Tag Archives: Progressive Education

Professional Learning Communities at Work by Dufour and Eaker

Posted on May 28, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I read Professional Learning Communities by Richard Dufour and Robert Eaker several years ago and attended conferences about the concept. We implemented Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in our school with early, but unsustainable success.

Thesis: The authors proposed “the most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to function as professional learning communities” (p. xi). Professionally, educators need awareness of emerging research to fuel personal learning and support student learning. Communities form and they foster “mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth as [people] work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone” (p. xii). Teachers safely move from isolation and risks are taken extending personal and collective learning when a PLC is effectively implemented, integrated, and supported in a school.

Characteristics: This is an annotated version, but successful and sustainable PLCs have six characteristics:

Shared mission or purpose, shared vision or what we hope to become, and shared values guiding the process. Shared mission advertises purpose outward. Shared vision energizes staff. Values are personal and community attitudes, behaviours, and commitments which are normalized over time.
Collective inquiry fuels the process. What do we want to change? What ways are things as they are challenged? There is collective conversation and personal reflection. The latter is the oxygen that breathes new life into the dialogue and provides fuel through new questions.
Collaborative teams provide renewal. Collaboration acknowledges the dysfunctional nature of communities. What do we do when there are dissenting voices and disagreement? What value will we name here?
Action and experimentation are always in evidence. “Even seemingly chaotic activity is preferred to orderly, passive inaction” (p. 27). Teachers experiment with emergent ideas making innovation essential in a PLC.
Everyone commits to continuous improvement. Questions emerge and are actively sought out, but there are touchstones principles such as “What is our fundamental purpose?”
With continuous improvement and action orientation there is an iterative process in the form of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed research. The object is to shake up the status quo and find new ways of safely supporting both staff and students. What are we doing that we want to change? (pp. 25-29)

Questions: Who has had success in implementing a PLC in their school or jurisdiction? What were the important takeaways including what worked and what did not work? What did you do to overcome the bumps along the way? What can a school starting or restarting the process do to sustain energy and get early work done successfully while recognizing the achievements even when they are small?

Recommendation: The book is about 300 pages, but is an easy read. The authors synthesized leadership literature inside education i.e. Lezotte, Sergiovanni, and Fullan and outside education i.e. Bennis, Senge, and Deal and Kennedy and saved some reading.

I recommend the book for those ready, willing, and patient enough for a transformative journey. The process requires time and immediate classroom benefits to sustain it. Cultural change is messy and requires leadership, perhaps previously untapped in education. Effective support and communication are required for sustainable, successful results to emerge. Early conversations focused on mission, vision, values and normative behaviours are uncomfortable, but necessary. My questions attempt to flesh out these concerns, as we are embarking on this journey again.

I know schools in Canada, the USA, and internationally have successfully implemented PLCs and I want to draw on the experience and wisdom already in place. I am looking for process and product, but not a cookie cutter formula per se. I look forward to hearing from many of you.

Dufour, R. and Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington IN: National Educational Services.

Trough by Judy Brown

Posted on May 27, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I spent the past few days examining where I am in my life’s calling as a teacher. I was in a trough for a while and it is nice to start climbing out and see the horizon over the edge of the waves. Personal vision formed around and by named values is essential to fulfillment. I am grateful I had people listen and wait for me to speak. The trough is a quiet place and I was able to gather my thoughts, reflect, and regain some passion through their patience and kindness.

There is a trough in waves,

a low spot

where horizon disappears

and only sky

and water are your company.

And there we lose our way

unless

we rest, knowing the wave will bring us

to its crest again.

There we may drown

if we let fear

hold us within its grip and shake us

side to side,

and leave us flailing, torn, disoriented.

But if we rest there

in the trough,

in silence,

being with the low part of the wave,

keeping

our energy and

noticing the shape of things,

the flow,

then time alone

will bring us to another place

where we can see

horizon, see the land again,

regain our sense

of where

we are,

and where we need to swim.

Several months ago, I posted an entry called the Mindful Teacher. I suggested there was a need for added fuel for the fire that is my vocation and gives me voice through teaching and learning. Since then, I matured and realize the silence is the oxygen that also helps to breathe life into the fire. It serves as the wisdom, compassion, and prudence offsetting my passion. Without the space, the silence, I become a flickering flame burning out before my time.

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Posted in Education, Mindful Life, Poetry, Progressive Education, Reflective Moments and tagged Mindful Practice, mindfulness, poetry, Progressive Education, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Why School by Mike Rose

Posted on May 23, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Why School: Reclaiming Education for All of Us by Mike Rose was a follow-up read to his earlier book Lives on the Boundaries. The latter book explored, in an autobiographical way, Mike Rose’s ascent from growing up in a working class neighbourhood with little support for education at home. He found support from educators along the way and became an educator himself. Professor Rose used a similar biographical method in the current book and explored the purpose of education, different views of intelligence, learning, and knowledge, and the humbling, yet hopeful work, that results from learning.

The general thesis examined a need for a new conversation about the role of public education, one “not dominated by a language of test scores and competitiveness” (p. 4). Professor Rose presented a case for a good education being designed to help us make sense of the world. He argued that parents historically “sent their kids to school for many reasons: intellectual, social, civic, ethical, and aesthetic. Historically, these justifications for schooling have held more importance. Not today” (p. 4). If these reasons no longer hold a time-honoured place in educating our children, then it begs, “What is the purpose of school?”

Questions: What purpose does school serve in a democratic society? I find the object of school reform is not to change school or its purpose, but to simply layer one more fad on an already overloaded system which is ill-equipped to handle it. The result is we are failing many, serving few, and leaving a huge hole in the middle. What should school reformation or transformation look like? I believe this requires a conversation about purpose of school and its structure. Is the present hierarchical, industrial-age model a suitable mechanism to deliver education in the early 21^st Century?

Recommendation: I enjoyed the book. It is short and easy to read. Professor Rose provides a view which is different from the mainstream educational reformer and challenges the reader with questions and not answers. I would recommend it to anyone searching for a different view of educational reform.

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Posted in Community, Education, Progressive Education and tagged community, education, educational reformer, hopeful work, Mike Rose, Progressive Education, reclaiming education, transformative education. Bookmark the permalink.

Responsibility

Posted on May 20, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I wrote about requiring a new culture in education which can lead to a new structure. I created a link to an article in that post and part of the article was an interview with Pasi Sahlberg.

Sahlberg stated, “There’s no word for accountability in Finnish. … Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted.”

I understand responsibility as internalized and roles or tasks are conscientiously attended to and accountability is external and forced into place leading to feelings oppressed or alienated. Responsibility is personal or professional competency gained through maturity in a role. Accountability is personal or professional incompetency and immaturity which can potentially be a result of change or newness in a role. Responsibility emerges in an organization when there is trust and a belief people can grow into and learn their roles. People become responsible because they are supported and cared for while they learn. A collaborative, compassionate culture emerges and subsequently a new structure for relationships to exist emerges.

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Posted in Leadership, Learning Organizations, Progressive Education and tagged education, Educational Leadership, leadership, Progressive Education, teacher as transformer, transformative education. Bookmark the permalink.

Paradox in Educational Transformation – 2

Posted on May 18, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I believe the second paradox proposed by Parker Palmer works in concert with the first paradox. “The space should be hospitable and ‘charged'” while being bounded and open. People “feel free to speak, but their speaking is always guided towards the topic … the open space is liberating [as it is] inviting, as well as safe and open” (p. 77). The negotiated contract is a covenant built through trusting and honest relationships where participants find their voices. “The space must also be charged. … No special effects are required to create this charge – it comes with the territory. We only need fence the space, fill it with topics of significance and refuse to let anyone evade or trivialize them” (p. 78).

I believe lessons learned from Finland’s educational experience, therefore the topics of significance here, was recognizing public education is a fundamental human right for each child and providing equal and unfettered opportunity for each child. Through open and safe conversation, implementation strategies uniquely suited to each community is revealed. People respectfully share their views in a safe, bounded, expansive, and invigorating space where they feel welcomed and honoured. The space honours each person’s truth as each person, in turn, respects the truths of others.

What can we do to create this space?

Reference

Palmer, P. (2007). The Courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night – Dylan Thomas

Posted on May 17, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I sat quietly this morning after another poor night’s sleep. Initially, my ‘monkey mind’ chattered and cast blame to roil the waters and it difficult to find calm. Slowly, my mind became quieter and ideas flowed more easily. First, I asked, “What is causing these uneasy feelings?” I turn to that question more often in times of discomfort and dis-ease and I am often surprised by the answers.

I posted last night about my growing belief a different culture and conversation is needed for educational transformation. We need ‘safe containers’ for conversation about real and lasting change to occur. The change will not duplicate another educational model or be ordered from on high. We serve community needs and needs of children. I am fortunate. I learned and taught in just such a setting alongside colleagues, parents, children, and community members and real change happened through wonderful conversation. The words learned and taught signify a feeling that I rarely felt what we did was work. Life is transient and this place no longer exists except as a cherished memory.

I read a posting through a group I follow on LinkedIn about saying good-bye. The author quoted Dr. Seuss and I know the social commentary this subversive children’s author provided. The message was when the end comes we need to celebrate the accomplishments that led to that ending. Mark Anielski, an economist, suggested teachers should conduct satisfaction surveys as students graduate, even between grades. When something or someone changes, and this is life, we should celebrate it as a new chapter in life. I can choose the positive over the negative and make a difference in the world I choose as Gen Y Girl suggested. After all, I am not a tree.

Yesterday, a Grade 7 student brought the Dylan Thomas poem in the title to school and asked if I would share it with the class. I asked what it meant to this Grade 7 student, but got no clear answer. I wondered what metaphor of life it offered me? Dylan Thomas wrote it for his dying father, but that is not my case. I sat quietly and the lines “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” did offer a life metaphor. When something good changes, my response is critical. Is it one of blame or fault? Was I silenced, or did I choose silence? Did I excommunicate my self. A sad lament of death I see as a request to live my life fully. I lose what I allow to be taken. Is it possible to raise one’s voice in silent protest? I think so, but it is not a silence of retreat, despair, and oppression.

I sat and waited for my inner teacher to share my truth while honouring the truth of others. I leave you with the poem. Choose your metaphor. I choose one of celebration otherwise I live a death, instead of life, due to my choices.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Progressive Education, Reflective Moments, Synchronicity and tagged community, education, Educational Leadership, eloquent questions, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, Progressive Education, teacher as transformer, transformative education. Bookmark the permalink.

Transform Educational Culture and Restructure

Posted on May 16, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Andy Hargreaves introduced me to the Finnish education system, its successes, and what it offers to those educators who believe we need to transform education in our schools and classrooms. It is easy to believe what is done in one setting is a model we can overlay in our schools. There is merit in examining their educational system and applying ideas that might work and make an impact. Pasi Sahlberg, a leading Finnish educator, suggested we, and I include Canada, need to see what equal opportunity in education looks like in What the US can’t learn from Finland.

“Finland can show [us] what equal opportunity looks like, [we] cannot achieve equity without first implementing fundamental changes in [our] school system.” He included equal funding of schools, holistic and equal attention for each child and education as a fundamental human right. Teaching is a valued profession in Finland, local schools write their curriculum, and teachers are given autonomy and trusted to carry out classroom responsibilities. Although he never openly states it, the implication is that without reimagining education, teacher roles, holistic care of children as the central purpose of education, and the role the entire community plays educating children, real, sustainable change is unattainable. I think it is as important to realize that shifting towards a model of equal opportunity still will not mean our system, whether in Alberta or elsewhere, can or should look identical to Finland’s. What are the needs of our children? This is a central question to the needed conversations.

I think articles, such as What Americans [Canadians] Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School System and From Finland, an Intriguing School-Reform Model, provide more grist for the necessary conversations about transformation in education. With caution, we can use strategies which proved successful in Finland. Linda Darling-Hammond said in the second noted article. “Thirty years ago, Finland’s education system was a mess. It was quite mediocre, very inequitable. It had a lot of features our system has: very top-down testing, extensive tracking, highly variable teachers, and they managed to reboot the whole system.”

Whether as a preemptive strike or to resuscitate a failing system, there is a call to engage communities, reduce competition in schools, recruit and support the best, and trust the people we place with children in classrooms. We can learn a lot from the Finnish education system.

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Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Progressive Education and tagged community, education, Educational Leadership, Progressive Education, teacher as transformer, transformative education. Bookmark the permalink.

The Contract – A word to the led by William Ayot

Posted on May 12, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

And in the end we follow them-

not because we are paid, not because we might see some advantage,

not because of the things they have accomplished,

not even because of the dreams they dream

but simply because of who they are:

the man, the woman, the leader, the boss

standing up there when the wave hits the rock,

passing out faith and confidence like life jackets,

knowing the currents, holding the doubts,

imagining the delights and terrors of every landfall;

captain, pirate, and parent by turns,

the bearer of our countless hopes and expectations.

We give them our trust. We give them our effort.

What we ask in return is that they stay true.

With leaders who are at times pirates, we can colour outside the lines and think outside the box. Organizations, institutions, and communities want leadership. Exploration of past times included pirates who navigated new and treacherous waters and helped find new nautical paths past the visible horizons. Yesterday, someone told me a recent comment I made about a need to name school and community values was received with openness and yet I felt that openness was not reflected by the group. Leadership is speaking one’s truth while honouring truths of others. It is a respectful rather than ‘relativism gone wild.’ What can each voice add to the conversation? It is lonely and dangerous being a pirate without others helping in the navigating.

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Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Poetry, Progressive Education and tagged community, eloquent questions, leadership, poetry, Progressive Education, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Posted on May 12, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

This is a great TED speech by Sir Ken Robinson. It is about the 4th or 5th time I have seen it or a variation on the speech. If we are killing creativity among children and the high point of creative thought is in Kindergarten, what do we need to do to make schools and learning a space of creative learning and expression? The time has arrived for a true conversation about learning in the 21st Century. Have we killed the creative spirit of teachers? This is an important question in the conversation.

Gen Y Girl

I watched this video yesterday and it completely blew me away.

Do yourself a favor and WATCH IT!

This man is honest, funny, a straight up genius and his accent is awesome.

“Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.”

–Ted Ideas Worth Spreading

Should we all be doing what we love? Yes. Is school the only way to get us there? No. We need to educate people in a way that promotes creativity and passion in our work so that we don’t end up bitter and miserable. Life’s too short.

Thanks to my twitter peeps @shawmu and @knealemann for bringing this to my attention 😀

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The Space Should Be Bounded and Open

Posted on May 11, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I believe paradox is essential for educational transformation. Parker Palmer described paradox as a creative tension or “a way of holding opposites together that creates an electric charge that keeps us awake” in his book The Courage to Teach. He argued “the poles of a paradox are like the poles of a battery: hold them together, and they generate the energy of life, pull them apart, and the current stops flowing…and we become lifeless.” I elaborated on paradox in my posts Abundant Community and Paradox of Community. I propose paradox be used to revitalize the institution we call school and the conversations about this necessary enterprise.

Parker Palmer in The Courage to Teach presented six paradoxes and identified ways in which they could serve us in the classroom through pedagogical design. I believe they serve educators and their communities as foundations for conversations and a long overdue transformation.

The first paradox is “the space should be bounded and open.” School cannot be a one size fits all approach, but it cannot be a chaotic, wide-open system. There are many ways to understand school from home schooling to traditional. In between, there is diversity. Is school a building? Could it be a virtual gathering? Could it be a combination? Rigid boundaries should be replaced by flexible boundaries. If they do, then we can ask, “What serves the child?” What serves the community?”

Over the next while, I will look at each paradox, and explore how they lead conversations towards transformation.