Base 4 Animation

Continuing Evolution

As I begin to read more about rubrics and students using them, I realize one thing I am missing is helping students actually write rubrics based upon projects/work that is already done.  Giving students finished products to look at and then ask them to differentiate between work that is above expectation, meeting expectation, or below expectation can help them understand how to differentiate those same characteristics in their own work.

I will continue to read and work out how to do this, but I think after the students turn in their first project, I may be able to use their work to help them then create better rubrics for the next projects.

Changes

As I began my inquiry process, I thought I was going to look at how to use blended learning modules with my gifted students. This didn't work out too well.  There were a lot of things that created stressors in this work.  The biggest issue is that I only see the students for 20 minutes once a week face-to-face.  As eleven year olds, they are used to being in charge of their learning at this point.  They need to learn to do it - which was part of what I was planning to do.  But when they go a week at a time with no face-to-face time, they don't have the opportunity to learn - they were simply expected to do it.

As the year has progressed, I realized that I can work towards my ultimate goal of self-regulated learning and student-led learning by helping my students learn to differentiate for themselves and write their own rubrics.  I have begun to read about the use of rubrics in general and student-created ones in general.  In my own past experience, I have had issues with rubrics because I feel like they are generally written to the lowest end of mastery and make it easy for gifted and talented students to make a 100% without much effort on their part.  My hope is that by creating the rubric themselves, they will have greater ownership and mastery of the criteria will prove to be more than simply crossing t's and dotting i's.

For the past six weeks, Learning Community has been learning about the Events Leading to the American Revolution.  All students were tasked with choosing a position: Patriot, Loyalist, or Undecided.  They were then asked to prove their position with evidence from the texts that they have read.  Part of the task is to write an editorial proving to showcase their learning. The students are now four days away from their first projects being due.  There are 15 gifted students and for this first project and as a part of my inquiry, I let the asked the gifted students to choose their own project beyond simply writing an editorial.  I have several students creating websites, a couple using Minecraft to reconstruct an event from the time period, a couple creating stop-motion animation, two writing stories, and one writing a choose-your-own-adventure book.  I haven't seen any finished products, but I have been encouraged by their ownership and excitement about the projects.  My hope is that they are able to accurately and portray their knowledge of the events and to know the information deeply.  That is what I am really looking for as I receive the projects this first round.

I plan to use what I find out to guide our future endeavors with student-created rubrics.  I don't know if I'll be able to have them choose their own projects every time, but we'll see.  What I do have to work on is creating an effective reflection for the students at the end of this project.  I have so many things going on in my head for how to progress.  As we now have 1:1 iPads, I want to have the students do a lot of reflection and use technology to explain a lot of their thinking - but I don't know that it can all be part of my inquiry.  So for now, I will focus on the reflection and the student-created rubrics.

As I move through the year, however, I would like to explore the following:

• blogging (maybe KidBlog?).
• using Evernote - I'm not sure if this would just be a rehash of blogging.
• Using educreations to show their thinking and learning processes for different topics including:
• literature circle topics
• home reading projects
• higher-order mathematics reasoning
• others?

Again, I know this is too much for an inquiry, but I'm really interested in helping these students go beyond simply learning and moving toward the creating.

My Inquiry Process

My inquiry process

I struggle with this portion of my career. I hate when I can't figure things out right away and when I perceive that I am less that perfect. I suppose in some ways that is why I relate to the kids I'm trying to work with. I also worry about feeling like I am winging stuff. I know I have read a lot about the stuff I am trying to do, but I feel like I have half-assed some stuff that hasn't worked out well and now I'm gun shy. I end up feeling that I am not doing it with quality and then thinking that means I should rely on canned curricula to fix it. One issue is that I don't think I've been as detail oriented. I don't always follow-through. And additionally, it has been several years since I have been able to really work with a group of kids on something without having to run it through committee and not have the time to get it done. That is what I have to figure out this year. Is it okay for Jhett and Brice and Kaiti to be my guinea pigs? How do I really start small and not offer the same thing to everyone? That is what I have to get comfortable with.

As for my inquiry, the first turn we are talking is teaching the students that they really do have to be online and working on the material. That wasn't something I anticipated. But then again, I don't know that I really hit the vein of them working on something they are interested in. Somehow there has to be a sweet spot. Right now I detect they like coming with me because it's "fun" and somewhat challenging, but nothing really to be responsible for. When it requires work, many of them peter out. Teaching that kind of perseverance is also a goal. But I do think I need to reform my inquiry around what they would be more interested in and use the time in my conferences to help with that. That is where my mind is now. I think my actual data gathering will need to wait until the second social studies unit.

My questions for tomorrow: what part of the events leading to the American Revolution interest you the most? What do you want to know more about? How can you incorporate that into your project?

What do you want to create? How do you want to show me that you know this stuff? How can I help you showcase your knowledge?

The same in math - how can you show me you understand base 4? And how it relates to base 10?

Growth and Change in EDG 6047

How have your definitions and your ideas changed over the past 8 weeks? Have you deepened your understanding of these concepts? What were your "pivotal" moments in that journey?

The biggest change for me in the definition of teacher leadership is the concept of the breadth of the term.  I also have a new appreciation for the depth of what is needed to really be a teacher leader.  However, one concept I still struggle with at this point is the concept of all teachers being "teacher leaders".  In one sense, I totally get this.  Everyone in a school has different passions, different strengths, and different goals.  It makes sense that each person can then be a leader in an arena of their own passion.  However, I still feel this is somewhat a utopia.  Not only can this create a situation where you have a lot of individual entrepreneurship, but it also assumes that all teachers want to be leaders.  Even in the most egalitarian, supportive environment, there are always going to be those who are looking to be really great classroom teachers and are not interested in leading others.  While in theory, I can argue that if you aren't willing to pass on this passion and knowledge to others than you are wasting part of your gift, it doesn't always change that person's viewpoint or activity.

All that aside, I think I have two major takeaways from this course: 1) my need to exercise empathy and 2) the need to increase the use of protocols.  The passage that has stuck with me most is from Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009) when they assert that teacher leaders must not only seek to understand the viewpoints of their colleagues, they must also try to operate from them.  This is going to be incredibly difficult for me, but I recognize that it will be critical as I seek to gain the trust of my teammates in a coaching role.  I know that they trust my intellect and my practice, but that doesn't amount to much when I'm in their room seeking to get intensely personal as I help them explore their practice.  They don't all have to be me; I need to help them be the best them they can be.  And that means I have to truly understand their worldview, their goals, and their passions.  Secondly, we have not been very successful in the past in using protocols.  Personally, I've always balked at them a little.  But reading through a lot of the research in this course and in the Guided Inquiry course I am also taking this summer, I am coming to understand how important they can be.  In order to truly level the playing field and help everyone participate in the conversations and decision making, protocols are a must.  The 'duh!' moment here for me is how much I use them with my students while walking them through Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures.  I can spout off all the reasons why I'm doing it while prepping the kids for them.  But when it comes to working with my peers, I pretend like it doesn't apply.  That is going to change as I move forward.

Changing Assumptions

In your journal, either reflect on how this went if you tried it OR... write about which assumption might be the most difficult for people in your context to tackle.

As it is summer, I was not able to complete the activity with my colleagues.  I imagine most of my peers are in the same boat.  In looking through the Framework of Assumptions, however, I think that the most difficult for my colleagues would be:

All teachers are potential leaders <------> Some teachers are potential leaders

In my context, there is a lot of tension right now about leadership roles.  In the past 48 months all of the leadership positions have been affected in one way or another.  We hired a new director, switched from 3 assistant principals to one principal and two assistant principals, and we are moving from traditional team leader positions to Learning Community Leaders who will have leadership and coaching responsibilities built into our workday.  

With all this change have come many conversations around leadership.  When the LCL positions were announced, there were several people who were concerned that we were "limiting teacher leadership opportunities."  This clearly echoes the belief that only some teachers are leaders - and those people are chosen  by administration.

The reality of the school is very different from the perception of many.  Teachers at our school lead in far more ways than in past schools I've taught at.  Teachers at our school are  coaching, are on committees, chair committees, lead workshops and trainings, present at conferences, lead faculty meetings, and more. But for many, if it doesn't say "leader" after their title, they don't consider it teacher leadership.

It seems like it would be a simple shift for people to realize that they really are being leaders.  Surely all you would have to do is point out what people are doing and they will see it.  But it has been my experience that people's perceptions are much harder to change than that.  I think what people are viewing as leadership is when someone is perceived to be "on the inside" or "in the know".  The distance perceived between leaders and teachers is sort of an "us and them" mentality similar to workers and bosses in union situations.  This is not a good mental place for a school to be in, and I hope that part of my position will lead to a change in the perception, at least in my small corner of the school.

Inspiration vs Frustration: A reflection on practice to lead to my espoused platform of leadership

What inspires me

I’m inspired when I am working in a situation with peers who are on the same wavelength with me.  It took me a long time to realize that I really thrive when working with others.  But it can’t just be any others; I look for others who share the same ideals of education.  This doesn’t mean I’m looking for others who are just like me.  Instead, I want to work with others who also believe in student-centered, self-regulated learning.  I also crave working with others who are seeking to improve their own understanding rather than just going off of “gut”.  The times when I have really had great working situations were when I have been with a team of teachers in situations like this.  This has happened twice so far in my career – each time only lasted for a year.  I’m hopeful that this next year will be another one – it certainly holds this promise.

What frustrates me

I’m frustrated by the opposite of what inspires me.  I hate working in situations where I am isolated or when I am constantly fighting against what I perceive as bad practice – or at least ineffective practice.  I really dislike being pigeon-holed as unaware or naïve; as if my understanding of education is that of a doe-eyed intern who doesn’t understand what education is really all about.  This hasn’t happened to me lately, but it did happen in my fourth year of teaching when, as I was explaining the cooperative learning structure I used to go over DOL, I was told “oh, I see what you are doing…you’ll learn eventually” or something to that effect.  I also get frustrated when working on teams where others don’t seem interested in learning or improving – only continuing the status quo.  Not far off from that is when others are willing to try new things, but aren’t willing to actually go out and read and find them; instead they wait for me to do it.  I get tired of pulling others along with me.  Again, I’m really excited for this upcoming year because the team that is assembled seems to be a lot of people who are willing to pull their own weight.

Reflections on Chapters 4-6 of Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders

• ·      I need to create a space where I can challenge my colleagues’ perceptions.  Likewise, I need to challenge my own perceptions. (loc. 773)

o   The big question for me here is how to create situations where I can help enable this.  This goes back to the environment I help create within the team structure – whether or not people can feel comfortable enough to challenge.

• ·      I have to recognize and be sensitive to where others on my team are in their own journey – both as teachers and in their lives.  Not everyone is where I am or interested in what I’m interested in.

o   I also need to be aware of where they are in ADC chart.

§  Marilyn H. Katzenmeyer;Gayle V. Moller. Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders (Kindle Location 834). Kindle Edition.

• ·      I can’t do it alone and it can’t just be my way.  I have to work together with the entire team, that is how real differences are made for student learning (loc. 1017).
• ·      I have to help create a culture of collegiality.  “[Barth] suggested that creating a culture of collegiality is needed. A culture of collegiality, he explained, includes talking with one another about practice, sharing craft knowledge, observing one another, and rooting for one another's success.”Marilyn H. Katzenmeyer; Gayle V. Moller. Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders (Kindle Locations 1027-1028). Kindle Edition.
• ·      I know that what I am helping create will at times cause friction.  I also know that I need to have my own group of colleagues working together for the same changes (the other LCLs) to help and support each other.
• ·      I have to continue to improve my craft.  My expertise is a big reason why others are willing to listen to me.  I can’t let that erode. (loc. 1157)

o   “When they talk with colleagues, they influence them, and this outcome is powerful, because teachers are working from personal experience and are advocating new methods based on what appears to work with their students.”

Marilyn H. Katzenmeyer;Gayle V. Moller. Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders (Kindle Locations 1170-1171). Kindle Edition.

• ·      I need to work on my listening skills.

Marilyn H. Katzenmeyer;Gayle V. Moller. Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders (Kindle Location 1217). Kindle Edition.

Door stoppers: Exploring why the doors were locked in the paper "Sliding the Doors"

I will be honest: this has been the hardest reflection for me to write.  I have had a hard time figuring out why answering such basic comprehension questions is giving me such fits.  As I have read and reread the article looking for examples to answer the questions, I was finally struck by what was holding me back: I disagree with the assumptions the questions are making and the picture the authors paint of leadership within the case studies presented.

The way these questions are worded (particularly question four) presupposes that these teachers were denied teacher leadership opportunities (or at least some opportunities) based on unfair outside forces - a sort of man vs. world scenario.  In many ways the authors of the paper do the same thing in their presentation of the cases.

Let me step aside for a moment and quickly answer questions 1-3.  All three teachers were good at their jobs, were respected by their peers, and stepped up to lead in situations where they felt passionate.  Some of these situations presumably met with success (committee memberships and chairmanships, mentoring, etc.).  Unfortunately, none of the successful instances were profiled in this paper.  But from the contexts presented it can be inferred that these teachers were seen as leaders by their peers not simply because of their experience, but also because of their professionalism and expertise.

It is unclear to me, then, why all three cases presented were situations where these teachers ran into doors that were not only closed, but deadbolted.  In all three cases, the authors presented the teacher as a sympathetic character who was trying to fight against the “machine” to do what is right for students.  The teacher is presented as a crusader who has no flaws in their plan while the administration and other people in positional power are painted as mindless, soulless bureaucrats who are more interested in the status quo than they are in helping students.  

While I know that big machines tend to favor the status quo, I also know that the people within the machine of schools are often willing to re-route streams to help people help their students.  In all three cases, what surprises me most is how the teachers seem to thwart what they know to be true - that systems have rules and you have to play by them.  Brian even articulates that, “mostly what I have learned over the years is the value of people,” (p. 785).  When he says this, he seems to imply that the principal did not value him and his ideas.  But my question to him is: did he value her?  Just because she is in positional power doesn’t mean she isn’t a person and that there is no need to worry about relationship building.  This sort of reminds me of many of the teachers I have seen throughout my career who are constantly antagonistic with administration and then complain that they don’t get their way.  They also lament that others in the school seem to be “favorites”.  What they either fail to see or refuse to see is that the people who are actively thwarting administration aren’t going to suddenly get their way.  As the old adage says, “you catch more flies with honey than vinegar”.

This same thing seems to apply to Laura and Jennifer, though to a lesser extent.  They both ran into snags due to lack of recognition of the system at play.  Somehow philosophically they seem to be arguing that there shouldn’t be a system, but if people are organizing a large group, no matter what you do, a system will emerge.  Laura’s realization that, “the organization values structures over people,” seems naive at best.  Of course it does.  The question of leadership, in my mind, is how you work within the system or around the system to get the work done - and it starts by cultivating relationships with the people in positional power within the system.  Of course there are a few people in those positions who are there undeservedly, but the vast majority of people working in those offices are there for a reason and they worked hard to get there.  Just because their priorities don’t match up with yours doesn’t mean you aren’t valued.  It is kind of a self-absorbed stance to think that your idea or your new program should suddenly be the norm out of nowhere - as if you are the only one in the system with the capacity to think so clearly.

The bottom line is this: all three teachers failed to recognize and work within the system.

On one last note, the name of the article also puzzles me.  It didn’t appear to be about teachers trying to slide open doors between themselves in order to collaborate and work together.  Instead it seemed to be about teacher leaders trying to walk up stairs but finding the doorways locked.

Silva, D., Gimbert, B., & Nolan, J. (2000). Sliding the doors: Locking and unlocking possibilities for teacher leadership. Teachers College Record, 102 (4). 779-804.

My Barriers to Successful Teacher Leadership

I looked through the list of barriers, and though some seemed to fit me and my context, since I am moving into a specific new role next year, there are more pressing barriers that I see.  In the spirit of the assignment, I thought working through some of these barriers was more germane.

Barrier 1 – New position, same people

Next year I am moving from a more traditional “team leader” role into that of “Learning Community Leader.”  While on paper that seems merely a semantic shift, in reality it is much more than that.  The previous team leader position was, as it is in most places, an add-on, stipended position that was additional work on top of my classroom responsibilities.  The LCL position dramatically shifts my responsibilities, making my day 50% direct student contact and 50% leadership and coaching.  Much of the reason behind this shift is echoed by Lieberman and Miller (2004)as they discuss “Transforming the Social Realities of Teaching,” (end of chapter 1).  The barrier I perceive is two-fold.  First, although there will be at least one new team member next year, the majority of my Learning Community is stable and will return.  So I will be performing a new job with the same people.  Though in some ways this is an advantage (I know the people, the history, the struggles, and the successes), it is also a disadvantage because everyone already has a relationship with me built on a different playing field.  It is going to take a lot of work for me to alter the relationships while maintaining the friendships.  My job as team leader, while not simply secretarial, was more of an advocate on their behalf.  My new role will add coaching and mentoring.  While some in my community will readily accept this, others don’t see me this way.  I am going to have to work hard to check my ego and listen to my colleagues; to understand what they need and try to provide coaching for those needs (rather than any needs I may perceive).

Barrier 2 – Unclear understanding of the concept

This is going to be tough for our entire school.  The shift to LCLs is happening K12, not simply in elementary school.  There was a swift and dramatic push-back on the notion in the secondary school, who, due to their reaction is, for the moment, still retaining their traditional team leader and department chair roles along with the new LCLs.  As we move into this new realm of teacher leadership “closer to the ground” the definitions and roles of all the people involved have yet to be ironed out.  In one way, this makes perfect sense.  Each LC is different and the skills and passions of each LCL are different.  To simply create an ironclad job description that all six of us fulfill in dramatically different circumstances seems draconian and destined to fail (because it is top-down instead of grassroots).  Although the creation of these positions began with the director, we will each work to define our role around the specific needs of our LC (within some parameters, of course).  This makes the most sense to me, but it is confusing to those who know even less than the LCLs about what is going on.  When teachers get confused, they begin to talk amongst themselves and the sidewalk talk can potentially kill the effectiveness of these positions before we even begin.  Therefore we each have to create as much a sense of transparency as possible as we discuss with our teams what our visions are and what we know.  As they say, sunshine is the best disinfectant and darkness grows mold.  If we (the LCLs) are perceived as having hidden knowledge we aren’t sharing, we will damage our credibility and ability to influence others.  Our positional power won’t mean much if this happens.  For my part, I am trying to answer all the questions I can and be forthcoming in my answers.  Additionally, I am already trying to talk less and listen more as people are describing their own thoughts about next year.  Hopefully this will begin to not only help with the uncertainty but also bridge any divides mentioned in barrier one.

Barrier 3 – Perceived lack of equity – egalitarian paradigm

One of the quotes from the Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009) that stood out to me was in regards to the perceived, “egalitarian norms of school cultures,” which “suggest that all teachers should be equal,” (loc. 131).  The idea of equity has plagued our school with teachers creating negative cycles around the perceived favoritism.  To be fair to those who complain, the previous administration operated in the dark areas that the authors warn about – only deeming certain people eligible for leadership roles.  The lack of transparency has created a dark stain on the fabric of the faculty and the sunshine of the new administration hasn’t fully disinfected it yet.  But since it is still there, it will take its toll on those of us in these new positions.  Even though the positions were advertised and interviewed, there are still those who believe that those of us who were given this opportunity were only chosen because we are in the “right clique.” The strategy for overcoming this will be similar to above – a lot of listening and working with my teammates on what they are interested in and on their terms.  Taking my ego out of the equation is going to be hard, but is the only path to truly helping others grow into who they wish to be as teachers and learners.

Reflections on Teacher Leadership, Module 3

I was a little confused by the journal assignments this week, as they appear to be simply a place to take notes as we are reading.  Since I read all of my material electronically (either using PDFNotes [an app on the iPad] or Kindle), all of my notes and questions are housed within the applications and it seemed unnecessarily cumbersome to continuously switch back and forth between those apps and a Word document to keep track of my thinking.  However, in the spirit of the assignment, after having finished all of the reading, I decided to go back through my notes in the applications and reflect on the big ideas that noticed.  So, here we go…

Definition

Teacher Leadership is when a teacher is willing and able to take on roles outside of the classroom.  Because these roles are so varied and specific to the individual school, it is impossible to characterize them all.  However, they tend to take on one of two forms: positional (i.e. the teacher has a position that denotes leadership), or personal (the teacher possesses attributes that others value that give them influence).  Additionally, these roles may either happen in conjunction with a full-time classroom position (team leader, committee chair, etc.) or the teacher may have a position that incorporates time during the day for the leadership opportunities (TOSA, reading coach, etc.).

Why Teacher Leadership?

The idea that the teachers within the school should take on more leadership roles is not new, however there has been a growing trend toward more and more teacher leadership in the past twenty years.  One reason is that the amount of jobs schools are asked to do in the 21^st century is too vast for one or two people to keep track of and monitor.  The bottom line is, principals need help in ensuring that their schools are healthy and functioning.  Many leadership opportunities arise from these needs.  However, it is essential that principals view this leadership as something that all teachers can achieve and that everyone should participate.  While in some ways these seems to negate “leadership” (is anyone a leader if we are all leaders?), in other very real ways, limited leadership opportunities can create a situation where those who are chosen are seen as the “favorites”.  Such situations can breed animosity and resentment and propel the school away from the collegiality and group-ownership that is advocated by all the authors we have read thus far in the course.

Another reason for teacher leadership is to create a sense of professionalism.  Teachers are the ones who are actually on the front lines of education.  They are interacting with our kids for 6-7 hours a day.  And yet the way most school systems and State DOEs are organized, we treat teachers as if they are merely cogs in a machine being run by people who are not only smarter than them, but know more about how to teach than they do.  “Teacher proof” curriculums tell teachers that they aren’t capable of making the most basic decisions that affect their students – despite having at least a Bachelor’s degree and often a Master’s degree or higher.  As Sarason (1990) noted, “teachers cannot create a sustain the conditions for the productive development of children if those conditions do not exist for teachers,” (p. xiv).

Questions I have…

·      How do you really create teacher leadership within a school?

o   What about those teachers who really don’t want to be leaders or interact with other teachers?

o   How do you help develop those with true leadership potential without creating the sense of favoritism?

o   If everyone is a leader, are we really changing?

o   How do you get people to own the students outside their own immediate control? For that matter, how do you get teachers to own their own students’ work rather than leaving the locus of control with the students only?

o   How do you get people past just giving most of this lip-service with no real back-up in their practice?