Ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the pain?)
Show Description:
Last week you listened to Chad Dumas and I discuss PLCs. When we began talking, I had in my head the idea of a PLC being a discrete thing – group of teachers collaborating around honing their teaching skills. I suspect that most of you listening also had similar ideas – that PLCs were things we could drop into schools and have teachers “do.” However, as the conversation unfolded, Chad reminded me of some things I had forgotten, foremost of which is that PLCs are a culture, not a practice. In today’s episode, I’m going to briefly recap a couple of the main points from last week and then do a deep dive on how to implement a change in your school. I will use PLCs as an example, but the process will apply to any change you want to support.
Celebrations:
Watching seeds that have been planted bear fruit:
· Garden – peas, greens, strawberries
· Relationships – most of the people you hear on this show become friends. The show isn’t an end, it is a beginning for those relationships, but also, I hope, for your own practice
· Growing my speaking, slowly over time
Patience brings piece, helps me stay focused on process, not product
The Big Idea
Recap from last week:
1. PLC is an ethos, the school is the community part of PLC, the team is just one feature.
2. Within a PLC school, teachers use multiple forms of evidence to hone their craft.
3. The first two critical questions that teachers ask are:
a. What do I want students to be able to do?
b. How will I know if they can do it?
4. To change beliefs, we need to change behaviors
5. “It starts with us! We can’t lead a change until we look in the mirror.”
6. Three years to implementation
7. Begin by asking reflective questions
What does a three-year implementation look like?
· Train analogy:
o The engine plants the seeds
o The cars provide the momentum
· Must be driven from the people who will be implementing the change (teachers)
· Role of leaders:
o Plant seeds
o Support (organization)
o Grow (teachers)
Fall 1: Plant seeds with teachers
Spring 1: Form a pilot – if teachers want it. No desire, no project (examine the alternatives)
Fall 2: Expand the pilot slightly, refine practices, gather evidence
Spring 2: Big expansion, still piloting, completely voluntary
Fall 3: Whole staff training and support
Spring 3: Anchoring (structures, language, processes, priorities, consistency) and expectations
Dissecting challenges to PLCs:
· Org level
o Schedule and lack of collaboration time
o Competing demands, esp. other initiatives (e.g. resources)
o Priorities and clarity of purpose
· Teacher level
o Skill to reflect deeply
o Disposition to be vulnerable
o Knowledge of specific practices (that second question is scary)
· The challenge of alignment and the Six Dimensions
· External forces and why it must be teacher-driven
Strategic Action Cycles as a way to pinpoint problems and drive incremental change
Summarizing (The big takeaway)
Wrap up:
· Big change is hard: complex, messy, resource intensive
· Sans drive from teachers and enough resources, don’t do it
· The way you impact your school, is to support and grow teachers, whether it is PLCs, MTSS, PBIS, improving teaching, the process is the same.
Sponsorship:
I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…
Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12.
IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions.
And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more.
It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit http://ixl.com/assistant to get started.
Close
· Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.
· Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
· Have a great rest of the week, be present for others and, more importantly, take time to reflect and recover so you can continue to live and lead better.
· Cheers!
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