Barry Smith - Learning about Learning

I have taken the opportunity to be a part of the East Lothian secondary learning team with the hope of improving my classroom practice and learning from others.

First up, improving my learning ’success criteria’ in PSE lessons.  How will youngsters know when they have successfully achieved the aims of each lesson?  The idea is to generate clear success criteria for the main points of the lesson and share these at the beginning and review.

I am hoping to undertake an EEBL placement with the Mercy Corps in the next couple of months.  The focus will be producing a global citizenship CPD resource for teachers, as well as finding out more about the work the Mercy Corps does across the world.  We hope to have some time with a group of teachers from East Timor who are visiting the UK in May so I’m really excited about the prospect of taking part. 

I’ll be writing more when things are firmed up.

Unit 4 of the Scottish Qualification for Headship challenges us to compare our skills and competencies to the Standard for Headship in the context of our progress to date and identify areas of strength and areas for development backed up by appropriate evidence.  As a precursor to my unit 4 submission I’m going to use my blog to help that process along.  The reasoning is twofold, it allows further reflection on my part in relation to my progress towards meeting the Standard for Headship and it affords anyone who wishes, or who has perhaps worked with me, the opportunity to provide feedback on my claims.

The Standard for Headship is comprised of Professional Actions and 3 essential elements of practice:

1.  Strategic Vision, values and aims

2.  Knowledge and Understanding                    

3.  Personal qualities and interpersonal skills

In this post I will begin to deal with the Essential Elements. 

I have explored and discussed my educational values through my blog.  I believe this has helped shape my moral and ethical perspective in relation to education. Reading educational literature as documented on this site has also challenged my thinking, as has engaging with the views of staff members in school, students and ‘bloggers’.

Completing a critical self-evaluation as part of SQH unit 1 allowed me to communicate my vision for an effective school.  Undertaking the 360 degree review as part of SQH unit 1 provided further insight to my current practice, including my ability to articulate and embody my moral and ethical standpoint in relation to education.

My blog provides evidence of professional reflection and review of my own practice.  I have taken part in professional coaching sessions, covering personal development target-setting and values.

The ALPs programme has given me the opportunity to provide a rationale for practice and to be accountable for it, in relation to the way the programme operates and it goals.  On a daily basis I am accountable for the actions I take in relation to my dealings with young people and professionals.  The ALPs programme has also provided the opportunity to encourage critical reflection in others, including young people, as has my blog through comments and interactions with others.

Comlpeting Unit 2 of the SQH, including a school self-evaluation allowed me to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of school improvement.  Developing the S5 Social Education programme and monitoring and evaluating the ALPs programme and Pre-vocational educational programme allows me to employ strategies for improvement. (taking account of pupil voice, using attendance and behaviour statistics, taking account of stakeholder perceptions, recognising achievement)

To be continued at a later date.

I’ve tried to take my notes for Michael Fullan’s Leading in a Culture of Change and summarise them.  It’s still pretty rough and I’ll be trying to tidy it up in the next few days. The essential concepts have been put in bold. 

It has been very humbling to read a book like this and measure my own skills and qualities against it.  However, it is a fantastic aspirational tool and like many of the other books I have read so far as part of my SQH reading, one that I will regularly revisit.

Leading in a culture of change  

Moral purpose :

Authentic leaders display character

We have both egoistic and altruistic desires

Culture and core values central to an organisation

Understanding change

Successful leadership styles:

Authoritative - “come with me” enthusiastic, self-confident,optimistic 

Affiliative - “people come first”Democratic - “what do you think?”

Coaching - “try this”

Unsuccessful leadership styles with a negative impact on climate

Coercive - “do what I tell you” -resentment & resistance

Pacesetting “do as I do, now” - burnout & overwhelmed staff (I was particularly interested by this section) 

The goal is not to innovate the most

Appreciate the implementation dip

Listen to, and work with resisters

Reculturing - changing the way we do things around here

Leadership is by its nature complex  

Relationships

Seven essentials to developing relationships :

Setting clear standards

Expecting the best

Paying attention

Personalising recognition

Telling the story

Celebrating together

Setting the example 

Good leaders inspire by;

Selectively showing their weaknesses

Relying on intuition

Managing with tough empathy

Showing what is unique about themselves   

School capacity is the key to success:

Teachers knowledge, skills and dispositions

Professional community

Programme(curriculum) coherence

Appropriate technical resources

Headteacher leadership   

Every school needs a strong professional learning community

Emotional quotient/Emotional intelligence is vital.

Intrapersonal - self awareness

Interpersonal - empathy, social responsbility

Adaptability

Stress management

Mood - happiness, optimistic  

Build knowledge and capacity

Information is only valuable in a social context

Explicit knowledge - words and numbers that can be communicated in the fom of data and information

Tacit knowledge - skills, beliefs and understandings below the level of awareness.  It is highly personal

Coherence from complexity

We got wind of an excellent opportunity today for all schools and teachers in East Lothian.  It was from Learning and Teaching Scotland on the Scottish Continuing International Professional Development Programme (SCIPD).  It is for international exchange and visits for teachers.

More information here. 

I’ve just had a weekend off, completely, for the first time in a while.  Not even a cursory glance at the computer on Saturday and Sunday.  It was definitely needed.

Tonight I’ve just finished three out of four pre-course tasks for my SQH Unit 4 taught days at Peebles Hydro this week, Wednesday to Friday.  All that remains is my final formal presentation, on my learning to date with my school improvement project,  and my preparation for the programme review group meeting on Wednesday evening that I’ve agreed to be a part of.

I must admit this term has been an absolute marathon with everything that the SQH brings on top of the normal ‘everyday’ workload.  The great thing is that I have come through intact, just about!

I also have my swimathon on Sunday night, swimming 2.5km for Marie Curie Cancer research.  My training has faltered badly recently under the pressure of everything else, so I  think I might need the maximum 2 hours allowed to finish it!

Sleep required.

I had my first telephone coaching session today.  It was made available to the wider teaching population after depute heads and heads had the opportunity to take part, as far as I understand it.  I think it is going to be some of the best money I’ve never spent!  Taking the time to really explore important issues in relation to effectiveness at work and future possibilities I’m sure will be an invaluable piece of personal development.  Reflecting with immediate feedback, great stuff! 

I have six sessions over the next few weeks and we’ve set out a few markers on what I’m hoping to gain from the session.  The first is a ‘nuts and bolts’, operational target, improving my efficiency in dealing with the large amounts of information you are faced (bombarded?) with as a Pupil Support teacher.  To that end I’m meeting with Rob Jones, an information officer at ELC, this week. I’ll no doubt be blogging more about the sessions as the weeks go by.

I also had a great lesson with my S4 PSE class today.  We were discussing what a Curriculum for Excellence is and what it may mean for future generations of school children.  I asked the question, “What would happen if we abolished exams?” and sought feedback from the class.  Exams are obviously close to their hearts at this time so we had an interesting discussion.  Here is a selection of their responses.

Plus Points of abolishing external exams

Less stress for students

More prepared for working life (comment based on a change in curriculum structure)

Less time spent revising and ‘regurgitating’

Your teacher could assess you (This was seen as both positive and negative!)

Minus points

No evidence of qualifications or skills

Harder for employers, colleges and universities to select the ‘right’ people

Students might not know what they are good at

There is no ‘proof’ of what you’re good at for others

We also tried to think of alternatives and I was surprised by how difficult the students found it to perceive of a different way of doing things.  I suppose in some respects it says a lot for how clearly they identify with the current system and how and where they fit in to it.

Suggestions were things like an online ‘evidence bank’ detailing work they had done and skills they had obtained with evidence.  This was seen as a multimedia ‘package’.  Similar to this was the idea of a skills ‘passport’ (rings a bell with something I heard at the PT Conference).  Finally, the idea of teacher assessment/endorsement was strong, but beyond that not much else.  It made me think what a lot we have to change even in relation to youngsters really understanding and engaging with things like peer and self assessment and how this embeds itself in the curriculum. 

It’s great fun having these sort of discussions with the youngsters and I was interested that many of the themes that emerged were along the lines of current educational debate.  Out of the mouths of babes and all that!

We have our next SQH residential next week.  It is going to probably be the most intensive yet, and certainly will be the most taxing in terms of preparation.  We have to prepare four different pieces of work , three informal, small group presentations and one formal presentation in front of the larger group. In addition to that I’m out of school for three days, so organising three days worth of classes does not fill me with unbridled joy!

This past fortnght I’ve had real cause to consider my readiness for a senior management position.  I’ve had some encouraging feedback from people I’ve spoken to and this has been crucial in helping me really focus on what it means to step into the role.  I have also been considering how I measure up to my own espoused values.  I think I can say, as most people probably would, I fall short on acting out my espoused values at times, but that doesn’t mean I should disregard them, simply that need to continually reflect upon my decisions and priorities and on the way in which I communicate them with others. I’m sure this will help me develop my practice when I do get the opportunity of a senior management position. 

Writing this helps me be clear about what the important factors are.  I can summarise them in the following ways.

• Being driven by values.  Basing decisions upon these values.  My values are honesty, personal integrity, empathy, commitment, the continual development of self and others, patience and looking at the world from a fundamentally positive perspective.
• Understanding the duty or ‘calling’ of educating young people that I believe is fundamental to doing the job effectively.
• An awareness of the ‘current reality’ and a vision for the future, both personally and from an organisational viewpoint.
• Having a clear commitment and aspiration towards excellence in all areas, regardless of circumstance.
• Ensuring that we ‘get the job done’, whatever it may be.
• Being committed to using the ‘collective intelligence’ that every school has an abundance of, through the development and action of ‘learning teams’.

I have also recently had cause to consider the disappointment of getting to the final stages of the interview process for a senior management position, only to fall at the last hurdle.  From this I have learned firstly that I am definitely ready for the challenge and secondly that my interview technique needs some work.  I believe there is a CPD opportunity in there somewhere and that will be my personal development focus in the coming months. 

I have set myself some clear career goals and the past fortnight has been an extremely important time for measuring myself against them.  The learning I have done has been hugely significant and I’m happy to say that I can come away from the disappointment with renewed vigour and focus.

As my brother rightly said(sure he stole this from someone); there are no failures, only learning opportunities.  To some that may sound glib, but I believe absolutely that it is true.

Another interesting thing about going through this process is that I have been forced to reflect upon what would happen if I did end up moving into another position.  What would be left behind?  

The ALPs programme has recently got off the ground and many people have committed a great deal of time and effort to making it a reality.  Would that all be wasted if I were to move into another position?  I think not because the key to the success of the programme, in my opinion, is the investment of a great number of people.  It does not and should not come down to a single person being the key.  This is, I think, an important management model and strategy, ensuring that the ‘power’ for want of a better word, lies with a collective, all of whom have a significant investment and commitment to the success of the programme.  Shared vision would be the ’headline’ phrase.

My final consideration is what it means to seek opportunities for advancement.  I’ve been challenged on this recently by a friend at work. Does it mean I am less committed to doing an excellent job in my current role.  Again, I think not. My commitment has not and will not waiver, because I return to my purpose for doing the job and that reminds me I have to keep doing my best at all times.

What it means to me is that I am committed to having a positive impact on the lives of young people in as an infuential way as possible.  It is not an easy call to make, and is not a viewpoint that everyone shares, but we all have to decide on our path and be true to it.

Final point.  Is this an appropriate topic for a blog?  I’m not sure, I’d be interested to find out the thoughts of others, but I think that unless we engage in thinking about these issues there will always be un-uttered words or thoughts of disapproval by some towards the motives and decisions of others.  Discussion is surely healthy?

The PTs conference in North Berwick was good fun.  The sessions on Appreciative Inquiry and the Dragon’s Den exercise were my favourites.  I read that some didn’t feel the atmosphere of the Dragon’s Den exercise was in keeping with the tone of the weekend.  I disagree with that because I think people took it in the fun spirit intended and the camaraderie that developed and learning that went on were borne out by the ideas conceived(and I’m not just saying that because we won…….I thought my competitive streak was gone, not so).

During the exercise our cluster group really went through all the stages of forming, storming, norming and performing.  It was a brilliant experience to be a part of a team that grappled with the task, struggled to come to consensus, finally managed to and then just ‘took off’ with the idea, rounded off by a brilliant presentation by our PT English and Literacy, Jan Ainslie.  It must have been a daunting prospect for the ‘chosen ones’ to present to the Dragons but I think most would agree it was great fun.

Afterwards I raced across to Lanark to my niece’s second birthday party arriving around 6pm.  My enthusiasm about the conference was curbed a little as I was made to stop and think by my brother(he’s good at that).  His question was, “how can an organisation which fundamentally values the family ask its employees to work on a Saturday, in a hotel or not?  Why not have it on an in-service day” he said.  I have to admit I didn’t have an answer to that one. As I think about it more, I suppose if I was being asked to justify the choice I’d say that teachers get 13 weeks or so holiday per year and not very often do they get the opportunity to come together in such a way, so one Saturday out of the year is not a ‘huge ask’.  However, in an ideal world, yes, I’d probably plump for organising it on an in-service day although I’m not sure what headteachers would say about that!

I think my brother is also aware that with SQH I’ve been working most weekends since about October and that it does have an impact upon family life.  My view is that it’s a short term situation and hopefully after this weekend and submitting my Unit 3 report things will calm down and my weekends will return to something like normality again.  But it is a big commitment to make, there is no getting away from that. 

I was fortunate enough to be able to share my experiences on SQH with a number of people at the conference, including someone taking the new flexible route and another colleague who is due to have an interview for the programme very soon.  So I did get a chance to explain how much of a commitment it actually is to some who are considering taking it on.  I think on balance the conference was a worthwhile experience and the principle of bringing colleagues together like this is an excellent one.

The purpose of what we do and how it relates to our motivation on a daily basis came up in conversation with a colleague today.  I was describing how I felt I had gained a very clear sense of purpose, for a number of reasons, in the past 18 months or so, and how this translated into my day-to-day practice and enthusiasm for the job. My colleague, who is a tremendous teacher and a truly outstanding ‘people person’ described a real change for the worse in intrinsic motivation and sense of purpose in the same period.  Notwithstanding the possibility that I was responsible for stealing this person’s motivation and purpose(definitely wisnae me, honest!!), I was intrigued as to why that might be. 

The main reasons seem to be a perceived lack of challenge and support in the job.  This was a real eye opener for me because I would never have guessed that this was an issue.  This again says a great deal for their ability to do a great job despite feeling really quite negative about it. 

Trying to make sense of it from my own point of view and also bearing in mind Don’s post today, I think what my colleague is experiencing could be a kind of burnout, along the lines of switching off and kind of helplessness.  I have felt this way before and I think I can honestly say the thing that has helped me most is learning about what I can do to take control of my own situation.  Understanding what my circle of influence is and what that means for the way I conduct myself with others has helped enormously in my personal management of relationships.  Using feedback(a good online resource here) with others and acknowledging our emotions and reflecting upon whether they are valid or not is another tool to prevent the onset of a feeling of helplessness and frustration. 

There is also the interesting idea we are part of a wider system and as such we have an influence upon it.  Therefore in some way are the makers of our own reality.  This is a very empowering idea becauses it shifts the responsibility for our current happiness in our job or life back onto ourselves.

I have gotten into the habit of reflecting upon these ideas because I was given the chance and encouraged to develop myself professionally.  We can’t underestimate the power of ongoing professional development or learning for life in ensuring that people are able to work in what can be a highly stressful environment without burning out. 

It’s possibly a strange notion that avoiding burnout means doing more work but I think there is something in it!

We had our first major challenge with technology today on the ALPs programme.  The internet was too slow to gain access to the Exc-el site and get the boys blogging.  Thinking caps well and truly on about how to get round this one!