Explorehowforcesagainstmightbeweakenedandhowforces
formightbestrengthened

Ifneeded,endwitha
prioritizedlisttousefora
furtherPDsessionsorPLC
group

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment
FourboxSynectics

FuturesWheel

Onchartpaper,drawa2x2boxfordisplay
Recorddrawsasimilarboxateachtabletocollectgroups
thinking
Elicitrecommendationsforanobjectoraconcepttoplacein
eachbox
Instructtablegroupstobrainstorm34responsesforeachbox
onthepromptprovided(Professionalcommunitiesarelikea
lamppostbecause______.
Wholegroupsharinganddiscussion

Greatstarterforcomplex
issuesandfigurativelanguage
promotesconnectionand
ideasfromindividuals

Drawawheelonachart
Writenameofinnovationorideaincenterofthewheel
Workoutwardfromcentertothefirstlayerofcircles
Identify2positivesand2negativeconsequences,shouldbe
differentfocusandnotjustcounterstatements
Continueinthismannertothesecondlayerandsoon
Howmighthisinformationinfluencetheperceptionsand
decisionsofaplanningteam?

Usedpriortoplanningphase
foranactionplan

Diagramonpage222

Allviewsandvoicesmustbe
heardandpurposefully
integrated

Gatekeeping

Amembernoticesacolleaguehasnottalked
Membersays[Name],Imawareyouhavenottalkedfor
awhile.Isthereanythingyouwouldliketoadd?

GotsandWants

Individualscomposegotsonastickynote,oneideapersticky Usedassummativeexitto
note(Ideareceived,somethinglearned,positiveresponseto
learning
workingwithsomeone)
Individualscomposewantsonstickynotes,oneideaper
stickynote(commentaboutprocess,requestforinformation,
commentaboutmaterials)
Membersplacestickynotesonchartslabeledneartheexit

Groupsorindividualsreceivethreecolumnworksheet
Explainpurposeofcolumns
HeresWhat:specificdatathegroupisworkingon

HeresWhat,SoWhat,
NowWhat

Quickprocessingofdata

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

SoWhat:interpretationofdata
Nowwhat:prediction,implication,questionforstudy
Combineanddiscussaswholegroup

Histomap

Hangchartpaperonwallfortimeline
Markerasforgroupshistory
Useiconstoillustrateandvisualizedifferentevents
Groupsofpeoplelabelanddetailexperiencesontimeline

Createsgroupcohesion,trust,
andbuildsenergycouldbe
connectedwithafuture
timeline

Hopes&Fears

Brieflywriteyourfearsandhopesaboutthesessionortopic
Pairssharegreatestfearandgreatesthope
Quartetsmeetandidentifythemesinfearsandhopes
Quartetsreportthemestofullgroup
Facilitatorandgroupattemptstonormalizefearsandextend
hopes

Buildscollaborativeand
trustfulculture

JigsawtoLearn
Information

Formgroups,oneforeachconceptorsectionofreading
Groupsworkonindividualfragmentofwholereadingor
assignment
Answerorcompleteactivityforindividualsection
Shareouttimeinsmallgroups
Wholegroupsharing

Pairwithanotheractivityprior
towholegroupshareout
(Matchbookdefinition,andso
on)Arrangeforlikegroups
(allchapter2sgettogether)or
insequences

KeyWords

Inroundrobinfashion,eachmembersharesakeywordthat
capturestheimportantaspectsofhisorherlearningthatday

Summativetoolthatinstilltrust
andcollaboration

Lasso

Circleorlassowordsonthechartthatlackspecificity
Invitememberstodefinethewordsandadddetail
Identifywordsthatmaynotbefullyexplored
Example:Circletardiesinthefollowingquestionto
collaborativelydiscussHowtosolvetardiestosecond
period?

Someindividualshave
differingdefinitionsof
seeminglyacceptedtopics

LefthandColumn

Duringdialogue,membersmaintainasplitsheetformatfor

Mayneedtomodelbrieflyso

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

MatchbookDefinitions

recordingitemsineitherarightorlefthandcolumn
Recordintherighthandcolumndataorideasonewantsto
remember
Recordinthelefthandcolumnwhatonenoticesaboutselftalk
andreactionstotheconversation

thatallunderstand

Followinganintroductionordiscussoftopic,individualsor
groupscraftthematchbookdefinition
Asonamatchbookcover,veryfewwordscanbeused(812
words)
Providetimesequencethenpost/sharedefinitions

Fastwaythatincreases
collaborationandreplicates
decisionmaking

ModifiedJigsaw

Formgroupsof4,numberoff1through4
Assignnumberstotopicsintext
Eachreadallpagesandtakenotes
PassnotestodesignatedExpert
Expertsstudynotesandmakeasummarystatementforthe
group

Learningandreportingare
enrichedinthismodification

NaiveQuestion

Agroupmemberispurposelychosentoasknaivequestions
andthegroupmustprovidetheanswer
Examples:Whoismakingthisdecision?Howmuchdetaildo
weneedtomovethisitem?Whatpartsofthisissueexistinour
areaofresponsibility?Whowilldowhatbywhen?

Askedwithinnoveneanda
desiretoknowandpushesthe
grouptoconsiderallaspects
ofaplanortopic

Revealpurposeandprocessofthegroup
Displaysixcolumnswiththefollowingheadings:
1Presentingproblem
2Tentativeoutcome
3Desiredbehaviorofselectedothers
4Internalresourcesrequiredtoachievedesiredbehaviors
5changeagentstrategiestobuildresources
6Internalresourcesrequiredforchangeagenttoperform
strategies

Goodfacilitationtool,direct
thefocustoothersand
explorepotentialstrategiesto
promotegrowth

Seepage249

OutcomeMapping

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

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ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

ParaphrasePassport

Elicitresponsesfromgroup,paraphraseandrecord
Dialogueontopicsshouldbescheduledforalatertime

Provideapromptforaconversation
Groupsexploreatopic
PersonAmakesaninitiatingstatement
Grouppausesbriefly
Nextgroupmembermustparaphrasepreviousstatement
beforeinquiringoraddingdetail
Repeatfortimepermitting
Groupshouldcollectivelyconstructasummaryandparaphrase
asaclosure

Useearlyintheyearorearly
inthegroupprocessto
establishnormsandcultureof
listeningandspeaking

Partnerengageindialogueoveraprovidedtopicknowingthey
willhavetoreporttheothersideas
Provideacoupleminutesforeachpersontoreportthe
partnersideas
Repeatpattern

Useearlyintheyearorearly
inthegroupprocessto
establishnormsandcultureof
listeningandspeaking

Constructahandoutthatliststhecontentinformationbeing
learned(ReadingStrategiesacrossthecurriculum)with
specificbehaviors(Usesrunningrecords)
Membersthenwalkaroundtowritedownanameforaperson
whocompleteseachoftheactivities
MuchlikeBingo
Alsostressthatpeoplemustaskeachotherquestions
Havememberselaborateduringthedebriefaboutsignatures
collected

Usedpriortoinordertoshow
howmucheveryoneknows
andalreadydoes,gauge
currentimplementationofa
plan,ortoshowmovement
neededforward

Participantsreadtheories,ideas,orconcepts
Recordbehavioralvisualsofwhatitwouldlikeinpractice
Pushforobservablebehaviors
Sharewithothersandhaveothersparaphraseandsummarize

Primertomoreelongated
planningtoadesiredstate

PartnersReport

PeopleSearch

ReadandExample

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

9
ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment
Recipe

Songs

ProvideFormat:Recipefor_________Nameof
Dish_______FromtheKitchenof_____Serves_____
Ingredients_____
Includeprocesstoachieve
Canbedoneasindividualorgroups

Buildstrustandincreases
collaboration

Askgroupstothinkofsongtitlesthatrepresenttheissuebeing
learned
Eachtablepresentsandifneeded,clarifiesthecontents
relationtothetopicbeingfocusedon

Buildscollaborationandtrust

SpotAnalysis

Hangchartpaperonthewall,dividedinquadrants
Labelthesections:Strengths,Problems,Opportunities,Threats
Rankasgrouporinpairsaftercreation
Extrapolateactionidesfromtheanalysis
RotateandWalkAbouttoaddtoandcommentonothercharts

Invitesanalyticalprocess
thinkingandencourages
collaborationin
problemsolving

StrategyHarvest

Withapartner,reviewandclarifyalistofstrategiessoyoucan
explainthem
Select23strategiesanddevelopSMARTgoals
Includeobservableuseswhenimaginingimplementation

Createscultureofsharingand
collaboration

SuccessAnalysis

VocabularyReview

Priortoameeting,teachesdevelopnotesdescribinganareain Buildingcollaboration,trust,
whichtheyarefindingsuccessormakingprogress
andboostingenergy
Atmeeting,participantssharecasestudiesofsuccessand
progress
ColleaguesshouldaskforclarificationquestionsWhenyou
saidthosestudentstowhichoneswereyoureferring?
ColleaguesshouldaskprocessrelatedquestionsWhydidyou
dothatthen?
Continuesharingthroughoutmeeting
Asindividualstobrainstormalistofwordstheyvelearned
duringthesession.Thewordscanbeneworjustnew

Buildsprofessional
vocabulary,increase

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.

10
ACTIVITIES&INFORMATIONPROCESSING
TheAdaptiveSchool
PD/PLCStrategiesandProfessionalDevelopment

meanings
Membersthenstandupandtaketheirlisttosharewitha
person
MEmbersrecord1pointwhentheotherpersondoesNOT
havethesamewordontheirlist.1=pointforeveryunmatched
word
After10minutes,promptreturntoseatsandtallyingofpoints
Acknowledgehighestperson

professionaldialoguenorms,
andcreatessenseof
collaborationandtrust

Garmston,R.J.,&Wellman,B.M.(1999).
Theadaptiveschool:Asourcebookfordevelopingcollaborativegroups.
Norwood,MA:ChristopherGordonPublishers.