MERIT PAY

My colleague Dr Jim Doran, the director of international programs at Performance Learning Systems, is a guest on this week’s blog. Jim has been a teacher, coach, and headmaster at international schools on several continents. The following excerpt is taken from an article he published in InterED, The Journal of the Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE) Spring 2010 (pg27)

Merit Pay and Teamwork = Oil and Water for Teachers

Teaching is incredibly complex and when we try to make it less complex, as many seem to be trying to do, we do not do justice to our students. At the AAIE conference in Boston I was privileged to hear Daniel Pink discussing pay for performance in the world of business. In his latest book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, which uses 40 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation, Pink stated that pay for performance works … for simple tasks, but as soon as there is even the smallest bit of complexity, merit pay is actually a negative factor. Although he was speaking to educators, he wasn’t talking about teaching or about schools; behavioral science says that pay for performance in business does not improve productivity, except in the simplest of tasks.

Business! Did I hear him correctly? How many times have I sat in board meetings listening to a board member say that we should run schools more like businesses and reward teachers for their performance? I always ask, and on what basis should we judge their performance? What if they have an unusually difficult class? Do you think merit pay would build a more collaborative or a more competitive environment? Etc. My questions don’t usually go over well, as businessmen are confident that competition between co-workers improves the bottom line. Therefore competition amongst teachers would improve teaching and learning. They need to read Dan Pink’s book.

I love coaching sports. Coaching a sport, like teaching a class, is an incredibly complex task. I coached for more than 25 years all around the world. Although in the beginning I thought I coached because I loved the sport, I quickly realized that although I did love the game, I loved building a team even more. What I really enjoyed was mentoring young people with varied ability levels, improving their skills, developing their fitness, but most of all showing them how much fun it is to play as a team. Helping my players realize how good it feels to work together, win or lose; how the whole of the team is so much more than the sum of the skills of the individuals are what kept me on the court year after year.

Coaches criticize their players, but good coaches do it in a way that their players know the criticism helps them to become better players and better teammates. Good coaches praise their players when they play well. Yes, at times, after working hard to help them improve, some players are cut if they aren’t improving or helping the team. That’s what we should be doing with teachers. Praising teachers for all that they do well and coaching them for improvement. Not stifling their creativity or dividing them by paying them for performance based on unreliable data, but helping teachers become better at what they are doing and better at being collaborative team players. Yes, there will be teachers that we need to counsel out of the profession because they are not providing the expertise and support their students deserve. Administrators need the tools, the will, and the support of their boards to confront that small group of teachers. But the vast majority of teachers want to be the best they can be, they are dedicated to their students, and they are capable of improving.

If teachers are coached, mentored, and supported they will do more for their students than we could ever ask of them. If they are paid for performance, well just read Daniel Pink’s book.


You can correspond with Jim at drjdoran@plsweb.com

COACHING IN A CLIMATE OF CHANGE

I was invited in May to present at the Reading First Technical Assistance Center’s conference in Philadelphia, Coaching in a Climate of Change. The conference focused on the most effective components of coaching and what is known about the benefits of coaching, the potential losses if there is no coaching, the expanded role for coaches, successful principal-coach partnerships, a continuum of coaching services, strategies for working with resistance to change, and ways to facilitate teamwork and communications.

The conference was based on 10 coaching axioms they called, “What We Know For Sure”.

Here are the ten…(comments after each are all mine.)

Coaches need to:

Know that their most important work happens in teachers’ classrooms.

I’ll stand up and salute on this one! Biggest reason…that’s where the kids are! Coaches can multiply the impact of their effort if they go into teachers’ classrooms with other teachers in tow. If modeling for a teacher it's great if she can watch the lesson while conversing with another teacher or two about what they are seeing. Similarly, the coach discussing an observation of a lesson with another visiting teacher provides increased return on observation time. This also promotes the teachers doing observations of each other without the coach.

Focus on Content.

Content is important. I’d expand this one to say focus on learning. What does the teacher need to get the students to do to master the content? There can be items that prevent the teacher and students from getting to the content that the coach may need to address. Classroom procedures and expectations are critical to have guided reading and centers.

Spend the time and effort necessary to build solid relationships.

Relationships are critical to build the trust that produces vulnerability during coaching which promotes teacher growth. To build trust one of the parties has to take risks. Coaches should go first. Ask teachers to observe your work with students and collect and provide you with specific feedback. Ask the principal to coach you when you are doing a workshop session for the staff. Be careful not to focus on building relationships through the avoidance of difficult situations. Providing teachers with resources is nice and valuable, but not what you want the relationship based upon.

Receive continuous professional development and support.

Coaches should be model professional learners. Coaches who study and learn with their teachers and administrators illustrate that finding the answers to student success is what we are about…not knowing the answers. I’ve had coaches ask me if they should work themselves out of a job. I’ve always said,” Only if you don’t learn something new.”

Be good teachers of adults as well as children.

Coaches need to create the climate and structures for job embedded professional development. An April 2010 Issue brief, Job-embedded Professional Development: What it is, Who is Responsible, and How to Get It Done Well suggests that “Adults learn best when they are self-directed, building new knowledge upon preexisting knowledge, and aware of the relevance and personal significance of what they are learning—grounding theoretical knowledge in actual events.”(pg8)1

Balance two key roles- that of trusted peer and instructional leader

I believe that coaching verbal skills are critical in helping coaches communicate the link between these two roles. Trusted peer communicates that the coach is working for the teacher. Instructional leader keeps the focus on student achievement. Fortunately these two themes are interwoven.


Discuss data frequently with teachers to maximize the impact on student achievement.

Data provides the opportunity for trusted peer to raise the instructional leader questions or better yet, the teacher raises the tough points to explore after examining the data. Coaches can set the stage early with the view that we examine data for a source of “discomfort”… that’s what motivates the continuous improvement process. It is also critical that data discussions move to action.

Cultivate a partnership with the school principal to achieve success.

I suggest that the coach makes the principal look good! And, the principal makes the coach look good. That kind of partnership supports teachers to best serve students. Too many coaching programs were implemented with insufficient preparation for principals on how to effectively use the resource of a coach in the building. Coaches should be members of the school leadership team. Time for principal/coach conversations should be scheduled.

Work with the principal to make coaching an integral part of the school culture.

Coaching should almost become unrecognized as it blends into a “It's how we do business here” part the professional culture. Coaching is a daily practice rather than a separate activity. Mentoring connects to coaching. Curriculum changes rely on coaching. Professional Learning Communities use coaching. Teachers’ growth plans include coaching. RTI has coaching observations to assist students.

Make building the capacity of other people a priority.

In effect teachers’ growth should be part of the coach’s and principal’s evaluation. When I sign on to be your coach or your instructional leader. I am accepting that part of my evaluation is your evaluation. Teacher capacity impacts student learning.


Job- Embedded Professional Development: What It Is, Who Is Responsible, and How to Get It Done Well, Issue Brief April 2010 [Andre Croft, Jane G Goggshall, Megan Dolan, Elizabeth Powers, Joellen Killion] National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality/Mid Atlantic Comprehensive Center/National Staff Development Council

THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION

I recently presented at the Texas Reading First Joint Advanced Coaching Institute and Leadership Summit. Two keynoters that preceded my breakout sessions shared some thoughts that I felt would make for strong faculty discussion points and reflection especially as the end of the school year approaches.

The first speaker was Dr. Kati Haycock, the director of the Washington-based Education Trust. Dr Haycock provided data analysis from NAEP and international comparisons of student achievement as measured by PISA that had a sobering impact on the audience.
She mentioned the excuses that we give ourselves when we identify students’ situations as the reason that achievement is less than desired. One by one she shared other countries' data and individual school data that “shot holes” in our excuses. Schools with high poverty populations whose student achievement surpassed state averages and in many cases surpassed high income area schools.


Reflect on these statements:

Students cannot do better than the assignments they are given. Dr Haycock shared dramatic differences in teachers’ expectations as evidenced by the assignments given students. When addressing common curriculum or standards, these differences often exist between schools in the same district. Students from poverty often received an A on an assignment that would receive a C in an affluent school

High performing schools with students from poverty focus on advanced standards rather than proficient. “If we work on advanced, well be proficient.”

Educators in the high performing schools focus on what they can change rather than what they can’t. This statement set the stage for the second presenter, Dr Robert Brooks who spoke on the importance of Mindsets that Nurture Motivation and Resilience. (I previously blogged about Dr Brooks’ work on resilience.)

Dr Brooks shares characteristics of the Mindset of Effective Teachers. Can you identify where these are exhibited in your school and classroom?1


Effective educators:

Understand the lifelong impact they have on students, including instilling a sense of hope and resilience.

Believe that attending to the social-emotional needs of students is not an “extra-curriculum” that draws time away from teaching academic subjects.

Believe that all students yearn to be successful and if a student is not learning, educators must ask how they can adapt their teaching style and instructional material to meet student needs.

Recognize that if educators are to relate effectively to students, they must be empathic, always attempting to perceive the world through the eyes of the student.

Recognize that students will be more motivated to learn when they feel a sense of ownership for their own education.

Subscribe to a strength-based model, which includes identifying and reinforcing each student’s “islands of competence”.

Recognize that constructive relationships with parents facilitate the learning process for students.

Develop and maintain positive, respectful relationships with colleagues.

I have some end of the year and summer leadership team sessions on my schedule to facilitate. I will use some of Drs. Hancock’s and Brooks’ messages to spark reflection, conversation, and hopefully some conscious practices for future implementation. I’ll let you know what happens.


1Understanding and Managing Children’s Behavior: Creating Sustainable, Resilient Schools (2007) by Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. and Robert Brooks, Ph.D.[JohnWiley and Sons]

PLCs EXPLORING CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

An elementary school leadership team asked me to spend a day observing classrooms in the school with the instructional coach, keeping a focus on classroom management, group dynamics and the impact on learning. Then, to plan meetings with vertical professional learning communities to uncover common beliefs and practices that could support the leadership team’s development of a school wide behavior plan.

What follows is the questioning strategy I used to generate conversations and identify common themes among the schools 5 vertical PLCs. The instructional coach served as a recorder of the conversations and an ear for the leadership team.

The first two questions asked individuals to write short responses which were collected without names for future planning purposes. Each person shared their thoughts with the PLC.

#1 What is the message you want your students to take from your classroom management approach?

#2 How would you describe the group dynamic you want to create?

PLC members quickly identified with and extended the responses of their colleagues. Two themes emerged across the school…RESPECT was a desired outcome that teachers wanted to build and promote and TEAMWORK was important. Most teachers wanted students to take some responsibility for the learning success of their classmates.

For continued conversation and uncovering of beliefs, I provided each teacher with index cards numbered 1-5. I presented the following statements one at a time and had each person share their rating prior to discussion.

5—strong agreement
4 some agreement
1 strong disagreement
2 some disagreement
3- not sure where I stand

A. I would like my classroom to function with less and/or different rules late in the year than the rules earlier in the year.

B. Students need to know that classroom rules and procedures change from one learning activity to another.
(During my observation I noted some classrooms had rules posted that included, “Always Raise Your Hand”, yet teachers were approving called out answers on the current activity and later reprimanded a student who called out.)

C. Compliance is a starting point but not my end goal.
(I noted that behavior charts in classrooms where I observed tended to move from compliance to negative behavior that led to a negative consequence. I wanted to explore how people communicate recognition of appropriate behaviors without teacher request or extended behavior like going out of one’s way to help a classmate.)

D. Disruptive students sent from a classroom to guidance counselor should receive a negative consequence (punishment).

E. A disruptive student returning to the classroom from guidance or office should have a plan and the teacher should be part of the plan.

F When I send a disruptive student out of my classroom, I have begun an initial RTI process.

A final question sought beliefs about what message a school-wide behavior plan should communicate.

Note that all of the above were designed for teachers to hear each other’s thinking and reflect on their own approaches. None of the questions were explored long enough to seek consensus.

Here are some possible next steps that the leadership team examined from the PLC activities.

Have upper grade classes discuss respect with a set of exploratory questions. Then, have representatives from each class meet to create a RESPECTFUL STUDENT definition. Use the definition in classrooms throughout the year.

Have the faculty at a staff meeting complete a similar activity and create the RESPECTFUL TEACHER definition. (Useful for ongoing observation, coaching and self reflection.)

Share Marve Marshall’s thoughts on expectations and procedures versus rules with faculty. (Discipline Without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards)
“Relationships improve as rules decrease”.
Have teams of 4th and 5th grade students interview students and staff and create safe use of playground procedures, efficient cafeteria procedures, respectful and considerate hallway procedures, etc.

Examine how staff relations should model the team behaviors that we want from students:
We are all responsible for all students’ success. Each staff member works to support the success of other staff members.

Substantial conversation occurred and many ideas were generated in a short amount of time.

COACHING COACHES

To reap the maximum gain from a coaching program, districts need to prepare principals to support and supervise coaches’ work and clarify the program goals for staff. (The Learning System, NSDC, Dec/Jan 2010, Joellen Killion High Impact Coaching Ensures Maximum Results) ”When coaches are timid about their roles and lack a clear goal or focus, their efforts may lead to teachers feeling supported, but without effecting any change in practice or student learning.” (page 6)


In my workshops where I train coaches and administrators, I promote them serving as coaches to each other. Their coaching serves as a great model for staff and assists both administrator and coach in staying focused on the outcomes of their work.

In a recent workshop, I modeled a pre-conference with a math coach. Our dialogue illustrated how coaching helps a person define the “work” that will lead to the desired outcome.

Here is the conversation after about five minutes of warm-up and rapport building:

Steve: What have you chosen as the focus of our coaching time?

Coach: I’d like to be more successful working with teachers who lack sufficient math knowledge and background. They actually say, “I don’t like math and I’m not good at it.”

Steve: Could you arrange for me to observe a conference you are having with that teacher?

Coach: Pretty sure I can.

Steve: What do you want to accomplish in that conference?

Coach: For the teacher to be more competent and confident in teaching the current math concept.

Steve: What would cause the teacher to be more competent and confident?

Coach: She needs to gain increased understanding.

Steve: What will the teacher need to do to develop increased understanding?

Coach: Research…and practice

Steve: Study?

Coach: Yeah, study.

Steve: Homework?

Coach: Yes

Steve: So your goal in the conference will be to get the teacher to commit to doing extra preparation…researching, studying the content prior to planning instruction for the students.

Coach: Yes…that’s what I need to do.

Steve: OK. How about I observe with a T-chart, recording what you say on one side and the teacher’s response on the other. Then we can study that to identify the strategies/choices you use and their effect. I’ll be happy to share any ideas I get from observing with your goal in mind.

Coach: Sounds like a plan.

I’m pretty sure that prior to our conference the coach had not identified the specific teacher behaviors she needed to gain as an outcome from the conference. Having that defined should sharpen her conferencing effectiveness.

A coach could conduct a very similar pre/post conference with an administrator concerning a faculty meeting. Such conversations would likely increase leadership effectiveness.