16/11/2019 Slow-burn Leadership: What is it and one school’s attempt at it Roger Higgins @QuarkEpoch / @NorwichRS Director of Norwich Research School Headlines for this session • What do we mean by evidence-informed leadership? • What do we mean by slow-burn leadership? • From Concepts to changes in leadership behaviour 1
16/11/2019 Norwich Research School • One of 32 schools • Local hubs for work of EEF and IEE • School-led support for use of evidence to improve teaching practice • We’re a school, learning like others Evidence-informed schools: Key behaviours? Cosmetic Essential A. Has a Journal Club B. Participates in Research trials C. Focussed on high impact Teaching principles • Cog Load, Metacognition etc D. Policies that reference key research E. Has a Research Lead role F. Meaningfully evaluate choices made G. Stop doing stuff based on evidence H. Implement change carefully I. Leaders modelling professional inquiry 2
16/11/2019 ‘Evidence-informed’ or ‘evidence garnished’? Essential Evidence-informed traits Not evidence-informed traits • Understanding the evidence: Belief in ‘a recipe’: if research what it says in more detail says it works, assuming that it will than ‘metacognition is good’ be simple to replicate that locally • An understanding of research methodologies and their limitations ‘Evidence-informed’ or ‘evidence garnished’? Essential Evidence-informed traits Not evidence-informed traits Testing the why: identifying Instructing your staff: compliance testable theories for why is unlikely to be evidence-based, research show something to if it leaves no room for be a ‘best bet’ and then testing professional judgement or whether it works in our own adaptation school(s). 3
16/11/2019 ‘Evidence-informed’ or ‘evidence garnished’? Essential Evidence-informed traits Not evidence-informed traits Being critical: questioning the Oversimplified view of the world: seemingly obvious, whilst failure to recognise a wide range checking for one’s own biases of forms of evidence and leading appropriate weight to each ‘Evidence-informed’ or ‘evidence garnished’? Essential Evidence-informed traits Not evidence-informed traits • Failure to believe that ‘it might Prioritising evaluation not work here’ • Failure to challenge the claims of external training providers Using formative monitoring to Disempowering teachers: using help you evaluate ‘evidence’ to taking agency away ‘it is working in our school?’ from teachers. 4
16/11/2019 ‘Evidence-informed’ or ‘evidence garnished’? Essential Evidence-informed traits Not evidence-informed traits Changing with the evidence Consistently dismissed the (at least some of the time) evidence ‘Active ingredients’ Notre Dame as Research School Essential • Aim to use research evidence to inform the decisions made at all levels, in all aspects of our work to benefit our pupils. • Aim to use research evidence judiciously, in a manner that fits Notre Dame. Notre Dame staff will aim to utilise practice that doesn’t just ‘work’ but ‘works best’ and ‘works best at Notre Dame’. Leadership Articulated Evidenced Filter and model use of view of Curriculum & shape policies evidence teaching Assessment & approaches Justify CPD: Evaluation strategic Implementation what and how spending 5
16/11/2019 Slow-burn Leadership Key principle for how we try to model being evidence-informed within our own school Slow-burn Leadership “ pause to know more, to find the heartbeat” Accept: •Incomplete info • Bias 6
16/11/2019 Slow-burn Leadership “ pause to know more, to find the heartbeat” Ask lots of questions: problem before solution Slow-burn Leadership “ pause to know more, to find the heartbeat” Accept: need to do less, better 7
16/11/2019 Slow-burn Leadership “ pause to know more, to find the heartbeat” Be willing to be proved wrong Slow-burn Leadership Practical example 1: Inquiry questions 8
16/11/2019 Inquiry questions Forcing a pause having made a decision Framing an adoption decision in the form of question forces you to: • Check you really understand your preferred approach: the WHAT • Define Evaluation from the outset • Begin to define Implementation: WHO , WHEN etc Inquiry questions What do they look like? Develop a range of Feedback techniques to improve writing performance in year 7 English How effective is <Feedback> for <improving writing performance> in < year 7 English> classes? How effective is <written feedback + DIRT time> for <improving extended writing performance> in < year 7 English> classes compared to teacher whole-class verbal feedback ? 9
16/11/2019 Inquiry questions A definition An answerable question which encapsulates: • The intervention (approach) chosen • The duration of the intervention • The outcome measurement (basis for evaluation) • The context : which students / groups? What impact does [intervention] delivered [duration] have on [outcome] for [student group] ? Inquiry questions Link with our school’s ‘active ingredients’ Implementation Leadership CPD: model use of what and how evidence Evaluation 10
16/11/2019 Inquiry questions We frame each whole school priority like this What impact does [intervention] delivered [duration] have on [outcome] for [student group] ? It’s not straightforward / easy: • What impact will a new mentoring programme and directed supervised study have on progress, attitudes and outcomes for disadvantaged KS5 students? Inquiry questions We frame each whole school priority like this What impact does [intervention] delivered [duration] have on [outcome] for [student group] ? More examples: • What is the impact on the number of students being withdrawn from GCSE subjects and their attitude to learning grades, after they start their courses for LPA students as a result of a Key Stage 4 curriculum review over a two year period? 11
16/11/2019 Inquiry questions We frame each whole school priority like this What impact does [intervention] delivered [duration] have on [outcome] for [student group] ? More examples: • What is the impact on progress, behaviour and attitudes to learning of engaging Year 7 Pupils in the GR8 AS UR mental wellbeing programme, compared to business as usual, over the course of 2019-20? Inquiry questions We frame each whole school priority like this What impact does [intervention] delivered [duration] have on [outcome] for [student group] ? More examples: • What impact does implementing a Curriculum with a focus on evidence-informed Pedagogy [Memory, Metacognition and Literacy] have on the attainment of disadvantaged and HPA Year 7 pupils, over the duration of 2019-20, as measured using GL assessments? 12
16/11/2019 Write an Inquiry question for one of your school’s priorities Critique your neighbour’s draft: 1. Is the intervention / approach clearly described? 2. Is the pupil or group of pupils to be targeted clear? 3. Is the duration clear? 4. Is the outcome measure precisely defined? 5. How will the outcome actually be measured? 6. Is the Enquiry Question posed answerable? Slow-burn Leadership Practical example 2: Logic model planning 13
16/11/2019 Logic model planning Ask lots of questions: problem before solution Using a logic model approach when preparing for change: • Generates a logical and detailed implementation plan • Gets you to think carefully about whether your school has the capacity needed for the change Planning using a Logic Model We plan for each whole-school priority like this: A E D C B Situation Inputs Outputs Outcomes Goal Use the Identify the Define the Define the Define information time and activities short, what available (e.g. resources you will medium you school level which will use to and long would data, teacher be needed meet the term like the or pupil views, to deliver outcomes. outcomes situation observations the which will to be. etc.) to outputs. lead to develop a clear meeting understanding the goal. of the issue. 14
16/11/2019 Planning using a Logic Model Takeaway examples Slow-burn Leadership Practical example 3: Doing less, better 15
16/11/2019 Breaking habituated practice • How many pages long is your school development plan (SIDP)? • How many objectives / aims are listed within it? • How ‘live’ is it? • Does your senior team work in ‘packs’ or as islands? • How coherent does it all look to your teachers? Breaking habituated practice Where we were: • LT ‘get on’ however 11 pages long intra-LT collaboration varied • Some working in NDHS SIDP isolation 2018-19 Mainly for 21 aims • Lack of ongoing support reporting to Govs for members of LT 16
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