School Cultures that Build and Sustain Student Achievement Diane Lauer, Thompson School District
Jun 21, 2015
School Cultures that Build and Sustain Student Achievement
Diane Lauer, Thompson School District
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"When children understand how to connect the text they read to their lives,
they begin to make connections between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger, more expansive issues beyond
their universe of home, school, and neighborhood.”
Harvey & Goodvis, Strategies that Work Strategies that Work, p. 68
“A serious problem large systems face, one that becomes more
perplexing in an ever more complex, diverse world, is how to achieve a degree of cohesion and focus in an otherwise fragmented
environment.”
Michael Fullan, Six Secrets of Change
Effective change leaders create coherence.
Michael Fullan – Leading in a Culture of Change
• We need vision and strategy
• We need coherence
• We need synergy generated by strong culture
In order to achieve sustained achievement.
Synergy
• the working together of two or more things, people, or organizations, especially when the result is greater than the sum of their individual effects or capabilities
• the capacity to endure; to keep up or keep going, as an action or process
Sustainability
Have a ConversationWhat are your thoughts about
Vision Coherence
SynergySustainability
Putting it Together(Today’s Agenda)
① Creating a Positive, Learning Culture② Creating Strong Purposeful Structures
In order to build synergy and sustainability for high achievement and growth
Today’s Objectives① Creating a Positive, Learning Culture
- assess and analyze current school culture- understand components of culture
② Creating Strong Purposeful Structures- assess and analyze current school structures- understand components of structure- Identify cultural and structural practices to
enhance and align
“There is a weak relationship between restructuring efforts (e.g. changing the
schedule or textbooks, site-based management, looping) and student
learning.
The collaborative climate and culture are greater predictors of student
achievement gains.”~ Elmore, R. (1995)
In order to sustain continuous achievement schools need to pay attention to two things:
CulturCultureeCulturCulturee
StructureStructureStructureStructure
“Structures become patterns and patterns become norms.
”
Laura Lipton - author Data-Driven Dialogue: A Facilitator’s Guide to
Collaborative Inquiry
Gradual Release
In order to sustain continuous achievement schools need to pay attention to two things:
StructureStructureStructureStructureCulturCultureeCulturCulturee
American vs. Southwest
• Read text on Page 2• Highlight or Underline text that creates
inferences about American and Southsest business cultures and internal structures.
• “Share & Pass” Taking turns in your group, share a text selection and the inference this this created for you. Do not begin a conversation…Share & Pass.
• Debrief with Team – Summarize Big Ideas
Sustainable Cultures are
• Collaborative• Craftsmanlike• Trusting
CulturCultureeCulturCulturee
StructureStructureStructureStructure
Sustainable Structures are
• Purpose-driven• Capacity-building• Inquiry-based
(asset map -- table chat)
CultureStructure
Assess your Learning Culture
Reflect Upon Your School
• Look at your assessment• Where are your schools greatest
strengths?– Culture– Structure
• Share and discuss as a school team
Reflect Upon Your School
• Reflect Individually– If your school had an opportunity to work
on two or three areas of this list – which would you pick
– Whole Group – Step and Share• Schools greatest strength
– Culture or Structure
• Whole Group – Step and Share– Top Priority
Sustainable Cultures are
• Collaborative• Craftsmanlike• Trusting
CulturCultureeCulturCulturee
Mutual Respect & Understanding
• Teachers consistently build relationships with students, families and each other.
• Teachers know their individual and collective assets so that they can develop a picture of their strengths as a whole school team.
• Teachers feel safe to take learning risks, seek help from, and offer guidance to their peers.
• Teachers are provided direction and time to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Academic Optimism: a Force for Student AchievementWayne K. Hoy, C. John Tarter, Anita Woolfolk Hoy
Academic Emphasis of the school
Collective Efficacy of the staff
Faculty Trust in students and parents
Authors studied nearly 100 diverse schools and found that high academic achievement can consistently be correlated to:
Academic Emphasis
• The extent to which a school is driven by a quest for academic excellence and/or a press for academic achievement.
• High but achievable academic goals are set for students.
• The learning environment is orderly and serious. • Students are motivated to work hard and they
respect academic achievement.
Collective Efficacy
• The judgment of teachers that the faculty as a whole can organize and execute the actions required to have positive effects on students. “We CAN do it.”
• Individuals and groups are unlikely to initiate action or change of practice without a positive sense of efficacy.
• Schools where the faculty has strong sense of collective efficacy flourish, whereas schools where faculty members have serious doubts about their collective efficacy declined in academic performance or showed little academic progress.
Faculty Trust
• Trust is one's vulnerability to another in terms of the belief that the other will act in one's best interests.
• Trust is a general concept with at least five facets: benevolence, reliability, competence, honesty, and openness.
• Faculty trust is a willingness to be vulnerable to another party based on the confidence that that party is benevolent, reliable, competent, honest, and open
• Because learning is typically a cooperative process, and distrust makes cooperation virtually impossible.
• Because learning necessitates risk-taking, distrustful people are less likely to take learning risks.
Additional Research on Trust
Trust in Schools: a Core Resource for Improvement
Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider
• There was a statistical link between improvements in relational trust and increased student achievement.
• The absence of relational trust can severely cripple reform efforts.
• The relational dynamics in each school community significantly influenced whether meaningful improvements occurred.
Our goal is to create a culture of trust so we are able to work together while we conduct
this great experiment called “learning”
We must be willing to keep positive minded.
We must use our creative energies to solve difficult problems.
We must work together because there is strength in our unity.
The Message…The Message…
StructureStructureStructureStructure
Sustainable Structures are
• Purpose-driven• Capacity-building• Inquiry-based
What kind of culture does research tell us we should build to
support and motivate staff to solve complex problems and create innovative solutions?
Capacity Building & Craftsmanship
• Professional reflection and self-analysis of knowledge and skills are embedded into teachers’ daily routine and practice.
• Teachers have sufficient support as well as opportunities for autonomy and self-discovery.
• Opportunities for instructional inquiry and data-collection are available to all teachers so they can improve their instructional practice.
• Teachers have opportunities to experiment and try new instructional strategies with the guidance of professional support.
How do we use structures to:• Create and/or clarify purpose?• Build capacity and competency?• Create a culture of inquiry?
What we can “structure”• Time• Communication & Collaboration• Opportunities for Autonomy, Choice,
Learning, Growth
Examples of Structures(concept organizers, models, protocols & procedures)
• Asset Maps - common language and purpose
• Implementation Plans - vision/road map
• Innovation Configuration - reflection
• Prof. Development Continuum – choice
• SMART goals – inquiry, autonomy
• PLC’s and Collaborative Groups - inquiry
Standards-Based Education practices help teachers focus on student learning.
• Always begin with the end in mind.• Use rubrics with students• Use rubrics with teachers
Using Innovation Configurations
• Standards-Based Education• Literacy Across the Content Area
Self-Assessment
How do you encourage your staff to engage in reflective practices and
assess their own strengths and potential areas for growth?
Differentiate and Provide Choice
• Just like good instruction, good staff development should be differentiated to meet the needs of individual learners.
• A variety of opportunities should be available for teachers so they can choose what they think best fits their needs.
• Use graphic organizers or other schematics to help teachers visualize their options and where specific ones might take them in their learning journeys…
Create Tiered Learning Opportunities
• Individualized Programming– See ConBall’s Staff Development
Opportunities Survey and Graphic Organizers
• Small Group - Professional Learning Community Work– SMART Goal examples and template
Training Components and Attainment of Outcome in Terms of Percent of Participants
Outcomes
ComponentsKnowledg
eSkill
Behavior Transfer
Study of Theory
10 5 0
Demonstrations
30 20 0
Practice 60 60 5
Peer Coaching
95 95 95Joyce, B. & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development, 3rd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Professional Development Research
How do you provide differentiation and
choice?
Awareness Level
Synthesis Level
Book Study – Classroom
Assessment for Student Learning
Book Study –Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student
Growth and Achievement in Grades
7-12
Personal Observations
Lab Classroom Teacher –
Large group observations
Small Group/Peer
Observations
Mel Levine Follow-up Book Study
The Myth of Laziness
+Assessment
FOR Learning Video Series
Learning Team Activities –
analyzing student data
Higher Risk – Behavior
Observation
Lower Risk – Knowledge
Building
Medium Risk – Skills
Practice
Learning Team Activities –
creating common assessments
Learning Team Activities –
creating differentiated units/lessons using a wide range of assessment data
How do you provide structured autonomy
and inquiry?
Reflection
CultureStructure
Tune your School Learning Culture
Sustainability
An Aspen grove needs just the right environment to survive and flourish. The soil composition, the climate, and the nourishment must be conducive
for maximum and sustainable growth.