Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Leadership LEAP: Learning Something New

Are all my fellow superhero educators ready for the latest Leadership LEAP This week's LEAP revolves around the idea of learning and specifically thinking about the last time we tried something new for the first time and learned something as a result. The following quote inspired this week's Leadership LEAP... 


Throughout my career I have talked a lot about how I am a learner first and have even referred to myself as a lead learner but, what is learning? While there are many variations of the definition, here a couple of examples that capture the essence of learning as it is defined in many spaces and as I am using it today:

“Learning has been defined functionally as changes in behavior that result from experience or mechanistically as changes in the organism that result from experience.” De Houwer, Barnes-Holmes, Moors, 2013

“Learning is about any experience for a person that leads to permanent capacity change and not necessarily biological in nature or related to age.” Illeris, 1999

The common threads are immediately visible - learning is about a change in behaviors; learning is about experiences and subsequent changes. Learning is a process or journey that a person embarks on that then impacts their thinking, actions or opinions moving forward. Learning is about a permanent change in a person. Learning is about being informed and doing things differently because of what was learned. Learning is about social interactions. Learning is about living and changing over time. 


Leadership Leap # 2: 
Learning & Trying Something For The First Time

Here is an #edutruth... Learning is not passive or easy. In fact, learning is a lot of work - a lot of hard work that has pushed me to the point of discomfort. Alison Eyring, CEO of Organisational Solutions, developed a powerful analogy between learning and an oyster when she said, “The challenge of learning by experience is like sand in the oyster; it’s irritating and uncomfortable at the time, but you can end up with a beautiful pearl.” What an amazing analogy that I have found to often be true - learning isn’t mindless or uncomplicated or momentary; instead, learning is a time consuming journey that can be irritating or uncomfortable, both literally and figuratively, because the end result will be change. Learning starts with trying something for the first time, sticking with it and changing as a result! Learning pushes us to grow; learning forces us to change; and learning challenges us to see the world through a different lens.

To that end, here are some things we can try this week for the first time as an initial step in the learning journey... 


School/District Level for Eduleaders:

  1. Learn something new alongside your students. In my last year as a building principal, I joined the fourth grade orchestra and fulfilled my dream of learning how to play the violin. While I won't be touring with an orchestra any time soon, performing in the fourth grade concert at the end of that school year (with my parents in the audience) was an incredible experience I shared with my students and fellow learners!
  2. Actively engage in professional learning opportunities with your teachers. Too many times in my career I have seen leaders in their offices during PD days and I am not sure what message that sends but if we think the PD is a priority for teachers, then it should be a priority for leaders!
  3. Be transparent with your learning journey when you are trying something for the first time because that can inspire someone around you. Whether it is a new tech tool you're trying or attempting a new instructional strategy or taking a graduate course, share the experience with your colleagues and students because modeling being a learner is critical to the sustainability of our work! 
  4. Try something new and tell the people around you about the experience! When I started walking/running last year, I shared my experience on social media as a way to document my journey for me. What ended up happening was getting loads of encouragement from family and friends, which has served as an inspiration for me to keep walking/running. So share your experience when you try something for the first time because that might be the difference between a one day event and a permanent change!
Classroom Level for Teachers:

  1. Share your book love with students by "book talking" the new books you've recently finished. Readers are thinkers and thinkers are learners so share your reading journey with students! There is something so interesting and exciting about listening to someone you respect/look up to/learn from share their recent experience related to a new book... that always makes me want to run out to buy that book and read it ASAP!
  2. Learn something new alongside your students. In my last year as a building principal, I joined the fourth grade orchestra and fulfilled my dream of learning how to play the violin. While I won't be touring with an orchestra any time soon, performing in the fourth grade concert at the end of that school year (with my parents in the audience) was an incredible experience I shared with my students and fellow learners!
  3. Be transparent with your learning journey when you are trying something for the first time because that can inspire someone around you. Whether it is a new tech tool you're trying or attempting a new instructional strategy or taking a graduate course, share the experience with your colleagues and students because modeling being a learner is critical to the sustainability of our work! 
  4. Try something new and tell the people around you about the experience! When I started walking/running last year, I shared my experience on social media as a way to document my journey for me. What ended up happening was getting loads of encouragement from family and friends, which has served as an inspiration for me to keep walking/running. So share your experience when you try something for the first time because that might be the difference between a one day event and a permanent change!
These are just some of my ideas for this week's Leadership LEAP; please feel free to add ideas by leaving a comment below.

And to all my colleagues, thank you for making a difference in the lives of children... your super powers don't go unnoticed!

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Leadership LEAP 1: The Positive

How many of us have seen this quote?

from Pinterest



I am sure all my edu friends would agree that this quote is 100% true… educators are superheroes because we are impacting the lives of students and literally shaping the future of our world. From creating engaging learning opportunities to building positive relationships to inspiring those around us, it takes superpowers to do that work each and every day with one main goal… positively impacting the lives of our students!

When I think about superheroes, the first one that comes to mind is Superman. I don’t know if it was the fact that he could fly or that he had X-Ray vision, but he was always my favorite superhero; after all, Superman is able to LEAP tall buildings in a single bound. This whole notion of LEAPing got me thinking about the work that we do (educators, teachers, leaders, etc.) each day. No two days are ever alike because of the unexpected adventures that cause us to LEAP from one situation to the next. Whether we are handling a sensitive student issue or working with a colleague to plan a lesson it seems that we are always working towards nurturing a positive culture in our spaces, building the relationships that matter and creating the conditions for meaningful learning experiences. 

This is what we do... we LEAP to promote positivity; we LEAP to remove barriers for our students, staff & families; we LEAP like superheroes each and every day!

In an effort to support the daily LEAPs that educators make, and hopefully help keep the joy at the center of our work, I am going to share a weekly Leadership LEAP based on my experiences as an educator! The Leadership LEAP will have a specific theme/focus and will include 3 – 5 suggested activities educators might engage in that week to support their efforts in nurturing a positive culture, building the relationships that matter and creating the conditions for meaningful learning experiences... and who knows... maybe have a little fun too! The list of activities will be broken up into two groups... things that can be done on a school/district level and things that can be done in a classroom... if it feels right. These are just ideas... suggestions... possibilities; they aren't MUST DOs... they aren't the SILVER BULLET... they are just thoughts that have impacted my daily work and I hope will resonate with some of you! So, here it goes... my first Leadership LEAP... 

Leadership Leap # 1:
Acknowledge & Celebrate the Positive 
(thank you Joe Sanfelippo for inspiring this idea) 

We know that people respond well to positive reinforcement; it is a known fact. Whether someone is complimenting the way we look or our actions in the classroom, positive feedback inspires us to want to replicate that situation again and again. To that end, here are some things we can try this week to acknowledge & celebrate the positive in our schools... 

School/District Level for Eduleaders:

  1. Call a parent to share something positive their child did that day (make it specific) because can be a powerful way to build relationships with our most critical partners in this work... our families!
  2. Have lunch with a group of kids; just sit back, relax and spend some time with your kids in this different setting. I have always found the most interesting (and often hysterical) conversations unfold when lunching with kids!
  3. Leave positive & specific feedback to a teacher after an informal visit to their classroom. Make sure the feedback isn't generic and use it as an opportunity to reinforce what you hope to see more of in the classroom. **Think about giving positive feedback on a risk that was taken or a practice that isn't quite perfect but has a lot of potential because that could spark a new innovative practice!**
  4. Send a note to the family of a staff member thanking them for sharing that staff member with your school community. Educators spend more time in school than they do at home so let's thank them and their families for this important sacrifice... after all, Superhero-ing isn't easy work!
Classroom Level for Teachers:

  1. Call a parent to share something positive their child did that day (make it specific) because can be a powerful way to build relationships with our most critical partners in this work... our families!
  2. Have lunch with a group of kids; just sit back, relax and spend some time with your kids in this different setting. I have always found the most interesting (and often hysterical) conversations unfold when lunching with kids!
  3. When conferring one on one with students (in any content area), offer the child a positive & specific feedback on the work they are doing as a way to reinforce a strategy or skill you want to continue seeing them use. **Think about giving positive feedback on a strategy/skill/approach they haven't mastered but will help them grow as a learner!** 
  4. Send an email to a colleague complimenting them on something you observed or saw in their classroom or in their daily practice. Our relationships between colleagues are critical to our success as a profession!
These are just some of my ideas for this week's Leadership LEAP; please feel free to add ideas by leaving a comment below.

And to all my colleagues, thank you for making a difference in the lives of children... your super powers don't go unnoticed!