Moving From Taught to Learned

I've Been thinking about the concept of something taught vs learned since participating in #fhspantherchat on Twitter with educators from my wife's school, how we can differentiate between the two, and how we can help people get to the learned from the taught.

When it's learned I know why I'm doing it, and why it's to my benefit.

I've taught a lot of people a lot of things, but how many have learned from me?

Are they still able to do it, recall it, discuss it, etc?

What can I do get more of my people beyond taught and into learned?

How can I bridge what is taught in school and what they need to learn?

20 ways off the top of my head:

1. give them an authentic audience
2. give immediate feedback
3. start with more assistance but gradually remove
4. start slow but build speed one step at a time
5. don't demand memorization; aim higher
6. provide visual and auditory instructions and demonstrations
7. give them time to visualize and reflect at the beginning and end
8. arrange for multiple inputs at multiple times
9. get them writing or speaking about it early and often
10. record them doing it and discuss it
11. record and reflect in whatever way works for them so they can focus on the skill or concept
12. be mindful of the rigor
13. make sure it's relevant
14. create relationships conducive for learning
15. let them do as much of it from the start as possible
16. give as little help as necessary for completion
17. model what you'd do, but be open to variations
18. make them talk to you or anybody about it as they're doing it
19. any activity is better than idleness
20. provide multiple opportunities for demonstration / output

How else? What can we as teachers / leaders / coaches help move skills, concepts, thoughts, etc from taught to learned?

Why Do We Do the Work For Them?

Why do we do the work for them?

 I started thinking after reading the Week 20 post about delegation in the #savmp blog, and this quote from a book I just finished

"Adults need to model, ask clarifying questions, and help students reflect on and about their own routines, not do the work for them." - Margaret Searle, Causes & Cures in the Classroom p. 77 

Why do we do the work for our staff and/or students? Because we're afraid of what others will think if people under our tutelage produce work in need of improvement or worse. Because we think short-term.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking something to the effect of, "if my evaluee doesn't write a proficient goal or provide satisfactory evidence, then my colleagues are going to think I'm an unsatisfactory supervisor; what good am I if my people (or students) aren't proficient?"

So I do more than I ought to; I try to control the outcome rather than support and assist during the process. The goal that I'm concerned about becomes 90% my words and 10% theirs. They're "proficient," I pat myself on the back for "helping," and we repeat again in a few months. Nobody learns; we're not growing.

Ask questions instead of giving answers

If they don't do it themselves, then it comes at the expense of the long-term; the goal is always for them to be able to do it well without assistance. Start with them doing it themselves and let the doing it well happen organically. Guide by the side, ask questions, generate partnerships.

I shouldn't compromise the long-term goal to satisfy short-term insecurity.

Replace speaking with listening as often as possible

I should try to be the resource that makes them their own resource. In practice:

Student Discipline: Go through the handbook with them as you're determining consequences; when they match the offense with the proper consequence and then serve it, it becomes a lesson rather than a simple consequence.

Organization / Note Taking: Expose students to different examples of note taking and organization for the same topic. Show them an outline, word web, word cloud, venn diagram, etc. Have them decide which makes the most sense for them instead of mandating one style because it's what's always worked for you. 

They need to own it for it to be learned; if they don't own it, then it was merely taught; they won't remember

Instead of Getting Frustrated...

What I read:

"Adults must have tons of patience and provide lots of modeling, practice, and encouragement to support the development of good planning and problem-solving skills." -  Margaret Searle, Causes & Cures in the Classroom: Getting to the Root of Academic and Behavior Problems p. 42

"The ultimate goal is to enable the students to become more confident and independent." - Margaret Searle, Causes & Cures in the Classroom: Getting to the Root of Academic and Behavior Problems p. 30 

What I thought:

We've all worked with students and colleagues who have difficulties getting started and/or following through with tasks or initiatives; our first reaction often is to challenge the excuses folks that struggle with this always have, or to assume that they are lazy or oppositional.

In the classroom I saw this manifested in students who were always missing assignments, turning in assignments half done, or have grand plans end in mediocre finished products; in school leadership I see this manifested in staff who miss deadlines, create goals that are nearly impossible to meet, or want to improve in a certain area but have no concept of how to.

How we respond and how we as teachers & leaders communicate will determine if we will have any type of meaningful impact on their improvement.

Labeling or assuming takes the improvement process out of our hands; when we decide that our efforts will be wasted because of lack of motivation, laziness, etc, we've lost the opportunity to guide and support; we undercut our own capacity to lead and understand how to help folks move themselves in the right direction.

Getting frustrated or angry doesn't work; our relationships and the culture we manufacture in our classrooms, offices, schools, etc will either encourage or deter folks from seeking assistance. If they think we'll be mad or lash out, then they'll probably mask or hide the problem rather than seek our assistance.

If out of impatience we simply do it for them, then they become dependent on us.

If the same issue keeps happening despite our efforts, then keep trying something new; if they can't seem to get started or follow through, then help them:

• visualize the goal.
• see how by modeling using a "first me, then you" procedure.
• break down the process into individual parts
• visualize the action plan.
• verbalize potential obstacles before starting.
• verbalize the plan's details step by step.
• by building in class time for planning and clarifying questions.
• discussing what to do when they don't know what to do.
• engage in conversation about what went wrong last time and how to avoid this time.
• by showing them what you would do in same scenario.

The end goal with our students and staff is always confident independence; we don't want to respond to missing, incomplete, or poorly crafted work in a manner that will impede progress toward that overarching goal.

We want them to be able to do it consistently well without assistance, but we need them to be honest and timely when they require assistance.

Instead of reacting emotionally when planning and problem-solving skills lack we ought to think clearly, identify why the issue may be happening, and continue to utilize new strategies until they can move forward with a plan confidently and independently.

6 Tips For New School Leaders After 2 Months #savmp

It's been a busy two months! Packed yet awesome, my first 40 school days in a new school in a new position have been loaded with challenges that have humbled and/or empowered me and my ability to satisfy and juggle short term needs while moving forward with numerous long term visions and mandates.

The position is hard. Moving into full time school leadership is demanding; with the new job comes constant high stakes tests of my communication, organization, and time management skills. Scrutinizing my own practices constantly has become essential in developing necessary systems in place to manage my affairs well.

With that in mind I've identified 6 habits I've adopted that I have found works with the dual tasks of establishing oneself at a new school, and fulfilling everything that comes with school leadership.

1. Call People Back - whether it's good, bad, or ugly I get back to everyone the day they contact me. I figure that if I am slow to get back to people I risk sending the message that I'm disorganized, unresponsive, or worse, in over my head. Whether its colleagues, parents, or students I get back to the folks who ask to speak to me promptly; It makes for better professional relationships, and for stronger professional brand. People may not be satisfied with the message they receive, but they will appreciate that it was delivered in a timely manner.

2. Schedule Action Items - it's easy to forget to do things; even the simplest of tasks sometimes get lost during "one of those days." I schedule all my action items in the calendar on my phone / email; from walkthroughs to sending emails to checking the daily attendance I schedule it in my calendar. I'm juggling a lot of important initiatives, and nothing can fall through the cracks. It ensures that priorities and action items are addressed at the right times, and that I’m never in a position where I have to say I forgot or overlooked something that I needed to tackle.

3. Save Everything - it’s easy to lose things. If I walk from the office to the cafeteria and back, then it’s safe to say that I’m coming back with some kind of note or sticky or something the equivalent thereof from a colleague or student about something or someone that I need to address. I scan all of my hand written notes, stickies, rogue pieces of paper, etc. into digital folders as soon as I receive it. Just today (October 8,) I utilized a handwritten note from September 9 that I took down during a side conversation with a student as part of an investigation. Had I left that handwritten note on my desk in a pile I reckon it would have been lost or misplaced weeks ago; by scanning and filing digitally I’m better able to utilize the conversations and dealings I have on a daily basis to execute my job more effectively at a time convenient to me.

4. Organize Constantly - every day ends with personal organization. I take all my emails and put them in folders after I’ve addressed them; as mentioned above I scan all my handwritten notes into email and then shred the paper to keep my workstation clean and efficient. I schedule my action items for the next day. No matter how badly I want to head home or how drained I feel at the end of the day I take care of myself and organize for tomorrow. I may have 10 things going on, but at least I know where everything is!

5. Have a Running Priority List - “To Do” lists don’t cut it; I have a “Priorities” list constantly going as new ideas, action items, and needs arise. There have been things on that priorities list since late August, because something always comes up that takes priority; I've learned quickly to accept that the work will never be finished, and that the most strategic and situationally important items are the ones that need to be met on a given day. Figuring out how to identify priority items is an ongoing focus of mine;certainly one of those intangible skills people rarely talk about in leaders is correctly identifying the right time to address initiatives.

6. Go 1 on 1 - it's hard to be new in a big group and expect to lead; the best way to quickly establish yourself as a professional and a leader in the group is by purposefully engaging colleagues, students, and community members in one on one conversations. I try to schedule appointments, stop by classrooms, seek students out who were in a class walked through, or go to after school events; getting out of the group and into smaller settings was key in the first month or two. It's easier to make a big group impact when you've established your brand with individuals stakeholders.

Two months in and things are moving in the right direction, but we gotta just keep it going through the rest of the fall into winter. I need to keep identifying what works, what needs to be done, and when's the best timing for it; most importantly I need to make sure I remember it's more about the people I work with than any set of tasks assigned to me.

A Vision for School #savmp

Week 2 of the School Administrator Virtual Mentoring Program called for us to discuss what school ought to look like and be; we were to articulate a vision.

1. School ought to be the spark; everybody there everyday should be leaving excited to learn more, create more, or apply more to what they did that day.

2. School ought to be a place where anybody in the community can go to be more - more employable, more creative, more articulate, more equipped for citizenry and a happy, successful adulthood; everyone should walk out each day with a little “more” than they walked in with.

3. School ought to be a platform for public celebration of all things collaborative, innovative, and excellent in the community; schools ought to be a community-wide hub of connectivity and self-improvement.

4. School ought to be a space for the community’s young to demonstrate their skills, philosophies, and creations. Anybody looking for evidence of the incredible things the next generation is capable of should be able to walk into their community schools and see.

5. School ought to be a place where people are moved from can’t to can, from won’t to will, and from novice to intermediate to proficient to advanced to expert to master, etc.

6. School ought to be a springboard for curiosity and further practice or application. The effectiveness of the programs are seen when looking at what folks do with what’s being done. If it’s not being applied, then it’s not doing what it needs to do.

7. School ought to be a place filled to the brim with inspiration; there should be folks of all ages and positions available to model for anyone interested the right way to go about preparing oneself for career, citizenship, college, etc. It should be a place where things happen in the short-term for success and viability in the long-term.

8. School ought to be an open exchange of ideas, practices, knowledge, and perspective for the dual purpose of self improvement through reflection and collective improvement through sharing and conversing.

Why I Lead #SAVMP

I’m happy to be a part of the School Administrator Virtual Mentoring Program, and with my first post wanted to highlight an experience that best captures my “why” in regards to leadership.

Photo Courtesy of Chris Barker

The last meeting I led at my previous school was everything a gathering of professionals should be. What started as a collaborative writing of indicators for a school-wide rubric for Creativity & Innovation evolved into a long conversation and diagramming of what great teaching looks like and how we can best facilitate learning. All of us, ranging from novice teacher to school administrator, freely offered perspective, concerns, insights, and stories. We created support documents with strategies and observable elements to accompany the rubrics, and it felt effortless as we did it. We took advantage of the collective capacity of the group, and we surpassed our own expectations by embracing and having fun with the collaborative process. In speaking to the folks who were there after the fact, it was evident that we all walked away from that session better able to support the learning outcomes we wish to see. Is there anything more satisfying as a leader then to hear colleagues say they not only enjoyed the session but also felt empowered to be better afterwards?

That's why I choose to lead; it's the power and possibility that comes with bringing people together in a manner that will yield the best results. Programs and systems don't move people; the folks who others in the organization look to as leaders facilitate the moving. It's about creating organic opportunities for people to connect and get better as a result of those connections while having professional fun in the process. Nothing inspires people more than the actions and attitudes of other people, and bringing individuals for collective gain is my favorite part about of what I do, and it's the best example of why I lead.

From Bad to Better to Good to Great to Greater to Master

I just started reading “Never Underestimate Your Teachers” by Robyn Jackson, and through the first chapter I’ve made several notes that led to further reflection and thinking. The highlights of those highlights with my expanded thoughts are below. The central theme of the book thus far is that there are actions and mindsets any leader can adopt to help any teacher reach mastery.

1. “Why shouldn’t masterful teaching be the goal - the attainable goal - of every teacher in the profession?... Great instructional leadership means rejecting the idea of masterful teaching as a gift endowed to a select few.” - Page 3

If we as school leaders relegate great teaching to nature, then we unintentionally undermine our own position and duties; if we fancy ourselves as leaders dedicated to the concept of every student learning and making progress, then we must assume that every teacher has the capability of improving and reaching mastery with our supports. Just as it’s wrong for a math teacher to justify poor student performance by saying they just have a bunch of students who are bad at math, a school leader cannot justify poor teaching with the same logic.

2. “Our biggest leadership challenge if not that we don’t know what to do to increase student success; our biggest challenge is that we must get our teachers to do it.” - Page 5

Knowing what to do is not enough. Knowing how to communicate what you know is not enough. We need to know a lot, how to best communicate what we know depending on the audience and circumstances, and how to follow up on that communication in an infinite number of ways depending on how the initial communication is received.

 

 

 

3. “...help bad ones become good, good ones become great, and great ones become even greater.” -Page 6

I’ve been thinking about this quote for a couple of days now since I read it, and I’m thinking that it will become part of my personal mission statement. If I’m not helping people get better no matter where they are, then what am I doing? Why am I here?

4. “It is critical to provide teachers with differentiated leadership as it is to provide students with differentiated instruction.” - Page 19

Don’t just throw darts at the board and hope one hits; be intentional with what you’re doing. Know who you’re working with, and diagnose what’s needed before trying to remedy it. Know strengths and weaknesses in order to get the most return on whatever investment you’re going to make. One size fits all never lives up to its billing whether its baseball hats, leadership strategies, or learning of any kind.