Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud

Hear a principal’s firsthand experience in facilitating a staff’s implementation of standards-based grading. Explore some of the “bumps” and how they worked through them.

“There were bumps everywhere. We shifted the ground between kids and families’ feet. Most of us go through school with the same grading systems our parents did. This was no different. We had to explain what...

Its that time of year when many school administrators and teacher leaders are engaged in setting school improvement goals focused on increasing student learning. But goals alone aren’t enough. Real change happens when we identify and support the behaviors that lead to those goals: the consistent learning behaviors students will need to be engaged in, the teacher actions that are most likely to generate ...

Most school leaders and teachers give a rather low rating to the value of teacher observations regarding increasing teacher effectiveness and thus student learning. Many find the process actual interfering with building a trusting learning culture in a school. Craig Randall, the author of "Trust-Based Observations: Maximizing Teaching and Learning Growth," has developed a transformative model of teacher...

What is deeper learning and how does it meaningfully engage students, preparing them for success beyond the classroom? How can teachers incorporate deeper learning into their classrooms? Dr. David Reese, from Defined Learning, explores these topics and identifies the six critical competencies that are important to all students’ for success. These competencies are often framed within the context of futur...

What should teachers expect from school leadership in the support of teacher growth? What expectations should school leaders have of teachers in their investment in professional growth? Katherine Hamilton, vice president of programs for Ensemble Learning explores these questions with Steve.  Designing for teachers as professionals is key to generating educator learning that impact student success.

Just as students benefit from developing a positive, growth-oriented approach to failure, teachers thrive when they are supported in the same way. Instructional coaches and administrators can play a critical role in fostering this mindset. Teachers need opportunities to embrace challenges, experiment with new ideas, and persist through setbacks, in a safe environment. Too often, professional learning fo...

Chad Dumas, the author of, The Teacher Leader Handbook: Simple Habits to Transform Collaboration in a PLC at Work, explores the mindsets, skills and strategies that generate team collaboration. Chad describes the important mindsets of “Seeing in others what they don’t yet see in themselves,” Being humble with a posture of learning, and "Spreading the contagion of joy." How should school leader...

How do coaches assist teachers in reframing stress from something to be managed to a catalyst for growth and improvement? How can understanding the roles of commitment, control, and challenge build teachers’ hardiness? Highly experienced coaches, Lana Cecil and Angela Buckingham, share the application of Stein’s and Bartone’s work in Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals to the work of i...

What happens when a school system makes four promises as their mission: joy, connection, growth, and success and consider joy as the lead to the others happening? "If we want people to be present, engaged, and thriving, joy can’t be an afterthought. It must be a priority." (George Philhower, Superintendent Eastern Hancock Schools in Indiana) Hear about their summer Joy Jam conference for educators.

Visit the Eastern Hancock Schools...

“Coachability is not just teachability. It’s not just a willingness to learn. It’s a willingness to unlearn and change. Coachability is a moral capacity that allows a person to accept feedback, acknowledge faults, limitations, and deficiencies, and to act on that new information.” (Timothy Clark)

As instructional coaches and school leaders, we can play a big role in shaping ...

Barbara Smith, the editor of Urgent Care for Schools: Situating Responsibility as an Engaging Way for Students to Transform School Cultures, explores providing meaningful, memorable, and fulfilling learning experiences by situating responsibilities with learners.

From her experiences in public, independent, charter, and international schools, Barbara explores expanding the s...

How can coaches’ use of radical listening generate teachers’ reflection and increase a sense of teachers’ empowerment? Examine some of the obstacles to and strategies for radical listening from the work of Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener and Christian Van Nieuwerburgh authors of Radical Listening: The Art of True Connection. As coaches, when we resist the urge to jump in with comparisons, advice, or quick fixe...

From her career as a teacher and school leader in public, independent, and international schools and having opened three new schools, Barbara Smith proposes the importance of situating responsibility with students and teachers.  She describes why change is urgent and needs to be transformative. Just as teachers need to be facilitators of student responsibility to create their learning, school leaders ne...

What skills do coaches practice to communicate being fully present in coaching conversations? How do those conversations support a growth-oriented environment where teachers feel valued, heard, and empowered to take ownership of their professional learning? Consider your use of questions and paraphrases in coaching.

Find "The Leader's Guide to Coaching in Schools: Creating C...

Rory Courlander, IFC Certified Coach, high school administrator, and experience learning and teaching coach, explores building a coaching culture from no coaching to an embedded collaborative coaching culture. He and Steve discuss coaching skills and coachability.

Find Rory’s Coaching Culture Continuum and connect with him on LinkedIn here.  

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How do instructional coaches and instruction leaders support teachers in maximizing students’ high performance? How should we be preparing teachers to identify possible indicators of high talent and to create opportunities for talent and giftedness to flourish? Steve Arnold, the Head of Gifted and Talented at GEMS Education explores these questions and identifies the importance of adaptive teaching vers...

Listening is a crucial skill for students to develop for school and life success, yet we rarely purposefully approach a plan for students to learn the skills. Christine Miles, the creator of The Listening Path highlights the why and how for teachers to provide students the tools and practice to develop their listening capabilities. Consider the impact of a listing culture on classroom dynamics and stude...

How can a focus on teacher agency, strategic planning, and professional growth transform a school into a thriving ecosystem where leaders, teachers, parents, and students create dynamic, inclusive, and purpose-driven learning communities? School leader and the author of The Co-Constructed School, Ann Lautrette, shares her experiences, research, and case studies that demonstrate the processes and rewards...