In order to sustain change, we have to
decide what is worth being consistent about. Every classroom has a different
combination of learners who have unique needs and experiences. Every classroom also has its unique collective
culture: webs of relationships, ways of doing and caring, and shared
experiences. Because of this variation, there are many, many things that must
be left to teachers’ judgement. What,
then, is the focus of our change efforts?
What are the things about which we stand firm?
In previous posts, I’ve described a
process for creating and maintaining shared
vision through ongoing
communication. The things that we
stay firm on are rooted in best practice and determined by common consent. They chart our route to the hoped-for
future. Having common language about
that work can be a rudder that provides stability as we move forward. This common language is important for both
teachers and students. When we call
things by the same name, we can be more certain that we are all moving in the
same direction.
During the literacy
adoption that I’ve described previously, we established common language for
the way we were naming comprehension strategies and skills. From grade to grade
and classroom to classroom, students and teachers knew what was being talked
about. We also committed to being relentlessly
consistent
about providing a balanced approach to literacy
instruction, including small-group instruction, and using a research-based plan
for vocabulary instruction. Having
common language about the things we are going to stay true to moves us more
quickly to teaching them in more sophisticated ways.
Teaching in more sophisticated ways
means recognizing that effective teachers flexibly meet the needs of their
students. They know what they have
committed to and why. They are responsive to what is going on in the classroom
but all the while they are headed toward their goals, meandering as needed
along the route.
During our literacy adoption, we
wanted to be sure the meandering didn’t take us off course, so we created
benchmarks that acted as buoys to guide our journey. These included “classroom environment
benchmarks” that were easy to check off our to-do lists: things like posting
strategy charts, having a room set-up that supported small-group instruction,
and making sure everyone had created logins for online resources. We also had instructional benchmarks like
“Students actively reading and writing at least 50% of literacy instruction
time,” “Majority of teacher questions are open-ended,” and “Opportunities for
purposeful student-to-student talk.” These
instructional benchmarks were points of stability on our flexible path. They
were checkpoints along our journey to the hoped-for future.
As you lead teachers through the
process of change (which is an ongoing part of education), what will you be
relentlessly consistent about? What will be the buoys that mark your
journey? Thinking together about these
important questions will increase your collective capacity and increase the likelihood
that you will sustain change long enough to see the results you are hoping for.
This week, you
might want to take a look at:
Ideas
for what mentor texts do – and you might consider expanding these ideas to what
mentors do:
Coaching
heavy:
Writing
and inquiry for cultural context in history:
Seeing the world through a child’s
eyes. This website has videos, simulations, and information that help you get
the picture of what it’s like for children who struggle (personalizable by age
and area of need):
Grouping
to increase eye contact increases learning:
That’s it for
this week. Happy Coaching!
Was this helpful? Please share!
Want to know about new posts? Click
“Follow” (bottom right)
No comments:
Post a Comment