I am a Principal with the Simcoe County District School Board who is passionate about connecting with others, co-learning and helping all students and educators to reach their full potential. My blog is a compilation of reflections on my experiences and learning. You can also find me on Twitter @A_J_Golding Thanks for visiting!
Showing posts with label school leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school leadership. Show all posts
Simcoe County District School Board is currently offering a number of leadership opportunities for interested staff. One of these opportunities is an article study series, with a focus on instructional leadership. We are using a number of formats to facilitate discussion of a series of articles. For this article, we will be using a blog format. Visit this this blog anytime between now and March 19. Use the “comment” feature at the bottom of the page by clicking where it shows the number of comments in orange (see picture below). This will allow you to make a comment. Use this feature to answer the posted questions.
Be sure to check back through the week to see what others have posted and reply to their posts. Anyone is welcome to participate and add to the conversation!
Article Summary
Every educational leader has likely faced challenges at some point when trying to support change practices. Staff are often at different stages of understanding and implementation, and this variance can present challenges to productive collaboration related to school improvement.
Traditionally, teacher voice in professional learning may have been thought about as teacher preference, and may have looked like a school administrator giving choices for topics or pathways of professional learning. However, the ways that leaders respond to voice can either move the school community forward with depth and focus, or can cause teams to go a mile wide and an inch deep when attempting to respond to a wide range of opinions on staff.
Based on this premise, the “Stages of Concern” framework is a developmental progression of seven stages that describe the feelings and motivations a teacher might have about a change in practice as it is implemented. School leaders can use this model to support school improvement planning while working to investigate and reframe the concepts of “voice and choice” in terms of “readiness and concern”.
Previously, instructional leaders may have thought of these concerns as people being “negative” or “resistant”. This model changes that perspective. Through the Stages of Concern, leaders are encouraged to discuss and address concerns rather than trying to silence the voices that seem to challenge the change that is being implemented. The Stages of Concern framework honours individual concerns as a valid part of the change process, where voiced concerns become “assessment for learning” and “assessment as learning” information for the instructional leader, informing the ways in which they support the people they work with. It then allows leaders to differentiate and plan targeted professional learning to meet the self-identified needs of teachers, all the while, honouring voice and building relationships.
Questions
1- How does the “Stages of Concern” model make you rethink the concept of “resistance”?
2- Considering your current job embedded context, how might the “Stages of Concern” model support your practice related to instructional leadership? What are some specific “takeaways” that you want to try?
3- After reading this article, what are some questions that you have? Participants are encouraged to provide feedback on questions that are posted. Reference
Holloway, K. (2003). A measure of concern: Research based program aids innovation by addressing teacher concerns. National Staff Development Council Tools for Schools.
This week, we are concluding our book study with a face-to-face meeting and celebration of our work!
Chapter 5 Leaders Utilize a Collaborative Inquiry Framework to Organize Actions
Chapter Summary
“Leaders should be doing, and should be seen doing, that which they expect or require others to do” (p. 76)
Chapter 5 outlines a collaborative leadership inquiry four-stage model of plan, act, observe, asses. The chapter delves into each of the four components using a lens of leadership to share some best practices, tools and ideas around how this model might be best facilitated in order to enhance collective efficacy within a school.
Questions
Q1- Based on the information in this chapter as well as your own professional experience, how might you go about determining a meaningful focus for leadership inquiry?
Q2- What coaching, mentoring and facilitation skills might support you in your leadership work related to the topics in this book?
Q3- What is your biggest takeaway from this book?
Q4- What is the one thing that you might commit to doing differently as a result of reading this book?
Q5- As you reflect on the format of this book study, what worked well for you? What did not work well? What suggestions do you have for future book study formats and content?
Participants should visit the Google slide deck between Nov. 22-28th, read the questions and use a blank slide to share your responses
Feel free to add slides and comment on each other’s ideas.
We encourage you to use words or even pictures...be creative!
Be sure to check back through the week to see what others have posted and reply to their posts.
SCDSB staff will have access to the link. Non-SCDSB staff who would like to participate can comment on this post and provide their email address to be added.
Chapter 4 Enhancing Collective Efficacy Through Professional Protocols
Chapter Summary
“When educators engage in continuous learning, student learning is improved” (p. 51). Research has identified seven characteristics of professional learning.
Effective professional learning is...
Ongoing
Reinforces meaningful collaboration
Grounded in educator practice
Involves reflection based on evidence of student outcomes
Increases teacher influence
Builds capacity for leadership
Taps into sources of efficacy
This chapter also outlines several learning structures that enhance collective efficacy. These include:
Teacher networks
Collaborative teacher inquiry
Peer coaching through a cycle of co-planning, co-teaching, co-analysis and co-reflection
Lastly, several efficacy enhancing protocols are outlined as guidelines to help focus and deepen conversations.
Questions
Q1- Reflecting upon your current work environment, how might you apply one of the efficacy enhancing protocols discussed in this chapter to foster greater collective efficacy within a team that you currently working with?
Q2- Donohoo focuses her discussion on teacher professional learning . How can this knowledge be provided to professional learning for administrators? What are some of the learning structures that have worked for you OR what are some learning structures that you would like to see?
Q3- “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” What are some of your “failed” learning experiences that you have organized or led as an administrator or leader? Why do you feel they failed? What did you try afterwards or what might you do next time?
Q4- In the book, we read that leaders of professional learning must capitalize on social persuasion as well as teachers’ emotional reactions to tasks. As a leader, how can you apply this to the learning in your school?
Q5- What has been the most powerful professional learning experience in your career in education? What were the conditions that made this experience so impactful?
This week, our group has chosen a Twitter chat format for our book study conversation. Instructions for this format are as follows:
If you do not have one already, create a twitter account
Follow @A_J_Golding and @jmerkleyjoanne
Log in on Thursday November 15th at 4:30
Alison will be posting the questions, watch her feed. A new question will be posted approximately every 10 minutes
Questions will be posted as Q1 (Question 1), Q2 (Question 2) etc.
To keep it easy to follow, participants should reply by starting their post with A1 (Answer 1, corresponding with Question 1) etc.
Use the hashtag #scdsbCE with every post you make. This way, you can click on the hashtag, then click on “latest” at the top of the feed so you can view all of your colleagues posts and replies in order.
Feel free to respond to each others’ posts as well as to the questions by using the “reply feature” but make sure you still use the #scdsbCE hashtag
Chapter 3- Fostering Collective Teacher Efficacy
Chapter Summary
“Fostering collective teacher efficacy to realize increased student achievement involves creating opportunities for meaningful collaboration, empowering teachers, establishing goals and high expectations, and helping educators interpret results and provide feedback.” (p. 35)
In this chapter, six enabling conditions for fostering collective teacher efficacy are shared. These include:
Advanced teachers influence
Goal consensus
Teachers’ knowledge about one another’s work
Cohesive staff
Responsiveness of leadership
Effective systems of intervention
Questions
Q1- One of the enabling conditions for fostering collective teacher efficacy is when teachers have opportunities to learn about each other’s’ work. What opportunities can school leaders create for their teachers to learn collaboratively?
Q2- Leaders can support the conditions for efficacy by developing a culture where teachers each have a role in achieving a shared purpose as part of a larger team. How might leaders increase this sense of interdependence between teachers?
Q3- Responsiveness calls for leaders to address situations that prevent the team from carrying out their duties effectively. How might school leaders respond to these situations in ways in which the team feels supported?
Q4- When teachers feel empowered as part of a decision making process, they become more invested, believe in their ability to successfully carry out those decisions and collective efficacy increases. How can school leaders create a culture where teachers are involved in decision making?
Q5- What are some ways that leaders can provide feedback and create opportunities for peer feedback and self-reflection with school teams about their impact on student learning in order to set direction and next steps?
This week, our group has chosen a blog format for our book study conversation. Instructions for this format are as follows:
Visit this post anytime between November 8th and November 14th. Use the “comment” feature at the bottom of the page by clicking where it shows the number of comments in orange (see picture below). This will allow you to make a comment. Use this feature to answer the posted questions. Be sure to check back through the week to see what others have posted and reply to their posts.
Although this is the only week we will be using the blog to conduct our study, questions will be posted on the blog every week for reference.
Chapter 2- Consequences of Collective Teacher Efficacy
Chapter Summary
“When a sense of collective efficacy is present, staffs maintain a school environments in which students feel good about themselves. They also engage in more productive behaviours that support positive student outcomes.” (p. 13)
Positive consequences of collective teacher efficacy discussed in this chapter include:
Putting forth greater effort and persistence, especially aimed toward students experiencing difficulty
Trying new teaching approaches based on effective pedagogy
Questions Q1- “When teachers expect their students to perform at high levels, they do” (p. 15). How can school leaders help cultivate the belief that students in their school can meet high expectations? -Q2- “When efficacy is high, teachers are more accepting of change and more likely to try new teaching approaches” (p. 15). What are some actions taken by school leaders that you think would create these conditions conditions? Q3- “Student centred classrooms move the focus from teaching to learning” (p. 21).. How can school leaders help create the conditions where students have responsibility in some of the decisions made regarding their learning and the implementation of those decisions? Q4- Learner autonomy, where teachers share responsibility for solving classroom problems with their students, is said to go hand in hand with a sense of intrinsic motivation. Along with teachers fostering this condition in their classrooms, school leaders can also facilitate opportunities for shared problem solving with their students and staff. What are some ways that school leaders might do this? Q5- How can school leaders invite parental involvement, paying particular attention to parents from marginalized populations or those who may be less comfortable interacting in a school setting?
Meeting face to face for our initial and final meetings covering Chapters 1 and 5, our group has decided to "meet" virtually for Chapters 2, 3 and 4, trying a different format each week. Week 2's meeting will be via responses on a blog post, week 3 will be collaboration via twitter chat and week 4 will be through a collaborative Google slide deck. At our final meeting, we will discuss our experiences with the different formats and share ideas about other formats that we might try with the intent of setting direction for future book studies. Although we will be "meeting" via a different format each week, I will post our weekly questions here for easy reference and so that others' might follow along and join in with our learning.
Happy reading!
Chapter 1- Collective Teacher Efficacy
Chapter Summary “Amazing things happen when a school staff shares the belief that they are able to achieve collective goals and overcome challenges to impact student achievement” (p. 1). Collective teacher efficacy can be defined as teachers’ shared belief in their ability to reach all students to positively influence achievement outcomes. In Chapter 1, Donohoo shares research that indicates collective teacher efficacy outranks every other influence on student achievement, including socioeconomic status, prior achievement, home environment and parental involvement. Donohoo goes on to identify four sources that shape collective efficacy beliefs; mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and affective states.
Connection to other research:
John Hattie (Visible Learning), Peter Dewitt (Collaborative Leadership), Stephen Covey (Seven Habits…)
Questions
What is the role of leadership, both formal and informal, in fostering collective teacher efficacy within our schools?
According to Donohoo, the most powerful source of collective teacher efficacy are “mastery experiences”, defined as teams experiencing success and attributing those successes to causes within their control. Share some examples of where you see this happening in your school.
The second most powerful source of collective efficacy is “vicarious experiences”. This is when teachers see colleagues facing similar challenges to their own overcoming those challenges and as a result feel that they too can overcome those obstacles. What are some ways that we can tap into creating vicarious experiences for our staff members?
What role might school climate play with respect to collective teacher efficacy (or vice versa)?
If we all have “an emotional bank account,” based on deposits and withdrawals what behaviours and actions of a leader serve as deposits. Which act as withdrawals? How does impact collective efficacy?
This summer I took part in an international peer-shadowing program in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The Leading Educators Around the Planet (LEAP)program is an innovative international leadership program that connects school leaders around the world in a collaborative peer shadowing and action-research experience.
I joined a group of close to 40 principals, vice principals and supervisory officers from Ontario who spent two weeks in NSW researching a specific area of focus linked to our school and board improvement plans and guided by the Ontario Leadership Framework. Although the majority of participants were from Ontario and NSW, our exchange also had a handful of participants from Finland, two from the United Kingdom and one from Nova Scotia.
During the exchange, visiting participants are matched one-on-one with school leaders in NSW. I was matched with a lovely deputy principal named Diane Read who works at Lindfield East Public School. While on exchange, you live with your partner and make a home base out of their school. From there you visit other schools, participate in organized professional learning and carry out your research.
I decided to jump-start my official exchange by spending the week prior in Queensland, Australia, visiting a former colleague who I met while she was on an exchange in Ontario teaching at my previous school. My choice to spend time in two very different areas of the country provided a varied lens into practices used in different states with extremely diverse communities.
My research was on the question “How do elementary schools in NSW implement targeted, evidence-based strategies to promote mental health and well-being, positive school climate, self-regulation and pro-social behaviour?”. I visited multiple schools to observe classes, look at data, and speak with school staff, parents, community partners and, of course, students. I also looked into the effects of programs that we were discussing on student engagement, student discipline and closing gaps in student achievement.
During professional learning sessions, I also had the opportunity to learn from leaders in international education such as Dr. Chris Sarra (Executive Director of the Indigenous Education Leadership Institute, which is based on his “Strong and Smart” philosophy) Jeff McMullin (journalist, author, film maker and honorary CEO of Ian Thorpe’s Fountain for Youth–Jeff has written, filmed and campaigned around the world to improve the health of Indigenous people through education), Rhonda Craven (Director, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australia Catholic University), and Steven Heppell (Professor and international consultant on 21st century learning).
Now that I have returned and the jet lag is (mostly) gone and the learning is still fresh in my mind, I would like to share a few of the learnings that I brought home from my travels. Just to keep things interesting, some of my reflections will be professional and some will be more personal.
Nope, never, ever…it just doesn’t happen. In fact, in Australia shrimp are referred to as prawns.
2) Explicit teaching of resiliency promotes positive mental health
My home school Lindfield East used a program to explicitly teach social emotional well-being and resilience, with good results. The Bounce Backprogram, based on the premises of cognitive behavioural psychology, is comprehensive, research based and award winning. It integrates curriculum, quality literature, arts and technology, caters to multiple intelligences and incorporates many entry points for differentiation of learning. Unit topics include: core values, elasticity, bouncing back, courage, looking on the bright side, emotions, relationships, humour and bullying. Teachers can choose from hundreds of activities to build into their teaching.
In the program, the term “Bounce Back” is an acronym, with each point used as a common language around the school to guide students through their difficulties:
Bad times don’t last. Things always get better. Other people can help if you talk to them.Unhelpful thinking makes you more upset. Nobody is perfect – not you and not others. Concentrate on the positives (no matter how small) and use laughter. Everybody experiences sadness, hurt, failure, rejection and setbacks sometimes, not just you. They are a normal part of life. Try not to personalise them.
Blame fairly. How much of what happened was due to you, to others and to bad luck or circumstances? Accept what can’t be changed (but try to change what you can first). Catastrophising exaggerates your worries. Don’t believe the worst possible picture. Keep things in perspective. It’s only part of your life.
(taken from “Bounce Back”, Toni Noble & Helen McGrath)
During this school year, I intend to further explore the idea of integrating targeted lessons focused on developing resilience in our students.
3) Possums in Australia and opossums in Ontario are NOT the same animal!
My host Diane, mentioned a few times how cute the possums were that lived in her trees. As they are nocturnal and as someone who is terrified of Ontario opossums (who are often referred to as possums as well), I hadn’t actually seen one and I would politely nod my head during these discussions. One evening, after having this conversation again, I finally said, “We can’t be talking about the same animal, the ones at home are horrible looking!” With the assistance of my good friend Google, I discovered that in fact, we were not talking about the same animal, rather two animals with a similar name. Lesson learned, Australian possums are adorable (go ahead, Google away)!
4) PBL Programs use a clear framework to promote positive behaviour
PBL poster for the basketball court.
Positive Behaviour Engaging Learning is a research-based program which uses data collection within each school to identify focus areas. A committee (ideally staff, students and parents) then comes together to look at data and choose three positively-worded, concise expectations for the school (usually one to do with behavior, one to with learning and one to do with safety). The committee also develops a logo that is posted everywhere and spoken about widely by staff, students and parents. They then create anchor charts, defining each expectation. These are also posted and spoken about. Specific posters are made for each setting within the school where each expectation is further described within that setting (e.g. in the gym, stairway, washroom, outside, classroom…anywhere you can think of). Procedures for teaching and reinforcing these expectations are then developed. Within this framework, all students, staff, parents and visitors understand expectations and can talk about them and are expected to apply what they look like in different settings.
5)An Australian-English dictionary may have come in handy…but I’m not sure there is such a thing
I thought I was up on my Australian slang (g’day, Sheila, mate, bloke, reckon, give it a go), however, on more than one occasion, someone would say something and I would non my head in agreement, having no idea what they actually just said. As soon as I had Wi-Fi access, I would again turn to my trusty pal Google to translate these Aussie-isms. Here are a few examples:
popper = juice box occa = over the top Aussie-ness cossie = bathing suit pokies = slot machine chook = chicken drongo = a dope daggy = unfashionable tea = an actual meal whinge = complain bikkie = cookie or cracker…I’m still not sure how they differentiate flat white = the kind of coffee I drank when I was there…I learned this one pretty quickly due to its importance! entrée = appetizer (which is the opposite from North America and had me very confused one evening at dinner)
6)We can learn a lot globally about21st Century learning models
Although it goes without saying, the face of education has changed drastically from when I was young (and I’d like to think that wasn’t really that long ago…please humour me). Changes in the global job market and rapidly changing technologies force us as educators to constantly redefine the way we look at preparing our students to function in a world that is very different from the one we grew up in. Combining quality teaching practices with a quality learning environment, and activities that have relevance to students are common foundations that will guide school planning.
After visits to schools such as Merrylands East and participating in workshops with Stephen Heppell where he discussed schools around the world that he has worked with, it became clear to me how innovative schools are becoming. Along with moving toward “out-of-the-box” models of education comes reports of decreased suspension rates, improved academic scores and increased attendance. Some of the global trends in this area include:
flexible, comfortable and moveable furniture and leaning spaces that support engagement and different types of learning
taking the student voice into account in school planning (making decisions about student learning and environment with the students, not to or for them)—this is often referred to as “voice and choice”
using various technologies
using project or inquiry based learning—this begins with a driving question that students then research, create, analyze and share their findings and creations, often globally
mixing age groupings (the concept of stage not age)
everything that is done in the school has relevance (some schools are eliminating textbooks and worksheets entirely, focusing again on teaching essential skills through quality teaching practices, quality learning environment and making tasks relevant and meaningful)
While looking closely at different models and trends, it is clear that there cannot be a “one size fits all” approach. Each school community is different and all stakeholders need to have input into changing educational models.
7) Who needs video games when you can drive in the Australian countryside?
Driving at dusk in the Australian countryside or outback, is like playing a live version of one of those race car games where you have to dodge things on the road…those things being kangaroos, wallabies and other wildlife. Between that, and driving on the left side of the road, I am thankful that I was just the passenger and that I made it back unscathed!
8) We’re on the right track in Ontario
When looking at ideas and strategies being implemented in NSW schools, there are enough similarities that you can imagine how you could take the idea home, slightly revise it and implement it to meet the needs of your own school. While discussing programs, practices and initiatives, I would often say, “we have/do that but it’s called something different”. I also often found myself saying, “You would love our ___ program” (insert program name). Having these conversations creates a real sense of pride for your own education system and also reinforces the feeling that we are on the right track from a more global perspective.
I can say with great certainty that taking part in an international research exchange has been the best professional development of my career, allowing me to fully immerse myself in a culture of reflection and dialogue that was directly focused on improving student outcomes. I look forward to continuing my learning during the second part of the exchange where my partner, Diane, will be staying with me to complete her own research during her next school holiday at the end of September. I am eager to repay her hospitality and show her some of the beautiful sights of our province as well as some of the fantastic programs that we run in the SCDSB!
As promised in my blog post A Day in the Life of an Elementary Vice Principal…Part 1, here is the second installment of what I hope to be a three-part series on the role of an elementary school administrator. Since my last Day in the Life blog in December, I am now working at a different school in a different community and have been busy getting to know the staff, students and families.
An exciting part of my new role, along with getting to know an entirely different school community, is that my new school, Alliston Union, is closing and re-opening in a new building in September. So, as the year winds down, many of the activities of my day involve planning for the closing the current building.
In reading the first and second blog post, you will likely notice many differences in a “typical” day of a school administrator, which was why I decided to write more than one post on this topic. Every day is full of new adventures, which is one of the reasons that I love my job! What a vice-principal in another community, or in a secondary school would write, would also be very different.
8 a.m. – Arrive at school, check staff absences and meet with staff to touch base on the various events of the day.
8:30 a.m. – Students arrive and classes begin. I help sign in students who have come in late and talking with parents…the office is always busy at this time.
9 a.m. – Meet with a representative of the local Rotary Club to discuss programs that they sponsor in the school. Specifically, we discussed implementing a new program next year, called Who is Nobody that has terrific links to the SCDSB character traits, community and self-esteem building. I accepted an invitation to attend the next Rotary meeting where I am looking forward to hearing testimonials from other schools about the impact of this program on their students.
9:30 a.m. – Walk around the school and visit each classroom.
10 a.m. – During recess time, I lead Grades 5-8 and Grades 1-4 choirs with a parent volunteer. We are working on a song that will be performed at the closing ceremony in June. This is one of the times during my week that I look forward to most because I get to make connections with a lot of the students and I love to experience their enthusiasm and eagerness!
11 a.m. – After recess, I get a call that one of our students with special needs is having difficulties in the classroom and needs a safe spot to cool down. He comes to my office and I’m eating a snack when he arrives so I offer him some. Having snack with me seems to distract him and, once he appears more calm, we talk abut why he was feeling upset, problem solve and do a bit of guided relaxation. Ordering some resources was on my “to do” list for the day, and the resources happen to be for a group that he will be involved in. He sits with me while I order the resources for a program called Superflex that one of the Special Education Resource teachers will be running with a small group of boys and we talk a bit about the program while I order.
12:10 p.m. – The student is ready to go back to his classroom, but is feeling anxiety around going back mid-class after leaving upset. I offer to walk back with him and he accepts. While I’m in the classroom, another student approaches me about not having a ride to school tomorrow. The class is going on a field trip which is departing the school prior to busing and she is a bus student. I return to the office, call her family and get permission to pick her up at home the following morning to bring her to school for the trip.
12:30 p.m. – I’m grateful that today is “Salad Day” for staff, since I gave away some of my lunch earlier. I go to the staff room and make a plate of salad, but get called back to the office almost immediately…the salad sits on my desk while I get back to work. I deal with some behaviour issues during recess, then take about 5 minutes to eat at the bell.
1:15 p.m. – I go to a Grade 7 room to teach a critical literacy lesson based on a music video. In my current role, I don’t teach each day like I did at my previous school, however, I still try to take time to visit classrooms and do activities with students.
2:10 p.m. – I return to the office and things are quiet so I read some memos and work on a schedule for our “tutor in the classroom”, who begins her role at the school the following week. Her job will be to support some of our Grades 3 and 6 classes with literacy and numeracy. I also work on re-vamping the invitation to our closing ceremony on June 19th as we had to reschedule the event which was initially planned for June 12 because of the announcement of the provincial election on that date.
2:50 p.m. – School ends and there are two meetings. My principal attends the monthly meeting for our educational assistant while I attend a meeting with a teacher and two mothers around a potential bullying issue between their children as well as interactions outside of the school that have occurred between their families. The meeting, which had the possibility of being contentious, ends up being very productive, and all parties leaving feeling positive.
3:50 p.m. – I leave the school and head to McDonald’s where I am volunteering for McHappy Day. I spend most of the event face painting for donations. It was great to see families from my school come out to support this cause. I also learned that I’m actually really good at painting Spider-Man! Proceeds from the event went to Ronald McDonald House, Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Matthews House Hospice and the Borden Family Resource Centre. Between the Alliston and Angus McDonalds locations, over $28,000 was donated to these causes!
7 p.m. – I make the drive home to Barrie feeling fantastic after having participated in such a positive event…and that was my day in the life of an elementary vice principal (part 2)!
