School Leaders: Help Teachers Know Their Impact

Isn't it great when you get that "out of the blue" note from a former student thanking you for the positive effect you've had on his or her life? Those are keepers. I tell teachers to put them in a file.  They come in handy when you have those "why am I doing this sort of days." 

Maybe as a school leader I should encourage my teachers to write to some of the teachers who impacted them.  Because our teachers should know how they affect lives well into the future. Teachers need to know that that what they are doing is adding value to individuals (character, education, faith etc.)

But I'm not convinced that is enough -- a letter every few years at best. Neither is Researcher John Hattie.  He says that the greatest responsibility of a teacher is to become "evaluators of your effect."  In other words how are your actions as a teacher contributing to student learning.

In "Visible Learning For Teachers" he lays it out in more detail.

The messages in Visible Learning are not another recipe for success, another quest for certainty, another unmasking of truth. There is no recipe, no professional development set of worksheets, no new teaching method, and no band-aid remedy. It is a way of thinking: 'My role, as teacher, is to evaluate the effect I have on my students.' It is to 'know thy impact', it is to understand this impact, and it is to act on this knowing and understanding. This requires that teachers gather defensible and dependable evidence from many sources, and hold collaborative discussions with colleagues and students about this evidence, thus making the effect of their teaching visible to themselves and to others.

In some jobs you know your impact right away at least part of the time.  But teaching is different, at least it has been.  Just 15 years ago as I completed my college teaching degree we rarely talking in meaningful ways about assessment, much less knowing exactly how my actions as a new teacher affected the results children are having.  In fact I was mostly told that it was just "the way it was," when some of my children struggled.

However over that time we have gained a considerable research base on a teacher's effect on student learning.  As Hattie points out it is the "biggest effect of which we have control."

If Hattie is correct what actions do school leaders take to give teachers the needed support to make the shift, without driving them into accountability overload?

My first thoughts.

• Talk about results in a less-threatening way.  While some adults love pressure, many do not, especially if they are unsure how to succeed.  So while student results is always our focus, it is expected that each of us will have areas of strength and areas where we can learn from our colleagues.  A focus on results is collaborative not punitive.

• Create a system of risk-taking. Balance "proven" methods with encouraging teachers to try things out.  If a particular instructional strategy doesn't seem to work, then let's learn something from it.  If you can get teachers to take risks results become a part of the learning process.

• Discuss results in the broad sense too. Test scores matter.  I just don't believe they're something to be taken lightly.  However many "things" can be measured and should be.  For instance student attitudes towards the teacher's actions are highly predictive of a classroom where learning is occurring.  A survey shows results in classroom culture. All your priorities should be measured.

Your Thoughts?

What a school leader learned on Twitter (in two days).

I am slowly doing it. . . letting colleagues know that I regularly use Twitter to grow professionally.
The reactions are mixed but I'm still sold.  In just a couple days I've picked up a lot.  It's about finding the right people to follow, but I'll list some of them in the future.

REASON 1: Twitter is packed with information (because people like to share).  Just a few highlights from the last couple days.

• Did you know you can use Google Voice to create a unique number for parents and students to get a hold of me? It even sends me emails and transcribes the message! (Can't remember where I read it though -- sorry for not giving credit!)
• The Great Wall of China does end.
• Primary document resources for teaching about other countries rock.
• I learned about "Look fors" when someone tweeted about this App.
• A flipped classroom has nothing to do with poor classroom management. 
• and more, and more, and more and . . . 

REASON 2: It's another tool against education's primary enemy - isolation.

• There are really insightful school leaders, who share regularly. 
• People from all over the country "meet" and anyone is invited.  Feel free to join me for #educoach!

I'm not sure when more of my colleagues will join twitterverse but with information like this how couldn't you!

Does summer school make a difference?

A year ago Rand Education released the first comprehensive research study on what is commonly called the "summer slide."  The three month summer off for children is a remnant of the day when children were needed to work the farm in agricultural America.  While that served it's purpose well the time has come to re-examine this practice, especially in light of what the research is telling us.

Take for instance just a few of the Rand study findings:

1) Summer learning loss is disproportionate. On average students loose one month of academic progress over the summer.  However rarely does a child loose the average.  Low SES (low-income) students typically lose more than a month of progress while their higher SES peers may gain.   (Currently about 73% of Atonement students are considered to be low SES.)  


2) Summer learning loss is cumulative. Most disturbing, students tend to fall farther behind each year.  This contributes substantially to the achievement gap we see in Milwaukee and all over the nation.  


3) Students in quality summer school programs have better outcomes than those who do not regularly attend. Not all programs are created equal.  However when students regularly attend a session of summer school the effects can last up to two years later.

So do we need a summer school?  Maybe the only thing we can say for certain is that 3 months of "non-learning" is devastating to many children -- most in urban schools.  So great urban schools must be active in bridging that gap for its scholars.

At this point I would be remiss to leave out our partnership (another point from the study) with the Center for Urban Teaching, which operates a 4-week summer school for our scholars.  The program is showing tremendous benefits, by making the hard work of learning extremely fun.

Have you seen any other particularly effective summer school models?  What should the ideal program look like?

Reading Matters

Today I caught our Summer School Teacher Kristin Plessinger reading to our fourth grade scholars. Ok, it happens every day so "caught" isn't the best word.  I just love it when I see scholars engaged in reading.  Nothing matters as much.

Check out this summary of reading research in case you need a refresher.