A "Wiki" - Useful Planning and Meeting Tool

I must admit that I am a relative novice with social media but I'm an energetic learner and am always looking for tools that can help with some of the management tasks required of principals. Recently I've begun to use a "Wiki" for some of my classes and when I work with groups. Wiki is most often associated with Wikipedia but that is just one form of a wiki. A wiki is a website where any member can edit contributes, like projects that several people share, or for suggesting agenda items for a meeting. Some teachers use wikis in classrooms. While there are many uses, some use a wiki as a tool to have students share their work and gather feedback from others.

I created my classroom wikis at www.wikispaces.com, a site that allows you to create free wikis. They are easy to create and a useful place for a committee or other group to maintain their agendas, minutes and any documents related to the work. You can limit access to the site so that only members can contribute.

I've found wikis to be useful and would enjoy hearing from you about your experience with wikis or other social media tools used by principals.

Welcoming Homeless Students

The number of homeless children in US schools continues to grow. Much of the increase is driven by the uncertain economy. Families are dealing with joblessness, less access to medical care, increased hunger and greater instability in the family unit. The nation's official poverty rate is 15.1% (2010), the highest since 1997.

Often associated with urban areas, homelessness and poverty is prevalent in rural areas as well. Rural families headed by women have a significantly higher poverty rate, generally 10% higher than other families.

Homeless children have legal protection under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act (1987). The law requires that state and local educational agencies assure access to school, despite one's housing circumstances. Homeless children can remain in their school of origin, even if they move into housing in another district. Schools must provide transportation to their original school and homeless students can enroll immediately even without the documents normally required of new students.

The National Center for Homeless Education offers some tips on creating a welcoming school for homeless children.

• Welcome the student like any other new student.
• Talk with your teachers about how to create welcoming classrooms.
• Identify the important information that parents/families will need.
• Maintain a supply of materials at school that are available for students who may not have them.
• Understand your obligation about accepting the student and providing transportation if needed.
• Talk with the family about what the student studied at their previous school.
• Establish a place that students can complete homework either before or after school since they may not have a place where they are living.
• Be sensitive to word choice when talking about homeless students, and their families, with others in the school and in your community.
• Model welcoming and respectful behavior.

Additional resources for creating a welcoming environment for homeless students are available from:

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (www.naehcy.org)

National Center for Homeless Education at the SERVE Center (www.serve.org/nche)

Working with Generation Y Teachers

As Baby Boomer teachers retire and are replaced by members of Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1995) we have come to appreciate that Gen Y employees have a very different set of characteristics shaped by a far different set of life experiences.

They are . . .

• Highly educated, value education and attribute their success to education;
• Very comfortable using technology and expect it to be available in the workplace;
• Tend to be creative, innovative and self-confident;
• Committed to making a difference and contributing to positive social change;
• Want to be connected, updated and included and involved in their work;
• Desire relationships with co-workers and supervisors;
• Looking for opportunities for growth, challenging work and assignments and flexibility in work schedules;
• Possess collaborative skills, are committed to team-building and expect to be held accountable.

So, what are some strategies for working with Gen Y teachers? A report from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (www.tqsource.org) identified ten strategies. They include recognizing their unique qualities and how they differ from teachers born in prior generations. They also suggest:

• establishing a shared vision and goals with Gen Y teachers
• encouraging shared leadership
• creating a positive, supportive and welcoming school culture
• involve Gen Y teachers in decisions and welcome their feedback
• value the gathering and use of data about student learning and instructional practices
• providing open, honest and personalized support and mentoring.

I hope you find the ideas thought-provoking. While the tools are not new, the application to Gen Y teachers is different than it would be for Baby Boomers. Just as Baby Boomers changed American society, so will Gen Y. They hold tremendous potential for making a difference in the lives of American students. I'd enjoy hearing from you about your experience with Generation Y teachers.

Decision Fatigue

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about whether the time of day you make a decision impacts the quality of that decision. Well, the evidence is clear that there may be an impact. It is called decision fatigue and it describes a phenomena where the quality of one's decisions made later in the day deteriorates.

The research shows that during the day one's mental energy is depleted, particularly if you focused on complex tasks and decisions. Decision fatigue can cloud a person's judgment and explains undesirable behaviors such as losing focus during meetings, getting angry with colleagues, becoming impulsive or making decisions without consideration of the consequences.

There are things you can do to minimize the effect. They include:

• recognizing the problem and monitoring your behavior during the day;
• planning your day so that you schedule important meetings and decisions early in the day;
• avoiding back-to-back meetings so that you have time to recharge your 'mental energy' between meetings;
• taking short mental breaks;
• sleeping on decisions and avoiding making complex decision late in the day; and
• being clear about your goals so that you minimize the drain of energy associated with sorting through complex issues.

A Research Brief that describes this term more fully is available at the Resources page on my website at www.ronwilliamson.com. I would enjoy hearing from you about your experience with decision fatigue and ideas you may have for avoiding the impact.

Myths About Rigor

In recent years I've found that the mere mention of "rigor" provokes a variety of reactions. Some see rigor as an agenda that undermines the student centered school. Others see rigor as some political agenda. Others see rigor as a commitment to assuring that every student is provided the tools for success in school.

I've written a lot about rigor the last few years and with my colleague Barbara Blackburn have provided principals with tools they can use to work with their teachers, families and communities to improve the rigor of their schools. Our books, Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way, and Rigor in Your School: A Toolkit for Leaders, have proven to be useful guides for school leaders.

We identified four myths that exist about rigor.

• Myth 1: Lots of Homework is a Sign of Rigor - For many people rigor is measured by the amount of homework and many teachers pride themselves on the amount they assign. But the evidence is that lots of homework is not an indicator of rigor because "doing more" often means doing more low-level activities. Rigorous and challenging learning experiences take many forms and will vary with the student. More homework is not the answer.
• Myth 2: Rigor Means Doing More - Some suggest that rigor means doing more than they currently do. The evidence is just the opposite. It shows that more often leads to low-level activities rather than the more in-depth analysis and synthesis that is important for long-term learning. True rigor is expecting every student to learn and perform at high levels.
• Myth 3: Rigor is Not For Everyone - There is also a belief that the only way to assure success for every student is to lower standards and lesson rigor. The National High School Alliance says that an agenda of rigor must assure that every student is prepared for post-secondary education, a career and participation in civic life. It is about high-quality, rigorous learning for every student.
• Myth 4: Providing Support Means Lessening Rigor - The belief in rugged American individualism---doing things on your own, often gets in the way of student learning. Barbara and I've found that supporting students so that they learn at high-levels is central to a rigorous school and classrooms. Howard Johnston and I conducted a study where we asked adults, teachers and parents, about rigorous experiences. They invariably described the challenge and the high levels of support and encouragement they experienced. The same is true for students. They are motivated to do well when they value what they are doing and when they believe they will be successful.

The most successful schools are those that build a culture of success, celebrate success, and build a success mentality. I'd enjoy hearing from you about your response to these four myths and how you're working to provide a rigorous, challenging and engaging educational experience for your students.

Instructional Rounds

Instructional rounds is adapted from the medical rounds process used in the medical schools to diagnose and identify treatment and is based on a belief that by working together educators can solve common instructional practices. It is based on the work of Dr. Richard Elmore.

Rounds is a multi-step process. First is identification of a "problem of practice," or an area of inquiry. Then a team "makes the rounds" by visiting classrooms throughout the school. The observers then debrief their observation and the data is used to identify appropriate next steps.

The South Lane School District in Cottage Grove, OR, an Oregon GEAR UP district, implemented an Instructional Rounds model. In South Lane each school selects a "problem of practice" or an area of inquiry that is their focus for the year. Visits by teams of district administrators makes the "rounds," visiting classrooms to gather information. Following the "rounds" the team meets, debriefs and provides the school's principal with advice about next steps.

The emphasis is on identifying factual patterns from the observations, not personal opinion or personal judgment. The debriefing does not identify specific teachers or classrooms but rather looks for trends across the school's classrooms.

A brief PowerPoint from the Oregon Leadership Network describes the South Lane Instructional Rounds model.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about other ways you work with your teachers to improve instruction in your school.

Student Shadow Studies - Data from Students

Schools are awash in data and principals and their staff are expected to use that data to guide improvements. Recently I was reading some materials from NASSP and was reconnected to the idea of a Student Shadow Study.

A shadow study is a different way of gathering information about how students experience your school. They involve selecting students at random and “shadowing” them throughout their day. The process, originally developed by NASSP, charts what students are experiencing every 5 minutes or so. This allows the observer to chart the ebb and flow of activities during the day. The emphasis is on what the student experience and it provides interesting insights into your school’s program.

Of course students quickly figure out that something is going on. So the best approach is to talk with the student you’re shadowing and assure them that you are not gathering information about them to share with the office. At the end of the day, spend some time with the student. Ask him or her about the day and about his or her typical experiences. Provide time for the student to tell you about their school.

Typically, several students are “shadowed” on the same day. The goal is to put together a collection of snapshots that can help design a portrait of your school from the student’s perspective. The data can then be used to complement other data and inform your school improvement efforts.

I’d enjoy hearing form you about other ways you gather data directly from students about their experience in your school.