In my recent semi-retired state, I am doing some coaching here and there. Some of my support relates to subject knowledge and methodologies, some to program design and implementation, and some to leadership. Last week, I had my first session with a new Head of Department, and as is my wont, the theme of this guidance was "CYA".
While this advice applies to all teachers and educators at any level and in any school, for this newly-appointed middle leader it has a special resonance. Some background. The school has a habit of appointing new (for "new" read "economical", and for "economical" read "who can be paid as little as possible") staff without experience. My tutee has some solid teaching experience, but none in this school's demanding advanced-level program, none with any responsibilities and none with any leadership or management. She also has a colleague hired straight out of college mid-year who is already failing.
The school also has an exceptionally high churn rate. Of the seven teachers in her department, the most senior, in terms of service in the school, is in her third year. She is new, the colleague mentioned above is in her first semester; two others began last September.
Oh, and the school has a local reputation of hand-washing and buck-passing.
Thus my admonition to my budding young middle leader. And my how-to? Document, document, document.
I gave her two specific action points. The first was what we gray-hairs call "Incident Reports", ie to keep contemporaneous notes on anything and everything and to do so in three columns. A is for the date. B is for who / what / where / when (just the facts ma'am), while C alone is the place for her thoughts, observations, interpretations, notes for follow-up and so on. I reminded her of the fallacy of memory, and while keeping such a log might seem like a burden, the first time she needs to refer to such a factual account will show its value.
The second concerned data in general. I recommended she identify certain indicator (aka KPIs perhaps) and keep data on these.
One of my favorite examples concerns a school where I was appointed as Principal having been told about how good it was (it wasn't), how high the standards and student performance were (they weren't) and how happy everyone was (they also weren't). I almost immediately realised teaching of many was somewhat desultory, so decided my first data points would be (a) what the teacher was doing and where in the classroo s/he was and (b) what the students were doing and where in the classroom they were. As an element of my "management by walking about", I made a point of walking past every classroom 100 times in two weeks at different times of the day and peering through the windows in the doors.
I recorded one of the teachers as sitting at his desk, with his back to his students, 94 times with the students sitting at their individual desks, also 94 times. Another was sitting on a chair at the front of the room over 70 times, with the students sitting on the floor in front of her. Without exception (well, I did not include PE), the entire Elementary Division showed similar results. Middle and High were better, but not significantly so.
As a result, I had data I could use to begin implementing student-centered, experiential, skill-based pedagogy.
One of the data points I encouraged her to develop concerned exam results. Firstly, I suggested she collect the results for the last five years and analyse them across the department, and then by teacher (those who still remained) and see what emerged. Secondly, I suggested that she begin a predicted grades : actual grades collection and analysis, staring with the approaching Mocks and then with the real thing in a few weeks.
Of course, really to CYA, you need more than just event notes and data points, but they are a good starting point for any new leader and they get the idea across.
**Please leave your comments and questions in the Comments below.**
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