Culture of Collaboration and Trust: Relationship Between Emotion, Learning, Teaching, and Leadership

CHANGE

CHANGE STRESS

How do we improve the academic achievement of all student? How do we improve instruction? What does brain research tell us about teaching and learning? How does emotion (stress) impact learning? How does a culture of collaboration, a PLC, improve teacher performance?

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten!” Tony Robbins

What Research Says!  Change School Culture  Reframe beliefs - get staff rowing in the same direction  Collective ownership of student achievement and professional growth  Collaborative PLC  40 years of research - improving student achievement  Trust Matters

 Emotions impact learning  Focus on the process of learning – NOT “high stakes” assessments  Brains Change – learning causes growth of brain cells – PLASTICITY  Teach emotional intelligence

STRESS Impacts Emotions and Behaviors

How is a grove of giant sequoias like a culture built on collaboration and trust?  Vulnerable in isolation  Roots intermingle providing a supportive foundation  Culture that stands test of time; sustainable for the collective good; powerful visual analogy

“Professional learning communities share three important features: the adults in them act and are treated as professionals, there is a focus on learning, and there is a strong sense of community.” (Tschannen-Moran, 2004, p. 107)

Characteristics of PLCs  Time, resources and support  Collaborative inquiry and learning  Focused, inquiry based, conversations related to student learning and instruction  Focus on shared vision that all students can and will learn  Distributed leadership  Honest examination of student work and links to learning goals, student thinking and teaching (Nelson, LeBard, & Waters, 2010)

According to the National School Climate Council, a healthy school climate is created when professional learning communities encourage c____________ learning and mutual t____ and r______. (Schneider & Duran, 2010)

FEAR FRUSTRATION BOREDOM ANXIETY

Limbic System - Hippocampus  Links new sensory information to stored knowledge – relational memory  Data passes to be encoded as memory

 Dendrites increase in size and number in response to learning and experiences  Prolonged stress leads to loss of connecting dendrites and synapses in the hippocampus  Neurons are pruned when they are not used!

Formative Assessments Genius is more than Genes!

Syn-NAPS  Meet with an elbow partner  Summarize key points

A spirit of trust lays a foundation for cooperation. “Faculty trust has both a direct and an indirect impact on student achievement.” (Tschannen-Moran, 2004, p. 135)

5 Facets of Trust BenevolenceHonestyOpennessReliability Competence

5 th Grader Inspires Dallas Teachers Dalton Sherman's Keynote Speech 2008  h?v=hMe8Nil2i20 h?v=hMe8Nil2i20

IMPLICATIONS FOR CHANGE  PD on brain-based research and implications for teaching and learning  Focus on s______ learning; process not test scores  Use formative assessments to provide feedback  Focus on t______ learning; risk-taking  Build t________ relationships  Focus on p________ l_______ c________  Cultivate a culture of academic o_______: Efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis  Develop professional c_________  Use structure, culture, and motivation to support teaching and learning  Deprivative instruction

“Research on collective efficacy demonstrates that when certain organizational aspects of schools converge – high expectations of student behavior and performance, collaborative interaction and collegial encouragement, and strong principal leadership – student achievement improves.” ( Moolenaar, Sleegers, & Daly, 2011, p. 260)

Happy Holidays