Your tasks for this week
- Complete Stage 5 of your ARP and submit it to me to read by the end of the week (please try get it to me by about Wednesday so I have time to get my comments in there).
- Read and reflect on the two professional viewings from Fullan.
- Continue your School ICT Change Plan (Sections 8-10) with your course partner and get feedback from me and other critical friends.
- Participate in the Group Online Discussion
- Write your weekly E-journal entry.
This week: We're in the home stretch
and your ICT change/growth plans are starting to kick in while you're
tidying up the last week of your ARP's. It's a busy time. try and get your ARP's to me by about mid week so I can have some time to add my final comments to them before you submit them on Friday.
For our discussion this week: Stratosphere - Fullan
In considering Fullan’s Stratosphere (Teaching, Pedagogy and
Change), how do the schools you visited last term or ones you have read about:
- Foster intrinsic motivation of staff and students?
- Engage teachers and students in continuous improvement?
- Inspire collective approaches and teamwork?
- Involve and affect all teachers and students?
Choose one of the above to start our online conversation.
I think the aspect of Fullan's "Stratosphere" that I find most daunting is the concept of 'Change Knowledge'. I see this as being linked to fostering intrinsic motivation of staff and students. If leaders can make change enjoyable through supporting genuine opportunities to collaborate and share and make the clear connections between enhanced student outcomes (learning and engagement) to the change, then lift-off will occur. So the eight ingredients for 'Change Knowledge' can be drivers for school leaders: Focus, Innovation, Empathy, Capacity Building, Contagion (not so convinced about this one), Transparency, Elimination of non-essentials (the one I find most challenging) and Leadership.
ReplyDelete"Fostering intrinsic motivation of staff" is such an important aspect of change. What practices do you use to achieve this at Tempy?
DeletePerhaps not in priority order, and largely due to necessity in the small, rural school environment I operate within, I think intrinsic motivations come through:
ReplyDeletea. Distributive leadership practices: allowing others to take the lead, to make decisions, to determine directions and priorities - particularly in areas of their interests, talents or expertise - empowers them and is reward that comes from leading.
b. Collaboration: authentic, real and related to the learners - what motivates us all to be in education is/should be about this so in my context I have staff who are committed to the best outcomes and the greatest success for each learner. Fostering opportunities to bounce off one another, sharing our own learning journeys and growing through the journeys of others (we use technology to help us with this too)
c. Albeit a good Rechabite might be disgusted in the suggestion of, "Lets crack a champagne over that one!" the importance of celebrating success does not have to monetary. It doesn't really require champagne either - but sitting down at the end of a big success and sharing the stories and success is fantastic. It is about valuing others, isn't it!
d. I don't have staff in my school that don't value kids. Probably a key component to success of intrinsic motivations is connected with genuine appreciation of the learner. Got people that don't have that - then extrinsic motivations may be required:(
e. Problem Solving Success: do this as part of a team, support risks and experimentation, provide readings and leads from others - promoting the challenge just like competing against a tough wave, a daunting climb or any other personal or team challenge - connect to our competitive desires.
f. authentic recognition - let staff hear you talk about them, let them read what you think, say it to students, parents - warm them in the confidence of a reward that is about respect.
G. One we love at Tempy, laughing with and about the kids. We have been collecting quotes for years - now, when we get time, we are producing Path Ons and they are loving the recognition and sharing in the brilliant thoughts that come from young minds. One of our term two favourites: Grade 1 boy with reference to Mathletics, "I'd love to get a certificate but I don't want to wear my brain out!"