One thing that I believe is absolutely essential for successful and long term change within a school is time. This is identified and taken into account in CBAM but is so often overlooked by our departments where new programs are imposed at a rapid rate. Another aspect that is also very important is that the training is seen to be useful and relevant to the needs of the individual or school.
The following example of training that I have attended very much incorporates these elements. Lisa Burman, an educational consultant, ran a series of sessions in the area of reading comprehension.
http://lisaburman.com.au/
What made this PD so worthwhile were the following:
* our own staff identified the need for the training;
* through consultation with Lisa, the PD program was established;
* the structure of the PD - 1 full day training followed by 1/2 day training in year level teams which involved discussion and a modelled lesson with classes from our own school, a follow up after school session for each year level team on the specific area identified by the group;
* time was given to teams during and after the training sessions to work together, identify future needs;
* whole school commitment to the initiative.
Lisa also provided very practical sessions, had realistic expectations of staff and empathy for what it is like to work in a school. She also had credibility as she was able to implement her work into our classes.
This initiative was not imposed by our department, was self-directed, and the learning that was gained is still strongly implemented in our school and is having positive results on student outcomes. I discuss how I have described my role in this in a previous post. http://sakepuss.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/tl-and-curriculum-my-thoughts.html
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Module 2 - Leadership styles
In my assignment I referred to pacesetters and affiliative leaders because in the last 12 years, with 3 Principal changes (not including the acting ones), I have experienced both - pacesetter, then affiliative, and now pacesetter again. Interestingly, both pacesetters are female (and others I have observed) - I'm not sure if there is a connection. Maybe, to make it in the Principal realm, you have to be seen to be doing a lot in your tenure, proving how skilled you are, how many innovations you have initiated, etc etc.
When working with an affiliative leader, the length of discussions and the decision making process was sometimes frustrating. Also, during some of this time, the school had "pockets of excellence" but lacked a common theme or direction, particularly during our school's major redevelopment. The thinking behind this was that there was enough going on for teachers without adding extra pressure. I agree but the lack of common directions was sometimes difficult and it is lucky that most of the teachers I work with are highly professional and self-motivated.
Now I'm back to the Pacesetter . . . It is amazing how quickly the pacesetting approach has negatively affected our school. Within one term, our communication structures were either abolished or no longer had any power, people felt undervalued, and staff morale dropped significantly. (I have never had a Principal who, on their first day, having just met the staff and without knowing the school, its culture, and the people, felt it necessary to tell staff that we had to be at school between 8 and 4! - mouths dropped open and you could have heard a pin drop!!)
The most difficult thing for me with a pacesetting leader is not so much about having to work closely with her (I can't just stay in my classroom and shut the door), it has been watching the affect it is having on students, parents, my friends and colleagues. The lack of trust, lack of opportunities to collaborate, lack of vision, lack of understanding for the people who are actually doing the work is incredibly frustrating because, despite pretending to listen when I, and others, raised and continue to raise these issues, nothing changes. The other thing I find absolutely amazing is the fact that this leadership style is based on everything an effective teacher knows is bad teaching!! All of this made the writing of my assignment sometimes challenging as I had to work through the emotions of anger, frustration and helplessness that sometimes arose. Let me just say that this style of leadership makes going to work really difficult some days and the fact I otherwise work with a fantastic group of people, makes it bearable. (which is a good thing because we have another 3 1/2 years to go!!!)
When working with an affiliative leader, the length of discussions and the decision making process was sometimes frustrating. Also, during some of this time, the school had "pockets of excellence" but lacked a common theme or direction, particularly during our school's major redevelopment. The thinking behind this was that there was enough going on for teachers without adding extra pressure. I agree but the lack of common directions was sometimes difficult and it is lucky that most of the teachers I work with are highly professional and self-motivated.
Now I'm back to the Pacesetter . . . It is amazing how quickly the pacesetting approach has negatively affected our school. Within one term, our communication structures were either abolished or no longer had any power, people felt undervalued, and staff morale dropped significantly. (I have never had a Principal who, on their first day, having just met the staff and without knowing the school, its culture, and the people, felt it necessary to tell staff that we had to be at school between 8 and 4! - mouths dropped open and you could have heard a pin drop!!)
The most difficult thing for me with a pacesetting leader is not so much about having to work closely with her (I can't just stay in my classroom and shut the door), it has been watching the affect it is having on students, parents, my friends and colleagues. The lack of trust, lack of opportunities to collaborate, lack of vision, lack of understanding for the people who are actually doing the work is incredibly frustrating because, despite pretending to listen when I, and others, raised and continue to raise these issues, nothing changes. The other thing I find absolutely amazing is the fact that this leadership style is based on everything an effective teacher knows is bad teaching!! All of this made the writing of my assignment sometimes challenging as I had to work through the emotions of anger, frustration and helplessness that sometimes arose. Let me just say that this style of leadership makes going to work really difficult some days and the fact I otherwise work with a fantastic group of people, makes it bearable. (which is a good thing because we have another 3 1/2 years to go!!!)
Monday, 9 April 2012
Systems Thinking Poster
Here is the poster again, as it wasn't really big enough to see in the original post and I couldn't work out how to delete it and place it in again!! I couldn't delete, cut or anything in edit mode - if you know how, please let me know.
Take 2
Take 2
Teacher Librarian as Leader - Module 1 - Systems Thinking
I'm back!
It's hard to believe that 10 weeks have passed since my last post - but what a full 10 weeks it has been! I am now working full time (Also add a 6 1/2 year old, 4 year old and husband!)
My 5 days consists of - 3 days as TL, 1 day as Reading Support Teacher, and 1 day as IT Coordinator.( My support staff member hasalso been away sick since last December and so have also been doing this role as well!)
Anyway, my many hats overlap, the edges between the roles blur, and the workload just gets heavier. I think you can sum it up as trying to be all things to all people - an impossible feat, but one that I strive to achieve. As a result, I am trying to catch up on my uni in one hit in my holidays.
Thoughts from Module 1:
It is interesting to reread the systems thinking gear again. The article by Tribus was from a while ago was obviously written at the start of David Langford's journey. I attended the QLA training with David Langford back in 2003 (I think!). I really enjoyed the training and must say that I frequently go back to thePDSA and related tools when working on problems/issues - both as a classroom teacher, and now as teacher librarian.(It's interesting that DECD (as the SA ED Dept. is now called),used this model back in 2005 with their own tools (essentially just Langford tools with other names, but not surprisingly, that improvement initiative disappeared.)
Anyway, I'll give one example of how I have used the PDSA improvement cycle and tools in my teacher librarian role when undertaking my Library Management Project for UniSA.
PROBLEM
How to increase access to resources within the library.
INITIAL SITUATION
To find out about the situation, I gathered staff views using the Langford's ForceField Diagram and Imagineering Tools, and student views from a PMF, and library staff/volunteers through interviews. This gave me a lot of perception data to analyse. I also used the library cataloguing system for data regarding borrowing statistics etc. I then used an Interrelationship Digraph to identify the root causes.
PLAN, DO, STUDY, ACT
Once root causes were established , possible solutions were determined. I then went about establishing an improvement plan which I have been implementing, reviewing and modifying ever since.
OUTCOMES
The absolute benefits of addressing this problem in this analytical way was that it achieved positive results -our library is becoming increasingly more organised, resources are accessed far more easily, and most importantly, students are reading more, the library is being used more, and resources are being used more by teachers! It also gave all stakeholders the opportunity to have their say, become involved but without personal feelings getting in the way. It was a really objective way of looking at the problem and some of the soloutions would perhaps not have been thought of had I not looked at the situation using systems thinking.
I've attached a picture of my poster that I had to do for my subject - it is a broad outline of the process. (I had to put two snipping tool snapshots together and they don't quite line up! Sorry!)
This is just a small example of systems thinking in action.
It's hard to believe that 10 weeks have passed since my last post - but what a full 10 weeks it has been! I am now working full time (Also add a 6 1/2 year old, 4 year old and husband!)
My 5 days consists of - 3 days as TL, 1 day as Reading Support Teacher, and 1 day as IT Coordinator.( My support staff member hasalso been away sick since last December and so have also been doing this role as well!)
Anyway, my many hats overlap, the edges between the roles blur, and the workload just gets heavier. I think you can sum it up as trying to be all things to all people - an impossible feat, but one that I strive to achieve. As a result, I am trying to catch up on my uni in one hit in my holidays.
Thoughts from Module 1:
It is interesting to reread the systems thinking gear again. The article by Tribus was from a while ago was obviously written at the start of David Langford's journey. I attended the QLA training with David Langford back in 2003 (I think!). I really enjoyed the training and must say that I frequently go back to thePDSA and related tools when working on problems/issues - both as a classroom teacher, and now as teacher librarian.(It's interesting that DECD (as the SA ED Dept. is now called),used this model back in 2005 with their own tools (essentially just Langford tools with other names, but not surprisingly, that improvement initiative disappeared.)
Anyway, I'll give one example of how I have used the PDSA improvement cycle and tools in my teacher librarian role when undertaking my Library Management Project for UniSA.
PROBLEM
How to increase access to resources within the library.
INITIAL SITUATION
To find out about the situation, I gathered staff views using the Langford's ForceField Diagram and Imagineering Tools, and student views from a PMF, and library staff/volunteers through interviews. This gave me a lot of perception data to analyse. I also used the library cataloguing system for data regarding borrowing statistics etc. I then used an Interrelationship Digraph to identify the root causes.
PLAN, DO, STUDY, ACT
Once root causes were established , possible solutions were determined. I then went about establishing an improvement plan which I have been implementing, reviewing and modifying ever since.
OUTCOMES
The absolute benefits of addressing this problem in this analytical way was that it achieved positive results -our library is becoming increasingly more organised, resources are accessed far more easily, and most importantly, students are reading more, the library is being used more, and resources are being used more by teachers! It also gave all stakeholders the opportunity to have their say, become involved but without personal feelings getting in the way. It was a really objective way of looking at the problem and some of the soloutions would perhaps not have been thought of had I not looked at the situation using systems thinking.
I've attached a picture of my poster that I had to do for my subject - it is a broad outline of the process. (I had to put two snipping tool snapshots together and they don't quite line up! Sorry!)
This is just a small example of systems thinking in action.
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