EFFECTIVENESS - helps and hampers

[Ian Carmichael]

Hi all,
I was just browsing the OECD feeds the other day, and see they've produced a report on teacher effectiveness (it's listed on the Fireside right sidebar as delicious links) but, it's also here.
How do you respond to the helps and hampers question? The report suggests two main hampers: lack of incentive for one, and disruptive students for the second.

What of your reflections? What things are hindrances to your effectiveness - and more importantly - how do you overcome them?

I'm thinking I have to shrink my fields of involvement in order to be at my best for the students I'm responsible for. And I have to wrestle with everything else to be sure that in the educational morass, they get what they deserve - my best time, my best thinking, my best energy.
The thing that dogs my effectiveness are the distractions - and switching my focus from people to paper. (For example, I'm in danger of becoming focussed on writing up scopes and sequins to the detriment of engaging with others in a learning classroom.)

Any thoughts?

[Connie Weber]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for bringing this study to our attention. Here are some points from the published results that stand out to me, with my own comments:

"Three out of four teachers feel they lack incentives to improve the quality of their teaching, while bad behaviour by students in the classroom disrupts lessons in three schools out of five, according to a new OECD report."

---Wonder, does this represent a trend going downwards, or is it the way things have been for some time? Wonder, could incentive for improvement of quality of teaching been increased through participation in professional learning networks like Fireside? Teachers need and benefit from collegial support. What is being done to increase collegial support? Has it been eroded with emphases on standardization? How competitive have things been between teachers?

"Its main policy lesson is that education authorities need to provide more effective incentives for teachers. Many countries make no link between appraisal of teachers’ performance and the rewards and recognition that they receive, and even where there are such links they are often not very strong."

---So if you're appraised as a strong teacher, that goes nowhere? Where do you think it should go? Are there ways to get the strengths shared?


" The survey, conducted with the support of the European Commission, covers 23 participating countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flemish Community), Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey."

"In each country, around 200 schools were randomly selected, and in each school one questionnaire was filled in by the school principal and another by 20 randomly selected teachers."

"In Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Ireland and Norway, more than 90% of teachers say they don’t expect any reward for improving the quality of their teaching."

---What reward would they want? Is it important to be rewarded? How?

---For me, the best reward is to feel whole-heartedly collegial, like we're all on an important mission together as a team. I find that collegiality in a variety of ways and places: at school with interested others, in my Project Zero work, and at Fireside. For me the best reward is more time for talking and working together on planning, reflection, and practice, within some kind of a team. That makes me do a better job, that also makes me happier! Too often, isolation is the problem.

"In Mexico, Italy, the Slovak Republic, Estonia and Spain, more than 70% of teachers at lower-secondary level work in schools where it was felt that classroom disturbances hinder the teaching process “to some extent” or “a lot”.Aside from classroom disturbances, other factors hindering instruction included student absenteeism (46%), students turning up late for class (39%), profanity and swearing (37%), and intimidation or verbal abuse of other students (35%)."

---Are there more disturbances than there were previously? What generates the disturbances? Where is "the need to disturb" coming from? What does it reflect about students' lives?

"Along with the lack of incentives for improvement, teachers in some countries do not even undergo any systematic appraisal or receive any feedback on their work. This is the case for more than 25% of teachers in Ireland and Portugal, 45% in Spain and 55% in Italy."

---Feedback is essential for growth. Is everyone just on their own? What can link people together in "learning communities," the model Roland S. Barth describes?

"Overall, the survey indicates, educational planners could do more to support teachers and improve the performance of students if both the public and policy makers focused less on control over resources and educational content and more on learning outcomes."

---Yes! Focus less on control over resources and content! Focus instead on building learning communities for ALL: teachers, as well as students. (And administrators, by the way.)

“This means moving from uniformity in systems to embracing diversity and individualising teaching and learning,” Mr. Gurría said. “It means moving from managing inputs and a bureaucratic approach to education and towards a system of devolved responsibilities and school leadership that enables teachers. In short, it means moving from talking about equity in terms of educational provision, to delivering equity in terms of outcomes.”

---How the speaker arrived at the conclusion from the data would be interesting to know. But I would have to say I agree. Yes: "Leadership that enables teachers." The emphasis needs to be placed on professional development through PLCs (REAL ones) and support of individual work and reflection.

---I want to point to Andrew's blog post about using technology for Professional Development, which entails both a rise of personal autonomy and a rise in connectedness. Have you seen that?


"The Changing Nature of Professional Development In Education"

[Connie Weber]

---How could I have run out of "reply room" on that? Anyhow, my last sentence in that response:

To me the main obstacle to effectiveness is isolation.

[Connie Weber]

Just to clarify, when I said "real ones" with regard to PLCs, I meant "real" in the sense that people are deeply involved and committed. I mean that kind that involve ongoing, meaningful relationships in which people are reflecting on practice. Learning together. The REAL PLCs can be face to face, online, or both.

Wanted to clarify because in my grad class we were talking about how PLCs have become just another buzz-word. Sometimes people just "mark time" by saying they're in a PLC, but no deep learning is going on.

[Maria Fleyshgakker]

I deeply believe that all disciplinary problems appear in classes where the students' needs are not met. If there is one disruptive student then he or she has needs different from the rest of the class. If the whole class does not behave, then the students do not need this class, at least, in the format it is given at the time. I will never blame just the teacher for not meeting the kids' needs because it usually is the whole system, atmosphere created in the school by the principal, the services, the program etc. Even more, there are classes we teach because of tradition without revision, classes we have to remove or change completely and make them electives like, for example, NYS Earth Science class should had been archived many years ago. I could explain why, but it will take space.

Effectiveness, interesting, how do you calculate the effectiveness? Is it the number of non-disruptive students per teacher? :):):):) I know, I know, the number of students who passed the state test per teacher. But then you will get higher effectiveness if the size of the class is smaller because more students will pass the state test from the first attempt and we will have 100% effectiveness. Unfortunately, nobody needs 100% effectiveness. It's just talking. I hate to be negative.

I’ve been working as a teacher at NYC public schools for 22 years, I’ve seen great teachers, I’ve worked with them day after day, year after year. They think of their students and their learning, they renew their lesson plans, learn how to use new technology for their instructions, they try new things to see their students grow. What incentives do we need?
1. Computers in the hands of every kid.
2. . . . .
no, I think that’s it for now.

[Connie Weber]

Hi Maria,

Thank you for talking about the needed incentive! Very powerful and to the point.

Hey, I agree with your view on discipline problems... You said, "I deeply believe that all disciplinary problems appear in classes where the students' needs are not met." So true. So how do we find out what the needs are, I wonder? And beyond that, how do we get ALL the teachers who work with students to share in the responsibility of addressing their needs? (And even as I write that, I think I can hear some teachers saying, "Yeah, the students need more punctuation skills." That's not the level of need we're talking about.)

[Maria Fleyshgakker]

hahahahahaaa

English is my second language, but I always thought that the word "need" is supposed to reflect what one feels about oneself, not what other people think.

There are over 6 billion people on earth and each one of them has different need. I mean other than food, water, air, and home. Some people need to lead, some people need to follow, some need to invent, others need to talk about those inventions, some people want to go and explore other planets, others need to stay at home and take care of the kids. We have to help our students in this search for what they really want to do with their lives. I don't really know how, but we have to start by asking the kids, what they think.

I wouldn't worry about the teachers so much right now. All we have to do is schedule minimum 1 period a week for every class in the computer lab. Let those teachers see the kids' Power Point Presentations, Glogs, or just the blog pages. They all will be converted pretty fast. I think :) I did see those transformations more than once :) I know 2 teachers who are not so good with computers, but they love the kids: one of them was teaching economics, his class once a week played "Hot Dog Stand" in the computer room, this was the best economic class; the other teacher lets her students blog on a given topic on ning, they believe she is the best teacher in the world.

[Fred Deutsch]

Hi Ian. Thanks for the thoughtful topic. I’m interested in reading about how teachers want to be incentivized – or even if they really do. If most teachers dislike compensation programs such as pay-for-performance, what alternative incentives would be prefered?

[Connie Weber]

Hi Fred,

So glad you stopped by Fireside to add in some questions. Very good to hear from you!

I don't want or need to "be incentivized," but would like to see much more accommodation for building up collegiality within the schools. Professional development is what we need to be looking at--new models, too, for the digital age. I would say, build in time for PD, and build in the expectation that high-level professional development is continually happening.

If you get a chance, how about reading Roland S. Barth's article on building communities of learners? "Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse." I think his work holds much promise; would love to see attention to the philosophy he's proposing.

Check out Andrew's post on The Changing Nature of Professional Development in Education, too, to see some rather new possibilities.

"Incentives" arise from from forming strong collaborative communities. That's the direction I'd propose we head in, support for the "conditions of climate" that lead to them.

[Mike]

Hi All... hope this finds everyone well.

Sorry for my tone on this one but the marketization of teaching is getting really stupid.

Duncan is talking about incentives for teachers around student growth.... crazy. The old industrial model of thinking is so evident in this kind of thinking and reporting that it is frightening!

Here is some more factory thinking:
“This means moving from uniformity in systems to embracing diversity and individualising teaching and learning,” Mr. Gurría said. “It means moving from managing inputs and a bureaucratic approach to education and towards a system of devolved responsibilities and school leadership that enables teachers. In short, it means moving from talking about equity in terms of educational provision, to delivering equity in terms of outcomes.”

For me this is an example of the rhetoric and language that goes on for a paragraph and says nothing!!! Is the point here that these folks want all our kids to receive "equity of outcomes" when they are finished schooling?!!

What a silly notion!!



"Its main policy lesson is that education authorities need to provide more effective incentives for teachers. Many countries make no link between appraisal of teachers’ performance and the rewards and recognition that they receive, and even where there are such links they are often not very strong."

What a very low level look at human behavior.... kinda like dog training.

The vast majority of teachers i have worked with for over 25 years do not need to be
"incentivized" in some behavior modification manner!!

Are there ways to get the strengths shared? ( Connie )

Yes...there are many ways to get our strengths shared and we can build in house experts in all our schools.... after all we are learners first and teachers second.....

Maria i believe brings up a great point...and one that actually looks at human beings!

I deeply believe that all disciplinary problems appear in classes where the students' needs are not met. If there is one disruptive student then he or she has needs different from the rest of the class. If the whole class does not behave, then the students do not need this class, at least, in the format it is given at the time. I will never blame just the teacher for not meeting the kids' needs because it usually is the whole system, atmosphere created in the school by the principal, the services, the program etc. ( Maria )

So how do we find out what the needs are, I wonder? Connie

Great point ....good question....

The good news......Human needs for both the kids and the adults are the same!!!!

They have been mentioned and talked about for long periods of time....here is my favorite list.... from the Circle of Courage:

*BELONGING/ATTACHMENT
*MASTERY/ACHIEVEMENT
*INDENPENDENCE/AUTONOMY
*GENEROISTY/ALTRUISM

When i see behavioral problems in classrooms or in teachings staff members :).....
the first place to look is the BELONGING quaderant.

Once belonging is damaged...
what disappears first in humans in the desire to cooperate!

You can not "mandate" cooperation...with kids or adults.....

BELONGING IS THE ROOT INCENTIVE SYSTEM IN HUMAN BEINGS!

Without it...teachers and school leaders go directly toward coercion and long term
coercion NEVER WORKS!!

I say....screw incentives based on "equalized outcomes".... we are not making products...
Instead....lets build healthy human communities of learning....

be well...mike

[Ian Carmichael]

Just to stir in a new (old) idea from my reading. I've been wandering through Alister McGrath's Gifford Lectures A Fine-tuned Universe in which he returns for some fruitfulness to the pragmatist philosopher C S Peirce (in the same traditions as William James and John Dewey). Apparently Peirce refers to 'surprising facts'. These are facts in the world which arrest us, and draw our attention, and often insight and deep connections. This process of insight he calls abduction (to distinguish it from induction and deduction).
Anyway, the point of my ramble is the relevance of 'surprising facts' in education - the need for rich experiences which have fruitful outcomes. (So many of our traditional schemas have pared-down one-outcome processes, which fail to inspire abduction - perhaps more modernly, don't engage creatively with the lives they are impressed upon.)

To be clearer, I'm suggesting that the encountering of 'surprising facts' is a way of engaging/teaching(?) creativity!

(It stands at the other end of a continuum from wisdom, yet it provides the materials for wisdom to create knowledge, I suspect.)

[Fred Deutsch]

Thanks for the welcome and the feedback, Connie. I fully agree that establishing collegial school environments is good for education. What would be interesting from my perspective is to have a discussion from Fireside contributors on how their schools have worked to promote collegiality – or how they have not. We can all learn from each other, and I would like to learn from Firesiders about what has been successful in places around the country and the world.

I can provide an example from our school district. We just completed our 7th year of a 1-on-1 laptop program – all our 9th through 12th grade students receive a laptop for 24-7 use throughout the school year. Our three-year laptop lease just expired so a decision had to be made to select a new laptop. A was committee consisting of the HS department heads, the principal, two school board members and a student was developed. The committee’s task was to narrow the field to the top three laptops and provide the recommendation to the Laptop Leadership Team (LLT). The LLT - all educators – were charged with making the final selection. Essentially, a multi-million dollar decision was made by teachers (they chose Apple). The school board voted unanimously to support the LLT’s decision, and we received ‘mostly’ rave feedback from teachers for the way the process was handled (one teacher said she was so happy she “was dancing inside.”). However, you can’t please everyone, and some of the grumps also made their displeasure known.

So now I’m scratching my head, pondering how or in what manner can we replicate this process?

I would like to hear how teachers have been empowered by their schools. And oh yea, thanks for the refs. I'll check them out!

[Connie Weber]

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your note here. I'll give it some thought and get back to you. Very fine questions--and thanks so much for sharing your experience in your school district.

I was thinking about you the other day--the questions you ask. Wanted to suggest you read The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner. Have you read it? I think it's essential reading for educators today, and you may find it particularly illuminating and interesting--just have that feeling from your previous posts and questions. Would love to talk about it, in as much detail as you find useful.

The Global Achievement Gap

"From Booklist
Wagner, a Harvard education professor, begins by offering his astute assessment of secondary education in the U.S. today and how it fails to produce graduates who are “jury ready” (i.e., able to analyze an argument, weigh evidence, and detect bias). He then presents a concise manifesto for the steps needed to “reinvent the education profession.” His thesis revolves around “Seven Survival skills”—the core competencies he deems necessary for success both in college and in the twenty-first-century workforce. These encompass problem solving and critical thinking, collaboration across networks, adaptability, initiative, effective oral and written communication, analyzing information, and developing curiosity and imagination. Wagner visits a wide spectrum of schools, both public and private, meets with teachers and administrators, and demonstrates how these survival skills have been forgotten in the preparation for mandatory tests. He stresses the importance of being able to analyze new information and apply it to new situations in the “global knowledge economy,” then details the programs, including team teaching, at a few innovative schools that are effectively meeting this challenge. --Deborah Donovan"