Recently you have read A Call to Creativity by Dennis Sparks. This was originally presented as part of the 10th Annual Colloquium, "The Quest for Educational Transformation: Ideals and Realities". It was interactive presentation with sections for discussion and debate. Find the comment that relates to the discussion prompt to which you want to respond and begin or continue the conversation.
Looking forward to the discussions to come!
Julie
Sparks quotes Linda Darling-Hammond as saying, "most schools and teachers cannot produce the kind of learning demanded by the new reforms -- not because they don't want to, but because they do not know how, and the systems they work in do not support them in doing so."
ReplyDeleteHow do you respond to the assumption she is making?
I believe Darling-Hammond’s assumption to be true (but slowly becoming more false, at least in my district with the implementation of PLCs). Teachers are quite often told to implement “something new.” However, teachers would not have had the opportunity to learn the background of and the benefit of the “something new.” Still, they are expected to implement with fidelity and without fail just because they are told “the research says.” Not only do teachers not know why this big “new” thing is supposed to work, they do not know how to make it work.
DeleteAt this very moment, schools in cooperating states across America are expected to implement Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Arkansas’ schools are to have full implementation, K-12, beginning the 2013-2014 school year. There have been many, many professional development sessions held to introduce educators to CCSS. The concepts of Common Core, the standards set forth in it, are, in fact, common sense things to do; but, amazingly, actually being able to teach the performance tasks is a quite a challenge for teachers. It is easy to tell teachers “this is what you do,” and “this is what you use to do it,” and “this is how long it should take to do it.” What is missing is the “this is how you do it.”
There is professional development available to teach educators how to implement the expectations of Common Core; however, districts must be willing to make small sacrifices initially for a big pay-out in the end. Allowing teachers to attend these trainings and funding materials needed during this process is crucial for student success. This is for implementing anything new in the school. If all teachers cannot attend the training the first time around, schools must create a professional development plan that will allow all teachers to receive the training in as little time as possible. There shouldn’t be a select few who are worthy of receiving training, while other teachers are drowning in ignorance. If a school sacrifices educating a few teachers, it sacrifices educating a few students. No student’s education should ever be sacrificed!
Sorry, I may have gone off the path a little.
Along with the challenge of implementing the Common Core Standards comes another challenge called TESS--ugghhh-more letters to try to remember what they stand for. Anyway, teaching teachers about the new teacher evaluation system will require rethinking professional development again. Linda Darling Hammond's assumption that schools "do not know how" does not have to be true. If we use what we know to be successful, tweak it, and reapply it to this new challenge, all educators can be successful with TESS.
DeleteIn every school, there are teachers who do know how to "produce the kind of learning demanded by the new reforms," and in many schools these teachers are supported in the work that they do. Even in schools without teacher who know how to "produce the kind of learning demanded by the new reform," there are teachers who are willing to try something new; there are teachers who are willing to create. However, the challenge seems to come in helping these teachers to share their expertise with others. Sometimes these teachers need encouragement to share because they may have been "burned" from the negative peer reactions while others may not want to put themselves out there. Yet, the flip side to this is the positive response and impact these teachers could have on their peers, and in return, on their students. To these ends, schools need to foster leadership opportunities for as many teachers as possible so that we can all learn for one another.
DeleteProfessional development has improved since this article was written, but many of my colleagues would say that it has not improved enough. The PLC movement could truly help improve professional development and bring collaborative learning into practice. However, we also have to realize that schools do have a number of sessions or topics that have to be addressed due to state laws. While sending every teacher to a workshop or institute my be cost prohibitive for schools, in a perfect world, schools would trust their teachers to find their own personal professional learning opportunities that may not cost the districts any money. These could include on-line communities, nings, twitter events, and list serves.
Too many times teacher feel like professional develop is being done to them instead of for them. Professional development should inspire teachers to be creative within the guidelines of standards and school policies that we have to follow. I truly believe this can be done.
Educators see the educational system change often. We are asked to try the "latest and greatest" assessment, program, etc., but often we change to something else before true data can be obtained from the previous program. There is also the problem of teaching/using this new kind of learning which often doen't come with an accurate assessment. I am thinking of two examples. One, we are required to give a Qualls Inventory of our students at the beginning of the year, yet there is no post-inventory. How can we measure growth or the lack of? Two, we teach using CCSS yet we assess our students using ITBS. Therefore, the assessment we receive is not an accurate reflection of our teaching nor our students' learning.
DeleteSeveral years ago, yes that assumption was probably correct. I know that even over the last few years, PD that I have been to has become much more relevant to me and my students. With the implementation of Common Core standards, it has become even more so. We now have district wide grade level collaboration meetings that have been excellent for really digging deep into the CCSS. I would say PD has come a long way, but still has a ways to go.
DeleteI agree that we as a school system often do not know what to do, but we want to do "something". So... we do something. We work very hard on an idea even though our efforts may be moving us in the wrong direction.
DeleteI think that sometimes we, as teachers, just get so overwhelmed that we can't implement every new thing that comes along. Is it just me or do you guys feel like you are playing catchup a lot of the time? Many times our professional development consists of an hour here or an hour there of something that really requires a few hours of attention to thoroughly go into detail about a topic. Most of us are willing to do what is necessary to implement new reforms, we just don't have the tools available to us to do it.
DeleteI do believe that we want to do the best for our students. We want to hear about and implement the newest ideas and the best ways to get our kids attentions so they will learn. But a lot of the time, the support is just not there. As Michelle W said, "we can't implement every new thing that comes along." I think most of us use what we understand of what appears to be beneficial to us. If we do not have follow-up meetings or help when we have questions, we are less likely to use what we have "learned."
DeleteI completely agree with Darling-Hammond's statement at that time (2004). I believe we are moving forward with the "how" and will continue to make professional development more beneficial for teachers, which will increase student learning. Over the last few years, professional development in my district has shifted to what's relevant to classroom teachers and how we can implement it in our classrooms to impact student learning. We still need time/opportunities to share/collaborate with our PLCs and other grade-level teachers in our district to make these practices more effective.
DeleteI feel that our school has really attempted to educate the teachers on best practice and pushed us to have high expectations for our students. Our PLC and all the professional development I have been to has made a huge difference in my teaching. However, not everyone attends as much PD as I do and not everyone has the right attitude about it. (The Rubric on pg. 57)
DeleteI agree with Linda's statement for the simple reason that changes sometimes occur so quickly that just when we are getting one system down, it's time to move on to another. Also, past expectations have not always been realistic; here is where I see positive changes coming with Common Core.
DeleteDennis Sparks makes several claims about the problems with staff development.
ReplyDeleteDiscuss your own claims or assumptions about the current status of professional development.
If I do not find a professional development useful, it is usually because it covers something I’ve already learned or does not give me useful, realistic strategies I can implement in my classroom. I was a part of a PLC focused on special education strategies led by the special education teachers at our school. All the strategies suggested were difficult to implement in a general education classroom of 25 students (prepositions: put your hand in your sock,place your hand over your head, etc). I want the experts to give me suggestions on how to implement their strategies in a room filled with 25 kids, doing common core standards. Often times, professional development does not translate into what I need to be doing in the classroom.
DeleteI also think there has to be accountability to try out one of the new strategies learned at a staff development and share/report back to the group. I know at my school, we are often asked to do this, and it forces us to try what we have learned at the meeting in our classrooms. It also allows us to discuss what worked and what didn’t work, and problem solve solutions for next time.
At the time this article was written I would have agreed with these statements. I do not agree now. 'Back in the day' when required hours of staff development were first implemented, there was a huge gap between what was presented and what was needed/beneficial. I remember sitting through a very interesting PD session on gangs that had no relevance for me or my instructional practices. Now, the majority of my district's PD, specifically my building, is targeted and relevant to me and my students with the main focus being student achievement. I feel the improvement in our PD is a direct result of my principal going through the Master Principal program.
DeleteI would like to echo what Julie said with particular regard to there should be staff accountability to try out strategies and ideas learned in PD experiences and then to bring it back to others. A district current reality is that most schools can not afford to send everyone to every PD- therefore, if you attend, ethically you should be present and engaged in learning, then be willing to share. Of course, there are always those who will not be receptive to listening but I believe most teachers are lifelong learners, committed to best practice.
DeleteThe current reality for the professional development in my district is often unrelated to what I feel I currently need to learn as a teacher in order to use best practices for my students. We are required to attend 60+ hours of PD a school year and that a specific number of hours need to be focused on technology, parental involvement, Arkansas history, etc. I have been to many PD training's where I feel the presenters are not the most educated in the professional development area they are trying to teach, therefore we spend more time than we should watching the presenter struggle and not using their time wisely. This is turn does prove Dennis Sparks number three point, most of us, professionally and otherwise, use only a small portion of what we already know, true. If as an educator you feel your needs in a PD are not met then the PD is not significant to you and you do not value it, therefore you to don't use much of if any things you learned in your own classroom.
DeleteI feel at time PD is often put together and given for the simple fact that is is required and have to be attended. I do not thing we truly look at what data shows students need, which in turn shows what teachers need to focus most on. Since our district is switching curriculum to Common Core and the teacher evaluation system to TESS, then there should be a lot of PD focused on equipping the teachers the best they can in those areas. Three or six hours of professional development is not often enough.
I discussed this with my husband, who is also an educator in my district. We recently attended three days of TESS training. We observed that it is Unsatisfactory to lecture for 45 min. to students, as is written in one of the Domains. Surprisingly, that is exactly how we were taught/instructed. Many times we are presented with power points that are too wordy or asked to "sit and get" during PD. Shouldn't we be taught the way we are expected to teach? Wouldn't this in turn help those teachers who are not quite sure how they are to present material?
DeleteIt seems that the practical side of a lot of PD is what is missing. We get the "why" portion, but not the "how". I have been to PD that sounds great but never gotten to what it actually looks like in my classroom.
DeleteI have always viewed staff development as a necessary evil because it was time required during my summer or my time after school. Sadly, this view has been reinforced by my peers. Even when I go to a really uplifting, informative and practical professional development meeting, I am quickly deflated by the response from my peers. Until we change the perception of staff development and provide quality seminars and meetings, not much will change. This is where a leader has to come in and work to change the cultural perception of staff development. And that is where we can come in and work to help change the perception of staff development. I learned this year that staff development is kinda hard to do when I became a presenter. It put a whole new spin on my perception of staff development. Maybe if every member of a faculty got to present staff development on something they believed in, attitudes towards staff development would change.
DeleteIn my opinion, the biggest problem with staff development is that it is not "deep" enough. We attend professional developments, get one or two ideas of what to do in our classroom, than are expected to maintain these new ideas without support. To make it more frustrating, we must have 60 hours of staff development each year. That's at least 30 "new ideas" that we must implement and maintain. It's just not possible. The only exception I have experienced is PD that grow and develop on top of each other. ALA, of course, and the CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) that takes place over three years.
DeleteI totally agree with Sparks' claims and feel our district administrators believe this as well, which is why they have been offering more relevant professional development opportunities led by our instructional coaches. They have also shifted the emphasis from "what" it is to "how" to utilize it effectively in our classrooms. Having coaches lead these trainings gives teachers building level support as well as someone to hold them accountable for implementing this new learning.
DeleteI agree with Kimberly. Professional development, to me, seems like the Arkansas Frameworks. They skim the surface of multiple skills/concepts; however, never really dig deep into any one topic (except for the ALA). I feel that professional development needs to move more into the approach that Common Core State Standards are taking. A few topics/skills(a year) that are developed in-depth.
DeleteA second assumption that I would make about professional development is that PD should not be a "one size fits all" approach. I understand that a district cannot afford to bring in multiple presenters. However, there are loads of resources out there for teachers on the web. It seems as if the only PD hours that can "count" are the ones that are "loggable" hours. I can go to the Teaching Channel and watch a 2-5 minute video and learn just as much as sitting through a 3-6 hour "workshop". I feel that PD needs to be more about quality versus quantity.
Our district does most of its PD in-house so that TASD teachers get training on the needs of our specific students rather than the general needs of students across the spectrum of public education. (Granted, many of these needs ARE similar.) We have vertical alignment meetings each semester to help eliminate gaps in the transition from elementary through high school. We have once-weekly department meetings with instructional facilitators regarding curriculum and instruction. We have also done once-monthly joint learning sessions between the junior high (where I am) and the high school to help keep all our teachers on the secondary level in a web of ongoing collaboration. Session offerings are determined by teacher input from previous sessions.
DeleteI believe that some adult learning programmers lose sight of the fact that adult audiences are even more diverse and "needy" (not in a bad way) than the children we teach. Teachers always need a choice and a voice when it comes to what, when, and how we are subjected to new PD opportunities.
A difficult flaw to erase is that some of our colleagues may not be committed to lifelong learning, and by its nature: PD, as the rest of us. This attitude can easily spread to others and contaminate the environment with the old "Why are we here?" mentality. But it still has to be engaging and yes, fun!
Every year we learn about something new during professional development. We hear about a new strategy to increase student engagement or student learning, but we may not broach the subject again after school starts. To maintain what we learned, it is important that we spend time building upon those strategies and focusing on how it affects our outcomes instead of quickly shifting our focus to another area. We need time to successfully implement one idea before we move to the next one.
DeleteIn the presentation, Sparks talks about some big ideas.
ReplyDelete1. The barriers are not what we think they are.
2. The existing talents and creative potential of educators are a vast and untapped resource.
3. Leaders matter a lot, and individuals can make a profound difference.
Comment on what you hold to be true about these ideas. Spend some extra time discussing the 3rd point in particular.
I agree that leaders at a school matter. At my school, we have a principal and vice-principal who care about all the students at our school, and will let teachers try anything if it will benefit our students. My principal is also great at hiring teachers who “fit in” at our school. Most teachers at my school want what is best for kids, and will work extremely hard to help all students achieve. If we did not have great leadership at our school, I don’t think we would have the same culture and expectations for students that we have today…leadership matters.
DeleteEven the leadership that is higher than my two principals is excellent at my school district. The superintendents and curriculum specialists all have high expectations for students and teachers. They are also positive people who truly believe our district is the best. That kind of thinking is infectious and trickles down to the teachers.
I also agree that individuals make a difference. Isn’t that why we all became teachers? Because we believe we can make a difference, even if it is a small difference. Many of the teachers at my school give so much of their time and energy to helping students achieve. You can see they make a difference when a student improves in their reading, writing, or math. You can see they make a difference when the students are crying on the last day of school because they don’t want to leave their teachers. You can tell an individual makes a difference in the smiles, laughter, and hugs that fill the hallways and classrooms. One person can make a difference.
1. The barriers are not what we think they are, but merely the thought "I do things this way bc that is the way they have always been done, and the kids learned" That is a scary thought bc we live in a ever evolving highly technology driven world.
Delete2. ...
3. We all remember that one teacher that made a difference in our lives. We looked up to them as a leader that changed us in some way. We can remember exactly why we feel that way about that person, one person can make a difference in someones life.
Sometimes the barriers are what we think they are, only, they are not the only barriers we have to deal with. Again, barriers can be overwhelming unless you make up your mind to deal with them one at a time. We have to accept that there will be some barriers we won't be able to overcome alone, but a positive attitude will go a long way.
DeleteMy district tried something new this year. We encouraged our own people to present professional development on issues or topics on which we felt we were comfortable sharing with others. We didn't have to be experts, just proficient enough to introduce the ideas to others and engage in useful discussions about them. We have a lot of teachers who know a lot of useful, practical stuff! I went to a session given by one of the high school teachers about rubrics and learned a lot. I attended another one about learning styles, and even though I thought I knew all I needed to know about them, I learned more stuff. Utilize your teachers' expertise.
Leaders do matter a lot, but individuals can quietly lead and do so much to direct the culture in a positive direction. As department head, I try to implement positive changes in my department. But I do so more with actions than words. My words are positive and encouraging. I am open to what others say and suggest. I brag on them. Luckily I have some great folks in my department, and with them (keeping me in line) we are setting the example for how departments are supposed to work, especially with our PLC meetings. But change starts at the top, and we have an awesome building leader who some like and some don't like so much. This goes back to our current reality.
Barriers - they will always be present not only in education but in all aspects of our lives. We have to hit them with positive attitudes. Some we will break down and others we won't, but the end result always needs to be successful learning for all students.
DeleteI believe leaders do matter! The principal's attitude sets the attitude for the entire building. Fortunately, I have a positive, encouraging, supportive, and hard working principal. Do we still have teachers who do the minimal amount of work and are not creative? Of course we do! The words that really spoke to me from this article stated "It is important to remember the fundamental thing people cannot take away from you is your attitude." I choose to be positive, I choose to set high standards for my students, I do believe that all students can learn and reach high levels of success. I choose to have patience with my students, I choose to be encouraging to each one, and I choose to be a teacher to make a difference. So....Do individuals make a differnece? Absolutely!! And my goal is to have my positive outlook rub off on those teachers who are negative, scared of technolgy, yell at their students, and have low standards....especially when they view the success of my students.
1. For many, professional development has a negative connotation associated with it. I have been fortunate enough to attend some GREAT professional development courses over the last few years that have been enriching, relevant, and relatively easy to implement into my classroom. If more teachers have opportunities to attend professional development like this, then its perception will change and schools will find more time for this professional learning.
Delete2. Teachers are an AMAZING resource when it comes to professional learning - planning, presenting, and support!! And who could possibly be better at deciding the most relevant information and best practices to share than teachers... :)
3. Everyone can make a connection to that special individual that made an impact on their life - a teacher, friend, colleague, mentor... We need to spend more time valuing these individuals ~ listening to and learning from them.
Teachers are some of the most creative, inspiring people I know. However, some teachers feel they don't have anything to offer. I hate hearing that. We all have gifts that can be shared. Others keep all their potential to themselves. Such a sad thought. I hope that one day all teachers will see the big picture and how all students are our students. Unfortunately, some teachers who have put themselves out there have been let down by their colleagues.
DeleteLeaders who realize the resources they have in their teachers and utilize them are some of the best leaders. Change can be made by a teacher ready to put themselves out there and try new things. When I see a colleague who is "in the trenches" right there with me implementing change, I'm more likely to make a change too.
1. Teachers assume they will never get to use the PD they are about to get. Sometimes we can control this, sometimes we cannot.
Delete2. We will never run out of ideas or creativity, but sometimes I don't really know how to channel my creativity into something observable and measurable. Who's with me?
3. One of the four core beliefs of the Arkansas Leadership Academy is that to be an effective leader, one must inspire and facilitate positive change in those around them. Critical friend and positive deviance are just a couple of tools to help facilitate this process of getting the people we work with every day to think globally and step outside their comfort zone. And I agree that a leader is best judged by the number of leaders they help create.
Barriers-Don't we all know about barriers. There is always one or more who try to bring everyone down. We just have to learn to overcome the people and other obstacles that stand in our way. I think teacher of all people are some of the best hurdle jumpers.
DeleteLeaders-I agree with Lori about jumping in to implement change if someone else is doing it. People often feel that one person cannot create change but if there is a leader, there will be followers. I know that there are teachers that I look up to and want to be like. Therefore, if I show others that I am someone who should be followed there will be those who "jump in" after me. Sometimes the boat needs to be rocked and that could be all it takes to get people thinking and eventually making a positive change.
It is true that individuals can make a big difference. Our most valuable professional development comes from break-out sessions. These are sessions led by teachers who want to share something that has been implemented successfully in their classrooms. Most of these teachers ask to share their ideas, and through their volunteerism, we are able to see into successful classrooms and to implement new ideas with ease.
DeleteOne of the people that Sparks refers to is Peter Senge. He quotes Peter as saying, "Most situations in life don't have a single right answer." He continues to discuss that we all have the "capacity to create."
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, what are your assumptions related to what Peter Senge said? Do your beliefs appear similar or different to other colleagues who are part of this discussion?
This section of the article really spoke to me. In fact, I read this entire section to my husband who is not in the field of education because I believe that many of the issues in the workplace arise because people feel that they do not have the "capacity to create." They lack a sense of self-efficacy and begin to feel like drones. And, who would want to be a drone?
DeleteSenge and Quinn and Sparks ideas are vital belief systems for educators to hold. I love the statement, "You cannot resist and be creative." Sadly, I believe many educators spend their time resisting rather than creating. At times, I've even found myself resisting, and thankfully, it felt so uncomfortable that I could not sustain the resistance long. However, some colleagues seem to have spent most of their careers in the resistance mode. Sparks says that the way to "make a profound difference...is in how you 'show up' in terms of your attitudes about other people's capacity to create a better world." This is a great reminder of what we are learning at the TLI, and how we need to approach each day, whether it be at school, at our child's soccer game, at the grocery store, or at home.
I love this part of the article especially when it said "most situations in life don't have a single right answer. We meet this reality in our classroom when we struggle to find a way to meet the needs of all our students. Obviously not all students learn the same and we must "create" ways to help all students be successful, even if it means we step "out of the box" to find a solution.
DeleteI agree that most situations in life don't have a single right answer. I think it goes back to teaching style. My other 8th grade Social Studies teacher and I have very different teaching styles. He is "old school" while I am more of an innovator. As a result, I look for a variety of ways to instruct and assess so that all of my students can be successful. He sticks to read the book, answer the questions, take the book test. In the end, he has numerous failures and I have only a few failures. I never really thought I was all that creative until I thought about how he and I are alike and different. Hopefully next year I can convince him to be a bit more creative in his teaching and assessment.
DeleteI wish all teachers wanted to create engaging lessons where all students could be successful in the learning. Teachers must be willing to be creative in order to differentiate the lesson/learning for students. For those teachers that are uncomfortable with change.....I hope the more creative teachers are helping and encouraging them. I agree that most situations do not have a single right answer as stated by Peter Senge. All teachers can be creative in their own way.
DeleteI agree with Amy M - well said!! :)
DeleteIt's so very important that teachers get out there, take a risk, CREATE, try something new - we will definitely learn something from the experience!
I totally agree with Peter Senge's statement that, "Most situations in life don't have a single right answer." I also believe that every person has the capacity to create. The challenging part for me, as a teacher leader, is finding a way to get other teachers to believe this about themselves. It has been my experience that teachers believe this about their students, but not necessarily themselves. Finding ways to strengthen teachers belief in themselves as an inventor in their own classroom has been quite challenging for me. I believe teachers should create solutions in their own classroom that best meet the needs of their individual students. Getting teachers to buy into the fact that sometimes the best solution may not be what the textbook tells them to do has been tricky. It is true that textbooks bring in "experts" to help them create curriculum. However, it is my belief that the classroom teacher is the expert of their own students.
DeleteI agree with Meredith's post. Teachers are among the most creative, fascinating people on earth. Why is it, then, that we sometimes struggle with how to reach our students using innovate and unconventional methods? I know I struggle with it. Sometimes we just have to be the change we wish to see, because you can't assume that colleagues will pick up the slack. I call them messy problems when there is no single right answer. The flip side is that where there is no single right answer, there may likely be a lot of possible solutions to consider when you put a few teacher's minds together.
DeleteI think that the heart of any true solution to any problem is creativity. You can have all the tricks in your bag from previous problems, but each situation is unique and you must apply the solutions in a new way. The larger the problem, the more creativity is required.
DeleteWe have discussed the idea of positive deviance in school and you know how much of a positive deviant your are. Sparks believes that there are examples of positive deviance at every school and that every school can get better by "having the most effective practices in the school spread throughout the school."
ReplyDeleteDescribe your experiences about positive deviance at your school? Share how you believe the effective practices of the positive deviants have or could spread in your school.
This point of the article really resonated with me. Since I arrived in my building five years ago, things have changed. By this I don't mean I personally was the catalyst for the change. I may have contributed to it, but it was not done by myself. A few teacher leaders in our building just started to collaborate and discuss together and then the message of positive and growth kind of spread out. As a result, we have a few teachers who were very resistant to technology now embracing it. We have more discussions that go deeper into our own practices and there is less fear in discussing weaknesses. Agents of change in buildings really are teachers themselves. Change from the top down is usually met with resistance and fear. Change from within the ranks is less frightening. I believe that this point also echoes the whole purpose and mission of ATLI nicely.
DeleteI think my department best shows positive deviance in my building. We take it upon ourselves to meet as a group or in groups of 2-4 out of the 5 of us at some point every day to discuss curriculum, teaching strategies, assessment strategies or just to share something that went right or maybe not so right. The members of my department, in turn, have gone back to their halls and started doing the same things within their teams or with their hall mates. Everywhere you look, between classes, before or after school, we have people sharing positive things. And when we share the not-to-positive, there are more uplifting words than griping being said. It is kinda nice to be in such a warm, supporting and positive building.
DeleteEvery school has positive deviants and can get better by having the most effective practices in the school spread throughout the school. I have seen this in action in my school this past year. At the end of last year our assistant principal became our principal and she made some staffing changes - moving a couple people around at each grade level. While these teachers were initially shocked/upset/confused, it proved to be the best decision for our building. It gave all our teachers opportunities to learn new ideas from others and those "effective practices" spread throughout the school. :) This was confirmed as we looked back through our data and student performance this past school year.
DeleteI have seen several practices in my school start or spread because of positive deviants in my school. We have started sharing lessons through eChalk and that has brought around great collaboration. We have started gender specific classrooms because of the research of a teacher that is now in 1st - 5th grade. Our entire district will be implementing, Leader in Me, based on the actions of just a few teachers. It's great to be in a school/district that looks to their teachers as leaders!
DeleteWell, as a member of the AWESOME social studies department Michelle just praised, I have to agree with my buddy up there. It is so important that you get along with the people you work with, and if you absolutely can't find common ground, the very least you can do is respect the creative differences that abound in every building. Positive deviance to me just means that my arrow is going to continue in the direction I know it needs to go even if the others may not be. But we can't just stop there; we have a responsibility to try and bring others on board with new ideas, to let frustrated colleagues have their voices heard even if we can't personally change the situation ourselves, and to be an agent of improvement: a walking, talking commercial of all that is RIGHT in our buildings and not what is wrong.
DeleteAt my middle school, a certain amount of positive deviancy is encouraged so long as the person gets results. We are still working on getting everyone on board to try new strategies. With the implementation of Common Core, however, we definitely need to go in new directions. What has worked before will not get us to the rigor that the new curriculum requires.
Delete