Time Management and Crucial Conversations for Principals

1. Time Management and Crucial Conversations for Principals

2. Hopes for today • With a partner: • What are you hoping to learn today? • What pressing questions would you like answered? • Prepare to share!

3. Gathering hopes and questions • Good systems to get into classrooms consistently • Getting staff to respond to appointment requests • Post conferences – how to make them more meaningful • More ideas on managing observation cycle, calendar • eVal/Pivot (online tools) [we didn’t get to this]

4. Hopes and questions (cont) • Calibration – bringing new staff on board, having consistency with principals/assistant principals • How to keep the momentum going/not fall back into old habits, keep growing • Critical conversations with staff members who don’t recognize the need to change • Conversation focused on language of rubric – fine line between teacher led and principal led

5. Agenda • Scheduling the Inquiry Cycle • Feedback Structure & Research • Formative & Targeted Feedback • Conversation Architectures • Interventions and Supports

7. Interventions and Supports • Learning Walks • Development of Notice/Wonder • Feedback to Teachers

8. In groups • How do you use formal and informal learning walks to strengthen administrator skill and practice? • How do you provide feedback and/or engage others in conversation following learning walks? • What do you find limiting or challenging in implementing learning walks?

9. Learning Together • Groups share favorite ideas

10. Scheduling the Inquiry Cycle • With partner/group: • How do you schedule your conversations and observations? • What (if anything) got in the way of scheduling observations/conversations?

11. Ideas • Share handout • Collaborative pre-conference • 5 hours per week minimum • This is our core work: teaching and learning. We must prioritize time to support this work.

12. Feedback Structures • Strengths • Short Term Feedback • Long Term Feedback/Professional Development & Goals

13. Formative Feedback • Connected to teacher’s area of focus or other observed practice • Strength’s based • Timely • Positive • Supportive

14. Targeted Feedback • Always connected to teacher’s area of focus • Specific • Narrow focus (“target”) • Teacher directed • Immediate feedback – quick snapshot

16. Conversation Architectures • See handout • Let’s practice

17. Think of a teacher • I like to start with teachers who are open to feedback • Describe the characteristics of this teacher • Strengths • Short/long term growth areas • Imagine you just completed an observation • How would you plan the feedback conversation? • What would be different if it was a teacher who struggled to hear feedback?

18. Trouble Shooting • I have heard: • “I’m a specialist. How does this TPEP process apply to me?” • “My principal does not know my content area well. How can she give me quality feedback?” • “You don’t know MY students. We’re doing the best we can – isn’t that good enough? • Take 5 minutes per question and discuss how you have/will address that in your practice

19. Sharing

20. Trust • Competence • Benevolence/Caring • Openness/Respect • Reliability • Honesty/Integrity

21. Competence • Dr. Mester’s Advice • Stage I & Stage II training • UW CEL Feedback Institute • UW CEL Rater Reliability Training • Practice! • Just keep learning

22. Competence • Criterion/Dimension Review • Works for Instructional and Leadership Frameworks • Connect to current practice • “What does it look like and sound like when it’s working?” • “What does this look like and sound like when it’s not working/in progress?”

23. Competence • Resources: • AWSP Leadership Framework User’s Guide • CEL 5D Teacher Evaluation Guide

24. Benevolence & Caring • All about bedside manner and relationships • If something isn’t working, be very curious as to why • Personal life? • Health issues? • Parents or Children? • Skills, knowledge?

25. Reliability • Is your feedback connected to the rubrics? • Is your scoring accurate? • What bias do you bring to observation and evaluation? • How do you open your practice to scrutiny?

26. Openness and Respect • How do you ask for feedback? • How do you share your strength and growth areas with others? • How do you ensure preservation of dignity AND confront problems?

27. Honest & Integrity • Model Risk-Taking • Model Mistakes • Model Correcting your Mistakes • Be able to look yourself in the mirror every day

28. How do you know what to do? • Determine: • Does the question have to do with skills, knowledge, and understanding? • Does the question have to do with beliefs? • Be sure you know what type of question is being asked at the root so you know how to answer.

29. How do you know what to do? • Determine: • Is this something the teacher knows how to do and just needs processing time? • Is this something the teacher does not know how to do and needs additional support, training, or intervention

30. How do you know what to do? • What would happen if you did/said nothing? • How would you want the feedback? • What about the 80/20 rule? (Or the 90/10 rule?) • What time of day is it? Would it be best to wait until tomororw?

31. Scenarios • Think of a difficult conversation you need to have (or have had in the past) • How do you plan for this? • How do you maintain your focus? • How do you ensure the relationship is preserved? • How do you follow up? • Discuss at your tables

32. What would you do? • It’s one thing to plan for difficult conversations. It’s another thing entirely to find yourself in the middle of a conversation that turns “crucial” or “difficult” unexpectedly. • What do you do when this happens? • How do you remember to stay calm, logical, and not overly emotional?

33. Q&A • Share: • How do you approach difficult conversations? • What questions about difficult conversations can we help answer?

34. Q&A • Review the “Hopes and Questions” from the beginning of the session • What other pressing questions do you have? • “What if…..?”

35. Interest Based Decisions to Form a Support Plan • Issue/Purpose • Interests/Beliefs • Options • Evaluate Options • Develop Plans

36. Developing the Plan • How would you determine priorities when a teacher or principal has multiple growth areas?

37. Implementing the Plan • Think in terms of roles: • Teacher • Principal • Coach • Education Association • District Office • Think in terms of support: • Professional Development • Observation/Conversation • Collaboration

38. Evaluating the Plan • Timelines/Checkpoints • Reciprocal Accountability • Setting each other up for success • Defined Success • Link to rubrics • Link to best practices • Teacher-led whenever possible

39. Q&A • The purpose of today’s discussion • How to manage time to do this work well • How to plan for crucial conversations • Did we answer these questions? • Do you have tools, skills, knowledge, and strategies to support this work?

40. Reflection • Talk at your tables • What are your takeaways? • What questions do you still have? • Prepare to share

41. Contact Whitney Meissner • Whitney.erin13@gmail.com • Whitney_meissner@csd49.org • 360-316-1088