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Chapter 7

Storyteller

Every great leader is a great storyteller.

—Howard Gardner, psychologist, Harvard University

There are two ways to share knowledge: you can push informa- tion out, or you can pull people in with a story. As a classroom teacher, one of the first things you learn in working with stu- dents is that story matters. Students have trouble remembering a list of facts written in their notebooks, but at the end of the year, they can retell in detail the story a teacher shared about a whitewater-rafting trip that included a fall out of the raft. Stories are sticky. They are one of the most effective and underutilized tools for learning.

As a leader, you are required to step into a storyteller role and, as with any skill, it is one that can be practiced and honed

Gallagher, Alyssa, and Kami Thordarson. Design Thinking for School Leaders : Five Roles and Mindsets That Ignite Positive Change, Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/amridge/detail.action?docID=5437456. Created from amridge on 2021-10-05 20:58:31.

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136 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

to inspire and create change. If no one tells the story, the story becomes lost. The efforts and progress that we made toward our shared goals and vision never happened. Without storytelling, our progress simply does not exist. As a leader at any level, it is within your power to craft and design the story that shapes your direction. You can inspire people and students to do great things, or you can zap the creativity and inspiration right out from under them. Storytelling is probably the most important and powerful tool that you have available. How you wield the tool greatly influences the outcome.

We are surrounded by stories, all being told in a variety of ways. Schools tell stories through newsletters, websites, and social media. We tell intentional and unintentional stories in our classrooms and in meetings. Every time we pull people together, we have an opportunity to build and tell a story.

Humans naturally create stories through experiences, and leaders can help shape the stories told. When leaders don’t intentionally craft the vision or direction with story, we tell our own stories, filling in the missing pieces with our own interpre- tations, biases, perceptions, and experiences, which may lead us to different places. Think about the possible results of weaving stories into a traditional meeting. Crafting your story can help set a different tone and produce a different outcome. At your last dis- trict or staff meeting, were you listening? How engaged were you throughout the meeting? Did you leave the room feeling inspired, full of energy, and ready to explore a problem? Or did you leave feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and disheartened because of the giant to-do list and confusion around the why? We could ask our students the same question about how they leave their class- rooms at the end of the day. Intentional, thoughtful storytelling can make all the difference between these two outcomes.

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Storyteller • 137

Tell a New Narrative

The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves.

—Joseph Campbell, American mythologist, author, and lecturer

What makes a great story? What inspires the hero inside you to step forward and take notice? Great myths and stories have been used as teaching tools since people discovered language, partially because of the great power they hold. Stories have the power to pull you into adventures. They take you through the pain of loss, let you experience defeat, and most importantly, allow you to experience answering the call to adventure while helping you find the strength to rise after failure. You become the hero and carry those feelings of heroism with you, even after the story ends. It’s why everyone loves a good book or a great movie. For a few hours, we lose ourselves in the life and adventures of someone else. We leave at the end having changed just a little, with new ideas and experiences that we didn’t have before. Great stories make us feel, connect, and learn. Though not always apparent, the greatest stories have a similar structure supporting them. Understanding this structure and how a story is built can help you craft your own heroic story.

Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist and professor, is known for identifying “The Hero’s Journey,” a narrative pattern that is found in our most compelling and dramatic stories. Camp- bell’s lifelong research helped uncover and identify common patterns that run through hero myths and stories from around the world. He defined several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through, no matter what culture the myth is a part of, which he calls “the monomyth.” The hero travels from a known world through the unknown world, and returns to the known world having changed.

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138 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

Cha lle

ng es

a nd

T e m

p ta

ti o

n s

Atonement

Transformation

The Hero’s

Journey

KNOWN

Supernatural Aid

(Gift of the Goddess)

Threshold Guardian(s)

Call to Adventure

Return

UNKNOWN Threshold(beginning of transformation)

Mentor

Helper

Helper Abyss

(death & rebirth)

REVELATION

Beginning

The ordinary world. Heroes exist in a recognizable world, but often feel out of place with their current surroundings. They may be questioning the status quo, they may feel unfulfilled by their current work, or they may have unrecognized talents that they are unable to share.

Call to adventure. For heroes to begin their journeys, they must be called to leave their ordinary world. There is often some discovery, event, or danger that takes them from their ordinary path into a new world of adventure.

Refusal or acceptance. At this point, the hero must accept the challenge to travel or refuse to leave the

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Storyteller • 139

familiar. Those who refuse to leave are usually met with consequences.

The arrival of a mentor or mentors. Every hero needs help and people to guide them along the way. There is often a timely arrival of support.

Middle

The unknown world. The hero is now headed into an unknown world with unpredictable outcomes.

Trials and failures. Our hero has many opportunities to learn and be tested, usually culminating in a final epic battle.

Growth. The hero grows in both skills and knowl- edge and, after the final battle, has a revelation that creates major change, transforming them into new thinking and being, which then produces a reward.

End

The known world. The hero returns home to the known world. Because the hero has changed, they return to change those around the hero, creating a better world and saving the day.

The hero’s journey is important because of the commonali- ties discovered in stories across the globe. These are the stories that drive our societies and inspire change. The hero’s journey is very much about humans and how we view the world.

Each of us wants to be a hero. We want the opportunity to travel through that epic journey of discovery. That’s what makes learning so much fun. As leaders, we need to create our hero’s story. Our teachers need that sense of urgency and call to action to create change in education. Our students need that sense of relevance and importance about what they are studying in their classrooms. As we start to put all our pieces together, we can

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140 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

craftily apply the hero’s journey to create our collective story. Where are you on the journey?

If you look at the many initiatives and challenges that you face as an educational leader, can you define where you are in the story?

• Are you at the beginning? Your call to adventure might be that you’re planning a one-to-one technology rollout, or you need to build community partnerships. Take a moment and think about which opportunities or needs are at the beginning phase. These initiatives will need a good why story, grounded in context and relevance.

• Have you already departed? Maybe you’ve secured funding and bought all those Chromebooks, but you’re not sure how to deploy them. Maybe your school has embraced the idea and need of project-based learning, and you need to move it forward. This story is an action plan.

• Have you hit a crisis? Is the ship sinking? Perhaps your teachers are letting the Chromebooks sit in the carts at the back of the room, or there is student mayhem due to free rein on the Internet. This story carries a sense of urgency, acknowledgment of missteps, and a recovery plan.

• Success! You have arrived. Are you ready for the next phase? Where will this new practice or transformation take you? This story focuses on celebration and reflection that also allows you to continue looking forward.

Knowing where you are in your story can help you craft the right messages and deliver them at the right time.

Crafting Your Story On a beautiful, sunny California day, we decided to hike up Temescal Canyon Trail for some inspiration. The trail is fairly steep, but takes you to the top of an amazing overlook, where you can see a good chunk of the Southern California coastline.

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Storyteller • 141

Breathtaking views. As we arrived at the top of the trail, we were quickly shepherded off the path by a young man with a camera and a large group of friends, who were clearly eager to surprise someone. Once we were out of the way, we noticed another young man toward the edge of the cliff. He was nicely dressed, standing on a white blanket set with red rose petals and cham- pagne. Friends were crouched behind bushes and excitedly awaiting the arrival of someone. We deduced that a proposal was in the making. Sure enough, a young woman arrived with more friends, looking only slightly surprised; music started playing, and the man proceeded to get down on one knee, ring in hand, and ask the big question. She said yes.

As we watched this event unfold, it was interesting to note the number of cameras and the specific shots that were created to tell their story. After the proposal moment, the group went back and recreated different moments to echo views and to get just the right reactions on camera. They captured a photo with rose petals floating down around them, one with champagne corks erupting, one with everyone cheering. It was a genuine moment that was surrounded by production. Every element was clearly thought out, the experience was carefully architected, and many artifacts were collected for sharing and remembering. Within the hour, they had probably posted photos and a carefully edited video to a variety of social media sites. And if you hadn’t been there, you may have imagined a very secluded and romantic moment that went perfectly. You wouldn’t have thought about all that went into the creation of it. The storytelling work is likely invisible to most.

Social media has given all of us an opportunity to share every moment at the click of a button, essentially creating sto- ries on the fly. People can achieve instant fame, either positive or negative, within a moment and the ease of a few clicks. Social media has also given us new ways to interpret the stories that we see and hear. Did it really happen if not fully documented on

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142 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram? How are we documenting and telling our stories of learning in schools?

Before embarking on a new storytelling journey, you must first understand the current story being told at your school. Whether you are aware or not, every person who walks onto your campus or visits a classroom leaves with a story to be told about your school. This story comprises the actions of students and staff, overheard conversations, and artifacts, such as art- work and student work hanging on the walls. Everything taken in by the senses weaves together to create an impression and essentially become the story. Do you know what unintended sto- ries your school or classroom might be telling?

Kami was in a classroom recently and noticed this sign posted on the teacher’s desk: “If I’m talking, you should be taking notes.” While we are guessing this was meant to be funny and there’s probably a great background story that explains why it’s there, to a casual observer, it sent a clear message of who was most important in the classroom.

We’ve walked around school campuses that were full of negative messages, where every classroom rule started with the word “Don’t” and where most outdoor sign postings started with the word “No.” Rules are certainly necessary, but how might we reframe them in a more positive context? A director of instruc- tional Technology was reviewing their district’s Acceptable Use Policy. It was a two-and-a-half-page document that parents review with their student at the beginning of the school year and then sign to show that they are aware of all of the school’s technology use policies. It’s comprehensive and important for online work with students; however, it was a bit language dense and writ- ten in a “thou shalt not” manner. Their team decided to create a classroom Digital Learning Pledge that was more positively worded. It was a short, one-page document that had statements such as, “At our school, we value communication and respect; therefore, I will use appropriate language in all my academic work

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Storyteller • 143

and communication with others.” Teachers were able to lead a discussion with students around expectations, and students were able to easily understand what was being asked of them, with the focus being on values that were important in their classrooms. It became more about how to build a community of responsible and respectful learning than a list of rules with consequences.

It’s not uncommon to walk through elementary classrooms and see cookie-cutter projects that are almost identical lining the walls, except for an occasional crooked shape that a student was able to glue into place while the adult at the table was help- ing another student. While these “projects” are often cute, they show up every year like holiday decorations with little learning value. What story does this tell? Does it reflect and align with learning values? Artifacts are important to your story, as they capture a snapshot of your culture and reflect what’s important to your story.

How might we evaluate our campus or classroom for its unin- tended stories? Following are two ways you might learn more about your current story.

Define Your Intention

What do you want to hear and see as you walk around your campus or listen to your students? If you could write a story about your district, school, or classroom, what would it be? Take a minute to sit and write or picture the story you want to tell. Define what students would be doing and saying. Think about what teachers are doing, and what parents might be saying in the hallways. Visualize your campus or your classroom. Know what your story should sound like, feel like, and look like.

Perform a Story Audit

Walk it. Take a purposeful walk through your learning spaces to see what artifacts are lining the walls. Better yet, invite some- one from outside your school to take the walk with you. Walk

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144 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

with a parent. Walk with a student. Different perspectives will offer different points of view. They will often be able to notice more than you might, as we often miss things that we see every day and that have become part of our landscape. Note what evi- dence of learning you see. Can you see students’ process as well as the end product? Is their thinking visible? Can you see individ- ual students in their work? Pay attention to what posters are on the walls, what signs line your hallways or are posted outside on your buildings. Are they negatively worded? Do they encourage a positive culture? Do they reflect your vision and values? Do all the things you see tell your intentional story?

Talk it. As you walk through a classroom or school site, stop and ask for a story. Ask students to tell you about what they’re learning—not what they’re working on, but what they’re learn- ing. Ask teachers to tell you a story about the lesson they’re cur- rently teaching. Better yet, simply listen to the learning stories that teachers are using in classrooms. Are they inspiring learn- ing? Ask a parent to tell you a story about their child at school. What are you hearing in their stories? Are their stories reflecting the culture you are building? What stories might you encounter that you didn’t ask for? Some stories are crying out to be told. Listening carefully to the stories around you can give you insight.

Most schools run on tradition and habits, which often make those of us who are part of that story unaware of what it’s become. We stop noticing the details of the world around us as we immerse ourselves in our environments. Our settings become familiar, and we are unable to clearly see the story that is being told. Stop and take notice. Audit your current story. By being aware and intentional in our storytelling, we are rescued from telling bad ones. (A story audit template and a template for the leaders’ version are included in the Appendix.)

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Storyteller • 145

The Importance of Connection

The connection economy thrives on abundance. Connections create

more connections. Trust creates more trust. Ideas create more ideas.

—Seth Godin, American author, entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker

Part of getting others to hear your call to adventure is first cre- ating a culture that encourages the risk. Wanting to venture out into the unknown can make others feel nervous, confused, and fearful. Building connections with all stakeholders lessens the risk and is critical to taking others with you.

Creating a connection is often thought of as making an emotional connection or showing emotion, but it’s really about making a human connection, one person to another. Our stories carry emotion and connect us through empathy. A well-told story gives us something that we take with us. Our social inter- actions are full of stories. When you meet a friend for coffee, you tell a story about what happened on your way there.

Sometimes, leaders are seen as unapproachable or discon- nected from those around them. They may appear distant or unaware of others’ realities and find difficulty creating connec- tions with those they lead. During Kami’s time in the classroom, she remembers all too well how teachers would talk about administrators as “having crossed over to the dark side.” Once they stopped being in the classroom on a daily basis, they appeared to have lost their connection to and empathy for the daily struggles of teaching. As you move to an administrator role, your worldview suddenly shifts to a much larger picture, and the responsibilities of management become more focused on the day-to-day running of a larger organization. No longer responsi- ble for a single classroom, you may lose sight of that experience.

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146 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

How do you balance the big picture with the daily struggles of all your stakeholders?

Many leaders emphasize their strength, credentials, and com- petence in the workplace. However, those who project strength before creating trust risk eliciting fear, along with negative behav- iors that undermine the organization. Leaders who work from a stance of “I know more than you, look what I’ve accomplished” often create an environment that produces parking-lot meetings, which are focused on complaints. Kami’s high school calculus teacher spoke in a very loud voice. He had specific protocols for when you walked in the room: no talking, assigned seats, home- work placed in a designated spot on your desk where he could walk by and check it off on his clipboard. He then lectured with a quick “Any questions?” moment, followed by an assignment. Questions were barely tolerated, and Kami was afraid to offer any new ideas or create outside of the structures that were given. When she walked through the doorway, her goal was to stay as inconspicuous as possible and survive the hour. She had a similar experience at her first real job. It was in an advertising agency, which was fueled by creativity, yet the leader believed that leadership strength meant he was always right and there was no room for discussion or ideas outside of his own. She lasted eight months before deciding that perhaps she had landed in the wrong career. Her creative confidence was down to zero. Fear under- mines learning, creativity, and problem solving, often resulting in people getting stuck and disengaged.

Why does this matter, and how does it relate to storytelling? A leader can intentionally use story to create an open environ- ment that allows others to grow and learn. Telling the story of struggle, challenge, and overcoming can connect you with staff, establish trust with them, validate their perspectives and feel- ings, and build relationships. It shows that you’re not only strong, but also a friend, reassuring them that you’re there to empower

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Storyteller • 147

them to tackle any challenges that you may face together and do big things.

This connection with staff is so critical because, before any- one can decide what they think of your message, they decide what they think of you. By first showing a willingness to under- stand and share their worldview by sharing stories with them, you give them space to hear your version. Continue building on the exercises shared in Chapter 2 to further develop your empathy muscle. Finding balance in leadership, whether you’re standing in front of 30 children or in front of 30 adults, is always a challenge. However, taking the time to connect with those around you and building trust will allow you to lead them to places you thought they might not go. Heroes need support. Establish your purpose, connect your team, and begin your journey.

Pull over Push Branding and marketing are not traditionally thought of when we think about a school district or a classroom. In today’s media-rich atmosphere, however, they are important elements to consider when building your story. Push-pull strategy is most commonly referred to as a marketing strategy. Think of pushing as the stick and pulling as the carrot. Pushing is setting something in front of someone and telling them they need to buy it now, while pulling is creating a need and building a relationship that brings people to your product and increases loyalty.

Many companies create a need for their product through a pull strategy. Apple is an excellent example. Apple has created a brand with a cool factor. Their advertisements are innovative and emotionally connect people to a want. Social media is highly utilized to create interest and curiosity, and speculation abounds over new features. People line up outside of Apple stores before the release of every new product, even though their current ver- sion of the same product may be working perfectly. They build brand loyalty that is almost legendary. Apple uses the power

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148 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

of social media to let customers tell stories that pull people to Apple products, causing a need to sleep on the sidewalk and be the first in line for a new iPhone.

We can harness that pull power in education. A high school district we once worked with was looking to add a learning man- agement system (LMS) to upgrade their grading procedures and give parents more access to what was happening in classrooms. The challenge was that their teachers were not familiar with the features of an LMS and the potential it could offer. Their first view of a product left them overwhelmed and confused about the need for all those different elements. The report card and electronic grade book worked fine. Why should they change? The district stepped back and decided to focus their work around feedback. They brought teachers together to discuss the current report cards and the systems in place for parents to interact with student work and reports. They also began discussions around quality feedback and how it affects learning. Teachers started asking better questions and soon began asking for a better sys- tem. No longer were they overwhelmed by the idea of a learning management system; they were asking for one. They were ready to be pulled into a new process and eager to learn a new system.

The opposite of a pull strategy is a push strategy. Push mar- keting takes a product or service and places it directly in front of the customer, often at the point of purchase. It does not try to build relationships with customers, but looks for quick results. It’s often used to introduce new products or services. For exam- ple, at E3, the video game industry’s largest trade convention, Nintendo hired 250 brand ambassadors to work their booth, an aggressive strategy to place their games in front of consumers with a friendly face. A disadvantage of push marketing is that, due to the lack of relationship building, you must continually re-pitch your product to re-engage your customer. Nintendo may have gained some interest in their current product, but they will need to find a new strategy to sell the next one. When pushing an

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Storyteller • 149

idea or a product, your story is less detailed and is continually changing to address the immediate needs right in front of you. In today’s world, it feels like most of our time is spent learning something new. As school leaders, we often find ourselves at staff meetings “pushing” a new process: an additional need for more curriculum or a new requirement that is being mandated from the district office. We are often constrained to these strat- egies, due to our traditional time structures and organizational processes. When you continually use a push strategy, people begin to feel overwhelmed and frustrated, like they can’t add “one more thing” to their plate. They lose sight of the overall vision and purpose, and it feels as if they are continually chang- ing direction. Our stories explaining why we need this new thing lose their connections as we work to constantly re-engage our stakeholders.

What stories can we use to pull others into educational change? When we pull someone in, we use motivation, creat- ing conditions that allow choice. We create a need so they can connect to the benefits of buying in, and we include them in the decision process. We create an authentic purpose and make it relevant. Carefully crafting a story around your new initiative can create a want, pulling others in your direction. Pulling may be more difficult, but it is more effective. When you push, you can’t be sure which direction others will go; when you pull, you create the direction. Push and pull can work together. At times, we need to push people to break away from old habits. We need immediate results. This can cause people to be uncomfortable, so we need to be ready to pull them forward into our new way. The Next Generation Science Standards are currently being “pushed” out to teachers as a new national measure for what and how we teach students science. When they were first introduced, many educators panicked. The new standards were different, overwhelming, and confusing when compared to older science curriculums. Teachers began asking for a district-purchased

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150 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

curriculum they could implement. Due to the extensive changes to the long-standing science curriculum, there were no new products readily available, so districts have had to embrace a pull strategy. In one K–8 district we worked with, they began a slow introduction to the changes by modeling how to blend new practices into current instruction. They told the story of why new science practices were needed, and at every professional development event, they began introducing new ways to include science elements in every content area. Teachers experienced new approaches and were able to see the connection to more relevant and integrated learning experiences. They began reach- ing out to explore and create science learning experiences that embraced these new standards and practices. When asked if they were still interested in looking for a “science curriculum,” they said no. They were comfortable designing integrated units on their own, and they could tell you the story of why.

To create buy-in and momentum for large change, our story- telling skills need to shine. When we carefully craft our story to pull people in, we create that demand. Finding a balance between pull and push is important for marketing and branding the changes ahead. Below are some ways to help you learn to pull.

Fine-Tune Your Call to Adventure

What is your hook? Most people don’t want to leave the comfort and safety of their known world. Start by introducing new context that might cause those around you to revisit their current status quo. A principal who wants to question homework policies might start by bringing in the latest research on home- work and leading a conversation around current practices and how they compare. What new questions might come up? Create importance. Allow team members to feel that their work will have impact. Whomever you’re working with, give them a why that resonates and rings true, one that inspires them to jump in the boat with you and creates a sense of urgency for doing so.

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Storyteller • 151

Set Goals and Celebrate Small Victories

Most times, our vision and mission statements are big. We are hoping to accomplish big things and create big change. It’s important to remember that not everyone can envision that high-reaching goal. We all know that taking a large job and chunk- ing it into smaller pieces is the way to success, but at times we get caught up in the end goal and forget to celebrate the small steps we’ve made so far. Make them visible. These are the trials and failures during the middle journey of our story. Everyone on your team needs to be able to see and share in the small wins as they add them to their own story.

Let Them Drive

How often have you worked with a group leader who contin- ues to monopolize the conversation, the pace, and the direction? You sometimes wonder why they formed a team to begin with. They appear as the only hero in the story and seem to need no support to save the day. In order for others to experience the lows and celebrate the wins, they need to feel like they contrib- uted. They had a role and can claim ownership in the creation of the end product. In leadership roles, it can be hard to step back, quietly observe, and just listen, but these can be important moments. Learn about your team members. Understand their strengths and listen for their passions. You will be more effective when you step back in to give guidance and can empower those team members more effectively. Everyone needs to feel like they are taking part in the story.

Amplify the Good

So often when we head into problem solving, we start with an attitude of scarcity. We look at all the things we don’t have and all of the things that aren’t working. We enter problem-solving mode, and our first step is to look at all the negative shortfalls contributing to the issue. Take a moment to stop and recognize

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where you see abundance or things that are positive as you define needs. It’s human nature to focus on what needs to be fixed, and almost always there are things among the broken that still work. Our world is constantly pointing out what we’re lacking, what we need, and why what we have isn’t enough. As you move forward in your work, it’s important to amplify not just your small wins, but where you see things that are good. Help others see them and appreciate those who are striving to bring positive change and amazing learning experiences to our students.

All these practices can help you pull people into your story rather than push your ideas at them. They are invitations to join you on your big adventure.

Power in Pictures We first learn to read by connecting text to pictures. Our brains are wired for visual information. Much of our sensory cortex is devoted to processing visuals, and a large body of research indicates that visual cues help us remember and retrieve infor- mation. Words are more abstract and difficult to retain, while visuals are more concrete. We have friends who can rattle off movie quotes from films they saw five years ago, but can’t tell you much about the book they read last month. Visual storytell- ing is sticky.

In education, we use visual learning strategies to teach in our classrooms, but often we don’t put the power of pictures into play in our other work. In fact, we tend to get a bit lazy with our language, making it difficult to share our stories in a way that communicates clearly. Kami overheard this conversation in the hallway outside of her office:

‘“Do you have the information for DLT?” “Do you mean the feedback we gathered around PLC work

from CCCLT or the upcoming schedule of PD that we discussed at IS?”

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We talk in code. In fact, when Kami first started working in a new school district, she was given a three-page handout of all the acronyms unique to that district. She kept it nearby for easy reference.

We also use what we call “edu-speak,” language that is made up of popular clichés and jargon. Have you heard about data- driven schools closing the achievement gap through professional learning communities to create a new paradigm? ScienceGeek. net has developed a tool in the form of a word generator to help educators write reports or documents related to public school, boasting, “Amaze your colleagues with finely crafted phrases of educational nonsense!” The site has become so popular that teachers were creating bingo cards to use during staff meet- ings. ScienceGeek.net responded and added “Edubabble Bingo!” which provides randomized bingo cards and also allows you to add your own favorite phrases. Their argument for teachers getting caught playing: “Edubabble Bingo is an engagement strat- egy supported by current brain research on bored adults! Win!” Every profession comes with its own common phrases, and while the language sounds very professional and the intent is pur- poseful, in common conversations we can lose the emotion and the connection to the most important parts of our story, which should be more human-centered around our students.

Misuse or overuse of data can be another barrier to more effective messaging. Our public education systems are judged and held up in their communities based on test scores. Accountability requires that school districts file state reports that are full of data points and percentages, and while data are important to what we do and a needed requirement of accountability, they are often communicated poorly. Numbers given with little context can be made to mean many things, and we often hear data delivered in a defensive manner with a mix of different reasons explaining the why. This is not unique to education, but is a common issue with any industry that is difficult to quantify through just numbers. We

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deal with people. We don’t create products, and our profits and losses are not always that easy to see or measure.

Our messaging around our visions—for what we want to cre- ate or change as we build new learning experiences—needs to be clearly understood by all our stakeholders, not riddled with poorly explained numbers and data points and bewildering jar- gon. So how might you work to show as well as tell?

How can simple pictures help solve complex problems? When we talk about data, adding simple graphics to help others understand and see the story of data is important. Today’s media is full of infographics. Infographics have become a popular way to tell a story about many sorts of data. There are many tools, such as Canva, Easel.ly, or Piktochart, that make creating an info- graphic fairly easy. Because visuals are more easily and quickly processed in the brain than words, an infographic can transform complex information into pictures that are both easy to grasp and visually appealing. They allow you to creatively craft the story you want to tell with your data. Working in instructional technology, we have found infographics to be a great way to report and share information about technology usage, along with information regarding student and teacher skills. After using a survey tool to gather information around technology usage and habits, Kami was able to create a simple infographic that com- pared big ideas. It helped her highlight some obvious needs, as well as some numbers to celebrate. She didn’t need to roll out all the detailed survey data; she wanted an easily understood visual that pulled attention to some big data points that supported the story of where they were going next with technology.

Assembling the Story: Putting It All Together

An important leverage point for transforming our education system is

changing the mindset that gave rise to it in the first place.

—Todd Rose, The End of Average

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Storyteller • 155

77% can solve their own tech problems

72% learn from new technologies daily

21st Century Students and Teachers

Key Survey Takeaways, 2017

Foundational Skills

Online Skills

24% 63%

34%

71% 48%

54%

10% 27%

Multimedia Skills

Digital Citizenship

Confidence with New Tools

48% can solve their own tech problems

90% learn from new technologies daily

Our story must be heard by all of our community. The first letter that goes home in the summer to welcome your students and parents to your school is one of your earliest opportunities for establishing your story. It is an opportunity to share your vision as a call to adventure. If your back-to-school newsletter contains only lists and schedules and rules, your story is a dry documen- tary, full of what may be needed, but boring. If we are working to change traditional education, what is our “new learning in schools” narrative? How do we artfully craft that story? Let’s go back to Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.”

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Beginning

The ordinary world. This is your moment to ask, “Do I want to create change or do I want to keep every- thing the same?” If you are happy with the status quo, then there is no need for you to move forward or to be reading this book. However, if we have had some impact on your thinking so far, we hope you see a rea- son to explore, to leave the ordinary path for a new world of adventure. You must decide. Are you feeling out of place? Is the work you’re doing in education feeling disconnected from the world around you? If so, sound the call.

• Give them a reason for change. Build context around the need for change. Look for opportunities in your newsletters, in your staff presentations, and in your daily conversations to add information that reflects change in the world around us and that has an impact on how we educate children. Become an Opportunity Seeker and Experience Architect. Create a strong why, one that is clearly visible.

• Create a vision pitch. This is a short, well-worded pitch that you can give to anyone, anywhere, in a matter of minutes. Focus on your big ideas. One way to start is to think of a headline. If you were writing a front-page story, what headline would you lead with? What picture might you include, and what would the caption read? When looking at your big ideas, is there one that is a priority, one that carries a sense of urgency or will connect with all your stakeholders emotionally? With a vision pitch, you want to capture hearts as well as minds. If it’s a solution to a problem, use facts and real examples to support your idea and

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remind people what’s wrong with the status quo. You might draft a vision pitch like this:

— Big Idea: Family Learning Nights. Parents invited to interact with students and give feedback on learning projects. This could also provide opportunities for students to teach and share knowledge. Currently we offer no consistent way for parents and the community to be involved in student learning.

— Pitch Points:

– Headline: Community Makes Us Strong

– We believe students are curious and creative learners who succeed through personal initia- tive, sustained effort, and collaboration around authentic and relevant learning projects.

– We believe families are integral to the success of our students and our school.

– This could open up many possibilities for sharing and collaborating to strengthen our learning communities.

For additional practice, try the story frame in the Appendix.

• Expect resistance. Not everyone will answer the call. Some will refuse. Put your empathy skills and prac- tices to work to learn as much as you can about the needs of those around you, not just to design a better direction toward a solution or positive change, but to figure out the cause of any pushback and how you might address your approach and messaging. Look for ways that your new direction will help answer those needs. Provide encouragement, guidance, and support where and when you can. If some choose not

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158 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

to answer, be patient with them. Acknowledge their resistance, but continue to move forward, circling back to continually extend the invitation to join.

Middle

The unknown world. This is where it gets messy. The process of change is not linear, and there is no road map. People will question your leadership and your direction, and it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds. Those around you will feel uncomfortable and want to stay mired in the debate of small details. When you are in the middle of the story, it is important to stay focused on your bigger picture. Thinking back to our work together with LASD, we were focused on “Revolutionizing Learning for All Students,” and we believed an essential component of our plan was to empower our teachers to be professionals and encourage them to do the best for the learners in their classroom. This was the opposite of a top-down change approach. It was fuzzy and ambiguous. There were times teachers just wanted to be told what to do. We resisted and held firm to the idea that meet- ing all student needs required multiple solutions, many of which would be developed by teachers. Whenever teachers got uneasy, we reminded them of the big picture, found ways to thank them for their innovative ideas, and provided additional supports to develop classroom-based solutions. We also asked teachers to share their experiences on this journey. Here are a few comments from teachers that encour- aged us to stay the course:

“Innovation to me is trying something new and then evaluating. It’s about stepping out of my com- fort zone and taking time for reflection.”

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Storyteller • 159

“Being honest with students and colleagues about our own learning and risk taking helps them do the same.”

“Biggest takeaway so far—divergent thinking, hab- itudes, and team building all more important than the tech piece of revolutionizing.”

“Students have the ability to detect when your heart isn’t into your lesson. Create new approaches to your low-interest lessons.”

• The design-thinking process is about iteration. We proto- type an idea and then use our empathy skills to gather feedback to see how we can improve what we created to better meet people’s needs. Most likely, change will not roll out smoothly or be perfect the first time out. Growth mindset is a must. Transformation requires new thinking, and that takes time. Be sure to commu- nicate this to your team. Remind them that it’s okay for things to be a bit messy as you work through the iteration process.

• The middle is also a place to practice some intentional rule breaking. We can’t reach a new destination with- out pioneering our way through the unknown. Ditch some habits and try on some new ones. You may find a better fit, or you may need to adjust and move back- wards a bit to slightly change direction.

• Return to your vision. Keeping your big picture in mind will help you reorient as you get lost in the tall grass or the forest. If the conversations or the current work you are caught up in are not relating to your beliefs about learning and the values you have defined, pivot and find where the work matters. Continuing to tell your story is a way to remind others of where they are headed.

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End

The known world. At the end of the journey, the hero and company return to their known world. Perhaps the world has changed, but ultimately, it’s the people who have changed, impacting their old environment. Your journey has brought you to new realizations and new practices that create innovation. Again, amplify the good as you continue to tell your story. Your adventure is not truly over. This is an opportu- nity to reflect and think about the transformation that has occurred. It is also a time to use messaging to get feedback from stakeholders to help you look at what comes next. How can you leverage what you’ve just gained to go even further?

Who Will Tell Your Story? Probably the most important part of a story is the delivery. We want to share our stories, and we want others to connect and share in our journey. The stories that are being told will build and shape your community. Look for opportunities to endorse channels of communication that allow your stakeholders to share and contribute. Here are some ideas for creating those channels and encouraging others to share.

Create a Facebook page, grab a Twitter handle, post pictures on Instagram. This is how we communicate today. We like and share and post. If you are not comfortable with these tools, look for others that might offer similar experiences, or better yet, find someone who is using them well and ask them to teach you more. Part of why we are afraid to venture into social media is because we see so many people using it badly. As educators, we have a responsibility to help young people become better com- municators through these social channels. They will continue to change and grow, and we must help our students become digital

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citizens who understand all the moral and complicated decisions that come with unlimited access. How do you boost your social media savvy?

Hashtags

When posting online, it’s common to use a hashtag (#), which “tags” your post and makes it searchable within a site. Most dis- tricts choose a Twitter handle (your @xxx Twitter name) along with a hashtag that will identify them within a post. For example, behind @campbellusd you will find the Campbell Union School Dis- trict, along with the #campbellusd and #cusdrockstar hashtags. The rockstar hashtag is primarily used for teachers to share what’s happening in their classrooms as well as knowledge around new tools and strategies that they are learning, both outside and inside the district. The hashtag #knowmystory is a great example of a Twitter hashtag that provides social posts of both teachers and students sharing and reflecting as they practice empathy.

Branding Guides

Community Consolidated School District 59 (CCSD59) is a district that has done an amazing job with their story. They have developed a branding guide that states, “Our brand is not a logo. Our brand is the district’s reputation for preparing students to be successful for life. Our brand is the students we educate and the teachers who educate them.” Within their branding guide, you will find an explanation of their logo, all the graphics and col- ors that are acceptable for use, and a guide for how photos and images should be used. They even go so far as to share thoughts on how pictures should be taken, citing this advice: “Perspective is everything. Taking photos from a student or teacher’s vantage point is paramount. Do not look down on a student.” Also, every month they celebrate a staff member through the “59 in :59” video project. It’s their way to tell the story of the work they are doing to prepare students for success and build community through

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162 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

empathy. You can visit the entire branding guide at www.ccsd59 .org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Brand-Guide-Web.pdf.

Build Learning Communities

Social media is a place where many educators go to learn. Through Twitter chats, Facebook, Google groups, or Slack teams, teachers are sharing their voices and creating leader- ship opportunities while connecting with others across oceans. Using hashtags and following each other’s posts, teachers have developed a worldwide network that reaches far and wide. If you want to join an already established professional learning network (PLN), take a look at The Educator’s PLN (http://edupln.ning. com/) or Classroom 2.0 (www.classroom20.com/). Educators are telling their classroom stories and finding ways to include student voices as well.

Parent Voices

How can parents become powerful allies in our work? In a recent visit to Design39 in the Poway District, the principal, Joe Erpelding, shared some of the work being done to bring parents together and help tell the unique story of D39:

• Dine and dialogue. Holding community dinner meetings allows the D39 parents to come together with staff and students to create an experience that allows families to feel connected.

• Parent mentor program. At D39, they are pairing up parents who have experience within the community with families new to the area. Because they have a unique program that offers a nontraditional school experience, having a parent who is familiar with their vision, values, and processes can help guide a new family through the unfamiliar.

• Parent workshops or focus groups. Parent workshops or focus groups can be powerful ways to bring parents together to learn more about the work you are doing.

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http://edupln.ning.com/

http://www.classroom20.com/

http://www.ccsd59.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Brand-Guide-Web.pdf

Storyteller • 163

Offering parents a way to have input and discuss how feedback is presented on student learning can enrich these interactions. Bringing parents in on discussions around changing homework practices or other new learning strat- egies can create a partnership and broader community of learning. We worked with one district on developing a strategic plan, and the district leadership was very open to including parent feedback. We hosted parent focus-group meetings around the future of learning, during which we provided thought-provoking articles and videos to stimu- late thinking and conversations. We then asked parents to provide feedback to a series of prompts, which included the following:

— I wish my student . . . — What if my student were able to . . . — When my student graduates, they need to be able to . . .

After a series of these focus groups, we collected hundreds of ideas from the community that were closely aligned with the vision and direction of the district. The superintendent was then able to turn around and say, “This is what we heard from you. Our collective vision is . . . .”

Student Voices

Aside from creating a different classroom experience that students can talk about, there are ways you can enlist students’ help in telling your story:

• Digital portfolios. Digital portfolios offer a way for students to have a visual reference for their work and verbally reflect and comment on their learning. Over time, they accumulate a story that represents their learning journey. Tools like Seesaw allow students to share and comment on each other’s work, practicing those digital citizen- ship skills, and also can give parents a window into the

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164 • Design Thinking for School Leaders

classroom so they can see and comment on the story of their child’s school day.

• Students on Periscope. At Design 39, they occasionally invite a student to use a digital device to tour the school and give a narrative of what’s happening that day. They promote this event through their social media channels, and parents can’t wait to tune in to Periscope to see what’s happening live on campus.

The stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell each other will come in many shapes and sizes, but they should carry the same overall feeling and message. So dig in, hone your story- telling skills, and round up your storytellers! Along the way, ask yourself if you all are aligned and telling the same story and, most importantly, if you are all telling an exciting story you can be proud of.

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