Digital Badges Document Professional Learning

Badges are used by many organizations like the military or scouts to recognize accomplishments by their members. Physical badges are hundreds of years old but digital badges are a recent development. A new phenomenon, digital badges, is emerging as one way for educators to document their learning and qualifications. A digital badge is received after completing a learning module with established performance requirements. Upon completion individuals are awarded a "badge" that allows them to showcase their accomplishment. Proponents of badges identify four benefits.

• Badges promote active, engaged learning because virtually all badge programs are collaborative.
• Participating in a badges program allows you to connect with other professionals concerned with the same issues and interested in the same learning.
• Badges are becoming another form of credentialing, of sharing the things you've learned.
• Badges are a way to recognize people for the knowledge they have, the skills they've developed and the interests they hold.

Sites, such as Open Badges, are now available where you can aggregate your badges. This article from Purdue University describes their use of badges. Education Week recently showed how K-12 students might use badges to illustrate their skills. 2012 Digital Principal of the Year Eric Sheninger's website includes a page of the badges he's accumulated.

Digital badges are an emerging trend and an alternative to traditional professional development. I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts about "badges" and the use by educators.

Importance of Shared Vision

As another school year gets underway I'm reminded of how important the principal's vision is in setting the direction for their school. Often a vision is thought of as just words on paper, but a vision is a dynamic roadmap for strengthening a school. I often refer to it as a compass. A compass provides direction but can also help you to get back on track when events pull you away from your vision. A compass is always on target, pointing toward "true" north.

Here are four of my favorite resources on the importance of the principal's vision and how a principal can work with their faculty and community to create a shared vision.

• Southwest Educational Development Lab (SEDL) on the importance of vision. 
• Maryland Department of Education’s website on the importance of vision.  Read the material on the “Principal’s Role in Creating a Vision.” You may find the two exercises on identifying core beliefs and creating a shared vision useful as you develop your vision for your school. 
• Marzano Center - Setting the Direction for a School-Wide Vision 
• Association for Middle Level Education - Read an article that discusses Peter Senge's discussion of learning communities and building shared vision.

I'd enjoy learning about your personal vision for your school and how you work with your community to nurture and sustain that vision.

Principals and School Improvement

Schools are being held to higher levels of accountability for student learning. That's not a bad thing. We should accept responsibility for the learning of our students. But what's emerged is a trend to micromanage teachers and their work. That's not such a good thing. One example is the nationwide trend toward more intense supervision and more complex evaluation systems. Again, evaluation is not bad, but it should be part of a system that promotes growth and engages teachers in thoughtful analysis of their work and implementation of strategies to continue strengthening their performance.

There's lot of evidence that simply telling people what to do doesn't get the required results. You may get short-term compliance. But rarely do you get long-term change. While many of the mandates may be well-intentioned, they are often imposed on educators without engaging those affected in a discussion of the problem and possible solutions.

A recent article by Rick DeFour and Mike Mattos discussed this paradox. They suggest some common-sense strategies that principals can use to positively impact student learning in their school. They also share the results from a comprehensive study of school reform that found an increase in student learning when teachers participated in professional learning communities (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008).

I'd enjoy hearing from you about your experience with PLC's and their impact on student learning.

Trust: Essential for Successful Leaders

I just finished a new book, The Trust Factor: Strategies for School Leaders, available from Eye on Education. It discusses perhaps the single most important factor in the success of any leader---trust. Trust can accelerate your work improving your school or the lack of trust can be a real impediment to your success. The authors, Julie Combs, Stacey Edmonson and Sandra Harris provide real-world strageiges that leaders can use to creating a trusting and respectful school.

One skill the authors identify is developing good listening habits. They describe eight listening habits to avoid if you want to create trust.

• Do not say how you handled similar situations or how you would feel in their shoes.
• Do not change the focus back to you. Avoid telling them about the time you had the same problem. Remember, this is not about you.
• Don't try to start giving them resoruces or solutions unless they ask you for ideas. Active listenign does not mean you are there to solve their problems.
• Don't judge them. Statements such as "What were you thinking?" or "That's awful!" imply they did something wrong. Avoid saying whether they are right or wrong. Judgment can increase their fears about sharing and cause them to withdraw.
• Let them finish. It is easy to interrup or jump in, but these behaviors disrupt the conversation and change the focus of the conversatkion as well as your role as a listener.
• Be comfortable with silence and pauses. These gaps are healtny; you do not have to fill all of the spaces with words.
• Give them your undivided attention. If your mind wanders, grab it and bring it bac.
• Do not think about your reply before they have finished talking and had a chance to say what they want to say. This action is ingterrupting without opening your mouth. Again, your role as the listender has been disrupted, and you are no longer focused on what they are saying or on their need to be heard.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about trust and the strategies you use to build and promote trust in your school.

Managing Data to Improve Your School

When I was a principal I often thought I was drowning in data and I was. Lots of data in the form of reports and spreadsheets came across my desk. What was often missing was the time to take that data and turn it into useful information, information that could be used to shape and guide our school improvement efforts.

I've written about turning data into information and worked with principals and their school improvement teams on doing just that. Recently my colleague Barbara Blackburn and I wrote a blog post for Eye on Education that discussed four steps to manage data. Each step is discussed on some depth in the blog and in Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way. But here's a quick summary.

• Step 1 - Be Clear About What You Want to Know - rather than generally talking about use of data, identify some questions that you would like to answer. That can help clarify the task.
• Step 2 - Decide How to Collect the Data - You may already have lots of data but you may want other forms of information. Spend some time thinking about the multiple measures you will use to answer your questions.
• Step 3 - Analyze the Data - Too often insufficient time is allowed to review the data, look for gaps, and get different points-of-view. I always liked to have several people, in several different roles, look at the data with me. These multiple perspectives almost always led to a more thoughtful analysis.
• Step 4 - Set Priorities and Goals Based on the Data - Make sure you do something with the information you put together. Use the analysis to shape and guide your goals and areas of focus. Often, this will lead you right back to gathering even more data about your school's improvement.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about how you use data to guide your school's improvement.

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.

A Conversation About "Our" School

Principals always want to hear from their teachers and other employees about how things are going. Earlier in the week I participated in a session at Royal Oak High School outside of Detroit. Principal Michael Greening holds two or three informal "conversations" every summer with his staff. The sessions provide an opportunity for people to talk about successes as well as challenges and since Michael's arrival these conversations have become an important part of the school's culture. Michael and the other administrators listen, comment occasionally, but strive to hear from teachers about the school's program. Several major school improvement initiatives were originally discussed during these meetings and the conversation helped to create a shared agenda for addressing each issue. Three questions guided the conversation:

• What do we do well?
• What are our biggest challenges in the coming school year?
• What will our school look like in 2013?

These meetings are a great way to open communication, seek informal consensus, and get an agenda for continuing school improvement.

I'm always looking for good ideas that principals can use and would enjoy learning about ways you work with teachers and other staff to improve your school.