Margaret Peterson, World Language Program Administrator San Francisco Unified School District

Words are Windows

 The ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust truly is the key leadership competency of the new global economy.

 Low trust creates: Hidden agendas Politics Interpersonal conflicts Win-lose thinking Defensive & protective communication  Low trust slows everything – every decision, every communication, every relationship

 When two people create a relationship that is built on honesty, openness, trust and respect, they accomplish the outcomes they desire.

 How can a cooperating teacher and mentor build a trusting relationship with their student teacher?  Form groups of 3  Everyone numbers a blank paper 1-8  Brainstorm answers to the prompt above  Draw a line under the last answer

 How can a cooperating teacher and mentor build a trusting relationship with their student teacher?  All groups stand  One person reads list, then group sits down  Remaining groups read “novel ideas only”  Other groups record new ideas below the line

 Feeling connected to another person  Being “in sync” with another person  Feeling in harmony with another person  Feeling a deep state of understanding and appreciation of another person (Facilitation Skills for Chaotic Times, 2008)

 Listening and trying to understand each other  Sharing personal information and values and finding common connections  Experiencing a similar crisis, dilemma or challenge  Speaking in the same language patterns  Matching body movements and gestures (Facilitation Skills for Chaotic Times, 2008)

 Staff Development programs are moving beyond the “what” and the “how” of teaching practices  They are focusing on the “who” – the human being in the role of educator – and integrating the “who” with the “what” and the “how” (Journal of Staff Development, 2000)

Obtaining Information Obtaining Emotional Support Reflecting and Planning Taking Action

 Dyads  Support Groups  Listening  Coaching

 Just as students must construct their understanding of a subject, teachers must construct their understanding of teaching that subject.  Teachers need time to reflect on and express feelings about their own learning and teaching.

“I agree to listen to you.”  For the benefit of the speaker  Requires construction of thoughts and change in beliefs  Cognitive and affective process results in increased understanding  Emotional distrust interferes with listening

1. Equal time to talk 2. No interruptions, no advice 3. Double confidentiality 4. No criticism (Weissglass, 2000)

 One person speaks for two minutes  Listener does not interrupt, offer advice, or make any comments at all  When timer sounds switch roles

 What is a challenge you are currently facing at work or at home?

 What did it feel like not to be able to interrupt?  What did it feel like to be heard?

 Teachers using dyads in professional development report: “ We have grown closer and more trusting of each other and therefore have freed ourselves to be better teachers.”

 NO!  Yet, how many teachers participate in support groups for teachers?  Anyone trying to make professional improvements, particularly people who have a responsibility for nurturing children, can benefit from talking about their feelings in an emotionally supportive environment.

 Discussion groups  Action groups  Dyads/Support groups  Coaching groups

 What is something you recently learned? How did you feel as you were learning? When did you feel successful?

 What is something you recently learned? How did you feel as you were learning? When did you feel successful?  One person speaks for two minutes  The other person listens without interrupting  When the timer sounds, the listener summarizes what the speaker said in the form of questions “Is __ what you mean?”  Reverse roles

 What did it feel like not to be able to interrupt?  What did it feel like to be heard?

 How did it feel to be heard in different ways (e.g., dyad, listening exercise)?  Dyads  Support Groups  Listening  Coaching

We must provide teachers with opportunities to develop trusting collegial relationships so that they can reflect on their own beliefs, construct their own understanding, work through feelings that inhibit change, and make decisions about how to take action.

 Trust is the connective tissue that holds improving schools together. (Truth in Schools: A Core Resource of Improvement, 2002)

 Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools, 2009  Nonviolent Communication: Making Collaboration Real, Empowering the Workplace, 2011  Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion, 1999  Tschannen-Moran, Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools, 2004  Weissglass, Journal of Staff Development, 2000  Zuieback, Facilitation Skills for Chaotic Times, 2008