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

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