SCHOOLS AS A CHANGE CATALYST!!!!!

The Change/Innovation Itself 'Change' is, of course, a highly emotive term, a flag or banner for reactionaries and ultra conservatives. 'Change' and 'innovation' are often regarded as synonyms. Typically they are defined as 'a deliberate attempt either to improve practice in relation TO certain existing objectives, or to introduce policies or functions related to new objectives ‘Alternatively, if 'change' is simply regarded as 'any significant alteration in the status quo' the 'innovation' may be regarded as 'any change which represents something new to the people being changed' (Havelock, 1971).

 

• The schools should be empowering young learners by equipping them with core skills such as empathy, teamwork, leadership and creative skills. Skills for a Changing World, a collaborative project, know how a new generation of skills can best be developed and enhanced in young children and students so they can navigate education and work in the face of changing social, technological, and economic demands. The focus of Skills for a Changing World is breadth—breadth of skills, breadth across ages, and breadth of learning opportunities, both inside and out of school.

The Change Agent

The change agent in any process of innovation may be defined by the number of roles he is expected to fulfill. For example he may be regarded as a 'trainer, consultant, counselor or therapist' (Chin and Benne 1976). Alternatively the change agent may be simply defined as 'the helper, the person or group who is attempting to effect change' (Bennie 1976). Atypical list of roles for the change agent engaged in a process of educational innovation could be:

1. conveyor

2. Consultant

3. Trainer

4. Leader of ideas and information to the client group in specific skills of a group of change agents

5. Innovator creating new ideas and practices

6. know/edge builder developing knowledge for the group

7. Practitioner adopting new skills and practices

8. User using the new knowledge and ideas

These roles are, of course, overlapping and any one change agent may play several at any one time. Similarly, in any one innovation scheme, there may be a number of change agents, each of whom plays a variety of roles. Likely change agents include those who are internal to the school or college (teachers, heads of department, deputy heads, and vice- principals) and those who are external to the immediate change context (County, co-coordinators, advisers and inspectors, and other educationalists). Overall any change agent whether internal or external, will be expected to provide a certain amount of leadership for the group promoting the innovation, to act as a catalyst or facilitator of change, to be prepared to take risks in implementing change and to play the part of a communicator both within the change context and outside it. These role demands on the change agent bring with them corresponding requirements for particular skills. To be successful a change agent would need therefore a range of leadership, facilitator and communication skills including:

• identifying and isolating problems and tasks
• setting priorities
• making plans and adjusting plans
• allocating work and resources
• deciding appropriate methods
• evaluating performance and assessing change by results
• setting standards, building team spirit
• encouraging, motivating, praising, recognizing
• listening
• summarizing
• writing reports
• making oral presentations
• suggesting questions rather than answers
• taking risks, going out on a limb
• providing time for discussion
• counseling rather than threatening
• retraining
• consulting
• changing from the bottom-up

This demand for a range of skills to be displayed and used by the change agent is, of course, a demand for perfection. In the real world of the school few teachers or heads of departments possess all of the skills they need to act as agents or managers of change. The task involves both sharing success if there is success and accepting criticism if there is failure. Hence the change agent needs a realistic understanding that not everything will go well, that if it does others will want to share the glory ('victory has many fathers') and that if it doesn't he needs to grow a thick skin ('defeat is an orphan'). Any failure, of course, may will be the result of other factors than the change agent's own shortcomings. This is to say also that in order to survive the change agent has to learn to cope with the demands and stresses of his role — he has to manage the stress of being a change agent.

Sources of stress include

1) Problems of developing a new role as change agent —handling new concepts (e.g. curriculum)

— The uncertainty of the new role (old role as teacher)

— changed perceptions of the school or college as an organization

— changed frame of reference

- — communication problems (the language of and change)

2) the outsider within the school or college —a project member, for example, may become detached from existing relationships and structures within the school or college and hence may feel less secure, more of an outsider.

— A change agent appears to attack existing values, attitudes and practices, the existing culture of the school or college

— A change agent may feel exposed and isolated within the school or college

— A change agent may feel unrecognized within the school or college or believe that he lacks sufficient status or prestige to effect change

— A change agent may feel stress because the change itself lacks credibility within the school or college

— A change agent may feel stress from having, at the same time, to play other roles within the school or college

— A change agent has to take risks to implement change

— This may backfire within the school or college and affect future prospects (including promotion?)

3) Uncertainty about the actual task

— Both the change agent, and his head of department/head/principal will have, initially at least, unclear expectations about the task in hand

— The boundaries of the task will probably be vague and will, equally probably, impinge on the established responsibilities of others

— Criteria for successful performance of the task will be unclear

— The stimulation of change is an uncertain task in itself, often doomed to failure

— The credit for successful change may be (should be?) claimed by others; the blame for difficulties and uncertainties may be attached to the change agent

— The change/innovation itself may challenge existing values, policies, practices and management styles in the school or college

— The legitimacy of the change/innovation may be attacked. (Warming ton 1975)

Given that the role of the change agent, stresses and tensions notwithstanding, is to help implement and manage change what major strategies are available to him? That is to say, what main procedures or techniques may be used by the change agent to reach the innovation's particular objectives? Typical change strategies are often grouped

Indeed the implementation stage of any innovation or change is one where the implications of change should be thoroughly examined and where any undesirable impact is minimized.

We should stress on the importance of learning through activity and inquiry rather than simply through the acquisition of knowledge itself, this is, again, not to decry or value knowledge. It is rather to suggest that good teaching is more to do with developing the learner as a learner. The most important skills that a student can develop as part of any curriculum are those which will fit him for the future, adaptive learning. The most liberal, educational, vocational, practical, theoretical training any student can get is that which enables him to analyze and meet his own learning needs as an autonomous adult: learning how to learn throughout life. And this is to value the processes of acquiring and using knowledge as much as the knowledge acquired itself. There is a danger that the latter will become inert, but there is the probability that the process of learning will always be dynamic. The issue is not to oppose process and product; the point is to see learning to learn as a dynamic process which will enable the student to review his knowledge, develop his skills and re-examine his attitudes and values in an ever- changing context.

If the first two stages in the change process — the initial fact-finding, problem-Ana/ys/s stage and the second implementation stage — have been identified there is now a need to examine briefly a third stage in which the change or innovation is stabilized and evaluated. The most obvious features of this third stage are that attempts are made to incorporate and legitimize the change within the change context (e.g. within the school) and to reflect upon an evaluate the impact, if any, of the change itself. This reflective

And evaluation stage is obviously of vital importance if the change is to have any chance of lasting Success.

PREPARING CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE

How can we best prepare children for success in their lives and livelihoods? From hunter-gatherer societies to early civilizations, and into modernity, generations have grappled with this key question. As they do, our definition of what counts as a high quality education has evolved, as have the sites used to prepare children for their future.Our current world presents a specific set of challenges.

Technological innovations, changes in the work force, and the global nature of many problems we face require a big shift in our approach to how education is delivered. Information is exploding with some suggesting the global information base is doubling at a rapid pace soon every 12 hours. Pink and others have argued, the integration and navigation of information will be as important as the learning of content.Young people will increasingly need to focus on making use of what they know and less on just mastering bodies of knowledge. In the wake of these vast changes scientists, educators, and policymakers have suggested a growing number of skill sets thought to prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s challenges.

The new demands of our societies require cultivating the breadth of skills. Breadth of skills refers to a range of important skills that include the basics that many education systems currently focus on, such as literacy, numeracy, and content knowledge in academic subjects as well as information literacy, flexibility, and problem solving. In the age of information, a focus on breadth of skills can complement technology. The new digital economy requires individuals to be able to filter, analyze, and create meaning from the vast amounts of information available online. Skills like complex reasoning and creative thinking can empower individuals to take full advantage of opportunities in the digital world. Digital literacy also becomes essential and as societies continue to digitize, lacking digital skills will be like not knowing how to read and write. The Mozilla Foundation’s map of web literacy outlines what digital literacy entails from navigating and exploring, to building content or coding, and collaborating with others and participating in online communities.

The global nature of our communications and the problems we face also requires young people to interact with diverse communities and be aware of how their actions impact others.

In short, the world is constantly changing. It always will be. But recognizing the nature of these changes is key to examining the current context in which we live, and the major changes to be expected in our future that should inform how we think of education today. Within this context, a key concept is respect for the breadth of skills. Many stakeholders have articulated the need for the breadth of skills approach. It is now central that we explore how to align those aspirations with delivery of education.

“S kill begets skill...learning begets learning.” So while many make distinctions between teaching content versus character, or “hard” skills versus “soft” skills, this is a false dichotomy. In order to improve in science, literacy, and numeracy we need to effectively foster the full breadth of skills. But doing so will take a big shift in our educational environments, both inside classrooms between teachers and students as well as outside the classroom.

Education Decision-Making Flowchart

Great teachers and leaders find a way. By starting every decision with, “Is this best for the learner?”, helps to focus on what we need to do, but that doesn’t mean it always gets done. I say this to people all of the time; somebody, somewhere, is doing the exact same thing you say you can’t do because they are finding a way.

Is Grading Helpful to Learners?

Let’s say that we take these questions from Bill and have a great discussion within our faculty. That’s a great start, but what happens after the conversations? We are often really good at having meetings, but not necessarily great at doing something because of said meetings.

I thought of these questions in the first place after working with a group of teachers and students, with one of the students asking me over lunch, the following question:

If teachers are doing this on these days that we are not here, why are they not getting any better?

I do believe that these questions can be helpful in creating action from our time together, but now that I look at them, I think that there was something missing from the original post. Through my Covey training, one of the aspects they focused on is ensuring we see results because of our actions. This was called a “cadence of accountability.” The way I have interpreted this term was that we create a rhythm in how we report what we have done to our colleagues because of our ongoing conversations and commitments. We do not just ask these questions at the end of a professional learning day, but we follow up with our peers and share the impact of the work we have done at the next professional learning day.

Successful People Initiate

Most people only do what they are asked, doing only the minimum requirement. They need specific instructions on most things they do.

Conversely, those who become successful are anxiously engaged in a good cause. They don’t need to be managed in all things. They don’t just do the job, they do it right and complete. They also influence the direction for how certain ideas and projects go.

Most importantly, those who become successful initiate. They reach out to people, ask questions, make recommendations, offer to help, and pitch their ideas.

Being successful requires being proactive and not waiting for life to come to you. It means you’re on offense, not defense. You’re active, not passive.

Summarized…they make things happen.

The idea of the “initiator” is something that I have not only looked for in myself but in others. I wrote a post about the “4 Attributes of a Great Assistant Principal”, and I wrote something similar as the first point because my former AP’s exemplified this in spades:

1. Self-starters – There is often a mis perception that a principal should be delegating tasks to the leadership team and I guess sometimes this does happen. With that being said, I rarely had to ask my leadership team to do anything because they were already jumping on every opportunity to do different things for our school. One of my proudest days as a principal was when our school started “Identity Day“, not only because it was such a great day for our school community, but this was an idea that was started and lead by my assistant principal. Not only did she come up with the idea, but she worked with every single grade to ensure that the day was a success. Being able to be actively lead initiatives and work alongside teachers gave them instant credibility.

Bruce Dixon said the following statement that has always stuck with me:

In no other profession do we watch people do our job for a minimum of sixteen years before we do it ourselves.

Want proof that we recreate experiences in education and that they are handed down from generation to generation? Here is an example.

Have you ever said the term, “The bell doesn’t dismiss you; I dismiss you”? Maybe you haven’t said that, but have you heard it being stated? And if you have heard it, did you hear that phrase as a student, educator, or both? I guess that many educators that are reading this have witnessed this being stated (or something eerily similar) in their career, yet who made it up? This is a saying that has been passed down from generation to generation in education, which is proof that we carry on practices over time.

Handing down these experiences can be seen as a negative or a positive. If practices are passed down from generation to generation, what new practices that benefit student’s today will you implement that will become standard practice? Although I think it is important that we are flexible in our learning, I do believe that we need to revamp some practices in education and create new norms. The beautiful thing about teaching is that since we know we are creatures of experience, we can create new and better experiences in education that will impact generations moving forward.

 

A few reminders from my experience about leadership and anyone trying to help people deal with change:

1. Even when you are trying to do something good, people will find flaws.
2. When others see that you are trying to do something good, people will especially look for flaws.
3. A consensus is hard to build and no matter what decisions you make. Not everyone will be on board. If your focus is on the people you serve, then you will be okay.

This is not about being open to criticism. I think when we challenge the ideas of others in the pursuit of finding a better way, this is essential to the growth of our organizations and individuals. I recently saw a quote (I cannot find the source but just know it is not mine), and it said something along the lines of, “When we look to have a discussion, we are in the pursuit of better ideas, but when we look to argue, we are looking for a winner and loser.”

A little about the process though…

•  Yes, the product matters.  But the process is crucial, and I am glad that I did something that stretched my learning and pushed me out of my comfort zone. In education, the process is often the product. The ability to learn means we extend ourselves toward progress, not stand still.

 

The Center for Universal Education is embarking on a new project, Skills for a Changing World, to explore these questions. A central focus will be on how and where can children’s learning take place to cultivate breadth of skills and what new models can help leapfrog progress and scale this to all young people, especially the most marginalized. In formal learning contexts we focus on how the components of the education system can work together across curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy to conceptualize and implement learning attuned to today’s needs. Formal education systems are just one element in a bigger ecosystem of learning. Informal learning environments are routinely present in the life of a child.

These are provided at home by parents and caregivers and within communities in public spaces and learning institutions such as museums and libraries. Just as different areas of formal education systems must co- ordinate, society at large needs to work together across many areas of policy and public awareness. Positive impact on society is possible only with equitable learning opportunities to develop breadth of skills.

• Every child needs the full range of skills to proactively adapt to changing demands in life, learning, and work. Marginalized groups such as poor girls and youth affected by violent conflict especially need breadth of skills to support them in life transitions and to break cycles of injustice they face. We are also aware that existing models of education might not be enough to enable widespread transformation in an ecosystem that currently is not systematically helping all children and youth develop breadth of skills. As so many other industries have responded to the advancements made in technology and information, we seek to innovate education by exploring new models that more quickly accelerate the pace of change and effectively provide the quality learning that all children will require to lead fulfilling and healthy lives to contribute to vibrant societies.

Teachers play a key role in realizing successful changes in education. Among them are real ‘change agents’ at both classroom and school level. These characteristics pertain to lifelong learning (being eager to learn and reflective), mastery (giving guidance, being accessible, positive, committed, trustful, and self-assured), entrepreneurship (being innovative and feeling responsible), and collaboration (being collegiate). Within the category entrepreneurship, ‘being innovative’ . The characteristics mentioned apply to both the classroom and school level, importantly demonstrating these characteristics would transform the schools as an element of change in this society.

• One last reminder…you can’t change people. You can only create conditions where change is more like to happen. Let your light shine bright and stay focused on those who you serve and why you do what you do.....

Please post your reflections as comments and continue to be a catalyst of Change.