Total Quality Education (T.Q.E.)

Student Led Conferences 

Students use their data notebooks and other work samples to explain their progress to their parents.  This is a wonderful way for students to take ownership in their learning and celebrate their successes!

Quality Tools for Instruction

Code of Cooperation

•   The students work together to create a list of standards that everyone will be able to follow to have the best classroom environment.

 

 Consensogram

•   A tool that displays and/or measures a group’s perception of their knowledge, understanding, or desires.

 Fishbone

•   A tool used to determine the cause and effect of any given situation or problem.

Plus/Delta

•    A tool that helps students and staff evaluate the good/bad of an activity or situation.

Parking Lot

•   The Parking Lot is a place on the wall or on a chart where a group can place notes about something positive, needs for improvements or general concerns, questions, or ideas.

 Force Field Analysis

•   A force field analysis can help us determine what is driving the topic and restraining factors with an issue. When using a force field analysis, we try to remove the restrainers as soon as possible.

Flow Chart

•   Shows the steps in a process

•   A more detailed flow chart helps

•   Make decisions about the process

•   Arrows connect the steps

Mission Statement

•   A statement created by a group that “drives” them with a purpose         

•   Written by everyone involved

•   Helps keep the group focused on the “big picture” and tells how you are going to reach your big goal (vision)

Lotus Diagram

•   The lotus is used to organize information.

•   Lotuses can be used for brainstorming either one by itself for a single topic, or a number    
    of them together for a larger topic.

•   Students use lotuses to organize their thoughts before writing or to brainstorm ideas.

Issue Bin

•   The issue bin is an easy way for students to ask the
  teacher a question or to bring a problem to the
  teacher's attention anonymously.
   

•    The issue bin does not take the place of questions
  presented in the classroom nor does it prevent
  students from coming to the teacher with a problem.

Affinity Diagram

•   An affinity diagram is a brainstorming tool designed to allow every child in the class an opportunity to add to the discussion.
   

•   To complete an affinity, the teacher asks a general question and then the students are given the opportunity to comment on sticky notes.  The stick notes are placed on a piece of chart paper.  The class together decides how to group the ideas into categories.  This is similar to outlining.

Run Chart

•   A run chart is a management tool.  It is very similar to a line graph.  It helps show progress over time.  The class uses it to locate problem areas.

The 5 why’s

•    The 5 why’s tool is used to develop both
  individual and classroom missionstatements. 
  By asking the question "Why are we/you here?"
  and repeating Why? 4 times, the student or
  class is able to identify their mission statement.

Venn Diagram

•   A Venn Diagram is used to compare and contrast similarities and differences of two different subjects or topics.  By listing the unique differences of each specific subject on the sides of the circles and the similarities of both in the middle of the circles, a student is able to visually compare two subjects.

 

Click HERE to see pictures of teachers participating in David Langford's Total Quality Education workshop in August.  The workshop was sponsored by the Carolina First Center for Excellence, and Buena Vista's PTA provided funds for the nineteen participants.