Balancing Talk with Time to Think

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Susan Cain recently published Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and this has got me thinking about the exalted benefit we have placed on talk in our classrooms.  Indeed we have made it extremely clear - I hope - that students need to be expressing themselves orally in order for them to solidify their acquisition of academic language and content.  However, her challenge is a fair one.  Not having read the book, and only perused her blog and her Ted Talk, I do think it's important to give equal value and opportunity for quiet reflection, and teaching of independent work habits alongside our focus on teaching students how to clarify, challenge, and deepen ideas in a group setting.

Just writing that last line makes me realize how much harder this is to accomplish then it is to teach children to learn and think independently.  In a group setting, you have to learn how to LISTEN and sincerely consider the arguent or point of view of another while comparing that idea to your own.  I mean, really, do you know many adults that do this well?  So, I'm hardly ready to abandon the benefits of Productive Group Work, but I think we need to talk long and hard - oops - I mean first think long and hard about where quiet reflection and independence fits into the learning equation.  Then, we can have that conversation about how this best fits into a learning model.

What jumps out at me from the start is that writing plays such a pivotal role in this process.  As students think about new ideas or connect new ideas to currently held thoughts, they benefit by putting their first thoughts in writing.  This can be followed by sharing that writing with one other person, before embarking on the more complex dynamics of a group discussion or group project.

Smart In Math

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Came across this excellent list on what it takes to be "Smart in Math" at Math Mama Writes.

'Smart in Math' Before students work in groups, it's important to help them understand that we typically have many misconceptions about what it means to be 'smart'. Typically, people think that someone who is 'smart in math' ...

• answers questions quickly

• always gets the right answer

• doesn't have to work at it

But, really, people who are good at math ...

• are persistent

• wonder about relationships between numbers, shapes, functions, ...

• check their answers for reasonableness

• make connections

• are willing to try things out, experiment, take risks

• are resilient

• want to know why

• contribute to group intelligence by asking good questions

• notice and learn from their mistakes

• try to extend and generalize their results

Students may also need to know how synapses (the connections between neurons that are created each time you learn something new) are strengthened by repeated use. A new connection isn't strong until it's been used:

• multiple times

• in multiple ways

• after a time away

Those first three bullets are not only way off the mark they are detrimental and harmful to the "smart math student". When those students who seem to always get the right answer come up against content that stops them in their tracks, they don't realize how much hard work is needed to keep the engine of their "smartness" running.  Of course, this reminds me of Carol Dweck's work aroud the fixed and growth mindset.  I also appreciate the sense of wonder and discovery that is embedded in the second list.  When I come across the intricacies of math in nature it just boggles my mind - just don't ask me to come up with a proof using all the proper postulates.  That task still gives me nightmares.

Protocols

I've had my share of trips to ER with chest pains over the past 5 years.  At this point, I can rattle off the procedures quite easily.

1.  Give brief description of pains and symptoms to intake nurse
2.  Provide medical history and personal information to same.
3.  Get an EKG
4.  Take blood pressure and temperature
5.  Take an aspirin (if I don't already have in system)  If the pains are sever, I get the nitro pill!!!
6.  Give blood and start an IV
7.  Hook up blood pressure band, temperature and heart monitor for monitoring
8.  Connect to oxygen
9.  Get a chest X-ray10.  Await a visit from the Dr. who will read all the data, ask some more questions and decide next steps.

Clearly this protocol has been developed by years of working with patients who have chest pains.  Every medical office is relying on the shared wisdom of countless medical professionals who have gone before them.  These are carefully designed steps that provide all the information possible to  make an informed decision on care for each patient.  I'm really grateful for the expertise that has been gained over the years, which gives me confidence that I will receive the exact care that I need to get better.

So, do we have the same rigorous protocols for students who come to us with academic deficiencies?

What do we do with a child who can't sound out words?
How about a child who can read aloud but not comprehend?
What do we do if a child doesn't understand place value or negative numbers?

If we haven't thought through all the data that we need to collect and the best questions to ask such students, we are leaving it up to individual teacher knowledge and experience and shortchanging those students who would benefit from the best thinking of all.

So, let's be sure to share what we know about such best practices to provide every child with a level of care that is of the highest quality.

More Questions

Dave Dimmett over at Leader Talk provides another set of questions worth pondering to help us focus the  majority of our time and effort on what really matters for students. Try these on for size:

My recent experience with Lean Six Sigma makes me wonder, what are the value-added elements of the average teacher’s day? What are the teacher activities from one day that are adding value to student learning? If I think about the full professional day for most educators, it involves tasks that likely fall into some of these categories: adds value to student learning, doesn’t add value but is required by law, doesn’t add value but is required, doesn’t add value to student learning and can be eliminated without difficulty.

Adding new things to schools is easy.  Its agreeing on what should be eliminated and having the courage to cut that is the hardest.

Infrequently Asked Questions

This post at Leader Talk led me to this article at Harvard Business Review on the power of asking questions to lead your organization.  Polly Labarre argues that the best way to lead is through asking great questions that disrupt, challenge, and motivate.  She also shared the work of Vineet Nayar CEO of HCL Technologies, who has a set of 20 questions that he ponders daily.  So, following his model, I came up with some questions to think about for my school:


School

What is the purpose of schooling?


Students

What strengths, abilities, and interest do our students have?

What do our students need to know?  Why do they need to know it?

What do our students need to be able to do?  Why do they need to be able to do this?

Would my children want to attend this school?

What are the blindspots on our campus?


Parents

If our parents could choose any school in the city, would they choose ours?  Why or why not?


Teachers and Staff

What is there at our school that would attract the brightest and best educators?

What do our teachers need today to deliver high quality education to every child?

What can I do today to encourage a teacher?

What can I do today to encourage a colleague, fellow Principal, Superintendent?

What things do I control that I should no longer control?

How can I give control to others, especially those who create value?

How can I encourage others to lead with their strengths?

What can I do to create platforms for the great ideas of teachers, parents and students at SC?

What would happen if there was no Principal at this school?



What questions would you ask at your school or organization?

Reframing

Today I let someone crawl inside my head and chew on my brain cells, and it didn't feel good.  This week at school there were so many things to celebrate.  I observed class after class of engaging writing by students, excellent presentations on the history of Egypt, and teachers revising writing to a level I have not seen before.  But, I still let that one person mess with my head.  So, this is my attempt to extract those negative and useless thoughts away.

In order to get my head out away from those negative thoughts I resolve the following.

1.  Make a plan for addressing the issue that is proactive and has potential for redeeming the situation.

2.  Forget about it.

3.  Read a great story this week.  I think it will be this one or maybe this one.

4.  Finish a half-done project.

That wasn't so hard.  Some optimism is creeping in and it feels great.

Cheers

Grit

Heidi Grant Halvorson on the Harvard Ideacast discussed her new ebook 9 Things Successful People Do Differently.  One of the most significant findings she highlights is an individual's belief that they can improve.  It comes down to perseverance and that awesome word: GRIT.  Intelligence is overrated.  Positive Thinking (without action) is overrated.  Determination and a "Never Say Die" attitude rule the day.

Peter Drucker Wisdom

Jim Champy's new book, What I learned from Peter Drucker looks like a winner.  Drucker is one of the pioneers of modern management theory and practice and Champy appears to have had a lengthy personal and professional friendship with Drucker.  Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:

Peter's work had two major components. The first was the big picture: He believed that healthy organizations of all kinds — corporations, nonprofits, museums, libraries, sports teams, garden clubs, hospitals, government agencies — are the glue that holds society together and shields it from totalitarianism and economic chaos. Calling himself a social ecologist, he argued that every organization should understand its place in this sustaining mosaic and do its fair share of aiding the common good in all its actions.

The second thrust of his work focused on management per se, on organizational structure, function, and efficiency. His books and lectures were filled with practical and proven solutions to some of the most vexing challenges businesses face. For example, he was unyielding on the importance of focusing on customer needs, using time wisely, and scrapping weak or obsolete processes and products.

The two strands of his thinking intersected in his belief that companies succeed to the degree they make work meaningful, giving employees a sense of purpose and fulfillment. His ability to clearly articulate and balance these two complementary elements of his lifework, the macro and micro, was one of his great strengths. 

This connects with the management and leadership skill sets that I Kotter highlight in his article.  Leaders succeed to the extent that they can balance progress on the micro and macro areas of leadership.

Great Effort Better than Smarts

In order to learn, grow, and succeed, we must first FAIL.  That's right.  Failure is the key to success, however whether you  learn from your failures, depends on what you think about your ability and how one learns.  Carol Dweck in Mindset has made these two frames of reference quite explicit.  A new study by Jason Moser at Michigan State  University, highlighted in this Washington Post article, demonstrates that individuals with the growth mindset give more thought to their failure, presumably to learn from it, than those with the fixed mindset, who brush off their failure to their own detriment.
Lesson for schools = Praise students for effort, not intelligence.

Leadership and Management

Matt Perman shared this excellent article by John Kotter on the actions of leaders compared to mangers.

These two different functions - coping with complexity and coping with change-shape the characteristic activities of management and leadership

The best leaders are attuned to these set of complimentary skills.  I was thinking of this when I read this summary of Anne Mulcahy's address to the Stanford Business School discussing her work turning around a near bankrupt Xerox in the early 2000's.  She instituted immediate cost cutting and efficiency protocols to begin to stem the tide of debt, and at the same time she focused the organization on their core value of innovation, not cutting any money from research and development.  I also appreciate her comments about the centrality of communication to her successful leadership.

"I feel like my title should be Chief Communication Officer, because that's really what I do," she said, emphasizing the importance of listening to customers and employees. "When I became CEO, I spent the first 90 days on planes traveling to various offices and listening to anyone who had a perspective on what was wrong with the company. I think if you spend as much time listening as talking, that's time well spent."

Nuggets

Jim Collins on Great Leaders Matt Perman always has excellent quotes on the qualities of great leadership.  Servant Leadership is personified by many of the successful leaders that Collins has studied.

50 Free apps from LifeHacker Dropbox is leading the way and there are tons of new ways to use it that are worth digging into.

Never Waste a Good Crisis Michael Hyatt has often plugged the benefit of Life Planning. Having gotten a couple stents in an artery two months ago has helped me begin that process in earnest.

Grade 6 student explains how he makes apps

Obstacles Can be our Friend

In Carol Dweck's book Mindset, she quotes Bruce Jenner, 1976 Olympic Decathlon champion.

"If I wasn't dyslexic, I probably wouldn't have won the Games.  If I had been a better reader, then that would have come easily, sports would have come easily ... and I never would have realized that the way you get ahead in life is hard work."

Obstacles can be the means of growth and improvement if we allow them to teach us to learn and improve.  We need to encourage students with struggles so that they don't use those as an excuse to give up, but a reason to be determined and persevere.

Setting The Tone

Every organization has a culture and tone.  There is one person who bears the primary responsibility for creating that atmosphere - be it positive or negative - and that would be the leader.  If your teachers are unconcerned and dismissive of students, if your parents don't demonstrate a commitment to education, if your students are mean and nasty to one another, you might want to ask what messages are you sending by your actions (or inaction), words, and priorities.

I was reading the account of Pontius Pilate sentencing Jesus to death this morning and I was struck by Pilates' flippant attitude about Jesus being the King of the Jews.  He mockingly called him the King of the Jews because he suspected that the Jewish leaders were envious.  Well, this call was taken up by the soldiers who mocked Jesus with a purple robe, then hit him and spit on him.  They took Pilate's lead and increased the mockery and degradation of Jesus.  This same tone was taken by the crowds who called for his crucifixion.  There, in a nutshell, is the influence of Pilate (and the religious leaders) who set the tone for that whole scene.  So, what messages do you believe are most important to send in your school or organization.  Here are a few that I try to instill where I'm working and living.

Appreciation - My Assistant Principal and I write Energy Boost notes as often as we see them.  Douglas Conant, formerly of Campbell Soup, wrote 10 personal notes every day to his staff.  After a tough year, John Kralik wrote a thank you note every day for a year, then wrote the book 365 Thank Yous to chronicle his experience.  Here are his tips for writing the perfect thank you note.  I recently went to the hospital for a heart problem and received the most impressive service I've every experienced.  With great pleasure I wrote thank you notes to my doctors, the nurses, and the CEO of the hospital.  I know the notes were well received, and conversely, it gave me a great boost to write and deliver the notes as well.

Conversation - Learning is social and so is leading.  I like to get out and interact with teachers before school, during breaks, and any chance I get - sometimes about school related issues, sometimes about life.  Both are equally valuable.  I don't want to act like I care.  I actually do care.  Teachers give their heart and soul to the profession and I appreciate that dedication and try and show it with my time and attention.  It's also great to meet parents in the hallways, waiting for their kids or volunteering. I learn about their successes and struggles and find out which teachers they are pleased with and what issues are causing concern.  When the leader goes out to see what is going on, the good news gets spread more often and the bad news gets handled more quickly.

Reading - One of the questions I almost always ask kids is, "What are you reading"?  I want kids to know that I value reading and I'm a reader as well.  I gladly share what I'm reading and try and find similar books for kids to read in the genre they are currently enjoying.

Learning - It goes without saying that if you want your students and teachers to constantly be learning, you need to be a learner as well.  You must be reading, soaking up new information, observing best practices inside and outside your organization, asking questions, writing, thinking, innovating, taking risks, and failing as these are the ways that you learn.

So, this post started with a pretty sour example of negative leadership.  The great news is that you can turn around a culture that is bent toward negativity with your next action, word, or thank you note.  Why don't you get started today.

Teaching is Brain Surgery... Blindfolded

I recently read Dave Levy's excellent book, Gray Matter.  In it he describes his decision to bring prayer into his relationship with his patients.  He also describes the intricacies of brain surgery by entering through the arteries with a long, pliable wire and inserting microscopic stents and glue to block off blood flow to aneurysms and clots.  It is obviously a profession demanding high levels of skill, vast knowledge of the human anatomy and patience and perseverance.  It got me thinking about the work of teaching and learning and the requirements of a classroom teacher.  They too are doing brain surgery only teachers don't have nearly as much help and assistance as our medical colleagues.  Here are several ways that teaching students is actually harder than brain surgery.

1. Teachers do not enjoy a live video stream of the immediate effect of their teaching as they work.
2. Teachers don't usually have a small army of assistants in the classroom to help with the performance.
3. Teachers' students are not put to sleep while performing the procedure.  They are very wide awake and sometimes tend to fail to cooperate with the teacher's intentions.
4. Teachers must deal with student misbehavior ranging from inattention to defiance and everything in between.

So, hail to our brain surgeons in the classroom, performing critical work on children's gray matter every day with great wisdom, exceptional skill, and unlimited patience.

Introverts Can Lead

Listning to HBR's Ideacast, I heart Douglas Conant, former CEO of Campbell's Soup and author of Touchpoints, explain his strategies for turning around several companies.  The final question he answered was around his character his being an introvert.  He explained that the manner in which he finally was able to overcome this trait was by openly acknowledging that he was an introvert and encouraging his team to invite him into a conversation and not wait for him to engage.  It was a powerful moment when he was able to embrace this aspect of his personality and leadership style.  Once he acknowledged openly his bent toward introvertism, he conversely became less of an introvert.   Once again this reminds me of my comments yesterday about leadership styles.  All styles of leadership can be effective.  The loud, gregarious, and extrovert is probably the most common leader style that we think of when we picture the quintessential leader.  However, quiet, reserved, and even introverts can lead.  What is more important is integrity, thoughtfulness, clear thinking, collaboration, and courage.

One Leadership Style Not Needed

I was recently listening to the Catalyst Podcast with Marcus Buckingham, in which he was discussing his new book, Standout.  He was mentioning his study of General Managers in a large company who all had very unique and different strategies to lead their divisions - and all were successful.  He made it clear that those managers would be less successful if they tried to emulate the actions and behaviors of their peers, who led in unique and individualized ways.  The style of leadership is closely tied to the strengths and personality of the leader and the strengths and personality of the team.  A bigger need is to be aware of our own strengths and seek to maximize our impact in a way that is congruent with our own leadership style.    A good question to ask would be, "When I have been most successful, what actions and behaviors have led to that success?"

Facing Unique Challenges Builds Brain Muscles

Our students needs lots and lots of practice STRUGGLING with novel and challenging problems that they are capable of solving.  They need to learn to try, fail, try again, struggle, and ultimately succeed.  This is reinforced by a recent commentary noted on the New York Times Opinion Page, which demonstrated that students performed better on tests when given practice problems that were not all of the same type:

When students can’t tell in advance what kind of knowledge or problem-solving strategy will be required to answer a question, their brains have to work harder to come up with the solution, and the result is that students learn the material more thoroughly.

This practice is called interleaving and has proven effective in improving students' performance on tests.

A study published last year in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology asked fourth-graders to work on solving four types of math problems and then to take a test evaluating how well they had learned. The scores of those whose practice problems were mixed up were more than double the scores of those students who had practiced one kind of problem at a time

Presentations - Begin with the end in Mind

Since Steven Covey began writing about leadership and personal success back in the 80's, that phrase "Begin with the end in mind" has seeped into our culture. It is critically important when teaching or leading both adults and children. Here's what he says about your ultimate purpose.

If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step you take gets you to the wrong place faster.

Purpose must be explicit, clear, and meaningful to your audience. Here are some reflective questions that I consider when beginning my plans for presentations.

1. What does my audience need to know or be able to do by the end of our meeting?
2. Is the goal for them to have a discussion and brainstorm possibilities, or come to a decision?
3. Will the audience embrace the goal I've chosen or am I imposing an artificial goal that the audience will resist?
4. What are the audience's current strengths and areas of weakness related to the topic?

So, clearly you must be an expert on two subjects: 1) your content and 2) your audience, though I would argue that it's more important to be an expert on the audience than the subject. After all, you may have members of the audience with greater knowledge and expertise than yourself and, knowing that, you can tap into their experiences to craft the presentation.

Once I've reflected on the needs and perspective of my audience, I decide what I want to be accomplished. For example, in some recent staff development meetings we completed the following activities for the purposes indicated in parentheses.

1. Brainstormed a list of strengths and needs of our English Learners and our staff's expertise related to instruction of English Learners. (Building an asset based approach to English Learners and discovering the wealth of human resources available to enhance our instruction)

2. Decided on our instructional focus for the year, which is writing. (Develop consensus around the primary PD that we will pursue as a staff)

3. Made a collaborative timeline of the school from it's inception to present day. (Validate all the people and programs that have contributed to our current success and build momentum for our future work) - btw This idea came from my awesome and inspirational Assistant Principal, Ms. Sylvia Echeverria!

The success of these activities is due to the careful thought about connecting the needs of the audience and the course of action we are seeking to pursue. When these two themes align, there is energy, engagement, and productive creativity. When these two paths are disconnected, there is impassable resistance, passive acceptance and superficial implementation.

Let me close by saying a little about the tools I use at this stage. Often, I start with a blank piece of paper and pencil or pen. Despite many digital tools for mind mapping and brainstorming, I've found that the best way for me to dump out my ideas is to write them out and begin the process of re-reading, revising, questioning, and discussing with my leadership team until we reach a clear consensus on our goals and purpose.

In the next post, I'll discuss the best ways to deliver content and the processes for grappling with that content as a group.

Learning Presentations

As a Principal, I have many opportunities to present to teachers and on some occasions to my Principal peers. This important form of communication and teaching is one of the primary attributes of a leader. Below are the questions that I ponder to develop and execute the most effective presentations possible.

1. Consider what I want my audience to know and be able to do both at the end of the meeting and at some future date (e.g. end of quarter, semester, year)

2. What is the best way to deliver the content?

3. How can I grab their attention at the outset?

4. Where can I include opportunities for dialogue, discussion, and collaboration?

5. How much time should I provide for my audience to plan and develop next steps with the content?

6. How can I leave them with a bent toward action and an emotional connection with the work?

I will flesh out these questions in the next few posts to explain how I attempt to deliver quality professional development and increase the learning of my staff and colleagues.

Failure is tolerable and even desirable ... so long as you are learning. Failure that doesn't develop new learning is truly a FAIL, with no redeeming qualities. But failure, that produces lessons for the next try can truly make an organization, school, classroom, student, or teacher smarter and more successful. Liz Wiseman, in her book Multipliers introduces Lutz Ziob who was the general manager of the education business at Microsoft who was described as,

"He brings an intellectual curiosity for why things didn't work out."

We must ask lots of questions about our failures to determine why they didn't work and what we might do differently to reach our goals.