Jim Knight expresses a great deal of compassion in this chapter.
1. Do you believe that teachers should have choice in what they do in their classrooms, or do you believe there are times when an administrator must "mandate" implementation of a research based practice or strategy? In other words, should teachers always have the right to say "no? Where is the balance?
2. Have you written a "personal vision?" If not, would you be willing to do so as part of this book study?
3. Jim Knight feels that "empathetically" listening "may be the most important service that a coach can provide (pg. 43)." Do you agree?
4. Which of the seven principles do you find to be most important and why?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
1. This is a difficult question, because I firmly believe that there needs to be a balance between choice and mandates. I think one key to drawing the line in the proper place is to look at the results - are the kids learning what they are supposed to (as defined by the state) be learning? If they are, then the teacher has a lot of choice; if they are not, then practices need to change.
I also think that "mandates" go over better if there are a lot of choices embedded within them. For example, we want everyone to use "Identifying Similarities and Differences" as an instructional strategy, but we gave teachers 4 different subtopics and many, many versions of each topic. Mandating this is different than mandating "thou shalt use Venn Diagrams."
2. I don't have a personal vision written yet, but I would be willing to do so.
3. Listening is definitely important, but I think a coach has to have knowledge/advice as well. If I just listened to a soccer team, that would not help them win games - they also need someone who can give them specific (yet flexible) advice.
4. Dialogue! When I was a team teacher, we found that having someone to talk to / debrief / analyze our teaching practices was by far the most valuable thing about the team situation. It forced reflection and helped us find our voices.
1. When I was a teacher (a while ago!) I had some jobs where there was little direction from my district in terms of curriculum or teaching strategies. I would have welcomed some of both, especially in my first few years. How would I feel now, though? I am a person who actually likes change, so I probably would be one of those teachers who would try the new stuff right away. And I think it is hard to argue with the Marzano research on strategies.
"Mandate" is a strong word. If a teacher's students are getting great test results, does the district care what strategies that teacher uses? Perhaps the strongest "suggestions" might be made to teachers whose students are making the least growth or progress. I don't know what I would do if I were the administrator who had to make that call--it is much easier to be the armchair quarterback.
2. The last time I wrote a personal vision I was doing my counseling Master's program--it's a bit outdated by now, I would guess. Writing one now would actually be more difficult than it was then--my "vision" was clearer then!
3. Empathetic listening is my specialty, coming from the counseling field. But I also know that just being empathetic can be no help at all--it can in fact impede progress and allow a person to stay stuck. A person can tell their story over and over without any desire to make a change in their life--change is hard. So I guess I would disagree that listening by itself is the most important thing--it has to be coupled with more than just an empathetic ear. (Carl Rodgers is turning over in his grave.)
4. I don't have my book at home so I can't remember all 7 principles! So I was going to copy Amy and say dialogue. But what I remember about "praxis" also sticks in my mind as crucial--putting what we say into practice. The application of learning. So I'm going to pick that one--but I don't know if you can really separate these principles and be left with exceptional coaching.
Jim Knight Blog
Of the seven principles I believe that Voice and Dialogue are the most important. Although I have to say that if is difficult to choose becuase I truly think we need all seven to be successful!
Voice: Encouraging and valuing the opinions of everyone, even if we don't completely agree. Jim Knight says that if partners are equal then we all have to be free to choose what we do or do not, say what we think and our opinion should be valued. I also agree with Knight when he stated that the ICsomtimes has to help the teacher find his/her voice.I recently had this experience through a whole staff, professional development session where we were discussing RTI and scheduling. Only two staff members really spoke up and voiced thier opinions. I was able to talk one on one with others the next day and found there where a lot of other opinions that just weren't voiced in the large group setting.
Dialogue: Professional Learning should include Authentic Dialogue. I really like this quote by Knight, "If people come together as equals, if they feel free to voice their opinions, if they are listened to, and if they act on exhilarating belief that they are free to argue, disagree and reflect on ideas as they choose, something marvelous could happen." I displayed this quote before day two of our professional development seesion about RTI and scheduling! It was worth a try, right?!
:) Gretchen
In re-reading my first comment, I realized that I didn't answer the first three posted questions! So here you go!!
1. To mandate or not!?
I think this is such a tricky question! I believe there needs to be a balance but finding it is the tricky part, obviously! I agree that the word mandate may be a litte strong, however, some teachers need it said straight out black and white like that! I like the idea of mandating something but also allowing some choice within the mandated issue.
2. "personal vision?"
I have not written a personal vision. I would be willing to write one.
3."empathetically" listening"
I agree it is very important, butI'm not sure its the most important.
To mandate or not..... I go back and forth with this one. Last year, as a classroom teacher I would have been insulted if somebody mandated me to teach my reading program a certain way. This year, I am starting to see this differently. I do think that we need to mandate within a program the key important parts that must be taught for children to be successful. In reading, I would mandate that the 5 big reading components be taught; phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency with some guidelines on how to teach these. I then feel that teachers could then teach these strategies using their creativity.
After going to a direct instruction conference this summer, I now see the importance of scripted programs and the value they hold for some children. Within these programs there is little room for teachers to be creative and put a little of themselves into their lessons, but the results show huge growth in children's learning.
1. Mandate is a strong word. I like the word encourage. I would let date show clearly the need to change and strongly encourage the teacher to change. If this doesn't work then perhaps mandate is the last resort. I like the idea of there being a balance.
2. I have written a personal vision in my administrative class. It was very helpful in organizing my thoughts on what I believe in. I would be happy to share it.
3. YES! That is true with everyone, students, friends, loved ones. We all want to be listened to and understood. However, I agree we need to listen and then encourage actions.
4. Choice, we have to let teachers choose to want to change, choose to want to implement strategies. My job is to show the need. I believe once a teacher sees the need he/she will want to change to meet that need.
Post a Comment