1. Open-to-learning Conversations: Building the trust needed to improve teaching and learning
Professor Viviane Robinson
The Faculty of Education
The University of Auckland

2. Building trust matters
Open-to- learning
Conversations
Building trust matters
HIGH TRUST
Students
Parents
Leaders
Teachers
Improving the social and academic learning of students requires the coordinated and focused effort of students, teachers, parents and school leaders.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

3. Building trust matters
Open-to- learning
Conversations
Building trust matters
HIGH TRUST
Students
Parents
Leaders
Teachers
Improved academic
outcomes
Higher likelihood of
positive social outcomes
Positive attitude to
innovation and risk
More outreach to parents
Enhanced
professional community
In schools where there are high levels of trust between these various groups, teachers report a stronger sense of professional community and more positive attitudes to innovation and community outreach than in schools with lower levels of trust. In addition, students in high trust schools make more academic and social progress than students in otherwise similar low trust schools. An important question for school leaders, therefore, is “How do I build the level of trust between members of my school community?” One of the most important determinants of trust is the quality of the relationships leaders have with staff, parents and students.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

4. Open-to- learning Conversations
Build trusting interpersonal relationships
Teacher – more support, commitment and job satisfaction
Students - more progress – social and academic
This module is about how open-to-learning conversations build trusting inter-personal relationships. It explains how to build trust through conversations that are deeply respectful of people and simultaneously tough on the problems that they need to address. The participants in such conversations are open to learning with and from others about the quality of the beliefs, information and reasoning that each party brings to the conversation.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

5. Key values in open-to-learning conversations
Respect for self and others
Valid information
Internal commitment to decisions
At the heart of open-to-learning conversations are three key values. The first is respect for self and others. We respect ourselves and others when we say what we think and give equal consideration to our own and others’ . We also respect others by seeking their views, listening carefully and being curious rather than judgmental about why they think differently from us. Respect for others is also demonstrated by giving them choices and treating them as partners in the conversation.
Valid information is at the heart of open to learning conversations. This value captures the idea of being concerned to test and improve the quality of our own and others’ thinking. After all, school leaders make decisions that deeply affect the lives of others. Leaders who seek to increase the validity are open to checking and testing their assumptions about other people, about the situation and about what should be done next.
Valid information is about and the value of maximizing valid information. It is about being open to checking and testing our assumptions about what works, about what is happening and about what we should be doing next.
School leaders want their staff to be motivated by their own convictions about the importance of their work and of serving their students, rather than by a need to comply with those in authority. They want to relate to others therefore, in ways that build internal commitment to the work of the school. In open to learning conversations, the combination of respectful treatment of others, and a search for the best possible decision, enhances internal commitment to implementing and monitoring decisions.
Open to learning conversations are those conversations which are characterized by these three values. While we nearly always espouse using these values, they are very difficult to live up to. Sometimes, our own taken for granted assumptions, our own preferences and our desire to be in charge, get in the way of being open to learning. Instead we use subtle or more blatant types of control to get the job done our way. We have been closed rather than open to learning.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

6. When do I use an OLC? Open-to- learning Conversations
All Conversations
Values applicable at all times
Tough Conversations
When tackling tough issues
When people’s views differ
When a lot is at stake
More deliberate and explicit use of strategies
Since school leaders are involved in numerous conversations every day it is relevant to ask which of those conversations should be ‘open-to-learning’ ones? The three values I have just explained are applicable to every conversation. Indeed, one might say that those three values are like a philosophy of life. They are standards that we would want to live up to in all our dealings with others. But in certain sorts of situations - those that I have called tough issues - we need to be much more deliberate to ensure that we actually use those values rather than just espouse them. One type of tough issue involves giving and receiving hard messages; another involves making decisions when people differ about what to do, and a third is when a lot is at stake, and a wrong decision could be costly.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

7. Examples of tough issues
Open-to- learning
Conversations
Examples of tough issues
An Administrator...
...whose standard of work goes up after you’ve spoken to them and then two weeks later, the complaints start again
A Team Leader...
…who is impervious to feedback from her colleagues
A teacher...
…whose results are consistently lower than those of other teachers
Here are some examples of tough issues. You may recognise them as similar to issues you have in your own school. What makes these issues tough? Why does tackling them often lead to reduced rather than increased levels of trust between the participants?
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

8. What makes these conversations tough?
Open-to- learning
Conversations
What makes these conversations tough?
How do you…
Progress the TASK
Maintain or enhance the RELATIONSHIP
Imagine you are concerned about the classroom management skills of one of your teachers. An open to learning conversation involves both progressing the issue – that is learning more about what is happening in class, why and what, if anything needs to be done - , and also building, or at least not harming, the relationship you have with this teacher. Rather than deal effectively with both the task and the relationship dimension of the issue, people often focus on one dimension in ways that sacrifice the other.
&
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

9. “give it to them straight”
Open-to- learning
Conversations
How do people typically deal with this tension?
They either…
Focus on the TASK
Sacrifice the RELATIONSHIP
“give it to them straight”
“put your foot down”
People typically either focus on the task in ways that damage the relationship and reduce trust.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

10. Focus on the RELATIONSHIP
Open-to- learning
Conversations
How do people typically deal with this tension?
or they…
Sacrifice the TASK
Pussy-footing
Easing-in
Giving-up
Focus on the RELATIONSHIP
Or they focus on the relationship in ways that sacrifice the task. For example, they might not clearly disclose their concern, or do it in such an indirect way that the message is not heard. If they do disclose their concern, they may back down or give up at the first sign of defensiveness or conflict.
Tension between the task and the relationship elements of a conversation is not inevitable. It arises when people behave as if they need to get the other party to accept their view of the situation, preferably with as little emotional fuss as possible – a controlling stance. It is this kind of stance that creates the conflict between dealing with the business and maintaining the relationship. The alternative is to embed respect in the conversation by being open to different points of view. . When control is reduced in this way, the tension between the relationship and the task dimension of the conversation disappears. In an open to learning conversation, the leader and teacher decide together how to interpret what is happening in the classroom and what if anything to do about it. This requires particular interpersonal skills. The most important is the ability to interrupt our automatic tendencies to leap to conclusions and then treat them as obvious.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

11. The Ladder of Inference
Open-to- learning
Conversations
The Ladder of Inference
“Your classroom management is weak”
What information and reasoning led to this conclusion?
We conclude
We interpret
we describe
We select
The ladder of inference provides a picture of how our prior assumptions and experiences lead us to notice certain things and ignore others, and then to draw inferences about what it all means. We notice the children running around in the classroom, we have seen it before, we interpret it through our beliefs about how to teach and we conclude that the teacher has poor classroom management. If we become more conscious of how we climb the ladder of inference, we are in a better position to evaluate the strength of the reasoning and evidence that led us to our conclusion. It also means we are in a better position to see other possibilities – to see it through the other person’s eyes.
Leaders who takes their own conclusions for granted put the other person in the position of having to either accept or reject the leader’s view. In either case, the values of respect, valid information and internal commitment have been sacrificed. If on the other hand, the leaders let their teacher into the secret of how they reached their view – how they climbed the ladder- then leaders and teachers, together, can check what they each see and co-construct their interpretations.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

12. Building a stronger ladder
Open-to- learning
Conversations
Building a stronger ladder
Interrupt conclusions
What information/logic led me to my conclusion/judgement?
Interrupt interpretations
What other possible interpretations are there?
Interrupt descriptions
Am I reporting the situation accurately ?
selection
Interrupt
What have I noticed? What might I have missed?
When dealing with tough situations it is particularly important to be more open about how you moved up the ladder of inference. These questions are designed to help you interrupt the automatic selections, descriptions, interpretation and conclusions you make. They will slow you down, help you explain how you reached your views and help you learn more about how other people reached their conclusions.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

13. 4. Detect and check assumptions 5. Establish common ground
Open-to- learning
Conversations
OLC COMPONENTS
1. Say what you think
2. Say why you think it
3. Inquire
Their reactions
Their own thoughts
Accuracy (paraphrase/check)
4. Detect and check assumptions
5. Establish common ground
6. Make a plan
In the remainder of this module I outline the components of an open to learning conversation. The components are not steps that are inevitably followed in a strict sequence – conversations vary enormously and can not be scripted in advance. If you understand and practise these components, however, you are much more likely to craft conversations that are open to learning rather than controlling and closed to learning.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

14. 1. Say what you think Disclose your own view
Open-to- learning
Conversations
1. Say what you think
Disclose your own view
Treat your own view as one possibility
Own it as your view
Express view with clarity
We respect ourselves and others by disclosing what we are thinking in ways that enable others to disclose their thinking, in return. Many leaders find such disclosure very difficult when they have a difficult message to communicate. Instead of being open, they ask a lot of questions, hoping that the other person will say what they are afraid to communicate. Alternatively, they might sandwich their difficult message between some more positive comments. Research on this latter technique has shown that the other person frequently misses the negative message altogether. The key to respectful disclosure is to say what you think, why you think it and invite the other persons’ reaction.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

15. Open-to- learning
Conversations
2. Say why you think it
Describe the thinking and/or examples that lead you to your viewpoint
Disclose doubts if viewpoint is not yet well developed or difficult to justify
I have already discussed the importance of using the ladder of inference to communicate how we arrived at our views. The point is to express them openly, including when we have doubts.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

16. 3. Inquire by inviting others’ reactions
Open-to- learning
Conversations
3. Inquire by inviting others’ reactions
Create space for others by pausing
Explicitly invite others’ reactions to your thinking where there are power/status differences
Ask others to tell you what they think you have said
Two sorts of checking increase trust and a sense of working together on a problem. The first involves asking for the other person’s reactions to your views. This can be done by pausing, explicitly inviting others’ reactions or asking for their understanding of what you have said.
Explicit invitations for others’ points of view are particularly important when there is a difference in power and status between participants in the conversation. A statement like “you look like you’ve got some doubts about what I’m suggesting” for instance, could be helpful.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

17. 3. Inquire into others’ thinking
Open-to- learning
Conversations
3. Inquire into others’ thinking
Give equal value to both expressing own views, and listening to those of others in interest of a shared view emerging
Invite people to express their doubts and disagreements
The second type of check involves finding out more about the other person’s thinking – not just their reaction to your thinking. You should give equal value to expressing your own point of view and learning about those of others. If you are deeply curious about others’ views you will leave the conversation knowing more about them than when you started. This is where your skills in probing, deeply listening, and being curious rather than judgmental in the face of difference, become important. An example is “Can you tell me more about why you think this won’t work”?
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

18. 3. Inquire: Paraphrase and check
Open-to- learning
Conversations
3. Inquire: Paraphrase and check
State in your own words what you think others have said
Summarise large chunks of conversation to help give structure and check whether you both agree
Acknowledge feelings and emotion
Frequent paraphrases of chunks of conversation keep you focused and build a sense of emotional connection between you. Practise summarising large chunks of conversation so you can provide structure to what might otherwise be a rambling and unfocussed discussion.
Don’t forget, as well, that summarising and paraphrasing applies to feelings as well as ideas. There is nothing like accurately reflecting others’ feelings as a way of reducing tension and building trust. You might say, for instance, “It seems like your pretty angry about the lateness of the communication about the teacher only day”.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

19. 4. Evaluate/critique our thinking
Open-to- learning
Conversations
4. Evaluate/critique our thinking
Invite critique of own thinking in interest of more valid information and better quality decisions
Seek warranted agreement about important claims
Model using evidence and examples to test own and others’ important assumptions
You might have done a good job of accurately understanding one another’s feelings and idea and yet still be a long way from agreeing on what to do. An open-to-learning conversation seeks to reduce some of your differences by testing the validity of some of your important claims.
Use the ladder of inference to check whether your interpretations and conclusions are justified. Discuss the possible weaknesses in your views as well as what you think might be right with them. Agree on what further information might be relevant and what practical steps you can take to get it.
Your goal is not complete agreement or even compromise because such “agreements” are frequently made without careful checking of the quality of people’s thinking. Your goal is agreement based on valid information.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

20. 5. Establish common ground
Open-to- learning
Conversations
5. Establish common ground
Find out what you have in common that is relevant to the conversation
Check your understanding of what you have in common
Inquire about what people want as basis for sorting out differences
If you can find some common ground while you are working through your differences, you have a basis for trust. There are many ways of establishing common ground – accepting other people’s feelings, listening hard to their point of view even if you don’t agree with it, and asking them to express their doubts about your suggestions.
One particularly powerful way of building common ground is to focus on a common goal – what do you both want as an outcome and what do you both want to avoid? For example, you might disagree about the cause of the students’ misbehaviour but strongly agree that the current situation is unacceptable. So a statement like, “I am assuming that you would prefer not to have to send these boys out of class so regularly. Is that right?” – could establish a shared goal that keeps you working together despite your disagreements.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

21. 6. Make a plan The plan might be to learn more about the situation
Open-to- learning
Conversations
6. Make a plan
The plan might be to learn more about the situation
Understand the problem before settling on a solution
Agree on next steps before finishing the conversation
Ensure all parties are committed to the plan
By making a plan together you build trust in each other’s contribution to the problem-solving. Plans are not necessarily about solutions. For complex problems, which people have already failed to solve, the plan might be about how to gather more information to get a better understanding of its causes before any more so called “solutions” are implemented. Rushing to implement a “solution” before sufficiently understanding the problem is a common trap for busy school leaders. Finish the conversation by checking your understanding of the plan and checking whether people have any remaining doubts about its merits.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland

22. Getting started…. Decide Plan Practice Record & Reflect
Open-to- learning
Conversations
Getting started….
Decide
What conversation do you need to have?
One you’ve been putting off?
One you’ve already had that didn’t go so well?
Plan
Use the steps to plan the conversation
What language will you use?
How will you focus on the task and the relationship?
Practice
Say out loud what you will say as you....state your concern; describe what it is based on; invite other points of view; paraphrase/check; detect/check important assumptions; establish common ground; make a plan
Record & Reflect
Which steps did you use most and least effectively?
We improve our skills in open to learning conversations through deep commitment to its values and frequent practice accompanied by high quality feedback. Practise open-to-learning conversations in those situations where you are fearful of upsetting others, or where you tend to resort to controlling rather than to more open strategies. Trusted colleagues and friends will help you identify them. The more open you can be in your leadership, the more you will build the trust that you need to improve teaching and learning in your school.
Viviane Robinson, The University of Auckland