Leading Professional Learning: Challenges and Possibilities Alma Harris Director, Institute of...
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Leading Professional Learning: Challenges and Possibilities Alma Harris Director, Institute of Educational Leadership Michelle Jones Deputy Director, Institute of Educational Leadership (International)
Leading Professional Learning: Challenges and Possibilities Alma Harris Director, Institute of Educational Leadership Michelle Jones Deputy Director, Institute
Leading Professional Learning: Challenges and Possibilities
Alma Harris Director, Institute of Educational Leadership Michelle
Jones Deputy Director, Institute of Educational Leadership
(International)
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Professor Alma Harris President ICSEI 2013
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This interactive session will Explore the relationship between
leadership, school improvement and professional learning Introduce
a model of Professional Learning Communities used in various
countries Investigate the barriers to collaborative ways of
working
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How do we ensure success for all students in all settings?
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PISA The Bad, the Good and the Ugly
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Old v New Reform (Harris, forthcoming) Old New Standardisation
Punitive Compensates for worse practice Control Reductionist Focus
on Failure De-Professionalisation Professionalisation Developmental
Advocates effective practice Empowerment Expansionist Emphasis on
success Professional Collaboration
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Drivers (Fullan 2011:5) Wrong Accountability Individual teacher
and leadership quality Technology Fragmented Strategies Right
Capacity Building Group Solutions Instruction Integrated or
systemic strategies
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Mc Kinsey How the world's most improved school systems keep
getting better 2010
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The Most Powerful Levers Leadership Capacity Teacher
Quality
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School Improvement Does not occur without some change in
leadership or leadership practice
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Leadership: What we Know Leadership is the key lever of high
organisational performance. Successful organisations have widely
and carefully distributed leadership. Effective leaders grow and
manage other leaders
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FIVE DIMENSIONS OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP (Robinson,
2008)
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So Leadership Matters Leadership Matters
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But What type of school leadership transforms organisational
performance and outcomes?
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But What Type of Leadership? Transformational Instructional
Distributed Strategic System 15
Level 5 Leaders Channel ego needs away from themselves Focus on
larger goals Are ambitious for their institution and not themselves
Widely distribute leadership Facilitate the collaboration of
others
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Pause and Reflect How far are you a level 5 leader? Have you
ever worked for a level 5 leader?
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So we know What is important and what to focus upon But how do
we make it happen?
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Effective Leadership is Distributed and Collaborative
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Distributed Leadership is concerned with (Harris, 2008)
Building leadership capacity- inter-relationships that build
leadership
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Distributed Leadership in context (Harris, 2006) Leadership
shifts according to need Collaborative teams formed for specific
purposes Team membership changes according to task, roles and
expertise..
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Pause and Reflect How far is leadership distributed or
collaborative in your context?
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it addresses the concrete, everyday challenges involved in
teaching and learning Does not focus on abstract educational
principles or teaching methods taken out of context. Professional
Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher
Development in the United States and Abroad Darling Hammond et al
2009 NSDC Research suggests that professional development is most
effective when:
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Professional Learning Communities in Action
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Whats in a name? Communities of Practice Professional Learning
Communities Collaborative Learning circles Communities of Interest
Professional Learning Teams
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Professional Learning Communities as A mechanism for
distributing leadership An infrastructure for change A platform for
professional learning
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Connecting Professional Learning Working together on the
barriers to learning through collective enquiry, joint decision
making and problem solving.
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Professional collaboration Collaborative practice is about
teachers and school leaders working together to develop effective
instructional practices, studying what actually works in classroom,
and doing so with rigorous attention to detail and with a
commitment to not only improving ones own practice but that of
others as well.
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Disciplined Collaboration Disciplined collaboration means that
teachers work interdependently through a process of focused and
rigorous enquiry in order to improve their own practice and the
practice of others. In essence, disciplined collaboration enables
teachers to reflect upon their own learning, as teachers. (Harris
and Jones, 2012: Jones and Harris, 2013)
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Disciplined Collaboration Focused collaboration that addresses
the learning needs of students. Professional learning that is most
likely to improve learner outcomes.
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DC Model The DC model provides opportunities for teachers to
work as an effective collaborative team, in a systematic and
focused way, in order to generate new ideas and to change practice.
DC is about next professional practice where new ideas are created
rather than simply sharing or recycling old ideas. The DC model is
premised upon interdependent learning and it consists of three
phases of professional learning- implementation, innovation, and
impact.
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DC Development and Research Generating new knowledge through
professional collaboration and interdependent learning
Co-construction rather than prescription Sharing, refining and
evaluating practices
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Disciplined Collaboration: 5 Principles Diagnosis how far is
the collaborative work based on an accurate assessment of learner
needs? Data to what extent is the collaborative work informed by
data and data analysis? Development is the innovation, intervention
or new initiative that the collaborative group are proposing
appropriate to address the identified learning need? Is there a fit
between the diagnoses and the proposed development? Distributed
Leadership- to what extent is leadership within the collaborative
group distributed to best effect? Drive- has the collaborative
group developed an implementation plan and considered how any
changes would be sustained? (Harris and Jones, 2012)
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Professional Learning Communities PLCs engage in processes of
enquiry in order to improve student outcomes. Through using
evidence from school self evaluation, including data and teacher
assessments, members of the PLC identify the strengths and needs of
a group of pupils and then determine the strategies and skills
needed to improve outcomes.
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Characteristics of a PLC Data informed Distributed Leadership
Focused on Learner Needs Experiment with Pedagogy / Instruction
Enquiry driven- outcomes lead to change in practice and improved
learner outcomes
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School Priorities Effective Professional Learning aligns with
school improvement priorities and goals.
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Effective PL addresses school improvement priorities in context
Professional Learning School Priorities Student Learning
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Phases of a PLC Harris and Jones 2009 1.Establish the Group 2.
Identify a Focus 3. Action Enquiry Innovation 4. and Change 5.
Trialling and Feedback 6. Refining7. Sharing Outcomes Implement
Innovate Impact (Interchangeable )
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PLCs You do not DO PLCs once a week or once a term. Being part
of a PLC is an on going process where teachers work collaboratively
in cycles of collective enquiry / action research to achieve better
results for the students they teach
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Phases 1 and 2 Data informed
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Finding a Collective Focus What is the group interested in
finding out? Why do you want to know this? What data analysis has
helped you to identify this issue? Is it a reasonable focus to be
considering? Why? Will learners benefit if you focus on this issue?
How? Are there any ethical issues you may need to consider?
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What are the characteristics of a good question of enquiry?
Data Generated/Informed Specific Measurable Simply Stated Easily
Communicated Linked to Improvement
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Do these Pass the Test? Investigating Numeracy across the
curriculum. How can we get all pupils in the Foundation Stage to
get more thoughtful and meaningful readers as well as becoming
metacognitive or aware of their thinking while they read?
Transition project yr 6 to yr 7 How can raise standards in
humanities subjects in Year 10 through the introduction of a
thinking skills programme? Focusing on Literacy KS 2 What the
factors contribute to the Year 8 dip and what strategies can we use
to overcome these?
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What research is there on? Other teachers' practice Where do we
get more information? What do we do next? Phase 3
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Approaches to Enquiry Learning Walks Lesson Study Peer
Observation Instructional Rounds Peer Triads Coaching and
Mentoring
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Phase 4 New strategies and approaches trialled by the PLC
team
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Phase 5 Keeping all staff informed of PLC activity and
progress
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Phase 6 Practice and embed new strategies Assess impact
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Phase 7 PLC team reports findings and recommendations PLC team
shares outcomes with other educators 1.Establish the Group 2.
Identify a Focus 3. Action Enquiry Innovation 4. and Change 5.
Trialling and Feedback 6. Refining7. Sharing Outcomes
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IMPACT The DC model is predicated on producing an impact at
three levels: learner, professional and organisational (Harris and
Jones, 2012)
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Impact of the PLC Outcomes result in change: Teachers
Instructional Practice Pupils Learning experiences /outcomes
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7 Tests Clarity of focus Consistent and creative use of data
Collaboration with purpose Communication of intent and outcomes
Capacity building through engagement and involvement of others
Coherent action Change in practice