10 Minutes of Bliss -- for the Effective Teacher

What makes you feel like an effective teacher?  What is it about where you work -- or how you work -- that makes you effective?

I often feel effective as a teacher at Science Leadership Academy (SLA)  because of my working conditions. I have a lot of bright and thoughtful colleagues, well-organized classroom resources (paper, printers, markers, warmth, lab materials, etc.), energetic and curious students, and a supportive administration. I have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and co-plan curriculum, programs, and our professional development. All of these wonderful elements create a platform for consistent effectiveness, whether over a 9-week period, or within a short 10 minutes. Below is an example of 10 minutes that were especially productive.

Earlier this quarter, I worked with "KM," one of our 9th grade science students who hasn't had a lot of experience with writing or organizing. By using a collaboratively-developed lab proposal process, KM has been able to develop his exciting ideas about science, and then make them more concrete through structured coaching, encouragement, and direct experience in the lab. KM has been able to identify and describe an unexplained event, develop a hypothesis and procedures, and then experiment to find out more about his questions.

The 10-minutes I spent with KM in September carried him through October and November. Each time that I've worked with KM since September, his inquiry has become deeper and his knowledge is more thorough. KM now visits my classroom during his free period to work with other 9th graders.  KM could have easily become frustrated and lost in the mix, but because of his persistence and my availability, he is engaged and enthusiastic about learning.

These 10 minutes have been so effective because of the explicit commitment from colleagues within the science division to develop a common language around lab proposals (and lab write-ups). Our discussions and deliberations over the last few years have really helped me to refine and enrich my understandings about what student need in relation to the philosophy and process of science. The professional collaboration at SLA has provided the context and support for me to be more effective.  It's also nice to have a functioning lab -- with running water(!) -- that is attached to the traditional classroom space.

So what makes you feel like an effective teacher?  What is it about where you work -- or how you work -- that makes you effective?

Fun with Wordle!

As you may know, we just published a report of teachers' effective working conditions.  I then dumped some of the text into Wordle, a fun, word-clouds type graphic arts program.  Try it, you'll like it!

Effective & Progressive Unions

Unions should serve as advocates for 1) effective working conditions and 2) worthwhile education.

I'd like to see a more progressive union in Philadelphia that emphasizes:
1)  Teacher-lead professional development.

2)  Healthier lunch choices, regardless of school size or vendor contracts.

3)  Full-time nurses in each school, every day of the week. Think of the opportunities for "wellness studies" link to science, physical education, social studies and electives.

4)  Re-negotiated school calendar that emphasizes time for civic engagement, family time, rest and recreation. Why in the world are children off on Election Day when their parents and teachers are working? How can we re-organize our school calendar so that families have more time to be together? And let's recognize an Indigenous People's Day.

5)  Site-based decision-making with regard to hiring, budgeting and curriculum choices. Let's emphasize students' love of learning, collaborating and presenting rather than isolated content.  Make district-wide curricula optional and collaborative.

6)  Flexible site-based scheduling that emphasizes teachers' co-planning and reflection.

What do teachers unions look like where you're from?  What can we do to help our unions be advocates for worthwhile education?

Teachers' Effective Working Conditions

As a parent, I want engaging learning experiences for my daughter.  As a citizen, I think education should foster and model democracy.

As a teacher with the Philadelphia School District, I am very concerned about meaningful student achievement.  Over the last year, I've been honored to research and co-author a report on the working conditions that make teachers more effective.  A link to the report (pdf or on-line media) is here: Transforming School Conditions.  Here is a synopsis:

Teacher Recruitment:  The teacher residency is a good model for recruitment and support of teacher candidates because it aligns college, district and community policy around student needs.

Accountability: Assessment and evaluation systems for students and teachers need to be reciprocal, broad and holistic.

Life-long Learning: Teachers are more effective with the development of professional networks within and across schools to support teaching and learning.

Teacher Leadership: Teachers need diverse opportunities for teacher leadership that do not require removal from the classroom.

Social Capital:  As a society, we need to invest in community resources to develop and support effective schools.  Children who are safe, healthy and well-rested are more likely to do well in school.

What do you think are the working conditions teachers need in order to be effective?

Teacher Salary Project

There's been some excitement over at the Center for Teaching Quality boards about a new film project called "The Teacher Salary Project."  Of course it's very important to include the voices of teachers in discussions about national, state and local educational policy.  Yet the project may actually being doing more to isolate teachers from the general public.

You can check out a clip from the film and decide for yourself.  I watched the "Before 9 a.m." clip and was a bit disappointed if not embarrassed.

I don't think teachers are going to build allies with other American workers by suggesting that we work harder than they do. Of course child care is incredibly important and teaching is a noble profession. But to suggest that people who take care of their families and put in a hard days work are less worthy than teachers demeans diversity and democracy. We need all kinds of people to be deeply engaged with their families, communities and society in general.

Heck, I'd love to have time to eat a more relaxed and nutritious breakfast with my family every morning. Good for the real estate broker and the choices he has made.

Managing "October Exhaustion"

Today in our "school reform" personal learning community (PLC), we acknowledged that it's very challenging to juggle student engagement, curriculum planning, life-coaching and family communications. And when would we have time to study and discuss national education policy?

We all work pretty hard (and I'd say pretty effectively), but we may also be susceptible to "October Exhaustion." Although this usually hits me -- hard -- in November, I do my best to pace myself so that I am relatively healthy and sane in June.

Elena Aguilar, a colleague from the Teachers Leaders Network, has posted an interesting (and somewhat controversial) survival guide for October Exhaustion in EdWeeks' Teacher Magazine. Her main points are summarized below:

• Take some time off
• Refresh your surroundings
• Re-ground yourself in the “why”
• Celebrate the successes
• Optimize your time
• Get some helpers
• Learn to say no
• Make good health a priority

What do you think? To what extent is this a fair and professional list?

The Limits of Value-Added Models of Assessment

Diane Ravitch (and others) have a lot to say about the limits of the value-added model (VAM).  For those in need of a tune-up on VAM, here is a nice synopsis from the Value Added Research Center.

One of the strengths of the VAM is that is suggests that there are number of variables that influence how "learning" takes place: schools, teacher prep programs, families, communities, teacher:student ratios.  What has to happen with these varables so that children are ready to learn and teachers are supported?

Taken in isolation, VAM has limitations.   For example, effective teachers may be miscast as ineffective, and therefore unworthy of employment, recognition and/or bonuses.*  Perhaps worse -- ineffective teachers could be identified as effective due to stand-alone standardized test scores.

And what if Oak Tree A is transplanted to Garden B?  Or how much time would Gardener B need to be effective in Garden A?  Think about switching from teaching 11th grade physics to 8th grade general science, for example.  Or switching from 5th graders to 3rd graders.  How much time, planning and coaching would you need to get to know the students, the 3rd grade teaching team, the curricula, and the families?  How long would it take for you to be "effective?"

We can also ask whether standardized tests scores are an adequate measure of learning, no matter how you adjust the numbers.

* For more on teacher bonuses, "Teacher Bonuses Don't Improve Test Scores."

John Dewey is an old-head!

A colleague recently asked "How do teachers with different years of experience work collaboratively to engage our students effectively in the classrooms?"  I've been puzzling over a few comments:

1. Effective teachers use a variety of strategies to meet their students' needs, whether the teachers are 25 or 65.
2. I remember that, as a student, my best K-12 experiences were when I was collaborating with classmates on projects -- whether in chemistry or history classes.  We could use a variety of approaches to solve problems or unexplained events, we had a degree of flexibility with our use of time, resources were abundant, and we were encouraged to share our findings via unique and creative presentations.
3. Although I am committed to constructivism, I have found that my students sometimes benefit from a sprinkling of behaviorism.
4. The biggest challenge for me, whether working with older or younger colleagues, has been understanding, if not agreeing on, the purpose of [public] education.  I think that if school communities could work that out (i.e. "What is the purpose of public education?"), teams of teachers, students and families would be in a better position to provide engaging experiences for students.  

A younger colleague recently told me that Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences was passe because "...he was looking really old."  What does that say about John Dewey (1859-1952)?

And a older colleague protested the use of web-based course-ware (such as this platform) because "Technology won't help the kids [learn]."  In some sense, both perspectives are a-historical.
I appreciate both the sense of immediacy and the sense of caution.  But worthwhile teaching is timeless, and effective teachers use a variety of strategies to engage students.  Always have, and always will.

K-12 Copyright fear --- we don't want that here!

Any advice on how to help public school districts extricate themselves from the clutches of "copyright infringement fear?" Some of our work at my high school has been less effective because the district has blocked such information sites as Netflix, YouTube or blip.tv.

One challenge for us has been access to Netflix. Colleagues of mine had used the streaming feature for instructional use and critique in arts, humanities and science classes --- but the Philadelphia School District (PSD) blocked Netflix last year. The explanation was that they didn't want to infringe on copyrights.

Another challenge has been the blanketed blocking of YouTube. There are some fantastic educational videos of protein synthesis, for example, that we cannot access because PSD has blocked YouTube content. We had originally wanted students to create their own video animations and were referencing some wonderful material on the web for context. For a high school that emphasizes responsible use of computers in a 1:1 environment, it's been pretty frustrating.

In 2008-2009, our students of African American history made 30-second "commercials" about civil rights. By the time we had uploaded and indexed them on on blip.tv, and then linked them on Wikispaces (http://orange08-09.wikispaces.com/Commercials [now blip.tv is dead]), we learned that PSD blocked blip.tv when in the PSD network. Forget about in-school cross-curricular reflection and collaboration. (We use TeacherTube now.)

Why not coach students on smart use of educational technology?!?

Effective personal learning communities (PLCs)

What are the characteristics of effective K-12 teachers' personal learning communities (PLCs), and can PLCs be digital?

I think that for PLCs to be effective, they need 3 things:  focus, responsibility, and authority.  The careful balance of these three results in teachers who are engaged, who have a sense of purpose, and who can influence the school's culture.  Most importantly, the PLCs need to cultivate individual's and/or the school's social capital.

PLCs will be more effective if they have a particular focus, whether its departmental (science or history teams), pedagogical (instructional or assessment strategies), operational (grant$ review or school culture), or interest-based (shared readings or other).

Effective PLCs need to have specific responsibilities such as completing a project, reporting back to the larger faculty and/or making policy recommendations.  Responsibility implies accountability, and the interaction between PLCs fosters accountability.  Schools need a deep leadership bench, and teachers can contribute to a school's strengths (and their own strengths) via PLCs.

A PLC's sense of authority is a tricky one.  Some teachers or administrators dispense authority to groups or individuals without proper and gradual experience with cost-benefit analysis, diplomacy, or communications etiquette.  If this is true, one solution is to have clear organizational goals and to understand how a specific PLC's aims fit into or advance the larger goals.  PLC members also need to develop 6, 12 and 18 months goals (more or less depending on the project) so that they can gradually raise the general social capital of the school overall.  The PLC's authority needs to be honored, and administrators, in particular, need to make sure they have provided enough context so that the PLCs understand the implications of their choices and recommendations.

On a side note, PLCs are more likely to be effective when administrators are participants.

Worthwhile education - Part 2

The program description from the RTTT includes four goals, one of which references competing in a "global economy" (see 4 goals below).  I commend Secretary Duncan and his OESE team for crafting an educational plan that includes an orientation to economy - we all need to eat and we all need energy:

• "Through Race to the Top, we are asking States to advance reforms around four specific areas: 
• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy ;[emphasis added]
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

I have to ask if the first goal is worthwhile.  Is this really what we want for our children?

There is nothing in the program description about a "sustainable" economy, which is much more egalitarian.  In fact, I would prefer "...participate in a global democracy" rather than "...complete in the global economy."  After all, the purpose of public education is to cultivate an engaged democracy that can make critical and creative decisions about the economy --- not the other way around.

I bring it up because I think the emphasis on economy (rather than democracy) reflects 1) an interest in privatizing public education, and/or 2) a technocratic mindset where education has a utilitarian, measurable function.  The assumptions of RTTT (and  Nation at Risk before it) have permeated our social discourse to the point where we are deliberating obediency & compliance (re.: accountability) and how and where to build prisons -- rather than liberty, equality and creativity.

As Chris Lehmann says in Practical Theory, we've got to dream about and create what we want for public education.  Worthwhile education is built on those dreams.

What are your dreams?  What has to be in place for the dreams to be realized?

"Worthwhile education..."

With all of recent emphasis on standardized tests as a means to identify ineffective teachers, I realized that this is really a distraction form the real challenges we face. Of course there are bad teachers, but what percentage of our profession qualifies?

I think the real challenge is looking at the context of education; students come to school un-rested, under-fed and under-stimulated (with regard to measuring and reading). The onus is on families to take care of their children. This is not to suggest that we can simply blame families; it's hard being poor in America.

I think we have to look even broader. What are the conditions that are creating and maintaining a class of poor people in the first place? And who benefits? (It's like a blame game re: the Deep Horizon oil leak; everyone---including the media---is pointing fingers without asking the important question of energy sustainability).

Having teachers focus on managing ineffective teachers is a distraction. I'd rather work closely with faculty/admin/students & community to cultivate the characteristics of worthwhile public education*:

• Well-rested, well-nourished and engaged students
• alongside a political economy that provides meaningful & flexible employment, access to healthcare, safe neighborhoods
• Equitable building resources (playing fields, books, science equipment, travel/experience budget)
• 2 year-long co-teaching/internships for new teachers (at a respectable salary)
• Teacher-led professional development
• Democratic distributed leadership
• curricular and instructional flexibility in alignment with content area concepts/principles and developmentally-appropriate learning
• site-based budgeting & site-based hiring

What do you think are the characteristics of worthwhile public education?

What are liberal values?

Although I cannot speak for all liberals, there are several values that we often share.  For example, liberals value universal healthcare.  All Americans should be able to afford medical and dental regardless of income.  Right now, over 40 million Americans do not have healthcare.  And roughly 18,000 Americans die every year because of lack of health insurance (Institute for Medicine; Jan 14, 2004; http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3809/4660/17632.aspx).  And how many of our neighbors, whether liberal or conservative, think that getting a routine check-up should be easy and affordable? 

Another liberal value is energy conservation.  You can be certain that liberals appreciate our high standard of living.  Many Americans have warm, comfortable homes that use natural gas, oil, and/or electricity to cook food, clean clothes and run lamps.  Liberals also understand that there is a finite amount of energy available to support our way of life.  In order to sustain our fortunate wealth in the long-term, we will have to be a lot smarter about how we use energy.  At the very least, the words “reduce,” “re-use” and “recycle” have an important place in our lives---as liberals and as Americans.

The value of efficient transportation is closely linked with energy conservation.  We need local, regional, state and federal transportation planning that makes it easier to get around.   Are daily traffic jams on I-95 good for our economy?  Liberals also understand that communities should be walkable and bikeable.  Right now, there are a smattering of disconnected sidewalks near schools---and no bike lanes.  How many of our neighbors, whether conservative or liberal, would like their children to be able to walk or bike more safely to school?

Liberals value public education.  Public education exists to cultivate individual freedoms that are attuned to social responsibility.  A rich civic life is possible through direct experience with arts, athletics, humanities, math, sciences and vocations.  The possibility of a rich civic life may be compromised when you have disparate funding of public education.  In the 2006-2007 school year, Radnor, PA spent $17,105 per student while Upper Darby,PA spent $9,727 (Report Card on the School-2007; Philadelphia Inquirer: http://inquirer.philly.com/specials/2007/report_card/.  What can we do, as a society, to maintain Radnor’s excellent educational programming while providing comparable funding to less wealthy districts?

America is a rich and beautiful country because of the myriad of people who have been coming here over the last 500 years.  Although parts of our history are not pretty, we’ve had so many wonderful accomplishments because of religious and cultural exchange.  The Constitution of the United States was designed to foster this exchange in that the majority is expected to act to protect the minority.  Anytime a person or group acts to oppress another individual or group, the majority has the responsibility to act judiciously to protect the rights of the minority.   Liberals seek to hear and understand differences so that we may be better informed and thereby make better decisions in the common good.  Liberals value diversity. 

These are five values that liberals often agree on.  Sometimes, conservatives may agree with the value but not on liberal policies that support the value---and that’s okay.  It is rich and informed discussion about these values that will help America to be a tremendous place to live, work and raise families.  Interestingly, some of these secular values have their roots in Jewish, Christian, Islamic or other religious texts that emphasize compassion, caring, and civic engagement.  America’s great tradition of secular values will ensure that we will continue to grow and prosper as a vibrant, diverse, and healthy democracy.

Reciprocal Accountability

I think the idea of "reciprocal accountability" is a breath of fresh air.

I think educators should go further and set up reciprocal accountability at a local, state and national level.  For example,  teacher effectiveness should be correlated to a range of factors that are informed by students' SES.  What is society doing (via a local, state or national infrastructures) to foster the conditions that will help teachers be more effective?  Suggestions include:

1. Children are well-rested and well-fed.
2. Children have opportunities for quiet-time to reflect about their learning and/or do homework.
3. Children have safe and numerous opportunities to play/participate in recreation outside of the school environment.
4. Children have access to fully-funded libraries with fully-supported technology.
5. Children have access to school facilities and programs, via public funding, that reflect those in wealthy independent schools.
6. Teacher:student ratios reflect those of highly successful independent schools (after all, if it's good enough for wealthy kids, it should be good enough for poor kids).
7. Children have access to full healthcare.
8. Children's families have access to home ownership and job counseling.

Susan Moore Johnson, John Papay, Randi Weingarten and W. James Popham all refer to the acute impact of SES on effective teaching.  Give urban or very rural teachers these pre-conditions and we will reciprocate!

"Teacher Effectiveness" & Self-Assessment

I don't think you can assess teacher effectiveness through students' test scores.  Standardized state tests  assess student effectiveness --- at taking tests. 

Alternatively, I would like "teacher effectiveness" to be a reflection of my ability to:

• Cultivate safe classrooms (physically, emotionally, intellectually)
• Advise and mentor individual and groups of students
• [Re-]organize curricula to meet students' interests
• Vary instruction and assessment to address students' needs
• Communicate with colleagues, families, school partners
• Design professional development that enriches the above criteria
  

  If you could design the criteria for your own "teacher effectiveness," what would it look like?

Teacher Effectiveness and Reciprocal Accountability

According to an article in the Washington Post (Mar 2, 2010), President Barack Obama has condoned the mass firing of teachers at Central Falls High School, one of RI's poorest high schools:

"If a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability," he said. "And that's what happened in Rhode Island last week at a chronically troubled school, when just 7 percent of 11th-graders passed state math tests -- 7 percent." 

-Barack Obama

Of course such low scores on the state's math tests are sad.  However, before we conclude that the teachers are accountable for such low scores, we should consider the issue of reciprocal accountability.  Specifically, we can ask what kinds of supports were in place to make sure that teachers could be effective.  If teachers are going to be accountable for student achievement, then teachers can require that schools, LEAs and state education departments provide the context for student achievement.*

Within schools, reciprocal accountability can mean many things.  Most importantly, teachers need to have the time to co-plan and influence school-wide policies.  I wonder if Central Falls had any reciprocal accountability in place?

Questions to consider with regard to reciprocal accountability:

• Professional development (PD):  Are teachers involved in creating and facilitating their own PD?  Teachers are in a perfect position to align district priorities with the interests and needs of their students.  Why not create working groups in which teachers run PD alongside school and district administrators?
• School Climate: Are teachers examining the research on school climate and then developing policy that matches their school's needs?
• Assessment:  Arguably sub-set of PD, teachers could be looking at a variety of assessments that help them know how students are growing academically - - - and socially.  Everything from state-level standardized tests, district-mandated tests, formal and informal assessment, portfolios, rubrics and project-based learning should be up for discussion.  Each of these has a profound impact on how teachers organize their curricula and how students experience their learning.  

By providing time for teachers to reflect and co-plan,  schools and districts will be providing one aspect of reciprocal accountability. What does reciprocal accountability look like to you?

* Up next: considering society's reciprocal accountability to teachers.

Assessing Teacher Effectiveness

How do we know if a teacher is "good" or "effective?"

Part of the national discussion is (has been) "teacher accountability."  According to both No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, assessment of teachers should be associated with overall student growth.  Should teachers be held accountable for student learning?  If so, how does one measure student learning?

HERE* is an interesting animation that contrasts an "attainment model" of assessing learning --- i.e. how much a child grows over time, vs. a "value-added model" --- i.e. how measurements of child growth are adjusted for environmental variables.  Just think of your student as a tree - - - .

How do you want to be assessed as a teacher?

* (Thanks to CTQ's Ali Kliegman for sharing this resource.)

What am I, a bowling ball?

I believe that professional development (PD) is most effective when teachers have a clear understanding of the larger issues: What's at stake?  Administrators (building, district or county) often make the mistake of not cultivating teachers' shared understanding of the larger issues.  Teachers therefore do not see how the PD is linked to student engagement, personal growth, or pedagogical concept development.

I recently received an email indicating that district administrators were going to "...do professional development to teachers."  What am I, a bowling ball?!?

What is meaningful assessment?

How do we know children are learning? Do we have to use standardized tests, or are their other ways to make this determination?

In a recent New York Times Op-ed (Feb 2, 2010; Op-Ed. p A23), Susan Engel, director of the teaching program at Williams College, discusses several important components of assessing student learning: reading, writing, computation, pattern detection, conversation and collaboration. Why not develop criteria that assess these skills (or broader, school-based values) as a measure of student learning?

If we assess these broad skills, rather than merely test-taking skills, Engel believes that we will cultivate our students' long-term success. Engel argues that if students are able to demonstrate these skills (by age 12), then "...they would be prepared to learn almost anything in high school or college." While teachers can collaborate on the specifics of the curriculum, Engel has anchored the discussion of student assessment in values, i.e. what is it we value in public education.

According to Engel, one value is raising children rather than raising test scores. Rather than measuring factory-like outputs via a "...curriculum that is strangling students and teachers alike...," she wants educators and policy-makers to consider their process values, i.e. what experiences students and teachers could have.

At Science Leadership Academy (SLA) where I teach, we organize our curriculum around 5 core values that integrate of focus our learning (see Fig. 1 below). Although these criteria are not the same as Ms. Engel's, perhaps we need to extend some flexibility to schools to determine their own values that meet their specific students' and teachers' needs and interests. Once these values are in place, perhaps we can develop meaningful assessments that reflect students' and teachers' relation to the values.

Fig. 1: SLA's Core Value & sample assessment criteria

CORE VALUE	SAMPLE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Inquiry	Student demonstrates a variety of strategies to frame questions about, and investigate, the fictional and non-fictional world.
Research	Student demonstrates a variety of strategies to gather and organize information.
Collaboration	Student demonstrates a variety of strategies to work with and learn from a variety of people.
Presentation	Student demonstrates a variety of strategies to share learning with a wider audience beyond the teacher.
Reflection	Student demonstrates a variety of strategies to modify and enrich the learning process and outcomes.

Democracy & Educational Leadership

What is it that makes an effective educational leader? Of course we need leaders who can help reform and enrich education --- but to what end? NYTimes columnist Bob Herbert may have some answers.

There's one major problem with Bob Herbert's perspective on educational leadership. He assumes that public eduction exists to advance our country's international economic prowess ("In Search of Education Leaders," Dec 5, 2009). Alternatively, public education exists to cultivate democracy.

A vibrant economy is certainly a worthy goal for any society, but it is democracy that helps individuals make smart choices that advance the common good---both locally and globally. This lesson can be learned at home and in our schools. Yet public education should represent our civil commitment to a democracy that fosters liberty and equality. Worthwhile educational reform requires leadership that is guided by such a democracy.

As Ariel Sacks writes, we should also be careful about programs for educational leadership that are not explicitly linked to classroom teaching. Teachers make hundreds of decisions that help students navigate the complexities of democracy, i.e. the aligment of personal liberties with social equality. Without this direct experience of teaching and learning, what kind of reform can educational leaders provide?