Five Truths for Educators

Richard DuFour IN PRAISE OF AMERICAN EDUCATORS—And How They Can Become Even Better

Early in my first principalship, I had the opportunity to attend a Professional Learning Community (PLC) conference with administrative colleagues not once but twice. The featured speakers were Dr. Richard DuFour and his wife Rebecca DuFour. I remember clearly they held us all captivated. Their delivery conveyed genuine warmth, relatable humor, and a powerful conviction of what our schools could be if educators change our traditional teaching practices to improve learning for both the teachers and the students we served. 

Almost ten years later, I selected Dr. DuFour’s last book, In Praise of American Educators And How They Can Become Better, nine months into a worldwide pandemic that is highly impacting students, families, and educators everywhere. As educators, we are encountering a pivot point. We are coming to realize our school systems will never be the same as we navigate teaching and learning through a digital screen.  

A new normal is emerging and balancing needed innovation with familiar systems is incredibly exciting and totally exhausting for a principal. Guiltily I went to DuFour’s book looking for a bit of comfort and familiarity and found critical reminders no matter the instructional setting. 

In the first part of the book, DuFour defends the American educator, “I am frustrated that members of the profession I love are receiving none of the recognition they deserved for what they are accomplishing in the face of incredibly challenging conditions” (p. 2). Happily, during the world-wide disruption, that mindset is changing.

A new respect is emerging for the intricacies of a complicated profession. Now more than any other time in our nation’s history, we have parents and families experiencing what it feels like to be a teacher. They are now responsible for having their child log into their virtual learning platform, participate in live sessions with their teacher, and completing and submitting assignments digitally. It is not an easy task but in partnership teachers, parents, and families are navigating the disruption and pursuing learning in a way that works for their child while away from school. It is truly inspiring despite the multiple hurdles.

As a champion for educators, DuFour reminds the reader in the second part of his book, despite the many obstacles and accusations with federal and state policies and mandates, faulty assumptions, and world-wide comparisons, educators have used their experiences for innovation and forward momentum. “While our current generation of teachers is getting the best results in the history of our nation, these results are not good enough...To achieve the goal of high levels of learning for all students, we must drastically reculture and restructure how schools have traditionally functioned” (p.98).

Now more than five years after his book was published DuFour’s five truths for educators in my opinion still hold conviction today during a pandemic. Developing the collective expertise of educators, improving, changing, and adopting instructional practices, being an active member of a collaborative team, and engaging in collecting evidence of student learning are critical components of school systems no matter the unprecedented setting.

As we close out 2020, we are indeed drastically restructuring how our schools are functioning including how we are supporting students learning. I am wondering aloud how DuFour’s would respond to the unprecedented experience educators are now immersed in. I am positive his warmth of delivery, belief mindset of educators, and conviction of five truths would be just as loud and clear. 

School (Culture + Instructional Leadership) + Global Pandemic = Our (Why + Way) + Each Student

 Jimmy Casas LIVE YOUR EXCELLENCE—Bring Your Best Self to School Every Day

and

Peter M. DeWitt INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP—Creating Practice Out of Theory

When two books from experienced and insightful educators arrived on the same day, I was ecstatic. In the initial chaos of determining the critical logistics, systems, and routines of facilitating online learning due to the COVID19 pandemic, I needed ideas to best support our teachers and students during this surreal experience.

I picked up Jimmy Casas’s book Live Your Excellence first because at the point of exhaustion, I know I needed to “bring my best self to school every day,” which honestly was not happening consistently. Throughout his book, Casas continued to remind the reader “Our Why” as educators. “When we lose our why, we lose our way” (p. xxv). I needed to refocus on our 553 students and 73 staff members, which had always brought me immense joy and fulfillment.  

I realized we could utilize so many just-in-time pieces of wisdom in Casas’ book, especially while our students learn remotely. They guided and reminded me to be the leader I needed to be in this inconceivable time of turmoil and unknowns. My notes and tabs found in my now well-tattered copy inspired my current actions to reset and adapt to our new reality. Here are a few of my take-aways. 

“Every decision we make or fail to make as leaders has the potential to impact both school culture and morals in positive or negative ways” (p. 27-28).

“When we are confronted with a dilemma, the way we approach the situation can change more than the outcome. The way we manage ourselves and the level of sincere investment in our every interaction with each student will eventually determine how they view the adults in their lives. How we are defined is often based on how we respond in the moment” (p. 21).

“Leadership to me is not only knowing how to use the tools in your toolbox, but knowing how to find the right skill for the job--especially when you don’t know exactly what to do” (p. 104).

‘We can strive for excellence without leaving anyone behind by not thinking of greatness as an end result--that old compliance trap where something is either great or not--but rather as the beginning of more greatness” (p. 73-74).

“In those moments when doubt begins to creep in remember, there is a Justin out there who just might remind you that on any given day, you can change the course of a student’s life through your belief in them and redefine success for both of you” (p. 128).

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Peter DeWitt’s book Instructional Leadership, Creating practice Out of Theory provides the reader with a holistic approach to instructional leadership. Strategically through the lens of Evidence, Implementation, A Focus on Learning, Student Engagement, Instructional Strategies, and Collective Efficacy. He uses the current evidence in research to inform the reader on those instructional practices that have consistently demonstrated effectiveness.

Even though this almost unbelievable health crisis has disrupted school there are still opportunities for us to begin to think of teaching and learning with a new perspective. Reviewing  his findings encouraged me to remember the following:

“In order to be instructional leaders, we have to put learning at the heart of what we do, and we have to make ourselves vulnerable enough that it is okay for us to make mistakes in front of our staff” (p. 119). 

“It’s not enough that leaders demand teachers work together because it builds collective-efficacy. Leaders must set up the dynamic in which teachers feel supported in the work that they do” (p. 92). 

‘Teacher clarity is what is needed in order to provide a deep understanding in our classrooms” (p. 79).

“However, in order to make sure that social-emotional learning does not become the next buzz phrase, like “growth mindset” or “differentiated instruction,” we must all agree that SEL is about empowering all students--those who struggle with mental health issues and those who do not--with the strategies they need to be successful in life” (p.67).

“Instructional leadership is when those in a leadership position focus their efforts on the implementation of practice that will positively impact student learning” (p. xix).

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Creating a school culture during a world-wide health crisis has its own set of unique challenges. Focusing first on the health and well being of each child is the first important step. Then collectively with your teachers and staff, you can move forward as educators to provide relevant instruction to continue to inspire our students to learn, grow, and thrive.

Leadership Road Trip

 William D. Parker Pause. Breathe. Flourish.—Living Your Best Life As An Educator

Twenty-plus years into a career in education and I still love it. It started with a desire to provide strong foundational literacy skills to each student and transitioned into supporting teachers as literacy leaders in their classrooms. Although becoming the type of leader that is in my head and heart has never been a linear path. William Parker’s book, Pause. Breathe. Flourish. provided me a type of roadmap with reflective guideposts for a learning leader who is still leaning in towards Living Your Best Life as an Educator.

Parker reminds the reader of the importance of self-care (Preface) and taking the time for other areas in your life, so who you are and what you do is more than just school-related (Chapter 1). Self-care also requires not only taking the time for physical health but includes those thoughts and exposures to ideas you put into your “mental playlist” for “continuous growth” (Chapter 2). He gives suggestions on how to use your time wisely and optimally to “find yourself better able to handle the stress and pace required for serving others” (Chapter 4) and recalls the opportunity for continuing to foster those friendships that not only push and pull you but provide accountability on your journey (Chapter 5). Parker’s recollections on how one’s faith can give you a community of support, and “provides healthy context for your leadership” (Chapter  6), and remembering the power of play as a pathway for innovation and joy (Epilogue) were an added bonus. In each chapter, Parker weaves the wisdom of living one’s life fully as an educator through personal examples and those lived experiences of others. They are relatable, inspiring, and full of examples as the reader reflects on one’s own path towards “Living Your Best Life as an Educator” by exploring the habits, practices, and mindset necessary for growth as both an educator and a person (Back Cover). 

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Self-Care Friendships Play

I found the most guidance for my leadership road trip in Chapter 9. In this chapter, Parker provides explicit examples of how to invest in future leaders by “maximizing the leadership growth” of those whom you’re serving. Including taking the time for shared decision-making, giving others opportunities to lead, and even making mistakes, while “confronting important realities with confidence and grace.” Shared Leadership has been what drives me, as a teacher, as an instructional coach, and as a school principal. I am confident, Parker’s leadership insights in Pause. Breathe. Flourish. will continue to inspire me and many leaders on our own leadership expedition.

    

Traveling down the road of leadership is different for each of us. Parker’s book, Pause. Breathe. Flourish. is full of important reminders to make the journey even more purposeful with multiple opportunities for growth.

One Schools Teacher Clarity Journey

 Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Olivia Amador & Joseph Assof The Teacher Clarity Playbook—A Hands-On Guide to Creating Learning Intentions & Success  Criteria for Organized, Effective Instruction

It’s hard to believe that it has been a whole year since our teaching staff navigated through each chapter of The Teacher Clarity Playbook...A Hand-On Guide to Creating Learning Intentions & Success Criteria for Organized, Effective Instruction by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Olivia Amador, and Joseph Assof. My book is full of copious notes and colorful tabs, marking the thinking our teachers shared while learning together. These face-to-face conversations we had before the COVID19 Pandemic are remembered fondly. Although the evidence of our learning together continues to live on through our strategic planning, collaborating, and implementation of carefully designed learning experiences for each of our students...now through a Google Meets online conversation.

What continues to be most valuable to us during distance learning is how The Teacher Clarity Playbook aligns with the essential Professional Learning Community (PLC) questions. These questions have guided us towards improving and enhancing the learning outcomes for each of our students. The bonus we have now is after studying The Teacher Clarity Playbook, we can dive even deeper into those essential questions remotely. We have greater clarity and can continue to provide opportunities for our students to have ownership of their goals while learning at home during this challenging time.

For example, we were really good at answering and identifying the first PLC question in the past. “What is it we expect students to learn?” We had carefully reviewed the prioritized standards and then identified the nouns and verbs that would guide our planning and, ultimately, teaching. But there was so much more we needed to do before we got in front of our students! In our Teacher Clarity sessions, we understood how those nouns and verbs represent specific key concepts and skills students knew and did. We built on those essential core concepts and then “analyze the logical progression of learning” (p. 10) for students to demonstrate their proficiency in the standard being taught, Whew!

Wait, there was so much more we learned in studying Teacher Clarity, including how we will make the learning visible for each student. As a team, we carefully crafted meaningful learning progressions as pathways for students to navigate towards proficiency. Hard at first, but got easier as we understood the purposeful steps we needed to provide students to build on their understanding of essential core concepts. The biggest aha moment was when we read chapter three and learned the value of thinking about the steps needed to navigate through each learning progression. A new term came into play with our planning....learning intentions. We think of learning intentions as progressive steps students take as they lean into showing mastery of the prioritized concepts and skills. 

With our ultimate goal of passing ownership of learning onto our students, we moved away from first sharing with our students what activities they would be doing to clarify what they will be learning in each of these steps. 

I am learning how….

I am learning about…

I am learning that…

I am almost positive that in each of the staff copies of the Teacher Clarity books, Figure 3 is heavily marked and well worn as we continued first to determine each learning progression followed by specific learning intentions. 

Retrieved from Corwin https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/teacherclarityplaybook

Now that our students had more clarity on what they would be learning, as a team, we developed success criteria that would support their understanding of the “how” they would know they have learned the skill or concept being taught. “The success criteria provide a means for students and the teacher to gauge progress toward learning, thereby making learning visible to the teacher and the student.” Moving away from generic prompts such as ’Do your best,” teachers collaboratively developed “I can” statements regularly shared before and during the lesson with students. “Success criteria with relevance provide students with clear, specific, and attainable goals and can spark motivation in some of the most reluctant learners” (p. 28). Rubrics were also developed for more extensive student projects. 

We then addressed how we can regularly share with our students “The Why” am I learning this? “Taking the time to address relevancy fosters motivation and deepens learning as students begin to make connections to larger concepts (p. 54). We try to make explicit why this will help them now and as they navigate towards their future. It also requires us to continue cultivating relationships with our students, so we become more familiar with their interests and aspirations. We can then include the relevancy or “The Why” and how this will help them reach the learning intention with the success criteria. We are moving away from what they are doing to what they are learning.

In late February and early March of 2020, just before we transitioned into having our students learn from home, we were fine-tuning our formative assessment strategies outlined in Module 7. Although we were familiar with the process as a team already, we learned to switch our assessment routines. The authors outline checking for understanding with the teacher-developed end of lesson formative assessments and collecting student performance data throughout the carefully designed lessons. 

Our instructional routines now included more student prompts and carefully designed teacher-generated questions while encouraging student dialog. Students were encouraged to write down their thinking first, generate their own questions, share their insights within a small group, and then engage in a whole-class discussion. Not only did this help our language learners, but those less confident in their ability as learners. Creating meaningful learning experiences through the gradual release of responsibility model is something we have been navigating extensively in our school improvement journey. Although Teacher Clarity helped focus our work by planning more purposefully, those robust questions prompt, and the dialog was needed to increase rigor. 

“A major part of teacher clarity is understanding what students need to learn and identifying how they will know that they learned it. To get there, teachers have to analyze standards and plan meaningful instruction and assessments. But planning should be focused on impact, not on instruction. Yes, teachers can talk about how they will engage students in meaningful learning, but they must focus on the impact of those activities on student learning. In doing so, they clarify their expectations. And expectations have a powerful impact on student learning” ((p. xv). 

As a building instructional leader, one of the most important lessons I have often painfully learned is to go slow to go fast. Each of the Teacher Clarity “---brings a forthrightness and fairness to the classroom because students learning is based on transparent expectations. And when we are clear, our students can better plan and predict, set goals, and acquire a strong sense of how to judge their own progress” (bc). 

NEUROMYTHS

Tracy Tokuhama-Espinosa NEUROMYTHS—Debunking False Ideas About The Brain

Now more than ever during the COVID19 worldwide pandemic our nation is experiencing the complexity of teaching. Parents, families, and student advocates have been forced to facilitate the role of the teacher while at home. With long days in isolation, student learning has become a family activity to help fill the time gap between morning and evening. Although whether you are a teacher or a parent, motivating a student to be engaged and actively participating virtually, teaching has become a challenge, learning an argument, and both often a point of contention.

Educational research on what works and is effective for teaching and learning is in abundance. The challenge for teachers and leaders, and now parents and families, often becomes finding the time to develop a deeper understanding of what educational research is true, what beliefs are held to be true, and what is false thinking.

The book by Tracy Tokuhama-Espinosa, Neuromyths-Debunking False Ideas about The Brain is a tremendous resource for educators to better understand brain research shown to build students learning capacity. The author states, “A big part of understanding the brain is learning what it is, and isn’t, capable of doing. The Centre for Education Neuroscience at the University College of London says neuromyths are often ‘teaching practices, ideas, or techniques that do not actually have a scientific basis in neuroscience.’ Neuromyths are misunderstandings or misconceptions about the brain and how it functions that can limit human potential” (p. 11-12).

It is important to note that neuromyths have the potential to do harm by creating “false barriers to learning” e.g. boys are better at learning math and science. While at the same time they have the “potential to be an opportunity” (p. 12) by first eliminating myths and then using evidence-based teaching practices to better structure student learning. Tokuhama-Espinosa categories sixty-eight neuromyths into ten types of myths including; 

Intelligence

Brain Architecture and Structure

Teaching and Learning

Human Development

Learning Environments

Mind-Body Balance

Brain Plasticity

Memory

Attention

Language, Bilingualism, And Multilingualism

A few of the neuromyths caught my immediate attention and the impact they can have on learning especially now due to the limited amount of time teachers have with students during asynchronous and synchronous instruction. “Teacher’s time is much better spent working with what we know for certain about the brain, in a way that can really influence students’ learning outcomes” (p. 75).

Why This Is Good News for Teaching

“The fact that multiple intelligences cannot be proved in neuroscience without deciphering the complex sub-process of each intelligence is cause for celebration rather than lament. One of the best things that the Theory of Multiple Intelligence has done for education is to motivate teachers to vary their instructional patterns and to teach with multiple entry points for each class topic. While not the main object of the theory, this strengthens access to information by rehearsing distinct neural pathways to the same mental schema” (p. 75).

Why This Is Good News for Teaching

“There are no ‘right-brained’ or ‘left-brained’ people. Humans have only one brain with two hemispheres that are used together in most functions” (p. 35). In addition, “Eliminating the myth of hemispheric dominance is helpful because it shows that the human brain is far more malleable than once thought. Ther are no parts of the brain for math or language, but rather multiple areas of the brain and dozen of networks that are relied upon to memorize, pay attention empathize, and interact with the world. It is great for teachers to know that networks, not localizationalism are at play because this can lead to more precisions in both activity choice and the diagnosis of learning delay” (p. 50).

Why This Is Good News for Teaching

“Many attention problems can be resolved with something as simple as a good night’s sleep or even a solid power nap. Teachers should realize that calling students’ attention to sleep problems can often be the first step towards remediating these problems” (p. 160).

Tokuhama-Espinosa concludes her findings on building awareness of neuromyths in education to improve teaching by considering the following:

• Embrace Complexity!
• Pursue Scientific Literacy!
• Read More Diligently!
• Get the Whole Story!
• Set Personal Beliefs Aside!
• Beware of the Placebo Effect!
• Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!
• Remember Your Students Are Not Rats!
• Watch Out for Sparse Evidence: One Finding Does Not a Theory Make!
• Correlation vs. Causation: Know the Difference!
• Ind What Is, Not Just What Isn’t!
• Curb Your Enthusiasm for Generalizations!
• Don’t Assume Studies on Adults Will Apply to School-Age Children!
• Remember That True in the Lab Isn’t Necessarily True in the Classroom!
• Be a Critical Consumer of Information!If 
• It Sounds Too Good to be True, It Probably Is!
• Avoid Bandwagonitis!

“People naturally drift toward ideas they have read for reference, which means that reading widely and diligently is a key to staying abreast of the best information. ‘Diligence rather than inference’ should become one of the new mantras of teacher training” (p.180).

What I Use To Do, But Now I Know Better

An Educator FORMER FAVORITE THINKING—What I Use To Do, But Now I Know Better

II can remember attending a leadership conference when I was fresh out of the classroom as an instructional coach. I recall feeling so grateful to be a member of the audience to listen and learn from experienced professionals in education. Being assigned to this new role was thrilling for me. I knew had a lot to learn about what supporting teachers in the classroom truly looked like. I was confident that the conference speaker’s insights would support my new role.

The keynote speaker was an author I knew well. I had their latest book in hand with my typical notes and highlights written all over the text. I leaned in, glossy-eyed, and listened in awe to their current research findings and the recommendations conference participants should consider doing differently, more of, or change altogether to support equitable outcomes for each of our students. I was excited and committed to utilizing and sharing their findings with teachers.

Years later I found this same author’s book now as a second edition on the top of my reading pile. It was published in 2018 and only just a few years old. Their first edition was a treasure and well-used as a tool to guide so many important conversations along my career pathway. I was looking forward to revising a former favorite and see what new insights had been added. I needed some fresh thinking to collaboratively lead a school headed into the fall of 2020 considering the COVID19 requirements and restrictions. 

Something significant happened as I turned the pages of this second edition of a former favorite go-to resource. I found it increasingly difficult to read. I found myself skimming through and noticing the names of the researchers and the dates of their findings. The majority of the reference dates were ten years old or older. To be fair many of the components this authored originally shared about teaching and learning current research still validates. Some of these powerful evidence-based strategies for teachers that were revisited included:

• Sharing, posting, and referring to learning targets/objectives with students.
• Checking for understanding and giving specific feedback to students.
• Adjusting instruction including providing interventions for students.

Although I did notice some key instructional components missing Including when was the author going to...

• Discuss the importance of addressing our student’s social and emotional health before we begin instruction? 
• Talk about the value of creating a school culture where students feel included and valued for their strengths? 
• Bring up on-going teacher collaboration to purposefully plan for student-driven learning experiences?

It was hard to put down an old favorite knowing what I use to do, but now I know better.

Read. Read. Read.

First Lady, Barbara Bush Narrated by Jean Becker PEARLS OF WISDOM—Little Pieces of Advice (That Go A Long Way)

When my sister shared the book Pearls of Wisdom, LIttle Pieces of Advice by First Lady Barbara Bush narrated and compiled by Jean Becker, I could feel her excitement over the phone. This compelling book is a collection of advice from First Lady Barbara Bush given throughout her lifetime to members of her large family, dear friends, political colleagues, and grateful employees. Her heartfelt and often direct counsel continues through the hearts and minds of those that knew her best but also can be appreciated by those who read her words and take to heart their meaning and message.

Readers will come away with more than a few ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ from First Lady Barbara Bush, but her drive for equity through literacy will be just as compelling. Her drive, her passion, her relentless pursuit to ensure each child and every adult has the opportunity to be readers was known by those who knew her best. She relentlessly shared this message with her children, grandchildren, colleagues, politicians, and those who came to listen to her speeches given world-wide. Read for fun. Read to others. Read to learn. Read.

There were many pieces of advice that will remain timeless including the real-life reminders hung on the back of each guest bedroom door for her visiting children and grandchildren. Notes that directed them to ”Please hang up damp towels and use twice if possible” and “Above all—have a great time.” Known as the Enforcer from those that knew her and loved her best she could also be quite direct with her counsel to  “Marry someone great!” and solemnly “If you can remain calm, you just don’t have all the facts.”

The tributes and memories shared by many of her closest and dearest friends, colleagues, and those who worked for her, included how the First Lady and her husband  President George H. W. Bush lived their life. “They led and taught by example—always living each day to the fullest with humor and dignity.”  Their love story started when she was 16 and continues in the hearts and minds of many after her death at the age of 92. Pearls of Wisdom include a written reflection from each of their children about their mom. Their son Governor Jed Bush thoughts mirror what his siblings shared about their mom and dad, “Our family has had a front seat to the most amazing love story….their love was the constant in our lives.”

The book was written to not only share her sometimes witty, sometimes direct, sometimes gracious words of wisdom but to continue to support programs and research for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. All the proceeds earned by the sale of this book will go towards promoting literacy for everyone. If the First Lady Barbar Bush was still alive today, one can imagine how pleased she would be with her life’s work continuing. Although ultimately if we each read more often and then read to the ones we are left in charge of instilling the love of reading with she would be thrilled!