"Mom and Pop" Schools to Learning Communities

"Mom and Pop Schools," the ones we kindly or not so kindly remember, really don't exist--the culture of America has changed dramatically as has the research, understanding and tools of learning.

There is a nostalgia when it comes to schools of old.

Traditional, classic aspects of schools of old should not be readily tossed out without review as some of those practices and endeavors are timeless and connect to the very essence of what it is to be a young learner. However, we could spend endless hours rehashing the mistakes of the past or practices ill-done rather than spending the time establishing new, better and more effective practices.

In a sense, sometimes there comes a time when you draw a line in the sand and say, "That was then and this is now."  Or perhaps you hire a forensics team to study the past while you move on with the present and future.

For a while I'd like to leave the term "school" fallow and nurture the words "learning community."

Where will you draw the line in the sand between schools and practices of the past and learning communities and endeavor of the present and future.  What roles, actions, schedules and structures will mark your learning community?  Is this a change you're interested in embracing?


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Ideas Take Time

About five years ago I read about PLNs--Professional Learning Networks.  The idea was probably born long before that.

Now, at last, the notion is being widely embraced by the education community.  Why not?  PLNs are cost effective, growth producing idea exchanges that lead to better work with regard to student learning.

What else has changed?

Tech integration is a given, now learning design is the focus.

We're finally moving from isolation to collaboration.

The definition of school is expanding to include many institutions, platforms, schedules and programs.

Learning is democratized and we know that all children are capable of learning and deserve equitable programs that represent "conditions for excellence."

"Manage the message" has been replaced with transparent, effective communication systems.

The vital role and responsibility of the educator is acknowledged in the research and literature--the "summers-off" job description is no longer welcomed or appropriate.  Good teachers are much, much more than that, and there's only room for good teachers in the profession.

Everyone wants a piece of the pie--public and private, which means there's competition and we have to be vocal and outspoken for what's right to best teach all children.

We're a global community exchanging practice and ideas with colleagues all over the globe.

Our truth, intent, imagination and focus is more important than ever, we really can make a difference and contribute to a better world.

Professional Practice and Protocols

I continue to ponder ideas with regard to professional practice and protocols. I do this because I think it's possible to streamline many systems in education so that the lion's share of the efforts are directed towards optimal student learning.

When apt protocols and practice are not in place in your own professional work or the workplace, time is taken away from the organization's vision and goals.

What are the professional protocols and practice that enable teachers, schools and educational organizations to do their work well?

Effective, Timely, Regular Communication:
When everyone knows where they are, where they're headed, and what's on the horizon there is a rise in common language, common focus, and common vision--a sense of "team with a mission" arises which boosts collaboration and effect.  When people are unsure of this there's the potential for overlapping, repetitive, and conflicting directions that serve to stall or hinder the important work of a system.

Communication Systems and Protocols: 
When there are systems and protocols for communication related to the goals and vision, the needed evolutionary process of setting goals, and refining and revising direction, then meeting goals becomes an inclusive, action based, and vibrant process. When people aren't sure if they should communicate related to goals or who they should talk to, confusion rather than direction occurs.

Goals and Vision
A regular (yearly?) system of vision and goal setting creation should be in place. This system should include the voices of all involved and rely on research related to best practice, future needs, context and budget. The system should also clearly communicate the process from establishing to implementing to reviewing/revising to evaluating and so on with all impacted involved.

Transparency and Follow Through
Miscommunication, secrets, and lack of follow through serve to create an untrusting work environment. I can be faulted for sometimes promising more than I can offer--I'm an idealist who thinks and dreams big, but I have to be a realist when it comes to promising my effort, time, and work for specific goals. Luckily, education is a field where there is little need for secrets and great advantage to transparency. Our goal is to teach children well, and when everyone knows about the processes related to doing that, greater investment will develop.

Energy Management
Employees bring a discrete amount of energy to the job, and maximizing the intent of that energy will maximize the quality of work that can be done. Unnecessary time spent trying to navigate and coordinate too many bosses, assistants, travel-time, goals, and at times goals with conflicting definition can serve to weaken an organization's impact.  For example, in a friend's school system, the coaches travel from school to school only meeting with teachers every six weeks or so--the impact of those coaches is minimal since they are responding to a large number of school environments, leadership, and teachers, and they also don't have the time to know the teachers or students well. Those coaches make a lot of money for little impact. When most professionals are assigned to a specific school, grade level, or team, and spend most of their time there, the investment, ownership, and contribution towards the essential goal and student learning grows--impact expands.

Role Definition
I know I keep writing about this, but it is so essential--who is responsible for what?  Yes, there will be overlap and need for conversation, but the more we understand each other's roles and responsibilities, the better we'll be able to work together to effect optimal student learning. One issue that classroom teachers face early in the year is the timeliness of specialist services.  In some schools, all specialists are working with students from day one--schedules have been created, goals set and just like classroom teachers their time-on-task with students begins right away.  In other instances, it sometimes takes up to three or four months for a therapist or specialist to start serving a child, while that's not legal when it comes to IEPs and other mandates, it sometimes happens due to a large number of reasons.  Issues like that put a classroom teacher in a difficult role.  After all classroom teachers do not have any voice when it comes to specialists' or therapists' work, but we do have a responsibility that students receive the optimal services they are promised.  Similar issues arise when curriculum objectives and efforts are shared--who is responsible for what is an essential question to consider with optimal student learning as the underlying discussion point.

Committees and Delegation
Schools that take good care of the learning community i.e. families, educators, staff and students represent a myriad of initiatives and efforts.  It's important to review those efforts regularly and delete those that no longer have substantial effect; support those that do, and create new initiatives to meet new needs and goals.  It is essential that schools wisely create and delegate resources to staff committees, and it is essential that committee work commits to a full cycle of work from start to finish including regular communication of the committee efforts, needs, impact, and next steps. Often, due to planning, committee work in schools does not go full circle or happens at the last minute with little impact. It's better to pare down, focus, and attend to the important committee work in a systematic way so that the efforts are worthwhile and contribute to the system's mission.

Professional Development and Expectation
In this regard, I believe that every educator has the obligation to continually develop his/her professional repertoire. I would like to see school systems adopt "responsive professional development" rather than one-size-fits-all endeavor which often serves to demean and discourage educators rather than inspire and energize.  Most "one-size-fits-all" messages can be transferred online, and "do it in your own way/time" venues.  Meaningful, targeted, responsive, collaborative professional development that impacts student learning and attendance at worthy professional talks and workshops are positive avenues for professional work, and professional work is important to the development of every educational organization.

Kindness, Care and Respect
Many would put this category first on this list, but kindness, care and respect often mask confusion and lack of direction when the categories above are not attended to.  We can better care and be kind to each other if the points above are carefully managed and thoughtfully carried out.

Streamlined, effective professional work and protocols will put educators' energy, effort, and time where it belongs: focused on optimal student learning--those are the kinds of systems teachers and students thrive in.

Do you agree? Are there categories you would eliminate or add?  Would you rephrase any definitions? Is your role streamlined and defined, or do you find that your educational role answers to many disparate directions?  I'm curious.

Keyboarding: Learning How to Learn

Obedience has held a mighty throne when it comes to education--there's always lots of talk about student behavior and attention.  "If only they listened," "I don't know why they can't attend," or "He's never doing what he's supposed to do," we hear teachers lament as they work to teach all children well.

Often when you pick your students up from a specialist or therapist, the professional will remark, "She was a very good girl," "He worked hard," and "She followed all directions." It's not as often that you hear comments such as, "He mastered his five facts today," "She learned how the heart works, " and "He learned to infer, and he used the clues in the story to infer that character conflict began even before the character was born--born into conflict."

Research demonstrates that it's time we change our words when it comes to student work and achievement, moving from obedience descriptions to learning talk.  That shift will serve to move students' attitudes from those as passive bystanders in education to the active drivers of their own learning.

How do we make or continue to make this shift in our classrooms when we return to school in the fall?

One way I'll make this shift is through our goal for all students to learn to keyboard.  Keyboarding has been identified as a important 21st century skill. Most fourth graders are at a good age to master keyboarding (if they're unable to do this, there are other tools that can replace keyboarding for those students).  It's a discrete skill and a good choice for showing students how they can apply the science of cognition to successful learning.

I'll apply the learning list:

1.  We'll talk about keyboarding.

• What is it? Other names for it?
• Can you do it? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Why is it important?
• How will you plan to use it in the future?

2. We'll assess and chart our current skill using a typing test.

3. We'll notice the learning gap: "I can type at ____ and my goal is to type at _____."  I will know that I've met my goal when I can pass the typing test at ______ words per minute. (success criteria). We'll aim for 30-45 wpm for each child, and 60 wpm for those who want a real challenge. 

4. Next, each child will make a plan using the keyboarding contract below:

5. As the teacher, I'll keep the learning conversation and feedback going.  I'll continue to bring this learning goal to their attention as a good example of how each individual is in charge of his/her own learning, and by applying optimal learning strategies and efforts, we can meet our goals.

6. At curriculum night, I'll enlist the parents support in this endeavor and introduce the parents to the science of learning--the steps that put children center stage in their learning efforts and lead to learning success.

Let me know if you've employed a similar strategy with students to achieve a specific skill?  If so, what was the outcome, and what advice do you have for me.  I'm looking forward to this empowering, important learning unit.  

Learning 1-2-3!

While research supports the effort, the notion of personalizing education for every child in the classroom is daunting.

I want to move in that direction as much as I can this year because I know that will positively promote student learning--the objective of the work I do as a teacher.

Realistically though, I want to make sure I'm focused on the standards, learning processes and students' interests, needs and passions as I teach each day.

Hence, I've created a plan to use when it comes to lesson planning and execution.  I will refine this plan as the year moves along.

• The Learning Goal: Start with the overarching learning goal--what knowledge, concept, and/or skill do I want students to learn. 

• Prior Knowledge: What do students already know about this topic--assessment.

• Inquiry:  Based on what students know, what do they need to know to achieve the learning goal?  How can I cause tension or cognitive conflict at this point in the lesson so that students are intrigued and their minds awaken to the learning need.  This is the time for meaning and purpose too.

• 1-2-3 Lesson: Create the plan for learning including a 1-2-3 of values. 1 is the basic understanding of the goal; 2 is the grade level understanding; and 3 is the challenge area.  When students start the assignment, they will be encouraged to start with the level that is the best challenge for them--a level that's not too easy and not too hard; a level that will make them think and cause some error along the way, and a level I can coach them on. Students will be encouraged to work with each other on these tasks as research shows collaboration enriches learning.

• Check-In: The check-in: Looking over students' work, providing effective feedback, deciding on next steps--coaching.

• Reflection: Using prompts students will be encouraged to reflect on their own learning or others' learning with writing and/or discussion.  This will bring the learning full circle while strengthening students' self regulation. 

• Independent Practice/Learning Choice: As students complete the focus task and learning objective, they will move into a choice time when they can choose to practice or work towards one of their independent learning goals. I will use that time to coach students who are still working on the task.

This outline provides a format for classroom workshops and learning events--it's a format that flows and lends itself to endeavors that respond to students' learning needs, and includes time and space for effective feedback, metacognition and apt learning routines.