Reinventing Our Education System Raymond J. McNulty, President International Center for Leadership in Education Tremont, IL

SUCCESS BY DESIGN NOT BY CHANCE

THEMES Challenge is complex Aim of Education Motivation and Relationships Rigor and Relevance Creativity and Innovation Resistance Factors Next Steps

THEME Challenge is complex

We have a flawed perspective of always listening to our best customers… They tell us how good the system is working for them!

Now if you dont want to change, you do not need to change, because survival is not guaranteed.

What happened to GM..??

We need fewer, clearer and more rigorous standards!

Texas NESS Study Subgroup Rankings ELA Skill: Write clear and concise directions or procedures. GroupRank Overall Texas9 Business/Industry2 Other Non-educators10 English Language Arts Teachers Other Educators8

Texas NESS Study Subgroup Rankings ELA Skill: Write clear and concise directions or procedures. GroupRank Overall Texas9 Business/Industry2 Other Non-educators10 English Language Arts Teachers25 Other Educators8

Texas NESS Study Subgroup Rankings Math Skill: Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to right triangles. GroupRank Overall Texas20 Business/Industry29 Other Non-educators31 Mathematics Teachers Other Educators24

Texas NESS Study Subgroup Rankings Math Skill: Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to right triangles. GroupRank Overall Texas20 Business/Industry29 Other Non-educators31 Mathematics Teachers4 Other Educators24

Texas NESS Study Subgroup Rankings Social Studies Skill (Economics): Investigate how a cost/benefit analysis can influence decisions based on profits and losses. GroupRank Overall Texas22 Business/Industry3 Other Non-educators15 Social Studies Teachers57 Other Educators18

We need fewer, clearer and more rigorous standards! OUR PROBLEM IS NOT SIMPLY STANDARDS, BUTDESIGN AS WELL!!!!

WE need to become the agents of change.

Objects of Change VS. Agents of Change Federal/State Govt. SEA Schools, Colleges, Staff, Students, Board Policy, Community Schools, Staff, Students, Board Policy, Community Federal/State Govt. SEA

Stop waiting for the cure … educators are the cure!!

What got us to where we are today in education, will not get us to where we need to be!

In many cases our efforts to transform education look so much like the original system.

THEME Aim of Education

The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of school.

Weve created false proxies for learning… Finishing a course or textbook has come to mean achievement Listening to lecture has come to mean understanding Getting a high score on a standardized test has come to mean proficiency

Learning should have its roots in.. Meaning, not just memory Engagement, not simply transmission Inquiry, not only compliance Exploration, not just acquisition Personalization, not simply uniformity Collaboration, not only competition Trust, not fear

Basic Knowledge/Skills English Language (spoken) Reading Comprehension (in English) Writing in English (grammar, spelling, etc.) Mathematics Science Government/Economics Humanities/Arts Foreign Languages History/Geography Are They Really Ready To Work? Applied Skills Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Oral Communication Written Communication Teamwork/Collaboration Diversity Information Technology Application Leadership Creativity/Innovation Lifelong Learning/Self Direction Professionalism/Work Ethic Ethics/Social Responsibility

21 st Century Skills Learning & Innovation Skills –Creativity & Innovation –Critical Thinking & Problem-solving –Communication & Collaboration Information, Media & Technology Skills –Information Literacy –Media Literacy –ICT Literacy Life & Career Skills –Flexibility & Adaptability –Initiative & Self-direction –Social & Cross-cultural Skills –Productivity & Accountability –Leadership & Responsibility

THEME Motivation and Relationships

Motivation is a key ingredient for success in learning.

Talking with kids… Its not us against them!

ALL STUDENTS RIGOR RELEVANCE RELATIONSHIPS

HOWEVER….##??!!

ALL STUDENTS Relationships Relevance Rigor

It is virtually impossible to make things relevant for, or expect personal excellence from a student you dont know. Carol Ann Tomlinson

You cant teach kids you dont know….

Participation Gap Self-Worth: Self-Worth occurs when students know they are valued members of the community; have a person they can trust; believe they can achieve. Active Engagement: Active Engagement happens when students are deeply involved in the learning process. Purpose: Purpose exists when students take responsibility for who and what they want to become.

STUDENT ASPIRATIONS / PARTICIPATION GAP SELF WORTH ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT PURPOSE Belonging Heroes Sense of Accomplishment Fun & Excitement Curiosity & Creativity Spirit of Adventure Leadership & Responsibility Confidence to Take Action Relationships Relevance Rigor

SELF WORTH Belonging Heroes Sense of Accomplishment STATEMENT 54%49%I am proud of my school. 49%49%I enjoy being at school. 58%41%Teachers care about my problems and feelings. 54%46%Teachers care about me as an individual. 50%45%Teachers care if I am absent from school. 19%21%I have never been recognized for something positive at school. 52%48%If I have a problem, I have a teacher with whom I can talk. 68%51%Teachers respect students. 49%37%Students respect teachers. 36%29%Students respect each other. NATIONAL DATA Copyright 2008 Quaglia Institute

I am proud of my school.T = 85 S = 50 I am excited to be working with students.T = 96 Teachers enjoy working with students.S = 56 Students have fun at school.T = 78 School is boring.S = 47 Students make school an exciting place to work.T = 87 Teachers make school an exciting place to learn.S = 31 I have fun at school.T = 85 Teachers have fun at school.S = 39 NATIONAL DATA Delusional Discrepancies Copyright 2008 Quaglia Institute

Teacher – Student Comparisons T – I make learning exciting for my students. 86% S – My teachers make learning fun. 41%

Teacher – Student Comparisons T – I am aware of my students interests outside of school. 84% S – My teachers know my interests outside of school. 28%

Standardized Assessment Necessary but NOT SUFFICIENT

STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES ARE AN ACCURATE MEASURE OF STUDENT LEARNING AND SCHOOL SUCCESS. We behave like………..

OUR WORK IS COMPLEX A test score is not a synonym for what a student has learned or a school has accomplished.

TO DO THE JOB WELL QUANTITATIVE DATA QUALITATIVE DATA GREAT QUESTIONS…

So hold on to that motivation and relationship piece for a few moments, and let me build a case for RIGOR and RELEVANCE.

THEME Rigor and Relevance

Rigor and Relevance is NOT a new add –on !! Rigor and Relevance is a Philosophy of Teaching !!

Rigor and Relevance What is it? And what does it mean?

Define Rigor and Relevance

3 Mis-Conceptions on Rigor 1.That rigor means more 2.Raising a grade is not rigor 3. Being stricter and enforcing tighter policies

Rigor ! Rigor means increasing the level of thinking in a more sophisticated and complex manner.

Knowledge Taxonomy 1. Recall Knowledge 2. Comprehension 3. Application 4. Analysis 5. Synthesis 6. Evaluation

Assimilation of knowledge Acquisition Thinking Continuum

Knowledge Taxonomy Verb List

Relevance To determine a lessons Relevance you must ask the following questions… 1.Is it an application? 2. Is it real world? 3. Is it unpredictable?

Application Model

1 Knowledge of one discipline 2 Application within discipline 3 Application across disciplines 4 Application to real-world predictable situations 5 Application to real-world unpredictable situations

Acquisition of knowledge Application of knowledge Action Continuum Relevance of learning to life and work

12345 Application Knowledge Rigor/Relevance Framework

RIGORRIGOR RELEVANCE A B D C Rigor/Relevance Framework TeacherWork Teacher/Student Roles StudentThinkStudent Think & Work StudentWork High Low

RIGORRIGOR RELEVANCE A B D C Rigor/Relevance Framework Describe function of gas spectrophotometer Difficult Solve quadratic equations Determine cost efficent heating for new home design Troubleshoot lawnmower that doesnt start High Low

RIGORRIGOR RELEVANCE A B D C Rigor/Relevance Framework Count by 5s to 100 Easy Compare captialism and socialism Write a letter to the editor Make change as cashier without working register High Low

Theme Creativity and Innovation

A Story…. Not a bad idea, but to earn a grade more than a C+, the idea has to be viable! (Yale Professor) Fredrick Smith The idea FedEx

-Shurnyu Suzuki In the beginners mind there are many possibilities; in the experts mind there are few.

Sustaining Innovation and Disruptive Innovation

SystemInnovation

Sustaining InnovationDisruptive Innovation

Theme Resistance Factors

Three Resistance Factors

1. Clutter and Doubt

2. TO BE NORMAL Our evolution as humans has provided us a powerful survival tool…. Routines, Habits, Protocols….. This is all a good thing except for when we must change or innovate….

Short term survival requires routines. Long term survival requires significant change.

Why arent there more students achieving at higher levels?

3. Innovation depends on a healthy dose of failure. Baby walking

Theme Next Steps

Where do we go from here? Four stages that build a great significant system. Good to Great and the Social Sectors Monograph by Jim Collins

Where do you go from here? Stage 1 Disciplined People: Attract the best and the most committed Commit to engagement and hard work

Where do you go from here? Stage 2 Disciplined Thought: Raise difficult but important questions Make thought leadership a strategic imperative Create and support an internal environment for critical conversations

Where do you go from here? Stage 3 Disciplined Action: Transform strategic planning into strategic thinking and action Ratchet up efforts to go beyond your comfort zone.

Where do you go from here? Stage 4 Building Greatness that Lasts: Find the courage to critically evaluate your work and change

There can be no keener revelation of a societys soul than the way in which it treats its children. Nelson Mandela

We can rationalize the failures of the past -----

or we can learn from them.

We can complain about the troubling inadequacies of the present ----

or we can face them.

We can talk and dream about the glorious schools of the future ---

OR WE CAN CREATE THEM!

Reinventing Our Education System Raymond J. McNulty, President International Center for Leadership in Education Tremont, IL