UCLA SMP EdNews, September 2005

by Jeanie Riddell, UCLA SMP Faculty

There are two primary choices in life:
to accept conditions as they exist,
or accept the responsibility for changing them.
—Dr. Denis Waitley

Last month’s EdNews (August 2005) ended with a challenge: “Probably nothing within a school has more impact on students... than the personal and professional growth of their teachers.” What? You’re taking up the charge for change? Good! One impetus might come from going to a conference, and maybe your experience will look like one of these:

A) You decide to attend a workshop on the newest in teacher practice (or someone decides you should attend...) You go. Engaging, knowledgeable presenter (or maybe not), and a whole hour for lunch! You learn something. Maybe you try it in your classroom. Maybe you don’t. Maybe it “works”... maybe it doesn’t... ( but you’re not exactly sure what “works” looks like... )

B) A team from your school decides to attend a conference clearly focused on student learning. Time is given for figuring out what to implement and how to implement it. You meet back at your site, make some decisions, and act. You again meet to study the results, to discuss what to do differently, how next to act. You complete a “cycle of inquiry” – plan, do, study, act, etc.

Which scenario has the best chance of having a sustained impact on student learning? According to the National Staff Development Council (NSDC), it is critical for staffs to engage in learning collectively, so that they can meet later to reflect on the implications of what they’ve learned. Research on professional development has only been around since the 1970s, and research on teacher learning is even newer—but the link is finally being made between staff development and improved student learning.

As student accountability has skyrocketed, so has the necessity for research-based, student-focused professional development. “It’s no longer about individuals making choices about whether they want to grow and learn,” said Stephanie Hirsh, deputy executive director of the NSDC. It’s a necessity. Federal law calling for high-quality professional development demands programs that are “sustained, intensive, classroom-focused... and are not one-day workshops...” Structured, accountable “cycle of inquiry” work needs to be done to translate the teacher learning into student learning.

Collaboration is one powerful tool for making this translation. In her insightful book, Isolation is the Enemy of Improvement, author Kate Jamentz demonstrates that teachers must now be prepared to work in new ways—from developing shared expectations for student performance to expanding their repertoire of strategies and skills. Teachers need time and space to meet and learn and work together; this is essential if there is to be collaboration (co=with; labor=work). In addition to curriculum, pacing, and assessment work, this collaboration might mean visiting each other’s classrooms or forming groups to examine student work.

So... how do we go about implementing this change in focus? Remembering that people will only sustain interest if they choose to make a commitment on their own, here are some key principles on successful, sustained change described by Peter Senge in Schools That Learn:

And remember: Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

An inspiring September to you!

Below are links to some of the people and ideas mentioned in this month's issue. These resources support the importance of collaboration as a part of any successful professional development:

For this month’s topic:

"How have you and your colleagues parlayed a professional development
experience into a sustainable improvement effort?"

If your school or district has built upon their learning to make enduring changes, we invite you to share them with your colleagues.  Please click here to add your responses to this month's Combined Brainpower.  We look forward to sharing your thoughts in future issues of EdNews.

The August and September issues of EdNews were written by one of our new UCLA SMP faculty members, Jeanie Riddell:

Jeanie Riddell comes to UCLA SMP as a gifted communicator, using her experience in education and the private sector to develop leadership and build the capacity of organizations to sustain growth.  She is a proven agent of change, committed to the concepts of social justice and appreciative inquiry.  During her 18 years in public education, she served in a variety of teaching and leadership roles, from classroom teacher and department chair to program coordinator.  Most recently, Jeanie has coached school administrators and leadership teams in large comprehensive high schools, and has designed professional development programs for both new and veteran teachers.  She has a B.A. from UCLA, a Master's Degree in Educational Administration, and a Tier 1 Administrative Credential.  She is currently on the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Board of Reviewers, and serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Azusa Pacific University.

In September 1999, UCLA SMP faculty designed and facilitated the school administrator session of the first annual “Reading by 9” Teachers’ Conference, hosted by the Los Angeles Times at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

"The intent [of school improvement] is to make all schools
learning communities for faculties as well as students –
making use of the most powerful models of learning with both groups."
—Bruce Joyce and Emily Calhoun

• The "Culture of Caring": Small Learning Communities

UCLA SMP EdNews is published monthly.  If this newsletter was forwarded to you, and you would like to subscribe for yourself, please click here to contact the EdNews Administrator with either “HTML” (if you prefer to receive HTML emails -- that look like web pages) or “NO HTML” (if you prefer to receive plain text emails) in the subject line. Likewise, if you are already subscribed, but merely wish to change your HTML or plain text preference, please follow the above protocol. You may also contact the Administrator if you would like to unsubscribe from EdNews, with “REMOVE FROM LIST” in the subject line. Any email requests to the EdNews Administrator not pertaining to subscription issues will be ignored.

If you have questions or comments regarding the content of our newsletter, please direct them to the EdNews Editors.

A nonprofit school reform initiative of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and The Anderson School, the UCLA School Management Program (UCLA SMP) is devoted to the sustainable transformation of public schools into learner-centered organizations where all students can achieve at high levels.

UCLA SMP works with educators, administrators, and community members to create well-managed schools, to enhance teacher effectiveness, and to improve student achievement through professional development leading to personal transformation and community building.

Since the program was launched in 1992, UCLA SMP has worked with over 700 schools in districts throughout California.