When
we are trying something new or making important decisions, we look to an expert
for guidance. As I was making investment
decisions recently, I counseled with my brother, who works in finance and has
much deeper understanding than I do of stocks and the market. I was grateful that he took the time to
explain not just his recommendations, but why he was making them. I walked away from our conversation with the
ability to make more informed decisions. Investing in the stock market always means
playing the odds, so I needed to make my own decisions and assume the risk.
In
educational settings, we also look to experts: the student looks to her teacher;
the teacher looks to a principal or coach; the coach looks to professional
literature and experts in the field. As
leaders implement educational initiatives, knowing the research in the field
and seeking the advice of experts can improve the odds for success.
Recently,
I worked with a team of researchers who asked experts their opinion about a new
literacy initiative in our state (Arkansas). What we learned has import not just for
Arkansas and not just for literacy; what we learned has implications for any
educational change initiative, so I thought I’d share the results with
you.
We
asked experts (mostly Reading Hall-of-Fame members) to rate and comment on
statements from our state’s literacy initiative. We also interviewed the
experts to deepen our understanding of their recommendations. While the experts
agreed with many of the statements our state provided to guide the reform,
these education gurus had an important caution:
Context
and the needs of individual students, they said, are ultimately important in
instructional decision-making.
Similarly, our experts warned against the use of extremes and absolutes
(as in “all,” and “every”). The experts’
emphasis on context and flexibility remind us that there is no one-size-fits
all curriculum. These top researchers in
their field, while emphasizing the value of using everything research has
taught us about good instruction, admonish us to remember another thing that
research has taught us: There is no
perfect method, lesson, or curriculum, because students’ needs and abilities
are variable. An initiative that does
not encourage flexibility to match instruction to students’ needs is doomed to
failure.
The
experts we sought advice from also emphasized the importance of students’ engagement
and motivation as considerations for our initiative. And I’ll add that it’s important to consider
teachers’ engagement, too. What makes
implementing an initiative motivating for teachers? Do they feel ownership for
the change? Are improvements being
celebrated? Is their expertise
honored? For educational change to have
successful results, both students and teachers need to be cognitively engaged
in the process. Since
instructional coaches are often the feet on the ground in a change initiative,
we can improve the odds of success by heeding these experts’ warnings.
As
we move into the final stretch of the first semester, it’s time to take a hard
look at initiatives we’ve been implementing this year. What changes were on the docket for your
district or school as the year got underway?
Pause for a moment and consider the extent to which these expert
recommendations have been heeded. Are students’ needs at the core? Are both students and teachers motivated and
cognitively engaged? Failed educational change
initiatives destroy morale, waste time and resources, and limit student
learning. So seeking and heeding the
advice of experts is an investment worth making.
(If
you’re interested in a summary of the study about our state’s literacy
initiative, you can find it here.)
This week you might want to
take a look at:
Coaching veteran teachers with respect:
A really good article
about fake news – teaching students to be skeptical but not dismissive of
media:
I love heart maps for helping students
generate writing ideas! Find details for
using them with young children here:
Lesson plan on analyzing political
cartoons:
Teaching independence (think about this
parenting article from a teacher perspective):
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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