Teresa Lawson and I are attending "Professional Learning for the 21st Century" with Tony Wagner, Co-Director of the Change Leadership at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
We are learning about how the concepts in his book, "The Global Achievement Gap," impact professional learning in the 21st century.
http://www.schoolchange.org/ Register for this site - it is free - and you will have access to all of his presentations, articles, videos, etc.
Framing the Challenges/The Crisis in Education:
SCHOOLS ARE NOT FAILING. THE SYSTEM IS OBSOLETE. REFORMING OUR PRESENT SYSTEM ISN'T THE SOLUTION. WE HAVE TO REINVENT IT! We have to be CHANGE LEADERS.
We MUST know our achievement/graduation rate data (everyone in our district must know this data).
1. There are NEW SKILLS for Work, Continuous Learning, and Citzenship in a "knowledge society" that ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE:
Critical thinking and problem-solving
Collaboration across networks (across distance, time, space) and leadership by influence (as opposed to “by position”)
Adaptability and agility
Initiative and entrepreneurialship
Effective oral and written communication skills
Accessing and analyzing information — information is constantly changing & growing exponentially (here he really criticized our current testing curriculum and gave examples of countries who outperform us on exams, but who use performance assessment or portfolios or oral/written exams rather than multiple choice).
Curiosity and imagination — innovation and creativity — we can’t continue to produce innovators randomly or by chance, we must produce them intentionally.
- But do we really know HOW to teach Critical Thinking? If asked, could we all give an accurate definition and description of Critial Thinking/Problem Solving? -
2. The "Net Generation" is differently motivated to learn and we have to understand this motivation. They are accustomed to to instant gratification, always connected/multi-taskers (everywhere except in school!), use the web for social purposes/interest-driven self-directed learning/as a tool for self expression, learn from peers, want coaching from someone who does not talk down at them, and they want to make a difference.
We have to get past core content focus and move to core concepts (scientific method, democracy, etc.). If you can Google it, do kids have to memorize it and do we really have to spend time teaching it?
3. Quality of Instruction has the most important factor in student success. Not, "Let's just bring in more Whiteboards - that should fix our problem." - Teaching has to improve.
Teachers who work without feedback on the instruction - will not be able to improve no matter how much 'professional learning' we give them. We have to structure an environment for this.
We need to have focus groups with our kids and ask them about our schools.
Virgina Beach School District - did many many focus groups of community and created the mandate for a different kind of teaching and learning.
When trying to convince people of the need for change by dramatizing our data and sharing our data - use Human Bar Graphs....example: A Principal needed to share a low student literacy rate for her building to Central Admin and needed funds for a coaching program to help her teachers. She used a human graph of kids to make her point. She took 10 kids to the presentation. "3 out of 10 kids are on level." 7 of her kids sat down. Then she asked, "whose kids are we going to leave behind?"
So, what might "The Solution" Look Like?
Re-Invention - the 3 Cornerstones we must do:
1. We have to hold ourselves accountable for what matter most. That means every person in the organiztion must know our data.
2. Teach and test the skills that matter most. We have to all learn what the 7 Critical Skills look like in teaching and how to teach them. BUT, AS A START WE HAVE TO INCLUDE THE 3 C'S: CRITICAL THINKING, COMMUNICATION, AND COLLABORATION IN EVERY CLASS AT ALL GRADE LEVELS.
3. We have to create environments where teachers do not work in isolation - that becomes a non-negotiable. They have to have on-going effective inquiry sessions TOGETHER that involves look at and refining instruction/work. This is where the teachers and administrators will learn what Critical Thinking and Problem Solving really looks like. ISOLATION IS THE ENEMY OF INNOVATION AND IMPROVMENT!
The most effective way to improve instruction is COACHING. Like sports, coaches help, games and performances are videotaped, and coaches review videotape with players/preformers. We have to take a hard look at our schedules and also how we are using the time we do have for PL and meetings. Are we using the time we already have for instruction?
Recommendations from Tony to improve instruction and student learning:
1. Find your best people, train them, and make them peer coaches/trainers in every building.
2. Every student should have a digital portfolio K-12. Kids should publish 5-6 items each work for public viewing. Teachers then examine the work for good teaching. The best samples of this work can then be linked to the teacher who designed the work and posted into the district instructional document - along with a video of the teaching, lesson plans, rubrics.
We have to use the 7 Disciplines for Strengthening Instruction
These are not a buffet. You have to do all of them and must do them in order.
This is a copy of the tool:
Seven Disciplines for Strengthening Instruction Diagnostic
The diagnostic tool below can help you assess how the seven disciplines show up in your own
school or district. We encourage you to first fill out the diagnostic individually and then
compare results with your colleagues, holding discussion among yourselves until you’ve had a
chance to each respond individually. The discussion that follows will clarify your understanding
of the disciplines themselves and almost certainly identify the most promising areas for further
work in your school or district. We also encourage you not to skip over the identification of
evidence. These indicators can be the most powerful discussion prompts and build a shared
idea of what is, and what needs to be.
This diagnostic can be used with different groups – principals and teachers and central office
administrators – to see to what degree there are differences in views that can be usefully
explored. The diagnostic can also be given periodically as an informal assessment of progress.
Name ______________________ District ___________________________
1. The district/school creates understanding and urgency around improving ALL students’
learning for teachers and community, and they regularly report on progress.
– Data is disaggregated and transparent to everyone.
– Qualitative (focus groups & interviews) as well as quantitative data is used to
understand students’ and recent graduates’ experience of school.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
2. There is a widely shared vision of what is good teaching which is focused on rigorous
expectations, relevant curricula, and respectful relationships in the classroom.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
3. All adult meetings are about instruction and are models of good teaching.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
© President and Fellows of Harvard College, Change Leadership Group
Permission to reprint with attribution granted.
Seven Disciplines for Strengthening Instruction Diagnostic (continued)
4. There are well-defined standards and performance assessments for student work at all
grade levels. Both teachers and students understand what quality work looks like, and there is
consistency in standards of assessment.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
5. Supervision is frequent, rigorous, and entirely focused on the improvement of instruction.
It is done by people who know what good teaching looks like.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
6. Professional Development is primarily on-site, intensive, collaborative, and job-embedded
and is designed and led by educators who model best teaching and learning practices.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
7. Data is used diagnostically at frequent intervals by teams of teachers to assess each
student’s learning and to identify the most effective teaching practices. Teams have time built
into their schedules for this shared work.
Not yet started 1 2 3 4 well-established in our school/district
Evidence:
Copyright:
President and Fellows of Harvard College, Change Leadership Group
Permission to reprint with attribution granted.
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