Creating a HighPerformance Learning Culture

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Creating a High-Performance Learning Culture

• Cultivating Beliefs That Produce High-Performance
  Learning

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Cultivating Beliefs that Produce High-Performance
Learning

• How can leaders facilitate learning in these
  spheres?

Ability Achievement
Effort Efficacy
Power Control
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Core Beliefs
Relational Diagram
Reflection
Inquiry
Effort Efficacy
Ability Achievement
Dialogue
Power Control
Strategic Structures
Distributed Accountability
Norms
Behaviors
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Belief
A consciously held cognitive view about truth
and reality.
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Link Between Beliefs and Behaviors
Beliefs are literally how we comprehend and deal
with the world around us.
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Values, Beliefs, Norms
Values Conscious expressions of what an
organization stands for
Beliefs Core understandings about the world
around us, including our view of reality and our
conception of truth, beauty and justice
Norms Unstated group expectations related to such
areas as behavior, dress and language
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Origins of Beliefs
Evolve from the inferences we make from the
information and data we derive from our
experiences with other people and our environment.
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The Ladder of Inference

• 7 I take actions based on my beliefs.
• 6 I adopt beliefs.
• 5 I draw conclusions.
• 4 I make assumptions.
• 3 I add meaning.
• 2 I select data.
• 1 I have experiences
• and make observations about
  the world.

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Problems Inherent in Beliefs

• Our beliefs are the truth.
• Our belief is obvious.
• Our beliefs are based on real data.
• We select the right data.

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Issues about Teaching and Learning

• Ability grouping
• Social promotion
• Inclusion
• Homework
• Suspension and expulsion
• Cooperative learning

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What Matters

• What matters cannot be mandated.
• Michael Fullan (1993, 21).

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Examining Beliefs and Assumptions
Reflection on individual assumptions
Knowledge of current research
Inquiry and dialogue with colleagues
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Assessing Our Beliefs

• Complete the survey, which has items related to
  each of the three groups of beliefs.
• For each item rate in the left column the degree
  to which you believe it is essential for learner
  success.

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Ability and Achievement
How do beliefs about ability and achievement
affect behaviors of teachers and other staff
members?
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Ability and AchievementSome of the Big Issues

• Can all students learn and succeed in school?
• Are achievement and success in our schools
  related to factors such as socioeconomic, racial,
  cultural and ethnic background, or gender?
• Do most teachers in our school believe that
  ability is related to background factors such as
  race, ethnicity, home environment, or other
  demographic factors?
• Is there a disproportionate number of students of
  poverty or of color assigned to special
  education?
• Do we organize students homogeneously (tracking,
  ability grouping) for instruction?

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The Final Word

• Read the two selections from research and
  literature.
• Select three ideas that are compelling to you.
• Be prepared to talk about why you think one of
  these is important.

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The Final Word Protocol

• Select a facilitator and timekeeper.
• One person volunteers to lead offtaking up to
  three minutes to talk about one idea.
• Moving in clockwise fashion, every other group
  member, in turn, takes up to one minute to
  respond to speaker.
• Finally, the opening speaker has one minute to
  make final comments.
• Repeat the above process for the next person.

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The Final Word Participant Role

• Listen actively.
• Be open to what each speaker is saying.
• Take notes.
• Speak only when it is your turn.

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Challenging the Status QuoWhere Do We Stand?

• Some students cannot learn no matter what
  teachers and other school staff do because of
  their home environment and related factors.
• All students can learn and succeed in school if
  their parents and families support education.
• All students can learn and succeed in school if
  they attend school and put forth adequate effort.
• All students can learn and succeed in school and
  its my job to make sure that they do.

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Reflecting with Critical Friends

• Get together with another table team.
• Use this process to present your analysis of
  where teachers in your school stand regarding the
  issue of, All children can learn. . . and your
  teams plan for challenging teacher thinking in
  this area.

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Inquiring and Reflecting Together

• Round One
• Step 1 Presentation by Team 1 in the inner
  circle (8 min.)
• Step 2 Feedback to Team 1 (5 min.)
• Step 3 Reflection by Team 1 (5 min.)
• Round Two
• Step 1 Presentation by Team 2 in the inner
  circle (8 min.)
• Step 2 Feedback to Team 2 (5 min.)
• Step 3 Reflection by Team 2 (5 min.)
• Debrief

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Debrief

• Was it difficult to follow this protocol of
  honoring silence for others?
• What was the value in this approach?
• What did you learn about your own thinking as you
  participated?

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Efficacy and Effort
How do beliefs about efficacy and effort affect
the behaviors of teachers and other school
personnel?
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Self Efficacy A Definition

• Our beliefs about our capabilities to perform
  designated tasks. Self-efficacy beliefs determine
  how we feel, think, motivate ourselves, and
  behave. (Bandura)
• Can-do attitude
• People with high assurance in their capabilities
  approach difficult tasks as challenges to be
  mastered rather than as threats to be avoided.

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Results of Self-Efficacy

• Individuals with a strong sense of self-efficacy
  are more likely to
• Have an intrinsic interest and deep engrossment
  in activities they pursue
• Set challenging goals and maintain strong
  commitment to them
• Increase and sustain their efforts in the face of
  failure
• Quickly recover their sense of efficacy after
  failures or setbacks

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Highly Efficacious Individuals

• Are likely to . . .
• attribute failure to not trying hard enough or
  not yet having the skills and knowledge required
• approach threatening situations with assurance
  that they can exercise control over them
• experience personal accomplishments

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The Educational Arena

• How does efficacy apply to teaching and
• learning?

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Efficacy and Effort Big Issues

• Do teachers believe that good teaching is the
  primary determinant of achievement for all
  students?
• Do individual teachers believe that they have the
  skill and the will to teach every child?
• Do all students believe that they can learn and
  that effort will contribute to learning and
  success in school?
• Does the school communicate to all parents that
  their children can learnand that they, as
  parents, can make a difference in the effort
  their children expend?
• Is there a no excuses approach to teaching and
  learning?

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Research on Self-Efficacy

• Number off at your tables 1-2, 1-2.
• 1s read the article on student self-efficacy,
  then talk to other 1s about the reading.
• 2s read the article on teacher self- efficacy,
  then talk to other 2s about the reading.

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Self- Efficacy Table Discussion

• As a table group, discuss these questions
• What evidence would you see if you were looking
  for signs of efficacy in a student population?
  Among faculty members?
• What can someone in a leadership position (at the
  school or classroom level) do to facilitate the
  development of efficacy in others?
• Why is this important for the overall culture of
  a school or classroom?

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What if . . .
All the teachers in your school had a high sense
of self-efficacy? What would be the results for
students?
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Power and Control

• How do beliefs about power and control influence
  the behavior of your schools faculty, staff,
  students, and parents?

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Distributed Accountability
Classroom Teacher to Students Teaching and
Learning Classroom Management
School Governance Decision Making
Administrators to Faculty Staff
Intra-Classroom Teachers to Teachers Teachers
to Other Staff
School-Home School Staff to Family
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Little i leadership . . .Activity

• Read the passage
• IQ pairs
• (insights and questions)
• Find a partner.
• What insights and questions does the passage
  raise for you?

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School-wide

• Is leadership shared?
• Are there mechanisms for distributing leadership
  across the faculty and staff?
• Are students and parents engaged in planning and
  decision-making?
• Are the mission and vision of the school known by
  all stakeholder groups?

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Within the Classroom

• Is there a learning community within the
  classroom in which students learn with and from
  each other and their teacher?
• Are students involved in setting goals for their
  learning?
• Are students authentically engaged in learning?

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School-wide

• Is there a professional learning community
  whereby teachers learn with and from one another?
• Do teachers collaborate to plan and improve
  instruction?
• Are all staff working to help students achieve
  shared goals for learning?

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School - Home

• Does the school involve family in school
  improvement planning and governance?
• Do parents feel they have a say in their
  childrens schooling?
• Do teachers welcome parents into their classrooms?

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Data on Display Activity

• Each participant completes the survey
  individually.
• Form groups of 4-5 and create a graph of the
  groups opinions by charting each rating for the
  five statements.
• When all groups have posted their ratings
  discuss What conclusions can you draw? What
  questions do you have? What are the implications
  for action?

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Closing Reflection on BeliefsActivity

• Review the self assessment Clarifying What I
  Believe completed previously.
• This time you are to rate the same items to the
  extent to which you believe the item is true of
  your school.
• Compare your answers with the others in your
  table group.
• Each team completes the Questions for Team
  Consideration before leaving.