Today Kelli and I are having the opportunity to hear Tony Wagner, Co-Director of Change Leadership Group, Harvard University. Thanks Donna Solley for allowing me to have this opportunity.
We will both be posting our thoughts and learning with you. We hope that you will gleam the excitement that is in this workshop about improving our instruction so our net generation will succeed in their future .
Here is a link to Wagner's site. Once you log in and register you can download a lot of the information that we are receiving today. How cool is that? I love free.
www.schoolchange.org
We are bringing back to the district his book, "The Global Achievement Gap".
Our learning today involves What are we doing to reach our students and preparing them with the survival skills that they will need to be successful in their future.
What are our challenges?
We have been discussing what motivates the "Net" Generation?
We are teaching a generation that stays connected through the internet. They use the internet for connection with others, exploration of knowledge, and a tool for self expression. They are the generation that wants to be mentored by teachers that give them a voice and appreciate and understand who they are. They want a teacher that will not talk down to them but talks with them. And most importantly our student want to make a difference in the world.
The Seven Survival Skills for Careers, College, and Citizenship
1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading By Influence
3. Agility and Adaptability
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication - College Professors and Employers say that #1 skill lacking is that cannot write with voice
6. Accessing and Analyzing Information
7. Curiosity and Imagination
Now, that is our challenge. How do meet those challenges?
Deal with " The Theory of Change"
Use our resources to create the change
Student will not meet the performance standards for sucess in college and work unless and until TEACHING improve student's skills.
Teaching working alone with little feedback on their instruction will not be able to improve significantly.
Create a system of continous improvment of instruction and supervision.
Re-Invention Architecture of the Process
1. Holding Ourselves Accountable for What Matters Most
2. Doing the New Work: teaching and testing the skills that matter most
3. Doing the New Work in New Ways ( Isolation is the enemy of evolution)
The New Work -7 Disciplines For Strengthening Instruction
1.Understanding and urgency around improving all students for teachers and community
2. Widely Shared vision of what is Good Teaching
3. All Adult Meetings are about Instruction ( Video good instruction)
4. Well- defined standards and performance assessment ( What does quality work look like?) Is the quality everywhere ?
5. Supervision is frequent, rigorous, and entirely focused on the improvement of instructions.
6. Professional Development is primarily on site intensive, collaborative and job-embedded( Peer- coaching on each campus with time off to do the peer coaching) Mr. Wagner believes that peer coaching is vital to improving instruction. Video is a great tool in teaching and improving good instruction. Video Conferencing is a good tool that allows teachers to watch videos of good teaching and collaborate about what the instruction Do I love this man or what?
7. Data is used diagnostically at frequent intervals ( Digital portfolio for each student starting in K and it travels with them and is linked to teachers digital portfolio.)Our ITS department has been saying this for years. Free digital portfolio software: http:/grover.concordia.ca/epearl/en/epearl.php
7 Disciplines are meant to work all together. All must be present for instruction to improve.
There is a sequence that is involved with them.
What is Effective Instruction? This will be in the afternoon session. Stay Tuned.
You girls are the best! Thanks for sharing your learning with us.
ReplyDeleteds