Transcript Document

Time Management and
Crucial Conversations for Principals
Hopes for today
• With a partner:
– What are you hoping to learn today?
– What pressing questions would you like
answered?
– Prepare to share!
Gathering hopes and questions
• Good systems to get into classrooms
consistently
• Getting staff to respond to appointment
requests
• Post conferences – how to make them more
meaningful
• More ideas on managing observation cycle,
calendar
• eVal/Pivot (online tools) [we didn’t get to this]
Hopes and questions (cont)
• Calibration – bringing new staff on board,
having consistency with principals/assistant
principals
• How to keep the momentum going/not fall
back into old habits, keep growing
• Critical conversations with staff members who
don’t recognize the need to change
• Conversation focused on language of rubric –
fine line between teacher led and principal led
Agenda
• Scheduling the Inquiry Cycle
• Feedback Structure & Research
• Formative & Targeted Feedback
• Conversation Architectures
• Interventions and Supports
Interventions and Supports
• Learning Walks
• Development of Notice/Wonder
• Feedback to Teachers
In groups
• How do you use formal and informal learning
walks to strengthen administrator skill and
practice?
• How do you provide feedback and/or engage
others in conversation following learning walks?
• What do you find limiting or challenging in
implementing learning walks?
Learning Together
• Groups share favorite ideas
Scheduling the Inquiry Cycle
• With partner/group:
– How do you schedule your conversations and
observations?
– What (if anything) got in the way of scheduling
observations/conversations?
Ideas
• Share handout
• Collaborative pre-conference
• 5 hours per week minimum
• This is our core work: teaching and learning.
We must prioritize time to support this work.
Feedback Structures
• Strengths
• Short Term Feedback
• Long Term Feedback/Professional
Development & Goals
Formative Feedback
• Connected to teacher’s area of focus or other
observed practice
• Strength’s based
• Timely
• Positive
• Supportive
Targeted Feedback
•
•
•
•
•
Always connected to teacher’s area of focus
Specific
Narrow focus (“target”)
Teacher directed
Immediate feedback – quick snapshot
Conversation Architectures
• See handout
• Let’s practice
Think of a teacher
• I like to start with teachers who are open to
feedback
– Describe the characteristics of this teacher
• Strengths
• Short/long term growth areas
• Imagine you just completed an observation
– How would you plan the feedback conversation?
– What would be different if it was a teacher who
struggled to hear feedback?
Trouble Shooting
• I have heard:
– “I’m a specialist. How does this TPEP process
apply to me?”
– “My principal does not know my content area
well. How can she give me quality feedback?”
– “You don’t know MY students. We’re doing the
best we can – isn’t that good enough?
• Take 5 minutes per question and discuss how
you have/will address that in your practice
Sharing
Trust
•
•
•
•
•
Competence
Benevolence/Caring
Openness/Respect
Reliability
Honesty/Integrity
Competence
• Dr. Mester’s Advice
• Stage I & Stage II training
• UW CEL Feedback Institute
• UW CEL Rater Reliability Training
• Practice!
• Just keep learning
Competence
• Criterion/Dimension Review
– Works for Instructional and Leadership
Frameworks
– Connect to current practice
– “What does it look like and sound like when it’s
working?”
– “What does this look like and sound like when it’s
not working/in progress?”
Competence
• Resources:
– AWSP Leadership Framework User’s Guide
– CEL 5D Teacher Evaluation Guide
Benevolence & Caring
• All about bedside manner and relationships
• If something isn’t working, be very curious as
to why
– Personal life?
– Health issues?
– Parents or Children?
– Skills, knowledge?
Reliability
• Is your feedback connected to the rubrics?
• Is your scoring accurate?
• What bias do you bring to observation and
evaluation?
• How do you open your practice to scrutiny?
Openness and Respect
• How do you ask for feedback?
• How do you share your strength and growth
areas with others?
• How do you ensure preservation of dignity
AND confront problems?
Honest & Integrity
• Model Risk-Taking
• Model Mistakes
• Model Correcting your Mistakes
• Be able to look yourself in the mirror every
day
How do you know what to do?
• Determine:
– Does the question have to do with skills,
knowledge, and understanding?
– Does the question have to do with beliefs?
• Be sure you know what type of question is
being asked at the root so you know how to
answer.
How do you know what to do?
• Determine:
– Is this something the teacher knows how to do
and just needs processing time?
– Is this something the teacher does not know how
to do and needs additional support, training, or
intervention
How do you know what to do?
• What would happen if you did/said nothing?
• How would you want the feedback?
• What about the 80/20 rule? (Or the 90/10
rule?)
• What time of day is it? Would it be best to
wait until tomororw?
Scenarios
• Think of a difficult conversation you need to
have (or have had in the past)
– How do you plan for this?
– How do you maintain your focus?
– How do you ensure the relationship is preserved?
– How do you follow up?
• Discuss at your tables
What would you do?
• It’s one thing to plan for difficult
conversations. It’s another thing entirely to
find yourself in the middle of a conversation
that turns “crucial” or “difficult” unexpectedly.
– What do you do when this happens?
– How do you remember to stay calm, logical, and
not overly emotional?
Q&A
• Share:
– How do you approach difficult conversations?
– What questions about difficult conversations can
we help answer?
Q&A
• Review the “Hopes and Questions” from the
beginning of the session
• What other pressing questions do you have?
• “What if…..?”
Interest Based Decisions to Form a
Support Plan
• Issue/Purpose
• Interests/Beliefs
• Options
• Evaluate Options
• Develop Plans
Developing the Plan
• How would you determine priorities when a
teacher or principal has multiple growth
areas?
Implementing the Plan
• Think in terms of roles:
–
–
–
–
–
Teacher
Principal
Coach
Education Association
District Office
• Think in terms of support:
– Professional Development
– Observation/Conversation
– Collaboration
Evaluating the Plan
• Timelines/Checkpoints
• Reciprocal Accountability
– Setting each other up for success
• Defined Success
– Link to rubrics
– Link to best practices
– Teacher-led whenever possible
Q&A
• The purpose of today’s discussion
– How to manage time to do this work well
– How to plan for crucial conversations
• Did we answer these questions?
– Do you have tools, skills, knowledge, and
strategies to support this work?
Reflection
• Talk at your tables
– What are your takeaways?
– What questions do you still have?
• Prepare to share
Contact
Whitney Meissner
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• 360-316-1088