The document discusses leveraging teacher passions to empower students through a "power of pull" approach, which involves collaboration, sharing resources, and providing professional development opportunities to better achieve classroom and student goals. It emphasizes attracting teachers by connecting them to their passions and each other's expertise to positively shape early childhood education and student outcomes through a bottom-up, disruptive approach. The overall goal is to unlock each teacher's potential while achieving great results for students.

1. The Power Of Pull
Presented by
Andie Smith
Bilingual/ESL Pre-K Teacher
Curriculum & Instruction Representative
Woodson Early Childhood Centers December 2, 2012

2. Reflection Time
Ask yourself these two questions?
1. What interests you?
2. What are you passionate about?
(our students, teaching & learning, technology, music & movement)
Now think about what stress & challenges you are currently facing in the
classroom? How can we turn these into success?
“The power of pull provides a key to how all of us – individually and collectively –
can turn challenge and stress into OPPORTUNITY and REWARD as technology
remakes our lives” (Hagel, Brown & Davison, 2010)

3. Elements of a Successful Journey toward Pull; a difficult yet exciting journey
Trajectory – (where are we headed)
• Newly adopted Frog Street Curriculum
• New Frog Street Assessment Program
• Conscious Discipline Approach to target social emotional skills & behavior
• Technology Integration (Mobi, Ipads, Image Projectors, student desktop
computers, screen projectors)
Leverage - (mobilize those passions and efforts)
• How do we plan to support and organize activities and ideas within our
organization?
• Shapers (capability, building relationships, keeping track of progress &
success, financial resources)
Pace - (it’s going to take time to get there)
• What is our focus on? (kindergarten readiness, social-emotional skills)

4. Access
We feel a sense of urgency to work together as a school family for the benefit of
our students.
Connect with teachers
• use each other as valuable resources
• we all have a wealth of information and knowledge in different areas
• classroom management, behavior strategies, transitions, art &
creativity, technology savvy peers, social-emotional specialists etc.
Connect with support staff
• Disabilities coordinator - wealth of information on sensory processing
• Education coordinator – technology specialist, differentiating instruction.
Pull-based services more specialized in content domains:
• Language & literacy, phonological awareness, mathematics domain, and fine
motor skills,

5. GOAL
The goal of our organization in working
towards the power of pull is to “provide
people with the tools and resources
(including connections to other people)
required for them to take initiative and
creatively address opportunities as they
arise. (Hagel, Brown & Davison, 2010 p. 80)

6. Attract
People often become connected precisely because, as they pursue their passions they find
themselves reaching out to anyone and everyone who might share their passion. Passion
leads to pursuit, which creates connections. (Hagel, Brown & Davison, 2010 p. 90)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibYnJoYwCXI
The video link above is an example of how one idea has to be be connected (with others
ideas, concepts, resources) in order to product the final product of demand.
An organization needs two elements in order to achieve attraction:
1. People who can reach out and connect to large groups (Often known as amplifiers)
2. People who can increase the number of encounters we have (serendipity) so that the
relationships we build with the large groups are meaningful and purposeful in our overall
goal as an early childhood center.

7. Achieve
Shaping from the outside in …
Targeting the increase in student behavior: (a bottom-up approach)
Arenas & Issues: Early Childhood Education, getting students “kindergarten
ready”
Reshaping the Arena: targeting social-emotional skills, building positive
relationships with students as well as parents by implementing Conscious
Discipline approach at school and building those skills at home.
Current Efforts Underway: weekly PATT mats (Parents are Teachers Too) which
include songs, mathematic and literacy activities parents can do at home to
help their child succeed in school. Conscious Discipline strategies which target
skills such as anger management, tantrums, identifying emotions, and breathing
strategies.
Developing Platforms: ongoing parent communication & relationship building for bus
kids who arrive to school later and leave school earlier. Notes home, positive
phone calls.

8. GOAL
“As individuals begin making their passions their professions, they will exert
enormous pressure on institutions to help them more effectively achieve their
potential” (Hagel, Brown & Davison, 2010 p. 24)
Woodson Early Childhood will provide
• staff development opportunities
• college courses
• mentorship program
• Discussion forums
• Instructional videos
• Samples of teaching materials/methods in “shared folders”

9. Important points to remember about the Power of Pull
• It’s not just about making Woodson ECC better, it’s about unlocking your
potential as a teacher, marking your contribution to this organization, working
with others to achieve great results for the benefit of our students AND for
personal satisfaction in pursing your passion in life.
• Maintain an open mind to new ideas, be willing to think outside the box. You
never know what idea will spark from it. (Hence, disruptive innovation)
• By working together, you’ll be shaping the world of Early Childhood, more
importantly positively impacting our Title I students.
• Use your imagination, don’t be afraid to explore and discover who you are are a
teacher and a member

10. Resources
Hagel, J., Brown, J., & Davison, L. (2010). The power of pull; how small moves smartly made can set big things
in motion. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Abilene independent school district. (2012, October 8). Comprehensive needs assessment . Retrieved from
https://app.abileneisd.org/dipcip/ViewPlan.aspx?SchoolYear=2012-13&TAKSCurrentSchoolYear=2012-
2013&CommitteeID=225
Selvaahsg. (2008, April 16). World's costliest ad, amazing team work [Video podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibYnJoYwCXI