1. The document discusses creating knowledge-generating school cultures through change leadership in education. It outlines challenges in today's changing world and how schools need to adapt instruction to focus on rigor, relevance, and relationships. 2. Key ideas presented include understanding the skills needed in today's knowledge economy, using data to improve teaching, and developing a shared vision of excellent instruction. The "seven disciplines of instruction" framework is introduced to strengthen teaching practices. 3. Creating knowledge-generating school cultures requires developing collaborative communities focused on continuous learning and generating new solutions, rather than isolated compliance. School leaders must model desired behaviors and facilitate improvement of teaching.

1. Change Leadership in Education: Creating Knowledge-Generating School Cultures Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District Governing Board Retreat July 25, 2008 Many Materials Provided by: Tony Wagner, Co-Director Change Leadership Group Harvard University, Graduate School of Education [email_address] www.clg.harvard.edu

2. Retreat Goals Governing Board Will: A.M. Gain a better understanding of the challenges and solutions to educating children in a changing world. P.M. Articulate student achievement goals. Provide guidance to process of creating a district blueprint. Articulate one or two big ideas from the NSBA Conference that they would like to pursue.

3. Five Big Ideas Knowledge-Generating Schools Understanding a Changing World The Seven Disciplines of Instruction The New Three R’s Four Core Competencies Leadership can create a “Knowledge-Generating School Culture”

4. Understanding the Changing World CHANGES IN THE WORK PLACE What does the new “knowledge economy” mean? All Students: there is no such thing as unskilled work! Wages of h.s. grads have declined 70% in 20 years Skills for work, citizenship and college readiness are now essentially the same New Skills: most work today requires skills we don’t know how to assess or teach to all students Learning how to learn Problem solving Teamwork

5. What the National Data Tells Us… % of US Students Who Graduate From High School 79% of Asian Students 72% of White students 50% of African American & Hispanic students Students Who Graduate “College-Ready” 1 in 3 white & Asian-American students (37%) 1 in 5 African-American students (20%) 1 in 6 Hispanic students (16%) (Source: Greene & Forster, “Public High School Graduation & College Readiness Rates in the US, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 2003 http://www.manhattan-institute.org/ewp_03.pdf )

6. The “Basics” Perception Gap % saying a high school diploma means students have learned the basics (PAF Reality Check 2000)

7. Understanding the Changing World (cont.) CHANGES IN THE REQUIREMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP; CRITICAL THINKING, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, CIVILITY Critical Thinking: Increasing complexity of issues Civic Engagement: Need for active and informed citizens Civility: Importance of “Emotional Intelligence” or people skills for work and citizenship An increasingly multicultural society requires understanding different perspectives and cultures A more respectful dialogue is needed everywhere Students say there is a lack of respect in schools – only 41% say most of their teachers respect them

8. Understanding the Changing World (cont.) CHANGES IN STUDENTS’ LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES: Different motivations for learning Less fear and respect for authority Fewer believe hard work = success = happiness New learning style: multi-tasking in a multi-media world that’s more graphic than text-based Adults less present in students’ lives Students spend as much time alone as with friends Less than 5% of their time is spent with adults

9. Understanding the Changing World (cont.) CHANGES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LEARNING PROCESS Active Learning: To understand is to invent” Montessori, Dewey, Piaget Diverse Learning Styles – Howard Gardner Exponential growth of information: Memorizing facts Versus Learning how to find, use and apply knowledge

10. “ No shame, no blame, no excuses!” Re-Framing the “problem” Schools, teachers and parents are not failing. In a new knowledge based world, it is the system that is obsolete.

11. Implications for Leadership The “Problem” is a changing world, not the students, teachers, the parents, or the school. To create understanding and urgency for change, teachers, parents, and community members must first understand the problem deeply before we talk about the solutions. The “Problem” is more “adaptive” than technical and so requires the development of a “knowledge-generating” culture.

12. A “Theory of Change” Student achievement will not improve unless and until teaching improves. Higher standards and more testing do not, by themselves, improve teaching. Teachers, working alone, with little or no feedback on their instruction, will not be able to improve significantly—no matter how much professional development they receive. The challenge of change leadership is to create a “system” for continuous improvement of instruction, supervision, and instructional leadership.

13. Identify Our Strengths and Weaknesses Activity Thinking about each of the 7 Disciplines of Instruction, Identify Our Strengths and Weaknesses

14. THE NEW WORK: 7 DISCIPLINES FOR STRENGTHENING INSTRUCTION 1. The district or school creates understanding and urgency around improving EVERY student’s learning for teachers and community, and they regularly report on progress. Data is disaggregated and transparent to everyone. Qualitative (focus groups & interviews) as well as quantitative data is used to understand students’ and recent graduates’ experience of school.

15. 7 DISCIPLINES FOR STRENGTHENING INSTRUCTION Cont. There is a widely shared vision* of what is good teaching which is focused on rigor, the quality of student engagement, and effective methods for personalizing learning for every student. Either developed by the district or by the school All adult meetings are about instruction and are models of good teaching .

16. 7 DISCIPLINES FOR STRENGTHENING INSTRUCTION Cont. 4. There are well-defined standards and performance assessments for student work at all grade levels. Both teachers and students understand what quality work looks like, and there is consistency in standards of assessment . 5. Supervision is frequent, rigorous, and entirely focused on the improvement of instruction. It is done by people who know what good teaching looks like.

17. 7 DISCIPLINES FOR STRENGTHENING INSTRUCTION Cont. 6. Professional Development is primarily on-site, intensive, collaborative, and job-embedded and is designed and led by educators who model best teaching and learning practices. 7. D ata is used diagnostically at frequent intervals by teams of teachers to assess each student’s learning and to identify the most effective teaching practices and have time built into their schedules for this shared work.

18. Recognizing Good Teaching What is good teaching? How do we help every teacher to improve?

19. Excellent Instruction: A Point of View Excellent instruction is less about what a teacher does (inputs) and more about what students know and can do as a result of the lesson (results). The Purpose of the Lesson: Coverage versus Competencies The Assessment: Content Standards versus Performance Standards (can do) The Challenge: Defining and “Benchmarking” the Critical Performance Standards for Our Students The Three R’s of Excellent Instruction

20. The New 3 R’s of Rigor, Relevance, & Relationships Rigor In this new age, we need uniformly high academic standards for every student, while allowing for different ways and different amounts of time for students to show mastery. Rigor today is less about coverage and academic content and much more about mastery of core competencies : asking good questions, reasoning, problem-solving, communication, teamwork.

21. Benchmarking Rigor: College View of What is Needed College professors’ views of the skills students lack: 70% say students do not comprehend complex reading materials 66% say students cannot think analytically 65% say students lack appropriate work and study habits 62% say students write poorly 59% say students don’t know how to do research 55% say students can’t apply what they’ve learned to solve problems

22. Benchmarking and Assessing Rigor: Core Competencies Writing Reasoning Analytical Thinking Problem Solving http://ceprent.uoregon.edu http://ceprent.uoregon.edu/cepr.samples.php The Collegiate Learning Assessment http://www.cae.org/content/pro_collegiate.htm#

23. Rigor in the Classrooms: 5 “Habits of the Mind” Learning to Ask the Right Questions Weighing Evidence How do we know what’s true and false? What is the evidence, and is it credible? Awareness of Varying Viewpoints What viewpoints are we hearing? Who is the author, and what are his or her intentions? How might it look to someone with a different history? Seeing Connections? Cause & Effect Is there a pattern? How are things connected? Where have we seen this before? Speculating on Possibilities/Conjecture What if? Supposing that? Can we imagine alternatives? Assessing Value – Both Socially and Personally What difference does it make? Who cares? So what? From www.missionhillschool.org

24. Motivating Rigor RELEVANCE The traditional “college prep” academic curriculum doesn’t make sense to many students and they are not motivated to master. The curriculum has to be both challenging and connected to “real-world” applications such as service and internships, as well as to student interests. RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS You can’t motivate a student you don’t know, and students will not learn from teachers whom they feel do not respect them. There is no learning without trust and respect, and neither are granted automatically by today’s students. They must be earned.

25. Using 3-Minute Walk-Throughs How can administrators’ daily Walk-Throughs support increased rigor?

26. Some “Walk-Through” Purposes Professional development for administrators: gaining greater clarity and consistency in observing teaching (reminder: this is not a form of individual teacher evaluation!) Assessing the overall level of instruction in a building Clarity of purpose of the lesson i.e. what are students supposed to know and be able to do as a result of this lesson? Is the purpose aligned with appropriate standards? Evidence of rigor, relevance, and relationships Developing building-wide Professional Development priorities and monitoring progress towards agreed-upon goals for teachers i.e. “evidence-based” professional development!

27. Governing Board “Walk-Through” Under each of the three categories of 1) Rigor, 2) Relevance, and 3) Relationships/Respect , list some indicators or behaviors that you would want to see in your school’s classrooms. What evidence of the new “3 R’s” would you look for? What would you want to see teachers doing? What would students be doing?

28. Two Focus Groups What are the perceptions of some of our community members?

29. How Do We Create Knowledge-Generating School Cultures Focus Questions What are some key obstacles to change? What are some solutions to change? Creating momentum and energy for change.

30. The Core Tasks of Change Leadership Creating the Momentum & Energy for Change REACTION PURPOSE & FOCUS COMPLIANCE ENGAGEMENT ISOLATION COLLABORATION

31. Where Are You? Reaction Purpose & Focus Not yet started 1 2 3 4 Well established Compliance Engagement Not yet started 1 2 3 4 Well established Isolation Collaboration Not yet started 1 2 3 4 Well established

32. The Cultural “Drivers” A Bureaucratic School Culture A Knowledge-Generating School Culture Relationships Isolated and Competitive Highly collaborative Responsibility Blame Others Shared Motivation Rule-driven Relationship-driven Agreements Contracts Covenants

33. The Cultural “Drivers” A Bureaucratic School Culture A Knowledge-Generating School Culture Accountability Anonymous, Compliance-based Face-to-face, Commitment-driven Learning Limited and Sporadic Attention To Skill Development Sustained Support for Individual and Organizational Learning Expertise Private and Hierarchical Collaboratively Developed and Widely Shared Outcomes Passive or Partial Replication of Old/Others’ Ideas Generation of New Knowledge and Solutions

34. Implications for Change Leadership We do not know how to teach “all students new skills.” The problem of “reinvention” requires the development of a “knowledge-generating” culture and new leadership skills. New Roles for School Leaders: Ask the right questions, instead of having to have all the answers. Resist being ‘reactive’; think systemically, work strategically. 3) Model the behaviors you seek to encourage, such as seeking feedback, trust, & respect. 4) Create “communities of practice” for improving teaching, leadership and collaborative problem-solving.

35. Wrap It Up – Five Big Ideas Understanding a Changing World The Seven Disciplines of Instruction The New Three R’s Four Core Competencies Leadership can create a “Knowledge-Generating School Culture”

36. Wrap-up Reflection/Discussion Questions What are one or two important things you learned or thought about as a result of our discussions today? What are one or two questions or concerns that you leave with and want to explore further?

37. Sources/Resources/Further Readings Tony Wagner, Change Leadership: A practical Guide for Transforming Schools (JosseyBass, 2005) and Making The Grade: Reinventing America’s Schools (New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2001.) See also: www.schoolchange.org and a video on focus groups: “Creating Community Consensus: Dialogues for Learning & Engagement” http://www.seattleschools.org/area/ibc/tw.xml and “Listening to Student Voices: What Schools Must Do To Succeed” http://www.smallschoolsproject.org/index.asp?siteloc=resource&section=gatesv *** Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider, Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2002) John Kotter, The Heart of Change (Cambridge: HBS Press, 2002) Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Reed Larson, Being Adolescent: Conflict and Growth in the Teenage Years (New York: Basic Books, 1984) Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam, 1995.) Ron Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994)

38. Sources/Resources/Further Readings (cont.) Deborah Meier, The Power of Their Ideas (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996) & In Schools We Trust (Beacon, 2002) Richard Murnane and Frank Levy, Teaching The New Basic Skills, (New York: The Free Press, 1996,) Public Agenda Foundation, “Where We Are Now: 12 Things you Need to Know About Public Opinion & Public Schools” ( www.publicagenda.org ) Robert Putman, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000) James W. Stigler & James Hiebert, The Teaching Gap , (New York: Free Press, 1999) Wenger, E., & Snyder, W.M., “Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier,” Harvard Business Review , January 2000 Daniel Yankelovich: The Magic of Dialogue : Transforming Conflict into Cooperation (New York: Touchstone, 1991)