Learning to Collaborate

Enrichment versus Remediation

2009-12-04T21:50:00.004-05:00

How can teachers continue to motivate students within such a broad range of ability levels? When teachers begin identifying gaps in learning what can they do? Some students will need to be enriched to stay motivated to continue practicing what they already know. Others will need to be remediated to stay motivated to continue learning the new information. It is the teachers job to meet a student where they are in order to keep them on the edge of being challenged, but not frustrated.

Let's pretend we are teaching students to shoot a basketball into a goal. Once we have presented new information (the cues), explained its importance to shooting a goal more effectively, modeled the proper technique using the new information to give a visual of how it looks in use, we then give students a chance to practice their shooting, adding what they may already know to what they may learn from this new information.

We then assess their ability based on how many shots are made out of ten from the free throw line. Based on the formative assessment we begin to identify the differing ability levels within the group. How do we continue to have everyone engaged? We would need to either continue practice at the current level, enrich at a higher level, or remediate at a lower level based on the assessment. Here is how:

Imagine one student has been practicing shooting with her older brother prior to the new information. After including the new information she makes above 80% of her shots from the line. She would need further enrichment during the rest of this lesson, which in this case could be moving her further away from the basket to challenge her more. This is considered challenging the task, but the student is still utilizing the new information while staying motivated to practice.

Another student in the class has some previous knowledge of basketball because he watches games with his dad, but has limited practice. After including the new information, he is shooting between 60-80% and most likely would need to continue practicing free throws from where he is until his percentage goes above 80%. This student is considered to be within the appropriate range necessary to already be motivated to continue practicing.

But another student, having no prior knowledge of proper shooting technique, is scoring below 60% and will need to be remediated. We would move him closer to the basket to make it easier for him to shoot into the basket. Moving closer to the basket allows him to properly interact with the new information until he understands how using it helps him be successful.

How can this apply to content teachers? What can we do to help our students practice at the appropriate level to interact with their understanding of new information? If a teacher gives an assessment, there are going to be gaps but it is how we keep students motivated and engaged that will make learning effective. Utilizing the levels of thinking available to a student in Bloom's Taxonomy helps challenge and motivate your students to keep them practicing with new information at a level they will enjoy. By meeting students where they are in relation to their ability to process and use new information, we insure they stay motivated to learn what we are teaching to them.

Co-Teaching is...

2009-11-12T23:54:00.003-05:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of doing some professional development sessions in my district on Co-Teaching. Here is the Power Point presentation I used to speak about this topic.

Co-Teaching: Six Models for Teacher Success

View more presentations from Ed Shepherd.

How About a Lifeline

2009-10-22T20:40:00.006-04:00

QUICK... Think back to your first year teaching. What was one of your biggest struggles that made you feel like you took a wrong turn on the college career path? Did you ever feel like quitting that first year? Yea, me too. What got you through?

For me, it was a group of veteran teachers I could turn to for help. It was a very stressful time and all of my idealistic thinking was not going to make it better, but that group of teachers did. I lesaned quickly to use them to bounce ideas off of almost on a daily basis. Sometimes I did not like what they were telling me, but I listened and tried to do what it was they were telling me in my classroom. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. It was a long, hard, and sometimes painful year that I finally got through and can look back on to help me empathize with todays new teacher. I made it through and now it is my job as a veteran in the education field to throw a lifeline to my fellow new teacher.

So what is my point? My point is that education can sometimes be hard. No amount of college courses can prepare a new teacher for that first day when the door closes and they are the person in charge of their classroom. They are going to struggle and get it wrong. They are going to get frustrated and want to give up... especially if we do not throw them a lifeline. Yes, it is still early in this school year but I bet if you think back long and hard you will remember that it was about this time that you too were fantasizing about what else you could be doing as you "just looked" at the help wanted ads. So now is the time, if you haven't done so already to go talk to the new teachers in your building and see how you can help.

If you are doing so already that is awesome! I would love to hear from you to see what or how you are helping. I would also love to hear how your were given a lifeline to help you through your first years as an educator. By sharing and learning form each other we help insure the continued success in our profession.

There is Always a Bottom 10 Percent

2009-10-02T21:12:00.005-04:00

We are now well over a month into the school year and I want to bring something to light from Winning, by Jack Welch. Yes, this is a a book about what he learned while running a corporation, but he was able to turn a $13 billion company into a $500 billion enterprise over the course of a 20-year tenure at the helm of General Electric.

In this book, just like many others I have read, Welch preachers about the importance of candor and honest feedback with his employees. At GE, he put these principles into action by implementing a ranking system that divided employees into three distinct segments: the top 20 percent of performers, the middle 70 percent, and the bottom 10 percent. Even if GE's "20-70-10" system appears a bit too candid—which methodically manages out the bottom 10 percent of employees each year— it is still something that we in education may need to take a look at as well.

"Why are grades OK from the time you're in fourth grade to the time you get your MBA, but not OK once you're an adult?" Welch questions. If Welch were to talk about education he may say "You need to use the same rigor to evaluate (teachers) that you use to evaluate your (test scores)." Using a ranking system requires administrators to be honest about what they are seeing and teachers to be honest about how they are performing in the classroom.

Managing out the bottom 10 percent of performers will be one of the hardest things to do, but is necessary not only for a school to continue to succeed but also for the sake of employees affected when the bottom performers are allowed to stay. "People need to know where they stand," Welch said. "Failing to differentiate among employees—and holding on to bottom-tier performers—is actually the cruelest form of (leadership) there is." As an administrator I work under the motto that my job is to "Help them out, or Help them out." Comments?

Using a Process to Help with Classroom Management

2009-09-04T20:36:00.005-04:00

Ok we are back at the grind in the classroom and now that we are off the starting blocks we need to insure that we will be effective at managing our classes. How? First and foremost, remember that Ninety percent of your percieved discipline issues are not behavior problems. They are engagement problems (I will be doing a post on this in October). I put together the following PowerPoint for my staff and others to help identify some things educators can do to help increase their effectiveness in their class by first thinking about it from a buildingwide perspective rather than just a single classroom vantage-point. Take a look and see what you think.

Effective Classroom And Buildingwide Discipline

View more presentations from Ed Shepherd.

Now as you do go about your school year, one other thing that your school can do to help be more effective with classroom management is have a clear process for what happens to students when they misbehave. Here is the process map that we follow at my school. http://prezi.com/hiw4wcrtewxw/ See what you think and let me know if you have any comments.

How SMART are Your Goals?

2009-08-05T09:29:00.007-04:00

I wrote a blog post in June asking you to answer two questions that would help you reflect on your previous school year. Now it is time to put your answers to work in order to create a personal objective for the upcoming year that is based on SMART goals. These types of goals help educators work smarter not hard in improving student achievement. A SMART goal clarifies exactly what you intend to do in order to help increase your students levels achievement. So what is a SMART goal? Think of the following example and see which one is SMART.

EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, "Increase students math scores." But a specific goal would say, "Students will work on patterns and functions as focus activities daily in order to work towards an average assessment score of 85% during the first nine weeks."

A SMART goal is:

Strategic and Specific – Your goals need to be in line with your schools vision and mission statement. Focus on specific student learning. This answers the question – Who and What?

Measurable – The success toward meeting your goals can be measured in student achievement. It answers the question - How?

Attainable – Your goals can be achieved within the school year, with increased teacher effectiveness. It should be a stretch from your current level of achievement data.
Research Based – Your goals are aligned with your schools vision, and focus on increasing student achievement by utilizing research based techniques that have be proven over time. There are several R's here, but for education, I feel this one works best.
Time Bound – Your goals need to have a clearly defined time-frame including a target date. It answers the question – When?

A lot of times we have the greatest intentions when we start our school year off, but as the year charges on, we can quickly get off task if we do not have a map to help guide us. By creating your map before you have to start walking it, you increase the likelihood of success. Here is a great site I found that gives you more information about how you and/ or your staff can work SMARTer, not just harder in the upcoming school year. Good luck!

http://www4.asq.org/blogs/edu/2006/04/how_smart_are_your_goals.html

How Do You Prioritize?

2009-08-04T07:38:00.005-04:00

You have probably heard this before, but wanted to share with you anyway, just in case you haven't. When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar ... and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous, "Yes!"

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your God, your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Liberating Disconnection

2009-07-25T21:53:00.005-04:00

Summer is an opportune time for reflection, getting re-energized for the upcoming school year, or just focusing on what is most important to you.

For 17 incredible days this summer, I was disconnected from technology. No email, no tweets, no Internet, and often no cell phone. Even a land line telephone and television were not available in the cabin. Granted if I drove away from the cabin towards a town, there was cell and data service. What was there was time and the most important people in my life.

Sure, I have "gotten away" before, but it was up to me to decide to deal with work-related call on the cell, etc. I hadn't had such an experience for about 25 years (and back then it was much easier as all one could "escape" was to get away from a telephone and TV (remember cell phones were in 3 pound bags). This time there really wasn't much of an option if I stayed at the cabin. I think it shall be an annual event. A truly liberating disconnection (though temporary) was just what I needed.

Amazing how much less stressed I felt, focused, and in general WOW. Now the challenge is to maintain and get better at managing the balance of personal and professional time.

Certainly when I returned, I reviewed emails, read the news, etc.

So I hope for all of you finding this blog that you took time for you and what/who you value so that you will be in better shape for welcoming students when they start the 2009-10 year.

How did you rejuvenate yourself?

Staying Balanced

2009-07-08T21:43:00.005-04:00

I am a big fan of Stephen Covey. I have read several of his books and attempt to put many of his practices into use in my everyday life. After finishing up my third full year as a school assistant principal, I am finally beginning to feel I have a firm grasp of what my role is at my school (for now). I have worked very hard in my current position to learn as much as I can to be the best at my job that I can be and I am sure there will always be more. This is definitely not a bad thing, but I am now at a point that I feel I must focus on staying balanced in all aspects of my life.

The good news is I am a really good multi-tasker... especially at my job. The problem is, this has led to me doing so much at one time so often that my mind is always on overdrive. While working so hard at my job, I have not taken as much time to maintain a consistent outlet to help me relieve stress. This summer I have started back on a regular exercise routine and I must say I have been much more relaxed. I forgot how much it helped me decompress and reflect!

For me it is exercise and my health and for you it may be an imbalance of another sort. I believe that most of you reading this are probably very driven at doing the best job possible as well. You work very hard and will always be up for a challenging task. My question is this... In all of the effort you put forth at work, does it lead to an imbalance in your life somewhere? If not that is awesome. If your not sure start here.

Decision-making based on the Commander's Intent

2009-06-26T20:31:00.008-04:00

I have started reading "Made to Stick" over the last few weeks and want to share an idea the authors bring up early on in the book. They talk about the early years of military decision-making and the beautiful complexity of well laid out plans. The problem was 'many armies failed because they put all their emphasis into creating a plan that became useless ten minutes into the battle.' This is why the Army adapted a new planning process in the 80's based on the Commander's Intent (CI). The CI was designed to specify the plan's goal, but never specify so much detail that it would risk being obsolete by unpredictable events. Col. Kolditz is quoted as saying about a CI that "You can lose the ability to execute the original plan, but you never lose the responsibility to execute the intent."

In education a CI is done by finding the core element that drives a school. Yes, there are several things that can be perceived as being important, but there can only be One Core Element. Finding the most important goal to a school is no different than following through with the Commander's Intent. Once everyone is fully aware of the most important goal that defines success at a school, everyone must then base all of their decisions on the effectiveness at achieving this goal. If decisions are not effective, then they jeopardize the most important goal and focus is lost. But... if everyone is moving in a similar direction at a high level of effectiveness, the lack of resistance will insure that the most important goal is met.

So what causes a lack of alignment as seen by the first set of arrows in the picture above? I believe what keeps most schools from being aligned and failing to achieve the most important goal is:

the inability of administration to facilitate the identification of one most important goal or;
the inability of a staff to follow through with the "Commander's Intent".

With that being said, I also believe when a school is fully focused on achieving the one most important goal everyone is able to align their behavior at all levels without the need for directives from the leaders. When teachers and staff members all know the desired outcomes, they feel they have the autonomy to improvise when needed as long as everyone arrives at the same goal at the end of the day. I have the pleasure to currently be working in a school with a wonderful staff and awesome principal (Stephanie Hogan) and I can tell you when a team is fully aligned at achieving the Commander's Intent there is nothing more exciting than when that intent is recognized!

Welcome to Summer! But first...

2009-06-12T21:25:00.005-04:00

The school year was a long, busy, and hard one. It was rewarding at times and frustrating at others. The good news, no the great news is you made it through another year. If you are like every other educator out there (which I am sure you are) you are relieved its over and excited that its summer. For the next two or three months, depending on your school district, you do not have to even think about school. YES!

But hold on... Do you have ten minutes? Maybe twenty minutes if you are a really deep thinker. Quick get a sheet of paper and something to write with. Seriously... go get paper and pencil. I have two questions that you should write down and then take your time to answer based on your school year. Don't just think without writing this down because if you have great answers it is very unlikely you will remember the questions or your answers to them in two months. Ready?

What did I do this year that I feel was effective ALL school year?
What did I do this year that I MUST do better for the next school year?

Now, take this sheet of paper and put it somewhere you can get to for the start of your next school year. Why? Because you need to see if your answer to number one aligned with your objective for the previous school year. AND, because your answer to number two is now going to be the bases for your growth objective in the upcoming school year. If you have never done this its okay, you will come back to it during the last week in August and I will help you sit one up. Realize this- you can't grow if you don't know what you need to improve on. If you did the exact same thing in your classroom this year that you did the year before and the year before that and so on and so on, then you have not grown at all. Are you okay with that? Me neither. So I have finished my sheet and put it in a safe place.

Fully Engaged

2009-05-20T21:46:00.004-04:00

Its nearing the end of the year.... We know the end of the school year is near because we are thinking in terms of days rather than weeks or even months. State testing for our school is under way or coming to a close. We're tired and all of our students are tired too, but school is still not over. How can we keep from pulling our hair out as well as keep our classes under control? One word- Engagement.

As an administrator, I see a jump in referrals to the office during the remaining days due to a lack of student engagement. Yes, we are all tired but school is in still in session and the students are still here. So what can we do to keep them engaged now? If you have finished the state test for your content then help out your school and your peers by turning your focus to other content areas that have yet to be tested. If all of the state testing is done, then now is the time to have fun with your classes. That is not to say that we haven't had fun thus far, but now we can do the lessons that had to be put to the side in order to stay focused on our states tests.

All of us have things that we are passionate about and want to share with our students. The problem is that these things don't always fit neatly into the regular school year. These passions or fun lessons are what can keep students engaged and excited about coming to our classrooms. Try some new ideas or technology that you have been hesitant to do. Even if it doesn't go as planned, it will still be fun for you and your students as well as be a welcome change of pace. If we run out of ideas then we can ask our students what they want to learn about. All of this will take planning of course, but the hard work up front will keep our students engaged and classroom discipline at bay.

"I Don't Have Time"

2009-04-29T21:23:00.005-04:00

I was talking to a peer this week and we were discussing all of the things on our plate. Observations, Discipline, Data, State Testing, and so on and so on. We were both feeling very pressed and looking to share war stories while at the same time trying to figure out how to get our heads above water again. What kept catching my attention throughout the entire conversation was how many times we kept saying "I don't have time." Really?

Yes, there are times when we do not have time. There are always high priority situations that demand immediate attention. But is our entire life, day in and day out, like this? And if so why? What is it that causes people to feel as though every situation is a high priority situation? How can we overcome it and figure out how to get a grip on what is weighing us down. Whenever we feel this type of pressure upon us the first thing we must do is come to the realization that we will never HAVE time until we step back, analyze what is before us and then work to MAKE time. We do this by prioritizing our "In Basket." What does it mean to prioritze our "In Basket?" What is an "In Basket" anyway?

Our "In Basket" refers to all of the items we have to address within a certain range of time. Most people will do best with this concept by starting with a daily "In Basket" especially this late in the school year. At this point we are all excited just to make it day to day anyway so prioritize as such. Start focusing on what must be done in order to make it through the day, but never forget to move Non-Negotiables that we do not get to to the next day and keep moving. Also during this time of year, take away the things that do not matter or can be put off until after the school year ends. If it is not a must or mandate, then it does not matter as much as the musts or mandates. If we continue to grind our way to the end with distracters slowing us down, we will be burned totally up coming into the last thirty days of the school year.

Coming into the home-stretch prioritize your "In Basket" with what must be done and let what you want to do take a back seat. For the sake of your own sanity, make time for what you have to and remember that you really do not have time for anything else... at least for about 30-40 more days. Have a great end of the school year and keep your head up. We are almost done.

Inventing Creativity

2009-04-17T13:13:00.003-04:00

When I think of what is at the heart of collaboration, I think of problem-solving and creativity. If we could do everything at the highest level, and with the highest achievement of expectations - why would we need to collaborate?

So what would drive us to strive for something better or different than where we have gone already? The answer is passion. This simple word encompasses the true essence of why some succeed and some fail, why some are tenacious and others give up, why some are happy and others miserable. It is ALWAYS refreshing to me to encounter another individual that is passionate about ANYTHING!

Knowing that there is someone else out there truly successful, tenacious, and happy has an infectious joy about it that always makes my soul leap for joy like a little kid. I have included below an except from an interview by Max Kalehoff of onlineSPIN with the inventor of the steadicam Garrett Brown. If you click on the title of this post it should take you to the video of the interview, or just click here.

What does invention mean to you?
I understand invention to be finding something that's missing and filling that gap. Those are the two polar, indispensable components. Filling a gap that nobody's missing is stupid, and finding one you're unable to fill is hopeless. To me, invention is the combo. It's identifying something missing, and being able to fill it.

How does passion play into invention?
Passion has elements of fierceness and joy. It has elements of obsessions swirled around in it. Passion is something you may almost do excessively, but you do for the reasons of joy and pain that come with it. The word is so debased in language and commercials that I'm almost reluctant to even say it anymore. But yes, I have a passion for the moving camera. I love what happens when you move a lens someplace it hasn't moved before, or in a way it hasn't moved before. And that, fortunately, is a place I've been fortunate to slide into here and there and do things.

Why do some inventions succeed and others fail?
An invention fails if it doesn't deliver something that somebody wants... There are lots of inventions that are simply not sufficiently wanted or needed, and they're a great waste of time and money. There are other inventions [when] you have an aching need and want for something -- and the damn invention doesn't quite do it well enough. That's frustrating as well.

What's the balance between human spontaneity versus automation?
Robots, at least of the industrial sort, are as far from spontaneity as you can imagine. Their every aspect is programmed and arranged, and therefore repeats endlessly, perfectly. But at the moment, a human -- bionic, augmented and tireless -- brings a lot to this party that a robot brings very expensively. A human brings judgment of the results and the process, of perception of quality, and an incredible manipulative quality we all have, courtesy of evolution.

How do you know when the usage of an invention becomes art?
When you are moved by what is done with it; when you are moved in the ways art can move you. The invention of the violin became art when people learned how to play it. And curiously enough, the Steadicam is the same. It is an instrument, strangely enough. By the time people learned to play the Steadicam well, they did things that had an emotional effect on people. That was exciting.

You suggest that invention should be part of every job description. How do we make inventiveness ubiquitous?
I believe that, I really do. We teach kids to do all sorts of things, but we don't teach them to think about things in the inventive way -- and why don't we? It's something you should be alert for from earliest childhood. You should be conscious that when you do devise something, when you fill a gap, you have invented. I'd love to see kids thinking in that way, and growing up to be adults that think in that way... that solve their own problems, and acquire stuff for themselves that they want, whether or not it can be bought off the shelf. The process of doing it is absurdly easy... it's ridiculously easy to get a machine shop to build you a gizmo. You sketch it, they'll help you make it, you try it, and if it doesn't work, you make another. You can't imagine how much fun that is.

Our country is in a mess right now. What role does the inventor psyche play in getting out of it?
We need to be innovating more than ever. We've innovated hugely in our history. We need to invent our way out of this, because we've made a mess of the world. We've jeopardized many of the world's creatures. We need to invent the green way to live on this planet, the sustainable way. For us to carry our nearly eight billion souls along, we need to invent, devise and have the will to follow through on the rather not impossible task of giving people enough food, water and shelter to live a decent life and remain productive themselves.

To me the true pain of being passionate is encountering people who are not. "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt Disney

Learning at the Speed of Change

2009-04-10T20:57:00.011-04:00

About two years ago, I stumbled upon one of the most dynamic websites, in my opinion, by Don Clark. At first the site seems as others, but as you click on the tabs you unlock pages of information that Don appears to have spent countless hours compiling. I visit the site from time to time and there has been one particular section I have wanted to write about for a while now. This area of interest refers to Velocity and Viscosity.

Velocity - the speed at which information moves through an organization.
Viscosity - the richness or quality of information.
Monophonic- a single stream of information.
Context- multiple streams of information.

Some information causes us to change, while at other times nothing happens? Why? The speed at which the information is shared can cause a decrease in quality. This causes a breakdown in what is expected and change does not occur. Likewise, if something appears too complex then the speed of change grinds to a halt as well. Frustration will likely set in and people will give up or divert attention elsewhere.

Sometimes, we share information at the right velocity and viscosity, but still nothing happens. Why? Just because we share something and believe in it still does not mean others will change just because we want them to or expect them to. We must continue to put our information "out there" in multiple streams and through other mediums. We must continue to spiral back to what our message is and give constant feedback on the progress of change.

I am sure we have all seen mandates and visions come and go throughout the years. I truly believe that some changes stick while others fail based on its velocity and viscosity, as well as the number of information streams pushed out in order to spiral back to the message. Without taking these points into consideration when developing your process for change, I would think the change may never happen. If we fail to consider a process for change, we are considering to fail in the process.

Clark, D. R. (2004), Velocity and Viscosity. Retrieved April 4, 2009 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/knowledge/vv.html

Intended Collaborative Process Twisted, Mangled, and Manipulated

2009-04-02T21:15:00.006-04:00

Collaborative discussions have tremendous power for what they can communicate between an employee and the instructional leader. There is opportunity to build trust, give and receive feedback, and work towards offering a wonderful educational environment in which students can learn and employees want to work.

Many school systems have a goal setting component. In reality, goal setting is common in many professions. It is an opportunity for the employee to target meaningful ways to grow professionally related to the work the employee does and the population with whom s/he works. When I co-develop an evaluation system, I believe this and so I create avenues to actively involve the employee in the process. A primer on goal setting appears in green at the end.

Sometimes the worst situations provide opportunity for reflection, so in that spirit I offer this tale. The words in red are what an employee shared with me about a recent goal setting process – a description that illustrates how poor execution of a process that is designed to be collaborative can damage the employee-boss relationship. Notice I did not say instructional leader, the boss in this scenario is no instructional leader and will not be referred to by any title typically attributed to an instructional leader in the school.

The boss needed the employee goal setting forms written, reviewed, and signed off by a specific date. On that date, the boss called all the employees together and gave them a goal setting sheet that the boss had completed. The boss instructed the employees to sign the sheet and meet the boss in the copy room where each employee would receive copies of the goal setting sheet. The goals were not SMART. They essentially were the school improvement team (SIT) goals for the school – didn’t matter if the employee was a math, reading, science, history, living skills, technology, etc. teacher. The goals were applied to all, even if they were not appropriate. Certainly, everyone can support a reading-related goal, but how realistic is it to say that a physical education teacher’s success in meeting or exceeding her goals should be based on the state standardized English test?

The teacher was seeing red. The teacher felt that the boss wasn’t interested in the teacher’s goals for growth or ability to contribute to student learning. The boss simply was “checking a box” that a particular step in the process was completed. Further the teacher felt powerless to say anything. A whole group was pulled together and handed goals to sign on the spot – who would speak up and annoy the boss. Worse yet, the teacher believes that going to human resources would be fruitless as HR would just say, “But you signed the goal sheet saying you agreed.” The teacher feels that it is a hostile work environment and that the goal setting issue is just another example of the boss taking care of him/herself at the expense of the staff.

So what did I take away from my listening to the employee? I would hope that goals are reviewed by the boss’ leadership who would see red flags that a whole group has identical goals which are identical to the SIT plan. Clearly leadership needs training in the evaluation process and how to engage in collaborative discussions related to goal setting. Most of the entire employee’s recounting of the awful afternoon reminded me of why good leaders are so vital. Why it is important in my work to give instructional leaders tools, support, and feedback so that they can do the same for their employees demonstrating a valuing for the work each contributes to the success of the people from students to staff in the school. Collaborative discourse should be a matter of course, even though it requires more effort than checking a box. You wouldn’t just check a box on a student, so why do it on an employee?

PRIMER ON GOAL SETTING

The goal setting process is an opportunity for collaborative dialogue and valuing of the employee’s perspective of what s/he has discerned as opportunity for growth or enhancement of skills. In most models, the employee provides articulates the area in which s/he will focus, provides baseline data, articulates a SMART goal (see bullets), and provides strategies and measures to guide the progress on the goal. Once the employee has written the goals, the goals are submitted to the evaluator for review. This is often a time when a meeting may be held. Then there is a mid-year meeting or discussion about progress towards the goal and an end-of-year meeting. Sometimes the mid-year meeting may be done in collegial groups. However the initial goal setting meeting and end-of-year meeting are one-on-one to promote dialogue and discussion about the work the professional does.

Goals need to be SMART:

Specific – the goal is focused; for example, by content area, by learners’ needs
Measurable – an appropriate instrument/measure is selected to assess the goal
Attainable – the goal is within the teacher’s control to effect change
Realistic – the goal is appropriate for the teacher
Time limited – the goal is contained to a single school year

Student Achievement Goal Setting written by James Stronge and Leslie Grant was released last month by Eye on Education. It provides more information on the goal setting process and numerous sample goals to support professionals in writing their own goals.

Is Teaching the Most Important Job in the World?

2009-03-25T21:16:00.012-04:00

After parenting, a childs teacher is the most important person in their life and this makes teaching so important. When it is done effectively, children all over the world are able to become promising and productive citizens. I once had a doctor friend of mine laugh and poke fun of the teaching profession and I was quick to respond... someone had to teach you, didn't they? He paused, reflected and then responded with a simple and apoligetic yes.

I believe educators and people in general forget sometimes how much of an impact a teacher will truly have on the children they come in contact with throughout their career. Who else other than parents spend as much time guiding the learning of children? Effective teachers can motivate and inspire children to reach their potential even when they don't want to or feel that they can. Ineffective teachers can also impact a child just as much, but in a negative manner. Both types of teachers have an immediate impact on a child's perception of self, good or bad. Students will perform to the expectations of the teacher and great teachers know this. It is always such a joy to have students come back to me years later and tell me of the positive impact I had on their life... that is why I do what I do- for them.

Think back to the teachers that had an impact on your life. What was it that made them so important to you? Was it the subject that they taught? Maybe, but I can imagine that if you are like me that is not exactly what made them so special to you. I feel that it was what they inspired within you and me. It is this inspiration that he or she instilled that helped us look beyond the classroom and towards the outside world with a certain sense of curiosity to be taken on and learned from. Why? Because teaching is the most important job in the world. We knew that someone cared about our success even if that teacher never said it. Remember this as you enter your classrooms... Children will never care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

What Keeps Us From Being Great?

2009-03-15T21:45:00.005-04:00

Are you always able to achieve the goals you set for yourself? Me neither. Its not because of a lack of effort, I don't think, but more a lack of long-term focus.

I was sitting in church and our Youth Pastor was giving the sermon today. It is here that something he said struck me to my very core. He said "When we veer off course by just a few degrees, it doesn't appear to be a big deal in the short term. But as we get further and further away from our goal the distances become greater and greater."

This is something I definitely need to be aware of in my faith, but it also hit me because of my career. While reading Howard Gardner's "Five Minds of the Future" one of the things he mentions is his moral duty to his profession to do the absolute best job he is capable of doing. What I take of him to be meaning is that his ability to perform at a high standard is not just what he expects from others in his field, but also of himself every day.

There are a lot of times we see things happen, whether it is with the students we teach or the peers we work with, we know is not proper in our line of work. For some reason we don't pick up one end of the stick because we will then have to carry the other end as well. The problem with that is we have now given that person permission to continue doing what we plainly saw them doing wrong. Is that Okay? Part of integrity is not just what we do when no one is looking, but also what we allow ourselves and others to do when we veer off course. It is not the small changes in angle that lead us away from being Great, I believe it is the lack of course corrections. By holding ourselves and the people around us accountable we get to keep our integrity in tact and continue our quest of moving from Good to Great!

Everything is Possible

2009-03-02T20:24:00.005-05:00

I am currently about halfway through Sir Ken Robinson's newest book, The Element, and I am finding myself more and more inspired as I read on. The majority of the book is a collection of real stories of successful people, such as rocker Paul McCartney, actress Meg Ryan, cartoonist Matt Groening, choreographer Gillian Lynne, author Arianna Huffington, physicist Richard Feynman and so many more that are "passionate about what they do and couldn’t imagine doing anything else." Story after story is shared detailing each persons struggles trying to "fit in." Each person struggled to try to fit the mold of what their cultures idea of normal in education is supposed to look like with little success. In spite of this perceived difference and perceived inability, they have all been able to reach new heights within their own respective field. It is a truly inspiring book.

A lot of people definitely did not view me as normal growing up as well. I was never told by my mother or stepfather that education was important. I did okay in school but was never really motivated and really did not care for the whole mess anyway... I really only did well enough to continue to play sports and that is what kept my grades at least at a functioning level. The funny thing is, I was in advanced classes and several AP courses and didn't even care enough to know what that even meant. My teachers always told me that I had lots of potential... so what does that mean? My grades were so poor and my background so gloomy (I was the first Shepherd to graduate High School) I even had a guidance counselor tell me to start looking into a skill instead of a college after my senior year. Glad I didn't listen to her. I had a best friend whose dad made him go to a local community college that summer and he talked me into enrolling as well.

Two degrees and almost 20 years later, I am now an administrator in a middle school where most of my distant relatives live. I am doing what I am passionate about and can’t imagine doing anything else and I have a chance to show the students I work with that Everything is Possible. They are working through a lot of the same struggles that I had to overcome in my childhood and I use myself as an example to show them they can do anything they want to and stress the importance to never allow anyone to tell them that they can't. I also use myself as a model for my teachers as well, by sharing my childhood stories of struggle and doubt with them as well in order to help them see the potential in every child we touch. This past week I have had several conversations like that, in addition to reading this book. All of this has caused me to reflect on what is possible in this world. I grew up believing that anything within the laws of physics is possible. Now, in a world full of technology that is moving at the speed of change, I truly believe that Everything is Possible.

Two versus Thirty: Read More to Your Child.

2009-02-21T18:44:00.006-05:00

Imagine a newborn. Now imagine the amount of reading time spent with that child before entering kindergarten. What are the impacts of this on the child's development? If you are a kindergarten teacher you know what I am talking about and even if you are not it is still probably common sense to most. But, for some it is still not a priority. So how can we share with our parents what must be done to combat gaps in achievement before formal education ever begins? I started sharing a simple, and somewhat exaggerated, model of the differences in achievement based on reading to a baby for two minutes a day versus thirty minutes a day. My goal in doing such an extreme comparison was designed to help create a vicarious experience of the impact over such a short period of time on a child's ability. I share this with as many parents as will listen to me and when I taught English I used this model to encourage my students to read more, as well as to encourage them to read more to their younger siblings.

OK, for the sake of simplicity there are a few assumptions made, but you will get the idea. A baby is born and his parents read to him for two minutes a day, thus he will have 14 minutes a week and 728 total minutes of reading his first year of life. Another baby is born and her parents read to her child for thirty minutes a day during her first year of life. She will have 210 minutes per week and 10,920 minutes of reading time during her first year! Now lets imagine this pattern continues for five years leading up to the first day of kindergarten. The two minute boy will have only accumulated a total of 3,640 minutes of time spent being read to while the 30 minute girl will have accumulated a whooping 54,600 minutes of time spent being read to! If this were the case the size of the achievement gap before ever hitting the school door is unbelievable.

Like I stated before it is an extreme exaggeration, but it is meant to show how large the gap in achievement can become without even realizing it. Susan Hill states that "if help is given in fourth grade, rather than in late kindergarten, it takes four times as long to improve the same skills by the same amount." What I want to advocate for is encouraging our parents to step up as early as possible to keep these deficits from ever occurring in the first place. As educators we understand the importance of language development during the early years of a baby's life. What we need to be reminded of is that a lot of our parents may not. In today's schools educators are well versed in research, but our parents in high poverty areas are most likely not. It is important to share with them a reason why it is important to read to their child from day one in order to motivate them to act before delays occur.

So what do you think? I would love your feedback on the 2 versus 30 model as well as what you see in your classrooms or with your parents. I would be interested in what you may have to deal with when attempting to educate parents on their child's needs. I am a firm believer that we will continue to struggle in our attempts to educate some of the children in our schools until we work harder to educate the parents of our school community.

Finding Your Voice through Informal Leadership

2009-02-15T12:18:00.007-05:00

Stephen Covey has several books that can help us become more effective in our lives no matter what our job or family situation is like. There are nuggets of valuable information to be had at the turn of every page. I want to share with you a particular section in Covey's book "The 8th Habit" in which he encourages you to find your voice by becoming more aware of your current level of influence. The question for you to think about is- Can you move yourself or the people around you in such a positive way that it positively affects the entire organization? If not, why? What will follow is a list of Covey's "7 Levels of Initiative or Self-Empowerment." By finding out where you are, you can begin working on where you want to be. Having a higher level of influence within your school, family, community, or anywhere is not about having any formal power; it is about self-empowerment. There is always a time and a place to act or speak up, but there is also a time and place to do neither. Knowing the difference is the key.

Coveys "7 Levels of Initiative/ Self-Empowerment"

Wait Until Told. You don't want to be doing someone else's job. You can't make recommendations for things you have no influence over. People would not have confidence in your recommendation and may see it as being inappropriate or totally out of line.
Ask. It is totally reasonable and logical to ask a question about something within your job description, but outside of your influence. You can not do anything about these types of situations, but since it may directly affect you it is still a legitimate query.
Make a Recommendation. There are times when it is totally okay to share your insight into a matter even when it is not within your job. You may be asked to think through a problem and its issues. Then once you have done your best thinking, you are asked for your recommendation. This does not guarantee it will be acted upon, but you are at least trusted for your opinion.
"I Intend To." This is just a bit higher than just making a recommendation in that you are seeking permission by your boss/ administrator. Once you have attained permission you plan to follow through on your own recommendation.
Do It and Report Immediately. You report immediately because others need to know. This will enable others to see if what you have done is correct and make any necessary adjustments. It also informs others, such as your administrators and peers, in case there are any additional decisions and/ or needed follow-up actions.
Do It and Report Periodically. This level of initiative pertains to actions that could be part of normal operating procedures. This is done in order to keep others abreast of how things are doing within your job.
Do It. There is great power in the idea of taking responsibility and just doing something- making it happen. When you are doing what you have been hired to do or entrusted to do on a daily basis there is no need to keep everyone informed of your every move.

When Covey says that leadership is a choice, it basically means you can choose the level of initiative you want to exercise in response to the question: "What is the best I can do under the circumstances?" As you become better able to correctly empower yourself, people in formal positions will have increasing confidence in your character and competence. Trust will increase. In time they will want to build higher and higher levels of initiative and empowerment into your job. You will find yourself becoming the leader of your boss... and your boss will naturally become part of a complementary team.

Covey, S (2004). The 8th Habit. New York, NY: Free Press.

More Morale Boosting Fun

2009-02-08T21:16:00.001-05:00

Angie Seiders, a principal in Newport News (VA), has several morale boosters that she uses throughout the school year. In her new book, People First: A School Leader’s Guide to Building and Cultivating Relationships with Staff, she talks of giving teachers an extra Payday (candy bar) or a 100 Grand (another aptly named candy bar) for extra effort. She gives her spin on ideas she has adapted or come up with on her own from hosting the Staff Emmy awards to toasting the faculty each year with sparking cider. Her back to school faculty work weeks are themed for fun and focused on what is good for kids and the school. She has played KC and the Sunshine band “that’s the way I like it” as images of good instructional practices scroll on a PowerPoint at the start of a faculty meeting. There is even an egg hunt (see excerpt). This is just the tip of the iceberg—there is about 90% more to go in ideas of building relationships – morale is just a part of the equation. The book addresses leadership components of: vision, communication, team sense, and influence.

The following excerpt from Chapter 3 of People First, is of one morale booster that has become a tradition in Seider’s school.
For teacher appreciation week, a theme was identified for each day of the week. The first day on the calendar was: Do Rams lay eggs? (The school’s mascot is a Ram). The secretaries hid eggs with donated prizes and gift cards around the school. At the faculty meeting that afternoon, the teachers found out their school’s mascot did lay eggs. They went on an egg hunt around the building (egg hunting participation was optional). The teachers loved it – it is what Covey, an inspirational speaker, calls a win- win situation. I got on the intercom and announced that Mrs. Smith just found a $10 gift certificate to the teacher’s store, etc. The teachers were excited, it was fun to watch, and the hunt was a welcome stress reliever. Administrators, be aware as sometimes a hallway referee is needed as teachers can get competitive, since school rules still apply-- there should be no running in the halls! After a few years of doing a school wide scavenger hunt using plastic eggs, I was thinking about doing something different. However, after overhearing a teacher’s conversation about how they look forward to it every year and my secretary telling me that there was no way I was changing, I smiled as I realized that we had what is now a school tradition on the first Monday of teacher appreciation week.

Now for the rest of the story, the book – People First- is a wonderful example of collaboration (my biased opinion) as I am one of the co-authors. Angie and I taught at the same school in 1995 and remained friends since. The book is practice meets research. Angie would tell me the things she was doing to raise student achievement and enhance her faculty. I’d tell her that she needed to share her ideas more broadly. It is a book full of real examples and do-able ideas with a dash of research. Angie was most of the ideas and her other co-author and I identified the evidence that supported why various approaches worked to raise student achievement, improve school climate, increase faculty capacity, etc.

Fabulous Fridays in February

2009-02-02T18:39:00.008-05:00

As a school administrator I understand the importance of keeping teacher morale up throughout the entire school year. Everyone, not just the teachers, within a school will experience peeks and valleys during the year. I am working with a great principal that is often heard saying "Happy Teachers equals Happy Kids!" and I have to agree. That is why I was delighted to see a blog post by Melinda Miller a few weeks back about something she has started doing at her school to help boost teacher motivation. The basic concept is a guess who contest each week that ends on each of the Fridays during the month of February.

After reading her post, I couldn't wait to do something similar at my school. I immediately contacted Melinda to share with her my excitement of doing something very similar. Now here is the cool part of the whole deal... not only did she give me a "hey good luck," she also emailed me with additional resources she had gathered over the course of creating her own monthly event! And that is what is so great about creating a wonderful Personal Learning Network; the more diverse and connected it is, the more likely your PLN is to grow you as a person. Way cool.

So now our event has started with the first weeks Guess Whose being our feet and already after the first day the teachers (and even the students) seem to really be getting into it. The teachers were going around cheerfully checking out each others feet and even sharing hints with each other. It is neat to see them be chipper on a Monday! Am I overly optimistic after just one day? You bet, but hey its all in good fun and can you tell which one of those is my feet? if you are interested in starting something similar at your school you can check out my "Fabulous Fridays in February" document I created with help from Melinda Miller and Joan Ayers. Anything that can be done to boost morale is worth trying and anything that can be learned from my PLN is definitely worth paying attention to. If you don't believe me, just ask my staff.

What a Difference a Tweak Makes

2009-01-24T14:15:00.007-05:00

This week I had a conversation with Carey Pohanka, a friend in my PLN, about her students and their ability to use resources. We were comparing and contrasting the words 'collaboration' and 'cheating'. Through our conversation and the conversations I have had with others, I have come to the conclusion that both words can be used in close proximity of the other. Both involve using the resources of others in ways to improve a situation. The difference is one involves personal integrity and the other involves outright stealing. This brought to mind a section in Crowdsourcing I read not too long ago about Ned Gully's work with his website source code competitions at MATLAB. Stay with me and it will make since in a minute.

Gulley's contests were like other online source code writing competitions, but with one difference. Contestants were allowed to use each others code in order to create a better solution. What this meant was whenever a solution to a problem was deemed the best, it was posted to the website for all to see. Then every other contestant had the right to take any parts of that code, add their minor improvements and then resubmit it as their own. Gulley referred to these minor improvements as tweaks and if the newly submitted code was better than the original, it was then put into first place. And so this would go for a total of ten days until a final winner emerged. This type of contest allows for everyone to see how someone came up with a solution and still see if they can make it better. Gulley refers to these contests as "addictive collaboration" because everyone doesn't necessarily want to win as much as be recognized by their peers for their tweaks. In the process all involved help create the best product possible by creating the best tweaks. So everyone throws all of their knowledge and know-how into a pot for everyone else to use and build upon. Knowledge gets cut up, blended, and put back together at break neck speed and at the end of ten days, Gulley says the final product is better than the original submission by a factor of one thousand! Simply amazing!

So what, right? Right! So what is it that keeps us from sharing everything that we have to offer in order to let others use it and make it better? Cheaters. I would venture to say that most of us do not mind others using our know-how to improve their situation at all, but for goodness sakes we must remember our personal integrity when doing so. When we feel like we are not getting the credit we deserve we become frustrated and demoralized. We begin thinking, "I'll be damned if I am going to work as hard as I can to have someone else steal it!" If someone else is able to use our knowledge with their own little tweaks that is great... we just need to remember two things when doing so:

If at all possible, let the person we are getting the information from know what we are doing and how their information is helpful. Lets be honest for a minute, people are flattered to know someone else sees value in what they do, so make sure you tell them.
Let everyone else know where we are getting our information from and how it is helpful. Citing other peoples hard work is your responsibility. You worked hard to create what you did and so did they.

At the end of the day all of us have something to contribute in some form or fashion to the environment around us. What keeps us motivated to do so is the level or lack of recognition that we get when we make these contributions. There is a fine line between collaboration and cheating... remember to stand on the right side with integrity.

WE > ME - this is why Collaboration is Important

2009-01-18T22:00:00.001-05:00

I wanted to do a little experiment. Sometimes it is amazing to see what can be achieved through collaboration. That is why I wanted to see how my PLN defined collaboration. For the last week or so, I asked anyone and everyone to share what collaboration meant to them. I then plugged the resulting definitions into Wordle to see just what would come out and the results (I think) were really neat. No, its not ground breaking but just something interesting to look at. To see them in a larger version, just open them up in a new tab window.

The first Wordle was created with the word Collaboration included. Of course, sense this was the word being defined it took over the screen.

The next Wordle was created without the word collaboration to help show the major defining words more prevalent. This one is my favorite.

Thank you to all that contributed in my quest for definitions. The response was overwhelming and once again shows the power of WE is always greater than just ME. I was even suprised to have Evan Rosen, author of The Culture of Collaboration, contribute! Way cool. And a big thank you goes out to Kelly Hines who created her own blog post of what collaboration meant to her. This was definitely a fun experiment to do and I hope you enjoy the outcomes as much as I do.