Dr. "TKA" Kulla-Abbott's List: 21st Century Change

Patrick Larkin wrote a piece yesterday about how his mind has changed over the past six or seven years; when he first read Collins’ Good to Great, he (as I did) essentially skipped over the technology as acceleration chapter.
I was happy to put technology discussions on the back burner and have one less thing to worry about. Fast forward to Burlington in the present and I have a different view of Chapter 7 from Good to Great. 

As technology rushes into schools at an ever-increasing pace, we are constantly bombarded by talk about whatever happens to be hot this week.  Khan Academy! Ipads in classrooms! Skyping with your teacher! Attaining warp speed, Mr. Scott!

However, once we clear through all of the hype and excitement, the fact remains that no technology is going to change anything in a classroom without teachers who not only understand how to use that technology, but – far more importantly -understand how that piece of technology can have an impact on the way that learning takes place in their classrooms.  A teacher who has students use an ipad as a cool notetaking machine or who skypes with another classroom or an author as an activity in between curricular pieces is pretty much wasting someone’s money, specifically whoever laid out the dough for all of that fancy technology.

(change agents) – People who act as catalysts for change…

In my work through school and organization visits, I have been fascinated to see the correlation between the speed of change and an individual who is “leading” the charge.  The schools that have someone (or a group of people) helping to push the boundaries of what can be done in schools seem to move a lot quicker with a larger amount of “buy-in” through the process.

As Malcom Gladwell describes in his book, “The Tipping Point“, he states:

The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.

Pick-Up A Utensil And Start Cooking
June 21, 2013
By sblankenship


When it comes to change, which happens first…… a change in behavior or a change in belief?  This is an important question if you’re on a quest to see new ideas become reality in every classroom. In my experience, those who believe a change in belief comes first, end up talking about the same ideas year after year. On the contrary, those leaders who work to change behaviors end up opening the minds of their teachers resulting in a culture that sparkles with innovation, creativity, and a passion for learning.

Recently during a twitter chat, the following question appeared: If you’ve been a part of an innovative school, what caused it to be innovative?

I responded: 

Leading Innovative Change Series – A New Staff Experience
October 13, 2013
By George Couros
I wanted to try my hand at writing a series of blog posts on “Leading Innovative Change.” As I am looking at writing a book on the same topic, I thought I would put some ideas out there and hopefully learn from others on these topics. I also want to give these ideas away for free. These posts are for anyone in education, but are mostly focused on school administrators. In all of these, the idea that administrators openly model their learning will only accelerate a culture of innovation and risk-taking.  You can read the previous post here. 

This Year is Different
November 8, 2013
By rgallwitz
At Centerburg Local Schools, we are in our second year of using Google Apps for Education. In that short amount of time we have begun to see a shift in the way students and teachers share. As expected students and teachers are sharing resources, using collaborative docs and learning how to take full advantage of the tools provided by Google to support learning. Students are also sharing their thoughts and reflecting on the school year in their own blogs.

Take a look at a blog post written by one of our middle school students named Sierra.

Last year I didn’t do very well in school. I didn’t do all of my work. I didn’t really respect my teachers as well as I could have. I could have turned in my work and studied, but I didn’t, and that was a terrible mistake! I really regret not doing that.

3 Ideas To Help Others Embrace Change
November 29, 2013
By George Couros

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Ed Schipul

“To sell well is to convince someone else to part with resources—not to deprive that person, but to leave him better off in the end.” Daniel Pink

We have all heard it before…many teachers fear change.

As I think about this statement more and more, I think it is often an easy out.  Just because you are doing something, doesn’t mean someone else should be doing it.  That is not enough to get someone to embrace something.  I am firm believer that teachers have different strengths and that there should be a variance of people that you connect with as opposed to everyone being a carbon copy of one another.

Often it is not that teachers fear change, but that people are bad at selling why change is better.

Here is an assumption that we need to make in our work, if we want people to change. Educators want to do what is best for kids.

10 Principles for Leading Change
by sleibowitz • March 14, 2014 • 1 Comment

 


cc licensed image shared by flikr user sakocreative
“Too bold. Not bold enough. Too fast. Not fast enough.” As school leaders, administration and teachers alike, seek to enhance and even redefine the quality of learning and community for our students, we often hear variations on these four critiques.  At times in the past I’ve been accused of being too bold and too fast, to the point of appearing impulsive. And thus, in a recent coaching session, I was startled by my mentor’s suggestion that I strive to build on positive momentum and be bolder and faster or at least to consider more carefully the balance between being too bold and not bold enough, too fast and not fast enough. His words, part compliment and part critique, were a first after several years of coaching through which, among many other goals, I have sought to enhance my ability to “lead from the middle”, and not run out too far ahead of our teachers, being too bold and too fast. His challenge has me wondering. How can we consider the vital role of pacing in improving our schools? How can we consider not only time, but timing, as a precious resource? How can we be faster and bolder, while remaining thoughtful, patient and reflective?

5 Ways To Influence Change
by George Couros • May 30, 2014 • 1 Comment

“At the end of the day, what qualifies people to be called ‘leaders’ is their capacity to influence others to change their behavior in order to achieve important results.” Joseph Grenny

In a time where the only constant in education is change, people involved with education need to become “change agents” more now than ever. You can understand pedagogy inside out, but if you are unable to define “why” someone should do something different in their practice, all of that knowledge can be ultimately wasted.  People will take a “known good” over an “unknown better” in most cases; your role is to help make the unknown visible and show why it is better for kids.

3 Images on Leading Change
by David Truss • September 11, 2014 • 0 Comments

I enjoy using images to share ideas. In a post on my Pair-a-Dimes blog, I shared the ‘Embracing Change’ image, also shared below. As I said in the post:

“…we’ need to recognize that:
* Change isn’t usually easy.
* Change only happens when we create a need.
* Change is not a thought or a discussion, but an action.
* The time to act is now.

“If it’s important, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.”

The idea is simple. The greater the importance we place on something, the greater the challenge we are willing to face. We will find a way! However, if it is not important enough, then it is much easier to make excuses than it is to make the effort to face the challenge or to change.

Change happens when: Importance > Challenge.“

Despite saying, ‘the idea is simple’, I’ve come to realize that there are a few nuances about the original image that could be explained in a bit more detail than I provided. I’ve also created a couple more images, ‘Resisting Change’ and ‘Inspiring Change’ to contribute further to the conversation on change. If change happens when importance is greater than challenges, what can we do to increase importance and reduce challenges?

The “Want” and the “Way”
by George Couros • December 7, 2014 • 0 Comments

In my work with a school in Ontario, I met a teacher who had a story that really resonated with me.  As we were talking about the changes in school, she had shared with me and publicly with the group, how after three years on a maternity leave, she came back to a totally different place (school) from what she had remembered.  If you think about all of the times that we see “school isn’t changing”, in many places, three years might seem like 30.  It is a long time to be away.

The really powerful part of what she shared with everyone really took me back.

4 Reasons People Don’t Blog and Ideas to Help Change Their Mind
by George Couros • December 15, 2014 • 0 Comments

A lot of work that I do is not only showing people how to do “stuff”, but more importantly, trying to help them embrace change. One of the most powerful ways to not only change the teaching profession as a whole, but also as individuals, is through the act of blogging.  One of my favourite articles on the topic of blogging is from Dean Shareski, which he shares how he believes blogging makes better teachers.

The Blame Game: Start Changing and Stop Blaming
by Tom Martellone • February 8, 2015 • 2 Comments

It seems that in this day and age, with what we know about education and learning, we would spend less time blaming people and programs and spend more of our time addressing the needs of children. After all, that is why we got into education isn’t it?

On February 6, 2015, Joanna Weiss wrote a piece in the Boston Globe http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/02/05/will-common-core-lead-joyless-kindergarten/VVkdXi00uKdSJkNRULhlTM/story.html referencing the work and research Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education expert. The premise of the article written by Weiss and the research done by Carlsson Page focused on what they deemed would be a “joyless kindergarten” resulting from the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and increased pressures to have students read in Kindergarten, among other skills.

5 Ideas for Conversations on Change
by George Couros • February 19, 2015 • 1 Comment

“Teachers don’t want to change.”

I hate this statement.

It does more to end a conversation than it does to start it.

It is a comment I have heard far too often, and honestly, believe less and less and seems to be a way of blaming others for lack of growth in an organization.  We only have a finite amount of time in our day, and because of this, simply saying something is better doesn’t mean others agree.  A lack of change in any organization is often more a reflection on leadership than any group of people, or an individual.  The ability to “sell” change and create systems and a culture where trying something different is not only encouraged, but applauded, needs to be something that people in traditional leadership positions needs to constantly focus on.  Learning is something that never stops or stays stagnate, and because of that, organizations must reflect that we are not only in the business of “people”, but also of being open to and leading change.  It is the only constant.

For example, I have heard many conversations from educators wanting to try something new is met with so much bureaucracy and hurdle-jumping, that it is not worth the effort at the end of the day to try something different.  It is almost as if many schools are blocking their own teachers from being great.  The role of people in leadership and support positions is not to control talent, but to unleash it

Call to Action…
by dkerr • March 15, 2015 • 0 Comments

So just over a week ago I returned from the Innovate 2015 conference held at Graded in Sao Paolo, Brazil…and what a conference it was. I want to start this post by thanking Lee Fertig and his team for putting on such an outstanding and inspiring event, and to mention that the large group of 13 educators that we sent from Cotopaxi all came back changed for the better and ready to take action for our community. Like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in my last post, we’re serious about innovation as a faculty and school, and we’ve just begun a transformational journey which will redefine who we are as an institution over the next few years. The Innovate conference allowed us to ask critical questions of ourselves, learn from innovative programs that are already happening at leading schools around the world, and to prioritize the next steps along our road to innovation. What I truly loved about the conference was that it was all geared around students and student learning, and how many of these innovative practices can, and will make a profound shift in how we teach, and how we approach education for generations to come.

If you are scared of change, ask yourself this question.
by George Couros • March 30, 2015 • 1 Comment

People are terrified of change.  Not just of change, but the process of change and what it entails you.  You cannot change your practice without work, time commitment, and sometimes shifting priorities.  In leadership positions, this is the same with helping people move forward and having them invest their time in a new project or initiative.  You will want to guard them from all of the work that they will have to do when time is precious.  So when you go through the process, ask yourself this question:

Is this best for kids?

If you can answer unequivocally that the answer is “yes”, then the change process is necessary.  It might not be easy, it might take time, it might be messy, but it needs to happen.

If you are unsure if the answer is “yes” or “no”, use that same question to guide your search.

If it helps our students, it is worth doing.