School Cultures that Build and Sustain Student Achievement

Diane Lauer, Thompson School District

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"When children understand how to connect the text they read to their lives,

they begin to make connections between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger, more expansive issues beyond

their universe of home, school, and neighborhood.”

Harvey & Goodvis, Strategies that Work Strategies that Work, p. 68

“A serious problem large systems face, one that becomes more

perplexing in an ever more complex, diverse world, is how to achieve a degree of cohesion and focus in an otherwise fragmented

environment.”

Michael Fullan, Six Secrets of Change

Effective change leaders create coherence.

Michael Fullan – Leading in a Culture of Change

• We need vision and strategy

• We need coherence

• We need synergy generated by strong culture

In order to achieve sustained achievement.

Synergy

• the working together of two or more things, people, or organizations, especially when the result is greater than the sum of their individual effects or capabilities

• the capacity to endure; to keep up or keep going, as an action or process

Sustainability

Have a ConversationWhat are your thoughts about

Vision Coherence

SynergySustainability

Putting it Together(Today’s Agenda)

① Creating a Positive, Learning Culture② Creating Strong Purposeful Structures

In order to build synergy and sustainability for high achievement and growth

Today’s Objectives① Creating a Positive, Learning Culture

- assess and analyze current school culture- understand components of culture

② Creating Strong Purposeful Structures- assess and analyze current school structures- understand components of structure- Identify cultural and structural practices to

enhance and align

“There is a weak relationship between restructuring efforts (e.g. changing the

schedule or textbooks, site-based management, looping) and student

learning.

The collaborative climate and culture are greater predictors of student

achievement gains.”~ Elmore, R. (1995)

In order to sustain continuous achievement schools need to pay attention to two things:

CulturCultureeCulturCulturee

StructureStructureStructureStructure

“Structures become patterns and patterns become norms.

”

Laura Lipton - author Data-Driven Dialogue: A Facilitator’s Guide to

Collaborative Inquiry

Gradual Release

In order to sustain continuous achievement schools need to pay attention to two things:

StructureStructureStructureStructureCulturCultureeCulturCulturee

American vs. Southwest

• Read text on Page 2• Highlight or Underline text that creates

inferences about American and Southsest business cultures and internal structures.

• “Share & Pass” Taking turns in your group, share a text selection and the inference this this created for you. Do not begin a conversation…Share & Pass.

• Debrief with Team – Summarize Big Ideas

Sustainable Cultures are

• Collaborative• Craftsmanlike• Trusting

CulturCultureeCulturCulturee

StructureStructureStructureStructure

Sustainable Structures are

• Purpose-driven• Capacity-building• Inquiry-based

(asset map -- table chat)

CultureStructure

Assess your Learning Culture

Reflect Upon Your School

• Look at your assessment• Where are your schools greatest

strengths?– Culture– Structure

• Share and discuss as a school team

Reflect Upon Your School

• Reflect Individually– If your school had an opportunity to work

on two or three areas of this list – which would you pick

– Whole Group – Step and Share• Schools greatest strength

– Culture or Structure

• Whole Group – Step and Share– Top Priority

Sustainable Cultures are

• Collaborative• Craftsmanlike• Trusting

CulturCultureeCulturCulturee

Mutual Respect & Understanding

• Teachers consistently build relationships with students, families and each other.

• Teachers know their individual and collective assets so that they can develop a picture of their strengths as a whole school team.

• Teachers feel safe to take learning risks, seek help from, and offer guidance to their peers.

• Teachers are provided direction and time to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Academic Optimism: a Force for Student AchievementWayne K. Hoy, C. John Tarter, Anita Woolfolk Hoy

Academic Emphasis of the school

Collective Efficacy of the staff

Faculty Trust in students and parents

Authors studied nearly 100 diverse schools and found that high academic achievement can consistently be correlated to:

Academic Emphasis

• The extent to which a school is driven by a quest for academic excellence and/or a press for academic achievement.

• High but achievable academic goals are set for students.

• The learning environment is orderly and serious. • Students are motivated to work hard and they

respect academic achievement.

Collective Efficacy

• The judgment of teachers that the faculty as a whole can organize and execute the actions required to have positive effects on students. “We CAN do it.”

• Individuals and groups are unlikely to initiate action or change of practice without a positive sense of efficacy.

• Schools where the faculty has strong sense of collective efficacy flourish, whereas schools where faculty members have serious doubts about their collective efficacy declined in academic performance or showed little academic progress.

Faculty Trust

• Trust is one's vulnerability to another in terms of the belief that the other will act in one's best interests.

• Trust is a general concept with at least five facets: benevolence, reliability, competence, honesty, and openness.

• Faculty trust is a willingness to be vulnerable to another party based on the confidence that that party is benevolent, reliable, competent, honest, and open

• Because learning is typically a cooperative process, and distrust makes cooperation virtually impossible.

• Because learning necessitates risk-taking, distrustful people are less likely to take learning risks.

Additional Research on Trust

Trust in Schools: a Core Resource for Improvement

Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider

• There was a statistical link between improvements in relational trust and increased student achievement.

• The absence of relational trust can severely cripple reform efforts.

• The relational dynamics in each school community significantly influenced whether meaningful improvements occurred.

Our goal is to create a culture of trust so we are able to work together while we conduct

this great experiment called “learning”

We must be willing to keep positive minded.

We must use our creative energies to solve difficult problems.

We must work together because there is strength in our unity.

The Message…The Message…

StructureStructureStructureStructure

Sustainable Structures are

• Purpose-driven• Capacity-building• Inquiry-based

What kind of culture does research tell us we should build to

support and motivate staff to solve complex problems and create innovative solutions?

Dan Pink DRIVE

Capacity Building & Craftsmanship

• Professional reflection and self-analysis of knowledge and skills are embedded into teachers’ daily routine and practice.

• Teachers have sufficient support as well as opportunities for autonomy and self-discovery.

• Opportunities for instructional inquiry and data-collection are available to all teachers so they can improve their instructional practice.

• Teachers have opportunities to experiment and try new instructional strategies with the guidance of professional support.

How do we use structures to:• Create and/or clarify purpose?• Build capacity and competency?• Create a culture of inquiry?

What we can “structure”• Time• Communication & Collaboration• Opportunities for Autonomy, Choice,

Learning, Growth

Examples of Structures(concept organizers, models, protocols & procedures)

• Asset Maps - common language and purpose

• Implementation Plans - vision/road map

• Innovation Configuration - reflection

• Prof. Development Continuum – choice

• SMART goals – inquiry, autonomy

• PLC’s and Collaborative Groups - inquiry

Standards-Based Education practices help teachers focus on student learning.

• Always begin with the end in mind.• Use rubrics with students• Use rubrics with teachers

Using Innovation Configurations

• Standards-Based Education• Literacy Across the Content Area

Self-Assessment

How do you encourage your staff to engage in reflective practices and

assess their own strengths and potential areas for growth?

Differentiate and Provide Choice

• Just like good instruction, good staff development should be differentiated to meet the needs of individual learners.

• A variety of opportunities should be available for teachers so they can choose what they think best fits their needs.

• Use graphic organizers or other schematics to help teachers visualize their options and where specific ones might take them in their learning journeys…

Create Tiered Learning Opportunities

• Individualized Programming– See ConBall’s Staff Development

Opportunities Survey and Graphic Organizers

• Small Group - Professional Learning Community Work– SMART Goal examples and template

Training Components and Attainment of Outcome in Terms of Percent of Participants

Outcomes

ComponentsKnowledg

eSkill

Behavior Transfer

Study of Theory

10 5 0

Demonstrations

30 20 0

Practice 60 60 5

Peer Coaching

95 95 95Joyce, B. & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development, 3rd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Professional Development Research

How do you provide differentiation and

choice?

Awareness Level

Synthesis Level

Book Study – Classroom

Assessment for Student Learning

Book Study –Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student

Growth and Achievement in Grades

7-12

Personal Observations

Lab Classroom Teacher –

Large group observations

Small Group/Peer

Observations

Mel Levine Follow-up Book Study

The Myth of Laziness

+Assessment

FOR Learning Video Series

Learning Team Activities –

analyzing student data

Higher Risk – Behavior

Observation

Lower Risk – Knowledge

Building

Medium Risk – Skills

Practice

Learning Team Activities –

creating common assessments

Learning Team Activities –

creating differentiated units/lessons using a wide range of assessment data

How do you provide structured autonomy

and inquiry?

Reflection

CultureStructure

Tune your School Learning Culture

Sustainability

An Aspen grove needs just the right environment to survive and flourish. The soil composition, the climate, and the nourishment must be conducive

for maximum and sustainable growth.