TeacherDrivenChange

Teachers Shaking Up the Conversation

CTA IFT Teacher Think Tanks are being formed around the state to focus on what's working in public education and what changes teachers believe should take place in our schools.  Specifically, think tanks will provide teachers the opportunity to voice their ideas on the teaching profession, public education, and the teaching and learning process.  Think tank conversations will build on what’s great about our public schools with the goal of making them even better.  Think tank participants will also have the chance to discuss factors believed to be important to the creation of a culture of success for students.

Factors Driving Success - The CTA IFT has identified seven factors supporting student success.  Grounded in student and parent interviews, teacher focus groups, and school-community forums, each factor emphasizes strengths over deficits, creating a teaching and learning environment where student, parent, and teacher assets drive the school change process. 

Think tank participants will help the IFT gain valuable information in support of a strength-based approach to school improvement.  The knowledge gained will not only help students but also provide practical examples in support of authentic school change.

Click on the links below to find out more about the IFT and the Think Tank Program.

• Summary of Current IFT Program
• Shake Up the Conversation
• Teacher Driven Strength-Based Change Model
• Teacher Driven Strength-Based Change Model: Description of Terms
• Think Tank Guide to Strength-Based Thinking
• Seven Factor Strength-Based Matrix

 

The Positive Side of Teacher Evaluation

With all the talk about public education problems and teacher evaluation/performance, an idea for possible consideration is to think about what’s working in our schools and classrooms. The fact there are problems in our schools is not to suggest that our schools are the problem for the challenges facing society.   It is not rhetorical to suggest that great and wonderful things are occurring in our schools and perhaps, that’s where politicians and policy makers should focus their attention. 

There is another way!

Most teacher evaluation programs today are deficit based.  The goal is to find what’s broken and then fix it.  This logic may work for a machine but makes little sense for the classroom.  Suggested here is a different logic; logic based on strengths, optimism, and possibilities.  Below are a few strength-based questions which can be used to begin a new conversation on teacher evaluation.

1. Thinking about teacher evaluation, what has worked in the past?  Are there aspects of the evaluation process that you find useful?  How has the evaluation process supported teaching and learning?
2. Thinking about the last few year, describe a time(s) when you felt the most excited, engaged, and successful in your teaching.  What were the key elements that made your teaching successful?
3. Are there some aspects of your teaching that you would like to amplify and expand?
4. When you think about your teaching and learning experiences, are there suggestions you would like to convey to colleagues?
5. What stands out for you in your working relationships with other teachers and parents?
6. What first steps should be taken to make the teacher evaluation process successful for all teachers?

Strength-Based Math Questions

We usually have no problem hearing what students don’t like about a subject.  However, we seldom have detailed conversations about what they really like or enjoy.  One way to create a positive environment around any subject area is to ask affirmative or strength-based questions.  Below are sample strength-based mathematics questions designed to create affirmative storytelling and conversations:

1) Think of a time when you had a really terrific experience with mathematics.  Was there a particular math exercise, problem, or activity that you really enjoyed?  Describe what you consider to be the best way to learn mathematics.  Why do you feel this way?

2) Without being modest, what do you value most about yourself, your greatest strengths, and how your strengths help you in school?  How do these strengths help you with mathematics?

3) Why do you believe mathematics should be a subject in school?  How can mathematics help you with your other subjects?  Do you have friends that are good in mathematics?  Why do you think they do well in mathematics?    

4) If you had three wishes about mathematics, what would those wishes be?  As a mathematics student, what do you believe to be the best way to teach and learn math?

5) Thinking about your mathematics classes, what is the most important thing you have learned?  Why do you feel this way? 

CTA IFT Mini Grant Program is a Major Success

The CTA IFT Mini Grant Program is a major success. Close to 50 mini grant applications from individual teachers, teacher teams, and local CTA chapters were submitted.  Grants were evaluated on their strength-based, teacher-driven approach, design, and methodology to school change.

Focusing on strengths, assumes that every student, classroom, and school have untapped stories of excellence and that telling these stories releases positive energy and inspires creativity.  Strength-based thinking believes that a diverse mix and use of school community stakeholder talents lead to the best results.  It is also believed that a strength-based approach increases resilience and capacity to overcome challenges.

The IFT Grant Committee, Liane Cismowski, Kiran Kumar, David Orphal, Barry Wissman, and Kelly Horner, met on May 7 and 8, to review applications and select grant recipients for recommendation to the IFT Board of Directions.  The IFT Board voted to award 12 Mini Grants to members and chapters for the 2010-11 school year.  In total, the eight educator grants and four chapter grants range from approximately $4,000 to $20,000.

Public recognition of the recipients will be made during the June State Council meeting.

Applying Appreciative Inquiry to Testing and State Standards

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a strength-based approach that is very popular. AI's fundamental approach is to discover, honor, and amplify what works in a system or organization. AI can be used with individual students, one-on-one student-teacher relationships, classrooms, schools, school districts and school communities. AI has also been found to be a positive force for creating success for students that have known only failure. By focusing on student strengths over deficits, teachers have been able to help students gain the necessary confidence and commitment to be successful. Click here to find how one teacher changed the lives of students. Other resources include:

Leading Strength-Based School Change

A Conversation on the Future of Education

Student Discipline: A Strength-Based approach

If your school is experiencing high suspension and expulsion rates, you and your colleagues may want to consider practices and procedures based on student assets and strengths?   Click here to learn how a school task force made up of adult and student stakeholders devised a series of interventions that included student-led efforts to improve discipline policies and procedures. These interventions increased personal accountability, leadership, resiliency, self-management, and social competence in students as opposed to merely reducing student deficits in the form of undesirable behaviors.

Focusing on Strengths: ECE Can Lead the Way

The What Works Conference examined new ways to increase student self-reliance and accountability by emphasizing personal talents and strengths.  While there is a rush by many elected officials and policy makers to promote academics, What Works presenters and participants discussed the view that early childhood education should first create a foundation based on student talents and strengths.   Dr. Lindsey Godwin    , Assistant Professor of Management in the College of Business, Morehead State University and Matthew Meoble, a Clinical Instructor of Education in the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education at Morehead State University presented a strong case for how strength-based approaches can act as an antidote for many of the challenges facing our schools today. Specifically, Lindsey and Matt describe how Appreciative Inquiry (AI) can be used by teachers and parents to create a school community environment that is rich with excitement and passion – passion that is driven by students’ talents and strengths.   Click here if you would like to view all three AI sessions.

Quoting Thomas Edison, If we did all the things we were capable of, we would literally astound ourselves, Dr Godwin described AI as both an approach and philosophy for teachers and parents which had the potential for changing the social and academic environment for our schools.  According to many participant comments, the AI presentations reinforced their own ideas as well as provoked new insights and possibilities for their teaching.  Matt informed participants that Appreciative Inquiry was extremely powerful because it can be used by both a single person – teacher, student or parent - or an entire organization: classroom, school or district.  In other words, AI has the possibility to transform our schools and classrooms to a place where teachers and students co-create a teaching and learning environment that values the social and academic skill and knowledge of students; a place where problems take a backseat to the great things that students bring to the classroom.

Participants were invited to practice reframining some of their own student, classroom or school topics from an appreciative perspective.  The resulting interaction was exciting and wonderful to hear teachers and other ECE stakeholders dialogue about the great things taking place in their school community.  It was a joyful experience for all those that attended and important reminder of what all public education should like.  Contact the IFT if you would like more information on how you can bring Ai to your school or classroom.

What Works Conference – A Major Success

From October 26 through November 19, 2009, hundreds of California teachers, preschool providers, administrators, parents, and community leaders participated in the CTA IFT What Works Virtual Conference with school community stakeholders from all over the country.  Individuals viewed pre-recorded videos and talks, attended live webinars, and participated in thought-provoking discussions that focused on the positive strengths that can be brought to early childhood education environments.  While the focus of the conference was on preschool, participants discussed and heard ideas that applied to all of public education.  Click here to view conference sessions, presentations, and panel discussions. 

Conversations Matter - From various strength-based school improvement strategies, to sessions that emphasized student resilience and capacity building, participants listened, dialogued, and discussed possible actions that they might take in their classroom and school community.   If you attended a workshop, viewed one or more of the panel discussions or workshop archives, or otherwise participated in the What Works! Conference, you are eligible to receive a Certificate of Participation.  Login to the What Works Conference web site to receive a Certificate of Participation and one will be sent to you.

Introducing Appreciative Inquiry

Meet David Cooperrider, the founder of Appreciative Inquiry. When David Cooperrider was a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio, he was conducting research into organizational behavior with the Cleveland Clinic. David observed that when interviews focused on the problems at the clinic, his subjects' energy decreased and they felt demoralized. When the interviews focused on what was working, they exhibited increased energy and enthusiasm for their work. (See the video below)

Cooperrider also noticed the same impact on those conducting the interviews. When the focus was on problems, the result of the inquiry was a vicious circle spiraling downward. When the focus was on what's working and what's valuable, the result was a virtuous circle spiraling upward. When I do good I feel good; when I feel good, I do good. Contact the CTA IFT if you would like to learn more about Appreciative Inquiry and how it can be used in the schools.

Focusing on What Works

A recent article in the LA Times on student attitudes illustrates an important Appreciative Inquiry principle: You find what you are looking for – If you are looking for bad stuff you find bad stuff and if you look for good stuff that's what you find. The article, based on a recent survey of South Los Angeles high school students, suggests that many are frightened, deeply dissatisfied, and exhibit symptoms of clinical depression. Students reported that their school and teachers are failing them, racial tension and gang violence exists in their school community, and that their schools look more like prisons. The survey was conducted in seven South L.A. public schools by a community youth organization, South Central Youth Empowered Thru Action (SCYEA), with technical guidance from the psychology department at Loyola Marymount University. While the intention of this group is notable (as with so many other public and private organizations), there is little evidence that simply identifying problems lead to improvement or change. Otherwise, we would surly not be facing the same problems, issues or concerns that have been voiced over the past 20 years. In addition, by limiting our discussion to problems we are more likely to increase cynicism and pessimism. What the CTA IFT has uncovered with other teachers, administrators, CTA leaders and staff, and school community representatives is that by investigating only problems we merely become experts on the problems and not on solutions. On the other hand, when we focus on what works and works well, we find solutions, possibilities, and a new sense of hope. Instead of surveying students, teachers, parents and other individuals about what's not working in our schools, the CTA IFT is more interested in observing and asking questions about programs, organizational structures, teacher and administrator decision-making models, school – family relationships, and teaching and learning strategies that work. Once this information is known, we can begin to identify and catalogue successful behaviors and practices that can be replicated in classrooms, schools, and school district communities.