Eric C. Sheninger's Blog, page 48

Waving Goodbye to Drive-By PD

There has been a great deal of knocks on professional development as of late and rightfully so. More often than not, professional development is something that is done to educators as opposed to an experience that they truly value for growth.  For many, district professional development is a one-size-fits-all isolated event with no follow-up or support.  If impact, changes to practice, and sustainability are the ultimate goals then efforts must be made to better support teachers and administrators. It’s time to move past the practice of “drive-by” PD that has very little, if any, impact on professional practice. 


Image credit: http://www.enginehd.net/
Let’s first tackle the stigma that comes with professional development. Learning is the ultimate goal for our students, not development. As such, districts need to invest in professional learning opportunities that will result in fundamental changes to teaching, learning, and leadership.  

Learning Forward describes what effective professional development looks like:

“Effective professional development enables educators to develop the knowledge and skills they need to address students’ learning challenges. To be effective, professional development requires thoughtful planning followed by careful implementation with feedback to ensure it responds to educators’ learning needs. Educators who participate in professional development then must put their new knowledge and skills to work. Professional development is not effective unless it causes teachers to improve their instruction or causes administrators to become better school leaders.”

Professional learning definitely matters and effective planning and implementation is key.  A research review by the Wallace Foundation found that effective districts invest in the learning not only of students, but also of teachers, principals, district staff, superintendents and school board members. A motivational keynote that provides practical, proven strategies for improvement is a good start to set the table, but what happens after this is what really matters. In order to ensure a wise investment of time and resources that will result in sustainable changes, it is important that professional learning be:
On-goingJob-embeddedSupported with coaching (face-to-face or virtual)Personalized and differentiated (i.e. micro-credentials)Facilitated by people who have done the work and implemented successful change that resulted in improved student learning outcomes and achievementDirectly correlated to professional practiceAligned to research and cases studiesAddresses real challenges educators faceSustainable over timeSo what does this actually look like? Our work at the International Center for Leadership in Education has been focused on these elements above for many years.  This is something I take great pride in. Since coming to ICLE almost two years ago we have integrated these principles into our Digital Leadership and Learning services as outlined HERE. In the process we have helped districts and schools embrace meaningful changes leading the digital transformation.  

Change takes time. Districts need to take this into consideration when investing in and implementing professional learning if the goal is meaningful change to improve student learning and professional practice.  This cannot be accomplished with drive-by PD. 

The Blogging Hurdle

During my typical digital leadership keynote or workshop, I consistently talk about the importance of blogging in relation to the pillars of communication, public relations, branding, and professional growth. When I ask attendees how many of them blog, usually ten or less hands go up. This question is quickly followed by how many of those who blog do so consistently. At most there are five hands that go back up, but usually it is less.  I then proceed to tell the majority of the audience why they don’t blog and offer up some specific reasons:
I don't have timeI don’t know what to blog aboutNo one will read my blogI don't know how to start a blogI can’t writeI get it.  Back in the day, I was against the idea of blogging as I thought Twitter was good enough to meet certain leadership and learning goals I had established.  If something is important to you then you will find a way. If not, then you will make an excuse.  At the time blogging just wasn’t important enough to me so I came up with as many excuses as I could to avoid the topic. 


Image credit: http://www.techburgeon.com/
My exact excuses are listed above. It wasn’t until a man by the name of Ken Royal pulled me aside and gave me some advice that totally changed my professional career. He basically said that we were doing such great work at my school and I should share it in detail so others could benefit from our experiences.  He essential convinced me that I had to blog. The conversation we had motivated me to move past the excuses I had concocted and to do my best to write in detail about practical strategies that successfully resulted in sustainable change. To this day I have never stopped blogging, although my style and topics have changed with my career transition. Consistency is important, but getting started and valuing the process is crucial.

Let me make this crystal clear – Your work matters more than you realize! Awesomeness happens in districts, schools, and classrooms every day. If you are not blogging about these daily wins, you are selling your kids and community short. Don't let the excuses hold you back from sharing the inspirational stories and practical strategies that can combat the negative rhetoric in education. As I have said since 2009, if you don't tell your story someone else will. Digital leadership compels us to become the storyteller-in-chief.  

So what should I blog about? Here are some general topics and tips to get you motivated to either start or write more consistently:
Communicate news, events, building projects, student achievements, staff accomplishments, and other informationTell great stories as a means to take control of your public relationsReflect on your learning, successes, and failuresDevelop a positive brand presenceShare practical strategies and evidence that have resulted from change initiativesProvide insight on how specific technology tools can be successfully integrated to support/enhance student learningIf you need even more blogging ideas or prompts, then check out the Ultimate List of Blog Post Ideas. 

Take the plunge. There are a variety of blogging platforms to chose from including Blogger, Wordpress, Medium, or Tumblr. Put aside at least 45 minutes a week to write. There are no rules on length of posts. Once your post is complete share on social media using mainstream hash tags. If you connect to my work or interests, shoot me an email so I can read it. Most importantly, write for you and no one else.

Do you already have a blog? If so share a link in the comments section below.

Supplement Your Professional Learning with edWeb

Since 2009 I have been a huge believer and advocate for connected learning and the formation of Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s). Now don't get me wrong, I still highly value face-to-face experiences, as there are some natural limits to learning exclusively in a social media vacuum.  The discussions, interpersonal connections, and relationships that result from these events are priceless.  It is also extremely important for district and school teams to collaborate in person on specific goals. Doing this exclusively online, outside of the school day or year, can be quite a challenge if not impossible.

As digital technology continues to evolve, educators now have numerous options to connect, learn, and grow in both formal and informal ways. These pathways provide an incredible supplement to formal learning opportunities that are provided through district/school trainings as well as off-site conferences, workshops, and presentations.  One of the most significant benefits of connected learning is the ability for educators to follow their specific passions to improve professionally.  Motivated by an intrinsic desire to improve, connected learning and PLN’s provide personalization and differentiation like never before.



There are so many fantastic tools that educators can use today to connect, engage, and learn with colleagues from across the globe. One of my favorite tools is a digital discussion forum called edWeb.  It is comprised of a community of over 100,000 educators from across the globe. Here is why edWeb should be a part of everyone’s PLN:

Anyone can join for FREE!Ability to join specific communities aligned to professional learning needs and interests.Be sure to check out the Leadership 3.0 community that I facilitate. Watch and participate in live webinars aligned to professional learning communities that are of interest to you. There is also a calendar that provides information on all the webinars being offered by month.Practitioners who are actually doing the work as well as experts in the field of education conduct Webinars.All webinars are archived so that educators can watch and learn at times convenient to them no matter where they are in the world.Continuing Education (CE) certificates are provided at the conclusion of each webinar and are accepted by many schools, districts, and states.edWeb can be accessed on any mobile device.
A new feature that has been rolled out recently is edWeb TV.  This paid subscription option provides educators access to over 800 on-demand webinars for a nominal fee. Each webinar has also been aligned to the national professional development standards.

edWeb has provided a supplement to my professional learning since it’s inception. Give it a try and I have no doubt that it will become one of your favorite connected learning tools as part of a vibrant PLN.

Change Needed Today to Prepare for Tomorrow

There is always a great deal of talk about what schools need to do now. The problem though is that most of the talk is not followed with action. Then there are those who want to act, but do not have the adequate support to do so. Herein lies the issue with all the change talk, rhetoric, and opinions.  Very few people reading this post will deny that the education system has to change now or we run the risk of preparing students for a world that no longer exists. 



Change is needed today to ensure learner success in the modern era, but just as importantly to prepare them for the unique challenges of tomorrow.  The reality though is that change in education becomes a balancing act with pressure from stakeholders on one side demanding increases in achievement as measured by standard metrics such as test scores. On the other side is the need to innovate in order to successfully cultivate the next generation of thinkers, doers, inventors, and creators who will be able to solve some pretty serious global problems in the not so distant future.  We have to stop looking at each side of the balance here and begin to focus on disrupting the system with bold ideas that blend results with meaningful learning.

Hence, I come back to the need to support schools and educators in this endeavor. For over 20 years the Model Schools Conference has provided educators with a learning experience driven by the districts, schools, and educators who have closed the achievement gap.  There is no better way to learn what works in a seemingly endless debate about the needed change in schools than from those who have successfully done it.  As a Senior Fellow with the International Center for Leadership in Education, one of my responsibilities is to help provide practical strategies for accomplishing change in the digital age. As many readers of this blog know, I am a huge proponent of innovative change that leads to actual results in teaching, learning, and leadership.  This has resulted in innovative changes to the Model Schools Conference to provide attendees with the skills, tools, strategies, and mindset to initiate sustainable change. 

Here are some highlights and areas of focus for this year’s event:
Closing the achievement gap and digital divide – Teams from model districts and schools will present proven pedagogical and leadership strategies on how they accomplished this in challenging times. There will even be a special Future Ready Schools strand.Innovative spaces for attendees to learn in – Design empowers learning, which is why we want attendees to experience this firsthand. Connections will then be made to how we can begin to transform spaces in our schools to improve student-learning outcomes. LEGO will also be on hand to lead immersion sessions on the importance of creativity in learning. Making to learn – For the second year straight there will be a working makerspace staffed by local students and outfitted by Table Top Inventing. What better why to see how making impacts learning than through our own students?The power of virtual reality – As a result of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s strategic partnership with Google, there will be an immersion experience for attendees using Google Cardboard and Expeditions. Attendees will also be exposed to emerging ways on how virtual reality can support rigorous learning. Return on Instruction – A hallmark of the conference will be a focus on the Collaborative Instructional Review (CIR) process, which will be on full display.  This process can help transform every administrator into an instructional leader, capable of unlocking the instructional power of every teacher and, in turn, the learning potential of every student.
In addition to the awesomeness listed above, numerous sessions will be led by some of the most prominent thought leaders and practitioners in education today.  Join us to get the support to initiate the change needed today to prepare for tomorrow. For the latest updates follow along on Twitter using #ModelSchools.

Return on Instruction (ROI)

"When integrating technology there needs to be a Return on Instruction (ROI) that results in evidence of improved student learning outcomes." - Eric Sheninger

For educational technology to be fully embraced as a powerful teaching and learning tool there must be a focus on substance over assumptions and generalizations.  There is a great deal of evidence to make educators reflect upon their use of technology. The most glaring was the OECD Report that came out last fall. Here is an excerpt:

"Schools have yet to take advantage of the potential of technology in the classroom to tackle the digital divide and give every student the skills they need in today’s connected world, according to the first OECD PISA assessment of digital skills. Even countries which have invested heavily in information and communication technologies (ICT) for education have seen no noticeable improvement in their performances in PISA results for reading, mathematics, or science."

This week I came across a post by Larry Ferlazzo that asked educators to provide their response to why EdTech has over-promised and under-delivered. Before even reading this post, I already began to develop some of my own answers based on my work and observations of schools all over the world. This response stood out from the second part of Larry’s piece:

"Good teaching is not about where or what to click.  Good teaching is about building quality relationships with students, helping students make connections to the real world, building students individual cognitive networks, and having our students enjoy learning for the sake of learning.  Technology will never solve all the ills of education! Nor should it! So what is the biggest problem in EdTech?  The biggest problem is that we have been teaching teachers and students how to use technology without giving them the why of technology.  We have mistakenly believed that giving teachers and students new software or a new box will help fix education."

Image credit: https://sites.dartmouth.edu
I agree that part of the problem has been a lack of focus on why technology should be integrated.  As the OECD Report alluded to, the problem isn’t the technology per say, but the lack of quality professional learning to support educators with effective implementation.  There needs to be a greater focus on instructional design, digital pedagogical techniques, and the development of better assessments aligned to higher standards.  I am proud to say that this is the foundation of our digital work at the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). It is important to note that this dilemma is not only specific to technology, but innovation as well.  There has to be a concerted focus on the why, how, and evidence of results. 

In addition to professional learning, we also have to be more critical of what we see and hear when it comes to educational technology.  For technology to be taken seriously as a tool to support and enhance teaching and learning then we must no longer accept assumptions and generalizations as to what it actually does. I for one want students empowered to own their learning, create artifacts, to demonstrate conceptual mastery, use their voice, be responsible in online spaces, and connect with the world in authentic ways.   From an educator perspective I also want teachers and administrators to utilize technology and innovative practices to improve teaching, learning, and leadership.  However, the principal in me also needs to balance this with clear results. This is a reality for every teacher and administrator that cannot be ignored.  It is important to show how students apply what they have learned in relevant ways aligned to the highest levels of knowledge taxonomy. Telling just doesn’t cut it anymore.

The next step is to begin to connect this to results that prove beyond assumptions and generalizations that technology is playing a role to positively impact teaching and learning. It is important to remember that if teaching, learning, and leadership don’t change, technology and innovation will never have the type of impact that is expected. Consider these four areas of evidence:

Data:  Now let me start off by saying that this is only one indicator of success. The key is to be able to align various data sources to technology use or initiatives. Standardized test scores have the greatest ability to illustrate to stakeholders how technology is positively impacting learning and achievement. Please take a look at this study by the University of Buffalo. It shows how Lockport City School students in a 1:1 iPad environment experienced significant achievement gains.  Read the entire piece as it explains why achievement increased.  Other data sources include graduation rates, acceptances to four-year colleges, attendance rates, discipline referrals, and levels of authentic student engagement. In terms of engagement make sure that it is actually leading to learning. Understand though that not all data is good data and that we should not be obsessed with this. However, saying it does not have any importance is unrealistic.  Observations/Evaluations: To really see if teaching, learning, and leadership are changing, administrators have to get in classrooms more. As principal my teachers had a combination of five of these each year (3 unannounced observations, mid-year evaluation, end of year evaluation). In addition to this my entire leadership team and I conducted non-evaluative walk-throughs each day. We can't forget that building leaders can use just as much support as teachers. Administrators are in desperate need more quality feedback in relation to their role in digital implementations.Artifacts: Examples of digital lessons, projects, assessments (formative, summative, rubrics, etc.) curriculum, and student work that aligns to higher standards. Blog posts were a great way for me to showcase examples of these artifacts. Here is an example of a teacher using Instagram and the standards-aligned rubric. My teachers aligned artifacts to their observations to support not only what happened during the observed lesson, but also what happened before and after.  All of these artifacts were aligned to standards found in the McREL tool we used.  By the end of the year all observation comments and artifacts populated into each teacher’s end of year evaluation giving me a body of evidence that clearly showed whether teaching and learning was actually changing. Each teacher wound up with a portfolio.Portfolios: Educators (teachers and administrators) and students can demonstrate evidence of growth and improvement over time in relation to learning goals. Everyone seems to talk about portfolios quite often, but I rarely see examples aligned to student and professional standards. 
Technology can and will have an impact on learning if and only if there is a focus on substance.  We must move past our infatuation with apps, tools, taglines, catchy sound bites, and broad claims that are not supported with either research or evidence of improvement. All educators should be able to answer the following question - How do you know that technology is impacting student learning and professional practice? Within this response should be examples of substance. 

Substance Over Assumptions and Generalizations

There is a great deal of evidence to make educators reflect upon their use of technology. The most glaring was the OECD Report that came out last fall. Here is an excerpt:

"Schools have yet to take advantage of the potential of technology in the classroom to tackle the digital divide and give every student the skills they need in today’s connected world, according to the first OECD PISA assessment of digital skills. Even countries which have invested heavily in information and communication technologies (ICT) for education have seen no noticeable improvement in their performances in PISA results for reading, mathematics, or science."

This week I came across a post by Larry Ferlazzo that asked educators to provide their response to why EdTech has over-promised and under-delivered. Before even reading this post, I already began to develop some of my own answers based on my work and observations of schools all over the world. This response stood out from the second part of Larry’s piece:

"Good teaching is not about where or what to click.  Good teaching is about building quality relationships with students, helping students make connections to the real world, building students individual cognitive networks, and having our students enjoy learning for the sake of learning.  Technology will never solve all the ills of education! Nor should it! So what is the biggest problem in EdTech?  The biggest problem is that we have been teaching teachers and students how to use technology without giving them the why of technology.  We have mistakenly believed that giving teachers and students new software or a new box will help fix education."

Image credit: https://sites.dartmouth.edu
I agree that part of the problem has been a lack of focus on why technology should be integrated.  As the OECD Report alluded to, the problem isn’t the technology per say, but the lack of quality professional learning to support educators with effective implementation.  There needs to be a greater focus on instructional design, digital pedagogical techniques, and the development of better assessments aligned to higher standards.  I am proud to say that this is the foundation of our digital work at the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). It is important to note that this dilemma is not only specific to technology, but innovation as well.  There has to be a concerted focus on the why, how, and evidence of results. 

In addition to professional learning, we also have to be more critical of what we see and hear when it comes to educational technology.  For technology to be taken seriously as a tool to support and enhance teaching and learning then we must no longer accept assumptions and generalizations as to what it actually does. I for one want students empowered to own their learning, create artifacts, to demonstrate conceptual mastery, use their voice, be responsible in online spaces, and connect with the world in authentic ways.   From an educator perspective I also want teachers and administrators to utilize technology and innovative practices to improve teaching, learning, and leadership.  However, the principal in me also needs to balance this with clear results. This is a reality for every teacher and administrator that cannot be ignored.  It is important to show how students apply what they have learned in relevant ways aligned to the highest levels of knowledge taxonomy. Telling just doesn’t cut it anymore.

The next step is to begin to connect this to results that prove beyond assumptions and generalizations that technology is playing a role to positively impact teaching and learning. It is important to remember that if teaching, learning, and leadership don’t change, technology and innovation will never have the type of impact that is expected. Consider these four areas of evidence:

Data:  Now let me start off by saying that this is only one indicator of success. The key is to be able to align various data sources to technology use or initiatives. Standardized test scores have the greatest ability to illustrate to stakeholders how technology is positively impacting learning and achievement. Please take a look at this study by the University of Buffalo. It shows how Lockport City School students in a 1:1 iPad environment experienced significant achievement gains.  Read the entire piece as it explains why achievement increased.  Other data sources include graduation rates, acceptances to four-year colleges, attendance rates, discipline referrals, and levels of authentic student engagement. In terms of engagement make sure that it is actually leading to learning. Understand though that not all data is good data and that we should not be obsessed with this. However, saying it does not have any importance is unrealistic.  Observations/Evaluations: To really see if teaching, learning, and leadership are changing, administrators have to get in classrooms more. As principal my teachers had a combination of five of these each year (3 unannounced observations, mid-year evaluation, end of year evaluation). In addition to this my entire leadership team and I conducted non-evaluative walk-throughs each day. We can't forget that building leaders can use just as much support as teachers. Administrators are in desperate need more quality feedback in relation to their role in digital implementations.Artifacts: Examples of digital lessons, projects, assessments (formative, summative, rubrics, etc.) curriculum, and student work that aligns to higher standards. Blog posts were a great way for me to showcase examples of these artifacts. Here is an example of a teacher using Instagram and the standards-aligned rubric. My teachers aligned artifacts to their observations to support not only what happened during the observed lesson, but also what happened before and after.  All of these artifacts were aligned to standards found in the McREL tool we used.  By the end of the year all observation comments and artifacts populated into each teacher’s end of year evaluation giving me a body of evidence that clearly showed whether teaching and learning was actually changing. Each teacher wound up with a portfolio.Portfolios: Educators (teachers and administrators) and students can demonstrate evidence of growth and improvement over time in relation to learning goals. Everyone seems to talk about portfolios quite often, but I rarely see examples aligned to student and professional standards. 
Technology can and will have an impact on learning if and only if there is a focus on substance.  We must move past our infatuation with apps, tools, taglines, catchy sound bites, and broad claims that are not supported with either research or evidence of improvement. All educators should be able to answer the following question - How do you know that technology is impacting student learning and professional practice? Within this response should be examples of substance. 

L .E. A. D. E. R.

"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things."  - Ronald Reagan

Lately I have really been focused on what true leadership actually is. Many times when I come across the word leader I see the word follower attached. In my opinion, leadership is not about attracting others to follow. To me, at least, this conveys a sense of power, authority, and control that might serve well in the short term by getting others to fall into line through conformity, but it doesn't create the conditions necessary for sustaining change.  I believe the definition and resulting perception of the term leader needs a makeover. 


Image credit: https://vladimerbotsvadze.files.wordp...
Great leaders don't tell people what to do, but instead take them to where they need to be. There is no agenda to create a harem of followers or disciples.  True leaders know that their success is intimately tied to the work of the collective. One person doesn’t win a war, election, or football game.  It is a team approach where each person in the organization knows that he or she has an important role to play. I can also say with certainty that one person doesn’t single handedly build a successful business. This same principle definitely applies to schools and districts.  As I have written in the past, leadership is all about action, not position.

As an attempt to further begin the process of redefining the term leader I developed an acronym based on my thoughts shared above. The best leaders do the following on a consistent basis:

Learn 

Empower

Adapt 

Delegate

Engage

Reflect

Learn – Learning is the work. Great leaders take professional growth seriously as they know there is no perfection in any position, just daily improvement. Leaders make the time to learn and get better on a daily basis. They also make their learning visible to inspire others to follow suit.

Empower – A key element of effective leadership is to empower others to take risks, remove the fear of failure, and grant autonomy to innovate.  People that are empowered find greater value in the work they are engaged in. Empowerment leads to respect and trust, which builds powerful relationships where everyone is focused on attaining specified goals.

Adapt – Everything can change in a heartbeat.  As such, leaders must embrace a sense of flexibility and openness to change accordingly in certain cases. The ability to adapt to an array of situations, challenges, and pressures are pivotal to accomplish goals. Success in life is intimately intertwined into an organism’s ability to adapt in order to survive. As leaders adapt they evolve into better leaders.

Delegate – No leader can do everything by him or herself. The decisiveness to delegate certain tasks and responsibilities is not a weakness. On the contrary, it allows leaders to apply more focus to areas of greater importance.  It also builds confidence in others in their ability as co-leaders of an organization even if they don’t have a fancy title.

Engage – In the sharing economy there might not be anything more important than information. Leaders understand this fact and develop strategies to authentically engage their stakeholders through multi-dimensional communications, by taking control of public relations, and developing a positive brand presence. Increased engagement results by meeting stakeholders where they are at, encouraging two-way communications, and becoming the storyteller-in-chief. 

Reflect – It is quite difficult to find a great leader who does not reflect daily on his or her work.  Reflection in a digital world can take many forms. It is not how one chooses to reflect, but an emphasis to integrate this process consistently that defines a great leader.

This is my stab at an acronym for L.E.A.D.E.R. that better identifies the characteristics, attributes, and mindset to create a much better meaning for the word. What are your thoughts on this? Are there any words you would replace for the ones I included and if so why?

Rigor, Relevance and Transformation at the Ground Level

The following is a guest post by Jill M. Hackett Ed.D. - Assistant Superintendent, Academic Services/School Accountability, North Kansas City Schools, Kansas City, MO.

Rigor and Relevance can seem like abstract terms until you start to understand how schools and districts apply them in specific ways. Over the past five years, we North Kansas City School District restructured our purpose so that student-centered learning was the ultimate objective. We put Rigor and Relevance in the foreground, along with several other initiatives. By committing to systematic integration of the model, we transformed the culture, the conversation, as well as the results in our district. Making our classrooms truly student-centered and relevant – thereby making real rigor possible – has allowed us to shape common beliefs for student success. 

Here’s a little more about several key elements of our restructuring and their application of the Framework.

“Is this in the best interest of students?”

NKCSD positioned this powerful and grounding guiding mindset as the backdrop for all of our strategies and decisions. This principle helped continually focus our attention on initiatives that would successfully improve our district. We wanted a viable, research-based tool that would allow for collaboration regardless of hierarchy or prior knowledge. We found it in the Rigor/ Relevance Framework. To implement its use, administrators learned how to coach teachers in using it to design learning opportunities as well as how to gauge teacher impact on student achievement. We spent a year training teams of eight teachers from each school to become resident Framework experts who were responsible for replicating professional learning modules on their campuses. Using an early release schedule once a week allowed teachers to meet in teams to further their exposure and understanding of the Framework.

Spotting a Quadrant D Lesson from a Mile Away

As the entire district really became familiar with the Framework, its four quadrants became part of our everyday thinking around instruction and planning. We also developed an awareness of what constituted all of the quadrants and could identify how various lessons were targeted to address learning in each distinct quadrant. Teachers realized that they needed to apply qualities of each quadrant – and know why and when to do so – in order to create relevant and authentic tasks. 

A Hidden Power of the Framework

Every teacher and administrator needs a simple, accessible, and readily-applicable way to talk about how learning can, and needs to, prepare students for life beyond the classroom. With just four quadrants, the Framework is a straightforward tool to consider and discuss student work and achievement. For teachers and administrators in the NKCSD, the Framework began to serve as the common language to describe exactly what it meant to ensure their students were college and career ready. 

A Common Language = A Connected Culture

An additional benefit of deep integration of the Framework into common language was the elevated levels of effectiveness of the PLTs (Professional Learning Teams). Together they shared experiences and observations of the most and least effective instructional approaches and were able to collaboratively determine what kinds of tasks would lead to increased student learning. 

As teachers began speaking the common language of the Framework, true, productive collaboration started to unfold. Numerous teachers grew more confident in their abilities, and mutually supportive relationships blossomed, which had a direct and noticeable impact on the quality of instruction and, hence, the student work emerging from the PLTs.

We also wanted pertinent stakeholders, including students and families, to know that the Framework was the linchpin to instructional decisions and goals. Teachers explained the Framework to students and families, making it known that students were expected to, with time, develop complex, Quadrant D thinking skills and the ability to apply high-level thinking to real-world scenarios. All students and their families were able to see how the district believed in their capability and potential, in specific and identifiable terms. 

Students Truly Owning Their Work

One of the most significant impacts from implementing the Framework came with how teachers provided feedback and built collective ownership of learning. Sharing the Framework with students helped demystify learning goals, giving students powerful ways to self-evaluate, contextualize progress, and articulate goals. 

One representation of the Framework in which a third grader analyzes how he spent his time as part of a writing block demonstrates real ownership of his learning.





The Framework naturally led to conversations in which students and teachers could both analyze and discuss work produced relative to the four quadrants. Instead of the “right or wrong” paradigm, the conversation shifted to the merits of student work and how it could stretch to other quadrants. Students and teachers were able to think about student achievement as a ladder accessible to everyone.

A Story of Improvement and Enrichment

In 2011, North Kansas City Schools had an Annual Performance Report in which the district earned only 78.9% of total points possible, the equivalent of a C in anyone’s grade book. By the 2013-14 school year, and after three years of total district adoption of the Framework, the significant improvements in collegial conversation and student work were reflected in a rating which had jumped to 92.1%. In the 2014-15 school year, we earned a 97.9% rating.

A highlight of the 2016 Model Schools Conference will be welcoming the North Kansas City School District leadership and hearing more about their implementation of the Rigor/Relevance Framework. Be sure to check them out on Twitter.

10 Things Great Leaders Do

"Great leaders don't succeed because they are great. They succeed because they bring out greatness in others." - Jon Gordon

There is no shortage of advice on the characteristics, qualities, and attributes that make up a great leader. As I have written in the past, leadership is a choice. It does not rely on a title or power, but instead, the actions that one takes. Leadership is the ability to move people to where they need to be instead of telling them what to do. 


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Below I offer what I consider to be ten things that all great leaders do:

Adapt When Needed – A great leader knows that his or her respective leadership style will never work for everyone. Being able to successfully navigate different personalities and situations requires flexibility as well as a willingness to change course on the fly.Love the Work - Enjoying the work provides the resolve to persevere when challenges arise. Most of all great leaders have fun and do what it takes to ensure others have fun as well.Show Appreciation – Any great leader knows that success is not isolated to one woman or man in an organization.  Leadership is a collective effort where everyone plays a role. Great leaders go out of their way to put others on a pedestal while consistently praising efforts both in public and private.Eliminate excuses – Challenges and obstacles will always be prevalent in any organization, especially schools. These often morph into excuses as to why certain initiatives can’t be accomplished. Great leaders clear the way for staff by removing obstacles and challenges through empowerment and autonomy.Establish a Focus Through Vision – A clear vision provides guidance as to not only the goals at hand, but also how to accomplish them. Great leaders work with stakeholders to develop a shared vision and resulting plan for action that keeps everyone focused on a goal of improving student learning. Great leaders also know that vision is not enough.Model Expectations – A great leader never asks anyone to do what he or she is not willing to at least try. Setting an example by putting yourself in the shoes of others provides the inspiration and motivation for staff to embrace change.Start Small – Great leaders don’t set out to radically change school culture in one fell swoop. They understand that success is the culmination of numerous small wins that build momentum for larger changes. Know When to Delegate – Common sense dictates that no one can do it alone. Great leaders exhibit trust in others when certain tasks are passed along.  This in itself works to develop more leaders across an organization. The process of delegation also allows for more of a focus on the larger issues at hand.Provide Meaningful Feedback – There is a big difference between meaningful feedback and criticism. Great leaders articulate where staff excels and specific areas of growth. Meaningful feedback is the fuel for improvement.Communicate Effectively - You will not find a great leader who is not a master communicator.  Great leaders understand that listening, facilitating dialogue, asking questions, creating an open environment, and getting to the point clearly are essential. They also understand the importance of a multi-faceted approach to increase stakeholder engagement.
What would you add to this list?

The Meaning of Words

Jargon in education is nothing new. Luckily there are so many resources available to make sense of it as it applies to our professional practice.  Just check the Dictionary of Educational Jargon to get some clarity, then have some fun with the Educational Jargon Generator. Words are always flying around in education circles. Whether it is in person at events and workshops or in social media spaces, I routinely see conversations play out where educators take a certain stance on the meaning of specific words. Now mind you, I am speaking about education buzzwords and am not discounting the negative meaning of words outside this realm. From my lens I see a great deal of time and energy spent on debating the negative aspects of words that other educators value. 

Certain words jump right out at me such as grit, innovation, branding, mindset, future ready, deeper learning, and personalization. Each day various people chime in stating his or her disapproval of such words when an article focusing on its merits arise. Does the meaning in someone’s opinion really matter or is it more about the outcome as it pertains to the learning culture of our schools? Do our students feel the same way about these words as the adults who spend energy discounting them?  Maybe I am off base with my thinking here, but I try to find the value in many of the words listed above as I can see how they can relate to a positive school culture.

One word that I want to talk about is rigor. It is this word after all that motivated me to write this post. I have seen many people I respect get pretty fired up about the term. Taken out of an educational context the word rigor can imply being rigid, inflexible, strict, unyielding, etc.  With these descriptions, it is no wonder many people dislike the word. I for one don't see it this way, especially when using the term throughout my presentations and work. 


The Rigor Relevance Framework
I see rigor as a way of framing lessons and learning outcomes at the high end of knowledge taxonomy. Rigorous learning empowers students to develop, have the competence to think in complex ways, and to apply their knowledge and skills. Even when confronted with perplexing unknowns, students are able to use extensive knowledge and skills to create solutions and take action that further develops their skills and knowledge. This is my view of rigor. The definition below pretty much sums it up:

Rigor: A concept either describing an assignment that challenges students to use critical thinking skills or a learning environment that is challenging but supportive and engaging.

Rigorous lessons and learning activities ask students to compose, create, design, invent, predict, research, summarize, defend, compare, and justify to demonstrate conceptual mastery and standards attainment. Rigor is quite simply levels of thinking, including 

Scaffolding for thinkingPlanning for thinkingAssessing thinkingRecognizing the level of thinking students demonstrateManaging the teaching/learning level for the desired thinking level
Rigor is NOT:

More or harder worksheetsAP or honors coursesThe higher-level book in readingMore workMore homework
Rigorous learning is for all students (check out the Rigor Relevance Framework). The perception that rigor only applies to a certain group is near-sighted at best. Herein lies another point of confusion with the word. After all, all students not only deserve, but also should be made to feel that they can handle higher expectations.  

Not being flexible with the meaning of educational words and terms seems to be a bit hypocritical. In the case of this post, taking the opposing side of terms that others find value in seems a bit rigid, strict, and unyielding. Words in education are what you make of them. Try to have an open-mind and the inherent value might provide more context for your own work and goals, but more importantly that of your students.