Teacher Leadership from the Classroom

Teacher Leadership from the Classroom Session 4 Thursday, October 17, 2013

Purpose • Learn about the Teacher Leader Model Standards • Learn about activities designed to improve effectiveness in the implementation of standards • Learn about and apply principles of adult learning that will lead to more effective leadership. • Ultimately – greater capacity for leadership within your roles.

Structure • Based on Teacher Leader Model Standards

Housekeeping • Taking Care of Business • Follow-Up Dates – all 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. • August 15 • August 22 • September 19 • October 17 • October 24 • November 7 • November 21 • December 12 • Focus Group Scheduled between November 21 and December 12

Focus Group Sign Up • Thursday, November 22 • Monday, December 2 • Tuesday, December 3 • Thursday, December 5 • Monday, December 9 • Tuesday, December 10

Reflections on our Action Step

Reviewing The Teacher Leader Model Standards • Domain I: Fostering a Collaborative Culture to Support Educator Development and Student Learning • Functions within this domain include understanding and application of : • adult learning theory, • collective responsibility, • and group facilitation.

Teacher Leader Model Standards • Domain II: Accessing and Using Research to Improve Practice and Student Learning • Functions within this domain include understanding and application of : • Research of teacher effectiveness and student learning, • Analysis and interpretation of student data, to improve student learning, • Collaboration with higher education, • and collecting and analyzing data to improve teaching and learning within the classroom.

Teacher Leader Model Standards • Domain III: Promoting Professional Learning for Continuous Improvement • Functions within this domain include : • Collaborating with administrators and colleagues to plan professional learning; • Facilitating professional learning among colleagues; • Using technologies to promote collaborative and differentiated professional learning; • Working with colleagues to collect data related to professional learning; • Providing constructive feedback to strengthen teaching practice and improve student learning; • Using information about emerging trends in education to plan professional learning.

Teacher Leader Model Standards • Domain IV: Facilitating Improvements in Instruction and Student Learning • Functions within this domain include : • Facilitating the collection, analysis and use of classroom and school-based data to identify opportunities to improve curriculum, assessment, school organization and school culture. • Engaging in reflective dialogue with colleagues based on observation of instruction, student work, and assessment data • Supporting colleagues individual and collective reflection and professional growth serving as a mentor, coach, and content facilitator • Serving as a team leader • Using knowledge of emerging and existing technologies to guide colleagues • Promoting instructional strategies that address issues of diversity and equity

Teacher Leader Model Standards • Facilitating the collection, analysis and use of classroom and school-based data to identify opportunities to improve curriculum, assessment, school organization and school culture. • Engaging in reflective dialogue with colleagues based on observation of instruction, student work, and assessment data • Supporting colleagues individual and collective reflection and professional growth serving as a mentor, coach, and content facilitator

Reflective Practice • Why Reflective Practice? • “For growth and improvement of any educational institution, teacher professional development becomes a milestone in teachers’ continuum of life-long learning and career progression” (Hien, 2008). • However, as courses and development are mandated, the focus turns to fulfilling credits rather than learning. • Professional development based on teacher enhancement can have a positive impact on teachers’ skills and attitudes in the classroom.

Adult Learners • Adults learn differently from children. • Adults come with a variety of experiences that are crucial to their learning and through those experiences have predefined ideas for what they need to learn (Merriam & Brockett, 2007).

Best Practices for Adult Learners • Experiences within the classroom must be respected and utilized • Teachers want to problem solve with their colleagues and learn things that are applicable to practices in their classroom • “The most successful adult learning takes place in a collaborative setting” (Brockett, 2008). • “Adult learners tent to resist learning that is in conflict with the direction they believe their learning should go” (Brookfield, 1990).

Reflective Practice • “Reflective Practice can enable practitioners to learn from experience about themselves, their work, and the way they relate to home and work, significant others and wide society and culture” (Bolton, 2009). • “Reflective practice leading to change and development only happens in learning organisations (Gould 2004), with supportive mechanisms of coach, mentor or facilitator (Gray 2007), and not when top-down organisational visions are imposed leading to compliance (Senge 1992).”

Result of Reflective Practice • “Organisations gain from workpalce reflection because critically reflective practitioners have increased morale, commitment to clients, openness to multiple perspectives and creative innovative non-dichotomous solutions…(Fook, 2002)”. • “Employees required to write in journals and accounts of practice without being inducted and facilitated well are likely to experience feelings of helplessness, frustration and eventual burnout (Gray 2007), be resistant (Bulpitt and Martin 2005), negative (Hobbs 2007), or even ‘angry, challenged, threatened, demoralized, shocked and put off…” (Bolton, 2009).

Building A Foundation that Supports Reflection • Connected to adult learning • Facilitation required • Lead a horse to water… • Make it applicable • Environment of trust and confidence • Willingness to ask hard questions • Bandura (1977) says that environments that promote interpersonal interaction may result in greater reflection. • “Trust builds whenever people are vulnerable.”

Strong Facilitation • Don’t let one person dominate the conversation. • Use activities that required everyone’s participation – have question-storming completed individually before sharing, then whiparound to get everyone’s voice in the room. • Effective for when some people refuse to talk or participate • Group loses focus • Appoint a timekeeper/agenda master. Don’t be afraid to get the group back on topic. • Complaining occurs – states that change can’t happen. • Acknowledge the feeling, and turn the topic toward what the group CAN control rather than what they can’t.

Critical Reflection • “Critical reflection is the process of analyzing, reconsidering, and questioning experiences within a broad context of issues” (Murray, Kujundzic, 2005). • Think about your own practice and how you might go through a critical reflection process – what would you do? What resources would you need? • It is more than constructive self-criticism, but includes four possible activities:

Activities for Critical Reflection • Assumption Analysis – think about your own beliefs, values, cultural practices. How does this impact our reality? • Contextual Awareness – our assumptions are based on a specific historical and cultural context. • Imaginative Speculation – Imagine alternative ways of thinking about phenomena in ordert to provide an opportunity to challenge our thinking. • Reflective Skepticism – Questioning of universal truth.

Facilitating Critical Reflection • Asking Tough Questions • Using Protocols for Progress

Asking Tough Questions • Open-ended questions geared toward promoting divergent thinking – • What are the implications of _________________? • Why is ______________ important? • What is another way to look at ________________? • Why could you not -___________________? • What proof do you have for _________________? • Questions that require analysis of your own thinking processes- • Why do you think that is the best approach and why? • What could make it better? • How will all students be impacted by this?

Protocols for Reflection • Postcards – everyone writes on a postcard and shares their thinking. • Clearing – provide two minutes to clear any thoughts on people’s minds. No dialogue. • Peeling the Onion – attacking a complex problem • Share the problem • Clarifying Questions • Active listening • Peeling/Probing • Responses • What Comes Up – focus on teaching/learning • Presentation of student work • Questions posed while examining the work • Round of responses – everyoneone responds • Conversation • Repeat

Takeaways for Reflection • Environment is key for quality critical reflection to occur • Protocols are necessary to ensure quality reflection • A strong facilitator is necessary • Questions must be asked that challenge beliefs, cultural context, and assumptions • Build on wants and desires of participants

Domain IV: Facilitating Improvements in Instruction and Student Learning What is your action step?

Teacher Leadership from the Classroom