jdauria@teachers21.org @jdauria Teachers 21 1 John DAuria - PDF document

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org jdauria@teachers21.org @jdauria Teachers 21 1

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Shifts in our field requiring adaptations n Accountability has increased n The pace of change has accelerated n The knowledge & skills necessary go well beyond content and pedagogy n The complexity of our work demands highly effective collaboration and continuous learning Teachers 21 2

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org In organizations that innovate and continually learn… People must learn to be comfortable – Not knowing – Not being right – Asking for help – Reporting mistakes – Failing – Disagreeing (agreeably) with colleagues & supervisors – Adapted from the work of Amy Edmondson Steve Spear, The High Velocity Edge Teachers 21 3

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org We must muster the hearts and minds of our staff so that improvement, innovation, and adaptation are unending. Steve Spear- The High Velocity Edge Teachers 21 4

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org A Culture of Paradox Leaders who want to foster innovation have to promote and model contradictory attitudes and actions. They live with paradox… a leader’s role in fostering innovation is to build a culture that is: n playful and disciplined n chaotic and focused n full of experts and broad-thinking boundary-spanners n representative of high standards and tolerates failure A culture of possibility. n Edmondson, Amy C. (2013-09-05). Teaming to Innovate Teachers 21 5

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org What is Leadership? n Setting Direction n Developing People n Developing the Organization n Kenneth Leithwood, How Leadership Influences Learning Levers What are the significant levers you can use to assist, nudge, support members of your staff to grow and improve? Teachers 21 6

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Three Important Levers n Communicating an inspiring picture of a desirable future n Modeling n Coaching and Feedback (Conversations) n Amy Edmondson- Teaming To Innovate Four common leadership obstacles n Undervaluing the importance of culture n Letting the problems of the moment move the organization away from its strategic path to improvement n Focusing too much on what we are doing rather than the impact of what we are doing n Underestimating the importance of skillful practice Teachers 21 7

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Overcoming Obstacles Teachers 21 8

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Improved and Inspired Learning New Skills for a New Era n Valuing conversations, particularly difficult conversations, about matters of substance n Learning from error and failure Teachers 21 9

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Dialogue-embracing conversations Reforms only work when people who implement them are on board, engaged and valued. The great differentiator going forward, the place where school reform will find a new sustainable edge, resides in the area of human connectivity. What gets talked about from the boardroom to the classroom, how it gets talked about, and who is invited to join the conversation determines what will happen or won’t. Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations n Teachers 21 10

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Conversations not Monologues n …in order to execute initiatives and deliver goals, leaders must have conversations that interrogate reality, provoke learning, tackle tough challenges and enrich relationships. n Scott, Susan (2004-01-06). Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time The Need for Communication to Cross Hierarchic Boundaries n NASA Challenger and Columbia Disasters n British Petroleum spill n Lowest ranking employees had critical information that either was ignored or not passed up Teachers 21 11

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Anomaly n Senior managers often express assurance that they are open and want to hear from subordinates n However, subordinates express that they don’t feel safe bringing bad news to those same senior managers Teachers 21 12

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org A Difference in Perspective* % of Administrators % of Teachers who who agree or strongly agree or strongly agree agree that teachers have that “I have avenues” to avenues to deliver deliver feedback to my feedback to their supervisors about their supervisors about their performance performance Strongly Agree 29% 16% Agree 46% 25% * TNTP.ORG Image Risks at Work * (concerns that powerfully shape our willingness to speak up) n Being seen as ignorant – Don’t ask questions n Being seen as negative – Don’t offer ideas n Being seen as disruptive – Don’t critique the status quo It is no different for kids and classrooms From the work of Amy Edmondson Teachers 21 13

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org These image risks -Block dialogue -Suppress questions, and -Scuttle the necessary arguments needed to achieve commitment to improvement and innovation Teachers 21 14

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org FIVE BIG FEARS (students) Fear Of Making Mistakes Fear Of Looking Like A Fool Fear Of Having A Weakness Exposed Fear Of Not Being Liked Fear Of Failure Teachers 21 15

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Psychological Safety To gain the power of collaboration and continuous learning, psychological safety is needed. Teachers 21 16

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org From ¡the ¡work ¡of ¡ Amy ¡Edmondson ¡ Slide ¡by ¡Amy ¡ Edmondson ¡ ¡ Teachers 21 17

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Psychological Safety is partly about Learning From Error “School leaders and teachers need to create schools, staffrooms, and classroom environments in which error is welcomed as a learning opportunity, in which discarding incorrect knowledge and understanding is welcomed, and in which teachers can feel safe to learn, re-learn, and explore knowledge and understanding.” -John Hattie, 2012 How Learning Occurs in Science ….more often (far more often!) experiments result in failure. Scientists can’t succeed unless they learn to recognize failure as a step on the path to success. Recognizing this, the chief scientific officer at pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly throws failure parties to celebrate clinical trials or scientific programs that were intelligent but that nonetheless failed. This odd ritual makes scientists more willing to take intelligent risks, but it also encourages them to speak up sooner rather than later. n Edmondson, Amy C . Teachers 21 18

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS Increase Insights Reduce Errors & Uncertainty See Reflection Sheet Teachers 21 19

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Accountability Accountability is an attitude-a personal, private, and non-negotiable choice about how to live one’s life. It’s a desire to take responsibility for results and for that reason it cannot be mandated. -Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations n Leadership that demands accountability with top- down mandates and oversimplified metrics , rather than efforts to effect engagement and connectivity, leads to a culture of blame and excuses. This results in people focusing on “not losing” rather than on winning. It becomes “us” vs. “them.”… Energy is funneled into tracking evidence to justify results rather than on overcoming obstacles and moving toward solutions. n Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations 40 Teachers 21 20

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Signs of Psychological Safety* Educators can disagree with peers and authority figures § ask naïve questions § own up to mistakes, or § present a minority view without fear of ridicule or § marginalization (Communication that Crosses Hierarchic Boundaries) * Edmondson Achieving sufficient psychological safety doesn’t mean constant harmony…. Making it safe for staff to disagree & dissent Cross boundary talk Teachers 21 21

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Teachers 21 22

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Critical and urgent discussions around education reform are not producing the thought and action necessary to forge change…many of these conversations and debates create “us vs. them” cultures. Dialogue is focused on who’s right and who’s wrong, who wins and who loses. Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations Teachers 21 23

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org Moving from I’m right, you’re wrong to…. n There are multiple perspectives-some of which I can’t initially see Teachers 21 24

John D’Auria jdauria@teachers21.org THERE ARE 125 SHEEP AND 5 DOGS IN A FLOCK. HOW OLD IS THE SHEPHERD? (From HOW OLD IS THE SHEPHERD? By Katherine Merseth) n Researchers report that three out of four schoolchildren will produce a numerical answer to this problem 1 . n A transcript of a child solving this problem aloud reveals the kind of misinformed conception of mathematics that many children hold: 125+5=130...this is too big, and 125-5=120...is still too big...while 125÷5=25. That works! I think the shepherd is 25 years old 1 Kurt Reusser, Problem Solving Beyond the Logic of Things:Textual and Contextual Effects on Understanding and Solving Word Problems. Teachers 21 25