Friday, January 17, 2014

A Reader Asks... A Power Zone Ruling

A teacher new to the LYS Nation asks:

SC,

If I have students working independently at their desks on their math assignment while I am moving through the classroom helping them, is that not an example of working in the Power Zone?

I appreciate your help. 

SC Response
Great question. Keep in mind that you are in the Power Zone when monitoring or teaching while in close proximity to one or more students.  Working directly with a student while the others are doing independent work would be a textbook example of the teacher working in the Power Zone. Which seems to me is exactly what you have described.

If you have any other questions, just send me a note.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21st Century High School Conference  
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Thursday, January 16, 2014

A Reader Writes... The Alternative Certification - Part 1

In response to the 11/14/2013 post, “The Alternative Certification” a LYS Principal adds:

To Any Assistant Principal Interested in Becoming a Principal,

Casting a wide net is a key component for either person (traditional certified / alternative certified). Cain is right when he says that the competition increases as you move up the leadership ladder. I heard an old football coach say the most difficult head coaching job to get is the first one. After that, your experience and success opens doors. Keep up the good work for your students and you will be rewarded.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21st Century High School Conference  
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

A Superintendent Writes... An Attempt at Meaningful Dialouge - Round 1

A LYS Superintendent shares the following:

SC,

A teacher (with a known agenda) sent a mass email to a bunch of superintendents. As you know, I love reasoned and spirited discussions so I responded. Below are the questions and my responses.

Thinly Veiled Questions Mass Emailed to Texas Superintendents:

Please inform me on what the teaching method is when promoting the learning theory of "social constructivism" and "proximal development."  Is it inquiry-discovery?  I was under the impression that this is a learning method not a teaching method.  Is it facilitation as opposed to direct instruction?   Are these opposites?  Is there an actual term for the teaching method of CSCOPE?   Why would teachers need training for CSCOPE if they received certification in teaching via their academic degrees?  Why are so many people pulling their children out of CSCOPE schools across the state? Can they all be wrong?  Are they lying about the negative affects they speak of?

My Response as a Texas Superintendent:

Wow.  That's a lot of questions.  Let's start with learning theory.  Learning theory simply tries to explain how the human brain processes information and learns.  One of the first big theories was, “Mental Faculties,” which was developed in the late 19th century. The next big one was “Behaviorism.”  Behaviorism is interesting and can explain a lot of human learning.  If I squirt water on a cat for getting on the table, the cat learns not to get on the table.  We do the same thing with young children.  Behaviorism tends to lose effectiveness (notice I didn't say it stopped working) as children get older.  By the time of our later teen years and into adulthood, we sort of want to be reasoned with and not spanked like a child in order to learn lessons. Some other commonly recognized learning theories include “Cognitivism” and “Constructivism.”

In Constructivism the learner constructs new learning in her brain by comparing a new, unfamiliar concept with something already known.  So, if you show me a puzzle, I think to myself, this sort of looks like the type of puzzle I worked last week, but it’s a little different.  So I take what I know from working a previous puzzle, identify the differences in the new puzzle, and find a way to solve it.  Fairly straight forward.  

Again, none of these learning theories are new ideas.  The father of American education, the famous John Dewey, who lived in the mid-19th century, used constructivism.  Yes, the same Dewey of the Dewey Decimal System, used to organize libraries to this day. Marie Montessori of the now famous Montessori Schools was also an early developer and user of constructivism.  So, the idea that CSCOPE and constructive approaches to learning are the products of leftist wackos is simply not the case.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of extremists on both the Left and Right in education, but CSCOPE and constructive approaches to learning are the product of neither.

People who like constructive learning theories like approaches to teaching such as discovery learning.  Discovery learning is used in the elite private schools to this day, and it can be highly effective.  Discovery learning is also very slow and inefficient. So, there is a learning theory/teaching method pair identified: Constructivism/Discovery Learning. Certainly other theory/teaching pairs are possible, such as:

Constructivism/Direct Instruction
Constructivism/Group Learning
Behaviorism/Direct Instruction

You get the idea.  It is possible to pair almost any learning theory with a teaching method, depending on the knowledge and talent of the teacher.

By “Proximal Development,” you surely mean the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is once again a very old learning theory, not a teaching method.   I consider ZPD to be very similar to constructivism, but there are some subtle differences.  But once again it is possible to pair ZPD with instructional methods, for example:

ZPD/Direct Instruction
ZPD/Group Learning
ZPD/Discovery Learning

I am trying real hard to separate the ideas of learning theory and instructional strategies, because it seems that you have them thoroughly confused.  There are a variety of instructional strategies that a teacher can use:

Direct instruction, which often is called lecture, but doesn't have to be.

Group learning, where children learn from each other.

Discovery learning, where children figure out things on their own.  

All of these methods are tried and true.  

Now let’s discuss CSCOPE.  In my view the value of CSCOPE is the scope and sequence. That is, it tells us what we should teach, in what order we should teach it, and for how long we should teach each unit.  In the old days the scope and sequence was merely the textbook. You started on chapter 1 and turned the page.  When accountability was not in existence, you could get away with just using the textbook. But that is no longer the case.  Now we are accountable to teaching specific content to a specific standard, or you lose your job.  Educators now work in a different environment that requires different tools.  It became obvious to districts that the accountability and testing standards were moving and changing faster than textbooks and textbook adoption/appropriation could change.  Something had to give.  Districts had to have something aligned to state standards (some years textbooks were, some years not) and be able to change on a dime.  CSCOPE was the solution to the problem.  So, I don't see CSCOPE as promoting one learning theory or teaching method over any other.  

Frankly, I have not heard of a mass exodus from public schools because of CSCOPE. People leave because of discipline, or the excessive testing and accountability, but I have personally never heard CSCOPE given as a reason for withdrawing from a district. Couple that with the fact that 800 of the 1,027 districts in the state have self-selected to use CSCOPE and where are you going to escape to?  Yes, some of the larger districts create their own curriculum, but it still has to reflect the requirements set by the legislature and SBOE, and meet testing requirements. So honestly, the differences are minimal.  If people don't like CSCOPE, their problem is likely with the content, which is set by the legislature and SBOE.  The antics of our SBOE, when it comes to setting standards for what must be taught is simply legendary (embarrassing) in public education.

Can everyone be wrong?  Of course. The majority can be wrong, and can in fact be wrong the majority of the time.  Misinformation, mass hysteria, and personal agendas can have a tremendous impact.  Combine that with fast moving technology and you can sway the majority to the wrong conclusion frequently.  Are they lying about the negative effects of CSCOPE? Lying is a strong word. I prefer misguided and misinformed. I think I have answered all of your questions.  

I appreciate the opportunity to have assisted you.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
  • Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21st Century High School Conference  
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

A Reader Writes... The Power of Instructional Coaching - Round 2

With an update to the 1/10/14 post, “The Power of Instructional Coaching – Round 1,” a LYS Assistant Principal continues the conversation.

SC,

Here is the update from the second round (November) of PowerWalks conversations.  For these conversations we used the following questions:

PowerWalk Conversations
Round 2

1. Do you find daily Lesson Framing beneficial in your classroom? Who benefits more the teacher or the student? Explore.

2. In your classroom experiences, does student engagement rise or decline when you are in the Power Zone?  Explore.

3. In your classroom, what factors weigh heavily in to your students being on or off task?

4. How do you use Critical Writing in your classroom now and how can you use it going forward in your classroom?  Do you view using Critical Writing in your classroom favorably or unfavorably?

5. Any other questions the data presents to you?

What has surprised me the most is our teachers’ thoughts on the value of the Lesson Frame.  To a person, our teachers state they believe the Lesson Frame helps them focus their instruction for the day and keeps them on track to provide the essential elements of the lesson. That is a good thing, but their thoughts on how it helps our students has caused me some concern. 

Our teachers feel the students pay no attention to the Lesson Frame whatsoever.  I was surprised by these responses, as I would assume students would want to know the bottom line when they walk in to the classroom each day.  Some of our teachers have their Lesson Frames posted on fancy bulletin boards while others simply just write them on the white board each day.  I provide this information because I feel I can eliminate the presentation of the Lesson Frame as to why students are paying the Lesson Frame no attention.  I have asked students while visiting classrooms each day and rarely when asked “what they are doing today in class” do they reference the Lesson Frame.

I am not sure what to make of this information. While there is no doubting the value of the Lesson Frame when our teachers are lesson planning, which we require our teachers to do, are we asking our teachers to do needless work each day?

It is very possible I am over-thinking this issue, as I am known to do at times.  This consumes my professional thoughts only because we are seeing unprecedented buy-in this school year in the tenets of the Fundamental 5.  I just do not want to undermine the job you did at the beginning of the school year and our subsequent efforts afterwards if we are requiring our teachers to complete a task each day they believe our students find no value in it.  Your thoughts? 

SC Response
This is the fun part, tackling the issues hidden behind the issue.  And I have to commend your staff’s use of probing and reflective questions during individual instructional coaching sessions. Without being there to observe what is occurring here are some issues that could be driving the lack of student response to Lesson Framing.

1. Lack of Understanding. If the teacher has neither shared with students the purpose of a Lesson Frame nor referred back to Lesson Frame during the lesson, then a Lesson Frame is just one more thing on the board.

2. New to Using. If the students have been informed / taught what the purpose of a Lesson Frame is, and the teacher refers back to it during the lesson (and this rarely is the case), then students simply may require more exposure to the practice.

3. Not Using the Appropriate Format. If the teacher is not using the “I will… We will…” format, then students may not be cueing to it.

3. Too Broad. If the Objective is so general that it could relate to anything taught in the course, then many students, rightfully, ignore the Lesson Frame.  It the Closing Question is really just the stuff that the student will complete during the class, then again, it is usually ignored by the student. 

4. Teachers not opening. If teachers do not verbally open the lesson by referencing the Lesson Frame, then students will be unaware of its usefulness.

5. Teachers not closing. If teachers do not close the lesson by having the students discuss or write the answer to the Closing Question, then the Lesson Frame is of little importance. I would suggest that less that 3% of the time is a lesson closed correctly on your campus.  Nationally, an appropriate lesson closure occurs less than 1% of the time.

6. Leading versus Lagging Indicator.  If none of issue above seems to be the cause, then your students just need more time.  The change in teacher practice is the leading indicator.  The lagging indicator is the change in student performance.  The older the child and the more haphazard the change in teacher practice, the longer it takes to notice the change in students.

Don’t quit.  The Lesson Frame is a critical high-yield practice.  There is a reason why the book wasn’t called “The Fundamental 4.”

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21st Century High School Conference  
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Monday, January 13, 2014

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of January 5, 2014

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of January 5, 2014.

1. "Winging it" is not a plan and a horrible strategy. (By @LYSNation)

2. To get the desired effect, go positive. Fear and intimidation is not a long-term solution. (By @LYSNation)

3. The key currency a leader has isn't the "power" their position affords them; it is the influence they earn through attitude and action. (By @THS_Mr_Metz)

4. Best thing I heard today.  Stop fighting the wind and adjust your sail. (By @blitzkrieg607)

5. Most leaders heavily underestimate the amount of reiteration of the vision and message that any change requires. (By DCulberhouse)

6. Critical writing is the best vehicle for communicating critical thinking! (By @LYSNation)

7. The definition of critical writing is writing that forces cognition and connection. It's not the length that matters, it's the thinking. (By @LYSNation)

8. Greg Abbott says he was obligated to defend school funding lawsuit. I can buy that, but was he obligated to appeal the state's loss? (By @txschoolsupe)

9. Your minimum "safe" savings rate for retirement... 16.6% of annual income. - Dr. W. Pfau (By @LYSNation)

10. If you aren't looking for it, it isn't getting done. (By @LYSNation)

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21st Century High School Conference  
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook