converations

Create Simple Personalized Professional Development #IMMOOC

Posted on by Aaron Hogan

In college, I had a professor who would read PowerPoint slide shows to us about the benefits of engaging instruction for students. The irony was not lost on me. It’s rare that a class is a perfect match for you as a learner, but I learned a great deal of what not to do throughout that course.

For all the innovation out there in education today, there’s still a lot more whole group lecturing about how we should differentiate and individualize our instruction for the students we serve than I’m comfortable with. Professional development that ignores best instructional practices is insulting to teachers and detrimental to leader credibility.

I understand part of the hesitation on the part of leaders. Differentiation in a classroom is an incredibly complicated, albeit rewarding, undertaking. There aren’t a lot of options out there for differentiated professional development, and creating something from the ground up seems like a monumental undertaking. So, we often opt for a standard delivery of a new idea. When we do that, we rob those in the room of the opportunity to experience something innovative. Sure, everyone hears the same content. But as Dave Burgess often reminds educators, “What good is covering content if people aren’t listening?” Professional development can’t just wash over you; you have to internalize it, wrestle with it, consider how to make it your own. It’s high time we stop measuring professional development in terms of seat time. That’s a measure of compliance, not learning. As George Couros reminds us, “Compliance does not foster innovation. In fact, demanding conformity does quite the opposite.”

Professional development that ignores best instructional practices is insulting to teachers.
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Exploring Another Way

I’m in my first year on the campus I serve, and for our last two campus professional development days, we set out to do something different. We knew we wanted our PD to challenge and support teachers on their self selected goals for the year, and we also knew that we wanted staff to have time to implement some of the new things they learned about. More than that, my principal and I (both new to the campus this year) didn’t want to come in and talk at people for an extended period of time for professional development.

We decided to run the majority of our time as an EdCamp (with a bit of scaffolding). In a traditional EdCamp, participants design the day when they arrive to meet their needs with conversations among those who take part in the EdCamp. It’s highly organic (which I really like), but it is a bit of an adjustment for many not familiar with the style of learning.

For our purposes, we added scaffolding to not overwhelm anyone on the first iteration. We took the teachers’ goals from the beginning of the year and teased out four common threads: Student engagement, Social emotional learning, Growth mindset, and EdTech. With these in mind, we created a schedule for the day that allowed teachers to grow in their self defined goals, but also pushed teachers to learn not simply with presentations, but primarily through conversations with each other about the topics at hand. Check out the schedules below:

October 10th schedule

February 20th schedule

We sent teachers out to these conversations with these instructions:

When you get to your session, here are a few reminders:

  • If there’s a video, be the one to get it playing.
  • Find someone to add notes in the Google Doc.
  • Help get the conversation started. (Yes, you! You’ll be great!)
  • Find out where everyone stands on the topic.
    • Ask what experience people have with the topic.
    • Ask what people want to learn about the topic.
  • Make sure everyone who wants to contribute gets a chance to participate.
  • Encourage the conversation. Be patient.
  • Don’t let a little wait time fool you into thinking the conversation is over.

Our teachers loved these two days. The best thing about that for me is that it wasn’t about us as leaders at all. We got out of the way and let the teachers connect with and learn from one another. In those conversations, they challenged one another and worked through tough conversations about the hard work that teaching really is.

Selfishly, it was an incredible way to get to know our teachers on a deeper level. That wasn’t the purpose, but what an important benefit it was for us. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the day, and even heard some frustration in October that we wouldn’t be able to revisit this style of learning until our time together in February.

Compliance never got me that reaction.

Offering Empowering Encouragement

Before launching the October PD day, I had a chance to put one other support in place. It was probably my favorite part of the entire experience.

The unstructured conversations needed a secret leader, a plant in the room. Someone who would keep the conversation moving and focused on the topic at hand. So for each of the sessions, I thought through our staff, selected a staff member or two who had a lot to offer in that conversation, and went and had a conversation. I got to share that I was excited about our new, somewhat risky (but hopefully really rewarding) PD that was coming up. But more than that, I got to share that I saw greatness in them. That they had something that needed to be passed along to others. They they were an integral part of the success of the upcoming day.

Those conversations are some of my favorite interactions I’ve had with our staff.

In the end, each EdCamp was a great day. But more than that, I hope it showed teachers that we were willing to practice what we preach, to do something that might not run perfectly (but would be better than the way we’ve always done it). That’s what the Innovator’s Mindset asks of all educators.

Regardless of your role on campus, where do you need to make sure your methods match your message? Do you notice anything that’s contradicting itself? How can you fix those inconsistencies?

And as much as you have control over it, how can you drive PD toward something that honors, rather than sells short, teachers who are giving so much to serve their students?

I’ll be writing more about my own journey with innovation over the next few weeks as part of this MOOC (massive open online course) centered around George Couros’ book The Innovator’s Mindset. Check out the #IMMOOC hashtag to see some conversation about innovation in education.

Why Do We Do That?

Posted on by Aaron Hogan

why-do-we-do-that

I’ve got a little story for you.

It’s Christmas, and it’s the first time the family is having dinner away from the home they grew up in. The cook (not the matriarch of the family) is preparing the roast to cook, and the first thing he does is cut off the ends. He puts it in the pan, it cooks, it’s prepared to be served, and then comes the question. His mom asks, “Why did you cut off the ends?”

A little unsettled, he replies, “That’s what you always did when you cooked it, mom.”

She laughs, and he begins to get a little worried. After her laughter subsides, she shares why: “We only cut the ends off because we didn’t have a pan big enough to fit the whole roast.”

And just like that, the dreaded TTWADDI has reared his head.

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Credit goes to Amy Mayer (friEdTechnology) for this memorable image!

ANY SIGHTINGS AT YOUR SCHOOL?

Now think about your school. Why do we do things the way that we do them?

With some things, there are good reasons.

Maybe we do things that way because it’s best for kids or because it keeps people safe at school.

But with other things, I imagine that we don’t always have a great reason for what we’re doing. With many things, probably more than we’d like to admit, we’ve never even thought about why we’re doing what we’re doing.

I think it’s time that we start thinking seriously about what we’ve not thought about before.

What opportunities are we missing because we've never taken the time to look at why we do what we do?
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Typically I’m not one to make suggestions without offering solutions, but my goal is a bit different here. I want us to think of what we haven’t been thinking of. I want us to spend a bit of time exploring the gaps in conversations. Yes, eventually it’s important that we come to some conclusions, and I’m invested in that conversation as well. But I think it’s worth taking a step back from time to time and sharing a few ideas about what school could actually look like if we shook off the force of habit that has a strong hold on many of our practices.

So here are a few ideas I’m trying to rethink. I have some thoughts on solutions, but I’ll save those for another day.

Ideas I’m trying to rethink:

  • If we want our teachers to develop best instructional practices, why do we depend so heavily on whole group instruction for professional development?
  • If time out isn’t a good option for discipline in the classroom, why is ISS such a common consequence for behavior?
  • Why are we so hesitant to share our ideas with other educators? Why not connect more with others? Why not try to do that in new ways?
  • If we know that learning is often a messy, non-linear process, why is learning so often divided up into 6 or 7 or 8 period days?
  • If we know that learning happens at varying rates for various students, why are six weeks grading periods so commonly followed?

What are YOU going to rethink? What do we need to reconsider in education? What have we done the same way for too long?

Share your ideas in the comments!

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A Different Call To The Office

Posted on by Aaron Hogan

A Different Call To The Office

It’s May. While all eyes turn to the end of the year, I think it’s time we start counting up some of the end of year conversations we need to have before summer starts and we’re not seeing our students each day.

I’ve written before about my belief that we are wired up so that things outside us tell us who we are (here’s the link if you’re interested). That’s neither good nor bad; for me, it’s reality. Without getting into the whole logic behind it and whether or not that sits well with you, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say there is great value in speaking truth into the lives of our students.

My role as a assistant principal puts me in conversations with many students who have failed to meet expectations. I realized late last week though that a student who I visited with quite frequently last school year had a reasonably good fall and a fantastic spring semester. It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was time to call him to the office for a different sort of conversation.

This student is the one who is nearly unrecognizable from himself last year. He’s turned it around in terms of behavior, and that’s led to him being a totally different academic student. Here’s what he’ll hear from me:

“Last year was not your year. We had a lot of conversations–too many–in which I told you that you were the only one who could turn it around, that you had to want it. I meant it when I said that. I was serious. And you did it. I’m impressed with the young man you’re becoming. Let me know if there’s anything big of small I can do to help you out.“

Once I started through this conversation, I realized there were more students I needed to visit with. I’d like to share a few of the conversations that I realized I need to have with some of my students. Maybe one or two will remind you of a student you work with. If so, I challenge you to go and share a word of encouragement with that student. Be specific with the growth you’ve seen and share candidly how students have made an impact for the better this year.

The “Invests In Others Well” Student

This student is the one who gets along with everyone. She’s popular, but she really doesn’t care about that popularity. She treats everyone as equals. She is present with each person she interacts with, and each person’s day is better after interacting with her. Here’s what I’ll tell her:

“You’re a popular student who is successful academically. Really, it’s hard to find something that’s not going well for you. But what’s most impressive to me is the way you value people. I notice that you do a great job investing in others. You make little conversations a big deal, and the way you interact with everyone I see leaves them feeling better about themselves afterward. Thanks for investing in others.”

The “Always Positive” Student

This student is the one who always says hi. The one who is busy, who has plenty going on, but who always takes time to say hi. Even to this assistant principal. I’ve written before about the value of those little interactions, and seeing her interact with others reminds me to go back and be better about those little interactions because, on the other side of them, they really do make a difference.

“Thanks for taking time to be positive. I see your positivity each and every day. I know that it probably takes a concerted effort on some days to stay so positive. But I want you to know that I’m thankful for the way you interact with others so positively. It makes me better, and I’m thankful when we cross paths.”

My Challenge

So, who do you need to speak into this month? Time is ticking. Summer will be here soon. When you hear the countdowns that too often creep into conversation at school, remember that with each day and each hour, we have less time to invest in our students. Take the time to do that well over the next few weeks.

We Don’t Have a Presentation #TCEA16

Posted on by Aaron Hogan

conversations

Heading into my time at TCEA, I knew that I was looking forward to a session called “Show How Awesome You Are and Tell Your Story with Social Media.” It seemed right up my alley. Though I feel confident in my ability to start that task and manage it well right now, this is area where I’m always looking to improve. As if the topic weren’t enough of a draw, Steven Anderson (@web20classroom) was scheduled to present and Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) joined him.

With such a high interest topic being presented by two educators who wrote the book on the topic (literally),  my nerdy educator heart was so excited to hear from them!

They delivered in a big way, but not for the reasons I expected.

As I’m getting ready to receive the knowledge, Anderson turned off the screen behind him and told us that he wasn’t going to give a presentation.

Instead, we were going to have a conversation.

WHY CONVERSATIONS MATTER
It was so validating to hear someone who is an undisputed expert in his field say that there was such great value in learning together through conversations. Think about what that statement is saying.

  1. It orients leaders so that they are learners alongside everyone else participating.
  2. It reminds us that learning can be messy and still be successful.
  3. It reiterates that we don’t have to have everything perfectly laid out to push our learning forward.
  4. It values the people with whom we connect (and makes us dependent on one another to truly move the conversation forward).

It’s such a simple idea, but it’s also pretty revolutionary.

Our ability to change how we learn is deeply tied to our ability to help other learners change their norms. If we want change for our students, if we want to challenge our teachers to do something different, if we want to do something different–we have to be willing to start making shifts like this.

CHANGE THAT IS WORTH IT
The more I thought about it, the more I remembered that that’s what I’m doing when I use social media to grow as an educator. Though I’m quite comfortable learning in that style on Twitter, I still expect to be talked at for much of my face to face professional learning.

The reality is that we all have something valuable to add in many of the conversations that are one way in education today. We cannot fail to consider a model that would open us up to hear from those around us.  As Steven Anderson put it, “You may be sitting next to the smartest person you don’t know.” Ask him or her to share.

conversations

It’s worth mentioning that I’m not advocating for an across the board move to this model. I saw some of the best educational presentations from incredible educators who left me with so much to consider and rethink as I head back to reality. But the conversations I experienced show another way that we have to consider, and I’m motivated to empower others through similar experiences.

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