Our Approach to Networked Learning
All schools within our network take part in professional development through networked learning communities. These communities are aligned around a shared approach to working with students, educators and school leaders, grounded in our understanding that SEAD supports all students to thrive. Belonging to the NYC Outward Bound Schools network supports schools to grow and improve by fostering learning through collaboration, resource- and idea-sharing and engagement.
Together, networked learning and one-on-one coaching provide a powerful way to build conditions for success at our schools.
Jump To:
In addition to joining either a specific or combined pathway, all schools that partner with us benefit from:
Collaboration & Professional Learning
Teachers and leaders collaborate with other educators across the city — sharing best practices, lesson plans and innovative teaching strategies — which encourages diverse perspectives and collective problem-solving. In addition, professional learning ensures teachers and leaders stay updated on the latest trends in education and improve their teaching.
Intervisitations
Teachers and leaders have the opportunity to visit other schools within our network to see best practices in action, and hear directly from educators and students engaging in the work.
Access to Resources
Within the network, leaders and educators can access a vast array of resources and materials, including common progress monitoring tools such as data dashboards, student survey walkthroughs, and more — reminding us that we aren’t alone in tackling hard problems.
Learn more about networked learning specific to each pathway:
Networked Learning in Crew
The Crew Improvement Network supports and magnifies the power of Crew where adults:
- Attend and lead high-quality professional learning that is sustained and coherent, building a sense of community, belonging, and agency, so that they, too, feel “we are Crew”
- Have opportunities to develop and practice their skills as facilitators
- Have opportunities for coaching and feedback that is responsive and personal to their strengths and challenges
- Increase collective impact through shared learning and problem-solving
As part of the Crew Improvement Network, Crew Guides from each school join monthly convenings (a mix of in-person and virtual) to focus on shared learning and impact aligned to a common goal. In between convenings, Crew Guides put their change ideas into action, while coaches work alongside schools to iterate and make progress towards their goals. When they return, they share learnings on what worked and what didn’t, and decide whether to adopt, adapt or abandon their change idea.
Learn more about the Power of an Improvement Network from our Crew partners:
Networked Learning in Instruction for Deeper Learning
Educators and leaders in this pathway have the opportunity to join these networked learning communities:
Critical Friends Group (CFG)
- Principal CFG is only open to principals of our former Network Schools. This is a space to convene monthly and connect on common principal problems of practice.
- Assistant Principal CFG gathers regularly to consult on:
- questions connected to galvanizing their staff around a vision
- key practices connected to deeper learning
- progress monitoring on the impact of their leadership and the shared learning of the school
Communities of Practice (CoP)
CoPs gather teachers from across the pathway to collectively learn about and implement deeper learning classroom practices. These practices are relevant to each schools’ context and in service of more equitable student outcomes. The CoP structure is meant to be adaptive and serve as an innovation space so that promising ideas can be shared or tried within a school or across the network. CoPs include:
- Science, Tech and Engineering Teachers
- Arts Educators for Deeper Learning
- Centering Students with Disabilities with Active Learning Tasks That Foster Student Voice and Leadership
- Inclusive Literacy Practices for Deeper Learning
- Restorative Practices Leaders*
- Integrating Postsecondary*
*These CoPs are intended to include non-instructional staff (leaders, counselors, social workers, etc.)
Learn more about Instruction for Deeper Learning professional development offerings for the 2024-25 school year.