Dear StrateReaders,
In an effort to make the StrateReader’s book club more functional, we’ve moved the blog to a new location! Please visit:
http://courses.stratepedia.org/course/view.php?id=45
This will be the new permanent location for the book club, so please update any bookmarks that you might have to the site. Enjoy!
This is our fifth and final book for our inaugaural year of StrateReaders. I started this book as I boarded a plane in Minneapolis and finished it when I touched down in Oakland. What a great read! Fullan pulls in much of what Levy and Murnane have to say about expert thinking and complex communication in their book “The New Division of Labor”. He also references Collins’ “Good to Great” relating Collins’ ideas to leading systems change.
A quote from Archimedes that I particularily enjoyed that Fullan uses is “Give me a level long enough and I can change the world”. Fullan then states “For sustainability, that lever is leadership.”
What are your thoughts? How can we use this book to guide us in our work with schools?
As I finish this book, I needed to orgainize the information so I could hang on to all of it so what better way than to FRAME it! I see this book as a framework for leadership teams to use as they lead their schools to improved student learning. Click below to view my FRAME.
I approached this book with some trepidation and assumptions of boredom. I mean, how interesting can a book about data be? And, just because I have a few test and mesurement classes and a stat class or two under my belt doesn’t mean I am a data expert. Well, there is nothing boring nor mind bogling about Data Wise. As I read, I find myself immediately applying the information to schools and literacy leadership teams I am working with. I especially like the 2 charts dealing with identifying and analyzing assessments and initiatives in a school.
Jean Piazza
Book #4 is going to be an invaluable resource for folks working in schools. The book is very “user friendly” with each chapter focusing on specific tasks, tools to accoplish these tasks, and lessons learned from schools who have done this work. In other words, the book helps the reader transform those daunting piles of student data into an action plan for improved teaching and learning. The reader is guided through the “Data Wise Improvement Process” of preparing ( putting the sturcture in place for data analysis ), inquiring ( acquiring the knowledge needed to decide how to increase student learning ), and finally, acting ( what to do to improve instruction and to assess whether the changes put in place have made a difference ).
Readers, what are your thoughts????
Jean Piazza
What an interesting journey back through educational reform history. It was a good refresher to read about Dewey, the Gary Plan, how tracking came about, curriculum reforms, etc.
Elmore’s statement on pg 14 “… getting more students to learn at higher levels has to entail some change in both the way students are taught and in the proportion of teachers who are teaching in ways that cause students to master higher-level skills and knowledge.” I have been working with a middle school teacher in Portland (a seasoned, tough, outspoken gal I might add) and engaged in a discussion about content enhancement routines. As she shared her observations of the impact they were having on her students - her students were learning more at a deeper level - she commented “SIM has made me a better teacher.” What a moment, what a statement; however, is this isolated occurance enough to effect change in the school? To get to scale, according to Elmore, the question to be asked is why did this teacher seek new knowledge and actively use it to change her teaching. And what about incentives. Both Elmore and Murnane talk about the importance of incentives to change individual’s behavior. Interestingly, early in our relationship, this very same teacher in querying me about this SIM thing we were bringing to her school, asked “I’ll try this stuff, but what is in it for me?” Sure we can respond to these types of questions with the old Pollyanna response that the world will be a better place but let’s get real. What are the incentives schools. that we offer teachers to take on this difficult task of reform? Readers, what do you think? What are incentives for you?
Elmore states that potentially the most powerful device for changing teaching practice is the use of teacher study groups. As I reflected on this, I saw how truly critical providing support to teachers with lesson studies and problem-solving sessions are. Not that I ever doubted this, but it made me wonder if providing this support is not an incentive for teachers to be willing to take on the daunting task of change.
On pgs 29-39 Elmore talks about the problems of scaling up. It seems we need to start by standing on the balcony and observe what is going on, who the leaders are, and what these leaders reactions and responses are.
“scaling up by scaling down” on pg 32,…I like this idea. I see it happening in a school I am currently working with, hmmm.
So readers, what are your thoughts and reactions to this first essay on “Getting to Scale with Good Educational Practice”?
Our third book selection for our virtual book club is a series of essays touching on school reform. The essays address issues such as “Getting to Scale with Good Educational Practice”, “Building a New Structure for School Leadership”, “Bridging the Gap between Standards and Achievement”, “When Accountability Knocks, Will Anyone Answer?”, “Unwarranteed Intrusion”, “Change and Improvement in Educational Reform”, and “Doing the Right Thing, Knowing th Right Thing To Do”.
As I opened this book and began scanning the introduction, my eye was caught by the following “…the ebb and flow of policy issues - what political scientists call the issue attention cycle - typically proceeds in 3 to 5 year intervals….Education reform seems to have defied this priniciple” . Seems we can’t bury our heads in the sand and hope all this AYP, NCLB, etc. goes away. I look forward to reading what Mr. Elmore has to say on these issues. And, I look forward to reading what you have to say also.
Jean Piazza
“…We know more than we can tell” - this phrase not just speaks, but shouts to me. When I think about our efforts to scale up at a rate the demands require yet keep the integrity our reputation requires, I wonder…just how do we pass on and share our tacit knowledge as SIM PDers? As we look at our certification process, what things do we need to do to pass on and share this tacit knowledge effectively and efficiently? Your thoughts?
Jean Piazza
Now that we have read how our world is flattening and the significant role technology plays in this flattening; it is time to look more closely at this impact and education. Our next book in the StratReaders list looks at how computers enhance our lives; how they force us humans to idenitfy and evaluate our “value add”; what is industry doing to tap into technology AND human value add; and how can public education do the same.
This book was featured at the kaleidoscope session this summer at the July conference. So, grab a book, find some time, curl up, read, and share your thoughts.
Jean Piazza
In helping struggling learners be strategic learners, are we not leveling the educational field for them just as Marx attempted to do in regards to capitalism with communism??? Yikes! This should generate some dialogue. Thoughts on the comments on pages 201 - 205; Chapter 4 in general.
Seems to me, as we work to scale up, we need to ask ourselves:
What do we keep?
What do we let go?
What is our understanding of SIM, CLC, education today, current tools and technology, collaboration, and competition?
Your thoughts?