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| Dr. Douglas Reeves Minnetonka Summer Institute June 27, 2012 |
Leadership Focus: Doing the Right Thing
Discussion Description:
With ground-breaking new research, Dr Douglas Reeves
provides a highly
interactive experience for every participant that
reveals the essentials of educational focus for
teachers and administrators. This keynote address will first consider the
moral imperatives linking research and practice. Then, using research from
thousands of schools in an international study, participants will consider
the essentials of focus, monitoring, and efficacy – the factors that are
most strongly associated with improved student achievement. Finally, Dr
Reeves will address the latest research on change leadership and
sustainability, along with the standards of evidence that teachers, administrators,
and educational policymakers should consider when implementing high impact
educational strategies
Credentials:
Dr.
Douglas Reeves is the founder of The Leadership and Learning Center
Notes:
2012 Research update:
Change consequences for missing work to making them do the work. Build work ethic that way! Move to a 4 point scale. When you have fewer failures, the behavior gets better. Research suggests suspensions go down and attendance rates go up.
School in Iowa went from
385 Fs to 15 Fs
Principal Transiency
More than 20% leave within the first two years
Student achievement goes down when a principal leaves
Quality of implementation of leadership initiatives is strongly associated With the principal remaining on the job
The disconnect between leadership teams and the senior leader
Top leaders understand top priorities & can explain value to shareholders but 86-98% of 2nd level of leaders can't. We must be better communicators
Can we fire our way to Finland?
Even with the power to fire teachers, principals don't do it. 1/3 of principals In Chicago never fired anyone even in the lowest performing schools.
culture beats policy everyday
read: "culture eats strategy for lunch"
Beliefs of adolescence
Career beliefs of inner-city adolescents
Carol Dweck - Mindsets
Perseverence and Grit more important than IQ for post-secondary success but kids don't know that.
Students thinking re-reading the materials is the best strategy for learning
The real best strategy is using quizzes to help study. Do better on content knowledge and inferno based questions. If people think we spend too much time testing, then we're using uninformative assessments. Testing doesn't just assess what we know, it changes what we know!
Combatting pseudo-science in the classroom
Learning-styles is WRONG!
We don't not consistently or reliably assess learning styles of students
When we focus our instruction on learning styles, the evidence suggests increased learning does not take place! More than 80% of teachers still think students should be taught based on their learning styles.
Be very skeptical of leaders that are always right. We learn moe from error! We need students to be resilient. We need to model that by talking about our own errors.
Science of great teams
Listening = talking - frequency of talking vs. listening (needs to be equal)
Face one another
Spider webs, not hierarchy - most effective teams has everyone talking to everyone else
Back-channel conversations - lots of these
Shape communication patterns
Face to face beats texting and emailing every time
Leader is there to facilitate discussion
Systematically evaluate these claims to leadership
5-7 years
We need short-term wins. Can't have 5 years plans in Ed. Focus on what we can do in 100 days
Implementation dips inevitable
Strategic planning essential
Buy-in is imperative
Do the important, not the urgent
Treat literacy and schools success as an urgent health issue. Picture of someone drowning
Don't worry about "buy-in" as it denotes an option of opting out. Teachers have earned the right to be skeptics. They don't want rhetoric, they want evidence (with their kids, in their building). We simply need to pursue change by asking teachers to test the hypothesis in their classroom. What creates "buy-in" is a year later that teacher seeing better scores!
There is a differences between a skeptic and a cynic. A cynic won't ever test an hypothesis
Need to fundamentally change from visions to blueprints
What would your vision statement look like, if you didn't use words? Would it still be clear?
New rules:
Think of short-term wins (long-terms change depends on short-term wins)
Think of a 100 day goal - Here's where we were the 1st day of school, here is where we are after 100 days. (read John Hattie- the new visible learning for teaches - 1 out of 150 - student goal setting that is clear and specific)
Execution, not excuses
Focus, not just strategy
Christopher Wren, Not Monet - be clear!
Behave "as-if" change occurred - when the results come, that's what changes behavior
Urgency and importance
The culture of evidence based decision making
Why didn't we win this battle?
Levels of Evidence
1. Belief
2. Personal experience
3. Shared experience
4. Systematic observation
5. Preponderance of evidence (numerous studies)
Do we have data based decision making or
Decision based data making?
Predict the impact in terms of years of progress:
SES
Expectations - clear learning goals the student understands with feedback as to where they are, and where they need to be
Formative assessment
Class size
Ethnic diversity
Retention
Expectations is 3 times more important than the anything else
Formative assessment is 1.5 times more important (has to be real formative assessment!)
Retention of students (holding them back) doesn't work
Does merit pay work? No proof.
Writing in kindergarten is about adult expectations. Kindergartners can read & write.
We should teach visually and with movement but we shouldn't label kids as such. Give all students a rich repotaire of instruction.
need to
Change or eliminate grading policies that use averages or zeros on a 100 point scale
Create alternatives for retention
Re-imagine summer school
Implement 4 Cs of 21st century learning: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity
How do we prioritize initiatives:
Measure implementation and feedback
Question to ask is what works best for student achievement?
What works best for our students achievement?
Implementation review
What is the inventory of initiatives?
Identify the range or level of implementation - develop a 4 point rubric. Gather evidence by observation, interviews, surveys, etc
What is the relationship between implementation and student achievement?
Low impact, low implementation- every turkey has a champion - someone will fight for this too!
High implementation, low impact - people still fight because the love it
Need High impact, high implementation initiatives
Writing in every subject, every grade, every month
What does re-imagine summer school mean?
Fix the failure, don't repeat the class
Focus on the cause, almost always literacy
what would it be like for the morale of your faculty if you asked them what course have you always wanted to teach - get rid of failures and remedial needs for students and you'll be able to teach it.
Standards based report cards
Don't pick unnecessary fights
Be clear about what does NOT need to change. Letter grades, transcripts, honor rolls IEPs - we can have all this with grades that have meaning
We need to increase the accuracy of grades
Think about kids getting honor roll grades but fail literacy tests (female students who are rewarded for the good girl effect) we reinforce being quiet, compliant, getting along and getting work done on time). We've got to stop patronizing girls - we need to teach them to be assertive.
Do both standards and grades watch what happens to irrelevant grading patterns.
Need a clear emphasis on literacy and fluency
If there were no money and no mandates, what would you being doing tomorrow? What motivates teachers is the moral obligation...
Reeves encourages a 4-point evaluation after each meeting. Are we getting better? Good feedback lets me know if I'm getting better. Watch how a music teacher gives feedback. They shape with their hands or their voice. Video Jason Etten giving feedback. Music teachers give splendid feedback.
Principals need to observe more. We under observe our best teachers. We need to encourage our very best performers.
Do PLCs work - no if all you do is change the name of the meeting group to a PLC. Give an example of an instructional or leadership practice that had charged. A PLC on fire has written evidence that their work has improved achievement.
Level 2 Many PLCs look at data but don't do anything with it.
Level 3 staring to use data to change instruction
What are the most effective strategies for creating culture of evidence?
Yearly ritual for every school and every department reporting out
#1 impact on teachers improving practice?
Let teachers teach teachers - model best practice
We need to build resilience in students. Can't do that with emphasis on averages. Durable learning comes from quizzes and using the quiz and teacher feedback to move learning forward.
Post student results with scoops of ice cream on a cone
Need teachers to own the assessments
Create feedback loops for improved ideas
Have kids write rubrics and test questions
Image of college readiness as your blueprint - kindergarten kid in a robe way to big for him holding a college diploma. College pathways begin in kindergarten
I used to think 100 point assignments created greater incentive to work hard but now I think they do more to discourage effort.
Tempting for principals to think they need to do everything
Teacher observation rubric: www.marshallmemo.com
Very specific - highlight what you see, don't highlight what you don't see
Marshall memo 441
What to do with students that do nothing
Alternative consequences
Quiet table
Getting it done room
Catch-up room
Red, yellow, green system - green is default. Homework squared away. Master list on Thursday is yellow for moderate concern, red list is in serious harm of losing credit. Put them on a yellow and red list and ask to look in their backpacks
The F and the zero don't matter to kids. Find something that does
Nonfiction
Persuade, describe, argue from evidence, challenge assertions
Must do in all subjects, not just ELA
Need to allow more practice on homework (like in athletics or activities) and a menu of homework to choose from based on complexity - where are you at? Do 15 problems. If 1-3 are easy, skip to 15-20. If those are hard, continue practicing, if not move onto 30-35. The problems students complete helps inform the teacher about the level at which they're understanding the content.
Reeves 2012 must reads:
2012 Research update:
Change consequences for missing work to making them do the work. Build work ethic that way! Move to a 4 point scale. When you have fewer failures, the behavior gets better. Research suggests suspensions go down and attendance rates go up.
School in Iowa went from
385 Fs to 15 Fs
Principal Transiency
More than 20% leave within the first two years
Student achievement goes down when a principal leaves
Quality of implementation of leadership initiatives is strongly associated With the principal remaining on the job
The disconnect between leadership teams and the senior leader
Top leaders understand top priorities & can explain value to shareholders but 86-98% of 2nd level of leaders can't. We must be better communicators
Can we fire our way to Finland?
Even with the power to fire teachers, principals don't do it. 1/3 of principals In Chicago never fired anyone even in the lowest performing schools.
culture beats policy everyday
read: "culture eats strategy for lunch"
Beliefs of adolescence
Career beliefs of inner-city adolescents
Carol Dweck - Mindsets
Perseverence and Grit more important than IQ for post-secondary success but kids don't know that.
Students thinking re-reading the materials is the best strategy for learning
The real best strategy is using quizzes to help study. Do better on content knowledge and inferno based questions. If people think we spend too much time testing, then we're using uninformative assessments. Testing doesn't just assess what we know, it changes what we know!
Combatting pseudo-science in the classroom
Learning-styles is WRONG!
We don't not consistently or reliably assess learning styles of students
When we focus our instruction on learning styles, the evidence suggests increased learning does not take place! More than 80% of teachers still think students should be taught based on their learning styles.
Be very skeptical of leaders that are always right. We learn moe from error! We need students to be resilient. We need to model that by talking about our own errors.
Science of great teams
Listening = talking - frequency of talking vs. listening (needs to be equal)
Face one another
Spider webs, not hierarchy - most effective teams has everyone talking to everyone else
Back-channel conversations - lots of these
Shape communication patterns
Face to face beats texting and emailing every time
Leader is there to facilitate discussion
Systematically evaluate these claims to leadership
5-7 years
We need short-term wins. Can't have 5 years plans in Ed. Focus on what we can do in 100 days
Implementation dips inevitable
Strategic planning essential
Buy-in is imperative
Do the important, not the urgent
Treat literacy and schools success as an urgent health issue. Picture of someone drowning
Don't worry about "buy-in" as it denotes an option of opting out. Teachers have earned the right to be skeptics. They don't want rhetoric, they want evidence (with their kids, in their building). We simply need to pursue change by asking teachers to test the hypothesis in their classroom. What creates "buy-in" is a year later that teacher seeing better scores!
There is a differences between a skeptic and a cynic. A cynic won't ever test an hypothesis
Need to fundamentally change from visions to blueprints
What would your vision statement look like, if you didn't use words? Would it still be clear?
New rules:
Think of short-term wins (long-terms change depends on short-term wins)
Think of a 100 day goal - Here's where we were the 1st day of school, here is where we are after 100 days. (read John Hattie- the new visible learning for teaches - 1 out of 150 - student goal setting that is clear and specific)
Execution, not excuses
Focus, not just strategy
Christopher Wren, Not Monet - be clear!
Behave "as-if" change occurred - when the results come, that's what changes behavior
Urgency and importance
The culture of evidence based decision making
Why didn't we win this battle?
Levels of Evidence
1. Belief
2. Personal experience
3. Shared experience
4. Systematic observation
5. Preponderance of evidence (numerous studies)
Do we have data based decision making or
Decision based data making?
Predict the impact in terms of years of progress:
SES
Expectations - clear learning goals the student understands with feedback as to where they are, and where they need to be
Formative assessment
Class size
Ethnic diversity
Retention
Expectations is 3 times more important than the anything else
Formative assessment is 1.5 times more important (has to be real formative assessment!)
Retention of students (holding them back) doesn't work
Does merit pay work? No proof.
Writing in kindergarten is about adult expectations. Kindergartners can read & write.
We should teach visually and with movement but we shouldn't label kids as such. Give all students a rich repotaire of instruction.
need to
Change or eliminate grading policies that use averages or zeros on a 100 point scale
Create alternatives for retention
Re-imagine summer school
Implement 4 Cs of 21st century learning: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity
How do we prioritize initiatives:
Measure implementation and feedback
Question to ask is what works best for student achievement?
What works best for our students achievement?
Implementation review
What is the inventory of initiatives?
Identify the range or level of implementation - develop a 4 point rubric. Gather evidence by observation, interviews, surveys, etc
What is the relationship between implementation and student achievement?
Low impact, low implementation- every turkey has a champion - someone will fight for this too!
High implementation, low impact - people still fight because the love it
Need High impact, high implementation initiatives
Writing in every subject, every grade, every month
What does re-imagine summer school mean?
Fix the failure, don't repeat the class
Focus on the cause, almost always literacy
what would it be like for the morale of your faculty if you asked them what course have you always wanted to teach - get rid of failures and remedial needs for students and you'll be able to teach it.
Standards based report cards
Don't pick unnecessary fights
Be clear about what does NOT need to change. Letter grades, transcripts, honor rolls IEPs - we can have all this with grades that have meaning
We need to increase the accuracy of grades
Think about kids getting honor roll grades but fail literacy tests (female students who are rewarded for the good girl effect) we reinforce being quiet, compliant, getting along and getting work done on time). We've got to stop patronizing girls - we need to teach them to be assertive.
Do both standards and grades watch what happens to irrelevant grading patterns.
Need a clear emphasis on literacy and fluency
If there were no money and no mandates, what would you being doing tomorrow? What motivates teachers is the moral obligation...
Reeves encourages a 4-point evaluation after each meeting. Are we getting better? Good feedback lets me know if I'm getting better. Watch how a music teacher gives feedback. They shape with their hands or their voice. Video Jason Etten giving feedback. Music teachers give splendid feedback.
Principals need to observe more. We under observe our best teachers. We need to encourage our very best performers.
Do PLCs work - no if all you do is change the name of the meeting group to a PLC. Give an example of an instructional or leadership practice that had charged. A PLC on fire has written evidence that their work has improved achievement.
Level 2 Many PLCs look at data but don't do anything with it.
Level 3 staring to use data to change instruction
What are the most effective strategies for creating culture of evidence?
Yearly ritual for every school and every department reporting out
#1 impact on teachers improving practice?
Let teachers teach teachers - model best practice
We need to build resilience in students. Can't do that with emphasis on averages. Durable learning comes from quizzes and using the quiz and teacher feedback to move learning forward.
Post student results with scoops of ice cream on a cone
Need teachers to own the assessments
Create feedback loops for improved ideas
Have kids write rubrics and test questions
Image of college readiness as your blueprint - kindergarten kid in a robe way to big for him holding a college diploma. College pathways begin in kindergarten
I used to think 100 point assignments created greater incentive to work hard but now I think they do more to discourage effort.
Tempting for principals to think they need to do everything
Teacher observation rubric: www.marshallmemo.com
Very specific - highlight what you see, don't highlight what you don't see
Marshall memo 441
What to do with students that do nothing
Alternative consequences
Quiet table
Getting it done room
Catch-up room
Red, yellow, green system - green is default. Homework squared away. Master list on Thursday is yellow for moderate concern, red list is in serious harm of losing credit. Put them on a yellow and red list and ask to look in their backpacks
The F and the zero don't matter to kids. Find something that does
Nonfiction
Persuade, describe, argue from evidence, challenge assertions
Must do in all subjects, not just ELA
Need to allow more practice on homework (like in athletics or activities) and a menu of homework to choose from based on complexity - where are you at? Do 15 problems. If 1-3 are easy, skip to 15-20. If those are hard, continue practicing, if not move onto 30-35. The problems students complete helps inform the teacher about the level at which they're understanding the content.
Reeves 2012 must reads:
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