Transforming Learning Into a Learning System

What is shared & distributed leadership?  Have you ever been asked to collaborate with one or more people to come up with ideas, find solutions to problems, or create something original? School and organizational leaders cannot possibly make all pertinent decisions alone, nor do school stakeholders benefit from leaders doing so! It is important all stakeholders are represented in the decision making process to some extent.  The concept of shared and distributed leadership is one that is practiced in schools where leaders and administrators include the culture of their faculty and students in a more proactive and interactive way (Ash & D’Auria, 2013).  Mike McCarthy, Principal of Helen King Middle School in Portland, Maine and Maine’s Middle School Principal of the year, 2010 shares ten ideas he has learned over the 30 years since becoming a principal.

1. Your school must be for all kids 100 percent of the time: Decisions should be made proactively. If they are made based on avoiding conflict, the students lose.

2. Create a vision, write it down, and start implementing it: Every decision must align with your vision. Consistency is crucial.

3. It’s the people, Stupid: Hire people who support your vision, who are bright, and who like kids. Keep the haters away from those still undecided.

4. Paddles in the water: In times of trouble, the only way to succeed is for everyone in the boat to sit on the edge and paddle really hard, even if they’d rather sit in the safety of the center. 

5. Find time to think during the day: There are going to be bad days. Give yourself time to sit and think.

6. Take responsibility for the good and the bad: The solutions to problems are almost always right in front of you. 

7. You have the ultimate responsibility: Have very clear expectations. Show respect by ensuring people have the knowledge, resources, and time to accomplish what you expect. 

8. Have a bias for yes: The only progress you will ever make involves risk.

9. Consensus is overrated: If you always try to reach consensus, you will be led by the 20 percent of the people who are always against anything.

10. Large change needs to be done quickly: Waiting too long to make changes to a school culture sanctions mediocrity because you’re allowing it. 

Think About It: How would you react to a leader such as Mr. McCarthy? Is he someone you think you could work with/for? Of his ten ideas, which of these resonate with you? Do any of his ideas cause dissonance for you? 

Professional Learning Communities Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are gradually gaining ground in the movement toward educational reform and increased student achievement. Rick DuFour, the brains behind the concept of PLCs, shares in this short video clip that the best hope for improving schools is to focus on developing the capacity of the people within the schools (Dufour, 2011). 

Building the Capacity of Teacher-Leaders How do schools and their leadership teams strive to build the capacity of their staff to that of teacher leaders? Why is it important? For many, the choice to stay isolated and to simply “teach”, taking little to no responsibility to instigate change and improve practice is far too common. All school and organizational stakeholders must recognize the significance in their own development into teacher-leaders and collaborators. In 2007, DuFour responded to an article published in the May 2006 issues of Middle school Journal which claimed PLCs in middle schools could be just another bandwagon. In DuFour’s defense, he claims that faculties across North America are referring to themselves as professional learning communities yet do none of the things that PLCs do. On the other hand, there are faculties that follow the model of PLCs yet never reference the term. He adds that “schools only become a professional learning community when the educators within it align their practices with PLC concepts” (2007). Consequently, it must be determined if PLC practices were firmly in place before determining the impact of those practices on the learning of both students and adults. DuFour (2007) adds that part of the confusion regarding PLCs and the lack of educators getting on board is a simple lack of understanding as to the definition and intent of a PLC. The term is now ubiquitous; it is used to describe a menagerie of people and groups interested in education. PLCs should be defined by their practice as opposed to terminology, structures, and perceptions (DuFour, 2007). PLCs offer a powerful, proven conceptual framework for transforming schools at all levels, while still requiring hard work and a strong student-centered focus with learning, collaboration, and accountability as the fuel toward continual improvement. Application Using what you’re learned from the information shared here in the Instructor Guidance as well as from the various resources assigned this week, you now must apply your new knowledge to this week’s activities. 

Discussion 1 Guidance: Post your introduction: Please exercise the use of digital tools as you respond to the specific prompts. The Post Your Introduction discussion is an excellent opportunity for you to reach beyond what is familiar to you with technology use as you provide an introduction of yourself. A significant component of learning at any level today involves the use of digital tools, multi-media, and other technological methods. With the educational landscape shifting its focus to 21st century learning and teaching, it is essential teachers and leaders model the use of digital tools if we expect our K-12 students to do the same. Therefore, please exercise the use of digital tools as you respond to the specific prompts from the Week One Unit page where the assessment instructions are detailed. 

Discussion 2 Guidance: In the Course Description & Outcomes discussion you will identify the focus and key concepts of the course, analyze your current knowledge, and discuss your hopes for learning some of the new concepts presented in our course. Locate the Course Description and the Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) from the course Syllabus, linked in our Course Home unit. Think of the CLOs as the essential standards and/or competencies that must be met; just as we have learning standards for students in K-12. Keep in mind that it is not expected that you have preexisting knowledge about any or all of the outcomes. Therefore, you are encouraged to honestly reflect on your knowledge and think critically about what you expect and hope to gain from these Course Learning Outcomes. It is also important to know that the Course Learning Outcomes support the MAED Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). Your mastery of the PLOs leads you toward attainment of your degree!

Discussion 3 Guidance: The Mirror Check: “Reflect” on your Vision Statement discussion asks you to share the vision plan previously created in EDU 684. The discussion is your opportunity to make modifications and reflect on the vision plan’s effectiveness. The Discussion 3 is your opportunity to refine your earlier designed vision, or confirm your satisfaction with its potential effectiveness, so as to apply it throughout your coursework and ultimately, in the summative assessment in Week 6 of this course

Assignment Guidance: The Transforming into a Learning System assignment introduces attributes of a school’s goal to enhance effectiveness as professionals to enhance student learning. By completing this assignment, you demonstrate your abilities with seven key concepts pertaining to the attributes of a school’s goals to enhance effectiveness as professionals to enhance student learning. Therefore, this assignment verifies your understanding of critical concepts pertaining to the establishment of a school goal. The assignment requires you to evaluate how attributes of a school’s goal lead to improved professional practice and student achievement when used collectively. Included in your evaluation is a consideration of how PLCs benefit principals, teachers, and students through the provision of shared responsibility and distributed leadership, which serves as a foundation to the rest of our learning in the course. Tip: Your writing should reflect that of graduate level, professional writing. It is expected that your work is formatted correctly in accordance with APA and utilizes language that is clearly articulated with precision, without over-writing. Use the resources available to you in the Ashford Writing Center (AWC) including APA formatting resources, writing resources, tutorials, and real-time assistance!  Recommendation: Save your work in personal and cloud based storage for extra assurance you can access it later for portfolio construction or use in another course in the program or beyond, such as for publishing opportunities in the future! As with all coursework in our class, this item may be one you select to incorporate into your learning in another course including EDU 689 and the Capstone course, EDU 695.Therefore, it is strongly encouraged you save your coursework on a flash-drive (e.g., a USB removable drive) or store in a cloud based option such as Dropbox, GoogleDrive, or something similar as you may not be able to retrieve them in eCollege.

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