Careful steps on a broken bridge

As I have gone through the course content and engaged with it with both mind and heart, I have come to think about administration as the need to take careful steps on a broken bridge. On one side of the bridge are us teachers. On the other side you will see the students. We as administrators need to help those two sides come together by taking careful steps on a broken bridge. The bridge is our educational system.

As I have interacted with and pretended to be a variety of different roles I’ve learned what it might be like to take a step across the bridge in different shoes. The different areas of the school look at the school with totally different perspectives. One big challenge for me will be understanding those different areas.

When I was a child I played a video game on my Atari called Pitfall. In it, the little character jumps over pits and encounters snakes, etc. As an administrator, I will need to learn to deftly walk through those situations with grace and agility so as to avoid falling into the pit of despair, anger, or desperation. It is only by remaining connected to the central core vision that drives me forward. To continue the analogy, the vision is much like the rope on which I swing to avoid the pits. I will implement the strategies learned so as to stay on the rope and not fall or succumb to any of the dangerous enemies the game provides. Then, and only then, can I reach the bridge to help connect teachers and students.

This course has been like a training program for how to walk across the bridge carefully. The course has shown me and had me act like a variety of perspectives. By doing so, I have learned to take into account issues of vision, management, student learning, and sound principles. By focusing on these four categories of school, I will inherently manage the school with laser focus. I will implement technological tools to model collaboration with my faculty and staff, and together we will repair the bridge.

Personalized Curriculum through Reading Recovery

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Carlos Porto: http://flickr.com/photos/carlosporto/775089650/

I choose the early intervention program found on page 484. As indicated in the text, Reading Recovery programs are currently used extensively, among others. Early intervention in literacy is critical to help students not fall behind as they get older. One of the reasons I like the Reading Recovery program is the fact that it happens daily. Other programs I’ve seen only have students meeting with teachers once or twice per week. Daily reading with an expert is critical. I also like that Reading Recovery has students meeting individually with the RR teacher. This allows the teacher to focus on the individual students’ weaknesses and address them. Whether comprehension, fluidity, or any other literacy need, the teacher can work to help remedy the specific needs of the student.

In my district, there is a need for funding. As a curricular leader I would advocate for funding to expand the Reading Recovery program to all elementary schools. I would also ensure that there was a solid process in place to identify students that would benefit from such a program.

Co-Teaching

The co-teaching model can be beneficial for both teachers and learners. For teachers, it provides a second teacher in the classroom that can help provide individualized help to struggling learners or extra challenges to advanced learners. One question I have is whether the co-teaching model is only effective if the teacher is physically present. There have been some major advances in robotics and video technologies that make me wonder if a virtual teacher (a real teacher presented virtually) would provide the chance for co-teaching virtually. Imagine if you could centrally locate several teachers that specialized in a certain topic (let’s say literacy for example) who could then arrive virtually in one school in the early morning, another school later in the morning, and still other schools in the afternoon.

As a supervisor, I would want to see synergy between the co-teachers. I would want to make sure there wasn’t any “turf wars” between the teachers and would need to ensure that the teachers were united in the common goal of helping students succeed. To that end, I would want to talk regularly with and regularly observe the co-teachers. Perhaps I could do so virtually?

Influences on Curriculum

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I would argue there are many societal forces that influence school curricula today. First, I would posit that the federal government influences school curricula more so now than ever before. From No Child Left Behind to Common Core, the federal government influences curricula significantly. It feels as though this move to centralize control of curriculum tends to go against the we as educators should support a child’s unique gifts (Burrello, 2000). Although there is something to be said for the common core standards allowing for a more quantifiable set of results and therefore may be more psychometrically valid (ibid). With yet another twist, Burrello talks about the notion that content and the process of learning being linked (ibid). The Burrello readings left me with many more questions than answers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28164579@N08/6054632360

In our group work, we determined that we have many more definitions of curriculum than I would  have imagined. I approached the definition with an intentional vagueness and defined curriculum as a guiding framework. I believe that the government as a whole should provide only that guiding framework and leave the process of determining content to the state or even local district. This supports my theory that schooling should be a process of helping learners determine and pursue their interests rather than the current system of producing academics. Unfortunately, there is a giant disconnect between the rest of the world (including technology) and the educational ecosystem (policy makers, government, etc). Recently there have been efforts to reduce that gap, such as the push for more STEM education in the K-16 system. Troublingly, the current need for advanced skill workers is being filled by foreign workers, which means the jobs we are preparing our kids to take may not be available by the time they graduate.

One way a school leader can be proactive is by helping students determine and follow their interests. A robust school should have a myriad of after-school offerings for topics that may interest students such as photography, robotics, sports, and more. School is the only place where many students will get to access these types of programs, and in the wake of common core schools will be possibly forced to offer fewer classes during the day. After-school extracurricular activities may end up being the only way students can determine and pursue their interests.

My first observation conference - much like Apple Maps

Apple Maps is a bit of a disaster. It's a good first effort by Apple, but could be a lot better. Apple Maps is an excellent illustration for my first observation conference.

In reviewing the video from the conference there are several strengths and also improvement areas regarding the environment and tone of the conference. First, the seating arrangement for both of us was off-putting. Having the table between us made the conference feel almost punitive. I began to feel this early on and worked hard to put her at ease and be disarming. Also, she pulled her chair far up to the table due to the table so close behind her. I didn’t want to make her feel crowded, so I backed my chair out a bit as you can see in the video. One area of strength is the collegial tone that the two of us have, and this is a result of having worked in the same department since she began working at this school.

I feel as though I need to improve my confidence. As I mentioned earlier, I was trying hard to be disarming as she is a young, female teacher and I am somewhat physically intimidating. To that end, I tended to couch my suggestions in too much hyperbole. In part that comes from the fact that this is only “practice” and I don’t have any real authority. I didn’t want to come across as though I was a real administrator when I am in fact, not. Another area I need to improve on is my unwillingness to be more direct. This is related to the  first area for improvement. I did feel as though my suggestions were strong and well-received. I will follow-up to see if the suggestions are implemented and whether or not the implementation is successful. Also, there was no real collection and/or sharing of data.

As for behaviors, I tried to use listening, but I’m not sure I did a good job in that. I also tried to be non-directive which goes against my personality. I am also not terribly certain that attempt was successful. I was somewhat taken aback by the question about her lesson, as I had focused so much on the questions she asked beforehand about classroom management that I did not think enough about the lesson itself.

cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by bindermichi: http://flickr.com/photos/bindermichi/3678439687/

Learning Space Design Reflection

As I wandered the halls observing the different arrangements of classrooms I found that the vast majority of classrooms were arranged in the “standard” (as referenced in the classroom arrangement resources section) way of desks in rows. Before I began to leverage criticism against that I had to take a step back and ask myself a question:

What does the design of a learning space say to kids about the intent of the learning space?

The desks-in-rows arrangement says to kids “You are going to come in, sit down, and obey and listen to what you’re told”. Desks in rows screams passive learning. Many of the arrangements listed in the resources section still tend towards passive learning. With all due respect to the authors, just grouping kids or pairing kids up does not an active learning scenario make.

The design of a learning space informs its function. Take a look at this slidedeck, given by a colleague and dear friend of mine, David Jakes. Pay special attention to slides 27-31. Note that the tables are on wheels.

Re-imagining the Spaces In Which We Learn from David Jakes

Learning spaces of the future must be flexible. To see a real-world example of this take a look at any Starbucks located near a high school or University during exams. Upon entering, you will see students all over the space having rearranged it to suit their needs. You might find a group of kids working together at a large table moved into a corner because that’s where the power outlet is located. Or you might find a few kids quietly reading and highlighting important passages all the while sprawled out on a comfortable chair. In this day and age, we can learn anywhere.

The way learners learn in Starbucks is not limited to the USA.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86354760@N00/6096918150

As I walked the halls looking into classrooms it hit me that we are telling our students here at my school that they need to be passive, obedient listeners and doers. We stifle creativity in part due to our space design. On the contrary, when I walk into the art room I see tables arranged in a U shape so the budding artists can all see expert demonstration. I also see those tables serving as a pottery surface and the teacher walking among the students guiding them when her demonstration is over. From there I walked into the Orchestra room and saw chairs and music stands arranged exactly like a professional orchestra would be. I saw the teacher acting as conductor and every student lending his or her “voice” to the beautiful mixture. Why are these classes the only ones where the learning space encourages student voices to be heard?

For the more traditional classrooms, traffic patterns were not observable because there was no “traffic”. Students sat and listened and worked on worksheets. This traditional model is rampant here.

As for technology, I feel this question is somewhat outdated. If we look beyond the surface of the question, we can see that the underlying supposition is that a classroom will have a certain number of computers and that the technology needs to fit into the space design. This is a problematic assumption in my opinion. With today’s availability of mobile technologies (e.g. laptops, Chromebooks, tablet devices, smart phones) the technology needs to become invisible and ubiquitous, like oxygen (paraphrasing my colleague and friend Chris Lehmann). We should no longer have to think about where to place computers in classrooms. We need to provide flexible options for students to learn in multiple spaces with ready access to a variety of technologies.  

These same conclusions can be extrapolated for staff development. In my experience, most all staff development sessions are “top-down”. A few weeks ago I went to a staff development session presented by a nationwide “expert” and was forced to sit and listen for an hour. I’d argue that’s ineffective presentation skills, yet we so often do this exact same thing to our students. If our learners deserve flexible learning spaces and the pedagogical shift to accompany it, our faculty do too. Teachers are first and foremost learners.

In case you're curious, my own classroom design is modeled after a Black Box Theater, except it's not me in the center, it's them.

The Journey from I to We

Image: 'lonely tree in the snow' 
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This first course in the Johns Hopkins Administration & Supervision Program (in conjunction with ISTE) has been quite the eye-opener. As the title indicates, it has been quite a shift for me to move from “I”, to “we”. As a classroom teacher I am accustomed to being the sole arbiter of learning for my students. I am used to being the center of attention and the source for knowledge for many students. Much like a lonely tree standing among millions of snowflakes, I sometimes feel isolated in my teaching. That’s because I was focused on the “I”.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of opportunities to collaborate with other teachers, plan with content groups, and discuss lesson plans. I have a thriving online community of learners with whom I interact daily through Twitter and other social networks. Despite these many opportunities for interaction with teachers and other colleagues, I have considered them as resources rather than team members. That designation on my part is deserved, as “resource” is the role these colleagues fulfill. They have never graduated to being a part of a “team” with me, as ultimately the success or failure of my classroom and my students is up to me.

Challenging
This course taught me first and foremost the importance of a good team. Early on in the course as I was writing the EL Assessment portion about Vision it focused on what I would do. My thoughts on vision focused almost entirely on my actions and goals in terms of reaching the community. My use of the word “I” was frequently and clearly my focal point. Points were justifiably deducted due to my self-centered focus. The loss of points served as a catalyst for me to rethink my notion of teacher as sole tree in a barren landscape. The task of articulating vision was the most challenging for me. Up until now I have found myself as subject to someone else’s vision. Moving into the JHU ISTE program provided me the first opportunity to engage in thinking about casting my own (collaboratively created) vision.

Image: 'Spring has Sprung' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124348109@N01/446371768

This leads to the big shift in thinking. I am no longer a solitary tree, I am now a tree in an orchard. Spring has sprung!

My shift in thinking came from course experience with Team ALEC. From day one, I found these ladies to be excellent in demeanor, pleasant to interact with, and capable of high caliber work. The ladies of Team ALEC proved over and over that teamwork can be worthwhile. I have been forced to work in “teams” in many an online course over the years. Most often, the experience has been abysmal. Typically there is one person that does the major portion of the work while the others simply tag along or make tepid excuses about their lives. Team ALEC showed that determination and desire for success can lead to productive teamwork. Working with these ladies - coupled with the shift in thinking from “I” to “we” got me thinking about a model for leadership success.

Interesting
A concept that I found particularly interesting was the notion of Leadership as Stewardship by Sergiovanni, as detailed in Chapter 6 of the Jossey Bass reader. Initially as I was reading I sketched an upside-down pyramid as a model for leadership. Nothing new here, but then I formalized it and imagined that I tasked with taking over the school at which I am currently employed (and the school with which I am by default the most familiar). The model I sketched looks like the pyramid to the left.

The Issues and My Ability
A portion of this assignment asks how these particular issues and/or ideas affect my ability to become a more effective leader. I’d like to answer this portion slightly differently, in that I want to focus on the practical applications of these new thoughts. First, when I become a leader I will make sure that it’s no longer just about me. While the big decisions may ultimately rest on my shoulders, the community, school, and others should know that decisions are made as a team. Second, I am no longer quite so averse to teamwork. On a more technological front, my deep love for the collaborative system that is Google Docs is solidified. Our use of Google Docs as Team ALEC has been exemplary. I will continue to use Google Docs in my work and will press forward to ensure wider adoption of such a collaborative platform.

Values
There are certain values I “bring to the table” that will inform my work as an administrator. The first value that is important in my work as an administrator is the value of servanthood. I place a high value on serving others. I am highly active in my local church and believe that I’ve been placed on this earth to serve. Until now, I’ve been tasked with serving my students and their families. As I move into administration the people whom I serve will increase in number and my mission will change to include serving my faculty and staff.

I also possess technological expertise. I am well versed in a variety of technological platforms and am familiar with the different affordances these technologies offer. As such, I can effectively lead my faculty and staff through the choppy waters of new technology. In addition, I can help avoid “fads”, which are so often popular in districts. By saving money through the prudent avoidance of fads, monies can be effectively leveraged into technologies that have a greater chance of positively impacting student achievement.

Issues in Ed Tech
There are many issues in educational technology that will impact my work in administration. One issue that will be prevalent in the next few years is the pressure to initiate a 1:1 program (ratio of student to device). Many schools/districts are going 1:1 with iPads, Google Chromebooks, or other devices. In doing so, they are offering students the chance to work with a device all day that is integrated into the curriculum. The proliferation of these programs is significant, and the pressure to implement 1:1 is great, and I will most certainly feel this pressure when I move into administration.

Complementary to the 1:1 pressures is the argument that students should be allowed to bring personal devices to school and use them for school purposes. This so-called BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program allows students to use devices with which they are already familiar. With both a 1:1 program and a BYOT/BYOD program come the immense pressure to correlate the use of these devices to a possible increase in MAP/PASS scores (at least in this geographic region).

These are but a few of the pressing issues in educational technology. There are many others, such as

• pressure to allow a more college-like system of choosing classes
• pressure to allow students to bring their own devices to school
• pressure to continue to increase MAP/PASS scores and to use technology to try and accomplish this goal
• pressure to implement STEM curriculum using technology (robotics, programming, etc)
• and more.

Information needed for my growth
Information is not what I need, I need access to information. When I was in graduate school, I could easily access relevant educational technology journals. These peer-reviewed publications offered me the ability to read the latest in research, opinions, and seek out further articles to read. Since graduating, I no longer have access to these journals, and my learning (as far as peer-reviewed research goes) has ceased. This is disappointing. Rather than encourage my school to fund journal subscription access, I would prefer that academia writ large embrace open access. Open access frees knowledge from the caged tyranny of the journal publishers.