6 Leading Professional Development How Do You Make It Stick? FOUNDATIONS OF EFFECTIVE ADULT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Up to this point, I have focused entirely on the foundations of data-driven instruction. Once these principles are established, however, it's necessary to confront a different and perhaps more daunting task: training school leaders to put them into practice. Recognizing the decisive role that leadership education plays in harnessing the power of data, the rest of the book offers comprehensive activities to train school leaders and teachers in data-driven instruction. The specifics and rationale ofeach activity are designed to address the critical challenge of facilitating adults' learning, particularly for adults who are teachers or leaders. If traditional learning involves listening to a presentation and then acting upon it, "living the learning" involves generating the content yourself and then putting it into action. While successful leaders are always willing to tell you how they succeeded, they often forget that their own success was built not by listening but by living it themselves. Basketball players don't learn from a lecture; they learn on the court, living the directives given by the coach. Likewise, you don't learn to ride a bike by watching someone else do it; you have to get on and ride! Unfortunately, these basic principles are rarely applied to adult professional development. It is much easier to develop a PowerPoint presentation about what we know than to create a lived experience that mirrors our own learning so that others can make the same connections. I I Indeed, all too often, those most proficient in an activity are those least able to teach others to follow suit. In the case of data-driven leadership education, this is a particularly salient problem. Although many schools have used data to achieve dramatic gains in student performance, relatively few of these are able to share their model with others in ways that allow it to take root. Put simply; data-driven instruction has not traveled well. Furthermore, even those who are effective at training others are seldom able to teach others how they teach. FIVE FREQUENT FAILURES ASSOCIATED WITH ADULT LEARNING The most critical errors in leadership training stem from an incomplete under­ standing of core principles involved in adult learning. Teaching by talking: Even though research consistently shows that adults rarely retain what they hear (retaining far more of what they have to use), adult leadership training consistently errs on the side of lecture. PowerPoint can simply be a modernized form of an outdated approach. This may seem counterintuitive; after all, when presenters are chosen to run workshops, surely people expect them to do the talking, right? Not exactly. Think about how few details you can remember even from the most engaging, lecture. Trainers who want leaders to walk away with concrete. tools to build systems in their schools need to reduce their own talking to a minimum. Treating adults primarily by "I do-we do-you do": While some leaders err on the side of lecture, others err on the side of leading adult Professional Development in the same way they would in a traditional K-12 classroom: "I do-we do-you do." The leader presents information, models its use, and then asks adults to use it. While this framework significantly increases learning when compared to a standard lecture, it does not address a core tenet of adult education: adults need to .generate the content they are learning to be invested in it and to retain it longer. "I do-we do-you do" also sends an implicit message that the participants don't have much to offer on the topic and the presenter is the knowledge-generator. Yet adults learn most when they reach conclusions mostly on their own. Few workshop leaders think about creating the learning experiences that allow for this sort of adult investment. Not specifically targeting leaders: When presenting data-driven instruction to school leaders, many educators focus primarily on the perspective of classroom 1,8 Driven by Data teachers. Although this is an intuitive inclination, it is a poor strategy because it ignores the specific role that school leaders must play in implementing any data-based strategy. Rather than focus on the classroom, effective leadership training must emphasize the specific, concrete skills needed by school leaders. If the concerns unique to school leaders are neglected, then not only will the leaders lose focus, when they return to their schools they will be unable to implement data-driven instruction effectively. As a result, it is imperative that every single activity on every day of training is aimed at building effective data-driven school leaders. Struggling to structure large-group sharing: A core element of many workshops is large-group dialogue: question and answer session with the presenter, small­ group presentations to each other, conversation around a topic presented, and so on. Allowing for large-group sharing makes sure that participants have a chance . to verbalize their learning and share their knowledge with each other, a critical learning component. However, this is also one of the most difficult components to manage, as group participation can vary significantly from one group to the next. Presenters often struggle to know when to let a conversation continue and when to cut it off. Also, whenlooking for the group to reach a certain conclu­ sion and hearing an incorrect answer, presenters will often state the conclusions themselves rather than allowing more time for participants to unearth these conclusions. Invariably, some participant will make an off-topic observation or ask an off-task but fascinating question. Without proper management, participants risk going off-track, or if the presenter cuts them off too abruptly, they can decide to shut down. Poorly planning transitions and time management: When presenting a workshop to a group of up to about fifteen people, leaders do not have to worry as much about the quality of their instructions or the transitions between activities. If a small group didn't understand what they were supposed to do, you can simply walk over to that group and explain the instructions again without pause. If there is any uncertainty about the task at hand in a workshop with a hundred peo1;le, however, it will take too long to communicate this message to all the small groups, resulting in significant wasted time. In addition, getting a group of a hundred to "form groups offour" requires far more planning and potentially more structure. Without attention to instructions and transitions between activities, . significant learning time can be lost. Leading Professional Development 149 THE BEST-KEPT SECRET TO GREAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Building on the foundations for adult learning, the most effective presentations share one trademark move in common, and it is the foundation upon which the professional development in this book is built: Core Idea of Leading Adult Professional Development • • Start by defining the end goal you want adults to reach. Then design activities that can allow people to get there mostly on their own. Table 6.1 Tale of Three Presentations, Fundamentally Different Approaches Formal presentation on core principles. Question and answer. We do: Shared presenter-participant activity modeling the core principles. Reflection: Use facilitated sharing to identify core principles. You do: Try it on your own. Framing: Presenter puts formal language around participants' observations. Application: Put it into practice. Approximate percentage of leader talk Learning Beliefs Limitation 150 Driven by Data 90-95% 40-50% 15-30% We learn best by listening to the expert on the topic. We learn best by listening to the expert and then having a chance to apply the information. Adults retain 5-10% of what they 11ear. Leader does the heavy cognitive work; participants imitate but don't build their own conclusions. limiting investment and retention. We learn best by generating the knowledge through experience and then applying it to our context. Requires precisely built activities that lead to the proper conclusions; takes far more time to plan and more work to facilitate. Table 6.1 sketches what this looks like in three different formats: a traditional lecture with PowerPoint, a Guided Practice lesson (I do-you do-we do), and this Living the Learning model. One could engage in a debate of the relative merits of each of these models, but growing research support 1s backing the Living the Learning model. 1 I will not argue from a particular theory but from what I have seen that works. At Uncommon Schools, our observations of fello;w practitioners who consistently receive the highest grades from participants for the quality of their workshops and our experience in leading workshops for more than two thousand school leaders lead us to believe that the model of Living the Learning is the most effective at equipping school leaders and teachers with real tools for change. While it requires the most preparation, therein lies the usefulness of this book: all the materials are already designed to embody these principles. By learning the proper facilitation techniques, you can make the greatest impact when launching this in your district or schools. TALE OF THREE PRESENTATIONS: A SAMPLE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION ON ASSESSMENT To make this dearer, hereis an example of a professional development session on the same content delivered in these three different ways. This example makes use of the content from Chapter One, on assessment. Imagine making a presentation about the core principles and key ides around assessment. What follows are the three approaches in action. The Lecture Approach In the lecture format, you could take the slides described in this book and present them directly to the participants. You would start by describing the core drivers for assessment-giving a three- to five-minute explanation for each of them beyond what the slide says itself. Then you would show some sample assess_ment questions to prove your point. The slide deck would look something like this: Leading Professional Development 151 Figure 6.1 Opening Slide. '" The Four Keys Data-Driven Instruction at Its Essence ASSESSMENTS :ANALYSIS ACTION In a data-driven CULTURE Figure 6.2 Assessment Principles 1. Principles for Effective Assessments Common Interim: • At least quarterly. • Common across all teachers of the same grade Level. 'Transparent Starting Point: • Teachers see the assessments in advance. • The assessments define the road map for teaching. 152 Driven by qata Figure 6.3 Assessment Principles 2. Principles for Effective Assessments Aligned To: • State test !format, content, and length). • Instructional sequence (curriculum). • College-ready expectations. Reassess: • Standards that appear on the first interim assessment appear again on subsequent interim assessments. Figure 6.4 · Types of Assessment Questions: Math. 1. 2. 3. . . 4. 50%of 20: 67%of81: Shawn got 7 correct answers out ol 10 possible answers on his science test. What percent of questions did he get correct? J.J. Redick was on pace to set an NCM record in career free throw percentage. Leading into the NCM tournament in 2004, he made 97 ol 104 free throw attempts. What percentage of free throws did he make? 5. J.J. Redick was on pace to set an NCM record in career free throw percentage. Leading into the NCM tournament in 2004, he made 97 of 104 free throw attempts. In the first tournament game, Redick missed his first five free throws. How far did his percentage drop from before the tournament game to right after missing those free throws? 6. J.J. Redick and Chris Paul were competing for the best free throw shooting percentage. Redick made 94%of his first 103 shots, while Paul made 47 out of 51 shots. • Which one had a better shooting percentage? • In the next game, Redick made only 2 ol 10 shots while Paul made 7 of 10 shots. What are their new overall shooting percentages? Who is the better shooter? • Jason argued that ii Paul and J.J. each made the next ten shots, their shooting percentages would go up the same amount. Is this true? Why or why not? Leading Professional Development 153 Figure 6.5 Types of Assessment Questions: Reading. Little Red Riding Hood 1. What is the main idea? 2. This story is mostly about: A. Two boys fighting B. A girl playing in the woods C. Little Red Riding Hood's adventures with a wolf D. A wolf in the forest 3. This story is mostly about: A. Little Red Riding Hood's journey through the woods B. The pain of losing your grandmother C. Everything is not always what it seems D. Fear of wolves Figure 6.6 Types of Assessment Questions: Language Arts. Subject-Verb Agreement • He ______ [run] to the store. • Michael ______ [be] happy yesterday at the party. • Find the subject-verb agreement mistake in this sentence: • Find the grammar mistake in this sent nce: • Find the six grammar or punctuation mistakes in this paragraph: 154 Driven by Data At the end of the presentation, participants would be invited to ask questions. The Guided Practice Approach In the guided practice format, you would begin the presentation with the same slide deck, using the first three slides ("I do"). When arriving at the slides with actual assessment questions, you would begin by analyzing the difference among these questions you're to model for the participants, and then you would invite them to do the analysis with you of subsequent assessment questions ("We do"). For the last third of the workshop, the participants would look at a set of questions from their school's or district's interim assessments (or the closest proxy) and their corresponding state test. They would then evaluate each interim assessment question using the worksheet shown in Exhibit 6.1 ("You do"). Participants would reach a conclusion. answering yes or no on the rigor of each sample interim assessment, justifying why they felt that way. Exhibit 6.1 Assessment Question Evaluation Worksheet. Leading Professional Development 155 Living the Learning Approach While the slide deck remains very similar, the order and process change signif­ icantly. After making an opening statement that the group would now look at assessment, you would immediately present a state standard, such as this one for the percent of a number: "Understand and use . . . percents in a variety of situations." (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Mathematics, Grade 7, 4.1.A.3) You would then present the questions on percent of a number (Figure 6.7; a repeat of Figure 6.2), arguing that they represent six different teachers trying to assess mastery of this same standard: Figure 6.7 Types of Assessment Questions: Math. 1. 50% 0120: 2. 67%0181: 3. Shawn got 7 correct answers out of 10 possible answers on his science te.st. What percent at questions did he get correct? 4. J.J. Redick was on pace to set an NCAA record in career free throw percentage. Leading into the NCAA tournament in 2004, he made 97 of 104 free throw attempts. What percentage at free throws did he make? 5. J.J. Redick was on pace to set an NCAA record in career free throw percentage. Leading into the NCAA tournament in 2004, he made 97 at 104 free throw attempts. In the first tournament game, Redick missed his first live free throws. How tar did his percentage drop from before the tournament game to right after missing those free throws? 6. J.J. Redick and Chris Paul were competing tor the best free throw shooting percentage. Redick made 94% at his first 103 shots, while Paul made 47 out of 51 shots. • Which one had a better shooting percentage? • In the next game, Redick made only 2 at 10 shots while Paul made 7 at 10 shots. What are their new overall shooting percentages? Who is the better shooter? • Jason argued that if Paul and J.J. each made the next ten.shots, their shooting · percentages would go up the same amount. Is this true? Why or why not? You would ask the participants to read the questions quietly, and then turn to the person sitting next to them to discuss the differences between the questions and what conclusions they could draw from that analysis. Your goal would be to facilitate their sharing, asking scaffolded questions where necessary, until the group has identified all the core principles of assessment that are embedded in the example. After repeating this process with a few other sets of sample assessment questions, you would put formal language onto the participants' observations 156 Driven. by Data by presenting the framework for assessment shown in Figure 6.8, which is a combination of the content of Figure 6.6 followed by that of Figure 6.5: Figure 6.8 Basic Assessment Principles Total. . . ·. . .. ·.· Princ;iptes for Effective Asses$.rnents ' - ' •' . . ' / · ' . · · Common Interim: • At least quarterly • Common across all teachers of the same grade level Transparent Starting Point: • Teachers see the assessments in advance • The assessments define the road map for teaching Aligned To: • State test (format, content, and length) • Instructional sequence (curriculum) • College-ready expectations Reassess: • Standards that appear on the first interim assessment appear again on subsequent interim assessments. After reviewing this slide, the participants engage in the same assessment analysis worksheet that was the ''You do" activity in the Guided Practice example (shown in Exhibit 6.1). To corn;::lude, participants write down silent reflections on the most important takeaways that, they will apply to their school's assessments upon returning from the workshop. Comparing the Three Approaches Each of these approaches reaches the same conclusion in the same amount of time, but they do so in decidedly distinct ways. Table 6.2 shows how the time breaks out. What makes the Living the Learning approach so effective? The percent of a number questions already hav.e embedded in them all the core principles of assessment. When given the opportunity to look at these assessment questions themselves and identify the differences among them, participants will generate almost all the core principles of assessment with minimal scaffolding. Once they've generated the answer, all the leader has to do is put the formal language to it. Because participants have done the cognitive work of generating the content of Leading Professional Development 157 Table 6.2 Tale of Three Presentations: Half an Hour on Principles of Assessment \ , - t' " R ,Format ';> "' - M = • ;
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