PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND PEER COACHING:Building Natural Leaders

Some of the readers of this blog have attended my presentation on Natural Leaders. My focus is examining how principals and teachers who have followers assigned to them can perform as the kind of leader that those followers would have chosen to follow. Can I be the kind of teacher students would have chosen? Can I be the kind of principal that the staff would have elected to be principal?

Natural leaders get pushed into their leadership more than running for office. I suggest that you know you are a natural leader if you are currently chairing a committee and you weren’t present the day the committee was formed.

In a May 6, 2009 Wall Street Journal Blog,[Nine Ways to Identify Natural Leaders], Gary Hamel identifies natural leaders:

Leaders in traditional organizations usually derive a large share of their power from their positions—that’s the case for CEOs, cabinet officers and high school principals. In other settings, a leader’s power may reflect the freely given support of peers and followers—examples include Mother Teresa, Linux creator Linus Torvalds and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

In a follow up blog May 14,2009 [How to Tell if You are a Natural Leader], he offers some questions for identifying natural leaders:

Whose advice is sought most often on any particular topic? Who responds most promptly to requests from peers? Whose responses are judged most helpful? Who is most likely to reach across organizational boundaries to aid a colleague? Whose opinions are most valued, internally and externally? Who gets the most kudos from customers? Who’s the most densely connected to other employees? Who’s generating the most buzz outside the company? Who consistently demonstrates real thought leadership? Who seems truly critical to key decisions?

Peer Coaching and Professional Learning Communities create opportunities for educator’s natural leadership to develop and emerge. Traditional school structures have few leadership opportunities for teachers. Those that do exist- department chair, team leader, mentor, literacy coach, are often seen as title or positional leadership. Most of the training I do with these leaders is based on implementing the skills that natural leaders use that attract followers:

Questioning Skills
Uncovering agendas
Listening Skills
Providing Feedback
Approval
Coaching
Developing Shared Goals
Using others natural leadership

Hamel suggest that we turn to natural leaders because of acknowledged wisdom or expertise, because of vision, values, and praiseworthy personality traits, and because of unique capabilities.

In many of our schools the planning and delivery of instruction occur in such isolation that the items Hamel identifies above can’t be observed, developed, and most importantly recognized and celebrated. I often label this as a loss of natural resources. Talent is in our schools…unrecognized and untapped. This lack of recognition often serves to demoralize teachers and robs students of our collective capabilities. I have met teachers on a middle school grade level team who have never seen each other working with students.

I recently presented at a conference for Georgia Master Teachers. It was clear that the participants were natural leaders anxious to build their skills. Here is a description of their program:

The purpose of the Georgia Master Teacher program is to recognize teachers who are driving gains in student achievement. In order to earn the Georgia Master Teacher designation, the teacher must have at least three years of experience in the classroom on a Georgia Clear Renewable Certificate, and evidence that links classroom instruction to exemplary student achievement and progress. Teachers earning the designation of Master Teacher are provided professional learning experiences designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed by teacher leaders. Professional learning for this academic year focused on mentoring and peer coaching. For more information, please visit the Georgia Master Teacher website at www.gamasterteachers.org.


The National Staff Development Council has posted a video of a PLC Team meeting. Click on the Professional Development in Action video and view the Math Department Team at Fort Middle School in Allen Texas. Notice the many examples of natural leadership evident in their meeting and classroom observations.

Gary Hamel writes, “What we need is a new currency of power—one based not on titles, but on every individual’s capacity to lead, every day. We need organizations that aren’t built around a single, dominant hierarchy, but are comprised of many soft hierarchies, each corresponding to a critical skill or issue."

Consider how your systems support natural leadership opportunities.

REAL EXPERIENCES FOR REAL RESULTS

'If “soft skills” are in your definition of student achievement, are you finding ways to provide those experiences? Many students find those experiences in their extra curricular activities. I am wondering if it is common for our schools to limit time for these “soft skills” learning activities from the very students who may need them most for building future success.'

I wrote those words at the end of a May 3 posting and now I found some other writers raising a similar question.

April 22, 2009 edition of Education Week-

Debra Viadero reports on recent research indicating that after waning for years, civic participation among young people appears to be on the rise. But students who are members of racial or ethnic minorities, who live in poor neighborhoods, or who are tracked into low-achieving classes get fewer opportunities to exercise their civic muscles than their better-off peers.
Statistics also show that a majority of young people report having spent some time volunteering while in high school­—­and doing so at much higher rates than their parents ever did. The number one predictor of volunteering for students is whether anybody ever asks them. Many disadvantaged and low-achieving students never get "asked" to take part in volunteer or civic-learning opportunities in their schools.

"The lesson is that asking young people to contribute in a positive way can be an effective way to get them involved".

April 27, 2009 edition of the Washington Post

Jay Mathews states,” Senior Projects Encourage Insight and Sustained Effort.” He reports that students he has interviewed report beginning their projects with resentment of the time demands during what should be a fun filled senior year but at some point have a change of heart realizing the value of their efforts. He quotes Wendy Ramirez after finishing her report on forensic science, "It's an experience that I will never forget that will help me so much in my future."

(See an earlier interview I did with a senior who echoed his findings)

Mathews ask, ”Why should just private schools, and a few exceptional public schools ...be encouraging insight through sustained effort? This relates to another of my pet peeves: the reluctance of American public high schools to assign even one research paper of significant length and complexity before students graduate. The exceptions are schools that offer the International Baccalaureate diploma program. Many IB students have told me the 4,000-word extended essay they wrote in their senior year was their most memorable high school experience, but only a few private or magnet IB schools make everybody do that.
But many high school students still don't get to learn what Wendy Ramirez did: "When I set my mind to something and work hard to accomplish it," she said, "I will conquer it and complete it." We want our teenagers to get something out of high school, but we usually define that as good grades, high test scores and a few extracurricular activities, whatever the colleges want. We don't think they are capable of much else.

I recently finished reading Rachel’s Tears. Rachel Joy Scott was a high school senior killed in the Columbine High School attack that happened 10 years ago. A photographer, who was updating my photos for work, was so moved by the book shortly after it was written by Rachel’s mother and father that he painted Rachel’s portrait and gave it to her mom. When he learned about my work in education he gave me a copy of the book signed by Rachel’s mom just days before the ten year anniversary. Throughout the book Rachel’s parents share understandings about their daughter and her life. Many excerpts from Rachel’s diary, which was in her backpack when she was shot, are included. I stopped many times while reading impressed with just how insightful, deep, and influential students can be.

How much are they and we losing when schools miss providing the opportunities for students to commit to REAL EFFORT for REAL RESULTS?

HOW ARE WE DOING?

That’s the continuous improvement starter question that produces discoveries and concerns that create possibilities for growth. It’s an element of coaching, professional learning communities, leadership and teaching. I was recently part of two programs where participants received a focus to help examine “How are we doing?”

The Florida and the Islands Regional Comprehensive Center is leading a project for Florida schools titled Secondary School Redesign Initiative (SSRI). I was a presenter at their workshop held at the University of South Florida: Sustaining Redesign: How to Keep the Music Playing.
I facilitated teams who were exploring the following areas:
1) Core Academics- Core academic learning in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science
2) Stretch Learning- Demonstration of rigorous and relevant learning beyond minimum competency.
3) Student Engagement-The extent to which students are motivated to learn, have a sense of belonging and have supportive relationships
4) Personal Skill Development- Measure of personal, social, service and leadership skills and demonstration of positive behaviors and attitudes.

Wow! Lots of meat there for an individual teacher, department, PLC, leadership team, or entire faculty to examine “How are we doing?”.

SSRI Newsletter contains reports from several of the participating high school and middle schools in the project.

My second opportunity was when I presented at the New Jersey Education Association’s (NJEA) Teaching and Learning Symposium, Transforming New Jersey’s Schools for the 21st Century. My presentation was Teacher Collaboration and Student Achievement.

I was able to attend the keynote, “The Global Classroom”, presented by Dr Shari Albright from the Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning. Dr. Albright drew our attention to the realization that when our students graduate they will be selling and buying from other counties, working for international companies, managing employees from other cultures and countries, collaborating with people from around the world in joint ventures, competing with people around the world for jobs and markets and tackling global problems such as climate change, disease, and disaster recovery.(The Center for International Understanding)

“How are we doing?” providing our students:
-knowledge of other world religions, cultures, and international /global issues
-skills in communicating in languages other than English, working in cross- cultural environments, and using information from different sources around the world.
-values of respect and concern for other cultures and peoples.

Here is an elementary school that will help move you to the question, “What could we be doing?”

John Stanford International School (JSIS) is a kindergarten through fifth grade public, bilingual immersion school in Seattle, Washington, with approximately 400 students; 41 percent of the student body is white, 29 percent Hispanic, 22 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, and eight percent other. Opened in the fall of 2000, JSIS students spend half their day studying math, science, culture and literacy in their chosen world language, either Japanese or Spanish, while the other half of the day is spent learning reading, writing and social studies in English. International content appears across all curricular areas.
Click here to see teachers and students in action.

As I write this blog, I am:
-on a flight to Dubai to work with international schools in that region
-planning a graduate class with my wife who will be teaching in Cairo in two weeks
-designing a coaching training that will bring a group of teacher educators from Aruba to Kansas and Florida to attend a coaching conference and then work side by side with coaches in US schools to sharpen their coaching skills, and...
-announcing the national release in Turkey of a Performance Learning Systems’ designed website-

http://ekampus.orav.org.tr- that supports Turkish teachers who have completed training co-designed with Performance Learning Systems materials and trainers. (Take a look. It is in Turkish. Click the button and switch to English.) Click here for press release.

We really do have to keep asking, “How are we doing?”

THE MANY FACES OF COACHING

The Many Faces of Coaching...that was the tile of a recent presentation that I did at the Tennessee Reading Summit: Every Student a Reader. My presentation to reading coaches and administrators centered on the reading coach’s role in creating a coaching culture within the school. Generating teacher reflection that creates teacher learning that leads to student achievement. Here’s a note I recently received from Jennifer VanSlander, an instructional coach at Harritt Elementary School in Salem Oregon, following a coaching the coach session I did at her school:

I video-taped Liz’s lesson as planned and we watched it together immediately after. As we watched, it quickly became very obvious that the students were having difficulty passing the state test, not because of their reading ability (as they can read grade-level text), but because of their limited exposure to English. Students demonstrated solid comprehension of surface level information (recalling facts, etc...), but were unable to "go deep" (inferring, author's purpose, etc.). Liz realized that there is not much she can do about that in such a short amount of time, other than continue to build her reading lessons around language development. We also took a look at some sample state test questions. We created a plan for her to ask questions during her tutoring sessions that mimic those on the state test and to model her thinking when answering those questions (Example: The word stand is used to mean what in the story?). Purposefully using these types of questions will help her reach two goals: 1) continue to develop the students' understanding of the English language, and 2)expose them to test "question-types" and the thinking process required to answer them.

In summary, "Reading" wasn't the issue at all...it was "Language".

Peer Coaching is being promoted by the Center for Peak Performance and Productivity (CP3) in Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) in Maryland. I recently spent a day with pairs of WCPS educators including administrators, student achievement specialist, department leaders, classroom teachers, special educators and instructional assistants.

CP3 answers the question “What is peer coaching?"
Peer Coaching…
-is a partnership of teacher–to-teacher, administrator-to-administrator, or other pairs who have voluntarily agreed to coach each other.
-is gathering data to give objective and specific feedback
-deepens teaching strategies, habits, or practices through reflective conversations based on feedback from a peer.

Coaching pairs in training
It was neat watching the pairs interact. One teacher who volunteered for the program and modeled a pre conference with me is in his 38th year of teaching. One coaching pair was two first year teachers. Two administrators formed a peer coaching team. CP3 is creating a culture of coaching in WCPS!

Instructional Coaching is receiving strong support in Salem Keizer Schools in Oregon. Instructional coaches are now found in all schools.
Coaches have received extensive training during the last two years and the system has created roles and responsibilities for coaches, principals, central office personnel, and teachers.

During a recent coach the coach session at Salem North High School I observed teacher Sara Leroy with instructional coach Tami Badinger. I post conferenced with Sara and then debriefed with Tami. In the post conference I shared several questions that Sara could use to help guide the student thinking.

Here is what Sara and Tami reported to me:

Sara and Tami

What insight did Sara gain from the coaching conversation and how did she change instruction?
Sara’s lesson objective was to have students begin a persuasive essay by comparing and contrasting two characters from Julius Caesar. The students were asked to use quotes from the play to support their paper. Students began class by reviewing the expectations for the day and doing a warm-up activity in pre-formed groups.
Students were given an essay outline to guide their thinking. Although the outline was expertly written, student focus and confusion was noticed. It was suggested by the coach that Sara elicit more pre-knowledge and connection from her students to ensure proper scaffolding. Steve Barkley asked, “Where do you see the students doing the thinking that you wanted them to do?” Sara realized that she desired more in-depth reflection from her students and that by providing an activity that elicited more pre-knowledge before writing the essay, she would be able to reduce student confusion while promoting more engagement.

What did Sara observe with the instructional change that she made?
After Steve, Tami, and I developed a modification to the lesson, I saw immediate results. Students were more engaged and able to delve into the prewriting activity for the essay much more confidently and quickly. Tami and Steve had helped me develop a structure for students to find success more independently, empowering them to think critically while they developed their persuasive essays. More students spent more time on task because the structure guided their thinking and learning. They could work at high levels of engagement without me sitting with them.

What insight did you and Sara gain regarding the value and process of coaching?
With the daily barrage of informational processing that educators must accomplish, it was refreshing to have reflection time embedded in the hectic day. Sara and I shared a common experience in her classroom that we were both able to identify. We were able to discuss, brainstorm and develop a strategy to implement in her next class to see if she noticed diminished student confusion and an increase in student engagement. By providing immediate feedback and goal setting, where student achievement is the focal point, Sara was able to experiment with a research-based strategy instantaneously.

Through the coaching model, and with Steve’s assistance, Sara and I discussed the idea of teaching and learning being a continuous cycle requiring side-by-side support and collaboration. We also talked about the authentic nature of the coaching process and how it is most effective when it is directly embedded in the context of the job. Sara is an excellent teacher who possesses a natural curiosity in her profession and is willing to experiment with instructional suggestions because of the trusting collaborative relationship that we have developed.

I highlighted some key phrases from Sara and Tami that define elements of coaching.

DEVELOPING SOCIAL SKILLS FOR LIFE SUCCESS

“Soft skills” such as sociability, punctuality, conscientiousness and an ability to get along well with others, along with participation in extracurricular activities, are better predictors of earnings and higher educational achievement later in life than having good grades and high standardized test scores, states Christy Lleras, professor of human and community development. (Science Daily, Mar.26,2009 Social Skills, Extracurricular Activities In High School Pay Off Later in Life)

“That’s not to say that academic achievement in high school doesn’t matter – it does,” Lleras said. “But if we only look at standardized test scores, we’re only considering part of the equation for success as an adult in a global marketplace. Academic achievement is part of the story, but it’s not the whole story. You’ve got to have the social skills and work habits to back those achievements up.”

High school sophomores who were rated by their teachers as having good social skills and work habits, and who participated in extracurricular activities in high school, made more money and completed higher levels of education 10 years later than their classmates who had similar standardized test scores but were less socially adroit and participated in fewer extracurricular activities

If high-stakes testing is the only remedy for low-performing schools, Lleras said, “then we may fail to help those students develop the soft skills they need to successfully complete higher levels of education and secure a better job in the
labor market.”

I found a great example of an experience to build desired skills and attitudes at Morgan County High School (MCHS) in Georgia- Morgan County Citizen Feb 12,2009

Inspired by the multi award-winning documentary film "Darius Goes West," (DGW) which chronicles the journey of then 15-year-old Athens native Darius Weems, who has been diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), and 11 of his friends across the country to California to have Weems' wheelchair customized by MTV's "Pimp My Ride," students at the school felt led to begin a local effort to aid Darius' cause of DMD research.

Emily Malanowski, a senior at Morgan County High School, shared the following personal report with me:

Several months ago, no one in my school knew who Darius Weems was. That changed when all the English teachers began showing the film, Darius Goes West (DGW), in their classes. This low budget film, documented the fulfillment of a young man’s dream to find a cure for the disease that was killing him, Duchene Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Darius is currently a 19 year-old and when he was a freshman the preparations for the journey of his life started. He had never left his hometown of Clark County and had never really thought about what he could do to make a difference until his brother, who also suffered from DMD, died. Darius then became determined to bring the public's attention to this 100% fatal illness. College students that volunteered at the camp Darius attended, jumped in to help his efforts. Soon they had a trip planned that would take them across many different states on their way to California and back again. During this excursion, the DGW crew shed light on the lack of wheelchair accessibility throughout the country and how little the “Average Joe” knew about DMD. At the end of the documentary, they share a goal they have set for themselves: to sell 1 million DVDs before Darius’ next birthday in September.
The impact this challenge had on my school would have never been predicted. The minds of my fellow students were on fire with ways to help DGW meet their goal. Brainstorming sessions were held and the secretary was bogged down with slips of paper that had suggestions on how to help on them. After all this support Dr. Wilson, the principal, was compelled to create some way all of the students’ energy could be focused to make the most difference. About a month after the airing of the film, it was decided. The students of Morgan County High School would hand-write letters about DGW to EVERY public high school in America, approximately 25,000.
The day was known as Darius Goes West Day. Shirts were made and classes were postponed. The school news crew played the “deleted” and the “making of…” scenes from the DVD and also had special guests which included our system superintendent and one of the mothers of the DGW Crew. The local Chick-Fil-A even set up a place where students could purchase food during their lunch break. The surprising thing was how there was no complaining from anyone during the day. Hands were sore but hearts were joyful.
The process did not stop once the letters were written. The packaging process still needed to be accomplished. That meant that all 25,000 letters needed to be placed into a labeled envelope along with a free copy of Darius Goes West. The whole school got into this also. Tables, which lined the upper floor of the gym, were stacked with boxes, envelopes, labels, and, of course, hundreds of letters. Down below, students worked avidly on reaching the goal of hand-writing a letter to every high school, even after the school day had ended.
At last the letters where written, the envelopes were stuffed, and the boxes were ready for the mail truck. A feeling of accomplishment filled the school because every student knew that the goal was completed on time for the evening mail. Without everyone’s participation, this monstrous goal would have never been met.

Dr James Malanowski ,a teacher at MCHS, shared, “I have to admit that I was rather skeptical that we could pull off a feat of such magnitude. From moment one, though, my advisory was totally invested. The kid who has a dream of one day being a Marine sniper, a student who struggles to turn in assignments in my government class, as well as the leaders in my advisory were invested for the whole time. While our closed-circuit TV played “Darius Goes West” in the background, I sat in the back of the classroom dutifully writing my letters…with tears in my eyes…not just because of the cause, but because of what I saw in my students."

Interesting side note, Dr. Mark Wilson the principal of MCHS was featured in a earlier posting when he was named the National Principal of the Year.

I found the following in a web posting for Talent Management writing to corporate HR professionals:

Company-supported community/volunteer programs also can significantly increase employee morale and productivity, ultimately enhancing skill sets and work performance. Thus, some organizations include an element of community/volunteer involvement as part of their internal employee assessments. Whether formally or informally, talent managers should make an effort to understand and capitalize on the skills employees learn through volunteer activities.

In my work with groups looking to increase student achievement I have groups explore what the definition of student achievement is for their school…. then what would students need to do to reach that achievement ...and then what experiences do we need to provide for the students. If “soft skills” are in your definition, are you finding ways to provide those experiences? Many students find those experiences in their extra curricular activities. I am wondering if it is common for our schools to limit time for these “soft skills” learning activities from the very students who may need them most for building future success.