Disposition toward learning

In a recent session with a district nearby, I posed the question, "Why do you feel you are so successful?".  After about 3 hours of staff discussion, it became clear that the primary reasons for the school's continued success was more based upon the values, beliefs and dispositions of the staff than any program or training.  As a group they were committed to the success of all students, and committed to working in a collaborative environment.

This is not the answer most school teams wish to hear.  Most want to find a program, textbook, or similar 'silver bullet' that will create student success.  The message that we have to first focus on shifting the culture of our school toward accountability for learning and commitment to each other is not popular.  In a school system where a critical mass of staff believe their moral imperative is to ensure that all students learn, their is a clear outcome, namely student learning outcomes improve.

A good activity to gauge the collective culture in a school, is to ask staff to complete the sentence stem, "All students can learn...".  In many locations the sentence is completed with disclaimers like, "If they are motivated", "If their parents support them", "If they are well prepared", and similar qualifying statements.  In a recent school setting I asked staff to explore what they felt were the primary factors contributing to student learning.  Among 20+ topics or influences they brainstormed, 3 were under the control of the school.  I believe this response is typical of many school systems.

In the climate of continually increasing accountability (NCLB), schools feel all the pressure, which is not shared among other groups like parents, community, students and government.  It should not be surprising that school staff seek other reasons for student learning results.  It takes courage to collectively commit to ensure student learning.  It also requires a disposition among the staff toward shared learning and mutual accountability.

Professional Development in Tough Times

Dear Colleagues,

I know many of us have already become weary of hearing the phrase, “In these tough economic times...”.  So, rather than starting with that line, I would rather focus on the opportunities fiscal constraint presents us.  Specifically, I want to focus on the opportunity we all have to re-cast our systems of professional development.  Focusing our professional learning on what is proven to work can be a direct result of the increased pressure we all feel to do more with fewer resources.  The following ten strategies are a summary of the guidance provided by Stephanie Hirsh, the Executive Director of the National Staff Development Council.  Should you wish to hear them directly from her, please review the webinar archive at: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=137131&s=1&k=8751C74FDF1EB8700975B7E991489FFA

1. Focus on students- Begin the process of designing professional development by first asking two critical questions.  What do our students need to know or be able to do?  How well are they demonstrating their abilities to do what we want?  Move from this foundation to exploring the learning needs of your staff.  What do principals, teacher leaders, teachers and other staff need in order to promote student success?  What specific professional development will provide them with the skills they need?
2. Focus on teachers- Because you have limited resources you may need to focus your professional development on a select group of teachers rather than the entire teacher population.  Begin with a focus on teachers who work with students who are most at risk of academic failure, or with students with specific learning needs.  Next provide targeted training and support to teachers who are new to the profession.  Finally, provide support to teachers who have made a change in their job assignments from the previous year.  Other groups may come to mind in your districts.  These are intended to be a starting place for your decision-making.
3. Re-order your priorities- Narrow your professional development to a few key priorities that are based upon your school and district improvement plans.  Explore all the initiatives connected to your plans and the professional learning needed to implement them.  Focus on one or two key areas that are most critical to your improvement efforts.
4. Examine research and best practices- Limit teacher professional development to those experiences that are proven to address specific teacher and student learning needs.  Reduce, or consider elimination of staff participation in conferences or other stand-alone events that are not likely to provide any transfer to practice.  Instead target resources toward providing sustained, job-embedded professional learning.
5. Clarify expectations- Invest in follow-up and ensure that every training event has intentional follow-through imbedded in the planning process.  Move from isolated learning events, to an expectation that learning will be applied, and evaluated to determine the impact on student learning outcomes.
6. Invest in team learning- Every district leader, school leader and teacher should be a member of a team that meets for a few hours every week for the purpose of improving student learning.  Examples of team tasks are:
1. Review of student learning data
2. Looking at student work samples
3. Development of common assessments
4. Reflection on instructional practice
5. Lesson design
6. Peer Coaching
7. Use local expertise- Every school system has individuals who are successful in reaching a group of students who are struggling, or who have mastery in topics connected to your shared learning needs.  Draw on those resources and support them in the sharing of their expertise with the rest of your school community.
8. Terminate district-wide teacher assemblies- As Stephanie Hirsh says, “Training without follow up is malpractice.”  We all need to commit to ending all one-stop, single day, disconnected events and instead structure staff development that is learning focused, tied to application in the classroom and evaluated continually for changes in practice and student learning.
9. Support subject area networking- There are many opportunities for networking in districts and across the state.  Allowing staff the time to connect to peers who are working in the same subject area can create forums for sharing and collaboration that support them in resolving their problems of practice
10. Expand your use of other professional development resources- There are staff development resources that can support your planning, delivery and evaluation practices at the state, regional and national level.  Consider using OSPI, ESD, NWREL, textbook companies or other supporters of staff learning in your professional development planning.  Many of these resources may be available to you for free or at a significantly reduced cost. 

Cultural shifts in a PLC

Among many essential conditions necessary for schools to engage in the PLC journey is a culture that nurtures collaboration and supports risk-taking. I find many schools that have had leaders or staff members attend a PLC training, and upon their return to the school, they want to get PLCs established quickly. In their enthusiasm, they fail to attend to the culture of their school, the support structures in place, and creating a compelling reason for increased collaboration.

This brief post is targeted at the cultural shifts within a school system. To understand a school's culture, it is important to first understand what is meant by any organization's culture. The culture of a school is like an individual's personality. Our personalities are often grounded in 'family history', our genetic make-up and life experiences. Changes in personality typically result from traumatic events, chemical or physical changes in the brain, and/or hours of counseling/therapy.

Similarly, school cultures are often the result of the influences of the communities the school resides in, the collective personalities of the staff, and the history of their collective work. Changes in school culture often result from significant (perhaps traumatic?) events, structural changes in the school's organization, leadership changes (both formal and informal leaders), and/or hours, (truthfully years) of collective work on a shared problem of practice.

When choosing to engage in journey of establishing a Professional Learning Community, it is important to consider the current culture of the school. Some questions to consider might be:

1. How well do the staff currently collaborate?
2. What is the history of the school regarding sustaining a focus on new initiatives?
3. How supportive and engaged are school leaders?
4. What structures are in place that support or nurture collaboration?
5. What are the staff values and beliefs regarding shared responsibility for student learning?

I believe the best approach toward a significant change in practice, like creating PLCs, requires creating a shared understanding of why this change is necessary, building shared ownership of the process, and providing resources (time, money and professional development) to support the change process. More on these important essential conditions later.

One important first step is to engage a local planning and leadership team. Hopefully such a leadership team already exists locally (site council, School Improvement Leadership Team, Leadership Council, Faculty Senate, etc.). The team should be representative of the staff and administration, include key communicators, and have broad decision-making authority regarding the use of building-wide resources. This team is encouraged to consider the current school's culture, and explore the implications of moving toward sustained collaboration among staff. Processing the questions listed above, and exploring how to respond to the school's unique culture is a critical first step in the PLC journey.

Tracking the change in a school's culture is addressed on our website, and further resources can be found at: PLC Washington