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