True Confessions of an Infomercial Junkie!

Today marks the 50^th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  I obviously wasn’t around when this happened, but I distinctly remember one year there was a huge special on one of the TV stations about the details of the incident.  They had uncovered a new piece of film or something, so I have this childhood memory of watching like a 2 hour special that gave way more details than I wanted at the time.  I get this weird, surreal, sad feeling when I remember this day.  There are times in history that are so surreal and shocking that we distinctly remember through emotions rather than thoughts.  Today is one of those days for many.  Hopefully, it’s a reminder for us to make the most of every day, love our families, and appreciate the blessings of this life!

            Okay, so I have this terrible weakness, and it’s for infomercials.  I don’t tell a lot of people this, but I love infomercials!  Maybe it’s because they feed my 10-second attention span, but there’s just something about seeing all the incredible features of a product and then, to find out that I can own all that for just three easy payments of $49.99!  I’m hooked!  My wife thinks it’s the craziest thing.  I’ve watched this “Classic Country Music CD collection” infomercial at least 10 times.  I just love all those 10 second snippets of those classic country songs!  And don’t get me started on awesome products like Sham-Wow, Mighty Putty, and Magic Bullet!  There was a time when my colleagues at work would get me these products for Christmas!  I loved it!  Thankfully, although I love the infomercials, I usually don’t get out my credit card and place an order…usually….

            So what is it about those infomercials that make them so good?  Well, in my opinion, there are a lot of reasons, but probably the number one reason is the first 30 seconds of the commercial.  I mean, when you see a chain made out of links of Mighty Putty pulling a semi, how do you not keep watching?!  Or what about that gigantic spill of grape juice that disappears instantly when a Sham-Wow is placed over it?  It’s amazing!  Toss in an excited host talking about the features, and I’m hooked!

            What does this have to do with us?  Well, I would propose that we have a lot of similarities with the companies that pay to have these infomercials made.  Like them, we have a product to sell.  The key to our future success depends on whether or not people buy what we have to sell, and we have an audience that may or may not what to listen.  Think about it, it’s not like I block out time in my schedule to watch infomercials.  Usually, I’m just flipping through stations and I get hooked. 

            In fact, that hook is absolutely critical to the success of selling these products.  We know it must work because they keep coming up with more (wonderfully interesting) products.  Like I said earlier, those first 30 seconds are critical.  They make or break the infomercial. 

            Just like those infomercials, our lessons have a product to sell (the content), our future success is dependent on how well our students buy it, and we have an audience that may or may not want to listen.  Just like those infomercials, the key to success in selling our product, or one of the keys anyway, is a good “hook.”  I like to call it a hook because it conveys the idea of “hooking” our students, fishing, etc….If you remember the work of Madelyn Hunter, she called it the Anticipatory Set.  In either case, we’re talking about those first few minutes of a lesson that we use to get our students to buy in to what we’re teaching.

            So, what makes for a good hook?  Well first, I would say just having a good hook makes for a good hook.  I remember when I was in the classroom; there would be times I would just jump right into a lesson without providing any sort of introduction, anticipatory set, or hook.  It’s no wonder I had many students who struggled to master the content or were just plain bored.  How did this happen?  Well, a good hook starts in the planning stages of the lesson.  Good hooks don’t just happen.  Now, we can get so good at planning them that they don’t take much time or effort to create, but the bottom line is life in a school is so busy that if we don’t take the time to intentionally think about how we’ll hook our students, it won’t happen.

            Another piece of a good hook is purpose.  We’ve talked before about understanding the “why” before the “how” is taught.  A key element for students to be hooked on what you want to sell is they have to understand why they need it!  Just like that Mighty Putty infomercial where they showed the guy fixing his plumbing (and electric, and car, and roof) with Mighty Putty, a good hook demonstrates why what students are going to learn is so important.  Consequently, explaining or showing why an objective is important scores very well on the RISE rubric too!

            Sometimes a good hook leaves the students curious or wanting more.  Think about the “Classic Country Music Collection.”  When I hear just that 10 second cut of one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs, I want to hang around to hear more.  Sometimes we use the hook to wet our students’ appetites making them want to hang on for the “full meal” later in the lesson.

            Finally, most good hooks involve a level of excitement and energy that is more than what you see at other points in the lesson.  Think about the people they pick to do these infomercials.  They’re usually high energy people.  During the hook is one of those times our level of interest and excitement has to be high.  We can’t expect students to get excited about something we’re not excited about.  Even if we have to fake it, it’s critical that students see there’s reason to be excited about what they’re learning.

            So, if you’re watching TV this weekend and happen to run across a good infomercial, maybe watch it for a minute or two and see if you can pick up any pointers for your lessons!  Just don’t get that credit card out…

Lessons from the Deep

So at our November staff meeting we discussed the “educational sweet spot” of Formative Assessment.  We talked about how there’s almost nothing you can do to get more “bang for your buck” in the classroom than to frequently formatively assess your students, and make informed instructional decisions based on the formative assessment. 

            As I’ve been reflecting on this, I’ve been struck by how important it is that we don’t just formatively assess our students, but that we DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!  It kind of reminded me of the story of Captain Smith of the Titanic.  I’m sure you’ve all learned everything you need to know about the Titanic from Leo and Kate, but just in case you didn’t see it (like me!), the captain of the ship was a guy named E.J. Smith. 

            Now, if we wanted to do a study on the fixed mindset, Captain Smith would be a great place to look.  Unfortunately, his fixed mindset cost a lot of lives! One famous quote from the Captain shows this mindset perfectly.  In 1907, several years before the sinking of the Titanic, he proclaimed that he could not “imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder.  Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.”  How ironic that he would become the captain of the most famous shipwreck in history?!  A lot can be learned from that.

            My point isn’t to specifically discuss Captain Smith’s fixed mindset; it’s to point out that when we get feedback, it’s important that we do something about it.  What we know from the night the Titanic sunk is that the Captain and his crew received numerous warnings about ice in the North Atlantic.  However, the Captain and crew choose to do nothing about the warnings.  We’ll never know if they had heeded the warnings if the ship would have been safe, but we do know that without doing anything with the information they were given, the results were deadly.

            I would propose that although no one will physically die if educators don’t use the data they get from formative assessments, it’s no less important that we do something about it.  When we get information or data from formative assessments, but don’t do anything about it, we’re not responding to the needs of our kids.  When we don’t respond appropriately to the needs of our kids, year after year, we don’t achieve our mission.  We don’t help them to acquire and apply the skills they need to reach their dreams, and to me, that is tragic!

            So, as we charge through this busy holiday season, don’t forget to not only give frequent formative assessments, but more importantly, do something about it.  I love how Doug Lemov puts it,

“Effective Check for Understanding equals gathering data constantly and acting immediately.  The second part is both harder to do and at least as important.  All the recognition in the world won’t help if it does not result in action.” 

Protecting What's Important

             

Recently, I saw this picture in an article about African Elephants.  Did you know that baby elephants are the largest land animal at birth, yet they are an easy target for predators?  They are born with very poor eyesight and are very clumsy, so they must rely on the group to survive.  One technique that is often used is what you see above.  The adults of the group form a circle around the babies providing a formative barrier from any outside attacks. 

            This week, I’ve been reflecting on the fact that effective teams understand what’s important and take the necessary steps to protect it.  In this case, the herd of elephants understands that the key to survival of their species is to be able to birth young, and raise them to adulthood.  Mothers of all species take great care in those first few days, months, and years of life to ensure that their young are well taken care of.  With these African Elephants, it’s a group effort. 

            So, what does this have to do with us?  If we want to be an effective team; if we want to thrive as a school (and it’s assumed we do!), then just like that herd of elephants, we have to understand what’s important and do our best to protect that!

            What is important for us here at Jefferson?  Well, we could probably talk all day about the things that are important and that need to be protected.  First, I would say our mission is important.  It’s our purpose; it’s what we’ve all agreed to do.  Our mission is to inspire and equip all students to continuously acquire and apply knowledge and skills while pursuing their dreams and enriching the lives of others.  How do we protect that mission?  We ensure that everything we do here at Jefferson aligns with that mission.  If it does not, we get rid of it or re-align it so it does.

            But on a practical, daily interaction level, what do we need to protect?  Well, as I reflected over the last week on this, one thing kept coming up in my mind: instructional time.  As educators we have been tasked with the tall order of the mission above.  We all know that students won’t be inspired and equipped without hard work.  The problem is our time with these kids is limited to 9:00am-3:40pm every day.  That’s just 6 hours and 40 minutes a day.  Take out time for lunch, recess, restroom breaks, etc. and we’re down to roughly 5.5 hours a day.  My point is our instructional time with our students is a precious commodity.  It’s one that must be managed carefully.  We must do everything we can do to protect our instructional time.  As an effective team we have to understand that the time we have instructing our students is vital to their success.  We must be stingy about what happens during those 5.5 hours a day!

            So, how do we do this?  Well, we each serve different roles in this protection of instructional time.  As an administrator, I need to ensure that programming doesn’t interfere with what you need to do with your students.  I’m going to be very honest with you; this has been a challenge for me this year.  There are so many great things going on, but everything is nothing!  If we try to do everything, we end up with nothing.  Interrupting the schedule for quality academic activities or saying no to some neat opportunities so that we keep the schedule set is a tough decision for me.  I apologize for the times when I’ve fallen out of balance one way or the other.  I know that’s frustrating, so I do my best to make good decisions with our time.  I think one thing that makes Jefferson special is the time we spend together as a school “family” doing things like Family Groups, our assemblies, etc.  Those are important activities for the kids, but as an administrator, I have to be careful in balancing that. 

            We’ve agreed to a master schedule.  It’s got some non-negotiable blocks in it like 90 minute reading block and it’s got some places for you to have autonomy with your time.  The key is that your instructional time is maximized.  That happens when we stick to our master schedule.  It happens when we’re careful with outside activities like extra recess.  It happens when we ensure that our transitions are “tight.”  One thing I’ve seen this week in many classrooms is teachers who have set up systems in their classrooms to ensure that the transitions are tight.  In some cases it’s as easy as an egg timer.  Other teachers are having contests with their kids.  Either way, making sure that the transition from one activity to the next happens as quickly as possible is a great way to protect instructional time.  There are some great ideas for tightening up transitions in Doug LeMov’s book Teach Like a Champion. 

            What I’m trying to say is we have great things going on here at Jefferson.  The instruction going on in your rooms is incredible!  Let’s work together, just like those elephants, to ensure that what’s important to us, in this case, instructional time, is protected.  Keep up the great work!  

Finding Focus

This week, Abby Sloan and Mandy Duncan joined me at PLC Steering Committee.  It was a great day of learning from our colleagues around the district.  One thought that really stuck with me from that meeting was the idea of focus.  As we continue to have this discussion about effective teams, I realized that effective teams are characterized by focus.  Dr. Hintz shared that one of his mentors used to tell him that “everything is nothing.”  When a person, teacher, team, etc., tries to do everything, they end up doing nothing.  Effective teams have focus.

            I think the thing to realize about effective teams is that they don’t just happen.  They’re created intentionally.  Now, every now and then, you have a group of people that come together by chance and bring the elements of an effective team and it kind of naturally happens, but more often than not, effective teams are created intentionally.

            The same concept is true with this idea of focus.  A team can’t just say, “We’re going to be focused,” there has to be some intentionality when it comes to focus.  The reality is life in school can get kind of crazy!  We all have times where we feel like we’re barely keeping our heads above water.  In those instances, without intentional focus, we’ll just do what we need to in order to survive.  However, as a school, I don’t want us to just survive; I want us to THRIVE! 

            So, how do we build in this intentional focus?  How do we ensure we are focusing so that we will thrive instead of just survive? Well, that’s a challenging question.  At PLC Steering on Wednesday we took some time to discuss that question.  I’ve got to be honest, I was kind of stumped.  I’m a verbal processer and almost never feel like I don’t know what to say when a question is asked of me (just ask my wife…it’s pretty annoying).  However, when we were asked to think about how we keep focus, I initially had a hard time.  Thankfully, I was at a table with some experts who were able to help me figure it out.

            Effective teams (and individuals) build structures into their daily lives that ensure focus.  Again, remember, when we’re just trying to stay afloat, we need those structures in our lives in order to stay focused. 

            So what does that look like for a school?  Well, it means we have a clear mission or purpose that is why we do what we do.  Our mission is to inspire and equip all students to continuously acquire and apply knowledge and skills while pursuing their dreams and enriching the lives of others.  If we’re having a hard time staying focused, we need to come back to that purpose.  Does what we’re (or I’m) working on support this mission?  If not, it’s something that can be dropped because it takes away from focus.

            I believe effective schools also stay structured by being explicit in their process and procedures.  Being unclear is the opposite of focus.  So being clear about things like schedules, intervention, and expectations is critical.

            But what about you?  How do we stay focused individually?  Through our discussion on Wednesday I realized each person stays focused in different ways.  The key is that you find out what works for you and do it!  For me, I keep a notebook.  I always joke that even though I write almost everything down, I still feel like I only remember 80% of what I do!  That’s a joke but the point is, without it, I’d be really ineffective as a principal.  Also, I have worked to build a couple of key routines into my day to keep me focused on the mission; on why I do what I do.  This year, a couple of my routines are to start my day by writing a couple of notes to staff members, to great as many students as I can individually, and I’m trying to end my day with a positive phone call home.  Now, I’m not perfect with this, but those routines remind me of our mission here at WCS.  I want to enrich your lives and the lives of our students. 

            So has you take time to relax this weekend (PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DO), take some time to reflect on what you do to keep focused on what’s important.  Maybe you’ll find you haven’t’ really considered staying focused and you need to build some structures into your life.  Maybe you’ll find that you’re staying pretty focused.  In either case, start with the mission and build your focus from there.  Have a great weekend!

Lessons from the Light Brigade

Last week, I ran across an article in a magazine about "The Charge of the Light Brigade."  If you're not familiar with The Charge, there was a famous poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about this battle.  The Charge of the Light Brigade was an infamous battle in the Crimean War in which a British force of just over 600 troops was soundly defeated by the Russians. 

            Now, I'm no history major, so I don’t claim to know everything about this event, and I have no idea was the Crimean War was, but I was able to spend some time reading about the event this week.  Basically, the “Light Brigade” was a group of British mounted solders.  Some of these mounted solders were from the famous “Green Dragoons” group.  If you’ve seen the movie “The Patriot” you’ll know what I’m talking about.  Anyway, this mounted force had a very specific niche in the British Army.  Primarily they were used to sweep in on an enemy infantry and cut them down, usually as the enemy was retreating.  This battle took place in 1854, yet most in the Light Brigade were only equipped with swords and lances.  The point was to be able to cover a lot of ground quickly, and so there was very little need for heavy armor or weaponry.

            While there’s still a lot of uncertainly about exactly what went wrong with this charge, it’s believed that the Light Brigade was given orders to attack a retreating Russian force.  However, what ended up happening was that the Light Brigade charged at the wrong Russian force.  They charged at a highly fortified Russian artillery force that was on some high ground and could see the Brigade coming from about a mile away.  Additionally, the Brigade charged at the Russians through a valley.  The Russians held ground on three of the four sides of the valley; so literally, the Light Brigade was fired on from three sides throughout the attack.  Finally, remember, the Light Brigade had only swords, and maybe a few small arms.  However, the Russian Artillery Unit was equipped with cannons that shot both case shot, and round shot.  Case shot could travel about 300 yards and round shot could travel about 1000 yards.  So, as these solders were riding through the valley to attack, they were being fired upon and they had no defense.  It was said by some historians that the Russians thought the attackers were drunk because their attack was basically a suicide mission.  What’s really fascinating about this story is that despite all the odds stacked against them, the British Light Brigade was actually able to break the Russian lines for a moment before being forced to retreat.  Obviously, the British faced massive casualties as a result of the charge.

            So, what in the world does this have to do with us?  Well, we’ve been studying what makes an effective team.  We usually look at successes while studying this topic; however, sometimes we can learn a lot from the failures of others too!  It’s great to learn from our own mistakes and it’s even better to learn from others! 

            First, please understand that this Light Brigade was a highly effective fighting force.  I think it’s important to understand that even highly effective teams can be rendered ineffective if the right elements aren’t in place.  As you think about our team here, we know we can be highly effective, but we have to make sure everything is in place. 

            Probably the biggest mistake here is that the Light Brigade was unclear about their objective.  While they were ordered to attack a retreating infantry force, they instead attacked a highly fortified Russian Artillery force. We talk a lot about how effective teams have to be doing the “right” work.  Effective teams become in effective when they are unclear about their mission. 

            Second, because of the lack of clarity about the mission, the Light Brigade was woefully unequipped to perform the task they had undertaken.  Remember, the enemy had guns that could shoot them from 1000 yards away, and what did the Light Brigade have?  Swords!  Not really a fair fight, is it?  The thing is, those fast horses and swords were perfectly suited for the task of attacking a retreating infantry unit, but not so well suited for attacking a fortified artillery unit.  So effective teams become ineffective when they don’t have the right tools for the job (or in this case, weapons for the mission).

            Finally, it’s amazing to me that despite all of the mistakes that were made; this force was able to inflict some damage on the enemy.  This shows how effective this team could be, when put in the right situation. 

            We’re getting ready to start the ninth week of school here at Jefferson.  Just like the Light Brigade needed to be aware of the dangers around them, we need to be aware of our situation.  Traditionally, this time of year tends to be stressful.  It always sneaks up on me too!  I think we expect the stress at Christmas or Spring Break, but the week of Parent/Teacher Conferences and Fall Break can really take a lot out of us.  Please make sure you understand that and prepare yourself accordingly.  Take care of yourself! 

            Also, as a team, we need to make sure we’re clear about the mission.  We know our big mission as a corporation, our purpose, to inspire and equip all students to continuously acquire and apply knowledge and skills while purposing their dreams and enriching the lives of others.  Over the last two weeks, we’ve been taking time to set interdependent team goals for the year.  These goals are your mission this year!  How will your team keep this mission in front of you so you don’t end up working toward the wrong things just like the Light Brigade?  What about your students?   How will you share these goals with your students?  What goals will they set from themselves?  Remember, we ALL need to have a purpose, a goal, a mission!  This is just as true for your students as it is for you!

            Finally, we’ve got to make sure we’re equipped for the work.  How do we make sure we’re equipped?  That’s the work of the collaborative team!  When you follow the Collaborative Team Action Cycle we’ve been talking about, when you focus on the 4 critical questions, you ensure that you and your team are equipped to accomplish your mission!  Nobody in the room is as smart as everybody in the room…it’s the power of a collaborative team.

            So, as we get ready for next week, make sure that you are aware of your challenges and prepare for them. Make sure you’re clear on your mission and share it with those you work with (students included), and finally, make sure the work you’re doing in your PLC equips you for the mission.  

What makes a team?

I’m becoming convinced that if we truly want to be all we can be as a school, we have to become obsessed with this idea of Team.  The more and more you look at the research on effective schools, teachers, and principals, the more and more you see what a critical role the team plays in that effectiveness.  It makes sense doesn’t it?  I know I can’t do everything that needs done here on my own, and so I depend on you.  The power to do great things at Jefferson is found in us as a TEAM.

                So as we continue to think about what makes a team great, consider this quote:

“Successful groups become successful by sending signals that create a sense of belonging and purpose.”

-Daniel Coyle

                Now, there are literally TONS of ideas we could work out from that quote that would have direct impact on what we do here at Jefferson.  For example, think about what this means for you as the classroom leader?  Do you what the “group” that you teach every day to be successful?  Then make sure you and the other members of the group are sending signals that create a sense of belonging and purpose. 

                What I’d like to focus on; however, is this idea of great teams “belonging” and having purpose.  I don’t have a great story (well, actually I do, but I’m trying to make these things shorter), but I’ve had the great chance to be on a lot of teams.  Some were great, and many were not.  So what made the difference?  Well, this sense of belonging was the difference. 

                It wasn’t like we ever sat around and discussed our sense of belonging, it just was.  It just happened.  Now, in a sports setting, that will happen.  It’s obvious that we all tried out for the team for a reason and we understood that winning a championship was the great purpose our team was working toward.

Make no mistake; a group becomes a team when the members are united for a common purpose.  Do you understand how important that common purpose is?  It’s not just that it gives the sense of belonging, because it does, but it literally defines the team.  What that means is, a school, like Jefferson, can be a group, or we can be a team.  It all depends on whether or not we are united in a common purpose. 

Those sports teams I grew up playing on, we had a common purpose and we didn’t have to sit around and talk about it.  However, we are adults here at Jefferson, adults with spouses, children, personal lives, church commitments, etc., so our common purpose won’t just happen like it does on a Pony League baseball team.  We do need to sit around and talk about it.  We have to be intentional.

We received our ISTEP data from the state this week.  We are now finally poised to create more specific sense of purpose for this year.  How do schools create a sense of purpose and belonging?  We set goals together!  Interdependent goals!  Anywhere we wish to be successful as a group; corporation-wide, school-wide, grade level collaborative teams, and classrooms need to set goals together.  These goals are the glue that holds a team together.  These goals give you that purpose to work toward.  They’re what pull you through when things are tough and they’re what excite you when things are great.  When we set goals together, we depend on each other and when we depend on each other we are successful. 

So, the next couple of weeks will be focused on thinking about what we want to accomplish this year.  We already have our larger purpose.  Our mission is to inspire and equip all students to continuously acquire and apply knowledge and skills while pursuing their dreams and enriching the lives of others.  Now the question becomes, what specific things will we do this year to accomplish that mission? 

On Monday we’ll begin to look at what we want our goals to be as a school for this year.  The week of September 23, I will be giving you and your collaborative team a ½ day to sit down together and among other things, set some interdependent goals.  It’s my hope that we all see the value in this.  That we understand that when we set goals together, we send each other a clear signal that we belong, and we have a purpose. 

There isn’t another team in the world I’d rather be on this journey with.  Let’s make it great! 

Dave

Finding the Filament

Good morning!  I hope you've had a good week and are already for a much-deserved three day weekend.  I know we're only three weeks in, but they have been intense weeks.  Please make sure you take some time to relax, refresh, and recharge this weekend.  You deserve it!  I continue to have the opportunity to be in a lot of classrooms.  You're all doing great work!  Thanks for loving your kids and building those relationships with them.  Keep it up!

            Growing up, I loved Science!  My favorite classes in Middle School and High School were often my science classes.  I remember learning about Thomas Edison as he worked to invent the light bulb.  Many of you probably know this, but he had a hard time finding the right material for the filament of the bulb.  Edison was looking to find a material that would illuminate the bulb for at least 40 hours.  Basically, he had to use a guess and check process for finding the right material.  While doing this, Edison tried over 1,600 different materials including coconut fiber, fishing line, and even beard hair!   Finally, Edison tried carbonized cotton thread and he found a material that would satisfy his condition for success! 

            Once when asked about trying all those different materials and "failing."  Edison responded, "I have not failed 1,000 times.  I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb." 

            We can learn a lot from Edison from his perseverance, to his standards for excellence (40 hour standard), and his "growth mindset," but this idea of the filament got me to thinking.  Whenever there is success, there are many variables that come into play with that success.  In this example, the success was a light bulb that would burn for 40 hours.  The key variable in this situation was the right material for a filament. 

            So, what does this have to do with us at school?  Just like the filament was the critical variable for a successful light bulb, the classroom teacher is the critical variable for student success in the classroom! 

            Think about this for a minute, if the best teacher in a school gives a test and many of the students perform poorly, who does that teacher blame?  Usually, the teacher blames herself.  Now, if one of the worst teachers in a school gives an assessment and many of the students perform poorly, who does that teacher blame?  You guessed it!  She blames the students, their parents, her principal; the list could go on and on.

            Now, I know we don't have any of those teachers here, but that scenario illustrates an important point.  The best teachers understand that they are the variable that makes students successful or not successful.  Just like the carbonized fiber was the perfect filament for Edison's light bulb, you are the perfect variable to affect change in your class!

            We know from that effective teachers view themselves as responsible for the success of their classrooms.  Effective teachers, and collaborative teams for that matter, understand that data is just a reality check.  It's not good, it's not bad; it doesn't mean you're a good teacher (or team) or a bad teacher (or team), it just is!  More importantly, effective teachers (and teams) understand that they are in the perfect position to change their reality if they don't like what the data says! 

            So how about you?  How do you view the successes and challenges in your room.  Do you find yourself wanting to look elsewhere when assessments don't go well?  How about behavior in the classroom?  Remember, you have the most influence over that as well.

            Please know that I understand how hard this is.  So much is being asked of teachers today and the job is often somewhat thankless.  My point isn't to make you feel guilty if you've fallen into the habit of looking elsewhere for blame when things don't go well.  My point is to encourage you to recognize that you are the filament in your students' light bulb!  All the power needed to help them be successful can be found in you and your collaborative team.  You can do it! 

            So, as you and your team continue to look at goals for the year, remember that you are in the best position to positively effect your students for good!  Always know that effective teachers understand that they are the number one variable in a classroom. 

Dave 

Why Before How

Friday, August 23, 2013

Team,

            Good morning! I trust things continue to go well for you as we finish up our first full week of school with students.  I love this time of year because it seems I am able to get into classrooms more frequently as we get into full swing. 

            As I’ve been in classrooms this week I have to tell you I’ve been totally blown away by you!  You are doing an outstanding job with your students.  Do you know what one thing is that has impressed me?  It’s the rigor of your instruction even just a week and a half into school.  In the past we used to take some time and get the year going.  While we still take time to set up our Readers Workshop and other procedures, nowadays we jump right in with the rigorous instruction we know our students need. 

            I was reminded this week about the concept of “why before how.”  As you know, I have a four year old at home named Katie.  Katie is at that age where she is often asking Meredith and me, “why?” whenever she’s asked to do something.  Now, as a parent it’s pretty easy to get frustrated with this question, “why?” especially when we’re running late to get somewhere. 

            When it comes to a child being obedient to a parent, the question of why may or may not be a direct challenge to given authority.  However, in the classroom, the question of “why” is a vital aspect of effective instruction.  As educators we need to answer the why before we teach the how. 

            Now, we’ve all either had, or we were, the student who asks the teacher, “Why do we have to learn this?”  Many of us grew up in homes and at schools where the answer to that question might be, “Because I said so.”  Well, without getting into the societal changes over the last 20 years that impact that question, please know that your students today are still wondering, “Why do we have to learn this?” 

            To be honest, it’s a valid question.  As adults, we rarely get into something without knowing a purpose; in fact, we would say it’s unwise to do so.  If someone tells us to do something, we would need to know why before making a decision about whether or not to comply.

            In order to prepare our kids for the future, we need to teach this same critical thinking so they can make wise choices.  In fact, research shows that in order for our instruction to be truly effective, we NEED to explain the why before we teach the how. 

            First of all, explaining the “why” of a lesson gives it relevance.  We know that good teaching rests on Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor.  Why is relevance important?  It is important because we all want to learn things that matter to us.  If a student doesn’t see why what you’re teaching matters to them, they probably won’t want to learn it.  So we need to answer the question of “why” because it makes the learning relevant. 

            Second, making sure our students know why we’re learning something helps with motivation and classroom management.  If I don’t see why I need to learn something I’ll be much more likely to become distracted with something else.  If you’re struggling with classroom management, make sure you’re making learning relevant in your class. 

            Finally, answering the “why” question before the “how” allows a student to focus on the “how” once you teach it.  We know that our top students can quickly infer why we’re teaching something even if we don’t communicate it.  But a majority of students will either take much more time to infer why, or they won’t be able to at all.  Chances are if you communicate an objective, but don’t take the time to explain why, many of your students will be trying to figure out why while you’re explaining how!  Sometimes we get frustrated when kids don’t “get it,” but often it’s because they’re trying to figure out why you’re teaching it instead of learning how to do it…

            So we know top notch teachers take the time to have the conversation about why what students are learning is important.  This can happen many ways.  Sometimes we just say it, and other times we find ways for kids to discover it.  Teaching the “why” before the “how” is the science of teaching. How you teach the “why” is the art!  I look forward to seeing how you make learning relevant in your classrooms this year!

Dave

Creating a Collaborative Environment

On Tuesday, I spent my day listening to Dr. Anthony Muhammad discuss creating a culture of collaboration.  This was an absolutely amazing day, and while I believe that we have a very collaborative culture here at Jefferson, we can always grow and get better.  Rather than try to think of some sort of analogy for what I learned, I’m just going to list some of my takeaways.  It’s my hope that you can take some time reading these and reflecting on your own practice and what you can do to promote a more collaborative culture here at Jefferson.  Personally, the reflection for me this week has been convicting and it is helping me grow as well:

1.      We MUST have the collective belief that all students can learn, and all children WILL learn because of our collective beliefs and behaviors. 

2.      Collaborative teams always ask, “Where are we flawed?”  It’s a growth mindset.  We’re not foolish enough to believe we don’t have flaws that can be corrected.

3.      Highly successful collaborative teams NEVER, ever speak negatively about students, parents, or colleagues!

a.      This one really got to me personally.  Again, we’ve really been focusing on having a positive attitude here at Jefferson, but I still catch myself falling back into speaking negatively at times.  We’ve got to choose to be positive and keep each other accountable if our kids are going to be all they can be.

4.      All teachers are teacher-leaders.

5.      Criticizing underperformance is not leadership.   How does that apply in the classroom?  What about with evaluations?

6.      Teachers and principals are in a relationship.  In a relationship, if perfection is what you seek, it won’t work.  In relationships there will be frustration.  Too often teachers and principals have unrealistic expectations for each other.  That doesn’t work in any relationship. 

7.      The key to a positive collaborative relationship is that there are clear expectations and commitments.  Teachers need to have a means to communicate their expectations for their principal, and their commitments and vice versa.

8.      When you’re frustrated with a situation, turn your window into a mirror.  Instead of looking out at everyone else, look at yourself.  In what ways are you responsible for this situation?  And what can you do to correct it?  Start with yourself.

9.      Your responsibilities should come before your rights.

10.  When you vent habitually it creates a mindset of pessimism.

11.  We complain to others to vent and to validate.  We’re looking for someone to validate our issues.  The real problem is, venting is not productive. It may make you feel better that someone will listen to you or validate your point, but it doesn’t do anything to remedy the situation.  In the end, it promotes a toxic environment.

12.  People in a toxic environment choose to complain.  They do this by describing what they’re upset about and deflecting responsibility. 

13.  In a healthy environment, people look at problems and they reflect on their own role in the situation, and they are prescriptive about what to do differently.

I know there’s a lot to go over in those takeaways, but as we start the year, I’d like you to reflect on the situations that were most frustrating to you last year.  How did you handle it?  Were you descriptive and deflective, or were you reflective and prescriptive?  We can do all the work in the world to set up the physical aspects of PLCs like norms, a meeting time, data tracking, etc., but it all means NOTHING if we don’t all work to create a culture of collaboration.  I know as I reflect, I’ve chosen to be toxic at times instead of choosing the positive route.  Being positive doesn’t mean things will be perfect.  It just means when we encounter problems we choose to believe the best about each other and work together for a solution. 

We all desire a successful year this year.  Our success will directly relate to the mindset we choose.  We’re not going to get it right every time; we’ll still catch ourselves slipping back into negativity or venting, but if each day we choose to be more positive than the day before we will LOVE working here and our students will be the beneficiaries, and let’s be clear, it’s a choice to be positive.  Let’s have a great, positive, collaborative year! 

Dave

The Curiosity "Itch"

When I was a kid, I was a huge baseball fan.  I still am actually, but when I was a kid, I was obsessed!  I played whenever I could, and I did everything I could to learn about the game.  If I was an expert in anything, it was baseball.  I even remember checking out Ken Burns’ documentary “Baseball” from the library.  It was nine videotapes long! (For our new teachers, go Google “videotape” if you’re not sure what that is.)  I watched that documentary three times one summer.  I was obsessed. 

            

One year, and I don’t remember how old, I remember being curious about how a pitcher could make a curveball, “curve.”  As a kid, I did everything I could to find out about it.  At that time there wasn’t an internet, so I had to resort to more “traditional” means of research.  I wasn’t quite sure what to look up in the encyclopedia and unless I had a baseball expert around, there wasn’t anyone I could ask.  It was a tough spot.  I had a question that was driving me nuts, and no good way to answer it! 

            

Things have changed a lot since then.  This past week at the e3 Tech Conference we learned a lot about abundance of information our students have today and how our teaching must change in order to best meet the needs of our students.  You know what hasn’t changed in that time?  Kids have a burning desire to satisfy their curiosity about driving questions!  I was curious about why that baseball could move so much, and it was like an itch that I HAD to scratch!  I worked harder on finding the answer to that question than I did on my Math homework, I’ll guarantee you that! 

            

Toward the end of last year, and then in some conversations over the summer, I’ve learned that there is a lot of uncertainly out there about this idea of a lesson objective.  It’s not that we don’t understand what an objective is, but there is some uncertainty about what it should look like when communicating it to students, etc.  We know at a basic level that an objective is what we want students to know or be able to do by the end of a lesson.  It should be something specific, so that we can do some sort of formative assessment, even if it’s as simple as thumbs up/down, to know if we accomplished what we set out to do.

            But what if our objectives were actually driving questions?  What if we were able to frame them up in a way that generated a driving curiosity in our students?  What would that do for their engagement and motivation?  How would that change our presentation of content knowledge?  We know students are highly motivated when they are working to “scratch” that curiosity “itch.”  Just like when I was a kid trying to learn about the Bernoulli principle; the real cause of the curveball, when kids are chasing after the answer to a driving question, they are motivated.  I was DRIVEN to find the answer to my question.

           

One of my favorite books on education is The Art and Science of Teaching by Marzano.  I truly believe teaching is an art.  Not everyone can do it well.  You all are here because you’ve demonstrated that you have the art for teaching.  There’s no doubt about that.  It will be a challenge to take our objectives and turn them in to driving questions.  It’s not a challenge I am mandating you do, but it is something I think is work experimenting with and thinking about.  For some objectives, it will be difficult to find a way to turn it into a question.  Here are a few pointers for doing this:

1.      Start by answering this question, “What do I want students to know or be able to do by the end of this lesson?”  This happens during the planning stage of teaching.  You have to know where you’re going before the kids can know.

2.      Next answer this question, “What do I want students to know or be able to do by the end of this lesson?” Some question, right?  Nope!  Notice the focus is on one single lesson or piece of time.  You’ve got to break the targeted knowledge into a manageable “chunk.”  You’ll never be able to formatively assess the objective if it’s not a manageable chunk.

3.      Remember that students are motivated by a challenge.  So think about how you can make the guiding question a challenge.  Kids may not be interested in finding the perimeter of a triangle, but if you bet them they can’t figure it out, you’ll probably motivate them!

4.      Remember that good, inquiry based learning still includes instruction.  It’s not that you just turn your kids loose to find the answer by hook or crook.  Remember, your job is to give them the knowledge they need to be able to problem solve.  We can’t just “stand and deliver” information any more, but we do need to provide the supports kids need to satisfy their curiosity. 

Remember, you don’t have to do this on your own.  You’ve got a collaborative team in your PLC that is all the support you need to make this work.  What about your lesson plans?  Well, please know that I would love to see objectives written in the form of a driving, or guiding question but I don’t require that.  At most basic level, for veteran teachers, plans must have a quality objective, relevant follow up activities, and some sort of assessment.  

What exactly is the “art” of teaching?  It’s helping kids discover the knowledge you want them to discover without them knowing you did it!  Thankfully, all the knowledge to be able to do this is right here already!  You are an incredible group of teachers!  Have a great weekend! 

Dave

Effective Evaluations...How does that work?!

Over the summer, I've had a lot of time to reflect on many things from last school year and try to think about how we can be better this year....for our kids.  One of the things I've come back to a few times is trying to figure out how I can continue to implement RISE in such a way that you all see and feel the benefits of it.  One of my fears with evaluation as we currently know it is that it will break down some of what we do with PLCs.  Let's face it, when one puts a number or a score on something like teaching, it can make things difficult.

As I reflected more, I came to realize that it's not that we're putting a score or a number on teaching that makes things difficult, it's the score itself.  You see, I came to realize that nothing sucks us into a fixed mindset quicker than a score.  When a score is assigned to anything we do, we instantly fall into the trap of wondering if it's good enough.  How did I do compared to my colleagues?  Did I do better than yesterday?  Things can get out of control pretty fast and soon we lose the whole point of the score in the first place.

I was reminded of an experience I had my freshman year of college.  It was my first fall and I was running cross country that year, not because of my sly build and gazelle-like flight-footedness, but because I need to try to stay in shape for track.  The first week was terrible  Even though I trained hard over the summer, I couldn't cut it that first week.  I was running with guys who were way out of my league.  I was struggling to just survive practices, let alone find any value in being on the team.   You see, the "scores" I was getting weren't good...compared to those around me.  I wasn't measuring up to them and I began to wonder what the heck I was even doing on team.

I remembered having this "ah ha" moment, one practice, ...as I was alone, ...on a trail, ....because I was so far behind (I had a lot of time to think back there) and I realized that my purpose on that team wasn't to score a bunch of points and win races.  God had me on that team for another reason.  I didn't know what it was at that time, but I knew there was a reason.  I began to focus on my own "scores" and not worry about those around me.  I stopped looking outside, and begin to look inside.  Guess what happened?  My times started dropping!  Instead of being frustrated that I wasn't near the front of the pack, I started seeing the value in the journey.  I saw how all the hard work, made me better; I focused on my improvement.

Now, I'm not saying this is a perfect analogy with what we're doing with RISE.  What I am saying is that the end of the year was tough with those RISE end of year meetings.  We had to put numbers to what you do everyday, for the first time ever for most of us.  That was tough and uncomfortable.  My fear as a leader was that because not everyone's scores were the same, small cracks of division would begin to break down the firm foundations of PLCs we have here at Jefferson.  I hope and pray that hasn't happened.  What I do know is this, unless we're proactive in standing against that tendency to let the "scores" break us down, we can get into trouble. 

So, how do we fight it?  Well, we have to find our purpose.  What is our purpose for teacher evaluation?  Why do we do it?  Let me be clear about what my purpose is for evaluating you this year....it's twofold:  To help you become a better teacher and to help our students achieve at the highest level possible.  That's it.  I want to support you.  My purpose isn't get anyone in trouble, it isn't to fire anyone, it isn't to make your life harder than it has to be.  It is simply to help you get better so that you can be the best for your kids.  Please know that.  The "scores" that you get are simply to give you specific feedback about how you can get better.  It's not a perfect system by any means, but with the right mindset, we can find value in it.  The evaluation committee has also made some critical changes to RISE over the summer that I believe will help us with having the right mindset.   If we focus on using those "scores" to reflect and improve, rather than wonder about and compare to others, we'll see great value in the feedback.   

It wasn't' until I found my purpose for being on that team that my "scores" in this case, times, began to help me, and it won't be until you understand that the purpose of evaluation is to help you that you begin to see the value in this.  It's tough, I know.  None of us love all the parts of RISE, but if we can begin to think of it in a positive way, it'll do great things for us.  

The good news is, I get to learn with you.  I am evaluated just like you are, just with a slightly different rubric.  I get "dropped in" on and I turn in artifacts, so I'm going to have to put up or shut up with this, and I plan on putting up this year....and getting better.  How about you? 

What is Effective?

This past spring, I was invited to be a part of the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute (IPLI).  There used to be a group called the Indiana Principal Leadership Academy.  A few years ago the DOE got rid of this group, but recently, a group of state education leaders and legislators brought it back, with some key changes, and titled it the IPLI.  Anyway, I am in a cohort of 57 principals from around the state who are taking part in this two year institute. 

            Last week, we got started with our first two days down at Indiana State University.  I’ll be very honest with you, when I first headed down to the institute; I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. I was unsure of what this institute would be, I was concerned about how much work it would add to my plate, and I just wasn’t ready to admit that my summer was winding down.  Two days later, I came away feeling energized, encouraged, excited, and pumped up about IPLI!  It was an incredible two days. 

            On day two of the conference, we were able to listen to a lady named Annette Breaux speak.  Annette is an educational leader who speaks all over the country.  She is an expert in many areas, but she was speaking specifically to us about how good teachers, highly effective teachers, impact their students.  She specifically focused on the positive attitude that teachers must have.  Annette is a great follow on twitter (@AnnetteBreaux).   I wanted to share a few quotes/takeaways from her presentation:

§  If students are unclear about what to do, it’s because directions were probably not given clearly enough.  We need to TELL students what to do, SHOW students what to do, ask students to tell us what they need to do, and then have them show us what to do, before we turn them loose on an activity.

§  Bottom line, you don’t see many worksheets or lectures in effective teachers’ classrooms.

§  Students respond to happy sounding teaching.

§  Why does a teacher have a desk in his/her room?  Because a teacher’s classroom is also their office.  However, that desk should only be used when doing office work, NOT when a teacher is instructing students.  Remember, a physical barrier creates a mental barrier, so if a teacher is teaching from his/her desk, chances are kids aren’t learning because there is a physical barrier between he/she and the students.   Typically, effective teachers are only at their desks when kids aren’t in the room.

§  Effective teachers highly utilize student directed, hands on activities. 

§  Effective teachers are enthusiastic, tell stories, laugh, teach in short (10 minutes) segments all alighted to one objective. 

§  When you scream at your students, you publically admit that you can’t control your emotions.

§  It’s not okay to bring your personal lives into your professional lives.  We wouldn’t want our airline pilot, or surgeon’s performance to suffer because of a tough personal situation, and the same is true for our students.  When it’s tough, JUST SMILE! 

§  Always assume the best from your students.

I know you all know and practice many of the things she said, but they were good reminders for me.  The bottom line is we need to be happy and positive for our students regardless of how we feel about things.  We need to make learning fun for our students. 

Anyway, she gave some great ideas for illustrating these principles that I’ll use throughout the year.  In the meantime, if you have thoughts are reactions to the takeaways; I’d love to discuss them with you.  The great news is we have a staff that exemplifies good teaching and is always looking to get better.   I look forward to growing with you this year.  Enjoy your week!

Dave  

Carry on...

Team,

                Good evening!  Does anyone else find it funny that this as turned in to a Sunday night newsletter for me now instead of Friday morning!  Hey, it’s that time of year!  I hope to keep it on Fridays long term as it gives you time over the weekend to read it, but right now, you just gotta do what you gotta do! 

                Speaking of doing what you have to do to get through something, I was reminded this past week that sometimes, just “carrying on” is enough.  You give it your best, and forget the rest!  We are in the ragged days of the year.  There is so much left to do, and so little time.  If we’re not careful, we can stress ourselves out, wear ourselves down, and even make ourselves sick trying to do it all.  I fell victim to this last week as I got knocked out by a bad sinus infection on Friday.  Thankfully, they make awesome antibiotics and I’m feeling better, but I am concerned for all of you. 

                Last week we talked about identifying a target for the remainder of the year and focusing on only it.  This upcoming week will be critical in hitting that target.  Next week, is a lot of fun.  We have graduations, field trips, field day, and awards day.  It’s a fun week to just be with kids.  While it’s hectic, it’s easy to get through that week.  This week is a different story.  This is the week we have to work to tie up loose ends.  We have to finished end of year assessments (F&P, common core, etc.), we have to finish up grades, and we have so much to do.  For me, I am wrapping up end of year scoring for RISE, interviews for next year, and I begin meeting with all of you.  So, it’s a busy week already!  There is a lot on our plates….

                So last week we talked about picking the target, and aiming only on that.  What’s the key to get through this week?  I believe it is to just carry on.  Survive.  Sometimes, it’s just enough to get through.  I remember when I was in college at the beginning of each semester; my professors would sit down and go through the syllabus with us.  As we worked through it in that first class, all the work and projects I would have to do were discussed.  I felt so overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed done!  But you know what????  Somehow, it always got done!  You may be feeling that way tonight.  You may be looking at all you’ve got left to do between now and the end of the year, and you feel overwhelmed.  You have no idea how it’ll all get down.  I’m here to tell you, don’t worry, carry on, it will get done! 

                There’s a popular song out right now called “Carry On” by a group called Fun.  I like these lines,

“If you’re lost and alone,

or you’re sinking like a stone,

Carry On. 

May your past be the sound,

of your feet upon the ground,

carry on…”

While I certainly don’t endorse all of the lyrics, it’s one of those songs that get stuck in your head (link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7yCLn-O-Y0).  You know what makes “carrying on” do-able?  It goes back to what we talked about last week, being grounded in the right target.  If you’ve properly identified what it is you absolutely got to accomplish before May 30, focusing only on it will help you carry on.  Don’t forget, at the end of the day, we are here to inspire and equip….This is the best job in the world!  (Even when it doesn’t feel like it)

                My hope for you, and for all of us this week is that we carry on.  That we get through this week.  That we bring our best for our kids and that we move closer to our target.  Remember, when you feel overwhelmed this week, CARRY ON!  Don’t worry!  It will get done.  Also please know that I am here for you.  If there is anything, anything I can do to alleviate some of your stress, please let me know.  June 1^st will be here before we know it!  Have a great week!