Administrative Conference 2014

Robyn Jackson -- Giving Effective Feedback to Teachers

Need to spend the time to give support to teachers who need it. Some things need to come off the administrators' plates to have the time. Administrators need to have a mindset and priorities shift to find the time to give needed support.

Will is teacher motivation to do what is right for students, school, and profession. Skill is teacher ability to implement instruction, pedagogical and subject area knowledge.  You cannot solve a WILL problem with a SKILL solution, and you cannot solve a SKILL problem with a WILL solution. 

SKILL:  Novice (not effective or new) teachers need diagnostic feedback.  Helps teachers understand what isn't working and why it isn't working. Apprentice (minimally effective) teachers need prescriptive feedback. Helps teachers understand what to do to improve their practice. Give two options and the teacher chooses which one feels better to them.  Have a third option if the teacher doesn't like the other two. Practitioner (effective) teachers need descriptive feedback. Holds up a mirror so that teachers can diagnose their own practice and improve. Master (highly effective) teachers need micro-feedback. Helps teachers become aware of nuances and tweaks that can improve their practice and sustain mastery. They have a hard time articulating why they are good.

WILL:  Coerced teachers have to be forced to do something. Compliant teachers do what they are asked to do.  Cooperative teachers offer to help. Committed teachers will continue to do something even if the focus changes. A cynical teacher is a high will, committed teacher who has been disappointed. Teachers can be in different places depending on the topic or situation.

WILL drivers: Autonomy is having control over things that matter to them. "What, when, where?" Mastery is becoming good at things that matter to them. "How?" Purpose is being involved in things that matter to them and their work is meaningful. "Why?" Belonging is being important to those who matter to them. "Who?"

How to get this done:  eliminate time wasters, automate time consumers, delegate empowerment failures.

Your office is not your home. Don't make it so comfortable that you want to stay there. You should be out in the school.  Give files to your secretary. Have your secretary handle your schedule, so you can block out time to go out into classrooms. Train staff to make appointments to see you.

Make providing feedback to teachers a priority. Do paperwork at the back of the classroom. Move your office. Set office days and coaching days. Divide staff amid leadership team.

Feel more confident in your own leadership, and feel more effective and efficient. Strengthen your leadership style.  Feel more connected to staff. Give yourself time to stare out the window and reflect.

Teaching and Leading

I received this article from UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh and wanted to share it.

Five Beliefs That Hold Teachers Back From Leading

By Anthony S. Colucci

Do you believe that you can have a positive impact on education beyond the walls of your classroom? If not, ask yourself why, then give a good hard look at your answers. I’ve seen teacher leaders do great things for our profession—but I’ve also observed false beliefs prevent teachers from blossoming into teacher leaders. Do any of these seem familiar to you?

1) “It’s not my job to get involved in politics.”

There is little doubt that many of the daily frustrations teachers and students encounter are the results of misguided policy. Some of these policies exist because teachers did not make themselves heard prior to their passage. When teachers are inactive politically, we abdicate our influence, usually putting the decisions in the hands of those less informed than we are. Most of us would agree that it’s important to teach students how to become responsible citizens, who keep current with the news, have conversations with their representatives, and vote. How can we claim to instill civic virtue when we do not model it ourselves?

Last year, my students watched me fight for our school by organizing stakeholders and by speaking at school board meetings and rallies. And guess what I realized? “Walking the walk” makes a much greater impact on my students than just telling them what they should do when they are older. I’d go so far as to say that it is part of our job as teachers to be active citizens.

2) “I’m not the best public speaker (or writer or fill-in-the-blank).”

Advocating for our profession means helping policymakers and community members understand what we do and how we think our schools can be improved. But many teachers start out with a deficit mindset. They say, “I can’t do that,” because they don’t have the confidence or skill to do it perfectly.

But you don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning author to write a blog post or letter to the editor. When it comes to speaking, flawless articulation is not required. Sure, there are tricks we can pick up to improve our skills over time, but knowledge and passion are the keys to powerful communication. Perfectionism will stop teachers dead in our tracks—and, paradoxically, keep us from getting any better.

My advice to teachers who want to lead is to start small. With practice, you’ll become more comfortable and ready to move on to bigger arenas.

Start with an issue that taps into your knowledge and passion as an educator. Write an editorial for your local paper, speak at a PTA meeting, or start a Facebook page dedicated to the issue. You might be surprised by the impact of your seemingly small action. Recently, I was shocked to see that a short column I wrote for my local newspaper garnered national attention.

For teacher leaders, passion must trump perfection!

3) “My administrator doesn’t want me to lead.”

Yes, some administrators don’t support teacher leadership. But there are many administrators out there who feel overwhelmed and appreciate teacher leaders’ fresh perspectives.

And there’s more common ground than we might think. Many administrators do not like unfair evaluation measures or beside-the-point standardized tests any more than we do. In fact, issues that give us headaches often give administrators migraines!

Depending on where we live and what protections our unions afford, we often have less reason to fear repercussions for speaking up than administrators do if they speak up.

For many administrators, it’s not that they don’t want teachers to lead. It’s that they don’t want to be blindsided or put in compromising positions. I never ask an administrator’s permission to write or speak. However, I ask about including information that may put him or her in a difficult situation.

4) “But I’m just a teacher.”

Some teachers don’t want to take on leadership roles because they feel like the bull's-eye on a dartboard. Consider all those memes you’ve seen or posted on Facebook defending what we do.

We shouldn’t let these perceptions prevent us from leading. In reality, teacher-bashing is not a new American sport but it is evidence of the concentrated efforts of a few powerful groups.

The 45th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll noted that more than 70 percent of Americans have trust and confidence in the men and women who teach in public schools. (That’s the highest level of trust since they started asking the question!)

Bottom line: “The public” is not out to get us. The public includes our neighbors and cousins, our postal carriers and our dentists. They are our former students and the parents of our current students. They have every reason to back us up. (And even if they haven’t asked, they’re curious what we think.)

5) “My students will suffer if I’m not in my classroom.”

Leading as a teacher can mean missing some face-to-face time with our students. Meetings with district and partner organizations may not be able to convene outside the regular business day. The truth is, our school schedules are outdated and inflexible—they don’t allow as much opportunity to lead as they should.

That said, when we do miss class, do our students suffer? Many would attest that just the opposite happens—our students benefit from our absence. For example, I missed a few days of school last year learning how to be a peer coach and then peer-coaching teachers. Carefully analyzing my district’s teacher-evaluation rubric led to me to polish some of my own practices—and observing my peers gave me some great ideas that I then took back to my students and classroom.

(It helps to find a great substitute. Last year, my substitute was a retired teacher who taught lessons effectively and with his own unique twist. The kids loved him—and benefited from the change in routine.)

Teaching is a demanding profession. It is easy for us to let ourselves off the hook. We can allow false beliefs to become excuses that let us close our classroom doors. These beliefs become reasons not to raise our hands or voices. And then, having excused ourselves from involvement, we groan at the consequences of top-down decision making. Help elevate our profession by rejecting these fallacies. Jump in and lead!

Anthony S. Colucci, a National Board-certified teacher, coordinates and teaches in the gifted-student program at three elementary schools in central Florida. He is the author of Copilots, Duties & Piña Coladas: How to Be a Great Teacher, as well as a host of articles for Education Week Teacher. A member of the CTQ Collaboratory, he has earned numerous awards for his innovative and creative lessons.

Strategic Conversations

Notes from the second day of the administrative conference.  This is a long post, but this is what principals were trained in.  I found it insightful into my own interactions as JEA President and as a Sixth Grade Teacher working within a PLC.

 

Guest speaker Dr. Robyn Johnson – mindstepsinc.com - @Robyn_mindsteps

Building Mastery

Challenges of leading

·         How do I give effective feedback that actually changes practice?

·         How do I effectively follow up with ineffective employees?

·         What do I do with an employee who won’t admit that s/he is ineffective?

·         What do I do about a person I really don’t believe can get better?

She believes any teacher can become a master teacher with the right support and practice.

She talked about her experience evaluating teachers and how they came to fear her, they would give a “performance” rather than show genuine teaching, and they weren’t improving based on feedback.

Will and Skill

·         Effectiveness is a result of both skill and their will

·         Will: a teacher’s motivation to do what is best for students, the school community, and the profession.

·         Skill:  a teacher’s capacity and ability to implement instruction effectively.  This includes both pedagogical and subject area knowledge.

Four Types of Teachers

·         Low will/low skill:  retired on job, collecting paycheck for little work, kids like these teachers for little work and low expectations

·         High will/low skill:  often newer teachers, love kids, enthusiastic, kids and parents like these teachers because they love kids, can become low will/low skill if not lead appropriately, if you build their skill they can become a high will/high skill

·         High will/high skill:  motivated, know what they’re doing, smart, love kids, good with kids, innovators, they transform students and/or school, most neglected as far as feedback goes, they want feedback especially positive feedback, growth is up to them, typically complain about working conditions, if not supported they become low will/high skill

·         Low will/high skill:  good teacher, knows how to pass evaluation, start mutiny, have union on speed dial, blames others, ones who refuse to do what they are asked, cannot evaluate them out, push back for sake of pushing back, were likely a high will/high skill at one point, if don’t support their skills will erode and they become low will/low skill

Teachers move within the types of teachers.  Change of assignment, change of administrator, life events, or different group of students, can cause teachers to move among the types throughout a day, a school year, or career.  This is not about good and bad teachers.  Helps principals know how to approach different types of teachers and what type of help to give them.

We believe in every child, every day, but something changes when we think about adults.  How can we believe in every child but not in every teacher?

What do you do if have low will/low skill teacher who gets better, but their reputation in the community is still low?  Constantly talk about how every teacher is moving toward mastery.  Show parents that every teacher is improving and growing.  Highlight changes that teachers have made in newsletter or on website. 

Systemic approach to excellence in the classroom so there isn’t a different expectation at another school. 

You cannot solve a WILL problem with a SKILL solution.  You cannot solve a SKILL problem with a WILL solution.                                 

JPAS Domains chart – Will/Skill

Domain	Will – Does the teacher . . .	Skill – Can the teacher . . .
Managing the classroom	Treat every student fairly? Create a positive classroom culture?	Effectively manage student behavior? Organize space for learning?
Delivering instruction	Demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness? Communicate with students?	Use effective questioning techniques? Provide engaging instruction?
Interacting with students	Encourage reluctant students? Acknowledge learning efforts?	Check for understanding? Provide effective feedback?
Planning	Submit lesson plans? Plan for all students’ needs? Demonstrate high expectations?	Design effective assessments? Demonstrate an understanding of the curriculum?
Professional responsibilities	Reflect on teaching? Contribute to a PLC?	Maintain accurate records? Behave in a professional manner?

 

Four levels of skill

·         Novice

·         Apprentice

·         Practitioner

·         Master

Building skill

·         Differentiated practice

Skill level	Characteristics	Needs
Novice	Has minimal exposure/experience/expertise.	Needs to acquire a concrete understanding of what it takes to be a good teacher.
Apprentice	Is building expertise but still needs supervision.  Can perform some more routine tasks on their own.	Needs to internalize the standards and principles in order to become independent problem solvers and develop their own “teacher sense”.
Practitioner	Makes accurate and reliable judgments.  Teaching practice shows both skill and economy.  Can teach others.	Needs help integrating skills into a seamless performance and develop adaptive expertise.
Master	Can deal with unusual and tough cases.  Judgments set best practice, standards, regulations, or ideal.  Practice is seamless.	Needs help remaining mindful in their practice.

·         Deliberate practice

o   Evaluation

o   Elaboration

o   Observation

o   Practice

o   Feedback

o   Coaching

o   Collaboration

o   Reflection

·         Developmental practice

o   Must pass through skill levels gradually by changing approach as move through levels.

o   Not going to be an expert immediately.

o   Novice – acquire

o   Apprentice – apply

o   Practitioner – assimilate

o   Master – adapt

§  Same rigor framework used for students

Four Will Drivers

·         Autonomy: I have some control over the things that matter to me.

·         Mastery:  I can get good at the things that matter to me.

·         Purpose:  I am involved in something that matters.

·         Belonging:  I am important to people who matter.

Each person has a different key will driver.  The other three can be in place, but if that key will driver is not met, the others won’t matter.  Need to know your own key will driver, because it impacts your relationship with others. 

Improving school wide – implementing changes

·         Explore – why, skills development (4-6 weeks)

·         Expect – checking to see if doing (3-4 weeks)

·         Evaluate – see at high quality based on feedback (6-8 weeks)

·         Extend – individualizing (ongoing)

Example:  Carolina High School

·         Administrative Training – needed to align feedback

·         Initial rigor PD for all staff

·         Differentiated PD based on four levels of teacher skill

·         Ongoing observations and discussions

·         Improved instructional quality

·         Common core implementation with fidelity

·         Improved test scores

Example:  Marion County, Florida

·         Administrator training on will and skill

·         Administrator training on strategic conversations

·         Increased fidelity among administrators with the observation tool

·         Increase quality in teacher feedback and significant teacher growth

Example:  Connecticut

·         Training on strategic conversations

·         Increased interaction and accountability

·         Increased follow up with struggling teachers

·         Increased administrator comfort with difficult conversations

Strategic Conversations for Instructional Leaders

Teachers tell you how they need to be led based on complaints, comments, or behavior.  These show their will diver. 

A series of targeted, individualized interactions with teachers that are designed to help them significantly improve their instruction.  Take into account their skill and their will and will driver.  Not one-sided.  Jointly working to solve a problem.

Why strategic conversations?

·         Engage teachers as partners

·         Create joint ownership over the problem and solution

o   Help teacher fix his/her own problem

·         Tap into shared knowledge and expertise

·         Gain cooperation rather than compliance

Match the conversation to each teacher's needs

Reflective conversation: help teachers make connections between their attitudes and approach and student achievement.

·         Low will/low skill: must reflect on something specific and concrete, may take several days, not a good starting place for these types of teachers High will/low skill: struggle with connection because they don't know enough, they want to answer the question but may not be able to make the connection High will/high skill: love these types of conversations Low will/high skill: help you (questioner) reflect, bounce ideas off this type of person and ask for their opinion, establish trust and start building on the topic, you need to be vulnerable first

Dr. Jackson referenced Brene Brown's The Power of Vulnerability video on YouTube and said that leaders must be vulnerable first.

Need to be reflective ongoing, not just after the evaluation.

Facilitating conversations: help teachers make commitments to improve their instructional practice.

·         Low will: this is place to start, may have to revisit multiple times to gain commitment, share data and give feedback and decide on commitment

Coaching conversations: help teacher make corrections to their teaching behaviors to improve student achievement Low will: commit to fixing before suggesting corrections High will/low skill: welcome this type of conversation, love coaching, be careful because they can become dependent on coaching High will/high skill: they will often come to you to ask for coaching, if not they will try to figure it out on their own

·         When coaching, give people two options to fix the problem then let the teacher choose. Can determine a viable third option.

Directive conversations: help teachers make changes in their teaching behavior because it puts students in immediate danger or because they have not responded to other supports.

·         Too often default to this type of conversation, but really don't need to use this very often.

·         Usually document this kind of conversation.

·         High will/high skill: if no kids in immediate danger use a facilitative conversation, directive will kill motivation Should follow up within two days with a reflective conversation so the teacher can talk about the direction given.  Trying to process at the time just makes the situation worse.

Follow up

·         plan a series of interactions rather than just one

·         stay the course even when things become uncomfortable, frustrating, or seem to be going nowhere.  Don't stop too soon.

This is not going to be easy. You need to decide if you are going to continue doing what you have done in the past, or are you going to commit to looking at individuals will and skill and having appropriate conversations with them.

Some schools take 2-3 years to make changes. Dramatic change is right around the corner, and we often stop too soon.

Administrative Conference Notes

Strategic conversations is the topic because every child deserves a master teacher, every teacher deserves a master principal, every principal deserves a master administrator at the district level.

Dr. Johnson reiterated the "every child, every day" mission.  Three areas of focus 2012: PLCs, core implementation, data. CRT data is trending upward for all tested subjects and all tested grades.

2013-14 challenges

• Growing student population:  We need to get behind a bond.  Boundary changes are likely.
• New teacher and administrator evaluation systems:  30 schools piloting this year.  This means conferencing and talking with teachers often.
• Implementing new core:  There will be new SAGE Computer Adaptive Test.  The scores will likely decline, because it is more rigorous thinking and working.  This is a shift for teachers.

Challenges are vehicles to our happiness and success as we meet them.

Research on being successful from "The Value of Happiness" by Shawn Achor discusses the relationship between success and happiness. 90% of happiness depends on how our mind processes our surroundings.  Happiness is the joy you feel striving toward your potential.  Greatest predictors of success include establishing strong social connections and demonstrating optimism.

 

You will never have worked harder than this year.

 

Mark Bouchard, Chairman of Prosperity 2020, said the challenge is failure to recognize the importance of education. Don't make tough decisions to show it is important. Education is most important thing we as a society do. In 1960s, mom was at home and helping kids value and achieve at education. Today, a good percentage of homes in district are single parent homes. English may not be language at home. Concerned about 18% of Jordan District students who don't graduate from high school, because they become a liability for the state when don't graduate. Poverty and low income areas have the common thread of no education. The idea that education is just responsibility of teachers or that it can be legislated is old thinking. Education is a village and community responsibility. Begins by giving educators the things we need. Ask educators what they need to do their jobs. Empower employees to lead themselves by being at their best. Prosperity 2020 is a business led organization with most local chambers of commerce engaged in dialogue with Governor Herbert and the legislature asking what they are doing for education. The legislature's responsibility is to "provide for" education, which means to fund it. It is the state school board's responsibility to decide "how" education happens.  

In a poll of teachers on what they want, money does not come up in the top three items. Teacher development, class size, greater participation from community with compensation as fourth. The state could pay more if it were willing to do so. Educators are caring and giving people who want to help others develop and take joy in the success of others. This is not corporate America.

With governors commission on education, interviewed 36 high school seniors and asked about public education experiences. They know who good and bad teachers are.  They learn differently than we did. Devices do everything. None of them want to be teachers.

Education needs to be asking, "How an I going to replenish my workforce?" Technology cannot replace a teacher. In his company, each person gets new technology (laptop/iPad/software updates) every four years. If did that in public education, would cost $72 million yearly. This does not include devices for students. This means the legislature would have to provide $175 million new money each year just to maintain the status quo on salary and benefits and keep up with technology changes. A $175 million increase has only been done once and is not likely to happen yearly. It is not feasible to think technology will replace teachers.

Education task force in legislature is interviewing lots of people about what education should be doing. People who need to be running education are educators. Any other model simply won't work. We cannot take non-experts to direct how we do our work. Prosperity 2020's counsel to Governor Herbert is that if educators don't believe you, they won't do the work. Basics are simple. Allow subject matter experts to lead.

 

June LeMaster, Director of HR, reviewed administrative appointments. Expect 350 new teachers this year. Still have 28 unfilled positions. Reviewed negotiations, of which there was none for JEA and administrators, because "JEA honored the two-year agreement and did not enter into the negotiations process." Classified had changes to some policies. Department Advisory Council, like SAC, is first place to resolve issues. Then move to classified DAC if unresolved. Changes to hours of work that clarifies when an employee may be called back in after ending their shift. Info on website under associations.

 

Corey Fairholm, Region VI-Jordan PTA President, with Kayleen Whitelock serving as associate director due to number of PTA members. Advocate, involve, and develop is mission. Purposes to promote child welfare, raise home life standards, laws to protect children, closer relationship between home and school, and develop united effort for public education.  Local, council, region, state, national with 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Gave benefits of being PTA rather than PTO.

PTA does not exist to raise money, but raises money to exist. Every child, one voice. Jordan has a strong PTA in Utah.

 

 

Ended by showing this video.  Change is good. You go first.