Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jocelyn (00:00):
Hi there, welcome to
this episode of the Structured
Literacy Podcast.
My name is Jocelyn and I am sopleased to have you here with me
on this episode recorded inTasmania, the land of the Palawa
people.
You might think that the nameof this episode is a little odd.
What do we mean, "we fall tothe level of our systems.
Well, that's something that agood friend of mine, Jenny Cole,
(00:21):
has often said to me.
When things are going right ina school or any organisation,
they go right.
The planets align, thingshappen the way that they need to
, and all is well.
And then something happens andthings are no longer going
right, the planets are no longeraligned and, all of a sudden,
nothing is well.
In a school context, this canhappen with many things, but I
(00:46):
want to give you one examplethat your school may be working
through at the moment.
And the example is the explicitteaching structures that we are
currently working to implement.
I'm going to use the example ofdaily review for the purpose of
this podcast episode.
So what usually happens inschools is that we recognise
(01:07):
that something like daily reviewis a good thing to do and we
know its purpose.
Leadership says we need to havethat happening in every
classroom.
So we provide professionallearning for our teachers around
the concept.
We may even get someone in tomodel what that looks like in
the classroom, and then wediscuss it at a meeting.
It might be a focus for alittle while and then we leave
(01:31):
it.
This is how we do things ineducation, this is the status
quo.
We introduce something, we talkabout it briefly and then we
let it go, falling into the sametrap of "we've done that that
teachers do in the classroom.
This doesn't happen because wedon't understand the importance
of deeper implementation.
(01:52):
It simply happens because thereis so much pressure to do all
of the things all at once.
As a former school leader, Iget it.
I know how difficult it is,particularly in a time of
teacher shortage.
We know what we want to happen.
We are developing a vision forinstruction and have the path
(02:13):
set out in front of us, but whenwe look up, the things that we
thought had been implemented arenot happening.
So let's get back to ourscenario.
After our initialimplementation, we might be
looking for daily review inwalkthroughs, and we're happy to
see it when it's happening, butwe notice that it's only
(02:36):
happening in some classrooms.
It's really common and reallyeasy to quickly lose touch with
what's actually happening inclassrooms.
There's an inevitable dip thatcomes when the shine of the new
wears off and teachers now haveto embed the new practice for
the long term.
It's really easy and reallycommon to look up and say, "wow,
(02:59):
we thought that was happeningand now maybe half, if that, of
our teachers have followedthrough with the practice, or
the practice is present, butit's not effective, it's not
done in a way that achieves thegoal of making learning stick
for students.
As a teacher, it can feel reallyfrustrating and it can feel
(03:22):
like leadership isn't followingthrough with anything.
As a leader, it can befrustrating because we feel like
teachers aren't taking the workseriously.
The reality is that everyonetakes the work seriously and
everyone feels like they'refollowing through, and where the
wheels have fallen off isn'tintent or commitment, it's that
(03:43):
what we didn't do was make thenew practice, the daily review
in this case, an embedded,baked-in part of our system.
Systems become the way we dothings around here.
They reflect the culture of thework.
When something is trulysystematic, it doesn't require
(04:03):
constant reminding or checking,because it's simply how we
operate.
It's like brushing your teeth,you don't need to be reminded to
do it, because it's part ofyour daily routine, your
personal system, and it justdoesn't feel right to go to bed
without having it done.
One of the mistakes we oftenmake as leaders is to assume
(04:25):
that because we think we'vecommunicated articulately about
what we want to happen, andbecause we've shown examples,
because we've provided resources, that that's enough for all
team members to jump on boardand use the practice well.
But one thing that we know isthat there is as much variation
in our teachers and in ourcolleagues as there is in the
(04:48):
students in our classrooms.
So different people needdifferent amounts of support and
different amounts of directionand follow-up, and they need the
leader to have a different rolein their development depending
on where they are currentlysitting in their professional
development as a teacher.
Schools in our Leading LearningSuccess program learn about how
(05:11):
to think about professionaldevelopment from the perspective
that everybody is doing thebest they can based on the
knowledge, experience and skillsthat they have.
Some people will need a trainer, other people will need a coach
, others will need a mentor, andfor your very experienced,
highly skilled teachers, theydon't need any of those things.
(05:33):
The leader is there to helpthem be a collaborator and to
help them deepen theirunderstanding so they can help
others.
If we expect every teacher torespond in the exact same way to
the initiatives we have in ourschool, we will be very
disappointed with the outcome.
Because, just as it's notrealistic to think that we can
(05:54):
treat every student in the sameway, we also can't treat every
adult as if they all have thesame needs.
This understanding of the waywe learn and what we need at
different phases of ourdevelopment journey forms the
foundation of the coachingsystem that our schools
implement, and they have toolsand support to make the work
(06:16):
stick.
Leading Learning Success is aholistic whole school approach
to creating a system that works.
One of the significant shiftsin clarity that we need when we
are learning and embedding newpractices is in moving from a
view of success that is framedaround ticking boxes for
(06:38):
compliance to using a practiceto achieve a particular .
outcome When when the finishline is .
once Once a practice is visiblein our classrooms, we shouldn't
be surprised when it drops offagain.
Going through the steps andimplementing a practice as an
extra, extra that we do becauseit's something we should do, do
(06:59):
stops short of creating theconditions for truly embedding
it in our systems.
That means we're not taking theadditional step of helping
teachers really understand howthe new initiative(daily daily
review in this case) caseconnects to the goals we have,
which is to make the learningstick.
If daily review or any otherpractice, is a bolt-on, it's
(07:23):
going to be dropped whenteachers get distracted,
stressed or tired.
Making the practice an integralpart of our system of
instruction, however, where it'sbuilt in and truly becomes the
way we do things now, means thatit's more likely to hang around
in the long term withoutleaders having to follow up
(07:46):
every five seconds.
Think of it this way (07:48):
our
current, usual way of
introducing a new practice getsus to supported and independent
practice in the explicitteaching model.
We know how to use it, we getto feel a bit good about it, but
we don't take it through tocontextual application in a way
that really helps teachersunderstand its value.
(08:09):
In the case of daily review, itbecomes another way we go
through the motions or drops offcompletely.
And this same thing applies tostudents in their learning.
If we introduce a skill or abehaviour and get students
through to independent practice,but don't help them move
through to embedding the skillin context, we shouldn't be
(08:30):
surprised if the outcome isshallow at best, but I think
that's a conversation foranother day.
So here's what I want you totake away from today's episode
when we fall to the level of oursystems, it's not because we
don't care or because we're nottrying hard enough.
It's because we haven't yetbuilt the infrastructure that
(08:52):
supports the practice we want tosee.
Daily review, or any otherevidence-based practice, needs
to become part of the fabric ofhow we operate, not an add-on
that we hope will stick.
The most successful schools Iwork with understand that
implementation is a long-termprocess, not a short-term series
(09:16):
of events.
They build systems that supportteachers at different stages of
their development journey.
They create the conditionswhere the practice becomes
easier to do than not to do.
They measure success not bycompliance but by the impact on
student learning.
(09:37):
So, as you're thinking about theinitiatives in your school, ask
yourself, "are we buildingsystems that will hold this
practice in place when theinevitable pressures of the
school year hit?
Are we supporting our teachersin the way that they need to be
supported, based on where theyare in their development?
And, most importantly, are weconnecting the practice we want
(10:01):
to see to the outcome we'retrying to achieve, so that
everyone understands why thismatters?
"Remember it's very likely you
already have everything you needto make this work.
You just need to build thesystems that will support you
when things get challenging,because they will get
(10:23):
challenging.
That's not a failure of thesystem.
That's exactly when your systemneeds to be the strongest.
If your systems are built onrock-solid foundations, when
things get tricky and peoplefall, they're not going to fall
very far.
Thanks so much for listening tothis episode of the Structured
(10:46):
Literacy Podcast.
I hope it's given you some foodfor thought about how we can
move beyond hoping practiceswill stick to actually building
the conditions that makes thathappen.
Until next time.
That's all from me.
Happy teaching, bye.