March 2009 Archives

A great passage from The Prince by Machiavelli reminded me how difficult our work is with the current economy and demands for improved performance of public school systems.

"It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in introducing a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents - who have the laws on their side - and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them."

Recently, I attended a meeting near Los Angeles and read several articles about the impact of budget cuts on teacher positions in LA Unified. Also, on the east coast, Charlotte Mecklenberg is dealing with the same issues. In both papers on both coasts, the debate is heating up about teacher layoffs. Should school systems layoff teachers based on contracts which always favor those with tenure and longevity in a school system or should school systems layoff teachers who are not producing value as measured by increases in student learning? What has enabled this debate to take place is the advance of sophisticated software systems that are able to measure value add for individual classrooms. Also, the actual impact of the economic conditions we find ourselves in has led to the conversation in the first place. Finally, from the federal level we have the President basically saying that we should not tolerate poor performance by teachers.

Another part of the debate is class size and the perceived impact on student learning. While most research does not show that lowering class size has a significant impact on improving student learning, politicians, parents, and teachers will never give this sacred cow up. Even though the research is clear that the quality of instruction plays a larger role in impacting student learning than lower class size, we will not see politicians or school superintendents raise class size!!!

What an interesting time to be in education and to be a leader. Truly, the critical skill for leaders in education is change management!!! The question for those who develop leaders is this - are we developing the skills needed in change management in the preparation and coaching programs that help leaders be successful?

Terry Holliday

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 8:26 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Last week, I attended a regional special education law conference. One of the keynote speakers was attorney Jose L. Martin from the Richards Lindsay and Martin law firm of Austin, TX. He also conducted one of the breakout sessions which was titled, "Understanding the Modern Requirements for Considertation of Research Based Interventions." He talked about what both IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) and NCLB (No Child Left Behind) say about either scientifically based research or peer-reviewed research. NCLB calls for the use of "scientifcally based research" as the foundation for many education programs and for classroom instruction. IDEA states that IEPs (Individual Education Plans) need to include "a statement of the special education and related servcies and supplementary aids and services, based on 'peer reviewed research' to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child..."

One of his final remarks got me to thinking which is leading to my point for this post. He said that we should "train staff to be skeptical 'research consumers' so that they can scrutinize research on methodologies for its theoretical base, implementation and replicability information, and evidence of effects on student achievement."

So, I got to wondering, how I would begin to do that? I also wondered if some of you are already doing this with your staff. As consumers of many things, there are times when we want to read and know the research on something and there are other times when the product maybe looks good, seems simple enough and someone we know is also using it, so that's good enough for me - I'll buy it. Should a teacher care about the research or is that only for the administrator to be concerned about and/or the curriculum team that recommends purchasing of products?

How do I help special education teachers, who are doing a lot of individualized instruction for students with varying abilities and needs, focus on instruction that is research based? When they want to order something that caught their eye in a catalog, what consumer questions should they be asking themselves first before submitting their order?

The same questions might apply when a request comes for a workshop that a teacher wants to attend. I try to look at the flyer to see if there is any research to the topic or is it just someone making the educational circuit promoting an idea/product that is going to "fix" the children with disabilities or supposedly make life easier for the teacher?

We have all been taught to read the labels on the foods we buy so that we are better able to make decisions about what we put into our bodies. The same goes for medications and over-the-counter products. But what about the instructional products or strategies we use with our students? How are you teaching your teachers to be better consumers so that they are using scientifically based or peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable as stated in both NCLB and IDEA? How will we answer the question from parents or legal advocates at IEP meetings when they ask what the research says about the specialized services we are providing their child?

Obviously, the beginning is to start having these discussions with teachers to get them thinking about being better research consumers. It's a process that will take time. I think that just as we keep talking about "data driven decision making" or "response to interventions" or "positive behavioral instructional strategies" that if we keep talking about 'research based" services, we will come to understand it more and be better educational practitioners in the long run.

Is there anything you are doing now, either with your staff or on an individual basis, to become better research consumers?

Reggie Engebritson

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 8:33 AM | Permalink | 10 Comments | Recommend

In today’s instructional technology, many people are still arguing about what operating system is right for contemporary classrooms: Apple, Linux, or Windows? This, however, is the wrong conversation.

First and foremost educators should always be talking about curriculum and how technology can enhance the delivery of instruction. However, that is a whole separate discussion. When it comes to a delivery component, the real debate should not be about the operating system, but about the browser.

In the last few years, we have seen an explosion of educational content that is online. The academic world is beginning to catch up and produce valuable content available on the Internet. We should embrace this development because among other things, it supports authentic lifelong learning experiences.

Lifelong learning is possible because content is available on the Internet. A student no longer has to worry about whether he understands new material within a certain time period; he does not have to worry that he will only have one other opportunity to learn the new material at the same “Bat Time, same Bat channel” the next day. This is true whether the content is a CD- based piece of software, or instruction directly from the teacher. Students should have content available whenever they like. This might even revolutionize the way districts organize the school day and for districts to re-examine why students continue to learn in a factory model. Considering when students learn best depending on their age, they could be learning at 2AM and get a better grasp of new material, compared to learning at 7AM when the research shows that most teenagers do not learn best at that time.

Teachers appreciate the flexibility of using online educational content as much as students enjoy learning from online content. If educators are going to add technology to an already packed curriculum, then they need to provide opportunities to engage their students by using any connected computer in the world. That allows teachers to deliver content in multiple ways and levels the playing field for students of all learning styles.

Online educational content has become so powerful, and full of rich content that, in some cases, it can only be delivered via the Internet. So the next time you are watching television and a “I am a PC” or a “Mac versus PC” commercial comes on, have a good laugh and then realize that within the next 5-10 years, the question will be moot.

James Yap

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 5:48 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has been working hard to get feedback from teachers and administrators on the new draft National Educational Standards for Administrators (NETS*A). The Draft Nets are available at

Draft NETS*A

The full kit of evaluation materials is available at

NETS*A Toolkit

You are invited to do the process potlined in the toolkit and submit your comments at

NETS*A Survey

I have been fortunate to lead two such sessions so far, one in Nanjing, China this last Summer with Administrators from all over the world, and one this last week with teachers and administrators at the National Science Teachers Association in New Orleans. I have included some of the comments here for you to look at.

ISTE's Viewpoint

Why ISTE goes to so much work to get multiple opinions on the NETS*A refresh?

Participant's Opinons

Ron's Opinon

Gayle's Comments

Please participate. :)

Special thanks to all the ISTE Folks who are working hard on the refresh process.

Regards,

Robert Hancock

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"Simon says, 'Touch the sky'"
Meg Dimmett (age 3)

Read a little about the current state of education and you will likely encounter explicit statements decrying the state of our schools and our emphasis on standardized measures of student achievement. I, too, struggle frequently with traditional education's focus on these one-size fits all summative assessments. My recent work with district administrators has sought to shift the focus beyond the usual metrics to also include measures of engagement, leadership, and collaboration. What does it look like to measure student achievement in more expansive terms? How do we retool evaluation so that our work fosters the kind of creativity and curiosity that allows a young child to think she can touch the sky? These are difficult questions to be sure, but the power of answering them holds much promise for the future of our schools.

When do students stop asking questions? How do curious young people turn into sometimes apathetic, disenfranchised teens and adults? My untested hypothesis is that our drive to standardize learning and assessments is part of the answer to these questions. What can we do differently? Would measures of student engagement provide information that would be helpful in modifying what we teach and how we teach it? What could be gained from focusing some of our efforts on incorporating student voices in the conversation about education?

The short answer is much can be gained from student inclusion in the design, delivery, and evaluation of learning. A good example of a student engagement measure is the High School Survey of Student Engagement. High Schools That Work provides similar information through limited surveys of students in participating schools. Another approach worth exploring comes from the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations (QISA). QISA promotes Three Guiding Principals, a focus on self-worth, active engagement, and purpose. In a survey of approximately 500,000 students in grades six through twelve, QISA reports some astounding statistics.

-"Teachers care about me as an individual: 45%"
-"Teachers respect students: 51%"
-"School is boring: 46%"
-"My classes help me understand what is happening in my everyday life: 40%"
-"Teachers make school an exciting place to learn: 32%"
-"I know the goals my school is working on: 37%"

On a slightly more positive note, the survey indicated that 63% of student respondents believe they can make a difference in this world.

What does all this mean? If we take the six previously noted statements alone, turn them into objectives, and establish target percentages, what changes would take place in the average school? What can be gained by having more students know the school goals, or, better yet, help determine those goals? What does a school look like when 80% or more of students believe their classes help them understand their everyday life? What does a school feel like when 80% or more of students believe teachers care about them? Furthermore, how successful are students when 80% or more of them believe school is an exciting place to learn?

By listening to student voices and responding to only a few such metrics, much can be gained in the area of student learning, and it's possible that more students will believe they can touch the sky.

Dave Dimmett

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 11:41 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

I have been reading (with great interest) several posts by a variety of noteworthy edubloggers about the use of various handheld technologies in our classrooms - most notably cell phones and iPod Touch kinds of devices. Coincidentally, I also happened to have a wonderful conversation with our district's network consultant about the availability of wireless access in schools, policies regarding students bringing their own equipment for use on district networks, and the like. He shared many people in districts he worked with had serious concerns about students using cell phones and other personal handheld devices to cheat.

We have been worried about cheating since tests were created. Yes, cheating is an issue of moral character and I can't imagine any educator condoning it. However, many progressive educators I know understand our information economy has evolved well past the relevance of having a single correct answer (unless you plan to make large sums of money on Jeopardy.) Higher Order Thinking Skills are more critical than ever. My question is this: if a student can look up or transmit an answer for a test on a cell phone and use that answer for full credit, are we developing the right kinds of assessments?

Don't get me wrong, I understand there are certain truths people should just know. A certain amount of general knowledge is required as a foundation for problem solving and higher order thinking in our society.

This is an issue that is pervasive in our McDonaldized communities. We want a simple answer to a complex question and we want it now. In my opinion, state tests still require mostly lower level thinking skills. Our information systems have a harder time producing data that can truly capture students' higher order thinking and problem solving skills. Many teachers are excellent at developing assessments that require students to reach the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels. Some are not. Test preparation has also provided a hurdle in that significant time is allocated for it.

I am the first to admit I don't have a complete answer to this question. Maybe some of our LeaderTalk readers do. What do you think?

Matt Hillmann

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 10:47 PM | Permalink | 5 Comments | Recommend

There is much to be learned from the life and work of our 16th president. Not without reason is he revered for his leadership during the bloodiest crisis in our nation's history. Dorothy Kearns Goodwin has written an insightful book (Team of Rivals) on Lincoln's political genius, in particular, as he worked with his cabinet during his presidency. Here are some lessons for leaders of any organization to take from this remarkable man.

Learn from loss, failure, and mistakes while keeping an optimistic outlook.

Lincoln had many personal losses including the death of his mom when he was 9, the death of his sister when he was 18, and various political defeats as he attempted to make a name for himself. Also, early on in his presidency, the Union army was embarrassed at the battle of Bull Run. All of these defeats proved to be learning experiences as opposed to devastating losses. Lincoln learned from failure and rarely made the same mistake twice. He was able to raise the Phoenix from the ashes on more than one occasion as he never lost his hope and optimism for a successful conclusion to the story.

Allow humor, laughter, and enjoyment to be a part of your organization

Edward Stanton, Lincoln's War Secretary was quite a serious fellow. He often got annoyed that Lincoln would do such frivolous things such as read contemporary humorists to entertain the crowds while awaiting news on the telegram for his re-election bid of 1864. Lincoln, on the other hand, often used humor to build relationships, relieve tension, and drive home a point. Lincoln proved that one can do very serious work while still enjoying life, laughter, and merriment to the fullest. Indeed, his laughter and storytelling were qualities that endeared him to the hearts of many.

Read deeply and widely from contemporary and historic sources.

Lincolns' formal education added up to less than a year of school, however his Personal Learning Network consisted of many of the classics of literature including The Bible and Shakespeare as well as humorists of all stripes. He had a depth and breadth of literature knowledge that consistently filled his fertile mind with wisdom, anecdotes, and lofty ideas. Being immersed in the thoughts of great men helped him craft a course for his generation in their great struggles.

Risk friendship and relationship among those you are leading.

At Lincolns' deathbed, Kearns Goodwin notes that there was not a man in the room that did not love Lincoln. He gained this affection and loyalty by the force of his personality. Words like kindness, goodness, and decency are used constantly by those who knew him well. Although he had to remove cabinet members and generals from their positions, in almost every case the affected member came to understand his decision and lost no respect for the man who had just demoted or removed him from a notable position. Lincoln built lasting and enduring friendships with his colleagues and subordinates and his motives were never in question, even by his adversaries.

Know the status of your colleagues and subordinates first hand.

Lincoln could have written the book on Management by Walking Around. He constantly sought ways to visit the front and speak directly with his generals and shake hands with the troops waging the battle. He often did this facing very real dangers and risks, which caused him to gain greater esteem in the eyes of the Union army. He was also consistently available to White House visitors (and criticized for it) giving his attention and time to all who came calling.

Think deeply and seek a multitude of council, then act decisively.

Lincoln was often criticized for moving too slowly on the slavery issue. His original intent for the war was solely to save the Union. This brought barbs from the likes of Frederick Douglas, who felt him wholly uncommitted to the cause of freeing the slaves. However, when he finally came to announce the Emancipation Proclamation, his resolve on this issue never wavered. Once he had decided the time was right to act, he held onto a position with an iron will and determination against all attacks.

Act humbly by taking no personal affront when attacked and keeping your focus on the greater good.

Lincoln's greatest quality, in my opinion was his humility. He never held a grudge or did a vindictive act against political or military enemies. If a person was going to be helpful to the cause, he would give space for that person to contribute to the effort. He followed this same path on his view of reconstruction. He did not seek a pound of flesh from the South, but rather a commitment to support the Union. He then sent the Confederate army back to their homes. Lincoln told a great story showing how much he valued humility. One of the many office seekers came to the White House seeking a prominent post. Lincoln denied his request, but he persisted in seeking ever lower ranking jobs until finally he concluded by asking if he might be given a pair of trousers. Lincoln delighted in such frank and humble folks and embodied that same humility throughout his life.

Reading this account of Lincoln's tactics and thinking were breathtaking. His keen intellect and sharp reasoning were matched by his genuine and authentic love of people. He remains the model for all Presidents to emulate and indeed any leader would benefit from applying his habits and characteristics to his/her organization.

Dan Winters
cross-posted at Principal Learner

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 1:18 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Cross posted on Creative Tension. A new blog for school leaders.

The gap between vision and current reality is also a source of energy. If there were no gap, there would be no need for any action to move towards the vision. We call this gap creative tension.

I have had this quote hanging on my office wall for years but during the past year it has become much more meaningful to me. More meaningful because the gap between the vision that I have for schools and the current reality seems enormous. This large gap has created a sense of urgency for me that continues to build. It's extremely exciting and I'm now on a personal and professional mission to provide the type of leadership that is necessary to move schools into the future. Fortunately or unfortunately, according to John Legend in If You're Out There, "the future started yesterday and we're already late".

My vision for schools is one in which:

- teachers and students seamlessly use technology in the teaching and learning process.
- students are engaged in meaningful and relevent learning experiences using technology just as scientists, engineers, mathematicians, artists, social scientists, etc.
- teachers and students have access to resources from all over the world.
- individuals are not constrained by the curriculum and have the opportunity to explore areas of study about which they are passionate.
- students are authors, publishers, creators of knowledge, collaborators, researchers and contributors.

This creative tension has me hungry to seek out ways to close the gap and this blog provides me with a venue to reflect, share ideas and promote discussions with colleagues and peers who share a common interest. I believe that this will help me grow professionally so that I can provide the type of leadership that our students deserve. Let's use this energy to start closing the gap. The mission begins!

Blair Peterson

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 12:54 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

In my post last month I posted my "Fav Five" of readings for principal candidates. The list included:

#1 Educational History:

Tyack, D., & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

#2 Distributed Leadership IN Practice:

Halverson, R. (2003). Systems of practice: How leaders use artifacts to create professional community in schools. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 11(37), 1-35.

#3 Leadership Skills (I cheated and have two listed):

Elmore, R. (2000). Building a new structure for school leadership. Washington, D.C.: Albert Shanker Institute.

Wheatley, M. J. (2006). Leadership and the new science: Discovering order in a chaotic world (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

#4 Management Skills:

Gosling, J., & Mintzberg, H. (2003). The five minds of a manager. Harvard Business Review, 81(11), 54-63.

#5 A Little Theory:

Cohen, D. K. (1988). Teaching practice: Plus que ca change... In P. Jackson (Ed.), Contributing to educational change: Perspectives on research and practice (pp. 27-84). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing Corporation.

So what are my recommendations for doctoral students? Theory. Unlike principal preparation programs where students seek and need practicality, students in doc programs stumble when asked for theoretical understandings, analysis, and implications. Theory should be treated as an analytical tools to provide a lens to understand and analyze what has, is, and might happen. Here I offer readings that I believe, and have seen, help advanced doc students.

#1 Refresher. See nos. 1-5 above. That's right, the principal preparation Fav Five is strong enough to appeal to doc students as well. All of these readings provide

#2 Organizational Learning Theory. When thinking about organizations names like Peter Senge and Bolman and Deal and Barry Oshry. However, for a short (but very thick) reading of how organizations learn check out the work of James March. One example of Marchian theory is the equilibrium between how organizational codes are determined through exploration and exploitation and the socialization of individuals who comprise the organization.

March, J. G. (1999). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. In J. G. March (Ed.), The pursuit of organizational intelligence (pp. 114-136). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

#3 Institutional Theory. How an institution was created and behaves can have great powers of prognostication on the traction of reform efforts. I suggest an edited book by DiMaggio and Powell. If you do not have time to read the entire book, check on this chapter.

DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1991). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. In W. W. Powell & P. J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 63-82). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

#4 Change Theory. There are lots of books about change theory. From Marris' analogue of change and Kubler Ross' death and dying stages to Popkewitz's "ruptures in time" to Rogers' "Diffusion of Innovation" a number of theories exist to explain how change happens (or does not) in educational settings. For my money, you cannot go wrong with Michael Fullan's survey of educational change theory.

Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

#5 Implementation Theory. Understanding how policy impacts folks on the ground is the focus of a book with the longest and coolest title of all time. In this book the authors highlight the importance of "street level bureaucrats" to the success of policy implementation efforts.

Pressman, J., & Wildavsky, A. (1984). Implementation: How Great Expectations in Washington Are Dashed in Oakland; Or, Why It's Amazing that Federal Programs Work at All, This Being a Saga of the Economic Development Administration as Told by Two Sympathetic Observers Who Seek to Build Morals on a Foundation (3rd ed.). Berkeley: The Oakland Project.

Finally, let me offer one more reading. Often students are not knowledgeable about the construction of a conceptual framework. On of the best examples of the construction of a framework (including a visual representation) and the use of a framework (in this case to explain data collected on site-based school management) check out this article by Carol Weiss.

Weiss, C. (1995). The four I's of school reform: How interests, ideology, information and institution affect teachers and principals. Harvard Educational Review, 65(4), 571-592.

Of course there are other theoretical readings out there, but this is my FavFive. What's in your FavFive? If you have other readings pass them along.

Matt Militello
North Carolina State University

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

What is your headline?

While the nation waits nervously for the Obama Administration to breathe life back into our moribund economy, the President has set his sites on other issues that are equally as important. Like our schools. Last week, in an address to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., he shared his vision for public education. The next morning the newspaper said: "Obama looks for schools to improve."

There is an interesting exercise often used with organizations that are trying to arrive at a sense of common purpose or mission. They are invited to look into the future, four or five years after their ideas have been implemented, and to envision how the headlines in the local paper will describe their success.

So if we were to ask President Obama to project what the headline for the Washington Post might be on the morning of March 20, 2013, exactly four years from today, he might predict that it will say:

'"ACHIEVEMENT GAP EVAPORATES AMIDST POWERFUL REFORMS"

There is cause for such optimism. In his address to the chamber he outlined his five pillars for education reform:

• Invest in early childhood initiatives
• Develop standards and assessments that promote 21st century skills: including problem solving, critical thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity
• Recruit, prepare and reward outstanding teachers
• Promote innovation and excellence; raise the cap on charter schools and extend the school day and school year
• Provide every American with the opportunity to pursue quality higher education

NCLB has been a debacle, not on the scale with the housing market meltdown perhaps, but close. After 8 years of narrowing our curriculum to basic skills, for example, our 8th graders remain 9th in the world in mathematics. So the President wants a return to a climate of innovation, where we teach children to think and solve problems beyond bubbles on a multiple choice test. If he succeeds the headline might read:

"5 PILLARS CREDITED WITH INSPIRING CHILDREN TO THINK AGAIN"

Last week's news headlines addressed more than just the President's remarks however. One headline in Time Magazine read: "Report Says 1 in 50 US Kids are Homeless." In light of our fragile economy, that number can only get worse. The study's definition of homelessness included children who live in the streets, in shelters, or who are doubling up with relatives. It described the link between children's life circumstances and their level of academic achievement: homeless children are twice as likely as other children to be retained. With each school change they are at risk of falling as much as six months behind. 25% have witnessed violence. 75% are in elementary school. Nearly half suffer from anxiety and depression.

Of course those of us who work directly with children and their struggling families every day in Title I schools have been aware of these trends all along. But in the ethos of NCLB, to call out the obvious difficulty of learning to multiply fractions when your family is living in an old Volkswagon is merely "making excuses"; an aversion to being held accountable. (For the record, I am more than willing to be held accountable as a school leader. I would just like someone to be accountable for the fact that there are children in America who have to sleep in a Volkswagon.)

Perhaps if we get the "5 Pillars" right, and we get the economy breathing again, we might see a headline on March 20, 2013 that says:

"DRAMATIC GAINS IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT TRANSCEND ALL DEMOGRAPHICS" or
"AMERICAN CHILDREN NOW FIRST IN THE WORLD IN SCIENCE!"

There was yet another headline last week that trumpeted the release of a joint study between the University of Colorado and ASU. This report identified seven "out-of- school" factors that also profoundly influence students' academic success and lead to inequalities among children. Those factors include prenatal care, health care, food insecurity, environmental pollutants, family stress, neighborhood characteristics and the absence of extended learning opportunities.

Like most schools, we realized long ago that we cannot unilaterally eliminate these out-of-school factors, so instead we use our resources and the innovative nature of our charter school to foster "resiliency" in children; we enhance their ability to rise above their life circumstances and achieve at the highest levels in spite of the obstacles. We teach our students to build on their personal assets. We have, in fact, become experts on the topic of childhood resiliency, a very non-NCLB approach to engendering student achievement.

Taken together, last week's headlines dramatically illustrate how the future of our nation, our economy and our schools are all so inextricably bound.

On March 20, 2013, four years from now, I predict that my school will have benefitted from our own forward momentum as well as the implementation of President Obama's hopeful vision for our economy and our schools. If I could project the headline in the local paper for that day, it would say:

"CALIFORNIA'S TOP PERFORMING SCHOOL LIVES UP TO ITS NICKNAME: EL MILAGRO"

I'm just curious, school leaders, especially those of you who are saving a nation- four years down the road from now what will your headline say?

Kevin W. Riley
Cross-Posted with a Little Different Spin at El Milagro Weblog

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 6:30 AM | Permalink | 5 Comments | Recommend

Author's note: I wrote this post about a year ago and updated a little here for Leadertalk. I stumbled upon it the other day while cleaning out my hard drive. It hit home with me as we all are facing some tough community issues right now and I decided we really need to get our PR machine running at 110% capacity. Thanks for reading. This post is also is cross posted on Sentimentsoncommonsense. Thanks for reading this post! Andy

----------------------------------------

We need to do a much better job of self promotion or we will be run over by our own failures and lack of progress.

In act one, scene two of Julius Caesar, Caesar asks a soothsayer what the future holds.

Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music
Cry "Caesar!" Speak. Caesar is turn'd to hear.
Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March.

Let’s face it. Common sense would tell anyone that no school is perfect. In fact, by nature of the school improvement process, we honed our knives of self improvement by becoming very, very good at self criticism, and ultimately it is also deemed cathartic to announce our own weak points out loud and with robust vigor and valor. Alas, this time of year people get cranky and irritable. The ides of March saying often comes to my mind.

Such announcements like,

“Our school has progressed just 10 percentage points on the nationally normed test in the past three years, missing our target by 2 percentage points. We are disappointed in missing our target despite the tremendous progress we have made.”

The newspapers and online networks out there are all over this stuff, and the fuel for the school critics’ fire is among the worst in journalism falling just short of the criticisms and interrogations meted out on Meet the Press and Jerry Springer combined!

Sigh… why do schools insist on focusing on the negatives? Must we be so self critical? Is it a deeply held community expectation that we be negative about ourselves?

Would we appear to be trying a cover up if we instead said,

“The progress that our school has made in the past three years equates to 10 percentage points, and has moved our school to within 2 percentage points of our target. The school will reevaluate their academic targets and continue with our aggressive school improvement progress to ensure our students continued success.”

Much nicer if you ask me.

Alas… things do go bad in schools sometimes and black and white honesty is the best policy for sure. We seemed to have our share of them lately, and sadly some are really out of our control, although that is NOT the message a school administrator wants to send. To take responsibility and not being able to truly implement mitigating steps is certainly frustrating. I won’t make the laundry list of things that go awry, as I suspect you have two or three on your mind right now.

Instead let’s turn this coin over and I propose some positive communications that will rebuild the interest and confidence in the school.

Taking the old motto “Ten to glow on, one to grow on”, I figure that we must provide 10 or more quality examples of positive results in our schools to counter balance the single quality result.

Guiding factors for these include:
• Always tell the truth. (This should be easy)
• Do not exaggerate. (This is harder than you think)
• Make the message understandable. (This is the hardest thing to do!)
• Recognize your experts. Show them off to your community. Quote them frequently.
• Any school event or school personnel recognized by an independent source (i.e. newspaper, professional organization) should be published and republished. Theses events and people should be your poster children.
• Focus on direct implementation steps taken by the school, and not just mere happenstance occurrences.
• Student learning data must be targeted and not over generalized
• Over reliance regarding co-curricular (sports, after school, clubs, etc) for positives should be avoided.
• Concrete, real life celebrations of school events connected to learning are most efficient.
• Be visible with your positives and the positives will make your visibility less negative even when bad things happen.

My other suggestion is to think ahead of the curve. One area that I need to do a better job of addressing. Perhaps a weekly "devils advocate" session with some trusted colleagues will squeeze out those negative thoughts to address, change and squash in the public setting. My favorite recently has focused on a proposed program change in our school. The critics have come out in vocal fashion, spreading rumor by email and by voice to anyone on a mailing list.

What are we to do? My suggestion is the truth should be spread. Accurate, factual, research-based information and "on-the-ground" examples that share the positives. The mere thought that your veracity and honesty are being questioned hit hard with emotional impact. One must step forward professionally and let those attacks roll off your shoulders to the floor where they belong. The fact is, we may not always win the battles that we fight on these issues, but if we stay true to our beliefs about putting children first and focusing on what is best for our schools, we will most likely always triumph in the long run.

Andy Torris

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 2:18 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

When I received an HP iPAQ several years ago, I immediately began wondering how I might be able to use it to improve classroom observations. I was in a school improvement leadership position at the time that required me to collect data from classroom observations, and this was a difficult process with the traditional pen-and-paper methods we were using at the time. The administrators on campus were used to using printed observation forms that did not allow for easily accessible data. Documentation was also not uniform, which made proper data collection nearly impossible at the time.

I played around with the use of an open-source survey package installed on my own server and found that the survey form it generated was very easy to view and complete in the browser of my iPAQ. However, I was the only campus administrator at the time with an iPAQ. Times have changed and now most of the campus administrators that I know have some type of mobile device that allows them to view some web-based tools through a browser installed on the device. My BlackBerry Curve works as well if not better than my old iPAQ when it comes to viewing web pages.

I now work as a district-level administrator and one of my responsibilities involves working with and supporting a large network of campus-based Literacy Coaches. Our district has made a commitment to improving the quality of literacy instruction at all levels, and with this commitment comes a certain amount of monitoring. That translates to classroom visits.

One of the solutions that I am currently working on for this is the use of Google Forms to create an easy-to-use walk-through form that can be accessed through any mobile device. Not only is this solution a wonderful alternative to printed forms for collecting and analyzing data (it all goes directly into a spreadsheet where the data can later be sorted, disaggregated, and analyzed very easily), it also allows for a great deal of flexibility. I am not stuck with one form forever. If for some reason we decide we only want to target one specific literacy area or strategy, a form can be created quickly and easily that allows us to concentrate on the one specific area for as many observations as we need at that time.

How easy is this to do? Here are the steps:

1) Create a Google Docs account if you do not already have one.

2) Under the "New" menu, select "Form."

3) Give your new Form a title (and any explanatory text if needed) and begin entering your questions. Response options allow for short text (names, course titles, sections or time periods), paragraph text (for open-ended narratives of observations), to multiple choice (for observations rubrics or a continuum -- I prefer not to use the term "checklists").

4) After you have created all of the questions you want on your form, click on the "save" button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

5) Click "See Responses" and select "Spreadsheet" to go directly to the Google Spreadsheet where the entered data can be manipulated later.

6) In the Spreadsheet View, go to "Send Form" to email the new Form to yourself (or to other members of the team who will be conducting the walk-throughs).

7) Check your email through your mobile device and click on the first link in the email from your Google Form. This will open the browser on your device and take you directly to the form.

In order to use the form multiple times for multiple observations, you can use your mobile device's "back" button (too many options on too many devices for me to explain which button it might be on your device -- consult your device manual), and this should bring you back to the form page after data has been entered. If the old data is showing on the form, simply type over it and resubmit to enter the new data. If you don't think this method will work, try it with sample data in your computer browser first and watch the new data appear instantly in the Google Spreadsheet.

I think it is important to stress that I DO NOT recommend this as an option for coaching walk-throughs. This is simply a quick, easy, and free solution to collecting classroom observation data for a variety of data review & analysis purposes.

Many of you may already have a mobile solution for collecting walk-through data, however, some school districts (or schools) are not able to purchase existing packages from vendors. For those schools and districts that do not already have a solution, this may be a viable option for collecting this valuable data.

What other free, DIY solutions have you discovered for performing daily activities?

Stephanie Sandifer
Blog: Change Agency
Author of Wikified Schools

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 4:16 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Ten hours of pre-service field experience is both a requirement and right of passage for students in education programs throughout the country. How those ten hours are spent varies a great deal, and in most cases depends on the structure of the college or university. As a principal, I have a responsibility to help shape the next generation of teachers by providing classroom experience for pre-service teachers. However, I have to admit, in the past, it took very little effort on my part; an email addressed to the staff asking for volunteers to host a pre-service teacher for ten hours. Most of the time I had enough volunteers who opened their classrooms to these college students, however they did little else besides provide the classroom. All the pre-service teacher had to do was spend ten hours in the classroom, whether it be five hours on two days, one hour for ten days, or any other combination, and the classroom teacher would sign their form.

This structure did very little to prepare student teachers, as the very next semester they would come in to student teach just as green as if they had never stepped foot in a classroom before. It was time to radically change the structure and the expectations of pre-service and mentor teachers. As part of our partnership as a Professional Development School with the College of Saint Catherine, professors, teachers, and I sat down and hammered out a new and improved program of field experience for pre-service teachers. We eventually created the “literacy lab,” an intensive literacy field experience that revolutionized the ritual of ten hours of “anything goes.”

Today, three years into the program, the literacy lab is mandatory, aligned, consistent, data driven, focused, and collaborative for the benefit of all participants.

Mandatory
The literacy lab is mandatory for all of the college students enrolled in the literacy methods class. The methods class is held at our elementary school in the morning before school starts, and when the bell rings the college students join our students and teachers in the “lab.” Hosting a pre-service education student is no longer an option for my teachers at grades three through six, as the literacy lab has become a formal response to intervention. It is also mandatory for identified elementary students to participate as well. In the past, we held an after school program for students who needed additional support, but that was underfunded and poorly structured and, in many cases, the students who needed the additional help the most were the ones who did not attend, as after school programs cannot be mandated.

Aligned
Literacy content in the college methods course is always aligned with Minnesota Standards for Effective Teachers for the preparation of teachers of reading. The Lab gives pre-service teachers the opportunity to apply knowledge from the standards in an authentic setting. Mentor teachers and the college instructor give feedback on lesson plans before they are taught and provide feedback during and after teaching. This includes a debriefing session with the college instructor immediately after the pre-service teachers complete work with their guided reading groups. Literacy lab objectives are also aligned with our School Comprehensive Improvement Plan and District Strategic Plan. Our school’s overarching goal is to close the achievement gap. One of our initiatives under this goal is to continue to strengthen our partnership with the college through mandatory implementation of the literacy lab, along with joint staff development opportunities. Classroom lesson planning is then ultimately aligned with the college students’ lesson planning.

Consistent
Prior the literacy lab project, pre-service teachers taking the literacy methods courses were placed in schools throughout the metropolitan area with minimal consideration of the degree to which research based best practice might be experienced and with little control over the possibilities for their actual teaching. Today, pre-service teachers are placed in two elementary schools where they see and help with literacy blocks each time they go to the school. Each college student works each week with a small, guided reading group consisting of the same three to six students needing additional work on reading. At our school, we used to have pre-service teachers from all over the Twin Cities metro area come in at random times to put in their obligatory ten hours. Now, all of the students we work with are literacy methods students from the College of Saint Catherine. This ensures that the same college students work with the same mentor teachers and students for a full semester term on the same day and time every week.

Data Driven
The classroom teachers and I analyze the Minnesota state assessment data to determine which students are not performing at grade level proficiency in reading. We determine which students will participate in the literacy lab based on their proficiency level. There are four levels of proficiency: exceeds standards, meets standards, partially meets standards, and does not meet standards. We identified all students falling in the partially proficient range as literacy lab participants because we felt they would benefit the most from this type of intervention. Pre-service college students are assigned guided reading groups using both formative and summative data.

Focused
Once we identified which students would be participating in the literacy lab, we wanted to have the pre-service teachers focus on specific skills related to their students’ reading deficiencies. We provided the college students with additional formative data that indicated each student’s current reading level so that they would administer the appropriate reading assessments. Pre-service teachers gather data from their administration of running records, which is then reviewed with mentor teachers. Together, college students and their mentor teachers determine focus skills and strategies to work on throughout the eight weeks of their Literacy Lab.

Collaborative
The college and our elementary school have created a professional development school partnership that benefits college education students, college faculty, mentor teachers, and elementary students in various ways. By holding the college class held at the elementary school, college professors and students are able to keep abreast of exactly what is happening in the schools on a daily basis, which enables professors to continually add new, relevant material to their courses. We also started a joint book study group, which enables all college faculty and elementary staff to participate in dialogue focused on current issues in education. College professors participate on the elementary site council, and I participate on panels at the college that include conducting mock interviews with students, working with student teacher placement supervisors from around the state and, most recently, with the college’s education program accreditation process.

Our partnership continues to strengthen, and by presenting our literacy lab project at the Professional Development Schools National Conference last week, as well as by attending other sessions at the conference, we are continually exploring ways to strengthen our position as a professional development school and the means by which to shape the next generation of teachers.

References:
Fisher, B., Flynn, N., and Tierney, B. (2009). Growing stronger, How one PDS
developed from a straightforward clinical placement site into a full
partnership presented at Professional Development Schools National
Conference, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Nancy Flynn

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 9:33 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

In most states, a good deal of their state budget is used for education. As a society, we are comfortable with spending a great deal of our tax funds on educating our youth knowing that this is an investment that must be made to insure economic security for our country. It is amazing to me that although we require teachers to have very specific endorsements within a subject matter, we have few states who require any sort of endorsement for school business managers. I would guess that most states mimic Iowa, the state in which I live, and require a financial component to superintendent certification. I am not sure that this is enough. In many of our smaller schools, we have both superintendents and business managers who are not well equiped to manage the finances of the districts they serve. School finance is often very different than what is seen in other organizations.

It is comforting to know that in my state, we have both a professional orgnization dedicated to assisting school business managers as well as experts at the state organization of school boards who are dedicated specifically to supporting district financial officers.

I still feel strongly that there needs to be a certification process as well as a requirement for ongoing training for these individuals responsible for managing our tax dollars. I believe that there needs to be a requirement for an annual explanation of school finance for school board members and the public they represent. Not just an outline of the district finances, but an explanation on how school finance works in general. There are many, including most educators, who do not understand restrictions on spending. We have teacher organizations/unions who are negotiating for their salaries without a good understanding of categorical spending limits, what funds can be used for salaries, limits on spending authority and the impact their salary negotiations have on the overall organization.

In our district we have teachers and members of our community who don't understand how we can be discussing large spending on infrastructure while we in turn express a need to reduce staff. Frustration by our public is largely due to our shortcomings in educating them about school finance and often results in a distrust of school leaders.

On another note I will not elaborate on extensively, school leader's salaries are often reported with little explanation of how their contracts and responsibilities differ from those of the teachers. In my district, I am paid for 260 days of work while the public often has the impression that I work only on the days teachers and students are in the building. Again this is due to our shortcomings in educating our public. I would love to see my salary posted as a per diem along side the per diem of individual teachers in the district. To place my annual salary next to a teacher's salary who is working 70-80 fewer days can often leave a public and many teachers the impression that I am over compensated for my duties. If comparisions are to be made, they need to be made in an apples to apples manner.

David Keane

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I was thrilled and excited to see this months issue of Educational Leadership devoted to conversations about literacy and what being literate means in a global, digital space. As I devoured the issue, I reflected on my own literacy evolution.

I learned early on what it took become a member of what Frank Smith called the "Literacy Club" . Acceptance and membership was defined then by the thickness of the book, the speed of the tongue,and amount one's brain could hold (at least until test time rolled around.) Comprehension was something that happened when the work with words was done.

I read differently now. I have learned that knowledge is both a cause and a consequence of comprehension. I am active and mindful of the work involved. I continue to challenge myself exploring both on and offline sources of information and inspiration. I am flexible as I move between these spaces; conscious of how to adjust and adapt the strategies I need to interact with and understand text in different forms and multiple mediums. Reading is not desk work - it is lifework. I understand it is through and with others that I acquired knowledge, gain perspective, deepen awareness, and begin to understand myself and my place in the world.

I share my reading story with you because many students see membership to the "literacy club" dependent on their ability to move through a masterable set of hierarchical skills: First, learn the sounds, then the letters, moving onto words and phrases, and finally, once that's all straight, THINKING! .

It worries me that if we base Instruction on a conceptualization of reading as a single line of development from simple to more complex tasks, it will perpetuate the myth that "learning to read" is over and done with by third grade, or that only the "bluebird" group is eligible for "premier membership and benefits."

I want students to see reading as a life long endeavor, that grows in competence and confidence the more it is practiced across increasing more difficult and diverse text. In an era of new literacies, we are in a simultaneous state of learning to read and reading to learn. Think about it - Who's in the:

- Blog Literacy Club?
- Twitter Literacy Club?
- Financial Literacy Club?
- Media Literacy Club?
- Ning Literacy Club?

Aren't we all emergent readers when we encounter new texts and mediums that push the boundaries of genre, form, format, and mode;on and offline?

The Rules of the Literacy Club have changed - all members, regardless of age or grade, are expected to:

- Be active
- Be strategic
- Be flexible
- Be mindful
- Be reflective
- Be purposeful
- Be courageous
- Be engaged
- Be responsible and responsive

I am proud to say, this is the reader I am today. Unfortunately,I was not taught to be that reader in school. If we are serious about Literacy 2.0, these are the lessons we must pass on to our students. No longer is being fastest and first done the goal. Let our students know that membership into the literacy club is a lifelong honor, affording them privileges and pleasures of engaging in the world in remarkable ways. The doors are always open, new members are celebrated, and we always welcome back those who have fallen away.

Photo on Flickr by Strobist

Angela Maiers
Angela Maiers Educational Services

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 5:38 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Last week I attended the Computer Using Educators ( CUE) Conference in Palm Springs California and so I thought I would post a few of the ideas that caught my attention. It is always good to meet with other educators and discuss the needs of today’s students, best practices and unfolding developments, especially in the area of technology integration.

One of the things I noticed at this year’s conference was a subtle shift in the conversation. Most of the sessions I attended which spoke about technology tools did so from the perspective of the pedagogy and learning application instead of being “how to” sessions focused on learning the tool itself. This is a very important shift because it underscores the concept that the technology needs to be transparent and that the Web 2.0 revolution in education is not about the tool it is about learning. As one presenter stated “technology is the way to achieve the learning goal where the kids live.” This year there was also more discussion of data and research. eg. Robert Marzano presented data on the integration of technology and student test scores, and Hal Davidson spoke about a study from BYU on the use of video/media in Math instruction. While there is still need for more researched based data to support the anecdotal evidence on technology integration and best practice it was nice to see this data included in the presentations.

While there were many great ideas from the conference there are three that I want to focus on here. First is the book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns by Clayton Christensen , Curtis W. Johnson and , Michael B. Horn . Perhaps you have already heard about or read this book but I encountered it for the first time at the CUE conference and I believe it is an essential read for all administrators. We know change is needed, we know change is coming but this book pushes the envelope and can be the catalyst for some deep thinking and conversation. It also reminds us that the change that is coming will be anything but business as usual.. I have not finished the book yet but I hope there will be future posts and conversations here about its message. One thing is certain the revolution is not about how much technology we can put into our classrooms but it is about how we meet the needs of our students. in addition to this book you may want to take a look at the authors blog of the same name, Disrupting Class, here.

Next, if you have not already done so, take time to review the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE). current draft of the National Technology Standards for Administrators. While I was at CUE I attended a discussion of the draft for these standards and if they are to be effective it is important that we all take time to read them , reflect on our role as technology leaders and offer our ideas and insights to clarify that role.. If you do not have the opportunity to attend a live session to discuss the draft of the standards there is an online survey which you can fill out to share your ideas and reflections ( or you can offer to organize a discussion in your district).

Finally I would like to share a tool that is new to me and which makes the top ten in my list of technology tools for administrators. It has a very easy learning curve and it has made my work easier. Do you have to transfer files between computers? Do you ever use email files or a flash drive to transfer files from home to work, or from you laptop to your desktop Do you email files to a colleague or work collaboratively on documents? If so, take the time to look at Dropbox . It is free, and it automatically syncs all types of files, from spreadsheets and documents to photos or pdf files between computers. It is a very simple download and now all of my documents are on each of my computers and also stored on the internet. Yesterday a colleague wanted a copy of a lengthy document and with one click of a mouse I shared my folder with him through dropbox. I know I sound like a commercial but I can’t resit a free tool that actually makes me more efficient because both time and money are rare commodities in my world.

*PS For those Kindle folks like me there is a Kindle edition available of Disrupting Class
Barbara Barreda

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 10:02 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Cross Posted with NECC2009

Several years ago, a team from our high school attended High Schools New Face Conference in Western New York. Will Richardson lit a spark in several of us teaching us a plethora of tools- blogs, wikis, podcasting, RSS feeds, etc… The notion of ‘connecting with students’ was at the forefront. Students today are ‘connected’ electronically more often than not, have access to information quicker than many of us could ever have imagined and share an enormous amount of information via social networks. We knew we wanted to harness the power of the internet and do so in hopes that students will begin to gather, learn and share information in a way different than the traditional ’sit-n-get’ format found in many high school classes.

Our district had already begun to use some on-line learning and remedial programs for pre and post teaching which provided teachers (and the students) immediate feedback and monitoring of progress. Adults were well aware of the frequency of which students were on cell phones, iPods and connecting daily on MySpace and Facebook. C0uldthey not be taught to use these same concepts for learning? Would they enjoy learning more and as a result, wouldthey improve their achievement? Lets take one step further. Would teachers not become reignited about teaching and learning? Could teachers begin to collaborate on an etirelydifferent level? Would students become more engaged? Obviously, a team of us believed the answer to all these questions and more to be ‘Yes’! And so, we began our journey.

We started with a few extremely motivated teachers. Blogging was the start. Posting assignments, homework (being absent was not longer an excuse to not having work done!) and even lecture notes. A student would volunteer to be ’scribe’ for the day and post the day’s lecture/class notes. Students will use a blog to have discussions and collaborate on projects. Students (and teachers) would embed videos, presentations, and resources in their blogs. This is about the time that some students began to experiment with podcasting.

The next step was for students and teachers to begin to collaborate: sharing information, building off of each other’s contributions and creating a place to store resources. The Wiki became the platform. Use of the wiki expanded blogging to include a site for many courses in the high school. Syllabi, homework, project assignments and handouts can all be found on a virtual platform for students. Students would also post completed assignments and create team projects with the help of classmates.

Teachers learn relatively fast, but students were learning faster. Knowing that if teachers were going to use these tools, they would quickly need support. With the support of our Board of Education, I appointed a teacher on special assignment to actually train and work with teachers directly in the classroom, assisting them with lesson development. An Action Planning Committee in our high school consisted of a group of teachers vounteering to meet early morning, before school to share their craft and changes in their teaching. The spark had been lit, the flame began to grow.

Throughout this process, I believed as a leader that I needed to be a role model. I began to use web 2.0 tools in my everyday work. I blogged about the changes in our high school, and blogged for our community highlighting various achievements in our school districts. I even attempted a blog for students to have yet one more vehicle to communicate with their Superintendent. I would embed resources, presentations and podcasts. The intent of my message was these tools are effective, can be time savers and a way to quickly and easily spread and share your work and ideas.

Resources, the ’storage’ of resources, along with accessibility ( ’anywhere’ and ‘anytime’ ) was needed and introduced. Tools such as googledocs, social bookmarking (del.icio.us) and various virtual platforms were taught and used by both students and teachers. This became a quick lesson: not everyone had to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Friends could help each other. Find a resource that not only you need, but know of a friend that may be interested, store it and share it! As more teachers expressed interest in integrating technology within the classroom, accessibility to computers needed to be addressed. Instead of replacing stand alone computers, we began to purchase laptops on mobile carts. Teacher carts were also set up with a laptop, projector and audio amplification. Entire classes of students can be on-line at the same time and made dependence upon scheduling classes in computer labs a frustration of the past.

At the same time, our district had embarked upon a long-term relationship with Silver and Strong Associates providing professional development in “Thoughtful Education” pedagogy. As teachers developed units and lessons with more depth and differentiating for the different learning styles of students in a class, it became logical for us to have a platform for teachers to share their ideas, lessons and units. We introduced the social network Ning to our teachers. There, they could combine all the learning of the past and integrate the various tools in one place: blogging, interactive collaboration, storing of resources, posting of presentations, etc… It is our hope that as time goes on, our entire faculty will engage in collaboration on a virtual platform in addition to face-to-face learning teams. At the same time, we know that good leaders need to be involved in side-by-side learning with teachers and to model the traits and behaviors expected of teachers. Our administrative team has also begaun to use Ning for administrative collaboration as well as to interact with our teachers as they post to the social network.

As a school superintendent, the development of a true learning community across a K-12 district with 6 buildings has been exciting to observe. While at first, the integration of technology seemed to be “extra” work, teachers and students now see that it becomes ‘part’ of the work. We are far from full implementation. Empirical evidence related to improved student achievement is difficult to isolate. What we do have is anecdotal information from both students and teachers that they are more engaged and interested. The assumption is made that if students are interested and engaged, they are more likely to achieve at high levels.

Before ending I would like to share a few examples of what I have seen both as a parent in the district and as the superintendent-

Podcast projects:

One elementary class had students write their parents a Valentine’s Day Poem. Instead of just sending the poem home in written form, each student read their poem in podcast. The link for the podcast was sent to each parent in an e-mail. What a wonderful surprise parents had to ‘hear’ their Valentine’s Day poem in their own child’s voice!

For a European History project, a student created a radio show to have taken place during World War II demonstrating their understanding of the events of the decade. The radio show episodes were recorded in a podcast and submitted as a final project for grading.

Social Bookmarking:

Students and teachers are sharing articles, videos, and news articles along with a variety of other resources using their del.icio.us account. Along with many teachers, I have a network of people I follow that I can view and find resources for projects we have in common.

Read/Write Web:

A plethora of information is available by reading blogs. I read blogs by students as young as third grade posting information about what they have learned studying the Titanic. I have followed a student blogging about his favorite sport (hockey) and another student blogging about family vacations. I have probably learned more from reading blogs over the past three years, than any other source.

I can monitor many high school courses detailing what the content is, what assignments are due and view projects posted related to the course by students.

Social Networking:

As stated above, teachers are posting a variety of lessons and units in every subject across all grade levels. Our administrators are beginning to use Ning to post resources for each other, ask questions and get feedback from their colleagues as well as posting activities and questions for our book studies. This continues to be a work in progress.

The most important thing we have realized is that one thing we can be sure of is how fast technology changes. We planned early on that we needed to teach skills vs. the products available. While Blogger, PBwiki, Ning and Skype may all be popular, everyday there are new vendors improving sophistication and ease of use. Both our students and teachers are trained in skills (posting/commenting to the Read/Write web, collaboration, social bookmarking and networking). The platforms available will surely change. It is our belief that in order for students to be successful in the 21st Century, they will need to be proficient in many of these skills.

Neil A. Rochelle

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 11:23 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Cross-posted at www.kwhobbes.wordpress.com

Over the past few weeks I’ve been doing some reading, when I have a few moments, both online and the hardcopy book/magazine version. There have been a few different things that have me pondering and wondering about what we are doing in school and how things will change and when we’ll get around to looking at how change will affect what we do at school.

Being rather overwhelmed with a number of different managerial tasks these past few weeks and having to increase my teaching time, I really haven’t had time to focus on the educational leadership side of what I do. However, this past week at our last Administrators’ meeting, we were asked to do a number of things that really have me thinking about school, learning and the whole paradigm shift thing.

Portfolio - My Administrative Story

We’ve been asked to gather together different artifacts and categorize them under different headings to demonstrate various aspects of our leadership. Everything from shared leadership to continuous learning is part of this portfolio. Of course, being the keener that I am, I began to put my portfolio together a few years ago knowing that it is going to be essential if I were to search for a new position. However, I hadn’t put all the innards in their right places so last weekend I took some time and sifted through my collection of artifacts that I had assembled. What I found noteworthy was: I had a number of items that demonstrated continuous learning, contributions to educational learning, leadership and community, leadership and school and the various activities in my present school with which I have been involved. What was missing? Pictures. I don’t have a single photo of my actions and what I’ve been doing over the past 5 years. Actually, I have few pictures of my teaching and administrative journey. Contrast this with the portfolio of a young teacher and their is a huge difference.

So I lack photos. But in this culture of the picture, where everyone is snapping digital pics with their cameras or phones and then posting them or saving them, it would seem that photos are essential to telling the story of one’s life/career. Without the pics there is an empty spot where coloured glossies should be showing what was happening. Especially now when you can take, oh, 4000 pics on a single card and stash them on your harddrive or upload them to Flickr or Picassa, it is even easier to gather the visual story of one’s life and put it together for others to see.

Is it Really That Important?
Are visual representations really that important in a portfolio? My small investigation into this has produced a resounding YES! In fact, they are as important as all the letters and other items since they demonstration interactions or actions that cannot be conveyed as easily in words. Saying you do community work and a set of photos showing you do community work do have a different affect. Not only that, but they create a longer lasting impression for the person that is viewing.

The Shifting Paradigm

People are mostly visual - or so I’ve been told by a number of people especially my wife who has commented more than once “Do I need to draw you a picture?” Visuals help us in remembering things, in making connections and, if you are like me, reminding me of things to do. Funny how my wife telling me to take out the garbage three times isn’t nearly as affective as the visual of opening the shower to find the garbage bag. (And, no, I didn’t ask her why she didn’t take it out herself. If the garbage bag ends up in the shower, get the message and just take it out.)

So, while I’ve been waiting in hockey rinks this weekend, I pondered how this shift should be affecting how we do things in school and I came up with these things;

- we need to take advantage of the visual tools of the web to help students create connections instead of giving them notes on the connections. There are enough mind mapping tools out there that the only excuse we have for not using them is they are blocked.
- we should be getting students to incorporate more visuals into their storytelling and their demonstrations of knowledge. Let’s face it, a picture says so much and the right picture/chart/diagram can make clear something that is hard to put into words. With the number of creative commons available photos and such, students should be learning to bring the word and picture together just like we see in textbooks!
- bullet point slides are dead and we, as educators, need to take advantage of the tools available to pose questions that push students to think and challenge their present knowledge. All teachers should be learning the art of the presentation and then using it to engage students in questions that challenge them, are present and have some connection to their lives.
- use visuals to help students make connections between their lives and what is happening in school.
- be open to students’ desire to share their knowledge in a number of ways. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have to write well but, instead, we encourage them to give story to the visuals they select.
- connect dots, create webs, draw inferences - use the visual to communicate with everyone in school - not just the parents. One of my favourite scenes from a movie is when, in Teachers, Nick Noltee has given a young student, Ralph Macchio, an assignment and allowed him to use a camera to take pictures and present the information visually in a slideshow. Really, that movie was before its time - I still recommend all teachers watch it as it captures all that could be but isn’t. Best teacher - Richard Mulligan - awesome!!
- draw on the visual to make connections - help to make things real by giving visual examples of history, literature, social problems, mathematical problems, science and the rest. And if we can’t find a visual, have students create it.

We need more 365 programs in school

I’m not sure if everyone is aware of the 365 picture meme or whatever it is now but it has people take a picture each day and post it. Many people I know from my PLN are taking part and, from all accounts, it’s a great way to begin to take time to focus on the world around in a visual manner. Kind of a “Stop and smell the roses” idea. So, why aren’t we doing this in classes? Why aren’t we having students take pictures that reflect whatever we are studying and have them comment on them? Or, finding photos that they can use (CC available) and putting together conversations using different online tools and getting feedback? What’s holding us back from taking advantage of the mushrooming explosion of online photos that are available to the public or having students use their own to build knowledge, bridging between in-school and out-school.

We need to begin to take advantage of these tools and this shift to the visual. For the first time we have inexpensive and easy access to visuals and images that could add so much to what we are doing in school. Combine these with the ability to record audio that goes along with the visuals and we have a powerful one/two combination that we are not using enough in school but is so vital in the social networks in which people are involved. Writing is powerful but, as we begin to explore the possibilities of the visual and audio, we need to embrace these and incorporate them.

This Dilbert cartoon says so much! http://www.dilbert.com/2009-03-07/

What are we waiting for? What’s keeping us from surging ahead? Why does it seem there is denial that it is possible and available?

I’m not sure but I know I’ll be seeing how I can do this more in my own teaching.

Kelly Christopherson

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 4:55 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

I believe all schools should allow students access to all forms of technology and their educationally beneficial applications.

To allow anything less is an inexcusable ignoring of the most valuable educational tools available to us, a lazy way of avoiding the inevitable, and an irresponsible dodging of a very real public safety issue.

I realize that any discussion regarding students being given access to the full range of technologies and their applications quickly becomes a mixture of issues which are as difficult to resolve as they are easy to cause offense to many. Few can agree on common definitions of "age-appropriate"; "freedom of speech"; "in-loco-parentis"; "censorship", "offensive web sites", or "inappropriate material". The problem is that while we argue these social, ethical, political, and legal points, technology marches on, and we fall further and further behind our students.

We cannot allow education in general or ourselves in particular to become antiquated.

Far too often, the very mention of allowing students the in-school use of cell phones, access to email, access to social networks, or the freedom to surf the internet as part of their learning process is immediately met with either a deafening silence of disapproval or a chorus of righteous objections, concern for the safety of our children, or - my favorite - a vaguely mumbled argument that sounds like "butwecannotcontrolitandmightlosecontrolofitandwhoknowswherethesekidsmaygowithit".

Bear in mind we are not discussing a new song here. The tune is the same, only the lyrics have changed. It seems schools have always taken issue with any perceived threat to the safekeeping of social norms - from banning certain books and materials to questioning the benefits of certain technology.

When I was twelve years old there was a magazine that seemed to find particular disfavor with the teachers and administrators of my school. Mad Magazine. Wow! If you dared to take a copy to school, everyone was warned of dire consequences. Yet, you know where I saw my first Mad Magazine? Mrs. Miller's 5th grade class. Yep, at school. Something about it being off-limits made it seem all the more enjoyable and subversive when I actually got my hands on it. Of course, after reading it, singing the parodies, and looking for the magically transformed picture after folding the back cover until the arrows met, imagine my disappointment at finding nothing the least bit evil, libelous, or sexually inappropriate. Maybe Mad Magazine didn't have any practical educational use, but it, like the millions of impressionable young minds that were exposed to it, has managed to survive to this day.

Then there's the calculator and that little ol' company right up the highway from my school: Texas Instruments. We all knew that the first handheld, cheap calculators were created by mad scientists out to destroy the math abilities and reasoning skills of every school-aged child. Seven times eight was always my downfall. But now, all one had to do was push the right buttons in the right order and there was the answer! Fifty Six! Right there on the screen..."56"...Wow! Could anything greater EVER be invented?

Oh, but we educators fought that battle didn't we? Math groups were divided over this issue (pun intended). Great scholarly debates were held. Many argued that calculators were clearly a form of technology that had no place in the classroom.

We all know how that argument has been resolved.

At a recent district staff meeting, an assistant principal spoke to this issue. He started off with a large PowerPoint screen shot of an empty hallway on his campus. He told us it was not really just a hallway, but actually a Time Warp. After some laughter from the audience, he explained that just before they entered the hallway, his students lived in a world full of the latest cutting edge technologies and applications. From iPhones, iPods, and PDAs, to cellphones and laptops...From avatars in Second Life, to real friends in MySpace and Facebook...Before entering the hall, students were socially networking around the world, conducting immediate personal research on issues they were curious about (googling anything from movie times to how to load a new graphic card on their motherboard).

This astute assistant principal went on to point out a very odd thing happened as students entered and made their way to the classrooms at the end of the hall. A transformation took place and when the students emerged on the opposite end of the hall, all their technology had been turned off, pocketed, zippered, hidden, discounted, or flat-out become prohibited. Education had time-warped back to circa 1950's-1960's-1970's formats of standup, teacher-led lectures, accompanied by worksheets and textbooks.

Again: We cannot allow education in general or ourselves in particular to become antiquated. What does it tell us when kids cannot wait to leave school in order re-turn-on, re-boot, and once again engage in meaningful (to them) real-world learning.

Recently our District Instructional Technologists conducted a series of "Imagineering Sessions" in which they sat down and talked with students about perceptions of technology and where our district could/should go with it. As part of each session the students were given video cameras and asked to walk around and tape mini-interviews. The result is a six minute video which you might find interesting. It's found on YouTube at BISD What If...

Really, my argument isn't whether we should allow access or not. Our students already have access. Whether at home, a friend's house, the public library, Kinkos, or an internet cafe, don't think for a minute that we are controlling what students have access to. Students are already ahead of us on most technology. No, my true argument is this: to continue to fight against students having access is pointless. Realistically our alternative should be to teach responsible, safe use of the technologies and their applications as they apply to gaining new knowledge, exploring new ideas, playing with concepts, and building the future.

Students are allowed to have cell phones on my campus. A few weeks ago I came across a website that allows phones to be used to collect answers to polls, surveys, quizzes, etc. It struck me as a great tool for teachers to use in the classroom. I informally polled my staff on the issue of allowing cell phones to actually be used in class for something of this nature. They were mixed in their responses. I focused on those not in favor of the idea. As I asked them for more input, I heard three basic types of responses: 1) They were afraid of losing control (if we let them use the phones for this, how will we keep control over texting or personal calls?); 2) some were concerned that not all students have equal access; and 3) some staff are unfamiliar with the technology and therefore uncomfortable with students using it (yes, there are teachers who don't know how to use text messaging).

Allow me to address these responses in the reverse order of the actual numbers of staff expressing them:

3) Regarding the staff's familiarity with technology: It is part of our district's culture that a minimal level of technological competency is a standard expectaton. Our superintendent had the district adopt a requirement that all staff must demostrate competencies in eight areas of computer/technology use. Based on a requirement of SBEC for all beginning teachers, our district requires ALL staff members to either pass a competency test or take a three hour course in eight designated competencies. With that said, we must acknowledge that we cannot become familiar - or comfortable - using all the technologies that are available simply because there aren't enough hours in the day. I certainly would never expect a staff to be competent with every application available. Nor should they be afraid of it. However, they should be competent enough with current technology to be able to evaluate new programs and determine if they appear to be "safe" or not. The minimum expectation for any staff member should be for them to at least know how to refer a new application or website to a higher authority for further evaluation before allowing students to use/access it.

2) Regarding equal access: I have been taking student surveys on Survey Monkey for a long time. I am now planning to set up future surveys to include a choice of students responding either on-line or through a text message format. They may not have equal access to a private cell phone or laptop, but with wifi, one COW, three labs, and computers in every classroom, I can assure them equal access. I believe all schools should make equal access a priority.

And finally,

1) Loss of control in the classroom: Ah! Here's the real issue I think.

For some educators their real underlying bias against allowing access is a loss of control. Visions of students ignoring lessons while text messaging, meeting on MySpace instead of conducting the assigned research in the library, or heading straight to banned websites at every opportunity are greatly distorted misconceptions rather than demonstrated truths.

Obviously, texting friends and making/receiving personal calls during class time cannot be allowed. But why shouldn't the phone be allowed for legitimate educational use? I watched an excellent lesson in an Algebra 2 class in which the teacher had students use the keypads on their cell phones to figure out relationships between the numbers and letters. I can think of a multitude of lessons in which a cell phone would be used as an instructional tool. How about excellent real-time research that could be conducted by allowing students to call and talk to different entities to gather information. Do you think a 7th grade class could plan and implement a field trip all on their own using the internet and their cellphones to make all the arrangements? Not only do I believe it, I believe it could be done at much lower grade levels as well.

Allowing access to all the technologies does not mean totally unrestricted access. As much as I wish it did, my ticket to see my favorite artist in concert only allows me access to the floor and my seat. It's not a back stage pass that allows me to mingle with the artists. There is still a tremendous amount of control a school can exercise over access and use without causing a "chill effect" or diminishing the effectiveness of the technology and the applications themselves.

I make my argument in favor of access in this article. I don't have room left to discuss the next step: actual implementation. But rest assured that I acknowledge the need for everything from filters, differentiated levels of software/site admission, the physical layout of computer labs, strong parental involvement, and appropriate safeguards in place to protect all students.

Boil it down and my entire argument for giving students access to all technologies is based on three beliefs:

1) Knowing that students have access - and it is not going away, we should make that access work for everyone's benefit. We must allow access to technologies and their applications at school. Whether at school or elsewhere, students will find access to current technologies and play / experiment / innovate with the full range of applications . We will never prevent students from using current technologies in ways that they find emotionally, socially, or yes, even educationally beneficial;

3) Knowing the dangers, we should be teaching safe protocols and net etiquette to our students so they don't inadvertently make the errors that place them at jeopardy socially, financially, emotionally, and even physically.

Technology is here to stay. And guess what? There's only going to be more and more of it coming faster and faster. Historically, we know we will eventually lose any battle against its full acceptance and incorporation into our classrooms, so why not get on board now and become a facilitator rather than an opponent?

Greg Farr

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 12:01 AM | Permalink | 11 Comments | Recommend

It's a busy world we educators live in now. We are bracing for some kind of money situation-- it could be good, it might be bad. The world is in a flux. I feel a little bit like chicken little, but there's always respite in a great book that makes all the intricacies of our professional pursuits seem almost manageable.

Enter Assembly Required by Lezotte and McKee (2002). I am not sure how this little jewel passed me by; I could have been "teaching like my hair was on fire" or wasn't paying attention when anyone else mentioned it. I wasn't even too happy when I was introduced to the book by my district issuing me a copy and telling me to read it for a professional development opportunity that we would be having soon. But, let me tell you, all that changed when I grabbed a cup of homemade coffee (it's very "in" to make your own coffee in these tense financial times) and read the first chapter.

Now, I like stuff that is written in a low brow, "leave out the laborious" research quoting that reminds me a lot of the begat section of the Bible. And, this book is written in a casual engaging way that had me hooked from "hello." Being a child of the sixties and seventies, I grew up with the Coleman Report (schools don't matter), A Nation At Risk (schools are so bad that it would be an act of war if anyone did this kind of schooling to us), and Effective Schools (all kids can learn, it's up to us). So, when Lezotte referenced all this in the book, I just felt like old home week.

But the book is so much more than that. It's an up-to-date version of the Effective Schools Movement taken into realityville. The book is based on the theories of Effective Schools, Continuous School Improvement, and Systems Theory. But, it's not just theory anymore; it's a lot of effective how to's--- and I definitely like an idea of how to get effectively and efficiently from point A to point B.

So, in between all your literature driven self improvement opportunities from Marzano, Buck, Payne, McLeod, et al, throw in this quick great read; it might bring you back home to ideas that always were and still are great ways to improve schools.

Jan Borelli
www.drjansblog.com

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In his latest book, The Global Achievement Gap, Tony Wagner issues a "call to action" for all those who are concerned with how we educate our students for the future. Wagner paints a compelling picture of how we should be preparing students and for the need to stop tinkering with our school systems and make meaningful and significant alterations. In the conclusion of the book, Wagner identifies three changes in our world that demand different methods for teaching and learning:

All kids need new skills to thrive in a global knowledge economy.
In the age of the Internet, using new information to solve new problems matters more than recalling old information.
Today's youth are differently motivated when we compare them to previous generations

And Wagner provides examples of schools where instruction and assessment have changed drastically; schools where the teachers are lifelong learners and who hold themselves and each other accountable for the learning of all students. Schools in which there is true collaboration around student work and student learning; where adults learn and work together, establish relationships with their students and with each other, and where every child is seen as a capable learner.

So, once again I am left wondering what it will take - or if it is even possible - to create a school like the ones described in a traditional public school system in this age of accountability (which I am afraid I do not see going away even with the new administration). What I did not read about in Wagner's description of these schools that appear to be breaking the mold were constraints imposed by special education regulations, by schedules and staffing decisions based on athletics, or by conflicts among the members of the school or greater community. It seems to me that the work of creating culture and developing a unified vision and building a true community of learners requires so much time, so much tenacity, and so much support - especially in the very traditional school systems that it is almost impossible to imagine real change taking place.

For me, having reached one of the milestone birthdays this year that makes one begin to think about retirement (or at least the career options after retiring from the every day grind of school administration), I wonder how much more tenacity I can muster and how I can continue to fight the good fight at the same time I work to develop better relationships with the teachers, the students, the parents, the school board, and the community. Because at this point, I feel as though all I do is battle; even after a day and a half of in-service with 67 teachers which got very positive reviews overall; even though I am seeing more people sharing ideas and thoughts about how we should be meeting the needs of kids; even though I am seeing more walls between staff coming down and people speaking up in large faculty meetings about what they think and believe. How can we maintain the momentum, nurture ourselves and others - but keep really pushing things forward to make the kinds of changes Wagner and others like him propose.

I continue to predict that education in 10 years will be much different - that it will have to be. I am even planning the redesign of our middle school with that in mind - thinking about flexible spaces and small group learning; about infrastructure that will support the high tech world; and about a structure and setting that will encourage inquiry, creation, and meaningful work for everyone. Yet, I continue to be challenged by those who can see only what education has been and only what will maintain the status quo. So what can I, a building administrator, do to at the very least keep things moving forward at least at a rate that will not leave students too far behind. And how do I develop a support system for myself, my assistant, and the others who believe we can bring about meaningful change? As much as I am trying to be patient and celebrate successes, I also have the sense that time is running out; that we are at a critical juncture and we will either break through or fall back into the "just how it is" routine of public education. Any suggestions? Mantras? Support groups?

Sue King
sking@hershey.k12.pa.us

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

This won't be easy, but it's important, and I know you can do it.

Just for a moment, imagine the intersection of the classroom with the world. We educate students to be guardians of the world they will inherit from us. We educate students for the world: scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs, economists, sculptors, train engineers, farmers, truck drivers; spouses, friends, colleagues, competitors. Students become citizens in this democracy and, at the same time, this "flat" world; each one a voter regularly faced with the awesome task of making decisions on complex issues that will have significant consequences for our future. Are they ready? Are they learning to learn so they can continue to learn when they leave school?

In January 2009 I attended a panel discussion in Philadelphia at Educon 2.1, a Web 2.0 education conference sponsored by the Science Leadership Academy. On Friday evening to open the conference, a panel of several men and women distinguished for accomplishments in their fields of learning and work were asked to address one question, what is the purpose of school? Their comments helped me realize that we ignore introducing students to the world with all of its complexity and challenge at our own peril. For learning to be an engaging, challenging, life-long activity for students, they need to use, develop, learn and apply their knowledge and skills within authentic, real-world contexts.

See for yourself. Here is my distillation of their comments, with a few of my own, on the purpose(s) of schooling. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Can we achieve these purposes without introducing real-world contexts into schools? How much more engaging would learning be for students if the contexts for learning came from the world adults inhabit every day, locally and globally?

The purpose of schooling is to inspire students to:

- creatively solve problems;
- collaborate as if it is the only way to get things done;
- be courageous;
- be confident;
- generate and harvest ideas for the community's benefit;
- participate in the community's economy while in school;
- build the community's social capital;
- inquire as a way of life;
- honor differences;
- communicate well;
- present well;
- be able to explain something really well;
- "calibrate" their time, effort, and resources;
- open their eyes to what is possible;
- understand how things really work;
- think and act compassionately;
- seek truth and beauty; and
- use the most advanced technology.

This describes a very different paradigm of learning from what I was used to as a student and I suspect most of you too, but imagine how different our definition of success would be if we could redefine the purpose of schooling in these ways and actually achieve them. If now is the time for change, this is the change we must become.

However, what will this paradigm look like in practice? What will teachers do? What will students do? What will schooling be like? When, where and how will learning take place? Were can we go to uncover within ourselves the understanding and wisdom we need to answer these questions in personally and professionally satisfying and significant ways?

I suggest the following as a few places you can use to ignite your learning. There are many writers and organizations grappling with the question of what the world of the future will be like, Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded, for example. Stephanie Pace Marshall, Founding President and President Emerita of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®, has written about the future world of learning in her book, The Power to Transform. Ken Robinson is another author writing about how we should educate in the future, most recently in The Element. Others are trying to define the skills students will need: the Partnership for 21st Century Skills work, Tony Wagner's The Global Achievement Gap, and Henry Jenkins's Project New Media Literacies to name a few. Authors are also trying to help us understand the minds we will need or will get to educate in the future such as Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future, Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind, and Don Tapscott's Grown Up Digital. There are also people writing and commenting within the forums of education-focused social networks, hundreds of education bloggers and creators of education wikis, and a multitude of free, online, archived educational documents and presentations. To say the least, we have a plethora of resources to tap as we pursue our self-directed learning journey for the 21st Century.

Hopefully, we can learn what we need to about teaching and learning practice and teacher and student roles. But what about authentic, real-world contexts?

I would like to address that question by presenting you with a real-world context and a question that is really an invitation to join an intellectual "studio" or "arena" if you will. The question: how could the knowledge and understanding you gain from your learning journey for the 21st Century mentioned above be applied to the context of developments in a relatively small section of north west Colombia, South America? Along with the question I will guide you to lots of background information on a project that has been ongoing since the 1980's. You can provide brain power by activating your creativity and innovation to write compelling comments on how this real-world context could be successfully used in schools to achieve the schooling purposes mentioned above. Involve anyone you like in the conversation ~ faculty and staff from from your school, people from your community, or colleagues from your personal learning network.

Here are some questions to focus some of your thinking.

- If you wanted to address deforestation in Colombia, what would you need to know, what skills would you need, what would you do? If you were innovative and creative, would you be better off when trying to address the problem?

- If you wanted to help indigenous people manage local pollution and you wanted to help them help themselves economically, what would you do? Would you be better off if you had core knowledge in traditional school subjects and better off with entrepreneurial skills?

- If you wanted to save a critically endangered species of monkey (Cotton-top Tamarin), what would you do? Would you be more able to address the problem if you could put together a multidisciplinary team that could work together collaboratively, be adaptive and self-directed?

I learned about this project, Proyecto Tití, through three sources:

1) speaking to Ashley, a staff member at Disney's Wild Kingdom,
2) visiting the project web site, and
3) talking to Dr. Anne Savage, Senior Conservation Biologist at Disney's Wild Kingdom and Executive Director of Proyecto Tití.

To get you started, below is a video of what Ashley told me about the project and here is the link to Proyecto Tití's web site. You will also find other information on the Cotton-top Tamarin by clicking the links below.

Proyecto Tití: Saving the Cotton-top Tamarin from Dennis Richards on Vimeo

Let the conversation begin and remember to return here to comment on what you do and learn. The internet is interactive now. Get with it. Share what you learn with others!

Cotton-top Tamarin at Encyclopedia of Life
Cotton-top Tamarin Pictures and Videos at Arkive
Educon 2.1 photo by bknittle
Cotton-top Tamarin photo by suneko

Dennis Richards
innovation3.edublogs.org

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 4:43 AM | Permalink | 4 Comments | Recommend

Tuesday was the first day of the ISATs for all 3rd through 8th grade students in the State of Illinois. This is a big deal for Illinois schools because the results of these mandated, high stakes tests will determine if our students attend “Meets” or “Does Not Meets” schools. Each school's percentage of students passing the tests will be published in all of the newspapers. Schools will be ranked and judged based solely on these tests. The pressure is on all of us: students, teachers, administrators, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, postal employees, UPS guys, and the milk delivery man. (OK, maybe not the milkman).

I find this to be a very frustrating time of year. Right now, my office is filled with boxes of test booklets, answer sheets, paper rulers, testing manuals, and rules and regulations for teachers to read. The materials all had to be counted, labeled, and numbered, and each student was assigned a specific booklet and answer sheet. This was labor intensive work for our office staff which kept them very busy for a week. Then, whole-school and classroom schedules needed to be revised so we can test the students at the same time each day. Almost everything in school shuts down this week in the affected grade levels, and then, next week we will run around trying to give make-ups to all the students who were absent during the testing week. Phew. It’s tiring work for many, many people.

If all this effort, hard work, and added stress led to test results that we could use for improving student achievement and for overall school improvement, I would be in a much better mood these days. Unfortunately, the results won't arrive for many months and will not be available for school improvement planning done over the summer.

Anyway, there are more rules and regulations involved with administering the ISATs than ever before. This is what my day looked like on Tuesday:

7:00 am – Met with my assistant principal to review all of the different accommodations groups needed for the special education students.

7:07 – Realized that we were still short one certified staff member to take one of the many different groups. No matter how we sliced and diced this, we did not have enough people to proctor the tests. Decided to ask the social worker to take a group for testing all week.

7:19 – Finished with groupings and room assignments for all the different accommodation groups.

7:20 – Printed “Do Not Disturb” signs for all of the testing rooms. (I forgot to do this on Monday.) I woke up in a cold sweat at 2:30 in the morning when I realized this.

7:29 – Burned my tongue trying to down a cup of coffee in one minute flat.

7:30 – Looked through the boxes of materials for the 27th time to ensure that each teacher had the correctly labeled test booklets and exactly the right number of answer documents. (can’t have any extras in the classrooms due to test security laws).

7:42 – PANICKED! Learned that one of the proctors broke her foot the night before, and she would not be in school. She was assigned to a small IEP accommodations group.

7:53 – Took five deep breaths and called the assistant principal again. Grabbed my accommodations sheet and ran to her office. We switched some students around and found a place for everyone to take the test in accordance with their IEPs.

8:26 – Loaded up all the boxes on two giant carts so I could deliver all the testing materials to the classrooms.

8:34 – Went from room to room, asking teachers to sign the official “I Have Received My ISAT Materials” form which officially transferred the materials from my possession to theirs. Placed the boxes on the back tables in all of the rooms. Asked each teacher for a $300 deposit for the testing materials – cash only. (just kidding)

8:49 – Forgot the “Do Not Disturb” signs. Ran back to the office. Ran back to the classrooms to deliver the signs.

8:55 – Quickly made the daily announcements so testing could begin.

9:10 – Walked (very quietly) from room to room to ensure that the testing started off on the right foot. This testing is very important, you know.

9:17 – A quiet hush has fallen over the school (except in kindergarten, first and second grade, where they still are actually teaching kids stuff).

9:18 – Visited with the school nurse (NOT for Tylenol) but to get the attendance report for the morning.

9:23 – Created the Make-up Test spreadsheet and added all of the students who were absent in the morning. They all missed the first reading test.

10:00 – Ate my Fiber One bar.

10:01 – Walked around the school to ensure that the hallways were still quiet.

10:37 – Checked email, voicemail, snailmail, etc. There was a lot! I was never this popular when I was in school!

11:30 – Collected all of the testing materials which must be locked in my office during the lunch hour. Test security is very important in high stakes testing.

12:00 – Visited with students in the lunchroom

12:30 – Walked around asking teachers, “How did the testing go?” Most said OK, but I learned that a few of the kids did not finish. And a couple of students got lost on the answer sheet and they filled in the wrong bubbles. YIKES!

12:45 - Loaded up the carts with boxes and redistributed the testing materials for the afternoon round of testing.

1:15 – Walked around the school to ensure that the afternoon testing session was to begin on time.

1:38 – Visited with school nurse to get the afternoon attendance report. Took some Tylenol.

1:58 – Added all the students who were missing the first math test to my Make-up Test spreadsheet.

2::21 - Went to the bathroom for the first time.

2:27 – Walked around the school to ensure that the hallways were still quiet as the testing session was finishing.

2:59 – Sat down.

3:00 – Collected all of the boxes with the testing materials. Locked all of the boxes in my office to ensure that they were secure. Test security is very important in high stakes testing.

3:30 – Grabbed my keys, said goodbye to the secretary, and headed off to the district office for an ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE meeting! (I’m not kidding!).

... and so it has gone for the rest of this week. Next week, I will organize all of the make-up tests because 95% of the students must take these tests or our school will not make AYP.

(What would this week have been like if we did not have to go through all of this testing? Maybe I could have visited classrooms to see what the students were learning. What if the assessments were tied directly to what they were learning, and administered throughout the year in small doses instead of all at once under so much pressure? Hmmmm… I wonder.)

Dave Sherman
The Principal and Interest

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 7:57 AM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

For the past few years, researchers at the University of Minnesota have been working on a project titled: Beyond Immediate Impact: Study Abroad for Global Engagement (SAGE). Recently, some preliminary findings have been released. The study surveyed nearly 6,400 graduates across 22 colleges. In short, results of the study indicate that students who engage in short-term study abroad opportunities (less than four weeks) are just as likely to be globally engaged as those students who study abroad for several months or longer.

These findings are huge! Let me repeat, this large-scale study indicates that short-term international experiences are just a powerful as long-term international experiences in created global citizens. University faculty members are scrambling to get their heads around how to best mold school leaders who are able to create and lead 21st Century schools. If a brief sojourn abroad statistically increases the likelihood that school leaders will be globally engaged and thus take these ideals into their institutions, the next step is a no-brainer.

I have long advocated for cultural immersion experiences. I, like many others, are disappointed to hear that longer immersions are not necessarily more meaningful. I am however pleased to hear that these short-term experiences can have impact and do have value. A warning must be sounded. In preparing school leaders who are globally-minded, globally engaged, and globally connected, universities should hesitate to create a market of cultural tourism. We need to proactively create opportunities for our future school leaders that focus on intercultural communication skills and intercultural sensitivities.

If we expect students to leave our schools with 21st Century skills, we need to start with the school leaders. At the University of North Carolina Wilmington, a component of our Ed.D. program is a mandatory international internship. I would love to hear about university programs that are infusing international experiences into their school administration / school leadership programs. Feel free to comment below.

Jayson W. Richardson

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 5:00 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

I am of the belief that the best institute days are not so much about learning, as much as a commitment to it. They are not about moments of community but a continued commitment to it. They aren’t so much about the day but what the days ahead will bring.

Those are the things I value when deciding upon and designing our institute days as was the case with our 2nd Annual Teachers Teaching Teachers Mini-Conference on March 2nd where we again tapped the shoulders of professionals in the classroom to give them a greater responsibility and a stronger voice to encourage the personalization of learning opportunities designed as a community.

Key Elements of the Day
Best Practices in Professional Development: The key to designing this day was a focus on best practices in professional development and adult learning as a microcosm for a coherent, well-designed approach to sustained, ongoing learning for all in a transparent culture of innovation and change:

• Choice
• Collaborative
• Application and collective inquiry time
• Connected to practice
• Art and science of teaching
• Teacher Driven
• Diverse
• Learning not Training
• Transparent
• Informal and Formal
• Modeling
• Networking
• Intensive, Challenging, and Thought-Provoking
• Aligned
• Internal
• External

Establishing Tone: The notion of an institute day for many brings about negative feelings and frustration over wasted time. Thus, it was critical to set a tone that this was more than just another institute day. This is why a conference approach was selected for its ease of creating an atmosphere of celebration, community, and change. Not to mention, it allowed for the selection of a keynote speaker to establish and set the tone for the day for which David Warlick did exceptionally well.

Stakeholder Involvement: It is critical that these days are not created in isolation but include the voices of those in which the day serves: teachers, administrators, and students. However, this does not mean merely a the setup of a committee. It is about that committee gathering insights, concerns, and ideas from their colleagues and sharing these together so that all voices are included. In many ways, it is about a transparent process and design.

The Next Approach: For me, I’m thinking in terms of the next 100 days: how we will extend the learning in breadth and depth, implement the proof of concepts in a systemic way, support the collaborative investigations with just-in time movements, sustain the energy to push forward for new heights during the Dip, and adjust the sails of our learning community in order to maintain a culture of change and innovation without restriction.

The Symbolic Nature of the Day
This day was important for what it represented symbolically . In fact, the value in this day was the coming together in a celebratory way as a community reflecting upon where we were, showcasing how far we’ve come, and taking first steps towards where we are going.

Does learning occur on this day? Absolutely! But the day is a celebration of community, a celebration of life long learning, and a celebration of change.

This is a strategic approach where each step is designed to reenergize batteries, assess and evaluate who we are as a learning community, and coming together in the spirit of a continued belief in growing, stretching and pushing.

Our institute day was designed with those pieces in mind, with the driving question always on how do we encapsulate the spirit of community and the celebration of change and growth past, present, and future.

This day laid out how we want to approach professional development and adult learning. But, the true test of how successful these approaches are does not come from the day but how we live up to the day: create energy, address concerns, foster risk-taking, encourage creativity, push the boundaries of innovation, promote collaboration and sharing, offer just-in time learning, focus on methodology, drive change, and stoke the passion of these professionals on a day to day basis!

Next year, we will come together again in the spirit of celebration as a community, life-long learners, and change agents in a change culture. By coming together in celebration, we will better understand where we’ve come from again: evolution of presentation to a greater degree of breadth and depth, diversified offerings, presentations exploring new heights, new innovations, and new discoveries in the spirit of teaching and learning in the 21st Century, enhancing our methodology in the spirit of best practice, and more and more voices behind heard.

What are we, as building leaders, doing to create this culture? What are we doing to avoid the "wasn't that day great" mentality that paralyzes the community, culture, and learning if left at just that? How are we leveraging the wealth of information in NSDC's Professional Learning in the Learning Profession report? How are we making sure our approach is not espoused theory but theory in use?

These are elements that drive our approach to professional development and adult learning.

When you look at your formal learning days or institute days, what are these meant to accomplish? What are the goals for the day and how do these build upon or lay a foundation for the daily professional development work that shapes teaching and learning? Are these days painting a picture that says this is it or does it create a sense of celebration and continuation of something much greater?

As Lao-tzu stated, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” and institute days should be about those single steps and the celebration of the many steps along the miles and miles of the journey. What about your institute days?

Reference

Hammond-Darling, L., R. Chung Wei, et al. (2009).Professional Learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. National Staff Development Council.

Logo designed by Matt C., a Glenbrook North High School student
Photo of NetGen area by Rafael B. Iriarte

A big thank you to all the presenters and the GBN technology advisors, teachers, Art 4 students, instructional technology department, and administrative team for all their work on this microcosm!

Ryan Bretag
Metanoia

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Every time we turn around, a new definition of educational leadership emerges with standards, benchmarks and, of course, expert research to back it up. It’s getting to be like adding new flavors to Baskin & Robbins 31 ice cream choices and you decide the flavor of the week. You can be an Instructional Leader, an Operational Leader, and/or a Policy Leader. Your leadership behavior can be distributed, shared, transformational, charismatic, situational or balanced. You can be a visionary leader, a democratic leader, a coaching leader or just a plain old mean leader!

I don’t mean to make light of all of the important work that’s been done to identify the knowledge, skills, strategies and tools to be an effective educational leader. These are important skills necessary for all educational leaders. However, to me there is only one leadership attribute that has the greatest impact on what occurs in schools and school districts and the only one that makes the difference between a great leader and a lousy one. Simply put, it’s how the leader treats people and builds and sustains positive relationships between her/himself and others and among staff, students, parents and community members. This is what makes the most significant difference in the climate and culture of a school or district and, ultimately, impacts whether students will achieve or fail.

Clearly, one can be educated about curriculum, instruction, and assessment. One can learn how to use data to make decisions, how to allocate resources, and how to effectively supervise and evaluate staff. The question, however, is this: Is relationship building a skill that can be taught or learned or is it innate? What do you think?

Marion Ginopolis

MI-LIFE Michigan Leadership Improvement Framework Endorsement

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 5:13 AM | Permalink | 5 Comments | Recommend

Recently the HOPE Foundation helped to bring together top educational leaders to present the best thinking available on how to help improve education in America. (Click here for article.)

Here is the core of what Obama and his team have been presented.

1. Assure Readiness: Success in the classroom requires that children arrive ready to learn – cognitively, physically and psychologically.

2. Provide Rich Learning Environments for All Students: All young people in America deserve rich learning environments that challenges their thinking, promotes learning by doing and focuses on higher-order thinking skills that encourage life-long learning and prepare young people to be engaged, collaborative citizens.

3. Improve Overall Standards, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment: Policies and systems must be in place to promote best practices in teaching, reward high performers, and provide opportunities for feedback and development for those in need of improvement.

4. Improve Overall Teacher Quality: Policies and systems must be in place to promote best practices in teaching, reward high performers, and provide opportunities for feedback and development for those in need of improvement.

5. Ensure the Development of 21st Century School Leaders: School leadership should be focused on a combination of student learning, progress, and culture building, while enhancing the quality of teaching.

6. Generate and Use Research Effectively: Ensure the use of existing research and advance new research topics that address issues specific to 21st Century challenges.

I think 1 and 2 are the most important items to attack first. But I think 5 is the most important if 4 is ever going to be a reality. What do you think?

Mark Stock

Cross linked at "What's Working in Schools?"

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 1:19 PM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

[For my turn this month, I thought I’d share Post 1 for my guest blogging stint at The Des Moines Register. Click on each image to get a larger, complete version!]

Archimedes said “Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world.” This week I will be blogging about 5 key levers that I think are necessary to move Iowa schools forward and help our graduates survive and thrive in this new digital, global age in which we now live. Today I am going to emphasize the work that is being done by the Iowa Department of Education and others regarding 21st century curricula.

Those of you who regularly follow Linda Fandel’s two blogs here at The Des Moines Register know that last year Iowa became the seventh state to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, an initiative designed to “position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders.” These so-called 21st century skills are those needed by Iowa graduates to be competitive in a global information economy:

Why are these skills so important? Because the rise of digital information and communication technologies such as e-mail, instant messaging, videoconferencing, and the Internet have virtually eliminated the workplace barriers of geography and time. It is now about as easy to work with people halfway across the globe as it is with folks halfway across town. As a result, information, money, and ideas criss-cross the globe at dizzying speeds and work moves to the location of lowest cost or greatest expertise. This puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on the Western wage premium: why pay an American worker such a high salary when someone in another country will do the same work for less?

So we have company after company, task force after task force, and commission after commission telling us that the skills listed above are important because they’re the ones that enable American workers and companies to differentiate themselves from others across the globe. They’re the skills that justify higher American wages and benefits. They’re the skills that drive American creativity and innovation. Economists have shown quite clearly that the only growth in the American workforce is occurring in “creative class” professions that involve critical thinking, complex communication, collaborative problem-solving, and other more-abstract skills:

If you turn that second line chart into a stacked bar chart, it looks like this:

If we look at just the two ends of this last chart, we see the fundamental dilemma. Our K-12 schools, which were created for an era when 3/4 of American workers were involved in agricultural or manual labor jobs, are now expected to function in an environment in which about 3/4 of our workers are now in more cognitively complex service or creative professions:

But we hear from American corporations that they’re having great difficulty finding workers who possess the skills needed to do these jobs, which is why they’re either hiring people from other countries or taking jobs overseas.

If Americans wish to retain their economic preeminence, our schools have to change. The rest of the world is catching up to us and creative, innovative, problem-solving (which requires deep conceptual, rather than shallow procedural, understanding) is American students’ weakest area on international assessments. If Iowa workers are to be globally competitive, they will need schools to help them acquire a different set of skills than they have needed in the past.

Is the Iowa education system up to the challenge? Only time will tell. But a critical step to making this transition is the creation of curricula that emphasize student acquisition of 21st century skills rather than regurgitation of discrete facts and low-level procedural knowledge. This will be an extremely difficult change for Iowa schools to make. We all have mental models, primarily informed by our own school experiences, of what school should look and be like. We cannot hang on to those models and expect our graduates to be successful in a vastly different economic climate. We cannot simply sprinkle 21st century skills like fairy dust on top of what we’re already doing. Instead, we must fundamentally realign the curricula and instruction that occurs within our schools in order to produce the workers and citizens that we need.

The Iowa Core Curriculum, particularly the aspects related to 21st century skills, is intended to get us where we need to go. Iowa citizens need to educate themselves about the Core and start asking tough questions about vision, development, implementation, funding, training, and support of their legislators, local school board members, and the Department of Education. Inaction is not an option, nor is tweaking the status quo, as both are losing strategies in a rapidly-changing digital, global economy.

Recommended reading

• The Global Achievement Gap, Tony Wagner
• Partnership for 21st Century Skills publications

Recommended viewing

Future posts in the series

• http://snipurl.com/dmr02
• http://snipurl.com/dmr03
• http://snipurl.com/dmr04
• http://snipurl.com/dmr05

Scott McLeod
[cross-posted at Dangerously Irrelevant]

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It seems to me that if we're going to make systemic changes in how we deliver learning opportunities for our children, we're going to need to do a better job of creating the public's sense of urgency and the public will to provide support and political cover for our leaders who toil every day in their buildings and districts. Disruptive innovations of the sort made possible by technology are exciting and are providing evidence that there are ways to provide quality education that we heretofore have not even thought of, but how will they gain currency?

The PDK poll results (my school's great; everyone else's schools are C-) phenomenon still works against true innovation. How can we mobilize support for a new way of doing things that can protect visionary leaders from risking losing their jobs as they present the brutal facts to their patrons?

It seems we have parallels in what is happening at the national level with the new administration's efforts to rescue us all from this economic crisis. What can we learn from their efforts? Do we have a "bi-partisan" commitment to helping parents and other taxpayers understand that the 21st century survival skills detailed by Tony Wagner are not a retreat from the "hard academic skills", not soft skills that will water down our educational offerings, not another move from educational leaders to sidestep accountability? How do we frame this so people can understand that traditional educational structures must change if their children are to be successful in this very new world?

Troyce Fisher

Posted by LeaderTalk Contributor at 12:42 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend