Turning Doubters Into Believers: Confronting Resistance

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Turning Doubters Into BelieversConfronting
Resistance

• Susan Pimentel

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Turn Teachers from Doubters to Believers By

• 1. Creating a safe environment for grumbling
• 2. Running Best Hopes - Worst Fears exercises
• 3. Giving teachers time, lots of it
• 4. Not assuming -- ask teachers what they need
• 5. Giving teachers something real to do with
  the standards

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Doubters to Believers, contd.

• 6. Providing incentives
• Demonstrating your seriousness about standards
  (systems approach)
• Understanding Change Theory (A good book is,
  Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson)
• Making sure their program directors are on board

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See handout on common comments you are likely to
confront with some sample responses.
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Now for Program Directors
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Introduce Program Directors to the Role of
Instructional Leadership

• Qualities of Instructional leaders
• Have a vision. Set challenging goals. Monitor
  achievement.
• Translate vision into action. Work as a team,
  emphasize school wide goals and expectations.
• Provide and/or obtain the resources needed to
  accomplish the vision (i.e., materials, staff,
  information, or opportunity).
• Create a supportive environment. Plan inservice.
• Promote an academically-oriented, orderly, and
  purposeful instructional climate.

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Program Directors, contd.

• Coordinate alignment of curriculum, instruction
  and assessment.
• Teach occasionally.
• Know what's going on in the program. Get into
  classrooms -- daily or at least weekly. Find out
  what teachers and students are doing and how
  well. Monitor student progress.
• Create a culture of accountability.Set
  accountability measures for teachers and act on
  them.
• Adopt a passion for student performance.
• Takes a combination of the right knowledge base,
  certain skills and attitudes, and the
  accomplishment of a set of tasks. . .

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Turn Program Directors into Believers

• Meet with program directors regularly on issues
  of instructional leadership.
• Set some specific goals for program directors as
  they relate to becoming an effective
  instructional leader.
• Make Directors a target of your professional
  development efforts.