Empowering students to own their learning

John Spencer's and A.J Juliani's book, "Empower. What happens when students own their learning" has come at the right time for me. 

With Chapter headings like;

• Our job as teachers, parents and leaders is not to prepare kids for 'something;' our job is to help kids prepare themselves for 'anything'. 
• Assessment should be fun. No, really, we're serious.
• The system should fit the student instead of the student fitting the system.

it's easy to get a sense of the key messages within the book. Couple those key messages with some funky, non-traditional layout and this book lives up to it's title. 

The book itself empowers the reader.

A key message for teachers considering how to Empower their learners starts with asking:

What decisions am I making that students could make for themselves?

It's  a shift from a compliance mindset to a self-directed mindset.

So, how to get active learning? It doesn't happen by accident. It isn't about guiding from the side, it's guiding on the ride. Spencer and Juliani quote guides like Gandalf, Yoda and Ms Frizzle as examples of guides on the ride.
Remembering that when a student doesn't know what to do in Maths we show them, when they don't know what to do in writing, we show them, then the same needs to apply when a student doesn't know how to self-start or self-manage - we need to show them. We teach them along the way, when they signal they need help. (This might not come from the student actually asking for help)

We're sometimes fearful to "release" ourselves enough from what we think we need to do as teachers and that students who have choice in their learning can end up doing nothing meaningful, and I've seen this happen. (Think of the student who looks very busy on their device but achieves nothing).
A recent post called, "Swim a bit Deeper" offers some great ideas about how we can ensure students are involved in worthwhile self-directed projects of work.

So, where to from here for me? I'm thinking ahead to our next step in Inquiry learning at Winchester School and how we might move from Inquiry time to Inquiring classrooms. What will be involved in making this transition?

• Teachers will need to have a similar mindset to mine.
• Get copies of the Empower book for others to read
• A 6 year journey at our school might need to have stages: Ignite, Launch, Explore.
• Map what needs to happen at each stage to develop students who truly can own their learning
• Work with staff to develop "smorgasbords" for independent learning activities
• Model this approach through the professional learning programme for teachers
• How might I give choice and ownership to teachers of their professional learning?

It's a bit of a scramble of ideas, but from this will come clarity as I think through my reaction to the "Empower" book.

This self-starter is under way.

(Read the book and you'll get it)

Personalising professional learning

The #BFC630nz twitter chat (which I usually browse over as I eat my breakfast, because I don’t function properly at 6.30am) from this morning has really got me thinking about what I hoped would be an effective way to go about professional learning for our staff this year.

I saw a number of tweets from teachers wishing they had input into the content of staff meetings or some choice about them.I can relate.

Previous posts of mine talk about the hit and miss of most staff meetings I have attended or lead. In response to this and wanting to personalise the learning experience for my staff, we have run “Professional Learning Groups” rather than staff meetings each fortnight this year.

Each teacher has been asked to lead something and it was up to them to work out how much time they might need depending on what they wanted to achieve.

My thoughts were that a PLG might run for a term, or for a whole year. The frequency of those meetings would vary too. A PLG might meet 5 times across a term, or 5 times across a year. It would depend entirely on what the goal was.

I wanted all teachers (5 plus me) to experience that leadership role. It didn’t mean they had to be expert in something, but be prepared to facilitate. I left it open as to what staff might choose to lead. ( I need to point out, we’re all experienced teachers and have been together for a few years, so there is already a high level of relational trust)

At the start of the year, it was a bit like an Educamp, for those of you who have been. Staff pitched an idea to everyone else of a PLG they would be prepared to lead. (They also needed a second and third option too, just in case no-one was interested in the first idea or 2).

From memory, each teacher had their first idea generate enough interest to make it worthwhile.

I was away on sabbatical the first term when these new initiative was established, so I wonder if I’d been present that things may have unfolded differently.

I also surveyed the teachers using google forms to collect some initial thoughts about how they like to learn, what they wanted to achieve with their PLG and what potential barriers they foresaw.

So, what have I seen and what has happened so far?

I think there has only been one occasion when a staff member didn’t come to a PLG. Perhaps old habits die hard, or perhaps what’s being offered is meeting people’s needs. Either way, pretty much full attendance. There are 2 time slots. 3.15-4pm and 4-4.30pm. (We finish at 2.50pm, so teachers have 25 minutes before meetings start)Teachers book up on the shared doc in advance. I send out a short email prior to each PLG I lead to give  a heads up on what’s going to be the content, so people come along prepared, or could choose not to come.

Some PLGs have been one offs. This wasn’t my intention, but it met some needs. I think a PLG offered over time would probably have more long lasting effect and would offer better support. I haven’t made up my mind fully one way or the other about one offs.

Teachers do seem more interested and invested. I have no way of measuring that other than observation and from listening to people talk. It’s certainly been way more collaborative than it used to be.

Topics covered so far: Accelerating learning in Literacy, personalising learning, mask making for wearable arts, boys ed, Reading Eggs, Pond, eAsttle, Sign language, RTCs/Appraisal.

These are quite different to what I thought might be offered. My intention was to have PLGs based around identified learning goals from end of year appraisal meetings. When I look at the list above I can see that’s it’s been rather disjointed.

The #BFC630nz chat this morning had @karyngra tweet this - “Personalised Teacher PLD combined with whole staff vision building, definitely effective”.

This has prompted me in to thinking more deeply about the vision aspect and the importance of everyone having input into a collective vision.

I refer to the “Model for Managing Complex Change” adapted from Knoste, T (1991) to work out what piece might be missing if I see something not working when dealing with change:

Vision+Skills+Incentives+Resources+Action Plan = Success.

Some people have added Relationships to that as well. I wonder if our PLGs were just my idea and broadcast rather than investigating if this is the approach that staff actually wanted. (The survey results certainly supported the move however) Perhaps I didn’t do enough around the vision aspect initially. As far as Skills go, this is where coaching comes in. Some have asked for it, others I’ve approached to see if any was needed prior to the PLG. Perhaps action plans have been missing too. I developed one for my own PLG goal as it was part of something bigger across our school. Perhaps there needed to be the expectation that a PLG would have a minimum number of sessions.

Another tweet that caused “a stir” in my brain was this one - “Please don’t refer me to the charter brick I had no input in” - there’s a challenge for leadership! And well put too.

In learning more about taking a personalised approach, I read “Make Learning Personal” by Bray and McClaskey.

Their continuum of the expert learner (and this is what I want for the teachers in my school, to be, expert learners) looks like this:

Voice⇒Choice⇒Engagement⇒Motivation⇒Ownership⇒Purpose⇒Self regulation

“When learners include their voice and have opportunities for choice, this changes how they interact with the content, the teacher, and each other.”

This has significant implications for the way in which traditional approaches to PLD have been taken. Without authentic Voice there really isn’t Choice. I had to allow staff to generate their own ideas for PLGs, because if I’d made up the list based on school priorities and then got people to choose from there, they would potentially be choosing from a list they didn’t really want anyway. (much like my Mum saying I could have broccoli OR brussel sprouts - is that really a choice Mum?)

I promised an honest post. I will lay my cards on the table at this point. Another reason I have taken this approach to professional learning for staff, is that this is the way I see our classes running and I need to illustrate this for staff. I want to show the process I went through - collect voice, allow choice etc. I cannot and will not expect my teachers to implement change without being prepared to change my own ways of doing things.  It needs to be systemic and “unbundle” traditional approaches. (Thanks Rachel Bolstad for that term, I love it).

So, where to from here? What plans and thoughts do I have for next year?

I believe that a personalised approach is the way to go. When I see what is happening for learners in our classrooms I am blown away. Must dos and Can dos are the developing common language across the school. Staff certainly seem more invested and motivated around professional learning.

I should also add that I free up funds for each teacher to use to support their own professional learning and our teachers only day for the past couple of years have seen teachers going out to schools of their own choice to meet their own learning needs.

This has generally been well received and I have been in awe of the learning and action that has occurred after these visits. I think there is benefit in 2 teachers going to a school together, as the talk between people and ongoing support is important, but not at the expense of someone tacking along just to make that happen. Remember, Voice, then Choice, not just Choice.

I think we’ll carry on with this approach but perhaps couple it with some school wide stuff too. (Our school wide focus this year was being Year 2 in ALiL). But the school wide stuff would still need to be personalised. As long as each teacher can identify goals to work on, rather than all working towards one goal, then it can be personalised. A rubric can help with this showing development of skills and goals.

I have 5 staff to lead. I wonder if this approach can/could work in a big school. What would it look like? Is it possible? Would it be wanted?

Enough. I’m exhausted. Thanks for reading. Cannot wait to hear some responses.

Our incredible staff

After a  long morning at my PLG  today, I wasn't too sure how I would get on sitting on for another hour and a half while we shared back about our teacher only day experiences. I couldn't have wished for a more engaging session. I couldn't be more proud of each person, the way they had prepared their thoughts and the thoughtful questions following each talk. We are all deep in our own learning pit. It's  fascinating hearing people make sense of their learning and establish their own next steps right in front of us. To date this year, it has been my favourite moment at school.

Two weeks ago we had all gone off in different directions visiting people that would support our professional learning. At this point in my post I must point out that staff had been given freedom and a budget to go wherever their funds could take them. Two of us ended up in the same schools, everyone else went different places. Schools visited were Tamatea Intermediate and Richmond School, in Napier, Parkland  School and Whakarongo School in Palmerston  North, Parkvale School and Mahora School in Hastings, Tokomaru School and Shannon School in Horowhenua and Resource teachers of literacy in Feilding and Palmerston North. I shared about my experiences, thoughts and wonderings after visiting schools in Christchurch - Hallswell, Waitakiri, Pegasus Bay, Clarkville and Breens  Intermediate.

Why not take the whole school staff to the same place? Because I don't believe this would have met each person's learning needs. It also would not have led to the diverse range of experiences, thinking and follow ups. Through having choice, engagement followed. Teachers were highly motivated because they could choose something that was relevant, topical and meaningful to them. They weren't having to tag along because someone had organised the day for them. I won't keep going on - those leaders who are implementing personalized learning in the school, I hope, are extending this pedagogical approach to the adult akonga in their own places of learning. We know that young learners enjoy having choice and adult learning theory supports this approach too.

While the majority of our experiences were supporting our work to implement personalized learning, so many other outcomes have come from these professional learning experiences. Thank you to the schools and people we visited. If we are able to action even some of the many, many ideas that came from our experiences, our school and therefore our learners will benefit greatly.

Thank you to the incredible staff at our school. Today was a highlight.

Our approach to professional learning at our school.

We're trialling something new at our school to support professional learning. Professional learning networks have been offered, with each staff member leading one. I lead my first session today about personalising learning, sharing back from my sabbatical. Our next session will be in ten weeks with everyone sharing some practice.
The intention behind the PLNs is for learning needs to be better met, for everyone to have a say in the professional learning programme and for everyone to have a leadrship role. We have an experienced team and most of us have been working together for a few years, so the time and the culture is right.
I am hopeful that over time the PLNs will develop into carefully planned for sessions that run for as long as necessary to achieve set outcomes.
The PLNs have generally been attended by everyone, but they are not compulsory to attend. Some staff have been brave enough not to attend Some sessions which I salute and would encourage. This is the type of thing I want happening in our rooms, so support it fully at this level too.
In addition to these networks, staff are each in charge of their own professional learning budget. This can be used for anything to support their own learning - further study, conferences, travel, etc. We also have a teachers only day where school visits are the focus. Teachers select the schools themselves based on their learning needs. We are sending two teachers to ulearn and these two contribute some of their professional learning funds to the cost of this.
I think that everyone's professional learning needs are better met through this approach, as opposed to our previous traditional staff meeting approach.I have been able to decide my own professional learning programme to support the goals that are set in my appraisal and I think the experience is one that everyone should have. That is, being in control of their own learning. This is what I want for everyone in our school; teachers and children.  I am surveying the staff at the start and end of the year to see if this has indeed better met their learning needs.
Tteaching as inquiry is firm embedded. We are also in the second year of  Accelerating learning in literacy. Our interventions are the basis for our TAIs - we're not doubling up work.
There is additional funding in the professional learning budget for things that pop up along the way, so we don't miss any awesome learning opportunities.

Doing a lot of stuff - but is it change?

I've missed a day of writing due to having a friend over for dinner and painting all day. (who thought it was time to change colour of all the windows this summer anyway?)
Our friend is another teacher, of course, and we got talking  education, between the sevens. Along the way she said, "some schools can be doing a lot of stuff, but nothing much changes," and isn't she right on the money there!
I laughed because it's so true. You can be taking part in all manner of pd sessions at school and return to your room and pretty much just carry on in some instances. Of course, effective schools have good appraisal systems to ensure that teachers are implementing school wide approaches etc. But isn't that the problem - sometimes a teacher might only be implementing stuff to be complient. Of course, that's better than the teacher who just carries on regardless, but not a whole lot better. I can think of schools I have worked in previously where we were caught up in a number of different pd programmes and we were all very busy. Did it bring about change or is there an assumption that change will just happen as a result?
I am pretty sure that your school has some schoolwide pd happening right? Who selected this? How was the decision made? Is it something that you personally need? Will it be tailored to your needs? Are you onboard or are you going to be busy doing stuff without bringing change?

If you could choose your own pd, what would it be this year? How would you run it? What would you read, who would you see and what would you do and why? Exciting to think about?

Self guided learning...for everyone.

What I have realised about my own professional learning over the past 5 years as a Principal is that I have had the opportunity to be self-guiding. I have become a life long learner through this opportunity. No-one delivers my professional learning on a plate. I design my own learning based on what I see and hear happening at our school. It covers a wide range of areas from responding to student achievement information through to developing my leadership practice. I have to read widely and talk with others to develop my knowledge and my learning. I seek it. I find it.

This is what I want for my staff and I'm trying to "unbundle" existing practice. (Thanks Rachel Bolstad et al for that term) My take on this is one where the Principal decides what staff need and a plan is developed that will see all staff participate in a professional development programme over 12 months. Teaching as Inquiry has a strong emphasis on teachers developing knowledge and practice based on the learning needs of their learners. Even though a school wide need might be identified, because teachers all have different previous experiences and knowledge, they start in different places and therefore will finish in different places.Is it a bit naive to think that school wide PD is going to meet all these needs? I'm not a big fan of the "sheep drench" approach to PD. At best, these types of sessions are a 'spark' or a catalyst for them to experience and perhaps further persue. Expecting automatic pick up of a "one size fits all" approach is unrealistic at best and frustrating at worst.

I'm giving opportunities for staff to develop their own professional learning by making funds available that they can use for texts, for study, for travel, for what they need for their own learning. I'm encouraging them to get out there and see what's happening and what's possible. I want the teachers at our school to have a personalised experience. I want them to have choices about their professional learning so that their needs are better met. I want to provide them with the same opportunity I have had. To be self-guiding. I want to take this further. I'm considering optional meetings/workshops - come along if this interests you or if it might complement your current learning. I'm not sure if that approach would work or not. It's a big shift from our current set up.

I'm not exactly sure that I know how to proceed. I've asked staff for their ideas and input into how they like to learn and there certainly seems that opportunities for self-guiding professional learning is desirable. I'm considering how teaching as inquiry can guide us to personalise professional learning further. I'm reading a lot of material that relates to professional learning and creating "teacher agency" and clarifying my thoughts through this post. Your thoughts and ideas are welcome.