Krstovic's Thoughts on Education

This semester I have been working on implementing the STEPWISE framework in my Grade 10 Science. In light of this innovation, I’d like to review several stages of staff concern about an innovation based on the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) by Hall, Wallace and Dosset (1973). Here they are:

• Awareness. The science staff becomes aware that the innovation exists (ie. that someone is implementing something different). Details of the innovation are lacking. Colleagues may see evidence of some of the work in the school hallways or in the classroom.
• Information. The individuals who are interested want more information. They begin to wonder if the innovation can help them. They may actively seek out new information, both explicit and tacit, to gain greater awareness of the innovation.
• Personal. What will the demands of innovation do to my time? My energy? Colleagues who are interested in implementing an innovation have personal concerns over how the innovation will impact them personally.
• Management. The focus is on the process of implementing the innovation in the classroom and various tasks that are part of the process of implementation. Colleagues may have curriculum concerns and how will they manage the innovation so that certain parts of the curriculum are not compromised.
• Consequences. These are also called impact concerns. The focus is on the impact of innovation on students and others involved in the implementation of the innovation.
• Collaboration. This stage of concern refers to coordination and efficiency with which the innovation is implemented.
• Refocusing. This last stage is focusing on exploration of more powerful alternatives.

The above stages suggest that interventions and professional development should address the specific expressed concerns of the teachers. Research indicates that expressed concerns permit the identification of acceptance or adoption of the innovation on the part of teachers. Teachers must first have their concerns reduced in the Awareness, Information, Personal and Management stages, before the three adopter stages: Consequences, Collaboration and Refocusing (For more thorough research visit: http://www.ucalgary.ca/iejll/vaughan)

Reference:

Hall, G. E., Wallace, R. C., & Dossett, W. A. (1973). A developmental conceptualization of the adoption process within educational institutions (Rep. No. 3006). Austin, Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, The Research and Development Center for Teacher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 095 126).

This semester at OISE/UofT I am taking a class that deals with collaborative cultures in inclusive schools. I am writing this blog mainly to help me learn steps is negotiating, and along the way, to inform any interested readers.

1. Opening the negotiation:

The key in opening a negotiation is to uncover the other party’s interests and to ask them why they are interested. Also, you should state your interests and identify the problem that is common to both parties involved in the negotiation. As a final part of opening the negotiation, you should ask what the other party is prepared to offer, as well as to state what you are willing to offer.

2. Look for Options:

In this part of negotiation you want to bring in standards or some external criteria. This will depend on the nature of your conflict over which you are negotiating. By looking for options, you are expanding the possibilities and thinking outside of the box. One might also apply external criteria, such as policies, rules, agreements and/or prior decisions.

3. Perceptions:

The important thing to remember is to try to take the other party’s point of view. Try to understand them by paraphrasing what they are saying. This acknowledges their position. Also, do not make assumptions about how they feel. Instead, ask them how they feel and tell them how you feel. It may be sometimes a good idea to ask them for advice and to look for a win-win.

4. Emotions:

Recognize different emotions when you see them and be ready to name them. Address the other party’s concerns and/or fears. When negotiating, make sure that the other party feels safe, secure and you should ask them how they feel about the discussion.

5. Communications:

A negotiation is a search for a joint objective. Remember to listen carefully. Do not interrupt and when you speak, speak to be understood. Part of good communication is building trust and authenticity.

6. Language use

This is a very important element of negotiations! Watch your language! Instead of making negative statements, make enabling statements, such as: “Maybe you can help me to see…” or “I’m at a loss to know..”. Also, don’t reject by using statements like, “Yes/no, but…”It’s better to say, “Yes/no, and…”

7. Non-verbal communication

Perhaps we don’t pay as much attention to this part of communication as we should. When you stand/sit, hold open arms, not crossed. Sit back; don’t lean forward. Use a low key voice and smile. You can engage them with the use of your eye contact.

8. Closing negotiation

In this last stage, you want to summarize what has been agreed and who has agreed to do what. Both parties should have an idea of what success looks like. Finally, you should ask the party how they feel about the process and the decisions taken.

Not too long ago I read a book by Todd Whitaker called “What Great Teachers Do Differently – 14 Things That Matter Most.” It was a short and easy book to read in which Whitaker summarizes some of the most important things that matter in teaching. Out of the 14 things that Whitaker outlines in his book, a few have stood out for me.

i) Great teachers know who is the variable in the classroom: They are! Good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control – their own performance.

ii) Great teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do. If things don’t work out the way they ad envisioned, they reflect on what they could have done differently and adjust their plans accordingly.

Recently I came across this YouTube video from TVO – What makes great teachers great? One of the guest speakers was Mary Kooy, who was one of my professors at OISE. She is the Head of Center for Teacher Education and Development at OISE/UT. Take a look at the video:

Things would be much easier if all teachers spoke the same language in teaching profession. Many prominent educators, like Richard Elmore, would argue that it is necessary to have a common language in teaching. Last Monday in my class at OISE, Barrie talked about the importance of having a common understanding of how certain elements in our teaching practice relate to each other.

For example, let’s take a look at the following four concepts in teaching:

1. Knowledge of Results
2. Assessment
3. Feedback
4. Evaluation

Most teachers are able to say a few words about each of the concepts above. Perhaps they may even give an accurate pedagogical definition, such as “assessment is the process of gathering evidence of what a student knows, and is able to do; assessment is used to improve student learning.” But, do we really have a clear sense of how these four concepts intersect, or depend on each other in our instructional core? Can we assess without giving feedback?  Can we give feedback without the knowledge of results?  Is it possible to evaluate something without assessing it?

If we had to represent these four concepts using a Venn Diagram so that the four circles representing each of the concepts 1 to 4 are one inside another, what concept would be the in most outer circle? What concept would be in the most inner circle? And finally, where would the two remaining concepts fit?

As teachers, we should be able to clearly articulate which of the four concepts (knowledge of results, assessment, feedback or evaluation) would be the one that would contain all other concepts. If we cannot do this, then we do not have a clear understanding of the concept with which we are working on an almost daily basis in our profession. And if we do not have that clear understanding, then how can we make wise instructional decisions which are meant to improve our students’ learning. Is intuition simply enough? Maybe? Is it even important to be conscious of the interrelatedness of concepts 1 to 4? Can you still be an effective teacher and not have this understanding?

So how would you arrange the four concepts in a Venn Diagram consisting of four circles one inside another, and what would be your rationale for your arrangement? Maybe the four circles in the Venn Diagram aren’t one inside another, but this arrangement would certainly be the “cleanest.”

I picked up Anne Lieberman’s book “Teachers in Professional Learning Communities” and I would like to review the big ideas or themes of PLCs. These are the 5Cs (as I like to call them) of PLCS:

Context: Factors such as the locations of a PLC, the culture that surrounds it, the way it gets stated and its conditions for membership combine to impact the professional learning community

Commitment: There is no such thing as an instant community. Members have to get to know each other and build norms of trust before they can commit to the process of learning form one another. As members develop identification with the group, commitments deepen. This happens over time and along an uncharted path.

Capacity: Capacity to engage fully in PLCs grows as commitment develops. The members learn how to talk together honestly, to engage in knowledge work both as producers and critical consumers of new theories and ideas. Members learn how to go public with their teaching, which means that they open themselves to the scrutiny of their colleagues. Members reinvent themselves as teachers reinvigorating their careers and often they assume positions of leadership in matters of teaching and learning.

Content: While it is important to deepen content-related pedagogies, members of a PLC must concentrate on the processes that make the community alive and strong. There needs to be a balance between content and process.

Challenges: Any ambitious social enterprise faces challenges. The main challenge is one of navigating the fault line between membership in a learning community and membership in school and districts that often have a different ways of operating. Members of PLCs need to help one another to develop strategies for straddling both worlds.

Anne Lieberman and Lynne Miller (2008). Teachers in Professional Communities: Improving Teaching and Learning. Teachers College Press, New York. p. 38

Over the last two weeks I attended two mentorship training workshops at my school. Usually I find workshops boring unless they are geared towards things that I am passionate about. I guess this is true for most of us.  But the mentorship workshops were different; they were engaging, reflective and useful.

So you might ask, what was so engaging, reflective and useful about these workshops?

For one, the content of the workshop was engaging. Learning about the different stances in mentorship (consultant, collaborator and coach) through interactive role-playing added further to the engagement of the workshop. Being reminded of the effective listening skills and paraphrasing is something that I can use not only in my professional life, but also in my personal relationships.

While sitting through the two workshops and absorbing the content I could not help but to reflect on my role as a mentor, especially during the second workshop during which I re-learned that listening attentively and paraphrasing are probably the two most important skills that I an effective mentor needs to acquire (over time). I also reflected on the various roles that I play as a mentor. I realized that my consulting role dominates over the other two stances: collaborating and coaching. Furthermore, I often fail to paraphrase, re-state the issues or question the values, beliefs or goals of my mentee when it comes to students’ learning.

Finally, the workshop were useful! After the first workshop our mentees observed us in the classroom. We had a post-observation conversation in which I was able to immediately apply what I learned from the first workshop. I was consciously placing myself in the role of a coach by questioning my mentee instead of jumping into the conuslting stance . After the second workshop, I had the opportunity to observe my mentee in two of his classes, and again, I applied what I learned about effective listening and paraphrasing.

To summarise: the training that I received at the two mentorship workshops were refreshing as I was able to see immediately the relevance of the various skills to different mentor-mentee contexts.  Most importantly, all the mentors applied the skills that same day which further consolidated the learning experience.

More professional training should be done using this same model.

Image Credits:

http://inspirationoflyric.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/theme_mentoring.jpg