Tying it all together Sharon D. Kruse March 14, 2011

What have you learned? At your tables, list as many of the key ideas you have taken away from the speakers in this series. Rank the key ideas in order of importance, salience, interest or significance to your work. Be ready to share your thinking.

3 X 3 Murphy 1.Interventions and structures must be integrated, coherent, aligned and consistent for problems to be solved 2.Collective adult attention to problems matters for student achievement to occur 3.We’re in this for the long haul Smylie 1.Continuous improvement is the most effective option for schools to respond to changing environments 2.Continuous improvement must become an organizational priority for success to be lasting and meaningful 3.Small strategic change can add up to fundamental change Tschannen-Moran 1.Trust among stakeholders in the school community is necessary for real work to be accomplished 2.Attention to both tasks and relationships matters 3.Building trust can result in the attainment of other school goals

What does it mean? So what? How do these ideas align with the work you are currently doing? How do these ideas offer you new ways to think about your work? Be ready to share your thinking.

Assess your schools and districts Complete the inventory provided for you. At your table discuss the ways in which the current organizational design of your school and district supports or constrains its current improvement efforts. Be sure to clarify the kinds of improvement efforts you are thinking about. What evidence can you point to that supports your assessment?

One way to think about this

Adoption and implementation Effective Program Choice Ineffective Program Choice Effective Implementation Continuous improvement is strengthened as new knowledge and skills are incorporated into current practices. Trust is enhanced. Continuous improvement efforts are fragmented when time and resources do not provide expected results. Trust may be maintained but the belief we can do better is tested. Ineffective Implementation Continuous improvement is disjointed when even effective results are not worth the cost of attainment. Trust may be lost, learning uneven and irregular. Continuous improvement efforts are eroded when focus is lost, trust is misspent and resources are wasted.

How will you use this? Think about the programs and practices you have adopted for your schools. How well do they match the problem you wish them to address? How well have they been implemented? How do they support or constrain continuous improvement efforts? How might you capitalize on the supports you have in place? How might you address the constraints you face?

Communicative messaging Message Factual/Emotional Meaning Sender/Receiver Participants Sender/Receiver

Feedback… Can…Provides information that tells participants… ContextExamples ConfirmIf they are right or wrong Best used for positive feedback Good work! Well done! CorrectIf they need to change and provides direction Best used for negative feedback Almost there, we should try increasing communication DiagnosisWhere they might have gone wrong and how they might improve Use to provide negative feedback but offers corrective direction Perhaps we might get a better solution if we collected more data Explain or Elaborate Confirms the answer and offers more information Extends the discussion I agree, both means and ends are important

What matters Purpose… Turns plans and policies into coordinated action. People… Reminds us that including others in the implementation and evaluation of our actions breeds success. Participation… Provides us assess to the energy, intellect and expertise of others. Process… Suggests that some days it flows and some days it stalls. Persistence… Requires that we keep at thoughtfully selected interventions. Possibility… Means that leaders must see the potential of their efforts to positively affect the educational and life outcomes of students.

Questions?