Intellectual Frontiers

Draw the Connections That Actually Exist Among the Adults

Child-Centered Team Map

Use this to see who affects one child’s learning and how those adults are actually connected. Worked as Tool 1 in “Seven Prototype Tools Put the Ideas to Work in Real Meetings”, in “Make the Seams Disappear for the Child”.

Place one student or one defined student population in the center of a page. Around the center, list every adult role that directly affects the learning experience. Fill in one row per role.

Student or population:

Adult role Expertise the role contributes Decisions the role makes Information the role needs Information the role creates Other roles the work depends on What the child experiences directly from this role

Role 1

Role 2

Role 3

Role 4

Role 5

Role 6

Add rows until every adult who affects the child’s week has one.

Draw the Connections

Then draw the actual connections among the adults. Do not draw connections that should exist. Draw the ones that actually exist. Then list them here, one per line, so the gaps show.

From role To role What actually moves (information, a decision, a plan, nothing regular) How often

Read the Gaps

The gaps are the beginning of the coherence agenda. List each pair of roles that depend on each other and have no regular connection.