Had a thought provoking session with Tim
White as our Leadership team had their introduction to Leadership Development.
·
He showed us the BES
publications which look really interesting and may well be a help when looking at team
strategies for making a difference in student learning.
·
The use and implication of
social media –teachers/community
·
Teacher and Student Learning
Goals was very interest and he discuss one exemplar of the use of a Learning
Journal:
Principles:
The learning logs encouraged the students to reflect on their learning
processes and
empowered
them to achieve personal excellence.
Key
competencies: Students were prompted to reflect on their feelings about the
teacher’s comments in
their learning logs, and to set goals. The prompts ensured that learning about
attitudes and values as well
as knowledge was taking place. In particular, the students developed the
competencies of thinking;
managing self; and using language, symbols, and texts.
Values:
The learning logs provided a space for students to inquire, be curious, and
think reflectively
about
their learning.
Teaching
as Inquiry: The learning logs were not only a valuable source of feedback for
the students,
they
also provided important information for the teacher as she considered the
focusing inquiry: ‘What matters
most for my students?’
Assessment:
The New Zealand Curriculum explains,
“The primary purpose of assessment is to improve students’
learning and teachers’ teaching as both student and teacher respond to the
information it provides”
(p. 39). The study demonstrates how teacher prompts can support students to
develop selfassessment capability. The learning logs also have the potential to
support peer assessment.
The students maintained individual
learning logs in which their teacher wrote specific feedback about their essay writing. After giving them
time to read and reflect on the feedback she asked them to respond to it, also in their logs, using
these three prompts:
• What do you think I’ve said about your
writing?
• How do you feel about the
outcomes/comment?
• Set three goals for the next similar
piece of writing.
Sometimes the teacher adapted the
questions to fit a specific learning focus.
Emphasis on linking the LI during and at
the conclusion of learning.
Quoted from The Elephant ion the
Classroom – Jan Bowler and also the work of Vivianne Robertson (Auckland)
Best Evidence Synthesis publications –
worth a close to look I feel.
Spoke about Reciprocal Teaching –not
just in Reading.
Hand out about Student-Centered
Leadership which I will need to get onto shortly and analyse.
We explored the different types of leadership:
Transactional:
+ –exert influence by making a transaction – if
I do this I will get..
basic management process of controlling,
organising, and short-term planning. Transactional leadership involves
motivating and directing followers primarily through appealing to their own
self-interest. The power of transactional leaders comes from their formal
authority and responsibility in the organisation. The main goal of the follower
is to obey the instructions of the leader.
Transactional leaders link the goal to
rewards, clarify expectations, provide necessary resources, set mutually agreed
upon goals, and provide various kinds of rewards for successful performance.
They set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals
for their subordinates.
Transformational: Transformational Leadership starts with the
development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert
potential followers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior
team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. The important factor is
the leader buys into it, hook, line and sinker.
Selling the
vision Bringing on Board
The
next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision. This
takes energy and commitment, as few people will immediately buy into a radical
vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others. The
Transformational Leader thus takes every opportunity and will use whatever
works to convince others to climb on board the bandwagon.
In
order to create followers, the Transformational Leader has to be
very careful in creating trust, and their personal integrity is a critical part
of the package that they are selling. In effect, they are selling themselves as
well as the vision.
Pedagogical:
Reason
– desire to do right for the learning and teaching –‘moral obligation’
-analysis
of data for target pupils
E-learning
–how it engages learning
-purposes
for learning.
The
deliberate, informed use of pedagogy is seen to cover a wider range of aspects
of the teaching act than instruction, and represents a different way of looking
at teaching and learning practices. Distinguishing
between what is appropriate and what is less appropriate for children and what
are appropriate ways of teaching and giving assistance to children and young
people.
pedagogic leadership must take a broader
view of the learning and teaching acts than instructional leadership, taking
into account the 'Why?', 'How?' and 'When?' of learning, and not just the 'What
is taught?' of instructional leadership. Pedagogic leadership is based on
dialogue with learners - essential participants in the discussions about
learning
Distributed:
Mobilising leadership at all levels in
the organisation not just relying on leadership from the top. It is about
engaging the many rather than the few in leadership activity within the school
and actively distributing leadership practice. The emphasis here is about
leadership practice and not leadership functions. A distributed model of
leadership is one premised upon the interactions between many leaders rather
than the actions of an individual leader. If leadership is primarily about
influence and direction
·
Delegation
·
Giving responsibility
·
Deliberate strategy
·
How to delegate effectively
–delgation is not dumping!
·
Responsibility
·
Accountability
·
Limitations
·
Clear framework around ‘must
do’s’
·
Accountable for –the outcomes,
processes, reporting –e.g. units in school.
Tim also discussed Grant Wiggins '7 Ways to Effective Feedback/ John Hattie
Summary of this article in my admin 2013 folder.
