The Lead Learner Pages 19-29

My Reflections.

I found these pages to be invigorating and really spoke to me as a learner and leader. We are have spoken often about the statement " Because almost everything in education works!" and I think we all agree our desire is to have an impact on our students that doesn't just work but excels.
Working out what needs to be let go and what has the desired impact is a challenge I have daily. I feel like it is a constant battle to block out the external noise and focus on data.Data we gather in our daily discussion with staff and students to ensure we clearly know 'Where we are going?', 'Where we are now?' and our 'What Next?'
When I read the section on page 20 about the difference between behavioural change and structural change, I couldn't help but reflect on myself as a learner but also the challenges all leaders have when trying to change behaviour. It is difficult because we have to challenge and change others 'Theory of Action. The second point that spoke about past experience was interesting because I notice this with the two prac students who are currently in Year 6. The conversations around what makes an impact is constantly occurring and helps me as much as them. I have often thought we teach as we learnt at school and I feel this section summarised my thoughts.
The 3 questions stated before are an easy way forward and definitely doable. I think I will start the journey this week and use the 'Tool for Capturing Data' for Years 3-8 in my room this week. I hope to bring the results to the meeting so we can use it as part of our discussion.
For me personally I really like the : What?, So What?, Now What? protocol and think this would be a great one to use to drive our module meetings as it would ensure they do not just become a 'doing' session but remain focussed on the learning.
I look forward to discussing this section at our meeting on Monday.

Chapter 1 The Lead Learner Pgs 12- 17

I wrote this blog today because it had my name on the Chair and prayer again. when I checked the roster i noticed it says Jenny W.  I have now changed it  but I was worried that it may have caused some confusion so I did a blog entry in case.

 I found that these pages contained so many reflective questions but in a way I feel a need to read the book before answering them as I am unsure about some of the terminology. I still had a go and will look back with interest if my assumptions were accurate. I look forward to suggestions on how these can be achieved and how I can improve my practice in these areas.

I agree that clarity and coherence in a school is critical followed by capacity and crafting. I get the gist of the definitions but not to the level that I am satisfied with. When rating the scores I felt that most of them fell under '0' ie criteria are being discussed by routine implementation is non existent. I felt that 'non existent' was not totally accurate either as I think that there are elements developing eg the school has implementation and action plans but the understanding and focus on these across staff lacks coherence. This I believe is due to the lack of time to collaboratively design these goals, especially at the time it needs to get done. I also think that there are shared practices that are developing well eg the use of data however not in a way that reflects rating +1. They may be routine but are they effective eg the use of EYA data to impact learning. As I said I feel that the school is definitely using more data that it once was and that we are becoming more efficient at doing this however it is probably fair to say that there is room for capacity building in this area.

As an example one just needs to see how much resourcing it is taking to develop consistency with the PPs to build consistency. This thought brought me to the very interesting guideposts; the first being Stay small, stay focussed. Looking at developing Capacity by investing resourcing in a more narrow focussed way leads me to ask, what should we be focussing on and what should we limit? 

I am interested in learning more about Guidepost 3 Avoid Solution Fixation - What is the difference between solutions and success is what I found myself asking and how does reversing this look.

I made a link between Guidepost 4 and our work on Theory of Action. I still think that we can explore this concept further with staff in so many ways and this may lead to the suggested processes to inspect impact on learning. Guidepost 5 Model Learning is developing well especially in our PL sessions. I am challenged however in how to present CEDP designed presentations such as ROSH in a more effective way. Perhaps this is an example of essential content rather than 21st Century skills.

Looking forward to our discussions

The Lead Learner

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage

As I read the opening chapter of " The Lead Learner" I glanced over at my pile of must read books and realised I am one of those leaders/ teachers/ educators/ that are living the tension between "innovation" and "traditional strategies" as I spot my much loved copy of Dylan Wiliam's book 'Embedded Formative Assessment'. As I complete marginalia in our current book and during my every day I frequently ask myself how can I integrate the innovative learning of tomorrow with the traditional strategies that we know build the key knowledge and skills needed today?. I hope this book provides me with some answers and also raises questions that continue to make me refine my thinking and develop my thinking in the area of clarity, coherence whilst developing my capacity and the capacity of my class (teachers and students).

I found the Gavin Hay's reflection on the journey of Marist in  'Voices From the Field' spoke to me - as I too believe within my own learning and in the school system we have at times swung like a pendulum between focusing on content driven practices, skills needed for 21 century learning and are slowly realising the importance of balance between it all. 

I feel I have a long way to go however I do know at the core of who I am as a leader is the desire and core purpose of someone that understands the importance of enhancing the learning of students and staff and try every day to model effective learning in my daily practice and short term and long term decisions. When I completed Figure 1.5 I had a tendency to be more aligned to ambidextrous leadership responses and intend to continue on with activities 1.2 - 1.4 over the weekend.  I look forward to discussing the activities and seeking feedback as we continue reading this book. 

Reflection questions:

What do I know now that you didn't know before you started reading?

I am not sure I didn't know the difference between 'traditional' and ' innovation' but I didn't realise how easy it is to focus on one over the other rather than keeping them both in balance. This book has also helped develop my understanding of the difference between a lead learner and an instructional leader. 

What questions are you facing as a leader? 

How do I as a leader keep the pressure of 'jobs' from impacting me and drawing me away from my primary role as a leader which is ' ensuring all students/ staff are getting more than one year's growth in one year's time? How do ensure the 21 Century skills are taught in authentic settings but also time is given to explicitly teaching them at a point of need bases rather than in a hit and miss fashion? How can I encourage student voice and path a way of autonomy in learning where it is purposeful and allows for the whole group to learn together/ from each other? How can I involve the staff in setting the school goal so they have ownership? How can we find the 'gaps' in the learning and use these to drive the vision of our school so all staff and students achieve more than one year's growth? 

What are the key differences between being an instructional leader and a lead learner?

Some of the key differences between an instructional leader and a lead learner appears in the title themselves. Instructional leadership is one that instructs others - almost like it is from the outside directing inward through observations, looking at data and driving others to continue to improve. Where as the lead learner is someone who leads through their actions - is modelling through the hands on work they do, working collaboratively with the team to solve problems and listens to the ideas of others rather than having to have all the answers. A lead learner has a clarity around the direction of the students/ staff to ensure growth. Building the capacity of all so to ensure learning continues and that self and others are building the PCK whilst maintaining a growth mindset and understanding the importance of life long learning.   Just to name a few differences.

Clarity, coherence and capacity - which one resonates with you? Over the last few years I think my focus has been around developing my understanding of clarity. I believe I have become a better learner, teacher and colleague because my clarity have become clearer. I have also developed my understanding of how important it is to have clarity around where we need to go as learners (staff and students) but also how we can get there. It also includes having clarity around the needs of the students and our next steps. 

I look forward to discussing the next two questions in our leadership meeting on Monday.  

 

Ch 6 Learning How to Lead Improvement: Professional Learning That Engages Participants

Chapter 6 on Learning How to Lead Improvement ... was particularly interesting to me in my role as principal. The topic on principal well being is often discussed but I felt this is the first time that anyone has hit the core of what can assist ie examine the Theory of Action ToA and the resulting actions and consequences. It is easy to see also how this structure can be incorporated into other forms of professional learning in the school. I found when writing this blog I could have written pages so instead I have commented on a few aspects.

The first thing I found useful was examining the ToA as a reflection of my own leading.  I could not help but 'check in' if I believed and valued the same aspects as presented in the examples given. One of the key points ie responsibility, is one that is visible in many of our governance documentations and this can become overwhelming if one does not remember that you are surrounded by highly competent, intelligent leaders and teachers. I also agreed with the analysis that whilst the report on principal well being revealed some patterns re time use, in the original approach, it did not examine the reasons for those patterns Eg ToA This is often the approach I feel) Overall this chapter explained well a reference structure for most Professional learning. Good explanation of when bypass can be used (pg 107)

There were many statements in this chapter I feel worth highlighting eg:

'There is compelling evidence that investment in teacher and leader knowledge and skill has a far bigger effect on student outcomes than investment in such things as school architecture, computers or extra staffing (Hattie, 2009)

This is a belief that I have always felt to be true. I remember when I first came to the school we discussed as a staff that our greatest asset are the teachers; supported by other members of staff. Taking our time to continue to up skill over the years and then slowly supporting the learning with appropriate resources is key. I feel that if we were to create a school design together for the future we are now better equipped to do it together with significant engagement. I can now see why some of the early models of Flexible Spaces had no chance of working to its optimum because to be fair there was not the time to engage in peoples ToA

'...a substantial part of the course needed to be devoted to teaching participants how to reveal, evaluate, and revise the ToA that explained their current patterns of ...' Pg92

This led me to ask, How much time do we spend on this skill with teachers? Input from others can then be used as a resource. It is definitely doable.

Final message:

' A leader must listen and be ready at any time and for any aspect of an improvement process to switch from bypass into engagement mode, whether it be for a few deep conversations or, as in this case, for most of the design process.'

Chapter 6

Sorry to Blog first as it is not my week, but I have a full day today and wanted to submit my thoughts early.

Although this chapter focused heavily on the Principal of a school and the importance of an engagement approach that allows Principals to help teachers make the links between the problems they are trying to solve and the belief and values that explain those actions. I personally made a connection between this and my and others ideas of best practise when teaching writing.

When we teach reading we follow our shared practise of modelled/shared reading, guided reading, followed by independent reading tasks. This time is used for students to practise the skills learnt through modelled, shared and guided sessions. However in writing, I feel educators can strengthen the learning involved throughout the guided writing step. In our shared practise of writing we model and share writing strategies that are designed to suit the needs of the students. Our shared practise in writing sees teachers complete a guided writing session with a selected number of students after the modelled/shared writing session. However, most students are left to work independently. We assume students understand the modelled/shared strategies and we ask students to “apply it” on their own. We therefore ask students to figure out how to integrate new strategies into their existing theory of action. This has me questioning the effectiveness of our guided writing sessions with one group of students a day. I am asking myself is this enough to assist students with their preconceptions of writing, or is there a better way we can assist students through the guided writing process? Should be expect students to be able to apply these strategies independently? I’m interested to get your feedback.

Chapter 5: Learning How to Lead Improvement: Coaching That Engages Principals

This chapter draws together the previous chapters with strategies on how to engage in change from a collaborative point of view. It also emphasises the fact that change, in all likelihood, will not be successful if imposed on others. It models the impact of Leadership Coaching as an effective tool, provided the coach already has their own ideas, knowledge and skills based around the propsed change, so that coach and Principal can dialogue between their two theories, leading to a shared theory. For this partnership to be successful and truely collaborative they need to enact the values of respect, truth-seeking and internal commitment.

Engaging in others thinking assists the Principal to avoid bypassing the thinking of their staff. In the example given the Principal had no understanding of the teachers thinking around their current practice but only focused her thoughts on the proposed change. To engage the teachers the principal needs to:
                         1. understand their beliefs
                         2. articulate her own and
                         3. create a conversation between the 2.
This in turn helps to make the Principal's thinking transparent.

The words 'substitute rather than add' resonated with me too. In much of our school PD we have asked teachers to let go of something they had been doing and substitute it with something new. We cannot keep adding to what has 'always' been done. On p84 it alludes to the fact that any change requires a shared journey; can the Principal do anything differently that will assist teachers with the proposed change?  This can only be done through engaging with rather than bypassing others theories of action.

Chapter 4 Phase III and IV

Many things in the chapter made me reflect on my own practise as a leader. When I read the section on the leader's role as an evaluator I agreed that often we confuse this term 'evaluation' with 'judgemental' and being judgemental stops a leader being open to discussing the views of others and being open about how learning is being evaluated.
We need to look at all the competing theories when making a decision on the criteria to be used to evaluate change. If we don't we will not engage all the stakeholder. The five steps for agreeing upon a set of evaluation criteria were clearly delineated but the main point that resonated with me was that improvement will only happen if the problem is analysed and the criteria used to evaluate the solution are closely aligned and as it states later in the chapter monitored within a selected time frame.
I found the section where leaders were in a 'communication tangle' caught between an honest evaluation and a personal/professional relationship also extremely interesting and the conflict between a leader's 'thoughts/ what they might say/ how they should say it ' very honest. One sentence I identified with was: "not to tone down or withhold the words but to change the thinking that produces such a judgemental evaluation." I could be more open minded in checking that my evaluation matches that of the teacher.
In phase IV, the implementation of a new shared theory of action, made me think that when we do introduce new actions do we offer enough support? do we ask teachers if they still have concerns? do we ask if they are implementing these new actions in their teaching and how do we ask this? Each teacher needs to attended to individually. It is true that as leaders we want all students to improve not just those students who happen to be in the class of a teacher who will more readily change their practice.
Figure 4.5 summed up the last section succinctly and I think we need to make it very clear to teachers that as a part of regular classroom observations, classroom walk throughs and instructional walks what leaders are looking for when they give a respectful critique and as teachers that they can ask for feedback in an area they seek improvement or an area in which they have become more confident. 

Chapter 4: The Four Phases of Theory Engagement

Bypass Approach to change - characterised by persuasion and or incentives + accountabilities. This is compliance but not engagement. It doesn't develop a sense of vested interest in the change.
The illustration on page 39 sums up the Four Phases:

I liked the quote preceding this diagram,
          ". . . the following description greatly oversimplifies its iterative, dynamic and messy nature."

Phase 1: Agree on the problem to be solved.

Here Robinson identifies that there needs to be collective wisdom behind a change. It needs to be something that is sought after not merely because someone 'says' that it is best practice but because it is understood that to make the change would have a significant positive impact. It must also be something that is seen as possible, not merely a lofty, idealistic goal.
The challenge for change comes from data. In particular comparative data showing how a shift in approach might benefit student outcomes.
Constructive Problem Talk
"agreeing that there is a problem provides no guarantee of agreement about its causes and possible solutions." The common ground of the agreement allows for movement towards a next step without blame.
Avoiding or playing a blame game when dealing with an issue is more common but ineffective.
"A problem is defined as a gap between a current and desired state of affairs. People can agree to reduce the gap whether or not they agree on how large it is." p.45

Phase 2: Inquire into the relevant theory of action.

What was done or not done? = the action component of a theory in use.

Why was that done or not done? = beliefs and values explaining the above.

What happened as a result? = consequences

"To listen to and acknowledge a theory of action does not signal agreement with it." Relational trust.

Resistance = not a personal opposition to a leader but a "rational response to a perceived threat to what is held dear" p.54   = "theory competition"

Phase 3: Evaluate the merit of the current and alternative theories of action.

People may evaluate theories of action very differently because they do not agree on the criteria against which the theories are evaluated. 

For myself the question arises What if my theory of action is correct, even in part, and I am influenced to change? Can data be manipulated to reflect the worth of any theory? This speaks again to the whole initial idea that this is a messy process and reinforces the need to have relational trust while ongoing evaluation can be undertaken.

Evaluative Criteria is a crucial component of any attempt at change or recognition of validity of current practice. 

"Engagement requires both parties to have access to each other's thinking." p.60

My earlier question here was addressed by the "I am right" idea later developed in the section. Having access to each other's thinking also needs to be considered in terms of whether one person in the discussion is perceived as in a position of power or as an equal in finding a potential solution to a perceived problem.

Phase 4: Implement and monitor a new, sufficiently shared theory of action.

The emphasis on frequent feedback as being core to improvement was clear. Allowing a change project to run without constant checking in, on progress in implementation as well as outcomes, would lead to a potential waste of invested time. Collection of ongoing data is crucial.

Every child every day does not just apply to focus 160. Educational improvement once adopted as a program in the school need to have widespread application. Where this is not present, or perceived so, data should be referred to and evaluated. This evaluation should occur as a matter of course regardless of success or other. This leads to timely and appropriate support.

"The point is . . . to get timely information that people agree is sufficiently trustworthy . . . to judge progress, identify unanticipated stumbling blocks and make decisions about any needed revisions to the new theory of action." p.69

Two Approaches to Leading Improvement: Bypass and Engage (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3 delves deeper in the difference between the 'Bypass' and 'Engage' approaches and also reinforces the need to reduce change in order to increase improvement. Understanding that all change involves two theories of action - the leaders alternative theory is the espoused theory and the teacher's is the theory in use.

(Robinson,V. 2018, The Bypass and Engage Approaches to Leading Improvement, Reduce Change to Increase Improvement)

Figure 3.1 clearly shows the difference between the two approaches, highlighting how the 'Engage Approach' allows for dialogue to occur where both theories of action are evaluated. This is very important as it shows a respect and trust between the different parties. Where as the 'Bypass Approach' doesn't take into account the teacher's theory of action or assumes everyone has the same desire to improve the current situation.

Chapter 3 also explained how critical it is to understand the beliefs and values that drive the current practice because if this doesn't happen you are more likely to experience objections towards the improvements.

An important aspect of this chapter to me was the importance of evaluating all theories of action - the current practice as well as the proposed practice. This really deepened my understanding of why some 'new' approaches don't succeed - especially ones that are presented in a top down manner, as they can't/ don't always seek to understand the theory of action currently in practice. It is easy to understand however why the bypass model would be the preferred approach , especially when it is implemented at a diocesan or national level (as mentioned in the book) as it is difficult to dig deeper into the theory of action of all stakeholders.

Although now it seems so obvious, the book also highlighted the importance of both parties to agree that the current situation is unsatisfactory and experimenting with an alternative methods is the best way for improvement to occur. Sometimes I feel I forget this aspect of leading change, especially when I feel passionate about the new method or can obviously see the positive impact it may have on student learning.

When reflecting on my own practice it made me realise the importance of not assuming others have the same theory of action as you and to spend time in dialogue with staff to develop an understanding of their theory of action. It also helped me see the importance of having a clear understanding of my own theory of action so it can be articulated with staff and evaluated. It also highlighted how important respect is in our roles. Respect is so important in order for a robust debate to occur around all theories of action so an agreed solution can be found.   This is clearly the only way to move from bypass to engagement and ensure improvement of student learning occurs. Hopefully I will continue to develop my skills in this area and deepen my own ability to embed this into my leadership.

Understand the Challenge of Improvement (Chapter 2)

When starting this chapter I found it a little confusing. The language of espoused and used theory and looping completely through me. That was until I got to page 20 and started relating the chapter to our introduction of the EMU strategies almost 7 years ago. As a school we sent people to be trained as leaders and specialists because the Diocese required it of our school/s because the data in numeracy needed to improve. Teachers values and beliefs were not taken into account at the Diocesan level but for implementation to be successful schools had to consider how best to move the school forward. Teachers who were the most successful in their implementation were the ones who wanted to do better than they had been up until that point and were open to change including the use of rich tasks, using data to drive the learning and allowing the students to verbalise their thinking to each other throughout the lesson and to the class during reflections. Others felt that what they were doing was working in its current form and therefore why change. It is important for any change to be successful that we need to meet teachers where they are at. Change cannot be forced or imposed if it is to impact on learning and leaders need to support staff by designing professional learning opportunities to build capacity. Leaders need to know their staff and give them a voice if implementation is to be successful. Collaboration and consultation needs to be included as part of any successful change.

To much change not enough improvement (Chapter1)

The first chapter focuses heavily on reducing change to increase improvement. The most interesting point I took out of this reading was that the more leaders focus their relationships, and their learning on the core business of teaching and learning the greater the influence on student outcomes. A key way to measure if a change in the school has made improvement is by the impact it has on learners. Teachers involved in any change need to be involved in ongoing inquiry into the impact of the change so those involved are able to make the change work for students in their own context. Schools make an impact with change when there are goals set that are based on curriculum and evidence based on student learners needs.