Welcome!! I have posted the study guide for the Principle 2: Diversity section of The Learning Educator. The guide is presented in three separate posts. Part one deals with the Content Summary, Part Two presents a reaction/reflective piece, the link to constructing both individual and group meaning based on the Content. Part two contains a link to the Book Forum Activity Page where the Activity 4 and Activity 5 activity guides can be downloaded. Activity 4 will help in beginning diversity-focused discussion and reflection in your organization. Activity 5 allows participants to examine the policies and practices within your organization and how they align with the principle-in-action concept presented in the last section as related to the principle of diversity. Check the Archive and Recent Post list on the right of this page and click on the appropriate post. Enjoy your journey and be sure to leave comments to share your thoughts, ideas, and action plans with the rest of us.

Main Ideas

1) Diversity enriches the collaborative experience of educators and strengthens learning. (p 25-26)

2) Embracing the principle of diversity encourages schools to tap into the richness of its members and reinforce collective responsibility for learning.

3) The power of Diversity (pp26-28)

a. Diversity increases ownership and commitment

b. Different levels of expertise bring different perspectives and likelihood of solutions that serve all children well is increased.

c. Diversity during decision-making accelerates action

d. Diversity increases confidence and courage to act

e. Diversity strengthens decisions

f. Diversity prevents “groupthink”

4) Learning is enhanced by shared inquiry (p28)

a. Conflict can promote creativity & learning (p29)

b. Setting ground rules for dialogue is necessary to manage conflict (p29)

c. Leaders must ensure that diversity is valued (p29)

d. Six conditions for having courageous conversations (p30)

5) Diversity as a principle-in-action increases sense of personal integrity (p30)

6) Diversity as a principle-in-action begins with conversation and are enacted through policies and practices that enable people to interact confidently, respectfully and effectively (p31-32)

Reflection:

One of the major hurdles that I have found when taking part in conversation and dialogue around diversity is the failure of many to realize that the concept of diversity goes beyond the realm of race. Oftentimes, teachers and administrators in the districts we visit are quick to argue that their school or district lacks diversity, therefore, they need not expend much effort is addressing the issue. The concept of diversity extends well beyond racial and ethnic considerations. Diversity of perspective based on experience, background knowledge, values and beliefs is a powerful tool that educators must use to effectively meet the ever-increasing accountability standards now imposed upon educational programming.

This diversity of perspective is an essential component of effective problem-solving, a skill that is sorely lacking among not only many of the students in our classrooms, but the adults as well. Traditional educational models have squelched the creative and critical thinking necessary to prepare students for a future society that will far more complex than the one that now exists.

This future “conceptual age”, as Daniel Pink calls it, will require a sense of empathy on the part of successful citizens Empathy requires knowledge of others and the embracing of the diversity of perspective. Howard Gardner describes on of the “Five Minds of the Future” as creativity. Creativity is strengthened and supported by diversity of perspectives.

Not only must we as educator expand our thinking surrounding the concept of diversity, but we must also expand the thinking of the students in our classrooms. By expanding conceptual understandings of diversity, we empower ourselves, our colleagues, and our students with the ability to harness the power of diversity and increase personal and organizational efficacy while providing an essential component of future success.

My favorite quote from this section provides a challenge for educators, “Each day, every school, every classroom is a place where diversity strengthens an opportunity to learn by understanding the world from a different perspective.” (p32).

Be sure and share your thoughts by leaving your comments below. I would really like to hear your reactions to the activity. Try the activity and then come back and let me know what happened. How did you answer the questions? Was there a sentence or a word or a phrase from “Diversity” that made an impression on you? Share with us. Hope to hear from you soon.

scutbirth@missouristate.edu

Activity 4

The authors offered several conceptual assumptions related to diversity… The focus of Activity Four is to create an awareness of diverse attitudes toward some of these assumptions. As a group, walk through the activity and reflect on the differences you discover. Note: although four assumptions are presented as part of the activity, feel free to add or substitute those statements that you feel relate to your own organizational context.

Click HERE to access Activity 4 activity guide

• What statements produced the greatest discrepancies on the continuum?
• What evidence (specific behaviors, policies, etc.) can you cite to support the attitudes reflected as the activity played ou
• Pick one or two of the assumptions that the group identifies as essential and brainstorm ideas for action steps that might strengthen the principle-in-action status of Diversity in your team, classroom, school, or district

Activity 5:

Activity 5 is a Principle-In-Action (p 18) template that will allow groups to reflect on current policies and practices and decide if they are aligned with the principle of Diversity. Use the reflection to brainstorm actions that can help align those policies and practices with Diversity-in-action. You will need to download both the Differences vs Deficits Chart as well as the Activity 5 Activity guide. Let me know what happens!

Click HERE to access Activity 5 activity guide

Welcome!!  As promised, I have posted the study guide for the Principle 1: PRINCIPLES section of The Learning Educator.  The guide is presented in three separate posts. Part one deals with the Content Summary, Part Two presents a reaction/reflective piece, the link to constructing both individual and group meaning based on the Content. Part two contains a link to the Book Forum Activity Page where the Activity 3 worksheet can be downloaded. Activity 3 will help in applying the content to your organization by examining the alignment of existing principles and behaviors. Part Three provides another link to the SWRPDC Book Forum Activities page, where paticipants can access the Activity worksheets. Activity 2 allows participants to create a shared mental model of the conceptual content of this section. Check the Archive and Recent Post list on the right of this page and click on the appropriate post. Enjoy your journey and be sure to leave comments to share your thoughts, ideas, and action plans with the rest of us.

Activity 2

The authors offered three activity ideas for examining both the personal and organizational principles that shape our behaviors. The focus of Activity two is to create a mental model or mind map of the relationships between important concepts presented in this section. As a group, work through the activity and record your results by recreating your group map using computer graphics or a  hand-drawn representation.

Click HERE to access Activity 2 worksheet

Ø      Were there any disagreements surrounding the relationships between two or more concepts? How were these conflict resolved?

Ø      What evidence (specific behaviors, policies, etc.) can you cite to support the relationship decisions you represented on your mind map?

Ø      Pick one or two of the relationships that the group identifies as essential and brainstorm ideas for action steps that might strengthen these relationships within your district, bulding, or team.

Reflection:

One of my favorite quotes from this section of the book is found on page 20 and comes from Margaret Wheatley

‘…I believe we will succeed in changing this world only if we can think and work together in new ways. Curiosity is what we need. We don’t have to let go of what we believe, but we do need to be curious about what someone else believes. We do need to acknowledge that their way of interpreting the world might be essential to our survival.’

Principles answer “why?” we do the things that we do and behave in the way that we behave. Too often, however, when asked “why,” we can give only excuses like “It’s the way we’ve (I’ve) always done it.” or “Why reinvent the wheel?” or “I don’t have time to learn something new” or “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” or “It was good enough for me when I was in school, and I turned out ok” or the infamous “I don’t know” or “just because.”  In the fast-paced world that we live in, we are forced to make thousands of decisions and choices each day. If we fail to examine the principles that are our anchors, we can never be sure if we are headed in the direction that we want to head. As a matter of fact, without an awareness of our personal and organizational anchors and guideposts (principles), we cannot really be sure of what direction we are headed. As the country song lyrics say “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything!”

To continue with the analogy of building a house that  began in the last section, if the Overview provided the footing and groundwork for our house, the principles provide the framework that we build our behaviors around. The placement of the studs, beams, and rafters (principles) provide strength and stability for the house we build.  Principles provide the core values that organizational structures depend on. They provide strength and resiliency of practice. This framework is not visible once the outside veneer and decoration is added, but it must be present for support and strength of purpose.

Another statement attributed to Margaret Wheatley on page 21 caught my attention,

‘As we work together to restore hope to the future, we need to include a new and strange ally – our willingness to be disturbed’

This statement reminded me of a comment made by Dennis Sparks several years ago at one of the first Show-Me Professional Development conferences that I attended. He said that effective professional developers needed to be “perturbers.” We need to ask the questions that expose the assumptions and principles that guide our work. And with this exposure, either validate, modify, or rework our assumptions or behaviors to reach the alignment necessary for strength of conviction and effectiveness of practice. So, I hope that I have “perturbed” you to the point that you are willing to examine both your principles and behaviors. After all, our future (the kids in our classrooms), depend upon it! Activity #3 will help you initiate the discussion of the organization principles that exist (or don’t exist)within your district or building.

Click HERE to access Activity 3 worksheet

Be sure and share your thoughts by leaving your comments below. I would really like to hear your reactions to the activity. Try the activity and then come back and let me know what happened. How did you answer the questions? Was there a sentence or a word or a phrase from “Principles” that made an impression on you? Share with us. Hope to hear from you soon.

http://education.missouristate.edu/rpdc/60695.htm

The Learning Educator – Principle 1 –“Principles”

pages 11-21

Main Ideas

1)      Principles are underlying assumptions required in a system of thought and are often spoken of as laws for moral or ethical decision-making (p 11)

a.       Primary element (p11)

b.      Guide for thought, word, or action (p11)

c.       Mental model (p14)

d.      Habits of mind (p14)

e.       “natural laws in the human dimension” S. Covey (p14)

2)      8 principles that guide professional learning from which specific practices emerge (pp 12-13)

a.       Principles

b.      Diversity

c.       Leadership

d.      Planning

e.       Focus

f.        Impact

g.       Expertise

h.       Collaboration

3)      Conflicting principles can be overcome by exchange of information, honest feedback, and dialogue (p.15)

4)      When principles-in-action and espoused principles are aligned, organizational trustworthiness and integrity are increased and dissonance is overcome (pp 15,18)

5)      For change to occur, principles associated with change must be understood (p18)

6)      3 strategies for examining principles (pp16-17)

a.       Teachable point of view

b.      Clarifying personal principles

c.       Clarifying district or school principles

Welcome!!  As promised, I have posted the study guide for the Overview section of The Learning Educator.  The guide is presented in three separate posts. Part one deals with the Content Summary, Part Two presents a reaction/reflective piece, the link to constructing both individual and group meaning based on the Content. Part Three provides a link to the SWRPDC Book Forum Activities page, where paticipants can access the Activity worksheets. The Activity for STudy Session 1 allows participants to apply the Content to their own school, district, or organization. Check the Archive and Recent Post list on the right of this page and click on the appropriate post. Enjoy your journey and be sure to leave comments to share your thoughts, ideas, and action plans with the rest of us.

The Learning Educator – OVERVIEW

pages 5-8

Listed below is a sketch of what I thought were the main ideas of the Overview section. It is important that everyone in the group is “on the same page” with what the main ideas of the section were. Time should be spent sharing the everyone’s thoughts. Content knowledge and comprehension are the first two levels of  the critical thinking taxonomy. Group members should compare and contrast their own ideas and listen closely to the ideas of others. Consensus on what the authors are saying is essential to the application and analysis to come later. This stage on the Reflective Continuum does not include reactions to what is being said, only a restatement of content main ideas in “group-friendly” language that promotes comprehension. There are several consensus tools that may be used. The activities for the next section of the book (to be posted on November 9th) will include a knowledge and understanding activity. Here is a list of what I considered the main ideas. Notice that I have listed the page numbers with the statements. This is a way of demonstrating “supporting evidence” for my ideas, and also aids me in providing reasons for my opinion based upon information I read. (click on bold vocabulary above for aligned links)

Main Ideas

1) A new form of high-quality professional development

a) Results-driven (p 5)

b) Standards-based (pp 5-6)

c) Job-embedded (p 6)

2) Paradigm shift requires changes in practice that include changes in focus and patterns of professional development behaviors and processes (pp 6-7)

3) Both the recent standards-based and accountability movements in education impacted this new approach to professional development (p 7)

4) 5 fundamental principles presented as guidelines for decisions and actions related to professional learning (p 8).