Leadership Perspective: The Teacher as Learner

Lately I have been discouraged to find more coaches and administrators at professional learning events than teachers. I believe that educators need to have access to worthy learning events to empower teaching, and I hope that the growth in the numbers of leaders and coaches is not distancing educators from those worthy learning experiences.

Further, at one of the events, I heard a coach lament about her inability to convince educators to speak and/or act a specific way. The comment, in my opinion, was demeaning to educators and showed a lack of understanding about what it means to be a teacher as learner.

To lead educators and schools well, leaders must make time to think about teachers as learners, and that consideration expects leaders to notice the diversity of teacher learners that exist, a diversity that illustrates differences in time, experience, strengths, and challenges. No two teacher learners are the same just like no two of our students are exactly the same.

What is important to consider as we think about teachers as learners?

First, it's important to learn about that teacher and their experiences related to teaching. Why did you decide to teach? What is your main objective as an educator? What do you perceive as your strengths? What do you believe your needs are? A conversation, exchange of stories, and respect is essential to know and understand any teacher as learner.

Next, it's important to synthesize the system goals and the educator's goals in order to craft and support just-right learning experiences and opportunities. The Massachusetts Teacher Evaluation System provides a natural avenue for this conversation--a conversation where educators share their overarching goals with administrators who help educators to synthesize those goals with systemwide efforts and goals too. This is a win-win if done well.

After that, time and place matter. To learn well, educators need opportunities that fit in well with their time and place in life. For example as a young mom and an eager educator, what I needed more than anything was time to think, read, and learn. Repetitive, surface trainings were disappointing when I craved deeper, more meaningful learning opportunities during the school day. Now as a mom with grown children and more time, but perhaps a bit less energy, I enjoy the opportunity to attend a day-long training that meets my teaching/learning needs. For example this week I attended the Massachusetts Math and Science Institute which was terrific. The day-long opportunity to think and learn deeply about math and science education taught me a lot and gave me a lot of good tools and perspectives to bring forward to my students.

Reflection and analysis matter too. After learning events, it's important to reflect about how the learning can lead to change in an educator's practice, and then after applying the learning, it's critical to analyze the effect that change had on students. Essentially educators and leaders have to determine if the learning is making a positive impact on the identified goals. If so, you're on the right track, and if not, then it's time to revise the learning track. Honest conversations about change and effect are integral to the teacher as learner path.

Teacher growth is integral to this process too. In order for educators to stay invested and fresh, there needs to be growth opportunities. That's why I believe we have to re-look at roles and structures at school. To treat first year teachers and long-term veterans the same is problematic. Educators require a more personal approach to growth in education organizations. This personal approach should lead to professional learning dollars and events that are planned with a more thoughtful, personal approach--an approach that helps educators to better their craft and also move ahead in teaching. I don't think that the only movement up for educators should be coaching or administration, instead I believe there should be avenues towards teaching mastery since we need outstanding educators in the classrooms working with students.

All teachers need to be learners in order to continually evolve and better their craft. Teachers need to have the opportunity to share their learning in meaningful ways too. A serious attitude and personal approach towards the diversity of educator learning styles, paths, strengths, and needs will empower education organizations and better our individual and collective service to students and their families. I will continue to think about this topic, and in the meantime, as I work with colleagues, I'll think of them, like me, as a teacher learners who have unique experiences, questions, challenges, and needs on the teaching/learning path, and I'll wonder where we might find good synergy with the differing profiles we bring to the school and our students.

Taking a perspective of teachers as learners may be the best perspective with which to lead a classroom, school, or system ahead. This perspective may serve to empower our schools and what we can do with and for students and families.

Today's Learning: June 13, 2019

Today's priority is the Global Cardboard Challenge. Cardboard is students' canvas as they create arcade games and play spaces for our Global Cardboard Lunchtime Arcade and PlaySpace next week. Students began this work yesterday. They displayed quite a bit of trepidation at the start. After witnessing their initial efforts, I'll begin today with a class meeting that focuses on the following:

• Zaretta Hammond's focus on dependence to independent thinking. I'll explain to students that this is their opportunity to take a creative risk, to try something new, to be creative, and to make mistakes. I'll remind them that teachers are there to help and that if they're stuck, don't be shy about asking for help--help with process, supplies, teamwork issues, or anything else.
• I'll remind them of their audience, the other children in the school, and that the goal of their creation is engage children in an enjoyable activity during the final days of school. I'll also note that another goal is to inspire their creativity.
• We'll focus a bit on what it means to work safely and to work well as a team too. 

Once the meeting is over, children will embark on their creative efforts. Later in the day they'll complete letters to their future selves and a school survey. Then there will be some time for free choice. 

Teachers will begin to think more about next year as we meet for a transition meeting with fourth grade teachers. They will share information with us about next year's students and needed priorities. This will help us to focus our summer study efforts in ways that matter.

It will be a good day ahead. Onward. 

Who are you in your teaching/learning community? What is your role?

I watched many teachers cheer students on, interact with family members, and lead activities as Field Day occurred yesterday. I noticed the common denominator of commitment as well as the diversity of leadership approaches and styles. As the principal remarked at his recent retirement party, we are a teaching/learning community of leaders, and as leaders, we are both similar and different. We bring different strengths to the school, and this is what makes us a strong and successful educational community.

The reality is that no educator can be all or do all--that's impossible. Yet, we all have areas of strength to contribute. This is how we support one another. I am learning this everyday as I watch my colleagues display their craft in many, many ways. The learning can be as simple as watching a colleague support a child in the hallway to listening to a class share their incredible learning at the school assembly. There's opportunity to learn all the time.

And while we bring our strengths, we bring our shortcomings too--that's the humbling part. There's al limit to what we can do, and we can't all be the same. Our intersections are many, our objectives great, and our ability to meet every expectation challenged by time--in most cases, our expectations far outnumber the hours in a day. This means we have to spend considerable time prioritizing as individual educators, teams, and as a school community. What matters most? How do we prioritize? Can we think deeply about this in order to allow our most important priorities to rise?

Of course as I think of priorities, I recognize the following:

Positive relationships come first. This is not always easy in the busy city-like culture of a school. I wonder how we can build the best possible relationships while also recognizing what each of us needs to teach well. Sometimes constraints such as planning/prep time, good communication, space to teach, and less lead time with regard to scheduling can challenge those good relationships. Re-looking at a school culture with positive relationships as a goal could be helpful in this regard.

Meaningful learning is a priority. How would we define meaningful learning? How do we choose the best possible learning goals and objectives? How can we create scheduling patterns that ensures we are teaching in engaging, meaningful, and impactful ways?

Teamwork is essential. No educator can do it all, and with that in mind, how do we foster and support the best possible teams and teamwork to focus our energy and activity in ways that work well together?

There is much to do to continue to develop my efforts to teach well. I am mindful of this as the school year comes to a close and I think about the summer study ahead. Onward.

Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain: Starting the Book

Hammond highlights the quote above in her book and on her blog.

This morning I have a bit of time to begin reading, Zaretta Hammond's book, Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain. I'm interested in learning from Hammond who has considerable experience and interest in this topic, and I am happy to participate with the #crttb Twitter slow chat about the book over the summer months.

I am interested in this book because it is my aim to teach every child in my midst well, and I want to know all I can about what that means and looks like in a classroom atmosphere. Below I've listed highlights from the introduction and chapter one--specific highlights that will positively impact my teaching practice. Hammond does use the phrase "achievement gap" in her book--there's been lots of discussion about whether this is a good term or not as many prefer the words "opportunity gap" as more accurate. Both phrases point to the goal of helping all students from all groups achieve as well as they can. Note that quotations in this post have been copied directly from Hammond's book.

Hammond's mother had a positive impact on her education. When reading books and listening to the stories about successful scholars, time and again I notice the wonderful impact parents and other relatives had on this success. It seems that a key element of success is family investment which leads to the question, How can I inspire and support family members as part of the learning/teaching community? At the Massachusetts Math and Science Institute this week, mathematician, John C. Urschel, told a similar story about his mother's inspiration and support.

His talk connects well to Hammond's book.

Early education matters. Hammond describes an early education that included clubs, and a focus on independence and self-direction.

"Culturally responsive teaching is a serious and powerful tool for accelerating student learning." Coupled with building brainpower, culturally responsive teaching can bridge the "achievement gap."

Understanding and utilizing the brain as a "natural learning apparatus" will empower our teaching. 

"Language is powerful. When you are able to name a thing, it moves out of the realm of mystery into concreteness. . . . I want you to think of culturally responsive teaching as a mindset, a way of thinking about and organizing instruction to allow for great flexibility in teaching." Hammond highlights that fact that building underserved students' cognitive resources is a strategy for closing the achievement gap. How can we build students' cognitive resources?

Hammond uses the terms, students of color and culturally and linguistically diverse students, interchangeably throughout her book. In chapter one, Hammond challenges us to support dependent learners to become independent thinkers. She notes that dependent learners are unable to do higher order thinking, creative problem solving, and analytical reading and writing. Key instructional strategies highlighted include the following:

• teaching students how to learn - what strategies, routines, behaviors will help a child become a master learner?
• encouraging productive struggle
• less repetition and more higher order thinking skills and challenge
• teach cognitive processes and strategies that help students move to complex thinking and independent learning.
• make sure students are spending most of their school time engaged in productive activity (not in the principal's office)
• make sure that significant time is spent on worthy, positive reading skill and development
• practices that emphasizes memorization and lecture are considered "pedagogy of poverty" and leave students with outdated skills
• make learning challenging, interesting, meaningful and motivating
• build intellective capacity, fluid intelligence, intellective competence - increased brain power to process complex information effectively

Hammond emphasizes that students ". . .struggle because we don't offer them sufficient opportunities in the classroom to develop their cognitive skills and habits of mind that would prepare them to take on more academic tasks." 

As Hammond continued, I understand culturally responsive teaching as an active process that includes four practices:

Awareness of the role schools play in perpetuating and challenging inequities, and the role teachers' cultural awareness has on interpreting and evaluating students' behavior.

Learning Partnerships that create social-emotional partnerships for deeper learning. Establish authentic, trusting, respectful connections with students, give feedback in emotionally intelligent ways, hold students to high standards, and offer intellectual challenges.

Information processing that expands and strengthen's students ability to engage in deeper, more complex learning. Teach children how to process information by orchestrating learning to build student's brain power in culturally congruent ways. "Use brain-based information processing strategies common to oral cultures."

Community building in ways that creates an environment that feels socially and intellectually safe. Let the environment communicate care, support, and belonging. Integrate universal cultural elements/themes and set up rituals and routines that reinforce self-directed learning and academic identity.

After reading the introduction and chapter one, it is clear that this book will greatly empower my ability to teach all students well. I can't wait to read more and begin to match what I'm reading to improve pedagogical approaches I'll use in the year ahead.  In the meantime, actions that I'll employ that match to chapter one include the following:

• Greater effort to enlist the support and connection to all families--how can we better access to curriculum nights and early year community events for all families?
• Making sure to include explicit lessons at the start of the year and throughout the year related to "learning to learn" and that students are the drivers when it comes to their education--the sky's the limit, and to reach your goals you have to know how to use your brain power effectively.
• Emphasizing meaningful "get to know each other" and community building activities at the start of the year -- activities that build student-student and student-teacher positive relationships and activities that empower students' ability to effectively use apt learning tools (email, websites, hand-held tools. . .), strategies (including questioning, self coaching. . .). . . "If you teach a student a lesson, that student learns one idea, concept, or skill, but if you teach a child to learn, that child can learn anything they choose with limitless depth. . .)
• Greater emphasis on deep and meaningful learning tasks, less repetition and memorization.
• Create a welcoming learning environment, a "home away from home"
• Eliminate almost all time lost in learning with regard to disciplinary action--instead, use a strengths based model that is always focused on learning strength, capacity, interest. 

I will be interested in how reading the rest of the book helps me to include these efforts with greater detail and success in the weeks ahead. 

Final Days

A young engineer building his cardboard arcade game. 

It could not have been a better year. Today thanks to the efforts of our school physical education teacher, the students moved from sports activity to sports activity. There was a lot of joy, and fortunately the weather wasn't too hot.

The global cardboard challenge, completing the film, Jump In, a fifth grade survey, postcard/letter writing, read aloud, Memory Books, and lots of play will fill the final days of school. The most important job for the teacher during the final days is to be warmly present to support students as they complete the year.

We can't lose sight of what a terrific teaching year it's been--one of the best!