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C.I.C.: What is the Best Advice for Teaching, or Your Chosen Profession, You Have Ever Received?

When I started writing back in February, it was to document some of my experiences during the pandemic times as an educator living and working in China.  As I have continued to write, I find myself drawn to helping others.  It is one of the areas that is a gift and strength for me.  I enjoy helping others and seek out others who are doing the same.

During this time, I have tried to share thoughts about education that have helped me over my career in the hopes that my experience would help others.  While my experience may not help everyone, there are those who have responded stating that it has helped them.  That not only makes me happy, it is a privilege to share what I have learned with others.

Which brings me to today.  One of the people I have started following on Linkedin is Karl Milsom.  Karl is an educator who is coaching other educators to break free of the mold of typical education.  He is pushing educators to truly think outside the box and radically change their teaching style to meet the needs of students today and in the future.  He is also building the #RebelTeachers network, a group of like minded educators who are striving to make education a better place and enact real change, if only at the classroom level know that it has positive impacts long-term.

Today, he posted a short post titled #RebelTip today.  Just a few moments ago actually.  Reading it, the idea is simple and good advice.  His post was simply, “never record the first grade”.  Simple, easy to follow advice for educators who want to provide the best opportunity for the students to succeed.  As I thought about this, I remember some amazing advice, like this, from wise educators from my past.

One of the pieces of advice that sticks with me was in a conversation with a principal and an experienced teacher in my first full time job.  Bob, my principal, and Sam, a classroom teacher, were talking with me about classroom management.  Bob simply asked Sam to give me some advice about how to best manage students in the classroom.  Sam simply said, “Shoot the first child that gets out of line, leave them lying on the floor all day, and the rest of the year will be easy.”

My jaw hit the floor and I didn’t know whether to laugh or gasp in horror.  I had just met Sam recently and barely spoke with him before this.  Bob, being a sage leader simply said, “Uh, Sam, I don’t think that is the best option for our school.  Maybe some other advice.”  We chuckled and it was at that point that Sam started to talk about Michael Grinder’s work on classroom management through ENVoY and Bob Gardner’s Cognitive Coaching.  This very off hand conversation set me on a path to continue to learn about non-verbal classroom management and teach others about it in whatever way I can.

Another piece of advice that has stuck with me came from a physical restraint training course I took as an educator to safely manage students who were overtly aggressive and dangerous.  The course focused on two areas of training, the first being de-escalation strategies and the second being physical restraint.  The educational leader who taught us the de-escalation strategies emphasized the importance of physical restraint as a last resort.  The first time she taught us she made a statement, “You always have to look beneath the behavior for the trigger.  What happened right before the behavior you had to deal with happened?  That is the issue.”  When I deal with students who are struggling with issues, I ask, what happened before this?  What is causing this behavior?  If I can identify that behavior, it is likely to reduce the behavior that is causing the issues.

Of course, I have written about my father and his lessons from the past.  I will always remember his simply advice of, “stick to the basics.  Do a few things better than anyone else.”  That advice has been repeated to many people I work with when they ask for advice.  We make life too difficult whether we are living, teaching, coaching, or trying to become great.  If we do what we can do well, better than anyone else, we will excel in the field.

What I am curious about now is, what advice do you remember and consider the best advice you ever got?  This is focused on educators, but I do wonder what others might say as well.

Please feel free to respond in the comments and provide you insights and wisdom so that we might all learn from it.

C.I.C.:  What is the Best Teaching Advice You Have Ever Received?

When I started writing back in February, it was to document some of my experiences during the pandemic times as an educator living and working in China.  As I have continued to write, I find myself drawn to helping others.  It is one of the areas that is a gift and strength for me.  I enjoy helping others and seek out others who are doing the same.

During this time, I have tried to share thoughts about education that have helped me over my career in the hopes that my experience would help others.  While my experience may not help everyone, there are those who have responded stating that it has helped them.  That not only makes me happy, it is a privilege to share what I have learned with others.

Which brings me to today.  One of the people I have started following on Linkedin is Karl Milsom.  Karl is an educator who is coaching other educators to break free of the mold of typical education.  He is pushing educators to truly think outside the box and radically change their teaching style to meet the needs of students today and in the future.  He is also building the #RebelTeachers network, a group of like minded educators who are striving to make education a better place and enact real change, if only at the classroom level know that it has positive impacts long-term.

Today, he posted a short post titled #RebelTip today.  Just a few moments ago actually.  Reading it, the idea is simple and good advice.  His post was simply, “never record the first grade”.  Simple, easy to follow advice for educators who want to provide the best opportunity for the students to succeed.  As I thought about this, I remember some amazing advice, like this, from wise educators from my past.

One of the pieces of advice that sticks with me was in a conversation with a principal and an experienced teacher in my first full time job.  Bob, my principal, and Sam, a classroom teacher, were talking with me about classroom management.  Bob simply asked Sam to give me some advice about how to best manage students in the classroom.  Sam simply said, “Shoot the first child that gets out of line, leave them lying on the floor all day, and the rest of the year will be easy.”

My jaw hit the floor and I didn’t know whether to laugh or gasp in horror.  I had just met Sam recently and barely spoke with him before this.  Bob, being a sage leader simply said, “Uh, Sam, I don’t think that is the best option for our school.  Maybe some other advice.”  We chuckled and it was at that point that Sam started to talk about Michael Grinder’s work on classroom management through ENVoY and Bob Gardner’s Cognitive Coaching.  This very off hand conversation set me on a path to continue to learn about non-verbal classroom management and teach others about it in whatever way I can.

Another piece of advice that has stuck with me came from a physical restraint training course I took as an educator to safely manage students who were overtly aggressive and dangerous.  The course focused on two areas of training, the first being de-escalation strategies and the second being physical restraint.  The educational leader who taught us the de-escalation strategies emphasized the importance of physical restraint as a last resort.  The first time she taught us she made a statement, “You always have to look beneath the behavior for the trigger.  What happened right before the behavior you had to deal with happened?  That is the issue.”  When I deal with students who are struggling with issues, I ask, what happened before this?  What is causing this behavior?  If I can identify that behavior, it is likely to reduce the behavior that is causing the issues.

Of course, I have written about my father and his lessons from the past.  I will always remember his simply advice of, “stick to the basics.  Do a few things better than anyone else.”  That advice has been repeated to many people I work with when they ask for advice.  We make life too difficult whether we are living, teaching, coaching, or trying to become great.  If we do what we can do well, better than anyone else, we will excel in the field.

What I am curious about now is, what advice do you remember and consider the best advice you ever got?  This is focused on educators, but I do wonder what others might say as well.

Please feel free to respond in the comments and provide you insights and wisdom so that we might all learn from it.

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Tell Applicants Why You Are Not Considering Them

I am in the process of applying for a new position in administration at an international school.  Which one? Well, that is the joy of applying for a new job isn’t it.  You apply at several that you hope you are a good fit for and, following the interview process, find the perfect fit for a lifetime, or at least for the next few years.  If I am honest, I detest interviewing and the whole process.

Today, I received a response to one of my applications.  It was the standard, “thank you for applying but we won’t be interviewing you for this position” responses that schools with many applicants send out.  Honestly, I was surprised to get that much of a response.  Some schools do not even bother to respond, and one simply learns that the position has been filled without any other reason.

In fairness to large schools, they get a fair number of applicants for positions.  The person or people making the decisions must decide which people to interview from a pool of qualified candidates.  The process is not simple if done well.  If not done well, the reasoning is not sound.

I have been involved in many discussions about hiring practices over the years.  The ways in which schools manage the candidates is varied and sometimes, over-simplistic.  I recall one discussion about a hiring process at a university for a dean position where the first level of evaluation was simple did the person have a master’s degree or not?  That process eliminated over half the candidates straight away as the minimum requirement was a masters’ degree.  I recall another process where there were over 400 hundred candidates for a single teaching position.  The first level of evaluation was, does the teacher have any experience?  The school eliminated everyone with less than four years’ experience before hitting a manageable number of candidates to evaluate.  These are real scenarios if you have a large candidate pool.

If that is the case, it would be ideal to respond to the pool with a notice stating that there is a candidate pool and an evaluation process which would eliminate candidates.  Some schools do state up front that, if you do not hear from them within a period of time, to consider yourself not a candidate.  Yes, it is a tough message but a realistic one for teachers or future administrators.  It is a necessary message of fairness to candidates.

I did not like getting the response today for this position I applied for.  Frankly, I didn’t agree with it as I felt that I had the qualifications that they expected.  It was a bit of a let down as well to not be considered for the position.  These are all normal feelings and experiences in this process.

As administrators, sharing the message of why one is not being considered, where possible, is a powerful statement to send.  I have been rejected from positions for many reasons, but rarely been told why.  Those who did tell me the reasons, I respected that much more and have recommended people to consider working with those schools.  I personally improved from those conversations or responses and strived to make the changes necessary to improve for the next interview process.  Sometimes the answer was simply that another person was a better fit. 

As we are entering a stressful year and hiring process for many people, we need to remember to be kind and responsive as we are able.  Right now, educators are stressed about the world conditions and the additional stress of hiring during this time.  The more we can ease people’s minds the better.

There is a reason I am not upset at the school that sent me the message today.  Even though I thought I had the qualifications for the position, the response clarified why I was not a candidate.  I did not have the exact experience in the position that they wanted.  The school was looking for a candidate with experience at the exact level in the exact role and at least three years of it.  Fair enough.  I don’t have that.  But, now I know and I move on with a clear reason why I am not a candidate.

What is it that you are doing right now to support educators and future administrators in the hiring process?  How will your school’s hiring process support people like me when we do not fit the mold for your school?  How will you let me know the reason that I am not a candidate?  I encourage you to consider your rejection process in this season as you look for the next educators at your school.

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Welcome The Students at the Door

The start of the new school year is upon us.  For some, the new year will start online, again, and instruction will take place synchronously or asynchronously.  Others will have students lining up at their doorway ready to enter the classroom the teacher has set up.  Some will be wearing masks, others may not.  All will have some concern about staying healthy.

How do you prepare for this return to your classroom when you yourself will have concerns about a healthy, safe classroom?

Once you have laid out the physical space of your classroom, the next consideration is movement within the space.  How will students move within your classroom space daily?  What will they need to do to get from the door to their desk?  How will physical movement within the classroom be managed on a normal day?  What if there is an emergency in the room or at school?

As an educator, we have varying levels of comfort within our classroom environment.  Some like quiet and minimal movement while others are completely comfortable with noise and a lot of movement.  You need to determine what you are comfortable with within the confines of your own teaching space.  In a typical year, this is critical information for you to recognize as a teacher so one knows what the classroom normal is.  This year, that choice will be greatly dictated by others.

So, what are we to consider when looking at the movement of students within our classroom space?  Let’s break this down into basic areas of activities within the classroom.

Entering the Class

Mrs. Slaughter, yes that was her actual name, would meet her 9th grade students at the door every day almost without fail.  She would greet us by name and welcome us in.  Sometimes, she would have a devilish grin on her face that foreshadowed what was to come in the class that day.  We knew that once we walked in that door, we were in her room and space and there was a certain set of expectations she had.  Two doors over, Mrs. Rich would also meet us at the door, though she had a vastly different set of expectations.  Both great teachers with quite different styles of teaching once a student entered the classroom.

I enjoy meeting students at the door to my classroom like my former teachers did.  I can greet them by name and get a sense of how they are doing on that day.  It is my first contact with my students.  It creates a sense of expectation for the space that I meet them at the door before they enter, and I can adjust as needed before they enter the space.

Some teachers use this as a time to instruct students on expectations.  Entrance directions are given, and tasks are assigned.  Groups can be created using any number of strategies.  As you re-enter school under new conditions for spacing, seating, and in the classroom, this is also a good time to remind students of new expectations before entering the space.

I would strongly encourage that you create a video of what the class looks like and share it with your students before they enter the room.  Show them what the seats will look like, where bags will be placed, where the teaching space is, and any procedures that will be important day to day.  Prepare your students for the space in advance so that they are ready for the changes.  With new safety requirements in the classroom, we need to recognize that our instruction has to begin before the students enter the room.

Consider what your students need to know in advance of walking in your space.

  • How do they find their seats?
  • Where do they put their bags?
  • Where do they turn in homework?
  • Where do they look for teaching?
  • Can they move about the room?
  • How do they fill water bottles?
  • What if they need to use the toilet?
  • How do they ask questions?

All of these questions and more will be important from the outset of your class.  The educator who can share as much of this information in advance of entering the space will have an easier time of managing students within the space.  Especially if students are limited in their ability to move about the room as they might normally do.

I would recommend that you stand at your door as if you were a student looking at your classroom for the first time.  Walk through what you expect students to do when they enter the class.  Consider how a single student feels then, expand that number to your class size all moving at the same time.  Work your strategies and plans for that group size based on the health and safety expectations as well as your teaching expectations in this new environment.  With this in mind, consider what the priorities for space and movement are and plan to teach them everything they need to know, before they enter the space.

How do you meet and greet your students when they enter the classroom?  What does it look like in schools with COVID protocols in place?  How can you affect the greatest positive impact on students entering your room simply by your actions at the door? 

I look forward to hearing how you positively impact students daily simply by your actions.  Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section.

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Differentiated + Distance Learning during COVID-19

DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING ALLOWS STUDENTS TO WORK AT THEIR OWN PACE TO SUIT THEIR NEEDS WHILE MAKING PROGRESS AGAINST COMMON GOALS. 

Differentiation is not easy. In fact, it may be the most difficult skill in the teaching business.

And now with nearly all schools in the world dealing with a global pandemic, having moved to virtual learning due to COVID-19, differentiation requires a whole new set of skills.

For a great video on Differentiation + Distance Learning + COVID-19, from the pre-eminent scholar on differentiation: Carol Ann Tomlinson, watch the video below:

Tomlinson recommends that in these new and difficult COVID-19 times teachers should:

  • Lead from their hearts and not from their brains (“Until Maslow’s needs are met, Bloom gets cut off at the pass”).
  • Move away from the micro (getting through content) and towards the macro (big, important ideas, concepts, skills and themes)
  • Provide as much choice as possible to students within the big picture ideas you have chosen.
  • Ask students what they would like to learn in times like this.
  • Meet with kids in clusters using technology centered around interests, skill sets and motivational levels.
  • Provide opportunities for collaboration.
  • Search for what makes teaching meaningful to you and rejuvenate these convictions.

Differentiated learning is important for all students, but perhaps most important for students with Special Needs.

Here is a link to an article entitled 10 Tips for Supporting Students with Special Needs in Remote Learning: 

1. Know you students’ device’s accessibility features (screen magnifier, screen reader, Braille support, Select-to-Speak etc.

2. Know the accessibility features in the platforms and apps that your students use. (Twitter Immersive Reader, Google Docs Speech to Text etc.)

3. Identify reading supports that are available to your students (Helper Bird, Google Read and Write from Text Help etc.)

4. Make Closed Captioning Available (Google Slides, YouTube, Screencastify etc.)

5. Differentiated Group work (Schoology, Microsoft Teams etc.)

6. Provide multiple ways for students to respond and demonstrate comprehension (Choice Boards, Padlet, FlipGrid, Screencasting etc.)

7. Connect with your colleagues who have expertise in supporting these learners

8. Communicate with their parents (office hours for parents with Calendly, Flipgrid etc.)

9. Prioritize the social emotional needs of your students

10. Maintain the connections with your students

These are all good recommendations. Again, differentiation is an extremely different skill and without face-to-face in-person interactions between teacher and student, the skill can be even more difficult, particularly for veteran teachers that have come to rely on a less virtual teaching and learning environment.

As Michael Jordan once said: “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Teachers are heroes just like MJ and will figure out how to differentiate for all learners, including Special Needs students in a virtual setting during a global pandemic.

References 

Miller, Jake. 10 Tips for Supporting Students with Special Needs in Remote learning. Retrieved from https://jakemiller.net/supporting-special-needs-students-in-remotelearning/.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. Distance Learning with Carol Ann Tomlinson. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdWLErtB2x8&feature=youtu.be

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Metacognition: Epistemology in Learning: TOK

METACOGNITION IS ‘THINKING ABOUT THINKING’.

It is the ability step out of one’s own mind and examine how we learn.

Metacognition’s mantra is perhaps most succinctly stated by the Modern Philosopher Descartes almost 500 years ago in the year of 1637:

Cogito Ergo Sum: I think therefore I am.

In education we could add one word to Descartes’ seminal statement:

Cogito Ergo Sum Discite: I think therefore I learn

This might seem redundant, of course thinking leads to learning we might say to ourselves.

Yet, in many traditional/didactic/teacher-centered educational settings where pedagogy is rote and based on memorization, thinking is not necessarily considered essential to learning.

One G11/G12 subject that relies heavily on epistemology is an integral piece of the IB (International Baccalaureate) program: TOK (Theory of Knowledge).

Here is a link to an article by IBO entitled: What is TOK?

TOK encourages students to reflect on the nature of knowledge. For many students this course is the first time they may consider such existential questions as: ‘How do I know if I exist?’, ‘How do we prove God exists?’.

TOK strives to interconnect all disciplines via AOKs (Areas of Knowledge) and WOKs (Ways of Knowing) leading to a transfer of skills via student-centered interdisciplinary approach to learning.

Here is a link to a video that further explains TOK:

As stated in the video above: ‘With so many bogus claims and fake news, TOK might be the most important course”

Detractors to TOK might ask:

  • How does this relate to my career path in what I consider to be a non-subjective discipline (Math, Engineering etc.).?

A potential answer could be that no knowledge is objective or factual or a priori, not even mathematical ‘truths’ as they are human constructs which are intrinsically limited to human experience.

This is an example of a question that would lead to a heated, student-led debate in a well- run TOK classroom.

A good resource for managing asynchronous virtual debates in these COVID-19 times where most TOK classes are not meeting in person is: Kialo.

Marketable outcomes for learners in effective TOK classrooms are an increase in critical thinking, adaptability, empathy + creativity: soft skills that are in high demand in today’s job market.

References:

What is TOK? Retrieved from: https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/theory-of-knowledge/what-is-tok/

What is TOK? Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jql5VAZrBs

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Social Emotional Learning: Core Competency: Self-Management

As an Assistant Principal at a school with over 500 sixth-twelfth graders, every day is different and brings new and exciting challenges. Part of my role is the point person for disciplinary matters. Often students are referred to me by teachers when a student has an outburst that may not be appropriate or manageable in the classroom setting. Very often these outbursts are connected to emotions. The Social Emotional Learning core competency of self-management teaches students how to appropriately handle these emotions.

CASEL defines self-management as:

“The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations — effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.

  • Impulse control
  • Stress management
  • Self-discipline
  • Self-motivation
  • Goal-setting
  • Organizational skills”

Often when a student is referred we will discuss triggers using the Fishbone model to get at the root causes of the student’s emotions. If you are not familiar with the Fishbone model for problem solving here is a diagram:

Image result for fishbone diagram

The Fishbone model was developed in the 1970’s in Japan as a means to improve quality control in industrial/business settings. However, it is also very useful when getting to root causes with students. Recently a student was sent to my office for swearing and throwing their notebook in Math class. I asked the student why they swore and threw their notebook. The student said they felt stress, anger and frustration from receiving a low grade. Digging deeper the student said they were afraid of receiving a consequence from their parents for receiving a low grade. This information helped us when we met with the parents of the same student to discuss setting realistic expectations for their child.

If you are wondering what are some ways that you can teach self-management in your classroom or in your home, here are two suggestions from waterford.org:

  1. Grounding Techniques

“Grounding techniques are a stress management exercise used to orient someone in the present when they’re emotionally overwhelmed. By focusing on their senses instead of their thoughts or feelings, grounding techniques can teach students how to calm down and manage their emotions when they are upset. Teach grounding techniques as a class and help students practice them when they feel stressed.

Here are a few grounding techniques for you to try out with your students:

  • Name five different things you can see around the room
  • Listen to energetic or relaxing music for one minute
  • Hold an object in your hands and focus on the color or texture
  • Take ten deep breaths, counting each one as your chest rises
  • Eat a piece of candy and choose three words that describe its taste

2. SMART Goal Challenge

Self-motivation is an essential component to social-emotional learning. If you’re not sure how to self-motivate your students, try challenging them to reach their potential by setting SMART goals as a class.

At the beginning of the month or quarter, work with each student to set a SMART goal for themselves. SMART goals must be Specific, Measurable, Agreed-Upon, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Check in with your students several times throughout the month to measure their progress and support them if any challenges arise.

If your students meet their goal by the agreed-upon end date, give them a piece of candy or other reward. If they don’t, offer encouragement and work with them to accomplish their goal.”

“Name it, Tame it” created by Dr. Daniel Siegel is another helpful resource for teaching self-management. The idea behind this theory is that you have to name your emotion in order to be able to control it. So for example if you are feeling angry you can simply say, “I am feeling angry” to yourself or out loud and then work on appropriate avenues to deal with the anger (i.e: ask to see a counselor or speak with a trusted adult).

In conclusion, self-management can be learned and taught in school and at home. CASEL, Fishbone, grounding techniques, SMART goals and ‘Name it, Tame it’ are all helpful resources for teachers and parents that can help teach the core social/emotional competency of self-management. It is also possible to learn self-management as an adult. Many adults have not yet learned self-management skills and that is OK. It is never too late to learn to identify and regulate our emotions and get more organized to reach our goals.

Works/Websites/Authors Cited

  1. CASEL.org
  2. Waterford.org
  3. Siegel, Daniel
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Work / Life Balance

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress: Working hard for something we love is called passion.”

Simon Sinek

As educators, we are always looking for ways to create balance in our lives with the amount of work we put into our positions and the amount of ‘living’ we do outside of school.  I wish I could say I have a magic formula and solution to this quandary, but I amel human, and honestly, there is no perfect formula for work/life balance. I have two children, a partner, and I work full time.  I have my days and weeks (and months) where I barely know what is up and what is down. But, as I get older and wiser, I am realizing that the daily grind and sacrifices that I have allowed work to take over in my life is a problem. And I have begun to re-invent the way I look at my career, happiness, and health. 

Simon Sinek eloquently speaks about stress versus passion, I have decided that I am passionate about my own health. When I am healthy, everything around me seems to flow with more clarity and I tend to make fewer mistakes.  Even on days where there are crises, I am able to clearly look at the problems and come up with quick and effective solutions. When I do not take care of myself, my job starts to feel more difficult and grueling and I am not the best mother and partner that I can be.

Forbes shared an article about top tips in work-balance, many of which I grasped when seeing that my happiness level in my job was decreasing and my effectiveness and positivity at home was plummeting (https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahlee/2014/10/20/6-tips-for-better-work-life-balance/#7f35c11729ff).  I decided that no one else was going to change something in my life to make it better. My school was not going to give up many of the initiatives or expectations that they have.  My family was not going to start doing everything for me to make me feel better. I had to be the one to change, and the first thing I did was make me and my health a priority.

I used to exercise when I could fit into my schedule or at times that I preferred, such as mornings.  When I had a friend continuously ask me to take a walk with her or take laps in the pool together after school, I often said “No, that is not a good time for me to workout, I like to workout before school.”  Many mornings, I did not want to get up to workout and I was missing the opportunity to have someone to workout with. So, instead, I started to say “Yes.” She began asking me to join her for hikes and I said “Yes.”  When we begin to say yes to healthy things that help us connect, good things start to happen.

Seeing the positive results from prioritizing health, I began to set new goals for myself.  I put mindfulness and yoga into my weekly schedule. I picked up a few new hobbies or activities such as pottery and glass cutting. These activities are a positive outlet for my stress and keep me grounded to always remember the things that are important to me.  

I must say, I am more positive, feel healthier, and I enjoy my job more because of these changes.  I still work some long hours and have some stressful periods of time, but I more clear-headed and have more to look forward to when I am not at work.  

Check out the following articles to help you on your journey to finding more health and happiness in life:

8 Ways to Improve Your Work-Life Balance Today:

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5244-improve-work-life-balance-today.html

6 Tips For Better Work-Life Balance:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahlee/2014/10/20/6-tips-for-better-work-life-balance/#dc68f4829ff5

Grappling with Work-Life Balance:

https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/grappling-work-life-balance

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Tech Neutrality: Embedded Values: Chromebooks

12/4/19

What is tech neutrality? Is tech neutral. What does it mean for a value to be embedded within a technology? How does value-embedded technology effect our schools? These are questions that are intriguing for school leaders to consider. A good read on the topic of tech neutrality + embedded values is ‘The Uncertain Promise’ by Denis Goulet.

According to Goulet there are four tech-embedded values:

  • Rationality: Tech promotes the breaking down of problems into solvable parts.
  • Efficiency: Tech values outcomes more than process when measuring efficiency.  
  • Problem-Solving: Tech views problem solving as an external approach to get things done.
  • Promethean: Tech views nature as a conduit to attain goals.

Values may be embedded into tech communicated by the flowchart below (Van De Poel, Steinert):

An example of a technology that may have embedded value is the Chromebook which many students use in 1:1 school environments.

One Chromebook slogan that has been used in the past: 

“If you’ve changed the way you do pretty much anything, You Chromebook.”

The value implied by the above slogan is that change is good and that Chromebooks will help a person with change. 

John Cotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change is an excellent resource for leaders of change movements.

As we continue to move into a more and more tech-oriented future, it may be increasingly important for school leaders to become familiar with the embedded values of the tech they may or may not introduce into their educational ecosystems.

Works Cited:

Design For Changing Values: https://www.valuechange.eu/project/embedded-values/

8-Step Change Process: Kotterinc.com

Goulet, Denis. The Uncertain Promise

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Classroom Observations: Feedback Tips

As an instructional leader, giving feedback to teachers on your instructional caseload is a must. Teachers appreciate receiving feedback that is timely and constructive that can help them improve their instructional practices in order to improve student learning. Here are a few tips for providing quality feedback to teachers:

  1. Utilize a Reliable Framework: Danielson’s Framework provides rubrics and guidance for teachers and supervisors to help facilitate discussions around improving teaching and learning.
  2. Use the Ideal Praise-to-Criticism Ratio: According to research reported by the Harvard Business Review teams improve most via 5:1 positive:negative feedback ratio.
  3. Employ timeliness: An ideal window for e-mail feedback is 24 hours. Verbal feedback can be in the moment. Operant conditioning studies going back to the time of B.F. Skinner maintain the closer the feedback is timed with the behavior, the more the feedback will shape future desirable behavior.
  4. Be Reciprocal: Accept feedback with as much thought and grace as you give feedback. Instructional supervision/coaching partnerships are a two-way street.
  5. Study, Study, Study: The average CEO reads a book a week. Being up to date on current trends and research on pedagogy and best practices will help make your feedback more bonafide.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are many other ways to improve the feedback you give to your teachers/team. That being said, hopefully these five tips are a good starting point for the beginning instructional supervisor to keep in mind when giving feedback to their team.

Works Cited

Zenger, Folkman. Harvard Business Review. 2013.

The Danielson Group. 2019.

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School Leadership = School Climate + Achievement Gains

A lot has been said about the connection between a strong school climate, school achievement and school leadership.  “School principals influence school achievement primarily through changes in the school climate.” In this article we will take a deeper look at the connection between school leadership, school culture and student learning by summarizing the work of UChicago Consortium on School Research.  According to the Consortium’s research, school leaders improve school climate by fostering strong learning climates and supporting teacher leadership around school wide goals. 

“Strong learning climates are defined as safe, supportive environments with high, consistent and clear expectations for students.”  Other factors that contribute to a strong learning climate are: 

  1. “School staff hold each other accountable for the success of all students in the school, not just in their own classrooms”.  We should all be pulling on the same rope in the same direction. 
  2. “Staff members at multiple levels continually examine student data of various types”.  Data analysis has student success and growth as its focus.  
  3. “Expectations for behavior and academics are high and consistent”.  One behavior framework is used by all so that support is possible.  
  4. “Systems of support are universal”.  All students have access to consistent support as needed across all teachers and disciplines.  

“Principals create a strong learning climate by supporting teacher leadership around school 

wide goals.”

Some of the ways that robust teacher leadership looks like in practice: 

  1. “Teachers work together to find solutions”.  Accountability and collective ownership are key words here, teachers know how their actions lead to school growth due to alignment of systems.  
  2. “Teachers meeting time is used for a planned purpose”.  Meetings are aligned with school wide goals and there is use of agendas, minutes, roles.  
  3. “Principals support teacher teams”.  A collective focus on school wide goals is maintained with timely communication of solutions. 

“Schools with the highest learning gains have principals who support a strong school climate.”  School principals achieve this by: 

  1. “Developing systems to support teachers to support students.”  Making sure that teachers have time to collaborate on school wide goals.  
  2. “Organizing and supporting shared leadership among staff.”  Fostering collective ownership of school vision and goals.  
  3. “Managing shared leadership by guiding, coordinating and monitoring the work of teachers and leaders in the school.”  Keeping the focus on school wide goals while helping determine effectiveness of efforts. 

As we can see from the research, there is a strong connection between school leadership, school climate and school wide gains.  By summarizing the work of the UChicago Consortium hopefully you now have a palatable checklist of ways to improve school climate and achievement as a school leader.  

Work Cited:

Allensworth, E.M., & Hart, H. (2018). How do principals influence student achievement? Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.