My Professional Community: My School Culture. Week 26. Mind Lab.

1. What is the organisational culture (collective values/principles) that underpins your practice? How would you contribute to fostering a positive professional environment in your community of practice?

Stoll states that a school culture "defines reality for those within a social organisation, gives them support and identity and creates a framework for occupational learning. Each school has a different reality or mindset of school life, often captured in the simple phrase “the way we do things around here”. (Deal, & Kennedy, A. (1983)as cited in Stoll 1998). The context of my school is that it is a  new school that has been created out of the merger of two catholic schools, both of which have been in a state of uncertainty since the Christchurch earthquakes. For me, the establishment of a new culture has been the most important thing in the setting up process. 

Stoll also states that "School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education. In relation to school improvement, it has also been one of the most neglected. " This may be the case in a well established school, where as people join the staff, they are expected to adhere to the existing culture without any input themselves; they as quickly as possible learn the "way we do things around here" and work hard to join the sense of belonging that already exists. I have been in the position numerous times where I have had to learn the specific cultural language and ways of the school and adopt them as my own, letting go of, if necessary what I have brought with me. 

In my current situation "the way we do things around here" does not exist, we are in the exciting position as a whole staff of creating our own culture. This is the opportunity to challenge previous norms and expectations and create our own. 

We have as our underpinning value, our special character. This is our unifying essential element and it is through this lens that we will develop our vision and values for our school. We, as a staff who have been together for 15 weeks have, combined with our special character, our commitment to innovative learning practices and the best ways to foster and  deliver the best possible outcomes for our children. We have already worked on and continue to to work on our collective understandings around language, norms, respect for each other, shared responsibility for each other and our children and we recognise the need for humour in our lives.

2. What are the current issues in your community of practice? How would your community of practice address them?

The current issues that we face are inherent in the fact that we are a merger of two very different school cultures. Every thing that we do we look on as an opportunity to do it differently. In effect we are doing what  Stoll (1998) and Fullan (1996) term Reculturing, which is “the process of developing new values, beliefs and norms. For systematic reform it involves building new conceptions about instruction... and new forms of professionalism for teachers...” (Fullan as cited in Stoll 1998)

 This reculturing is important not only for the staff and children but also for the parent community, who seem to have  had more difficulty adapting to the change than those staff who came from both schools and the children from both schools. As a staff we have had to constantly reassure some parents that all will be well. One of the schools was much smaller than the other and the smaller school was moved to the site of the larger one. Added to the mix is the changing nature of the delivery of education that innovative practices bring and the very different face of the classrooms that have new flexible learning spaces. 

We have introduced Restorative Practices as a means of maintaining relationship balance in our school and this is helping to establish the kind of school culture that is important to us; one based on trust, honesty and mutual respect.  

This is an exciting time for our school. 

Communities Of Practice. Mind Lab Week 25.

A community of practice is a group of people who use their collective wisdom, experience and academic interests to consider, debate and clarify thinking. In the context of professions such as teaching, our communities of practice are the platforms upon which we build and arrange our personal and / or professional position on issues that matter to us as professionals. We try out ideas on each other and use the process of the Inquiry and Advocacy (Hands on Educational Consultancy PTY Ltd) Approach to test each other's thinking, and help each other to probe deeper by challenging ideas.

Wenger (2002) states that "Communities of practice are the basic building blocks of a social learning system because they are the social 'containers' of the competencies that make up such a system. By participating in these communities, we define with each other what constitutes competence in a given context " By engaging with our communities of practice, we uncover the layers of our thinking in order to unearth the essential elements of what we as leaders of our learning community believe are the basis of our core business: providing quality opportunities to raise student outcomes and all of the multi layered contexts that this implies.

My Main Community of Practice is the school where I work. Within that community are sub communities that make up the larger community. Of these communities the one that I am most influenced by, is the Senior Leadership team of which I am a part. Our community is the Principal and two Deputy Principals. The Principal works in our shared office and we engage on a daily basis in learning conversations where we debate and challenge each others thinking.  We are focused on the  primary function of our profession which is to ensure the delivery of the best opportunities for our children to grow into life long learners who are confident, connected and caring citizens. I contribute to this community of practice by bringing my training, experience, professional studies, and passion to the current focus; that of creating the best innovative learning community that we are able.

Within the context of our school there are several other communities of practice. These include communities within teaching teams;  Professional Learning Groups where teachers share their Teaching as Inquiry processes with groups from across the school. Other communities are the  curriculum or special shared interest groups. Also there is the community of practice that is made up by the Middle Leaders in the school.

Communities of practice, allow us to reflect on our practice in a more public forum than personal reflection may. One may have a feeling but can not identify or clarify where that thought is leading until it is articulated to one's peers. Finlay (2008) says that "for some, reflective practice simply refers to adopting a thinking approach to practice. Communities of practice allow us to do this more explicitly (assuming the community is a 'safe' one).

When I think of my communities of practice, I am mindful that communities of practice contribute to a person's professional and personal growth. The face to face communities that I am involved with include my Professional Learning Group that came out of a previous school; a group that I facilitate a Middle Leaders course with; the School Leaders Network; New Pedagogies for Deeper Learning leaders network (which was the inspiration behind the name of my professional blog) and Mind Lab fellow students. All of these networks contribute to my thinking about best practice.

The specialist areas of practice that I bring to my community, essentially lie in my coaching and mentoring experience. I have had considerable training in coaching and mentoring and these areas of practice, combined with my years in the classroom, leadership experience and passion for  Restorative Practice are what I bring to my communities of practice.

Project Based Learning

"Project based learning (PBL) is a student centred teaching method.  It involves students selecting, planning, investigating and producing a product that solves a real life problem or answers a question. This is generally carried over an extended period of time." This is taken from the literature review that Jo Earl and I have recently written on PBL. It is the concise version of an explanation of what PBL is. There is a wealth of material on the description, benefits and challenges of PBL. (see reference list at the bottom of this post for some of these)
It took me some time and much thought to get my head around Project Based Learning. I knew that it sounded innovative and exciting and would promote student agency, but I just couldn't get my head around a few things:

1. How do you organise it?
2. How do you make sure that the children are contributing equally( that the less confident or harder to engage children are engaged?
3. How do you assess it?
4. How do you know that 'the curriculum' is being covered?
5. How do you find suitable projects?
6. How do you cater for different abilities? and many more questions..

I knew from what I had read and was beginning to hear, that PBL is a way that we will engage our students, make education more applicable to life, promote the competencies of the future (Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Citizenship Critical thinking, Character) as Michael Fullan (2014) promotes in his 'A Rich Seam'. 

I already had self regulated learning happening in my class, (I was feeling pretty self satisfied) my team was engaging in some effective but still sylo based collaboration (within subject areas, literacy, numeracy, Inquiry, Independent projects,) and I knew without really knowing how, that PBL was where I wanted to be heading. I even found myself saying in staff PD that in the future when our students have even more agency and our learning is more project based (but not in the 80's and 90's way of 'doing a project - doing Fiji' or 'doing Japan') that we will really be catering for our children in so many ways. I still didn't know how it would work.

What made the penny drop for me was when I attended the Maths Symposium in Christchurch in 2014. I attended a workshop on rich learning tasks in maths. All of a sudden the answers to all of the questions above popped into my head. The facilitator had us using sample problems from the Figure it Out series and converting them into open ended, multi strategy level problems. She showed us how to set the driving question, and then monitor the way the children set about solving the problem in their mixed ability groups. She showed us how to provide workshops that her observations picked up as next steps for groups across groups. Suddenly I could see how this could work with bigger, longer lasting contextualised problems. The light came on! I went back to my then staff and ran the same workshop. I was delighted to see the same penny drop with several of the staff. Some of us started with rich learning tasks, which then led on to the project based learning approach.

It is interesting to me that in this country, the early adopters for innovative learning tend to come from primary. Secondary schools are beginning to adopt innovative learning practices with their year 9 and 10 students as these students are coming as a wave out of primary. Secondary teachers say that the constraints of NCEA make innovative learning too hard beyond those two years. I say it is coming. (PBL in secondary) ECE teachers will tell us, correctly, that this 'innovative' learning is the way they have always believed education should cater for learners' needs, as some visitors from local ECE's recently pointed out to us. Yet Fullan and Couros (Posts from The Principal of Change and Innovative Mindset ) and many others began their PBL journey in high schools. Some years ago, Jo and I studied and presented about a school that Fullan worked with on PBL called the Mary Ward School in Canada. These students worked on real life problems in a hub where multi discipline teachers were together and where the students could access the help of the teacher that they needed to learn the relevant knowledge and skills from.

Through our ongoing studies, we can see the benefits to the students of PBL: engagement, relevance, 21C competencies, (6 C's) and using technology for new learning and global communication. This is exciting.

Buck Institute for Education, (2015). Adapted from Setting the Standards for Project Based Learning; A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction, by John Larmer, JOhn Mergendoller, Susie Boss (ASCD 2015)

Bell, S. (2010). Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century: Skills for the Future. The Clearing House, 83:39-43. doi:10.1080/00098650903505415

Catapano, S., & Gray, J. (2015). Saturday School: Implementing Project-Based Learning in an Urban School. PennGSE Perspectives on Urban Education, 12(1). Retrieved from: http://www.urbanedjournal.org

Clark, A. (2006). Changing Classroom Practice to Include the Project Approach. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 8(2).

Diffily, D. (2002). Project-Based Learning: Meeting Social Studies Standards and the Needs of Gifted Learners. Gifted Child Today, 10762175, 25(3)

English, M., & Kitsantas, A. (2013). Supporting Student Self-Regulated Learning in Problem- and Project-Based Learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning. 7(2)

Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1339

Galvan, M., & Coronado, J. (2014). Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning: Promoting Differentiated Instruction. National Teacher Education Journal, 7(4)

Hertzog, N. (2007). Transporting Pedagogy: Implementing the Project Approach in Two First-Grade Classrooms. Journal of Advanced Academics 18(4)

Holm, M. (2011). Project-Based Instruction: A Review of the Literature on Effectiveness in PreKindergarten through 12th Grade Classrooms. InSight: Rivier Academic Journal, 7(2)

Lee, C. (2015). Project-Based Learning and Invitations: A Comparison. Journal of Curriculum Theorising, 30(3)

Lin, T. (2016). The Evolution of Education. Your Weekend The Press.

Loyens, S., Madga, J., & Rikers, R. (2008). Self-Directed Learning and Problem-Based Learning and its relationships with Self-Regulated Learning. Educ Psychol Rev (2008) 20:411-427. DOI 10.1007/s10648-9082-7

Ministry of Education. (2013). Ka Hikitia Accelerating Success 2013-2017. The Maori Education Strategy. Wellington, NZ.

Rangahau: Principles of Kaupapa Maori. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://http://www.rangahau.co.nz/research-idea/27/

Robinson, K. (2008). RSA Animate | Changing Education Paradigm. Retrieved from: https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/videos/2010/10/rsa-animate---changing-paradigms/rsa-lecture-ken-robinson-transcript.pdf

Sungur, S. & Tekkaya, C. (2006). Effects of Problem-Based Learning and Traditional Instruction on Self-Regulated Learning. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(5).

Tamim, S., & Grant, M. (2013). Definitions and Uses: Case Study of Teachers Implementing Project-based Learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning. 7(2)

Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1323

Thomas, J. (2000). A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning. San Rafael, California 94903. Retrieved from http://www.bie.org/reserach/study/review_of_project_based_learning_2000http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/3897.Rich_Seam_web.pdf

Teaching as Inquiry

I have been an enthusiast about Teaching as Inquiry ever since it was introduced to me 8 or so years ago as part of my Middle Leadership training. It makes perfect sense that teachers would engage in reflection about their own teaching and the impact that they are having on the outcomes of students in their class.
As is stated in the New Zealand Curriculum:

NZC pg. 35

Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. It is the same thinking for Teaching as Inquiry. By focusing on an aspect of our teaching and its effectiveness, it stands to reason that by trying something new, thinking about it, doing some research to support that trial, adapting and re trialling, then it must cause positive outcome for the target students. 

NZC pg. 35

It also makes sense that Leadership and Teaching as Inquiries would benefit from the collective wisdom obtained through professional dialogue. My first experience with Teaching as Inquiry was an extremely structured and prescriptive approach that was based on the then 'in vogue' Ariki project. 

What has emerged over time and is still very effective is Teaching as Inquiry combined with in - school Professional Learning Groups. It is quite confusing at first because added to the mix over the past few years, we have collaborative teams working on a Teaching as Inquiry together. So we have Collaborative teams collecting data in order to decide on a target area and group to focus an Inquiry on. Add an across - the - school Professional Learning Group and there is initially a recipe for confusion!

 I am impressed with how well our current staff has picked up the threads and woven them together. 

The PLG's meet twice a term and have professional conversations about the Teaching as Inquiries. They share research that supports and informs the Inquiry and they use the Inquiry / Advocacy approach to question and help the presenter probe deeper into their thinking. The members of the across school PLG's then go back to their collaborative groups with new thinking to share and ideas to try for their collaborative Teaching as Inquiry.

The Team leaders are contributing to the collaborative Inquiry of their team, but their focus is on their Leadership of the team by enabling and facilitating the professional dialogue around data that in turn informs the teaching as Inquiry. This involves the production of a team data board.  I have had several very productive sessions with a couple of the team leaders about what these data meetings look like. As I discussed with one leader today, we discuss our children and their needs every day, the data just focuses us more closely on exactly who needs what?

 The CPPA Middle Leaders course has been the catalyst that has moved our team leaders away from the traditional role of administrators and has given them more of a student centred focus. I gained hugely from first participating in, then facilitating this course over the past few years and am now a proud coach of the current facilitators. 

Collaboration Professional Development

Last week (week 6) Jo, Sarah and I facilitated a PD session on Collaboration.  We mused for some time on the best way to get the most effect for our short one hour and fifteen min session. We wanted to determine where our base line needed to be, accepting that our staff has a range of experience and knowledge about collaboration.  After some discussion we decided that our priorities were:

1.     Keep working on the ‘why’ without which we won’t get buy in.

2.     We want to establish a common language

3.     We want our staff to know right from the outset that there is a variety of co teaching models and that in any one day, they may employ different models.

4.     We wanted them to visualise how the different models might work in the context of their own collaborative team.

We used a self - reflection from “the co- teaching book of lists” that asked people to identify what it is that they contribute to a team. They then got together with their collaborative team and talked about their similarities and differences.

Next we used the jigsaw expert grouping strategy to get people to unpack the different models of co teaching.  The initial work was done in their PLG’s and the expert sharing was back in their collaborative teams.

In our initial discussions we were going to give the groups their information to unpack, we then decided that as we wanted people to know that there is now a wealth of information on co teaching, we would get people to find their own information.  We set up a shared folder and google docs with prompts for people to contribute to.  This served to be successful, and hopefully they did not feel condescended to. I feel as though we are currently walking a fine line as a SLT. We want to support and not spoon - feed and therefore disempower people. The advantage of having two, eager to help walking DP’s is that we are willing and able to advise, help, find, create in order to help overwhelmed staff get set up in this new school. The disadvantage could be that we are rushing in to help where giving team leaders time to sort things out for themselves might be more empowering for them.  It feels like a fine line.

We ended the session by sharing a google doc on which we had put a selection of links to clips and articles on collaboration. We asked them to view some and reflect on their blogs.

It was and is our intention to scaffold our staff so that every person feels as though collaboration is a school wide, shared pedagogy that provides the best opportunities for our tamariki.

Link to ppt.    

Middle Leaders Programme

The first day of the 2016 Middle Leaders Programme started today. It felt strange to be in a coaching rather than facilitating role. I felt proud of the job that the team did today and had a sense of what it must feel like for Leaders who have to let go of the hold and control that they have of something that they are used to being in control of.  I felt pleased that my own St Francis team was present today. I hope that this training will have the same effect on them that it had on me five years ago. I remember feeling an aha moment back then when I realised that I could raise student outcomes by raising the quality of my own leadership. By having professional conversations as an explicit and intentional part of my team's interactions, by using data, research and collective wisdom, I could lift the quality of our collective practice.  Professional dialogue has become a highly valued and integral part of my life.  I love how professional dialogue enthuses and motivates me. I love the buzz of bouncing ideas around and the expansion that this creates in my brain.

Reflecting on Reflection

I have just read a post by Jo Earl (http://jothinkingonline.blogspot.co.nz/2016/03/writers-block.html) about the importance of reflection and the positive effect reflection has on our practice. This post resonated with me as it brought to mind one of the reading resources that we use on the CPPA Middle Leaders Course. It is  co -written by the Habits of the Mind guru Art Costa and Bena Kallick and is called '(Getting into the Habit of Reflection' Educational Leadership 2000 pg 60). In this article, Costa and Kallick set out some very clear reasons why reflecting on our practice is another avenue towards raising student outcomes, by raising the quality of the teacher's practice. Considering how ones own practice strengthens student performance, by committing to continual learning and by considering how ones action relates to the school goals, how can all of this reflection not benefit the students and colleagues in our lives?

Costa and Kallick promote the idea of reflective journals (blogs?) in order to document this self reflection. They assert that by writing down these reflections we engage in the 'internal voice of reflection' or self talk that help us to engage with what we really think, and helps us to remember these thoughts and feelings later. This is a pertinent point for reflecting for personal use as well as for collaborating with others.

Delving deeper into our practice and being consciously reflective practitioners is the underlying principle behind teaching as inquiry. I have now led the introduction to teaching as inquiry at two different schools and  leadership inquiry at two Middle Leaders courses. (Soon to be a third).  At every one of these introductions, I have sensed the change in atmosphere as people contemplate the prospect of another thing to do being landed on them. The internal sighs in the room are almost audible. It is a challenge to find the best way to create a culture of reflection and personal professional development in a way that sparks interest and inspires already stretched people. I am still working on the best way to do this. Each time, I have tried to present the overview in a brief enough way that does not lack information and confuse people, and detailed enough without overwhelming them. I am still looking for the right mix.
One thing I can say though, is that once people get the idea of the professional learning communities, the value of the teaching as inquiry and what the expectations are, they become more appreciative and positive about them. I have had many positive comments in the past about how useful these groups are and how good it is to work with people outside their own teams.  I have also heard how much people appreciate the opportunity to share knowledge and to learn about what their colleagues are doing. They say this looking back.

 However, that is much further down the track from here....  we shall see.