Our PYP Coordinator book club just finished reading The Coaching Habit by Micheal Bungay Stanier and it was the simplist book to digest, but hardest to put into practice. Coaching for professional development isn’t about solving the problem-it’s about focusing on the person themselves in order to support them to become their own problem solvers. And through his 7 Essential Questions, people learn how to troubleshoot their issues and engineer their own solutions.
Sounds brillant right? Only 7 easy questions-Piece of cake!……
Except it hasn’t been. It has been confronting. I have learned that I come into meetings, ready to give advice, to share my wisdom, but it’s not actually helping teachers become better PYP educators. He reminds us that “the problem isn’t with advice…it’s when advice giving is our default response”. Very true.
So, it’s made me reflect and ask whether, as a PYP coordinator, am I Modeler of Inquiry or Inquirer Role Model? In other words, do I lead with an inquiry stance or do I just talk about learning through inquiry? There is a difference. You see, the longer you are engaged in the IB, the clearer it becomes that the PYP isn’t just a Framework, it’s a Mindset. The Learner Profile isn’t something that we teach kids, it’s an aspirational way of being. I think Jennifer Abrams says it best:
“One cannot lead effectively without modeling what it means to be a professional, and it’s also important to model what it means to be changing and growing oneself as well as stretching one’s learning edges and developing. Leaders must walk the talk.” from Stretching Your Learning Edges
Thus, as a pedagogical leader, I have to demonstrate our approach as lifelong learners with my actions and words. Clearly I may be able to explain how inquiry “works” but I need to work on developing my curiousity muscles, and keep my mind open to other possibilities when involved in interactions.
Sigh.
Now do you see why this “habit” might be a bit tricky when the leadership paradigmn is that we are supposed to have all the answers? That myth is simply not accurate. And apparently, not effective.
So let me share with you why advice giving is garbage when it comes to coaching. Questioning is the gold. (PS. this is also true for teacher-student interactions, and not only relevant to those of us in leadership titles).
My advice might be for the wrong problem.
When others come to you with their “problems”, the first thing they share is often not the heart of their issue. They need to talk out the issue so they can figure out what is at the heart of their challenge. It is through questioning that they are able to distill what is the REAL problem. Once we have discovered, “What’s the real challenge here for you?”, then addressing it becomes more efficient and potent.
Advice giving is disempowering
This hurt the most, but he’s absolutely spot on. As I reflected on his ideas about helping vs. “being helpful”, it made me realize that when I offer up my ideas as solutions, it develops a power dyanmic that creates co-dependency and it sends the message that “you can’t figure this out by yourself”. If I want to develop authentic teacher agency, then I have to provide opportunities to boost their confidence and give them ownership is solving their own problems. Makes sense, right? So when I drill down to the real challenge and I ask “And What Else?” (The AWE question), they have an opportunity to witness their own capacity to discover the possibilities that exist as solutions while taking on personal responsibility for the outcome. Much, much better, right?
Reflection is THE practice we are cultivating.
All schools are learning organizations, but in the IB being a life long learner is a practice that we wish to embody into our schools. Life long learning is not only seeking knowledge, but reflecting on that knowledge and who we are becoming as we strive to learn more.
Micheal Bungay Stanier shared something in the book that I believe is the genuine reason why reflection as a practice is so powerful:
People don’t really learn when you tell them something.
They don’t even really learn when they do something.
The start learning, start creting new neural pathways, only when they have a chance to recall and reflect on what just happened.
So, as I think about WHO WE ARE as an organization, our goal is always to encourage reflection. Reflection is a habit that I, myself, work to cultivate, but I also wish to develop in others. When I ease off giving advice and instead lean into questioning, “What was most useful here for you?”, I am developing the larger goals of our IB programmes and truly helping others to be leaders of their own learning.
Although this blog post serves as a reflection tool, the real testimony to this habit change comes when I…..
Choose: the question that prompts the reflection in others
Act: in a supporting way to honor the learning and development of others.
Reflect: on how this practice is changing me, as a person, the teachers I support, and the students with whom they serve.
My parting advice to you (Ironic, I know)
The book isn’t lengthy, but starting with curiousity can be a big ask for those of us who haven’t developed “the coaching habit”. Besides reading the book, I would encourage you to watch his Ted Talk on how to tame one’s “advice monster”. No matter where we are and who we serve in education, I believe if we can stay curious longer, we can make a greater impact.
First of all, this title is a misnomer. I had to put on a sweatshirt and socks just to be warm enough to start this post. However, my orientation to the Northern Hemisphere means I am experiencing cognitive dissonance, as our upcoming break is really in the midst of winter here in Brazil. Nevertheless, my attention is starting to consider what I want to read during my downtime. I have a few more titles that I am working through right now, but with only a few weeks left of school (Thank you God!) and a likely Stay-cation in our home, I have begun to curate my professional reading list for the "summer". Here's what I have so far:
I'm interested in this title mostly because it is a timely book that speaks about how we can cultivate social connections despite social isolation with the COVID-19 pandemic. As I think ahead of our re-opening plans (or not), I wonder what the mental toll has been on our community, from teachers to students to our families. If there is something that I can bring forward that is positive from this experience, then I am eager to research and try it. I hope this book will offer ideas and give me hope for what could be possibly the "good" to come out of this crisis.
Learning more about self-regulation and creating self-motivation in students is something that I am keenly interested in. There were a lot of books that I sampled and this one seemed to be the most practical one. This topic is not only deeply personal to me, but I also feel that remote learning was really a challenge for these types of students. Again, thinking forward to our next phase of learning, I am hopeful that I can bring in some fresh ideas and offer support for the teachers (and their families) who may struggle, offline or online, with learning.
Due to remote learning, we prioritized schedules for student learning over staff learning. Moving our PLCs (professional learning communities) online was a bit of a challenge since it required teachers to be more self-directed and collaborative. Professional learning wasn't happening TO THEM but THROUGH THEM. and, honestly, it was a struggle as the weeks online continued. With the possibility of still having a significant chunk of our learning happening online when we return in August, I need some inspiration and fresh thinking about how I can best support teachers in engaging--not only with kids but with each other. If there was ONE thing that I thought was critical to moving from survival to thrival (not sure if that is a word) with our teams, it was the sharing of our knowledge and skills. I think PLCs is the heart of cultivating that spirit of collaborative learning, and I want to make sure we upgrade our ability to support and share with one another.
I have to be honest. I really admire the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs when it has come to curriculum mapping but I have never read any of her books about Digital literacy . So I actually have a few of her titles on my Kindle now, but this is the 1st one I am digging into. Mostly because it challenges what we think about literacies, and how teachers can invite students to be more engaged in developing their reading and writing skills. One of the things I really struggled with has been the more didactic approaches that seem to have prevailed through this time of remote learning. I am not suggesting EVERYONE did that, nor did it happen all the time, but I definitely shared my thoughts that students became Muted during Remote Learning. Moreover, just because students were forced to work at home didn't make them more autonomous or self-directed simply with the use of tech. So, I am hoping that this book provides a way forward.
Next school year, many teachers at our school will be engaged in a book study of this title as a part of our PLCs. So I want to read ahead to help generate questions and see how these ideas can be combined with the work of Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano and her book, A Guide to Documenting Learning: Making Thinking Visible, Meaningful, Shareable, and Amplified. In the Enhanced PYP, there is a shift in our assessment practices in which we are "evidencing learning". This book I think will be invaluable in how we observe and document the growth of our youngest learners.
What's going to be in your stack of books? What are your must-reads for your holiday break? I would love to hear your suggestions!
Developing learners as leaders is my joy! I am committed and passionate International Baccaluearate (IB) educator who loves cracking jokes, jumping on trampolines and reading books. When I’m not playing Minecraft with my daughter, I work on empowering others in order to create a future that works for everyone.
Being held accountable for improving the standard of learning is a weighty task, one that I take very seriously. It consumes a lot of energy in my role as a PYP Coordinator. Every Wednesday morning has been carved out for me to facilitate training and engage in a PLC (Professional Learning Communities). As you can see by this graphic, ensuring that our professional development time is well-spent is an important matter to be considered.
I’ve been in the field of education for 2 decades and I have definitely seen how it has evolved. In the book, Professional Learning in Actionby Victoria J. Risko, MaryEllen Vogt, it was interesting that they noted research done by Kragler, Martin, and Sylvester that described the stages of professional learning over the years:
the in-service era (1950-1960s)
the staff-development era (1970-1980s)
the professional development era (1990-2000s)
the professional learning era (the mid-2000s to present)
Our current era, suggests that teachers must become leaders in their own learning, no longer passive receptacles but self-motivated and responsible. As educators, we are to engage in problem-solving, which is guided by our social constructivists’ principles. When we are intentionally directing our own learning, we are more purposeful in our decision-making in order to advance our knowledge and expertise.
In Zen, there is an expression: Go as a River.
Zen philosophy always likes to represent a complex idea in simple terms, but this saying suggests that we have the capacity to receive, embrace and transform concepts, emotions, and difficult situations, in order to create peace, freedom, and community. The Nobel Laureate, Thích Nhất Hạnh, reminds us that we cannot reach the ocean like a drop of water, we must surrender our isolation and learn how to come together through compassion and a willingness to accept each other unique qualities in order for us to have the energy to do the work we dedicate ourselves to, which in his world, is mindfulness.
There is strength in community.
As a Primary Years Programme Curriculum Coordinator, the heart of my work is collaboration. I not only model it through my efforts with members of the leadership team but with other stakeholders. And, moreover, I strive to cultivate greater collaboration amongst my staff.
The types of collaboration I see teachers engage in happens on multiple levels
In the classroom: with the teachers who support learners, and the learners themselves.
In grade levels: with the team of teachers for that grade level.
In the division: with the various teachers and students at the different grade levels
In the school: with other divisions’ students and/or teachers, the school leadership or the parent organization.
In the community: with groups that are affiliated with the school or other organizations that they volunteer or work with. But in a sense, they are an ambassador of the school.
In networks: with individuals or groups that share common values or interests.
So I have taken this notion, to Go As a River, as the rational and objective of our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) this year. In my mind, coming together to learn with one another is an intimate and vulnerable act, since it requires honesty, openness, and transparency. There are so many models of PLCs, mostly data-driven, however, I wanted a different approach. I wanted to bake a process into our PLCs that did the following:
developed the skills of collaboration within our division and our teams.
allowed for teacher agency.
taught teachers how to be researchers and guided them through a process of putting educational theory into professional practice.
cultivated supportive teams that helped individual teachers through the struggle in order to build teachers’ self-efficacy, something that has a high impact on student learning, according to John Hattie.
built the capacity to debate and discuss issues without personalizing it, so that people can have the experience of having productive and meaningful conflict.
In this way, teachers are pushed out of their comfort zone in a healthy and safe way, and everyone in our program benefits from our risk-taking efforts, especially our learners, who need us to be responsive. I also felt that it would be important to incorporate the “5 energies of high-performing teams” that you can see in this graphic:
Clearly, I have high hopes for our teams. Simon Sinek, a man whose work inspires me to stretch boundaries, reminds me in this TED talk, that developing the trust and will to cooperate is not something you can simply instruct team to do, (“Get along, people!) but it is a feeling that is cultivated through the climate you create to provide a sense of safety.
As someone who gets to “set the tone” of not only how we collaborate but who we become as professional learners, it would be easy to turn to the many books written about how to construct Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and just copy and paste those systems. But the heart of these systems was designed for standardized test scores and relied on student data in order to inform practices of school improvement. I struggled with this for several reasons, chief among them is that I don’t want our students to fit into a “standard”, I want them to be looked at as unique and special. I didn’t want them to reduce to numbers. If we only use data as the foundation of what we do, then we would miss out on opportunities for genuine teacher inquiries. Speaking of which, I examined the structure of teacher action research and thought perhaps that applying this practice into professional inquiries would be the route to go. However, I found that this was a goal-orientated structure that didn’t actually “teach” teachers how to collaborate, and may not appeal to all teachers since it typically culminates into a research paper. I felt that this put pressure on teams, and why would I want to stress out teams for the glory of publication? The last professional learning structure I examined was the Lesson Study I felt that this was a great tool to incorporate into our PLCs but wasn’t the PLC itself. Thus, I wanted to take what was great about all of these systems and create something that is unique, something that represents, perhaps even mirror, what we might expect in our Primary Years Programme (PYP) classroom.
Speak the Same Language (Intellectual Energy)
In a previous post, What Can Pedagogical Leaders Do to Grease the Wheels of Innovation in Their Schools? I’ve talked about the importance of ensuring that teams have a shared instructional language. Our principal, Matt Ihle, says it best: “Building understanding is the purpose of communication”–and thus by coming into an agreement of what PLC means to us, is the foundation for the work we will do this year.
This is our working definition of a PLC
So, the first order of business was not to come up with “norms” but to come up with a shared working definition of what it means to be “professional learners in our community”. We have to make sure that when I say we are having a PLC meeting, staff know exactly what that means because we have co-constructed a description that is full of vision and purpose.
Be over Do (Social Energy)
Often times we create these agendas and rush into the “doing” of the work before us, squandering really important time to develop teams. I can’t begin to tell you how many schools I’ve either worked at or visited that have leaders who feel that all they need to do is to throw adults into the room, give them a 1/2 hour to establish “norms” and collaboration happens. No! And No!
Conflict happens and what we do with conflict determines the capacity to do good work in our schools and creates the climate in our schools. How we move through conflict has everything to do with trust. In the book, Speed of Trust, Stephen Convey explains that “Speed happens when people truly trust each other.”--one of the reasons why teams are more productive and efficient is due to working through conflict faster. Think about this quote:
“In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very measured, even precise, and they’ll still misinterpret you.”
― Stephen M.R. Covey, The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
You know that is true–communication and trust go hand in hand. You can probably think back to a time when someone said something to you that triggered in you some negative emotion and it made it hard to be around that person. However, you may have a friend or colleague who can say something critical and you can reflect on it without being offended by it. Why is that? The reason is that this friend or colleague shares your values. As a result of that, you choose to see how you are connected rather than distinct. Finding common ground is easy when you share common ideals.
So, again, we didn’t talk about “norms”, instead we talked about values. In our first meeting, we ranked and shared personal values with our co-teachers, and in the next meeting, we unpacked and discussed our professional values. It was incredible to see the shift and hear the conversations. People really got to know one another and have discussions that were meaningful, even if they weren’t directly about the PYP Enhancements and student learning. They had permission to be who they are, and what became the “norm” was acceptance and appreciation.
Tribes Vs Teams (Spiritual Energy)
Tribes represent a culture with shared interests and values. Leadership roles are distributed and dynamic. Individuals work toward a common goal, for the sake of their community. This is exactly what I wished for as the engine behind our PLC. These meetings should the development of a coalition that is dedicated to a purpose, so I wanted to turn teams into tribes.
So teachers took a Google survey to put their interests and questions around student learning. I looked for keywords and patterns in order to form the basis of the tribes, then sorted them into their inquiry groups.
Encouraging Curiosity and Inquiry
Translanguaging
Student Agency
Play-based Learning
Student Motivation
Differentiation and Universal Design for Learning
Language and Literacy
When the tribes were inaugurated, I gave them a guide for this “vision quest” and referenced the work from the Center for Courage and Renewal as the premise for our rules of engagement and the Circle of Trust Touchstones became the “norms” of our tribes.
Tribes came together to discuss why this topic matters to them and unpack their philosophies and beliefs that will guide their practice. During another meeting, they crafted a mission statement for the work they will do throughout the school year. In their meetings, they would choose their roles, which were flexible, and purely determined by the group. In this way, they could see the significance of their collaboration and develop a strong support system among them. Mid-year, we would examine and reflect on these mission statements, in order to determine the next steps. And, although some tribes were larger than others, every group has found their way to work through their challenges.
As a part of their PLCs, we had some meetings dedicated to going back to their grade level teams to share what they have been learning about and what their experience has been like doing the Lesson study and peer observations. We used the framework of the constructivist listening tool to provide for deep listening as people had time to share without interruption or judgment.
Acknowledging the Learning Pit (Psychological Energy)
I feel very strongly that if we are to take the profession of education seriously, then we will always be in a state of cognitive dissonance, as we grasp and reach for the “best practice” for the students that we teach. In my post, Why There is No Escape From the Learning Pit, , I explain this conundrum:
“It’s sort of ironic–me, the teacher, who is supposedly the expert, is often shoulder-deep with the students, trying to figure out the course and direction of the inquiry, instead of being assured and confident about the path we are going. It seems that bewilderment, frustration, and struggle have become the perks of being in a state of wonder and anticipation.”
I think there is a real danger in not acknowledging the struggles we face when we start walking the talk, putting principles into practice. I wanted our teams to be prepared for it and accept it. Remember that Go As a River means that we the capacity to receive, embrace and transform concepts, emotions, and difficult situations, in order to create peace, freedom, and community.
The Learning Pit is inevitable, in which we debate and grapple with who we are to who we wish to become as teachers. Furthermore, I explained that it was my job to get them out of their teacher’s comfort zone and that the structure of our PLCs was intended to push them into the pit, but it would also be designed to pull them out. Setting up this expectation was important because I wanted to normalize discomfort but also emphasize that it is safe to do it.
The Cycle of Professional Learning (Physical Energy)
Years ago, I read the book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and the one big idea that I took away from it was that mastery comes from commitment. So I wanted to ensure that staff had the opportunity to test out and practice ideas, all the while, developing “staying power” when they face challenges with implementation. Thus are PLCs would be cyclical so people could problem solve and celebrate accomplishments. So our PLC meetings would include discussions around the following:
Research:Ask questions and seeking professional literature and learning resources that shed light on the most effective practices.
Implementation: Discuss the challenges and successes of implementing new ideas and practices.
Lesson Study: Develop lessons and integrate ideas into your learning community.
Peer Observation: Watch a lesson related to the research topic. Engage in discussion and self-reflection afterward.
Data evaluation: Discuss the results of either formative, summative or anecdotal evidence of learning.
Self-reflection:Consider your practice and develop your next steps on your learning journey.
Review and Debate: Examine ideas that have arisen as a result of your reading, feedback from your peer observation and implementation of new practices.
These ingredients would the agenda items for our meetings and represent the types of things we would do within our Action Learning Cycle.
Explore and Plan
First, each teacher inquiry needs to start by sharing the personal research around our areas of interest. We set up a SeeSaw PLC group so that people could post the things that were inspiring them. There’s a proverb: “to know and not do, is to not know”; so I wanted to ensure that teachers developed the capacity to read articles or watch videos with the impetus of testing ideas out in their classroom. To take curiosity and put into action, that would be the heart of the work we would do as life-long learners. Here is an anecdote from our PLC that facilitated this practice:
Pre-planning of a lesson: Translating Research Into Action
The research article I’d like to share:
A summary of the article:
The teaching actions are reflected in this article that I don’t do, but I want to try is….
Nothing fancy here, but it’s the lubricant of change and was the prerequisite for the lesson study. Again, I didn’t design anything complicated for that either. I wanted a simple format that would have the basic ideas for the peer observations:
The Plan: Framing the Peer Observation
What questions will drive the lesson? What planned actions will take place in the lesson? (Use the chart to simplify the “looks fors” for your peer)
What the teacher(s) do(es)?
What do the students do?
As a result of applying my new professional learning into the lesson, I expect (my hypothesis about the unplanned actions) the students to…..
Act
This is the implementation phase when a teacher conducts a lesson that integrates their learning from their research and has a peer observe their attempt. The peer observation not only shares practice but it also holds teachers accountable to initiate their growth. Peers come together to share their notes and provide feedback.
And although implementation seems like an obvious action, going back into the research is also an action too. Research includes looking at student data, which can be formal or informal, and also examining more articles and videos–whatever resource they want to use to further their practice.
Bends in the River
As much planning as I put into cultivating the collaborative and trusting climate of our tribes, I have to also be willing to throw things out, as I reflect on what is happening in classrooms and in discussions. I must allow for things to happen organically. Sometimes it means allowing tribes to hold tension, giving them the opportunity to grapple with issues around what is the “best” approach. However, I think this is the kind of spirit that is imbued in the concept of “Go As A River”, as we transform conflict (whether it is trivial or substantial) and trudge out of the Learning Pit, becoming better for it, together.
Developing learners as leaders is my joy! I am committed and passionate International Baccaluearate (IB) educator who loves cracking jokes, jumping on trampolines and reading books. When I’m not playing Minecraft with my daughter, I work on empowering others in order to create a future that works for everyone.
With 2 weeks left of school, the reality of summer holiday feels palpable. My favorite part of summertime is sitting either by the lake or pool with a good book. I find long periods of reading to be restorative and energizing. However, there are so many good books out there that it’s not easy to create a short list. Here’s are my “must-reads” for the summer:
I found reading Berger’s last book, The Book of Beautiful Questions, problematic because I had to constantly put it down to take notes and apply it. It wasn’t a passive reading experience and it has helped me to be more creative when solving problems, both professionally and personally. Needless to say, I have high hopes for this sequel.
What I hope to gain from this book?
Although I expect to be inspired by the stories and case studies, I hope it will deepen my knowledge of design thinking and help me “sharpen my saw” when it comes to using curiosity as a tool for innovation.
Translanguaging has been a term that has been floating around for the last couple years and I really don’t know how it is different from bilingual or multilingual. I would like to learn more about what it is and how we might approach language development in a more thoughtful and holistic way.
What I hope to gain from this book?
My hope is to better understand what this term even means and how I might identify when translanguaging is happening, so I might promote it in our school. I’ve already started reading it and it has already opened my eyes to lots of issues that schools face with their policies and the challenges teachers have in their classrooms.
After I read the book, Super Better by Jane McGonigal, I have been intrigued by the cultivation of a game mindset to solve problems and overcome personal/professional difficulties. This book goes deeper into the design elements of games and how to use a human-centered approach to challenges.
What I hope to gain from this book?
I find a “game mindset” is such an appealing way to live, full of fun and fascination, as you tackle the “bad guys” through your exciting adventure called LIFE. I’d love to apply it work-related situations, including but not limited to teachers’ professional development and encouraging critical research skills and a love of reading for students.
Having experience in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) done well I know they can be transformative. However, I’ve also been at quite a few schools that have either done it poorly or not at all. With that in mind, I feel that my spotty background needs some gaps filled, and I felt this book might do the trick.
What I hope to gain from this book?
I have high hopes for this book, including defining what collaboration could look like at our school, as well as creating a pedagogical focus and timeline in which to do the work. Also, I am a bit on the fence about whether teachers should do their own personal inquiries, something that I am really a big fan of, for their professional goals or if PLCs should be linked to a global teaching initiative. I’m hoping to gain some perspective and clarity around this conundrum by reading this book.
As someone who is a PYP Curriculum Coordinator, I am always interested in marrying efficiency with effectiveness to create a dynamic learning experience through our Programme of Inquiry. So the book blurb immediately hooked me:
A review of the research on brain networks reveals, surprisingly, that there are just five basic pillars through which all learning takes place: Symbols, Patterns, Order, Categories, and Relationships. Dr. Tokuhama-Espinosa proposes that redesigning school curriculum around these five pillars—whether to augment or replace traditional subject categories—could enable students to develop the transdisciplinary problem-solving skills that are often touted as the ultimate goal of education.
I have had this on my book wish list for a while and it’s due time that I read it! I follow Rich Czyz on Twitter and his posts always provoke and inspire me. Now that I am back in a position in which I have input into professional development, I feel that using and building upon his ideas and approaches will amplify the growth of teachers at school. I believe that this book will be highly practical and insightful.
What I hope to gain from this book?
Plain and simple: ideas, ideas, ideas for planning professional development and creating a culture that loves growing and learning!
Early in my elementary school career, I read the book, The Compassionate Classroom and it made me reflect deeply on how I can use my words to help or harm others. Fast forward to a couple of years ago, when I decided to dedicate myself to the 5 Mindfulness Trainings , I came into the awareness that I had still not mastered my communication skills. My most challenging mindfulness practice is “loving speech and deep listening” and I felt that this book had a lot of strategies and practices that would help me refine my skills as a mindful communicator.
What I hope to gain from this book?
As someone moving to a new school community and is in leadership, I am very conscious of how my words can impact my relationships. New to staff and parents, my words can make an immediate impression, so I want it to be a positive one from the get-go. I hope that this book will help me to be more present and convey the best version of myself. So, in general, I develop into a more clear and compassionate communicator.
To be honest, the work of this author and educator is new to me. However, he is coming to our school for professional development, so I want to be sure to be familiar with his work.
What I hope to gain from this book?
He has some interesting ideas about assessment practices, so I am keen to examine how we can apply his ideas into our culture of learning. I also find his ideas promising in how we might rethink and re-imagine report cards.
I know that this is an ambitious reading list, but between my Audible app for road trips and my Kindle for the poolside, I think I can make a serious dent in professional reading for the summer
What about you? What are your must-reads for the summer?
Developing learners as leaders is my joy! I am committed and passionate International Baccaluearate (IB) educator who loves cracking jokes, jumping on trampolines and reading books. When I’m not playing Minecraft with my daughter, I work on empowering others in order to create a future that works for everyone.
They say that readers are leaders. I have often thought that this catchy rhyme was just a pithy statement to encourage reading. But we’ve had Natashya Hays from Erin Kent Consulting at our school, and she submerged us into the current research on reading. Obviously, it made me take a hard look at my own classroom practice, but it made me reflect on Who I am as a reader.
Here’s one thing question that really stuck with me- Can you spare 10 minutes a day?
1.2 million words a year? What does that do to a brain? Clearly, that makes for better test scores, but us adults really don’t take tests, do we? That doesn’t motivate us to read, right? However, I firmly believe it has a profound impact on developing our perspective, as each book or article we read shapes our heart and mind. This, in turn, has a compounding effect, in which interest becomes a passion. Clearly, this is the biggest difference between someone like Natashya Hays and other educators because she is a voracious reader of literacy research. Naturally, she becomes more effective and impactful as she takes the words off the page and into practice. She’s wasn’t “born that way”–she cultivated herself to become an expert. Readers ARE leaders, dedicated to a purpose and truly, any of us can become such a proficient teacher.
Needless to say, this has had me reflect on what I have read for professional development so far this year. Although I have picked up and skimmed many books this year, these are the titles that I have genuinely read from back to front:
As you can see, it’s a sort of mixed bag of professional ideas and I regret that I haven’t had a lot of professional focus this year with regard to my reading. That, of course, I take personal responsibility for, but it makes me wonder if school leadership shouldn’t be encouraging more professional reading within its walls. Not only books but blogs or articles. Have a think, when was the last time you received an email about some interesting current research that relates to your school’s objectives or just something provocative related to education? Our director, Elsa Donohue, often shares things that have impacted her thinking from conferences that she attends. I love that because it draws me into new ideas that I may not have been exposed to before and inspires professional dialogue at school. But it’s not a common practice that research is shared among our primary team, let alone a book study.
Hmmm….. but is it school leadership’s job to do this? Shouldn’t we, as educators, be taking initiative and “choosing our own adventure” when it comes to professional reading?
That makes me wonder, is it too late to change school culture? Might we have a professional book club after all? And how might we encourage reading to expand our thinking and improve our practice?……
I think the best time to start something like this is NOW. So, I’ve decided to reach out to my colleagues and invite them to attend an organized book club meeting for professional reading. I sent a survey and included this message:
Hi Book Lovers!
I’d appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions so that I could help organize a professional book club at VIS. Before you complete this survey, I want to frame this by stating this is not mandatory and should be thought of as a casual and social venture. Here are a few rules about this book club:
Rule #1: The book you choose is related to something professionally, either to support teaching content or your developing your professional character.
Rule #2: This is in the spirit of fun and a love of reading. Your participation is completely voluntary and is in no way reflects judgement on you as a professional or is related to your evaluation as an educator.
Rule #3: Conversation stays on the books. Gossip is strictly prohibited.
Rule #4: Even if you don’t finish the book, you are welcome to participate in conversations.
Rule #5: Anything personal or professional at book club, stays at book club. Respect vulnerable and candid conversations.
Rule #6: Be open-minded and kind so that a spirit of fun is maintained.
Rule #7: Teaching professionals outside of VIS are welcomed to join. We honor all educators and are not elitist in any way.
I’m hoping that this gets the ball rolling. So often we wait for school leadership to drop ideas in our laps and direct our professional focus. However, we need to take an agentic approach and enlist others into aspiring to excellence. 10 minutes a day? I think this is absolutely doable, and it makes me think about that book by Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers, in which we learned how intelligence and talent can be cultivated through diligent effort, rather than innate ability.
Now, as I peruse through my stack of professional books, I wonder what book I might consider sharing. Will it be…. a more recent book like Visible Learning: Feedback (Volume 2) by John Hattie and Shirley Clarke, or an older but still relevant book like Making Learning Whole by David Perkins; or should it be more specific to content areas such as literacy like Who’s doing the Work? by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris or expand my depth of understanding with Concept-Based Inquiry in Action: Strategies to Promote Transferable Understanding by Carla Marschall and Rachael French? Tough choices. I have quite a lot of books to choose from, but I look forward to picking one and connecting with others.
So do you agree–Readers are leaders? Whatcha’ been reading? What are you developing your “leadership” skills in?
Developing learners as leaders is my joy! I am committed and passionate International Baccaluearate (IB) educator who loves cracking jokes, jumping on trampolines and reading books. When I’m not playing Minecraft with my daughter, I work on empowering others in order to create a future that works for everyone.
If you have seen Rogue 1, the latest Star Wars movie, then you know what my title is all about. As I interpret it, it means tapping into the field of our inner potential to overcome challenges and obstacles. I think, as educators, we grapple with this all the time, especially when we contemplate whether or not we are making a positive impact in our classrooms and in our school community.
As I was rereading the parts I had highlighted and bookmarked, it got me thinking about the 2nd term. We have quite a few staff members leaving, myself included, and there is the danger of coasting instead of pushing the boundaries. I recognize that as a leader I have the choice to either uphold the status quo or to compel myself and others out of our comfort zone and demand more of ourselves and our kids. After watching an episode of Impact Theory with Dr. Moran Cerf, it got me thinking even more deeply about the need to move outside comfort levels:
It all comes down to the narrative that you tell yourself… Because the narrative you tell yourself, about yourself, is the most important thing you have; and if you tell yourself a story about struggle and inadequacy, not being good enough then that is going to reinforce your literal identity. The day I stopped thinking of myself as smart, and I started thinking of myself as a learner-that changed everything…it became this identity that is anti-fragile because if you told me I was stupid, it didn’t matter, it just compelled me to learn more.
I loved that! And as I listened to the interview, it really inspired me to alter our staff meeting. I felt that we all relate to this idea of “the learner” and that the love of teaching and learning could drive our practice to the next level.
During our staff PD session, we spoke candidly and asked questions about the concept of “YET”; how we can embrace those parts of us that professionally are “fixed” and encourage the growth mindset in our practice and most importantly in our students. What was funny is that inadvertently every aspect of the Ron Richart’s cultural forces came up in our discussions and reflections today. When we got into our collaborative groups to share and rework our professional goals, there was a greater sense of synergy, purpose, and creativity.
I really look forward to hearing what ideas emerge as we go through this process of achieving our professional goals, as well as the collaboration and peer support that we can offer each other as we engage in more risk-taking in our classroom practice.
Just as “I am the Force, and the Force is within me”, I know that it is also true for the great teachers that I work with, and moreover, our students. Now I just can’t wait to see what amazing things come out our second term.
The Creature didn’t listen but described an arabesque as it gobbled all her pencils, seven notebooks and her desk.
Teacher stated very calmly, “Sir! You simply cannot stay,
I’ll report you to the principal
unless you go away!”
But the thing continued eating,
it ate paper, swallowed ink,
as it gobbled up our homework
I believe I saw it wink.
Teacher finally lost her temper.
“OUT!” she shouted at the creature.
The creature hopped beside her
and GLOPP . . . it gobbled teacher.
When I think about how much education has been transformed in the last decade, I find this poem a bit ironic and have to wonder if the poet knew what was in store for today’s classroom when he wrote that. Did he know how technology would “gobble” up paper and ink–even to some extent the teacher?
However, there’s no doubt that our classrooms have become more student-orientated rather than teacher-centered. And I was reminded lately during an IB webinar, Creating Inspiring Places, that our classrooms need to be designed for learning rather than merely being decorated. With that in mind, I loved this infographic that I snagged from the presentation.
While looking at this, I asked myself what do I do well and what do I need to work on more this year in my own classroom? I’m feeling lucky that I have a long holiday week nearing the corner so I can sit down and take this all in more so. And what can I share with teachers? What would inspire their learning spaces?-What needs to be “gobbled up” in our school so that our “creatures” get the best education that they deserve? Hmm…
What about you?–What do you think needs to be “gobbled up” in your classroom?
Several years ago I read Malcolm Gladwell’s book,Outliers, during a long layover in Las Vegas. (Yes, I’m so geeky that I choose books over slot machines). This was the 1st time I was exposed to the 10,000 hour rule, which actually comes from the work of Anders Ericsson, who is considered the expert on peak performance. He details how someone moves from accepting to be “good enough” to reaching extraordinary results through deliberate practice. Working at the boundary of our comfort zone is one of the most important aspects of shifting from goodness to GREATNESS.
So as I was reflecting on this information, I began to think about the structure that I’d like to see for the collaborative learning groups for my staff’s professional development–how I can cultivate this deliberate practice in our PD on developing the writer skills and attitudes in our learners. So I’ve been trying to find a way to connect the dots between Arthur Costa’s ideas on reflective practice and Ericcson’s idea of deliberate practice. During this rainy holiday week I decided that I would create a collaborative guide for teachers that would help move them in a direction that sponsored reflection on their comfort zones during these sessions. This is my first iteration with this effort so I’m looking forward to feedback and I’m really excited to get started. I’m hopeful that teachers will “pull up” each other with thoughtful discussion and deep reflection that promotes another level of sophistication and effectiveness in developing their craft, rather than giving me “push back” on how teachers’ self-directed inquiry doesn’t work.
I feel a bit anxious and vulnerable, but I trust that the teachers’ inner desire to be awesome, coupled with my charisma, will overcome any barriers and they will be open to peer coaching and collaborative planning.
I love the beginning of the year–there’s so much possibility, a lot of blank space on this white sheet of paper which I have titled 2016-2017 School Year. I’ve decided that something that I really want to work on improving at our school is the quality of in-house professional development. I’ve decided to start a mind-map of what would be the essential qualities of PD
One of the challenges I’ve faced in the past with in-house professional development is that we’ve lacked vision and purpose for it, so when we decided to do PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities), it lacked the interest and enthusiasm for self-directed and collective learning; many of our staff believe that the only way to learn is to attend a workshop or have a presenter “teach” us, as if learning is something that happens to us and not as a result of our own engagement. Coupled with the fact that there was a lack of understanding in admin of how to structure a PLC and manage it, it was not surprising that staff rebuffed at the idea of it. Bad PD is almost worse than no PD, because if negative expectations become the norm then the openness to collaborative learning is highly diminished.
The fact that I was beginning to see these attitudes emerging meant that I needed to roll up my sleeves and get to learning more about professional development so I could influence our leadership team in ways in which we could improve it.
Something that I loved from the work on PLCs from Richard Dufour and Robert Eaker was this idea of cultivating a culture in “educators [creating] an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth as they work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone”. The goal of PLCs is to take an interest in learning and turn it into a commitment to improvement in that area. So, the professional learning community that Dufour and Eaker envision has six characteristics:
• Shared mission, vision, and values
• Collective inquiry
• Collaborative teams
• Action orientation and experimentation
• Continuous improvement
• Results orientation
I also appreciate Sharon Hord’s elaboration on PLCs to include an emphasis on reflective dialogue as a vehicle for collective learning. When I was reading about this, it seemed to mirror some of the power of peer-coaching data that is shown to improve implementation. I thought about Jim Knight’s coaching conversations and how asking better questions can develop those dialogues. It seemed to me that I could connect some dots and come up with a dynamic approach to in-house professional development, which includes a lot of the elements of a PLC, peer-coaching and expanding our notion of best practice.
Since we’ve been reviewing our data on writing, I thought it would be easier for us to rally around a common goal: improving student writing. Also, I wanted to provide better resources since my staff’s professional research skills were weak; thus I am introducing a book study. Furthermore, I want to differentiate upper and lower primary school’s objectives and put them into collaborative learning teams (my re-branding of the PLC). The lower grades (Early Years to Grade 1) are developing attitudes to writing and an awareness of the writing life. I found some amazing books from Matt Glover and Katie Wood that help teachers modify the elements of the writer’s workshop for younger ones and shape their perception of themselves as authors through a deep dive into illustrative study. In the grades in which writing skills are being consolidated (Grades 2-5), they can look at the 6 Traits +1 of Writing as a model to develop habits of student self-reflection of their work and look to mentor texts as a means to develop their craft.
In order to combine some of the elements of effective professional development for our small school, I want to include these elements in the learning teams:
Create a mission statement for their learning teams.
Create a personal goal that is linked to their appraisal.
Regular discussion of their reading.
Share student work samples, rubrics and other assessments.
Non-critical dialogue from a learning partner (peer-coach)
Demonstrations of their teaching by learning partner (monthly observation)
Planning and reflection of those plans.
Mid-year checkpoint, in which the learning team shares what has been working and not working for them.
End of year presentation, which includes looking at MAP data and reflection on our goals.
Celebration for the work and effort that they made.
I know that this is my first time that I will be given autonomy for PD and I’m excited by the trust and freedom of my new principal. We have an early release day on Wednesdays which is allocated time for this effort. Of course since I am trying to combine several aspects of effective professional development, I am a bit anxious with this experimentation but I know that overall I have staff who will be open and willing to try something different. I will definitely update later about our progress.
But the heart of these systems was designed for standardized test scores and relied on student data in order to inform practices of school improvement. I struggled with this for several reasons, chief among them is that I don’t want our students to fit into a “standard”, I want them to be looked at as unique and special. I didn’t want them to reduce to numbers. If we only use data as the foundation of what we do, then we would miss out on opportunities for genuine teacher inquiries. Speaking of which, I examined the structure of 
as the premise for our rules of 
ur staff PD session, we spoke candidly and asked questions about the concept of “YET”; how we can embrace those parts of us that professionally are “fixed” and encourage the growth mindset in our practice and most importantly in our students. What was funny is that inadvertently every aspect of the Ron Richart’s cultural forces came up in our discussions and reflections today. When we got into our collaborative groups to share and rework our professional goals, there was a greater sense of synergy, purpose, and creativity.
one of the most important aspects of shifting from goodness to GREATNESS.
