The Diamond and Rock Pile: How to Regain Your Focus and Defeat the Law of Initiative Fatigue Participants: Leaders, governing board members, teacher-‐leaders Pre-‐Seminar Reading: Pull the Weeds, by Douglas Reeves Handouts: Available electronically from the NESA site. These are published in PDF format and should be readable on any electronic device. However, please be sure that your device can read the handouts and if you have any problems, please e-‐mail [email protected]., and we will send you a version that is readable by your device. If you prefer paper handouts, please print them before the seminar, or e-‐mail before October 18th to [email protected]. Description: What could possible be wrong with “best practices” – the foundation of many reform programs? Viewed in isolation, each best practice is a sparkling diamond, standing alone casting its brilliance on everyone who sees it. But educational institutions are rarely content to polish a diamond, nurturing the impact of a particularly effective practice for students and schools. Soon after the first diamond is in place, another best practice is added to the mix. Then another, and another, and another, until the diamond is invisible, buried by a nondescript pile of rocks. The stunning evidence is that a best practice can rapidly become an ineffective practice, not because the practice itself was bad, but because any professional practice depends upon the context of support, monitoring, and improvement. This seminar includes practical guidelines for assessing instructional practices and focusing on the few that have the greatest impact for your educational organization. Participants will engage in extensive self-‐assessment and leave with specific action plans to improve focus at the school and system levels. Presenter: Dr. Douglas Reeves is the founder of The Center for Successful Leadership. The author of more than thirty books and many articles on leadership and organizational effectiveness, he has twice been named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series. He was named the Brock International Laureate for his research and writing and received the Contribution to the Field Award from the National Staff Development Council. Doug raises money for local educational groups and other charities by running marathons. Among those he has completed are the Boston Marathon (twice) and the Marine Corps Marathon. Doug lives with his family in downtown Boston. He can be reached at [email protected]. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 1 September 2006 | Volume 64 | Number 1 Teaching to Student Strengths Pages 89-90 Leading to Change / Pull the Weeds Before You Plant the Flowers Douglas Reeves Reform, restructuring, improvement, innovation, change—these are perennial bywords in education. In this new column, Douglas Reeves will give readers his insights about how schools can implement September 2006 changes that make a real difference in teaching and learning. A longtime educator, a well-known presenter, and the author of more than 20 books, including The Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvement for Better Results (ASCD, 2006), Reeves is President of the Center for Performance Assessment and a faculty member of leadership programs sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In future columns, Reeves will address such topics as using data, mentoring new and experienced teachers, and involving students in school leadership. Imagine a gardener who sees row upon row of beautiful flowers in a nursery. He enthusiastically loads a cart to overflowing in anticipation of placing each new plant in a special place in his garden. The nursery salesperson is encouraging, explaining that these flowers are special hybrid varieties that research has shown will do well in the local climate. But on arriving home, the gardener faces an unpleasant reality: His garden is full of thistle, crabgrass, dandelions, and other weeds. Here are some choices the gardener might consider: ● Drop the new plants at the threshold of the garden and leave them there, hoping that delivering the plants close to the intended location will be sufficient. ● Plant the new flowers among the weeds, hoping that the nutrients in the soil will support both. ● Give the new plants a stern lecture about “growing smarter” and making wiser use of the available nutrients. ● Pull the weeds. Then, and only then, plant the flowers. Although the last choice may seem like simple common sense, it is decidedly uncommon in schools. All school districts, schools, departments, offices, job descriptions, or programs have a few weeds. If we fail to pull them, we can anticipate conversations like this: “We'll have professional learning communities—just as soon as we finish making announcements in the faculty meeting.” “We'll do common scoring of student work—just as soon as all members of the teaching Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 2 team finish their parent conferences and discipline reports.” “We're happy to embrace ‘writing across the curriculum'—just as soon as we finish covering a curriculum that has never yet been completed within the school year.” Try this simple experiment. Ask your colleagues to list the initiatives and programs that your school has started within the past five years. Then ask them to list the initiatives and programs that have been discontinued as the result of careful evaluation and weeding. I have never been in a school where the first list is not significantly longer than the second. Educators are drowning under the weight of initiative fatigue—attempting to use the same amount of time, money, and emotional energy to accomplish more and more objectives. That strategy, fueled by various mixtures of adrenaline, enthusiasm, and intimidation, might work in the short term. But eventually, each initiative added to the pile creates a dramatic decline in organizational effectiveness. As the academic growing season continues, we should not be surprised when new flowers are choked by the omnipresent weeds. Fortunately, there is an answer to initiative fatigue, and that is the common sense of the gardener. The strategic leader must have a “garden party” to pull the weeds before planting the flowers. Some school principals have a simple rule—they will introduce no new program until they remove at least one or two existing activities, plans, units, or other time-consumers. These principals have time in faculty meetings for collaborative scoring of student work because they stopped making unnecessary or routine announcements in such meetings and committed every possible administrative communication to e-mail or written notes instead. Teachers have time to guide students through more writing in science and social studies because a team of educators identified the standards that matter the most and made a deliberate decision not to engage in frantic and ineffective coverage of the entire text. Faculty teams make a game of it, finding weeds that seemed small when they started, but that are now collectively robbing students and teachers of one of their most precious resources—time. Research and common sense make it clear that initiative fatigue is rife in schools. We must identify some things we can stop doing. To begin the weeding process, consider the following three ideas: First, use intergrade dialogue to find the essentials. Ask a 2nd grade teacher what can be given up, and he or she may say “Nothing! Everything I do is important!” But ask a 3rd grade teacher to explain what students need to know as they enter 3rd grade, and that teacher will provide a list that is brief, balanced, and precise. I have asked this question of hundreds of teachers and not a single one has said, “For students to enter my 3rd grade classroom confidently next year, the 2nd grade teacher must cover every single state standard.” Entire school districts can conduct this exercise, and they will find high levels of agreement on the essentials, casting doubt on the necessity of some of the more idiosyncratic elements of the curriculum. Second, prune away the small stuff. We can recover hours of valuable instruction time when teachers share their best time-saving tips. Within the same school, some teachers have transitions among centers that require almost five minutes, while their colleague across the hall accomplishes the same transitions in under 20 seconds. Some secondary teachers collect homework as students walk in the room, saving several minutes of classroom time. Some elementary schools have fewer Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 3 but longer science periods so that teachers lose a smaller percentage of class time setting up and taking down labs. Some technology teachers ensure that every computer is turned on and ready for log-in before students enter the room. These small matters take seconds or minutes during the day, but collectively, they amount to exceptionally large time savings. Third, set the standard for a weed-free garden. Respect teachers' time: start and end meetings on time, never make routine announcements aloud, and cancel or shorten meetings that are not contributing to student achievement. If leaders will not pull the schoolwide weeds in meetings, conferences, and interruptions, they can hardly ask teachers to weed their classroom gardens. Leaders at every level might want to try this experiment. At the next gathering of educators, raise your right hand and pledge: “I will not ask you to implement one more initiative until we first take some things off the table.” Then listen. It might be the first round of applause you've had in a while. Douglas Reeves is President of the Center for Performance Assessment in Englewood, Colorado; 800-844-6599; [email protected]. Copyright © 2006 by Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) 1703 N. Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311 USA • Copyright © ASCD, All Rights Reserved • 1-800-933-2723 • 1-703-578-9600 Privacy Statement Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 4 THE DIAMOND AND THE ROCKPILE: HOW TO REGAIN YOUR FOCUS AND AVOID INITIATIVE FATIGUE Douglas B. Reeves www.ChangeLeaders.com Research@NonprofitLeaders.org Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 5 Want to share these ideas with colleagues? Download the PowerPoint for free at www.ChangeLeaders.com Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 6 Overview • “This seminar will be a success if . . .” • Focus: The key to impact, engagement, and change • The implementaIon imperaIve • Defining implementaIon and impact • Risk, error, and learning Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 7 Your Role • AcIve Engagement, Challenges, QuesIons, and Success Stories • Stop any Mme – seize the moment! • WriQen quesMons are welcome during any acMvity – just bring a note to the front of the room. • OrganizaMon of handouts – PowerPoint one file, “Focus Tools” in a separate file. • OK to reproduce and use all handaouts Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com . 8 This seminar will be a success if . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 9 This seminar will be a success if . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 10 Why is it so hard to focus? Because “Best PracIces” are not necessarily your friend. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 11 I used to think . . . Studies of best pracMces would unlock the key to success. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 12 The first “best pracIce” Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 13 The Next best pracIces Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 14 The next best pracIces Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 15 What’s wrong with “best pracIces” research? • It means nothing if you are not willing to contrast it with “worst prac6ces” • Too many “best prac6ces” are piled on top of 50 previous “best prac6ces” • “Inflic6on” is not the same as deep implementa6on Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 16 Engagement and Impact The Law of IniIaIve FaIgue 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 A@er six “strategic priori6es,” the number of ini6a6ves is inversely related to impact on student achievement and faculty engagement. 0 5 10 15 Number of IniMaMves Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 20 25 17 Why Is The Law of IniIaIve FaIgue True? • Monitoring, impact and engagement depend upon degree of implementa6on • It is not possible to monitor and implement deeply more than about six high priority iniIaIves • FrustraIon and antagonism take over when implementaIon ineffecIve • Contrast the change hypothesis with the reality of change Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 1 18 The Linear Hypothesis of Change “A Li6le More Implementa<on Yields A Li6le More Results” Impact on Results and Engagement 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Degree of ImplementaMon Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 19 The Reality of Change “Only Deep Impact Yields Results and Engagement” Impact on Results and Engagement 9 Where change goes to die. “We tried that and it didn’t work. Let’s start another ini6a6ve!” 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Degree of ImplementaMon Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 20 Does Research Support the Non-‐Linear Model? Evidence of Impact Limited to DEEP ImplementaIon: • • • • • • • Professional Learning CommuniIes Reading Recovery PosiIve Behavior Support Response to IntervenIon ConInuous Curriculum Improvement Process Assessment Literacy And dozens more Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 21 The Power of Focus • “When you focus, you’re spending limited cogniIve currency that should be wisely invested, because the stakes are high. . . Your abenIonal system selects a certain chunk of what’s there, which gets valuable cerebral real estate and, therefore, the chance to affect your behavior. . . And the rest is consigned to the shadows or oblivion.” • [Source: Rapt: A6en<on and the Focused Life, by Winifred Gallagher, 2009] Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 22 Case Study in Failed Focus Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 23 What Senior Administrators Listed as Priority IniIaIves • • • • • Professional Learning CommuniIes Balanced Literacy Read 180 Reader’s Workshop Writer’s Workshop Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 24 What Teachers and Principals Listed as Priority IniIaIves • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Literacy First Saxon Phonics PosiIve Behavioral Support Buckle Down Waterford Early Literacy Earobics River Deep Sidewalks ScholasIc Reading Inventory Reading Counts Study Island Saxon Math envision Math Leap Frog Harcourt Science Kits Accelerated Reader Star Early Literacy Fast Math PASS Professional Learning CommuniIes DIBELS Read 180 Success Maker Readers’ Workshop Writers’ Workshop Data Teams Ramp Up to Language Arts Ramp Up to Math Teacher Leader EffecIveness Power School Math InvesIgaIons Everyday Math Response to IntervenIon A+ Achievement Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 25 STOP AND REFLECT • • • • I was affirmed by . . . I was surprised by . . . I was challenged by . . . In the next 30 days, I can . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 26 Hierarchy of ImplementaIon of effecIve pracIce Engagement Professional Leadership Acceptance Labels Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 27 Why Is Focus So Important? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 28 The Power of Focus We all believe in focus, but the reality is fragmentaMon – dozens of iniMaMves all compeMng for the same Mme, resources, and aQenMon Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 29 What Is the Evidence for Focus? • Key findings from a systemaIc review of more than 2,000 school improvement plans • Schools had as many as 70 “prioriIes” and systems had more than 200 “prioriIes” • More than six prioriIes leads to a counterproducIve waste of Ime Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 30 Closing the ImplementaMon Gap Research The criMcal variable for professional learning is DEEP IMPLEMENTATION Source: Reeves. D. (2010). Transforming professional development into student results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 31 EssenMal Ingredients for Success: • Efficacy – bone deep belief that teaching and leadership maQer • PrioriMzaMon – six or fewer “high priority iniMaMves” • Specificity – goals are expressed in objecMve terms • Measurability – impact of teachers can be measured regularly • Monitoring (adult acMons, not just test scores) Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 32 The Power of High ImplementaMon on Academic Performance (All Schools) Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 11.65 -‐3.98 -17.74 Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 33 High-‐SES Schools Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 13.9 10.2 5 Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 34 Low SES Schools Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 -‐2.8 -‐14 -‐30 (Reeves, Transforming Professional Development Into Student Results, ASCD, 2010 Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 35 Other Key Findings • More than six prioriMes inversely related to achievement • 90% faculty parMcipaMon, 3-‐5 Mmes higher achievement gains than 10% faculty parMcipaMon • No6ce: Not 100% • PRACTICES, not PROGRAMS Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 36 Applying the Research Step-‐by-‐Step Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 37 Efficacy • Step1: List the influences on student achievement that faculty and administrators can control or strongly influence. The total from this list = A • Step 2: List the influences on student achievement that faculty and administrators cannot control or strongly influence. The total from this list = B • Step 3: Compute your Efficacy QuoIent: A divided by B mulIplied by 100: ____________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 38 Example of School Efficacy Analysis • Step 1 – factors we control or influence: 6 • Step 2 – factors we cannot control or strongly influence: 12 • Step 3 – 6 divided by 12 = .5, mulIplied by 100 = 50. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 39 Step 1: Factors We Control or Strongly Influence Total: __________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 40 Step 2: Factors We Cannot Control or Strongly Influence Total: __________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 41 Step 3: Efficacy QuoIent • Step 1 divided by Step 2 mulIplied by 100: __________________________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 42 Revising Your Efficacy QuoIent Aper listening to your colleagues, are there any factors that you would consider moving from the “cannot control or strongly influence” list to the “factors we control or influence” list? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 43 PrioriIzaIon: List your strategic prioriIes here. Be sure to consider the teachers’ point of view. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 44 PrioriIzaIon Score • List the strategic prioriIes for your school. Be sure to include the teachers’ point of view • Subtract this number from 6 – Review your results: – 1-‐6 highly focused – -‐6 – zero -‐ Developing focus – Lower than -‐6 – Fragmented • Our Score: ____________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 45 Monitoring – Do We Monitor The Adults as Carefully as We Monitor Students? • List the ways in which you have specific and measureable assessments of student performance: Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com • List the ways in which you have specific and measureable assessments of teacher, leadership, and board performance: 46 Some Guidelines on “Monitoring” of Teachers, Teams, and Administrators • FAR more moIvaIng that annual reviews and the vast majority of walk-‐throughs (Amabile & Kramer, 2012) • Focus on PROGRESS – that means the early scores must be honest and NOT AVERAGED into final scores • Focus on acIons teachers control: Frequency of informaIonal wriIng Freqeuncy of collaboraIve scoring Percentage of consistency in scoring performance items Percentage of students who use teacher feedback for improved submission – 2nd and 3rd submissions of work – Percentage of students who accurately predict their final performance – Percentage of students who can, without assistance, describe their specific and measureable learning goals – – – – Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 47 STOP AND REFLECT • • • • I was affirmed by . . . I was surprised by . . . I was challenged by . . . In the next 30 days, I can . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 48 Focus Tool Kit #1 The ImplementaIon Rubric • Please review the examples • IdenIfy JUST ONE iniIaIve that is important to you. • Describe each level of implementaIon – Four levels – use the terminology that is most comfortable for you – Make Level 4 – the deepest level of implementaIon – challenging for your most successful teachers and administrators. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 49 Implementation Rubric Level 1 – Novice Level 2 – Developing Level 3 – Proficient RESULTS from students Implementation is not measured with consistency and precision Measurement of achievement and implementation, but no apparent association with student results Evidence of improved achievement that is associated with higher levels of implementation. ACTIONS by faculty members Although faculty members are aware of differences in instructional practice, they do not engage in self assessment or peer assessment. Administrator observations of classroom practice are either absent or, when present, are threatening, evaluative, and judgmental. Discussion of professional practices is clouded in mystery and suspicion bordering on dread. Better to avoid discussion of practice than to be embarrassed. Faculty members can describe the differences between levels of instructional practice. Faculty members engage in self assessment and peer assessment Administrators engage in regular observation of classroom practice, but do not link those observations to achievement. Administrators support faculty observations in a non evaluative way, providing immediate and supportive feedback SUPPORT by administrators IMPACT on the classroom, school, and system Teachers talk in tentative and vague terms about improved practice, but offer little objective evidence to support their claims. Anecdotal evidence of teachers sharing effective practices with one another based on student results. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com Level 4 Exemplary Clear evidence of improved achievement directly associated with higher levels of implementation of instructional practice. Faculty members regularly measure their instructional practice on an objective rubric and link those observations to student achievement Administrators validate faculty self assessment and peer assessment, linking improved practices with student performance. There is clear evidence that other teachers in other schools learn from the evidence relating classroom practice with student results. 50 Implementation Rubric – Argumentative Writing Level 1 – Novice RESULTS from students Little or no indication that student writing is improving. ACTIONS by faculty members There is some awareness of the value of argumentative writing across the curriculum, but most teachers do not have the time for more student writing. Occasional signs of argumentative writing in English and History classes Aside from SUPPORT by administrators requiring teachers to attend a professional development program on writing, there is little or no evidence of administrative follow through. Level 2 – Developing Level 3 – Proficient Limited evidence of improvement in student writing, with assessments fragmented across many methods of writing and assessment standards inconsistent from class to class Writing assessments are fragmented with a variety of methods. Rubrics are inconsistent in form and application. Clear evidence of improved student writing in a majority of classrooms. Administrators have provided flexibility in requirements for faculty time allocation so that teachers can reallocate time to creating, administering, and scoring writing assessments. Administrators monitor classes on a regular basis and have added a checklist item for the administration and collaborative scoring of argumentative writing assessments. Faculty members consistently administered argumentative writing assessments. Rubrics were generally created and used by individual teachers, with little evidence of collaborative scoring. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com Level 4 Exemplary Student scores on at least two argumentative writing assessments reflect an average gain of at least 1 point on a four point rubric and 100% of the students showed progress. During the semester, every class (or subject) administered two argumentative writing assessments directly related to the curriculum. Assessments were collaboratively scored by the faculty who reached greater than 80% agreement on the scores. Administrators provided sufficient time for the administration of assessments and collaborative scoring by reallocating administratively controlled time, such as meetings and duties. Every class was monitored for the effective assessment of writing. 51 IMPACT on the classroom, school, and system Level – Novice The impact is largely negative – one more mandate without the time and support to get it done. Level – Developing Sporadic evidence of impact on individual classrooms where argumentative writing has been attempted. Level – Proficient Evidence of impact on a department and grade level scale, with measureable improvements in writing by students and collaboration by teachers. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com Level Exemplary Surveys of teachers, parents, and students reflect enthusiasm for argumentative writing and critical thinking. The best prompts, rubrics, and assessment practices have been systematically shared throughout the faculty and with other interested educators globally. 52 Implementation Rubric Please Complete the Rubric for your Most Important Instructional Initiative RESULTS from students Level 1 – Novice Level 2 – Developing Level 3 – Proficient Level 4 Exemplary ACTIONS by faculty members SUPPORT by administrators IMPACT on the classroom, school, and system Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 53 Based on what you have heard from your colleagues, review and revise your implementaIon rubric “Just right” is never available. Therefore “too specific” is much beber than “too ambiguous.” Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 54 How “best pracIces” become “worst pracIces” – examples: “Bias for acIon” and “Buy-‐in” • Finklestein, Sydney (October 2012) • 1) We are “wired for acIon” and we reward and honor “decisive leaders” even when they act without evidence • 2) We over-‐esImate the relevance of selected data and our personal experiences • 3) We punish experimentaIon and failure • 4) We fail to value deliberaIon and dissent Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 55 STOP: IdenIfy a SPECIFIC failed change effort you have observed in your professional experience. What were the circumstances for . . . • Leaders “wired for acIon” • Over-‐esImaIng the relevance of selected data and personal experience • Punishing experimentaIon and failure • Failing to value deliberaIon and dissent • Other factors associated with failure? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 56 Aper more than a decade of standards-‐based reform, we are very skilled at repeaIng mistakes with breathtaking self-‐assurance. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 57 What do you do when “you’re going the wrong way” but you don’t hold the steering wheel? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 58 The Essential Learning Syllogism: 1)Learning requires risk, error, and recovery. 2)Any system that fails to tolerate risk and error is a system that will not tolerate learning. 3)A system not engaged in continuous rigorous analysis and creative destruction will fall victim to the law of initiative fatigue. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 59 Do we really value criIcal thinking? • If we do, then we should honor the following statements: • “I used to think . . .” • “But now I think . . .” Beware the researcher (and teacher, administrator, and student) who is always right and never admits mistakes. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 60 I Used to Think . . . • “Learning Styles” allowed teachers to diagnose and teach to visual, auditory, and kinestheIc learning styles of students • PracIce tests were wastes of Ime and possibly unethical • Rigorous standards and assessments led to beber student achievement Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 61 But Now I Think . . . • Learning styles theory is not supported by research. There are no reliable diagnosIc assessments because student change. Teachers to claim to “teach to the student’s style” provide no beber results than those who rouInely use ALL learning methods. • PracIce tests, including student self-‐ administered, non-‐graded quizzes, lead to beber results than re-‐reading or concept maps • EducaIonal systems with rigorous standards and assessments produced no beber results – it was a subsItute of bureaucraIc mandates for improved teaching and leadership Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 62 The Danger of Admiwng Error “If you were wrong about your previous beliefs, then why should we believe you now? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 63 Because admission of error provides a clear standard of evidence and greater credibility for enduring research findings. What do you call research that provides consistent results for more than 15 years? I think you call it the truth. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 64 How do You Find the Diamonds in the Rock Pile? • Enduring findings in mulIple context • Professional pracIces, not commercial programs • Replicable in different circumstances – high and low poverty, high and low ESL, urban, rural, and suburban • Consistent with different governance forms – public, charter, private Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 65 Rules for Applying Research • MulIple sources • MulIple methods • ApplicaIon in different sewngs – urban, suburban, rural • Focus on changes in pracIces – not shiping student and teacher populaIons • Focus on the right quesIon – not just “What works?” but “What works best with my students?” Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 66 What would you do if there are too many failures, too many discipline problems and insufficient abendance? A) Fire the principal B) Fire the teachers C) Get new students D) Get a grant and buy 12 new programs and implement them simultaneously • E) IdenMfy ONE or TWO high-‐leverage pracMces and monitor implementaMon and results every week • • • • Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 67 One Leverage Point: “The Ketchup SoluIon” 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 385 338 147 91 95 15 # F's 2010-‐2011 2011-‐2012 # Suspensions Abendance Rate Source: American School Board Journal, July 2012 Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 68 STOP AND REFLECT • • • • I was affirmed by . . . I was surprised by . . . I was challenged by . . . In the next 30 days, I can . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 69 I used to think that leaders needed to tolerate and accept disrupIve personaliIes among staff members. But now I think that if you want to stop bullying on the playground, you first have to stop bullying in faculty mee<ngs. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 70 Be Nice: The Cost of Incivility Among workers who've been on the receiving end of incivility: • 48% intenMonally decreased their work effort • 38% intenMonally decreased the quality of their work • 80% lost work Mme worrying about the incident • 66% lost work Mme avoiding the offender • 66% said that their performance declined • 78% said that their commitment to the organizaMon declined Source: Porath and Pearson, Jan-‐Feb 2013 Harvard Business Review Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 71 “You can send a jerk to charm school, but at the end of the day, he’s s6ll a jerk” The Daily Disciplines of Leadership Douglas Reeves Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 72 What’s the Second Most Important Influence on Student Achievement • #1 is prior student achievement • #2 is not . . . – Poverty – certainly as classified in most educaIonal studies – Teacher “quality” – when defined as qualificaIons or techniques – Teacher “quality” – when defined by test scores – Leadership “quality” – when defined as qualificaIons or techniques – Time – Just about anything else you are thinking about Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 73 Efficacy – The #1 Adult Impact on Student Achievement aper prior learning • “Teachers with a strong sense of efficacy perceive that they are able to posi6vely affect student learning and accept responsibility for mo6va6ng students and improving their teaching skills un6l students make progress.” • [Source: Guo, Ying and colleagues, September 2012, The Elementary School Journal] Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 74 About the Study • Over 1,000 children followed over three years • Geographically distributed among ten ciIes – urban and suburban • Average teacher experience 15.3 years • Reliability of efficacy scale was .9 (a lot beber than most tests used now to evaluate teachers!) Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 75 How Important is Efficacy? • • • • More important than Ime More important than classroom environment More important than teacher sensiIvity Note: – Teachers with efficacy clearly ALSO have lots of other good pracIces and qualiIes. But the SINGLE VARIABLE of EFFICACY is more important than each of the alternaIves Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 76 Applying the Research • Ask your staff, parents, and students this quesIon, “What are the most important causes of student achievement?” • Categorize the answers – those based on teacher impact and those unrelated to teacher impact Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 77 Consistency With Previous Research • Finding Your Leadership Focus (Reeves) • Of 21 separate factors, the greatest impacts on achievement were: – Efficacy – Focus – Monitoring Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 78 If the only acceptable homework response is the right answer, you have guaranteed a “no tolerance for risk and error” environment That is a guaranteed “zero learning” environment. STOP and apply: How could you improve a homework assignment next week that would reward prac6ce, effort, feedback, and improvement rather than “ge\ng it right the first 6me?” Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 79 If the only acceptable teacher or administrator observaIon is one without mistakes, then you have guaranteed a “no tolerance for risk and error environment” That is a guaranteed “zero learning” environment. STOP AND APPLY: How can you make your next observa6on of a teacher or administrator a learning experience rather than a “zero-‐risk” and “zero learning” environment? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 80 IdenIfy appropriate risks and mistakes for students, teachers, and administrators • Student risks and errors: Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com • Teacher and Administrator risks and errors: 81 The Most Common Cause of Mistakes in Teaching and Leadership Not: • Inadequate training • Insufficient mo6va6on • Poor commitment • Unwillingness to learn • Resistance to change Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 82 The most common cause of mistakes in teaching, learning, and leadership is our unwillingness to make mistakes and learn from them Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 83 The Half-‐Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expira6on Date Samuel Arbesman (2012) Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 84 Examples of Mistakes Outside of Educa6on • Think of facts – not opinions – that you knew for certain were true and today we know that those facts were wrong. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 85 Expired “Facts” • The cause of stomach ulcers • Periodic Table of the Elements • Number of Chromosomes in a human cell (46, not 48) • Nearly everything about dinosaurs, including color, exterior, and species • Three Words: Pluto is Dead (and he had it coming) • Almost everything in ophthalmology • Corporal punishment promotes good behavior Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 86 What sort of meeIng would you rather lead – one in which everyone validates one another’s ideas or one in which there are challenges, objecIons, and vigorous debates? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 87 Debate Beats Barney • “There’s this Pollyannaish noMon that the most important thing to do when working together is stay posiMve and get along, to not hurt anyone’s feelings,” she says. “Well, that’s just wrong. Maybe debate is going to be less pleasant, but it will always be more producMve.” • [Charlan Nemeth, University of California, Berkeley, 2012] Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 88 Changing Facts Are Scary • If doctors used to think that smoking was good for us, what else do they know that may not be true? • How courageous would we have to be to tolerate changing facts? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 89 Learning Requires Risk and Error, Therefore: • PracMce feedback without evaluaMon – watch a music teacher or coach • Override grading and evaluaMon systems to prevent the use of averages for students, teachers, and administrators • Specifically reward creaMvity and appropriate risk-‐taking – “Learning Mistakes” Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 90 IdenIfy One of Your Own “Learning Mistakes” • What was the mistake? • How did you learn from it in a way that influences your professional pracIces today? • How could you communicate this learning mistake to colleagues and students? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 91 STOP AND REFLECT • • • • I was affirmed by . . . I was surprised by . . . I was challenged by . . . In the next 30 days, I can . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 92 To Download the PowerPoint: www.ChangeLeaders.com Douglas B. Reeves, Ph.D. (781) 710 9633 Research@NonprofitLeaders.org Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 93 Implementation Rubric RESULTS from students Level 1 – Novice Level 2 – Developing Level 3 – Proficient Level 4 Exemplary ACTIONS by faculty members SUPPORT by administrators IMPACT on the classroom, school, and system Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com 97 94
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