The Beginning of Learning Something New
The first day of class, we talked a great deal about change. Implementing change is a very difficult task. From my observation, one of the most important first steps is convincing the community that change is necessary. The community has to see the vision and continue to see it throughout the process. Without understanding the value of the change, so many are complacent and remain with the status quo.
In my own school, we have purchased new textbooks and are trying to learn how to teach writing. The writing program called 6 Traits has been around for a long time. It is research driven and and a very widely used program. For the teachers in my school, it is quite different than what they are used to.
Before the program was purchased and before we were given the first of many teacher inservices, the principal (who retired at the end of last year) showed the comparison of our writing scores to those of the neighboring public schools. The results were glaring. We clearly needed a better way to teach writing. Our scores in writing were far below those of children in the public schools. The teachers were convinced and seem to be willing to look at the 6 Traits and adjust their way of thinking. The first step seem to go well.
As the process continues, it becomes increasingly difficult the maintain the momentum. Some teachers, although they recognize that children need to learn to write, find it difficult to completely change their current teaching strategies. For example, it's hard for some to give up the grammar workbook.
The struggle to implement change is that many forget the vision. They lose sight of why they have to expend the effort to learn a program, it's vocabulary, the teaching strategies, and assessment techniques.
Change is necessary for growth. It is difficult to understand why teachers are not willing to change. It must be extremely difficult for the administration to keep reminding those resistant to change of the goal - to increase student acheivement. It must be such a bore to have to keep reminding those resistant to change why change is necessary.
I wonder what "The Change Game" is.
4 comments:
Testing
Regarding "getting to know the principal", the person who interviewed you last summer and indicated, "You can teach anyone a skill... Finding a good match relates to the candidates ability to develop good relationships with others." is RIGHT ON TARGET! It's not that we don't want to look for someone who has knoweldge and expertise in curricular issues and leadership - BUT, if you find someone with excellent relational skills - it's true -- they can and will want to learn anything and everything they need to -- to become as effective as possible. YOU were right on target when you said that it is important for an administrator to "support" others as they learn! YES!
I challenge you to think about the most significant mentors in YOUR own life. Who were a few of the most significant people who impacted you positively in school? My guess is that it was more about the relationship and the "push" than the knoweldge. I would bet these individuals possessed strong character skills - listening, support, encouragement, unconditional love... NO?
Please bring in the information on Marzano and perhaps we can discuss this further... I do agree that specific instructional feedback is essential!
In reading your comments aboaut change... I think you will enjoy the change game! ;O)
Christie Aird
Nadine,
Glad to note you enjoyed playing the change game! I am very impressed with the reflections you have posted on your blog! YOu have really made some great connections between the class and your work at school! GREAT insights. The most recent posting, "Making Change in real life" was interesting. I would encourage you to think about the change game and predict what will happen with the book studies in your school. Recall from CBAM - "INDIVIDUALS FIRST" "INNOVATIONs SECOND". There were at least three key phrases that I noted in your blog/reflection that I highly URGE you to think about:
"My principal has come up with..."
"Consultants, workshops and endless meetings were not working that well.."
"The administrators will decide which book studies teachers will participate in."
None of these reflects "Individuals first"... They reflect a focus on the innovation...
Hmmmmmm....
Just something for you to consider....
:)
Very interesting insights! While I do appreciate your thoughts on the way "decision making" was handled, and I might have approached the topic a bit differently if we had had more time, my own "gut" instinct was that the load was pretty heavy even before I asked for input.. so I was already feeling that changes needed to be made -- and the group confirmed this.
In reality, awareness of your own behavior is important -- and the motives that drive your decisions are key. Doing things to "please others" is not healthy. Empathy is. On the contrary, doing things "because I said so" is not healthy either. "Input" from others is important. It's important to weigh all sides, with input from others, and then make the best decision - which should be based on the goals/vision/values of the group or organization.
In schools -- everything should be centered around student benefits.. so that is a good question to ask yourself when it comes to the ones made in your school.
Flexibility, according to Marzano is also an important aspect of leadership -- so that is something to think about with your situation at work.
Thank you for your honest comments!
Christie
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