Vision in Practice at Barrington High School

Currently at Barrington High School, each department is participating in a vision cycle intended to unite the teachers within the department around a single teaching and learning goal. A vision cycle is a cycle of continuous improvement based on Jim Knight's ​Impact Cycle​, a flexible yet systematic approach to improving instruction. In a vision cycle, departments identify an area for professional growth that will impact student learning and work together to improve teaching and learning in that area.

This summer, approximately 40 teachers, coaches, and administrators from Barrington High School gathered with Apple Professional Learning Specialists for a ViP Summer Experience. Participants in ViP, or Vision in Practice, worked to bring their vision cycle goals to life using powerful Apple iPad tools provided to our students and teachers through our One to World initiative. Teachers and leaders asked the question: “What does great teaching and learning look like in a tech-rich environment?”

The goal of the ViP summer experience was to develop exemplar lessons that would bring the vision to life and develop an understanding of what the vision cycle goal would look like in the classroom. The result was improved understanding of the current learning environment and a collection of powerful learning strategies that can transform learning.