Document 6504487

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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This seminar will be a success if . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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This seminar will be a success if . . . Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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I used to think . . . Studies of best pracMces would unlock the key to success. Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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The first “best pracIce” Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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The Next best pracIces Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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The next best pracIces Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Does Research Support the Non-­‐Linear Model? Evidence of Impact Limited to DEEP ImplementaIon: • 
• 
• 
• 
• 
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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
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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
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Case Study in Failed Focus Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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What Teachers and Principals Listed as Priority IniIaIves •
•
•
•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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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
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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
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Hierarchy of ImplementaIon of effecIve pracIce Engagement Professional Leadership Acceptance Labels Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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Why Is Focus So Important? Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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High-­‐SES Schools Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 13.9 10.2 5 Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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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
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Applying the Research Step-­‐by-­‐Step Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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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
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Step 1: Factors We Control or Strongly Influence Total: __________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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Step 2: Factors We Cannot Control or Strongly Influence Total: __________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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Step 3: Efficacy QuoIent •  Step 1 divided by Step 2 mulIplied by 100: __________________________ Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. www.ChangeLeaders.com
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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“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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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