Sticky Standards: Professional Learning That Sticks

Our guest is Dennis Sparks, who comes to this dialogue as a former high school teacher, director of an alternative high school, director of a teacher center, author, consultant, and the former Executive Director of Learning Forward. Most recently Dennis has been working as a “thinking partner” with districts on leadership development. He also writes a weekly blog. Without Leadership, it is difficult to establish the other Standards for Professional Learning, Dennis shares the following: The difference between “training” and professional Learning Teaching is a process.  Student learning is the outcome. Professional development is a process.  Professional learning is the outcome. Professional learning is nonnegotiable in our schools. Educators have teams/learning communities where they participate in deep learning. Somebody has to say….emperor, you are wearing no clothes.  It is HARD WORK! DOING is hard.  Reach out…..who is a step or two ahead of you.  Who can support you?  Or…just invent that first step! It takes COURAGE to begin the hard work. Our morale purpose is that all children thrive. Learn more by exploring Dennis’s website and reading his blogs or following him on Twitter and Facebook. His leadership is appreciated by many, including me. https://dennissparks.wordpress.com/ stickystandards.org

Our guest is Marceta Reilly, who comes to this dialogue as a teacher, superintendent, leadership coach, author … always with a teacher’s heart. Plus, my friend and mentor. Marceta selected two Standards for Professional Learning, Leadership and Implementation. The many challenges and complex changes in our schools today call for a different kind of leader. Instead of being the expert, it is important for leaders to empower and develop capacity of all educators. Today’s leaders: •Listen Deeply, committed listening •Assume all educators want to do well, recognizing and celebrating their strengths •Are curious, empowering teachers to engage and develop capacity •Provide reflective feedback, being inclusive and open to possibilities. Education Evaluations are a great opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue. It gives educators an opportunity to REFLECT on their practices. Change happens one conversation at a time. It provides a “space to reflect” in a safe place. We all yearn for time for reflection. By being learning partners, we are all empowered to change and own our own learning. We must go beyond the data. Make the data (and feedback) meaningful by focusing on the WHY, by touching their heart and what do they care about. Learn much more by exploring Marceta’s website and her many resources. Her leadership is appreciated by many, including me.   http://marcetareilly.com/ stickystandards.org

Our guest is Bruce Wellman who comes to this dialogue as a former classroom teacher, a science specialist, and an amazing author, consultant, and friend to many educators….including ME! Bruce selected the Learning Communities and Leadership standards for our podcast. What are the connections of these two standards?  How do we lead the leaders of learning communities? What are the tools that support quality learning communities?  GROUP development…what does it mean? Strategic interventions? For Teams? For Leaders? What are our expectations for teacher/team leaders? How do we coach teacher/team leaders? Specific tools/skills for people who supervise groups (central office, principals) A robust tool kit for teacher/team leaders. How do principals address toxic teams? When/what are the connections to teacher evaluations, professional responsibility? There are two levels of tools – personal (self) and mentoring others with skills of collaboration. Strategies AND structures are critical. Principals are hungry for the tools that include strategies, protocols, and the structure of group work. Structure becomes habit and habit becomes the new norm! Learn more from Bruce about What, Why, How.  (His books, Data Driven Dialogue, Groups at Work, Got Data? Now What?, Adaptive Schools, and more are listed in the resource section.)  What makes groups smart? What is social sensitivity? Why is that important in our schools? Working with each other in schools is part of our work, not taking us away from our work! We must drill down deep to the heart of our persistent problems, being comfortable about being uncomfortable. Safe, but uncomfortable, looking at learning, not teaching. A well run meeting needs a lesson plan, not a list of topics! Who needs to “get it” to take it to scale?  District-wide?  State-wide? Again, drill down to the persistent problems and connect to the context – root cause analysis. It is the culture that counts. It is the structure that counts. Dialogue, Discussion, and then Decisions Study Success! stickystandards.org

Our guest is Janice Bradley who comes to this dialogue as a former classroom teacher, a K-12 mathematics specialist, and an adjunct professor.  She has just accepted a position at the University of Utah. Janice is a life-long learner! HOW do we DESIGN schools for meaningful professional learning and WHY is that important? Educators are busy with many new initiatives; they get swept away on the TRAIN OF DOING and there is little time for professional learning. As Janice has worked with schools, she has found a key is the principal who advocates for professional learning by creating the TIME and the CULTURE for continuous improvement. Janice shares how educators actually implement structures for professional learning and establish the culture of professional learning and shared ownership. Again, principals are the key as they create a culture that is safe for teachers to try new ideas…and made mistakes. Principals and teachers make the connections between professional learning and productive educator evaluations. Connecting the dots!  It’s doable! The Five Part Plan of Professional Learning Staff reaches consensus on a shared vision that includes 5 key elements that must be in every classroom every day to support student learning! Teams select one of nine learning designs – VOICE and CHOICE! Each design has a cycle of learning that includes planning, implementation in the classroom, and reflections. Dates for implementation are scheduled and conducted. Principals ensure time is provided. Buildings host a Knowledge Showcase in late spring. Each team SHARES what they learned during the year!!  (10 minutes for each team!) A great celebration of learning. Teams create a professional knowledge base – strategies to remember and USE next year!! Learn more from Janice and the Five Part Plan of Professional Learning, remembering that is it not THE answer, it is ONE answer. Check out her new book, Designing Schools for Meaningful Professional Learning:  A Guidebook for Educators, Corwin, 2015. One size does not fit ALL! Everyone has a voice! stickystandards.org

Our guest is Pat Roy, who comes to this conversation as a former junior high teacher and is presently a Senior Consultant with Learning Forward’s Center for Results, working with state departments of education, districts, and schools across the United States and internationally. Pat selected the Learning Designs standard for our podcast. The Learning Designs standard includes three components: Apply learning theories Select learning designs Promote active engagement How do we ensure that what we learn ends up changing classroom practice? The key to student learning is effective instruction in the classroom. The KEY to adult learning is selecting the appropriate LEARNING DESIGN for our purpose. Is the learning design a good match for where the educators are in the learning process? Does it help bridge the gap from knowing to doing? We must extend our thinking about professional learning. Professional learning that extends to supporting our educators in their classrooms.  Again, support from knowing to doing. What is our core belief about the role of professional learning in our schools? What is the barrier that is keeping us from providing ongoing support to all of our educators.The big question, “DO YOU BELIEVE ADULTS NEED SUPPORT?” When was the last time you learned something that actually changed your BEHAVIOR? How long did it take? Which learning design “fits” where you and your educators are in the journey from knowing to doing? It is complex with many combinations. Pat shares a process of making those decisions that include active engagement. ENJOY this wonderful dialogue with Pat! One size does not fit ALL! stickystandards.org

Our guest is Nancy Bolz, Director of Kansas and Oklahoma AdvanceEd. She comes to our conversation as a former teacher, assistant principal, school improvement specialist, and principal. Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school. ~Kenneth Leithwood  Nancy chose the Leadership standard for our podcast. The three components:  Develop capacity for learning and leading Advocate for professional learning Create support systems for professional learning  What are traits of leaders who focus on continuous improvement? They create a shared vision through leadership (humility) and that creates energy. Leaders see the best in others, creating a culture of commitment! Leaders are REAL, they embrace change and are open to new ideas. It is not a specific personality, it is being focused on the continuous improvement and learning.  Culture eats strategies for breakfast. There is no recipe for implementing continuous improvement. It is different for every building and every district. Leaders (building and district) create the conditions for success. What is the “dance” between the central office and building leadership? Shared leadership and much more! It takes courage to look at the data….and do something about it!  If professional learning isn’t the answer, what is?  We know that the teacher/educator is the learner. What is holding us back? Nancy shares!! stickystandards.org

Our guest is Frederick Brown, the Deputy Executive Director with Learning Forward. He comes to this conversation as a former teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Today we are focusing on the role of building principals in our schools. Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school.  ~Kenneth Leithwood How does a principal bring effective practices to scale in a school, creating the environment ofc ollective responsibility and shared leadership that increases student learning? The principal sets the tone and develops the culture, plus being sure the right people are on the bus!! A principal thinks differently!! Principals find TIME for common planning for educators to think about their practice. How do SYSTEMS create and support a culture of learning at both the district and each building? It creates a clear vision of effective teaching. Fred shares an example of Fort Wayne, Indiana and how this district has created an environment that focuses on LEARNING, using  ALL of the Standards of Professional Learning! What is the “dance” between the central office and buildings? How does a district create a vision that creates learning environments good for adults? For students? For entire districts? It is informed and supported by the central office folks with ownership by the building leaders.  How is learning structured in your building/district? What are your standards and definitions? Within this culture of continuous improvement, principals create their own learning communities. Check out Becoming a Learning System! What a great book. The authors (Stephanie Hirsh, Kay Psencik, and Frederick Brown) LIVE this work!! Final thought – We know that in any classroom or school across our country there is a child who may change the world for the better.  Our work around professional learning and creating effective learning environments allows students to shine!! stickystandards.org

Our guest is Julie Blaine, the Executive Director of the Missouri Central Regional Professional Development Center. She is also the current President of the Board of Trustees of Learning Forward. How do we address the needs of all of our adult learners? How do we move from KNOWING to DOING? The standard Learning Designs focuses on DOING. Julie shares an example of a powerful learning design that she uses as she works with teams of teachers on writing. Working with collaborative teams that focus on DATA, they use the protocol of looking at student work. What do the team members see in the student work? What has worked? What has not worked? These are ONGOING collaborative team meetings that include the continuous cycle of improvement. This process can include many different designs – book study, lesson study, observations, online learning  –  depending on the specific needs of each team. The choices are made by the team members after they have looked at the data. The power comes when teachers share!!  Another component of Leaning Designs is ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT. Again, what am I going to KNOW and DO?  We want our educators to EXPERIENCE the new standards. The next step is IMPLEMENTATION (Let’s do it!) in our classrooms; then, the evidence. What are we going to show that our work (learning) is making a difference in the classroom? What data can we share with others? Hard core on paper evidence! Learning Designs support IMPLEMENTATION at the system level.  As we know, it takes all of the standards to move from KNOWING to DOING. Many districts are now engaged in long-term, sustained, job-embedded professional learning. Celebration!!  Districts are truly walking their talk – seeing the power of Professional Learning across time. Educators also want the WHY of change and that can be a challenge but it is happening in many districts who have embraced professional learning and the Standards of Professional Learning. Reflection – Keep Moving Forward!!  Our window is WIDE OPEN for professional learning! stickystandards.org

Our guest today is René Islas, the Director of the Center for Results at Learning Forward who has been working with Texas on a state-wide audit of professional learning. Learning Forward’s Vision E6 = Every Educator Engages in Effective professional learning Every day so Every student achieves. As we look at professional learning, how do we move from KNOWING to DOING? Data is essential. Effective professional learning has an impact on educator effectiveness and student achievement.  Texas is asking two questions. What are the requirements  for professional learning at the federal, state, and district levels? (Policies- what is on paper?) What is the quality of the professional learning that is being provided. (Comprehensive survey of every district in the state of Texas, plus interviews with Texas educators.) René shares the preliminary findings. How do we support ALL educators getting better? Look at data as an opportunity!! As always, Learning Forward provides many resources to support our work. http://learningforward.org/ stickystandards.org

Our guest is Toni Prickett. Toni is first and foremost a TEACHER!  She has taught middle and high school math, worked at an educational service center, and is presently an independent consultant, primarily working with Cognitive Coaching and Adaptive Schools models across our country. Today, Toni is making connections between our Educator Evaluation systems (educator growth) and professional learning, including the PL standards.  We want to ask, “How does our brain work?  How do we learn?”  Is there cognitive dissonance?  Balanced participation, what does that mean?  We want EVERYONE’S thinking in the room.   Collaboration means “co-labor.” Within our learning communities, how do we get our best thinking on the table?  We all have ideas. Let’s put them ALL together and create a BETTER idea.  What does that look like? There are many Adaptive Schools strategies/protocols that ENGAGE educators in learning. Once these strategies are EXPERIENCED by educators the next step is to use these same strategies of engagement in our classrooms. If what we are learning is not seen in the classrooms……….. Another critical component of engagement is Efficacy. Research says the #1 predictor of student success is that teachers BELIEVE they can make a difference. Do we believe our team members are capable, Positive Intentions! How do we create environments where we EXPERIENCE LEARNING? What is the role of Leaders? Leaders help others make connections. They ask the right questions. We have the capacity to solve our challenges by building groups of thinkers! It takes every member contributing to the possibility thinking and solution finders. We want to build groups of thinkers!! If you want to learn more about Toni’s work check http://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/ Her personal bio can be found at http://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/tc_trainer/toni-prickett/ stickystandards.org