Finding the ropes

Leading from the middle 

http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Middle-and-senior-leaders

It's a slightly different set of skills needed to be a middle leader - the illusion of leadership but with less direction makes it more difficult to find a path, and more difficult to encourage others to join you. 

Ideas for next year (if continuing the role) 

• lead by example -  Why blend in when you were born to stand out - from Wonder by R. J. Palacio - 
• develop the use of google classroom etc to model possibilities
• build a resource bank of learning opportunities that maximise the use of tech equipment 

learning in the classroom

After 2 terms back in the the classroom full time, with 'just' teaching role it has come to my attention how quickly I have let the big picture float away.  It's not a good thing.  The challenge of getting to know a new class / pod, and school worth of people, not to mention the differences in how they work has been huge.  Learning to 'fit in' also means learning to let go.  Now, on a rainy day in the term break I am challenged to think what benefit my teaching has brought to my students.  And I am sure there has been some - but I don't think it's the learning that I used to be most proud of.

With one term to go until final reports, I am questioning how, during the craziest of all terms, I can possibly present learning in a meaningful way. 

To help me reignite my thinking about the big picture and true end goals of education I am reading Educating Ruby by Guy Claxton and Bill Lucas.  In Chapter 2, they look at Professor Lauren Resnick's comparison of learning in school and out.  Even though it is almost 30 years old, it is still true.  So I wonder.... What will I change / what can I change to blur the lines?

Leading from the middle #globaldialogue

The challenge of developing 'Middle Leaders' was the key topic within the  Global Dialogue with Michael Fullan (Canada),  Steve Munby (UK), John Hattie (NZ/Australia), and Viviane Robinson (NZ).
The Think-piece 




Other people's blogs to read more...
Re imagining professional learning
leading from the middle
pond resources

An interesting invite

A few days ago I received an email, due largely to the fact that my name is the contact for our newly forming Westland Community of Learning.  The email asked what I seem to think is a rather silly question.  Would I like to join in a Global online discussion with Micheal Fullan, Steve Munby, Vivienne Robinson, Tony McKay, John Hattie, and Phil Brown?  Gee... let me see if that day works for me... uh YES!  Of course there will be plenty of other participants - and it was really inviting our cluster of principals to participate as a hub, not just me - but still - a huge YES to that.  20 groups from NZ have been invited to join and little ol'Westland is in the mix with the big kids ;)  

So, given that I was already struggling to get my head back into school, particularly the classroom, this is a great distraction, and inspiration to start thinking.

The first set of questions to think about... 

my knee jerk answers are...

1.  Some how flexibility needs to be built into policy - and TRUE recognition for the challenges we face and incentives to stay when we are doing great things.  By this I don't mean higher salaries- although money is always nice to have, it doesn't really solve problems.  Support in the way of effective coaching, time to think and research solutions, Professional development that supports the changes and successes rather than distracts or moves backwards.

2.  Building relationships and trust.  One of the most frustrating things I have found in the last few years is the level of division and mistrust within education. It's not true in all cases, but I seem to be more aware of it now than ever before. Teachers don't trust their school leaders to move their school in the right direction.  Leaders don't trust their teachers, or have misplaced trust.  Leaders who don't trust themselves and give all decisions to teachers - not in a positive/collaborative leadership way, but in a 'they won't listen to me or will be angry if I get it wrong' way.  and the level of distrust between the union and govt is the most disappointing of all.  nothing will change until the relationship changes - (I suggest a total divorce and look for a new style of partnership).  The 'mindset' of all sides needs to change - we are here for a common purpose, to give our children the best future possible.  Start with the key things we agree on and build from there, looking for solutions rather than the difficulties and giving permission to take risks and leaps of faith, knowing that we won't be punished.

3.  Which pockets are we looking at?  Those with the dynamic leader?  Or those that out live the leader - and where are they?  The only thing I can think of is PD - but not the 1 day listen to the guru PD - but High quality, face to face, ongoing, coaching at the coal face.  And if you want to see the full potential - take it to the fringe first - get the experts out of their cities, away from the schools and communities that aren't really struggling and fight the hardest battles first for a change.  

4.  Community accountability -well-being accountability - accountability for positive relationships, and positive change - not just test scores.  I believe successful system-wide school collaboration actually needs more than just schools to collaborate.  We all know that there are many factors that impact the success of our students. We need to seek out strategies that allow us to be the village that raises the child - not just 1 school.   

more reading, talking and more thinking needs to go into these answers - but I find it always getting the 1st impression down is a good place to start.

importance of mentoring

Read this article.

December feedback

As part of my appraisal process I am using Interlead Appraisal Connector.  This allows me to seek anonymous feedback from staff, board, or students and community.

This survey ranked me as 'proficient'.  An area I could aim to improve in 2016, based on the results of the survey would be improve to collaboration within the Board and school.  We (the Board and I) have discussed some activities for 2016 which could facilitate this, including reviewing our Charter and values to ensure that all parents and BOT members are aware of what we are doing and why.

Click here to read the report from December 2015 based on the BOT completed survey.

(I have also realized while posting this, I need to add in the leadership criteria in the pages / tags for this blog - - a job for the summer holidays)

Self directed learning

Do no limit yourself to what other people can't do ~

Challenge yourself to discover how much YOU can do

I was thinking of this year's Professional Development opportunities, or the lack thereof, and lamenting that it was again not what I hoped it would be.  The provided support was lacking in depth and at best a repeat of learning we achieved 3-4 years ago and had no impact on the teaching and learning within the classroom and therefore no effect on student achievement.  As such I suppose it was a waste of resources... So what are my choices, complain that yet again we were under-served?  That due to our location our school was again handed second best?  toss my hands up in the air and do no more because those who 'led' pd cannot deliver what we need to improve our pedagogy?

These certainly are the easy options.  They would excuse us from having responsibility for not progressing in our own skills.  But I wouldn't accept this of my students.  I have taught my students through our exploration of Building Learning Power that this is not what good learners do.
So what will I change for 2016?

Self directed learning - a challenge to once again lead my own learning and that of my staff.  Until we find a professional development provider that can actually provide for us what we request, we will have to lead ourselves and leave the others to spin their own wheels.

Mindset

 Carol Dweck's research focuses on the development of a Growth mindset to improve the learning opportunities of all learners.  A Fixed mindset limits the learning opportunities by focusing on the barriers,  

This research is part of what informs Guy Claxton's BLP.  This fundamental change in understanding of the ability to learn is essential to reframing education

Strategies to Build Intrinsic Motivation

On Friday we had a staff meeting session using Story Hui to help teachers reflect on an aspect of their practice that they have changed or developed.

Some of the main themes that came through all the examples given throughout the school was student choice, student ownership of learning, and student responsibility.  Common outcomes from these innovations included greater motivation in most students to learn and greater engagement in learning activities where there attributes are present.

I stumbled upon this article today by David Palank about strategies to build intrinsic motivation of students.  His comments about getting rid of both the carrot and the stick fit in with the developments that we have been putting in place.

It is great to see that these innovations are happening throughout the school and developing naturally based on the improvements that teacher are noticing.  David's article adds a few new possibilities to consider for our next innovations.

boys writing

Boys and writing, like  oil and water, are difficult to mix.  I stumbled upon this link on the MOE site and am keen to use it in my class with my reluctant writers.
Starting a story is often the hardest part and these celb starters may do just the trick.

http://success-for-boys.tki.org.nz/Teaching-learning-resources/Story-Starters

positive feedback

23/6/2015

Sometimes when we are caught up in the chaos of all we have to do it is difficult to see if anything we are doing is making a difference, if any one is noticing, or if all the changes and extra effort is just extra work having no impact.

But there have been a few (unexpected) things turn up that are encouraging to see and to help keep the momentum of what we are doing.

This shared doc is by a keen learner in year 6 who decided to share the reading/writing task with those in the same group to help each other.  This is a great example of Ako, shared learning, collaboration, building learning power, etc etc that we have been trying to foster with the children.

This message came from a parent regarding the BLP section we have added to our newsletter this year.  It is great to know that at least 1 parent is reading the section, finding it interesting and better yet, able to 'see' it is happening and having an effect on their child's learning.

These small actions certainly encourage me to keep moving down the path we are on and encouraging the staff to keep being resilient, resourceful, reflective and reciprocal in their learning and their teaching.

-

The Learning Pit

The Learning Pit

23/5/15

The Learning Pit with James Nottingham from Challenging Learning on Vimeo.

Karen reminded me of the learning pit earlier this year and it fits in very well with BLP and growth mindset.  The idea of the learning pit was something I had explored at a previous school and as Karen had introduced it to the students, I thought I would also reinforce the need to get into the pit to really learn.  

The above video effectively relates the learning pit with Growth mindset and while the terminolgoy isn't the same as used in BLP - the strategies to get out of the pit certainly fit with Guy CLaxton's work.

I think this is a concept I need to revisit with the students and provide some learning opportunities to enjoy getting into (and out of) the learning pit.

ERO report

 click here to read the blog and get links to the article and report

beginning BLP

Week 2 Term 2 - Introducing Absorption

In class development

We have decided to introduce the students to an aspect of BLP each week.  We initially considered 1 per fortnight, however at that rate it would take into term 1 next year to get through them all.

One per week will be difficult I think, but if we can manage to demonstrate how they fit together it should be ok.

Absorption was a tricky one to start with.  I began by introducing the fact that we would be looking at an aspect each week and gave the students a chance to discuss what they thought absorption might mean.  Some did reach the idea that cloths, sponges, and mops were absorbent and they 'sucked water up'.  So I used that analogy to explain that they were the water and the learning was the sponge - and they needed to get sucked into their learning so they were caught up in it.  Most seemed to understand what I was meaning and related it to being caught up in a good book or movie and you didn't hear what was happening around you.  We discussed how we needed to be on the look out for classmates (and ourselves) getting absorbed into our learning.  

This proved difficult.  After a long weekend the students were chattier than usual and found it difficult to settle into their work, let alone get absorbed!  We did have a few examples though.  At the end of the day we discussed if they managed to get absorbed or not.  Most were honest about not being able to and why they weren't - main reason... too much to talk about!  So I asked what could they do to change that and consider their actions, and their environment.  They concluded that they should be taking more responsibility to tell people to stop talking, and to stop distracting others by talking.  They also suggested some changes to the room layout (which they set up last term) that they thought would make it easier to stay focused.  

A couple of students turned up at 4pm to start changing the room around.

Day 2 was a slight improvement - the students enjoyed the new larger quiet area and having the teaching table away from it.  While they were a little more on task, absorption in learning was still difficult to see in action.

The other classes had used similar strategies.  Ingrid's class seemed to have more success in staying absorbed in their learning than mine did.  I think given some more time and reviewing the usual class expectations will assist the understanding (and use) of this concept.

Next week focuses on Managing Distractions - this will be a great follow on to our first concept.

Whole school development

We discussed the introduction of Absorption in staff meeting including what our understanding of the concept was, how we introduced it, and how successful our class was.  I provided some video links for staff to listen to Guy Claxton and Carol Dweck to use as review and support and building our understanding of BLP and improving our practice to improve student outcomes.

We also discussed the next aspect - Managing distractions and how that may be introduced and implemented.  The suggestion of playing quiet music ( mellow jazz) was interesting to all and is one that I would like to try, and get students to reflect on it's effectiveness.  An example of this was seen by Ingrid and myself in Bromely School where they were using Reggio Emilia to inspire their teaching and learning in the junior classes.

After the staff meeting I thought about the fact that so far we have introduced, or are introducing new concepts and expectations for our students - but not yet for ourselves.  I don't think that we will be successful in implementing long term change without revamping what we expect of our selves.  Based on that I sent out the week 4 and 5 concept sheets for the students along with pages explaining how teachers build learning power.  These will be discussed at our next meeting.

Appraisal PD

Appraisal PD
1 April 2015 - Course - day 2
This was a difficult day to stay focused, being to close to the end of term - off topic discussions quickly devolved to the chaotic, stressful term it seems to have been for every school and the workload / stresses that have caused this.  While this was not the focus for the day - I think it is important to consider in relation to appraisal in that what we do for appraisal needs to be relevant to our core job (student achievement) and the gathering of / reflection on / discussion about our goals and progress towards them needs to be managed in a way that does not add to already stressed workloads, but if possible simplifies expectations and makes jobs more rewarding and easier.
 the day looked at what we have been doing so far, how we are gathering evidence - what is enough and the different between gathering 'stuff' or gathering evidence and reflecting on it for a purpose was a common theme of the day.
 some good readings were shared including Teacher's Voice This will be a good  starting point for discussion of what the ideal reflective teacher is with staff.  The idea of developing a rubric or scale of what a 'good' teacher is was again discussed.  I feel this would be a valuable exercise for both teachers and bot to be involved in.  It was also discussed about the inclusion of student voice and parent voice in this process.  As an add on to this it was also mentioned the importance to understand that not fitting 'good' meant that you were not meeting the standards and the pathways that may lead to either through support, competency processes, and the use of the code of ethics.   I feel this is an important process for the BOT to be involved in - particularly due to my law studies last year.  It was also demonstrated by several other attendees, the value of having a school based document that combines related criteria from RTC and Tataiako to success indicators, what good at your school looks like, possible evidence, and actual evidence.  This could  be the end goal of the discussions suggested above and become a strong reference document for teachers.
 The inquiry / appraisal process was also discussed and some suggestions for how that might look in different centers.  there was also a suggested starting template for a co-constructed summary report which I think could also be developed to build the robustness of our current process.
 All teachers have begun developing an online site (similar to this one) to allow them to record their evidence/ reflections etc.  I believe that we should discuss possible ways to use this effectively - to allow the gathering of 'stuff' to develop into the gathering of considered evidence.  From there we can develop meaningful reflection processes and ongoing personal development strategies.

Appraisal PD part 2

22 March 2015

As part of Appraisal of Teachers: Phase Two: What is Evidence? We need to watch a webinar and gather some evidence.

also needed:
Registered Teacher Criteria
Tataiako 
Success for all
Pasifika Education Plan 2013-2017

Webinar goals:

By the end of webinar you will have:

• Used a range of resources to strengthen your understanding of 'good' practice with regard to professional relationships, values and knowledge as described in RTC 3, 6, and 11, RTC 9, and 10
• Started to determine what evidence you might use in your appraisal and how you will organise your evidence

So that you have

• necessary and sufficient evidence to show how you are meeting a range of RTC

Webinar notes:

Focusing on 9 & 10

Professional knowledge in practice

Criteria	Key Indicators	Reflective Question	Tataiako	What would 'good' practice look like?	what would you regard as valid evidence that you could use to demonstrate 'good' practice?
#9 respond effectively to the diverse language and cultural experiences, and the varied strengths, interests and needs of individuals and groups of akonga	i. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of social and cultural influences on learning, by working effectively in the bicultural and multicultural contexts of learning in Aotearoa New Zealand ii. select teaching approaches, resources, technologies and learning and assessment activities that are inclusive and effective for diverse akonga iii. modify teaching approaches to address the needs of individuals and groups of akonga	How does the knowledge of the varied strengths, interests, and needs of individuals and groups of akonga influence how I teach them?	Tangata Whenuatanga	Acknowledgement of all learners 1st language, culture Exploring learning & curriculum through lens of cultures represented in the classroom Learning contexts are appropriate to learner's cultures use of appropriate pedagogy tuakana-teina Ako high expectations of all learners inclusion of all learners and welcoming to all families Student ownership / responsibility for learning	Student voice - Parent/whanau voice Class displays demonstrate cultural value - languages used, motifs used involvement with appropriate organisations such as marae observations achievement outcomes
#10 work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand	i. practise and develop the relevant use of te reo Maori me nga tikanga a iwi in context ii. specifically and effectively address the educational aspirations of akonga Maori, displaying high expectations for their learning			appropriate use of language and tikanga within the class tuakana-teina Ako

What evidence do I have? and what more do I need to gather?

- mainly planning and assessment data

- informal parent / student voice, but not gathered specifically or recorded robustly

-some observations and reflections, again not gathered strategically or robustly

Do you consider that you gather necessary and sufficient evidence that will help you understand good practice with regard to values, relationships and knowledge as described in the RTC?

- No - my evidence is limited. Principal appraisal process - which includes my teaching has largely been a Q & A session with some documentation review. I would struggle to put my hands on any evidence of my teaching practice - or principal practice other than planning documents and student achievement data that is MOE requirements.

Back mapping -
Reviewing how evidence demonstrates RTC and Tataiako criteria

How could this be developed on this site?

What to do from here:

- collect evidence for workshop 2
- reflections of PLG meetings
- prepare to share thinking about what you consider to be necessary and sufficient evidence.

Exploring Key Competencies through BLP

BLP

Building Learning Power - Guy Claxton Building learning power is my main inspiration for pedagogy development this year.   I believe that this addresses the HOW of learning rather than focusing on the WHAT  of learning.  I believe that teaching improved attitude towards learning and strategies  for achieving true learning will be of greater benefit to our students than just aiming  for national standards.   Building Learning Power (BLP) splits learning into 4 areas Resilience, Reciprocity,  Reflectiveness, Resourcefulness - which are further broken into 17 attributes of an  effective learner.

Kaser - Leadership mindsets

The four foundations of a global education framework include:
-          Learning to live together – when learners develop an understanding of other people, culture and values an appreciation of diverse perspectives and connectedness is created.
-          Learning to be – to counteract the impersonal nature of technology, every student needs opportunities to enjoy the freedom of thought, judgement, a range of feelings and imagination
-           Learning to know – students need to develop skills in learning to know – the acquisition of structured knowledge as well as cognitive learning tools.
-           Learning to do – gaining the competencies needed to deal with a variety of situations – most of which are unforeseeable
-          5^th – suggested more recently is Learning to respect the natural world – this is becoming more critical due to the complexity of environmental issues currently in the world
-           Students are more engaged in schools that are more innovative, personalised and use technology.  Reimagining quality requires leaders to reconsider what is valued in their schools.  How do we recognise learners for their contribution to the learning culture?  In a knowledge based society (as opposed to a manufacture/consumer based society) we can no longer use education to sort learners into pass or fail – young people need to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of well-being, and engagement with their community. (Kaser & Halbert, 2009).

Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2009). Leadership mindsets: Innovation and learning in the transformation of schools. London: Routledge.

Senge - Education for an interdependent world

Students today are aware of the global changes that are taking place.  Education can no longer perpetuate the industrial age values of economic consumerism.  The re-creation of education is dependent of communities that are committed to a future that has a future, not just educators.  Foundational changes include:

• -          Systems thinking
• -          Authentic youth engagement
• -          Rethinking schools as learning communities, and
• -          Education for sustainability

The process of education needs to be re-contextualised, by teaching children to be more responsible for their own environment, developing awareness of interconnectedness, and tackling complex real-life community issues.   Schools need to re-construct themselves into a learning community, where learning isn’t constricted into an isolated classroom.  This encourages the view that educators are not restricted to the classroom teacher, but to all adults that the child interacts with.  The need for education to evolve is apparent, and that cannot happen alone.  This however is impeded by the demand from society that school remain familiar to their childhood experience.     (Senge, 2010)

Senge, P. (2010). Education for an interdependent world: Developing Systems Citizens. In A. Hargreaves, M. Lieberman, Fullan, & D. Hopkins (Eds.), Second international handbppk of educational change, Part 1 (pp. 131-151). New York: Springer.

Hargreaves - A decade of educational change

Hargreaves (2009) states that as the economic and social constructs of the world are changing, so too must education change.  How education is changing however is of mixed success.  Large scale reform imposed from a top down approach has proven to have mixed results at best, even when based on successful innovations from other areas.  Teachers can only really learn when they are in their own classroom, connecting with other teachers.  The introduction of test based success for schools has shown focus on achieving acceptable scores results in the neglect of curriculum and pedagogy developments to meet the new needs of students.  Over-testing deteriorates child well-being, deters innovation and creativity, and the exploration necessary for child development.  Data should be used as a basis for setting goal, but within reason and in consultation with anecdotal evidence.  The biggest influence on student achievement comes from outside the school.  Supporting children through their families and community, as well as schools could have a bigger effect on student achievement than in school innovation.  Leadership within school needs to change from manager to leaders capable of inspiring innovation and creativity in the classroom. 

Hargreaves, A. (2009). A decade of educational change and a defining moment of opportunity:an introduction. Journal of Educational Change, 10(2/3), 89-100.

The more I read the more the connection with community is an obvious common thread - But I am wondering how to establish this in a community where parents are largely happy with current practice and perhaps are less likely to see the need for changing?  and how to establish this in families that already feel pressured for time and energy  ... A question I should put out there to my community, perhaps my assumptions are not correct.