teacher leaders: leading change in difficult times

Teacher Leaders: Leading Change in Difficult Times

Bobby Ashley, Educational Consultant

bobbyashley2010@gmail.com

Learning Targets:• Understanding the change process• Teacher Leadership – The Quadrants• Using common core state standards as a

‘driver’ for positive change• Making lessons relevant to the students’

world• Building positives relationships• Understanding and using neuroscience

“If You Can Google it, You should not be

teaching it”Do you agree or disagree?

Why or Why Not?One minute to “turn and talk”

“Whoever is doing the work is doing the

learning”Do you agree or disagree?

Why or Why Not?One minute to “turn and talk”

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Examining Rigor

7

Examining Relevance

8

Examining Learner Engagement

9

Examining Literacy

10

Examining Literacy

11

Examining Literacy

Change

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1

1 – INCREMENTAL CHANGE -Improving Core Practices

2 – INNOVATIVE CHANGE -Fundamental Change of Core Practice

3 – TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE – Affect Entire System

Change

Shoes 1974

1994 Bag Phone—Car Phone

…a few years later

• New I phone

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1950’s School Building

1970’s School Building

2000’s School Building

2010’s School Building

Books

Navigation and Live Traffic Info

Engagement

Education

Does this classroom exist in your school?

Or do your classrooms look like this

• Collaboration

Or this• Virtual Learning

The ShiftTraditional Teaching Frameworks 21st Century Teaching

What teachers should do What the entire system should do

Teacher-focused Student-focused

Teachers deliver instruction Teachers facilitate learning

Vision is set by top leaders Vision is built more inclusively

Define vision primarily in terms of academic measures

Define vision as strong academic and then personal skills and the ability to apply them

Rigid structures support adult needsFlexible structures support student needs

Focus on teaching Focus on learning

“Whoever is doing the work is doing the

learning”

® Rigor/Relevance Framework

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Examining Rigor

Essential Question:

What is the role of the teacher in creating positive

change?

Rubric for Evaluating North Carolina Teachers

Standard I: Teachers demonstrate leadership•Teachers lead in their learning environments•Teachers demonstrate leadership in the learning environment•Teachers lead the teaching profession•Teachers advocate for learning environments and learners•Teachers demonstrate high ethical standards

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KNOWLEDGE

A B

DC

AuthoritativeLeadership

Four Quadrants of Leadership

Collaborative Leadership

VisionaryLeadership

Adaptive Leadership

HighLow

Low

High

APPLICATION

AA BB

DDCC

Quad D Leadership FrameworkQuad D Leadership Framework

High

HighLow

Low

Quadrant A – Authoritative

• Traditional Teaching

• Manages the Classroom

• Leaders decide – They act

• Authoritarian – Keeper of

Knowledge

• Teachers is Working Hard

Quadrant B – Collaborative• Knowledge is Shared Among All

Stakeholders • The Classroom Works in a Highly

Collaborative Setting• Group Work is the “Norm”• Students are Engaged with their

Learning

Quadrant C – Creative(Research and Best

Practices) • Teacher and Students are

Reflective and Innovative

• Vision is Discussed

• Anticipation of the Future• Student Needs Drive Action

Quadrant D - Adaptive(Disposition)

Reflective and InnovativeTeacher and Students are Empowered to Take a Significant Leadership RolesCollaborative and AdaptiveSolving Real World Problems

Three Question Exercise• What will the world be like 20

years from now?

• What skills will students need to be successful in that world?

• What would learning look like if it was designed around your answers?

Essential question:

What is different in your school this year…as

compared to last year?

What can we do? How do we begin?

Teacher leaders need to:• understand change process

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1

1 – INCREMENTAL CHANGE -Improving Core Practices

2 – INNOVATIVE CHANGE -Fundamental Change of Core Practice

3 – TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE – Affect Entire System

Change

Teacher leaders need to:• understand change process• adopt rigor relevance framework• use common core state standards as a

‘driver’ for change• make lessons relevant to the students’

world• build positives relationships• understand and use neuroscience

Rigor/Relevance FrameworkTM

Knowledge

Taxonomy

Relevance

Makes Rigor

Happen! Application Model

Evaluation 6

“Judge the Outcome”

Synthesis 5

“Putting Together”

Analysis 4

“Taking Apart”

Application 3

“Making use of Knowledge”

Comprehension 2

“Confirming”Knowledge 1

“Information Gathering”

1

Knowledge in ????

Discipline

2

Apply Knowledge in ????

Discipline

3

Apply Knowledge Across

Disciplines

4

Apply Knowledge to Real

World Predictable

Situations

5

Apply Knowledge to Real

World Unpredictable

Situations

Assimilation

Students extend and refine their knowledge so they can use it automatically and routinely to analyze and solve problems and create solutions

Student Thinks

(Relationships Important)

Acquisition

Teacher Works

(Relationship of little Importance)

Students gather and store bits of knowledge and information and are expected to remember or understand this acquired knowledge.

Application

Student Works

(Relationships Important)

Students use acquired knowledge to solve problems, design solutions, and complete work. The highest level of application is to apply appropriate to new and unpredictable situations.

Adaptation

Student Thinks and Works

(Relationships Critical)

Students have the competence, that when confronted with perplexing unknowns they are able to use their extensive knowledge base and skills to create unique solutions and take action that further develops their skills and knowledge.

Rigor is… Scaffolding thinking Planning for thinking Assessing thinking

about content Recognizing the level of

thinking students demonstrate

Managing the teaching/ learning level for the desired thinking level

Rigor is not… More or harder

worksheets The higher level

book in reading More work More homework

Performance Tasks  •students must create, construct, or produce some product real world contexts 

•deep understanding and/or reasoning skills are needed and assessed 

•more than one standard/concept is assessed through the task 

•requires students to explain, justify AND defend 

•involves engaging ideas of importance and substance - real world contexts 

•typically, there is no single “correct” answer 

•very difficult to cheat on a performance task 

•emphasis is on what students will do, as opposed to what they recall 

•scoring criteria and standards are made public and transparent

•learning occurs while students complete the task

•feedback can be provided as task is completed

® Rigor/Relevance Framework

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Examining Rigor

The Flipped Classroom

Teacher leaders need to:• understand change process• adopt rigor relevance framework• use common core state standards as a

‘driver’ for change• make lessons relevant to the students’

world• build positives relationships• understand and use neuroscience

www.corestandards.org

Next Generation of Assessments

http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-assessment

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Teacher leaders need to:• understand change process• adopt rigor relevance framework• use common core state standards as a

‘driver’ for change• make lessons relevant to the students’

world• build positives relationships• understand and use neuroscience

Kids TodayLearn anywhere, anytime, with and from

anyoneAlways on, always connected, expecting

collaborationNeed to be engaged and involvedDemand personalized learning

experiences

Technology Connections

“Our students are living and learning in a wireless,

interconnected,

“immediate” world—except when they are in school.”

-Bill Daggett

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Schools are Improving

School Improvement

The World is Changing Faster

School Improvement

Changing World

Findings

Teachersare our greatest resources, our

greatest hope.

“It is not the strongest that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

- Charles Darwin

Teacher leaders need to:• understand change process• adopt rigor relevance framework• use common core state standards as a

‘driver’ for change• make lessons relevant to the students’

world• build positives relationships• understand and use neuroscience

relevance = pathways

The synapse is the place where chemicals (neurotransmitters) cross over from one

brain cell to the next

Relationships Make Learning Possible

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serotonin & dopamine pathways

Positive Relationships...

increase feelings of safety, motivation and risk-taking

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red and orange = high degree of activitypurple and blue = low degree of activity

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purple and blue = low degree of

activity

red and orange = high degree of

activity

B

DC

A

RIGOR

RELEVANCE

Rigor/Relevance Framework

High

HighLow

Low

Relationships

Relationships of Little Importance

Relationships EssentialRelationships

Important

RelationshipsImportant

® Rigor/Relevance Framework

Planning

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