Success by Design, Not by Chance Raymond J. McNulty, President International Center for Leadership in Education OACTE April 15, 2010 Sunriver, Oregon.

Success by Design,Not by Chance

Raymond J. McNulty, President

International Center for Leadership in Education

OACTE April 15, 2010

Sunriver, Oregon

• Not an expert

• I’m a learner and I change my opinion based on what I learn.

SUCCESS BY DESIGN NOT BY CHANCE

WE need to become the agents of change.

Objects of Change

VS.Agents of Change

Federal/State Gov’t.

SEA

Schools, Colleges, Staff, Students, Board

Policy, Community

Schools, Staff, Students, Board

Policy, Community

Federal/State Gov’t.

SEA

Stop waiting for the cure … educators are the cure!!

THEMES

• Challenge is complex

• Aim of Education

• Motivation and Relationships

• Learning Criteria

• Creativity and Innovation

THEME

• Challenge is complex

We have a flawed perspective of always listening to our best

customers… They tell us how good the system is working for

them!

What happened to GM..??

In many cases our efforts to transform education look so

much like the original system.

What got us to where we are today in education,

will not get us to where we need to be!

THEME

• Aim of Education

We need fewer, clearer and more rigorous standards!

Texas NESS StudySubgroup Rankings

ELA Skill: Write clear and concise directions or procedures.

Group Rank

Overall Texas 9

Business/Industry 2

Other Non-educators 10

English Language Arts Teachers

Other Educators 8

Texas NESS StudySubgroup Rankings

ELA Skill: Write clear and concise directions or procedures.

Group Rank

Overall Texas 9

Business/Industry 2

Other Non-educators 10

English Language Arts Teachers 25

Other Educators 8

Texas NESS StudySubgroup Rankings

Math Skill: Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to right triangles.

Group Rank

Overall Texas 20

Business/Industry 29

Other Non-educators 31

Mathematics Teachers

Other Educators 24

Texas NESS StudySubgroup Rankings

Math Skill: Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to right triangles.

Group Rank

Overall Texas 20

Business/Industry 29

Other Non-educators 31

Mathematics Teachers 4

Other Educators 24

Texas NESS StudySubgroup Rankings

Social Studies Skill (Economics): Investigate how a cost/benefit analysis can influence decisions based on profits and losses.

Group Rank

Overall Texas 22

Business/Industry 3

Other Non-educators 15

Social Studies Teachers 57

Other Educators 18

We need fewer, clearer and more rigorous standards!

OUR PROBLEM IS NOT SIMPLY STANDARDS, BUT

“DESIGN” AS WELL!!!!

The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of school.

We’ve created false proxies for learning…

• Finishing a course or textbook has come to mean achievement

• Listening to lecture has come to mean understanding

• Getting a high score on a standardized test has come to mean proficiency

Learning should have its roots in..

• Meaning, not just memory

• Engagement, not simply transmission

• Inquiry, not only compliance

• Exploration, not just acquisition

• Personalization, not simply uniformity

• Collaboration, not only competition

• Trust, not fear

• Basic Knowledge/Skills

• English Language (spoken)

• Reading Comprehension • (in English)• Writing in English • (grammar, spelling, etc.)• Mathematics

• Science

• Government/Economics

• Humanities/Arts

• Foreign Languages

• History/Geography

“Are They Really Ready To Work?”

Applied Skills

•Critical Thinking/Problem Solving

•Oral Communication

•Written Communication

•Teamwork/Collaboration

•Diversity

•Information Technology Application

•Leadership

•Creativity/Innovation

•Lifelong Learning/Self Direction

•Professionalism/Work Ethic

•Ethics/Social Responsibility

THEME

• Motivation and Relationships

We need more artists, so here’s our plan.

REQUIRE ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO TAKE MORE ART!

We need more scientists and mathematicians, so here’s our

plan.

REQUIRE ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

TO TAKE MORE MATH AND SCIENCE!

What Works Best?

• REQUIRE

• MANDATE

• FORCE

• EXCITE

• CREATE PASSION

• MOTIVATE

Motivation is a key ingredient for success in learning.

Talking with kids…

It’s not us against them!

ALL STUDENTS

• RIGOR

• RELEVANCE

• RELATIONSHIPS

ALL STUDENTS

• Relationships

• Relevance

• Rigor

“It is virtually impossible to make things relevant for, or expect personal excellence

from a student you don’t know.”

Carol Ann Tomlinson

You can’t teach kids you don’t know….

Standardized Assessment

Necessary but NOT SUFFICIENT

STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES ARE AN

ACCURATE MEASURE OF STUDENT LEARNING AND

SCHOOL SUCCESS.

We behave like………..

OUR WORK IS COMPLEX

A test score is not a synonym for what a student has learned or a school has

accomplished.

We need to stop using the word “achievement” as a synonym for

test scores.

Does your bank statement indicate your total wealth?

Achievement is more complex!

TO DO THE JOB WELL

• QUANTITATIVE DATA

• QUALITATIVE DATA

• GREAT QUESTIONS…

Teacher – Student Comparisons

T – I make learning exciting for my students.

86%

S – My teachers make learning fun.

41%

Teacher – Student Comparisons

T – I am aware of my students’ interests outside of school.

84%

S – My teachers know my interests outside of school.

28%

Theme

• Learning Criteria

The Learning Criteria to Support 21st Century Learners ©

Success Beyond the Test

• Foundation Learning

• Stretch Learning

• Learner Engagement

• Personal Skill Development

Criteria• Foundation Learning (Achievement in the core

subjects of English language arts, math and science and others identified by the school)

• Stretch Learning (Demonstration of rigorous and relevant learning beyond the minimum requirements)

• Learner Engagement (The extent to which students are motivated and committed to learning; have a sense of belonging and accomplishment; and have relationships with adults, peers, and parents that support learning)

• Personal Skill Development (Measures of personal, social, service, and leadership skills; and demonstrations of positive behaviors and attitudes)

Foundation Stretch LearnerEngagement

Personal Skill Development

Foundation

StretchLearner EngagementPersonal Skill Development

Dimensions of the Learning Criteria

Theme

• Creativity and Innovation

A Story….• Not a bad idea, but to

earn a grade more than a C+, the idea has to be viable! (Yale Professor)

• Fredrick Smith

• The idea FedEx

-Shurnyu Suzuki

“In the beginner’s mind there are many

possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”

Sustaining Innovation

and

Disruptive Innovation

System Innovation

Sustaining InnovationDisruptive Innovation

THEMES

• Challenge is complex

• Aim of Education

• Motivation and Relationships

• Creativity and Innovation

• Learning Criteria

Why I do this work…

BE EXTRAORDINARY

BEING EXTRAORDINARY

• Committed to the truth

• Be committed to delaying gratification

• Be someone who always has the chance of saying “yes”

• Live a life where you do not make others wrong

BEING EXTRAORDINARY

• Be committed to courage

• Be someone who produces results with absolutely no force

• Be a person who is peaceful in chaos

BEING EXTRAORDINARY

• Be committed to courage

• Be someone who produces results with absolutely no force

• Be a person who is peaceful in chaos

• Be committed to managing success, while being aware of its dangers (lottery winners and GM)

SUCCESS BY DESIGN NOT BY CHANCE

Success by Design,Not by Chance

Raymond J. McNulty, President

International Center for Leadership in Education

OACTE April 15, 2010

Sunriver, Oregon