Merrilee Henk is a teacher and life long learner. She has a background in psychology and emotional and behavioral disabilities. Merrilee currently teaches elementary special education and is working on her doctorate in education. She has written numerous articles on parenting, discipline, behavior modification, and other child related topics. Merrilee gives presentations for the Wisconsin Public Library Summer Reading Program for Children and recently began writing for eHow. Follow these links to view non-teaching related articles by this author: How to Attack the “After Christmas Naughty” and How to Change Your Life. . .Pick Your Vice.

Public education has been evolving with society since its conception, and reform efforts continue to drive that evolution. Reform efforts that do not address reform from a systemic perspective have overwhelmed public education institutions (Gabriele, 2000). Ravitch (2004) described the existing failure of many reform efforts as, “… forgotten innovations [that] continue to live in schools where they were introduced with great fanfare . . . schools are like archeological sites; digging would reveal layer after layer of fossilized school reforms and obsolete programs” (as cited in Jones, 2007, p. 189).

Different theories approach systemic educational change from varying philosophies, strategies, models, and methods (Gabriele, 2000), searching for the theory that will create conditions necessary for systemic change. Gabriele declared these conditions to include an “ideal-based, holistic, continuing, participatory, user-friendly, easy to adjust/improve, and emancipatory” for effective change to occur. Three theories of change utilized by school districts are institutional theory, free market theory, and round table theory.

Institutional Change Theory

John Meyer and colleagues developed the institutional change theory in the 1970’s (Huerta & Zuckerman, 2009). Institutional change theory is a framework based on the relationship between schools and their cultural environments. Society’s cultural norms shape organizational structure by encouraging schools to conform to the accepted rules and rituals of an institution. Scott (2003) described institutional theory as “[emphasizing] the influence that an organization’s cultural environment has on organizational structure and behavior, and it seeks to understand the ways in which cultural rules from the environment shape or constrain organizational action” (as cited in Huerta and Zuckerman, p. 415).

Established institutions, operating with rules and rituals that have come to represent legitimate schooling, become role models for other institutions seeking legitimacy. But not all institutions want to maintain the status quo and are constrained by societal and institutional norms. Huerta and Zuckerman (2009) cited the example of charter schools seeking to break away from the “long-standing institutionalized patterns of teaching and learning…” (p. 416). The institutionalization of the public school system has provided direction and limitations concurrently.

Free market theory

The free market theory proposes that educational change occurs as schools compete for excellence (Marion, 2002). The assumption that all schools begin with an equal opportunity to achieve excellence is attractive to proponents of school choice because it justifies the removal of their children from a failing school to one of greater success. According to the free market theory, the blame for failure lies with the school district.

Adnett and Davies (2000) and Lubienski (2006) proclaimed that federal regulations make it impossible for educational institutions to be genuine free markets, resulting in the failure of the free market theory in educational change (as cited in Eyal, 2008). Eyal deduced that a free market system, if possible to create in the public school system, would fail to produce significant change because the characteristics of the free market system would not create an environment conducive to change.

Roundtable Theory

The roundtable theory (RT) is a shared leadership theory for school change. Gabriele (2002) explained RT as distributing leadership and learning equally across participants. Involving stakeholders in the decision-making process through shared leadership can lead to higher levels of commitment. Gabriele described the ideal RT practice as being run according to a Leader’s Guide developed by consensus and periodically reviewed. The RT sessions would include a reading and review of literature on a topic during a 60 minute session, a time for participants to respond individually and uninterrupted by other members, and all participants would have an equal voice.

A change theory positively focused on strengths, rather than problems would be an ideal choice for school change. Gabriele described the RT model as based on achieving an ideal state, including all stakeholders, and being conducted within the regular school day. RT is an on-going process allowing schools to progress toward excellence. Gabriele noted that RT is a research-based model proven to lead organizations toward the “self-transformation of participants and goal attainment.
Discussion

Change will affect staff regardless of the change theory chosen or the changes proposed. Bueker (2005) stated, “One of the most difficult aspects of implementing a whole school reform is striking a balance between proper program implementation and individual teacher flexibility” (p. 411). Bueker noted that empowering teachers, treating teachers with professional respect, and providing structured and continuing support for staff, could minimize the negative effects of school change.

National trends, such as the accountability movement and federal mandates like the No Child Left Behind Act, can prescribe change. H. K. Meyer and Rowan (2006) described the affect that trends can have on education when they stated, “we might apply new institutional constructs that can account for both an evolving theory and its application to changing policy contexts, including the “tightening control of government over the core technology of schooling” linked to standards and accountability reforms” (as cited in Huerta and Zuckerman, (2009), p. 417). The choice for school reform can be beyond the control of the school district, the administration, and the teachers it will affect.

Conclusions

School change is constant. Eyal (2008) suggested, “despite the prevalent image of public institutions as highly conservative and stagnant, it might be interesting to investigate their potential as sources of innovations that are no less radical than the alternatives proposed by free-market ideologues” (p. 487). School reform creates stress on all stakeholders and requires careful consideration of theoretical framework. Vernez, et al. (2004) reported that there is little evidence to support the validity and effectiveness of many school reform initiative policies, which makes research of the different strategies essential.

An analysis of change theory models prior to setting a course is critical. The RT model described by Gabriele is research-based and proven to be an effective school change theory. The effectiveness of the RT model in practice, during the call for reform to meet the skills of the 21st Century, warrants further research on the applicability of RT in meeting the educational needs of the future. School structure will continue to evolve, and the reform theories proven effective by research will continue to be refined.

References

Bueker, C. (2005). Teachers’ reports of the effects of a whole-school literacy reform model on teacher turnover. Elementary School Journal, 105(4), 395-416. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com

Eyal, O. (2009). Degeneracy, resilience and free markets in educational innovation. Systems Research & Behavioral Science, 26(4), 487-491. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com, doi:10.1002/sres.940

Huerta, L. & Zuckerman, A. (2009). An institutional theory analysis of charter schools: Addressing institutional challenges to scale. PJE. Peabody Journal of Education, 84(3), 414-431. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com, doi:10.1080/01619560902973621

Gabriele, S. F. (2002). The “roundtable” for school learning and planning groups: Planting a seed for systemic renewal. Kybernetes: Special Double Issue: Systems and Cybernetics: New…, 31(9/10), 1361-1368. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 277870851).

Marion, R. (2002). Leadership in education: Organizational theory for the practitioner. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

Jones, B. A. (2007). “Table top theory” as a policy framework for gauging the confluence of teaching and private sector interests. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(2), 185-204.

Related posts:

1. Empowering Change in Education
2. Radical change and wikis: teaching new literacies.
3. The Edge of Education–Guidelines

Merrilee Henk is a teacher and life long learner. She has a background in psychology and  emotional and behavioral disabilities. Merrilee currently teaches elementary special education and is working on her doctorate in education. She has written numerous articles on parenting, discipline, behavior modification, and other child related topics. Merrilee gives presentations for the Wisconsin Public Library Summer Reading Program for Children and recently began writing for eHow. Follow these links to view non-teaching related articles by this author: How to Attack the “After Christmas Naughty“  and How to Change Your Life. . .Pick Your Vice.

Introduction

Teachers in every district face the frustrations of working under poor leadership, as well as the satisfaction and personal growth that can be realized when working for exceptional leaders. Cunningham and Cordiero (2006) stated, “leaders need to ensure that the focus, structure, and process of their work with faculty and staff is always focused on teaching and learning” (76). Maintaining this focus can be challenging, especially when faced with change. The choice of leadership style and reform model becomes critical to the success of an educational organization in need of reform. Transactional leadership, shared governance, and transformational leadership are some leadership styles that can affect the success of the reform model used by the district leader to initiate change.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leaders can be effective in achieving performance goals. According to Dumdum, Lowe, and Avolio (as cited in Avolio and Yammarino, 2008) transactional leaders “[exchange] rewards or recognition for cooperation and compliance behaviors consistent with task requirements” (p. 38-39). Transactional leaders closely follow the task accomplishments of their followers. Bass and Steidlmeier (1999) stated that “the leaders react to whether the followers carry out what the leaders and followers have ‘transacted’ to do” and Burns (1978) described transactional leaders as motivating their followers by satisfying the self-interests of the followers (as cited in Lo, de Run, and Ling, 2009, Literature Review section, para 3). Transactional leadership can be effective. One study by Lo, de Run, and Ling suggested that transactional leaders have followers that are more committed to change than those of transformational leaders, yet other studies suggest the opposite (Shamir, Zakay, Breinin and Popper, 1998; Walumbwa and Lawler, 2003, as cited in Lo, de Run, and Ling, 2009).

The traditional hierarchical transactional style of leadership often found in school districts may achieve compliance, but not commitment. Commitment is essential when educational reform is needed. Senge (1996) stated initiatives directed from the top down often backfire and prevent forward movement by organizations. Marion (2005) stated that the “bureaucracy legacy [is] clearly evident in the way we organize and run schools” (p. 22), but it can be replaced.

Shared Leadership

Shared leadership follows common sense reasoning that “many minds are better than one”, yet has not taken hold in K-12 public schools (Lindahl, 2008). Sarason (1996) wrote, “the failure of school reform was predictable because of the power relationships that exist in schools” (as cited in Lindahl). Shared leadership, in theory, removes the power relationships with shared decision-making. Lindahl asserted, “Teachers can share leadership, however. In schools, leadership can be shared among many people, not only the select few who might be formally designated as administrators or teacher leaders” (Why Have K-12 Schools Struggled with Shared Leadership? section, para 7). Yukl and Lepsinger (2007) explained that when complex school reform is needed, it takes more than one person to gain understanding of, and commitment to, a new vision and the decisions needed to successfully realize that vision (as cited in Lindahl).

Beach (2006) listed six leadership responsibilities that teachers could feasibly contribute to: assessment, culture, vision, plans, implementation, and follow through (as cited in Lindahl). Lindahl listed other leadership responsibilities related to the vision of the school. Teachers can take a leadership role in creating the vision, demonstrating it in their classrooms, and making it real for students, parents, and other stakeholders in the district. Lindahl asserted that strong involvement from teachers in the implementation of the vision would lead to greater likelihood of success.

Transformational Leadership

Organizations require employee willingness to cooperate with and believe in a common vision (Barnard, 1938, as cited in Marion, 2002). Transformational leadership is associated with achieving high levels of employee performance in organizations (Kark and Shamir, as cited in Avolio and Yammarino, 2008). Yukl (1998) suggested that transformational leaders transform the “values and priorities of followers and [motivate] them to perform beyond their expectations” (as cited in Avolio and Yammarino). Teachers managed by the use of strict rules and demeaning supervision may perform only to the level that satisfies the rules and never be motivated to pursue a level of excellence (Marion).

Pratt (1998) cited social identification with the leader or the organization as a common effect of transformational leadership behavior (as cited in Avolio and Yammarino) by building strong bonds and emotional ties with their followers. Social bonding could produce critical benefits for a superintendent attempting to improve the work of employees by positively affecting the motivation of employees to improve performance. According to Burns (1978) and Bass (1985), the most important effect of transformational leadership is “getting followers to transcend their self-interests for the sake of the group, organization, or movement” (as cited in Avolio and Yammarino, p. 85).

There are many leadership models proven effective in times of school reform, which all public school districts are facing as they move into the 21st century. One model suggested by Goddard and Clarke (2007), follows in the style of transformational leadership. This model includes eight stages, the first four that focus on institutional change are individual mobilization, community building, creating an enabling environment, and focus on student learning.

Individual mobilization begins with relationship building. Cunningham and Gordiero (2006) stated, “Good leaders do not communicate with people because they need something, but to enjoy the shared experience of working toward exciting outcomes. They have a genuine interest in the staff and their optimal performance” (p. 23). As teachers and students develop interpersonal relationships, they begin to redefine their identity within the school (Goddard and Clarke). Self-actualization can lead teachers to develop new ideas and beliefs about their roles and responsibilities.

Salisbury and McGregor (2002) discussed a strategy for community building, which would also follow in the transformational leadership style. School culture could be enhanced by reaching out to the community, encouraging meaningful participation by  parents, positively altering the community’s perception of the school district (as cited in Goddard and Clarke, Developing an Integrated Model of School Change section, para 5). Parents, teachers, students, and administrators could become parts of a cohesive group. Kohm (2002) and Lick (2002) suggested strategies such as teacher study groups (as cited in Goddard and Clarke, Developing an Integrated Model of School Change section, para 5).

Goddard and Clarke described administrators acting in this capacity as “catalysts, willing to take a moral stand on their beliefs and bringing teachers together in collaborative approaches to student learning” (Developing an Integrated Model of School Change section, para 5). Godard and Clarke suggested that this strategy would create a culture in which “staff and students adopt the school culture in a deep personal way and…take responsibility for making sure the [school] culture survives” (as cited in Goddard and Clarke, Developing an Integrated Model of School Change section, para 5).

Creating an enabling environment is necessary to improve student achievement. Schools need to make data driven decisions and strive to change teachers’ views of students from a deficiency model (Goddard and Clarke). Cummins (2001) stated:

When we choose to frame the discourse about underachievement primarily in terms of children’s deficits in some area of physiological or linguistic functioning, we expel culture, language, identity, intellect, and imagination from our image of the child, and we eliminate these constructs from our image of the effective teacher of that child (as cited in Goddard and Clarke, Developing an Integrated Model of School Change section, para 7).

Teachers are motivated by the ability to engage in the art of teaching. Davies (2002) acknowledged, “There is a tension between compliance and performance. Excessive compliance reduces the scope for creativity and limits performance. It will also put undue emphasis on outcomes, with processes having to be ignored” (The Changing Tensions Between Autonomy and Recentralization section, para 4).

In stage four the focus turns to individual student learning. Resources are dedicated to research based materials and programs, and teachers and parents align in supporting student needs. The outcomes measured must go beyond reading and math. Davies (2002) claimed that the process of teaching “thinking skills” is critical to the development of deep learning and that “The outcomes addiction also diminishes the central importance of a vision of education that is wider and deeper than simple test results. (The Changing Tensions Between Autonomy and Recentralization section, para 4).

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has fueled the outcomes addiction at the expense of real learning. Rothstein and Jacobsen (2006) described the unbalancing of instruction between the individual subject areas, creating a focus on reading and math, reducing the amount of time spent on non-tested curriculum. Curriculum has been narrowed as a result. School leaders focusing on individual student learning will provide a rich curriculum that includes critical thinking skills.

Conclusion

Educational change is an evolving interaction of individual mobilization, community building, creating an enabling environment, and focus on student learning. Institutional complacency must be avoided in place of constant revision and renewal with the holistic picture in mind (Goddard and Clarke). Transformational leaders can have a powerful effect on educational institutions and teachers for lasting change through strong relationships and a shared vision. Goleman, Boyatzis, and Mckee (2002) stated that leaders of reform need to build relationships with many, those who think like they do and those who don’t (as cited in Fullan, 2002). Goleman, Boyatzis, and Mckee claimed, “In complex times, emotional intelligence is a must. Emotionally intelligent leaders are able to build relationships because they are aware of their own emotional makeup and are sensitive and inspiring to others” (as cited in Fullan).

References

Avolio, B. J. & Yammarino, F. J. (Eds.). (2008). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road     ahead.  Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Cunningham, W. G. and Cordeiro, P. A. (2006). Educational leadership: A problem-based approach (3rd ed) Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Davies, B. (2002). Rethinking schools and school leadership for the twenty-first century: Changes and challenges. The International Journal of Educational Management (16)4/5, 196-207.

Fullan, M. (2002, May). The change leader. Educational Leadership, 59(8), 16. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Goddard, J. T. & Bohac-Clarke, V. (2007, Fall). The cycles of school change: Toward an integrated developmental model. The Journal of Educational Thought. 41(2), 105-124.

Lindahl, R. (2008). Shared leadership: Can it work in schools? The Educational Forum, 72(4), 298-308.

Lo, M., Ramayah, T., de Run, E., & Ling, V. (2009, May). New leadership, leader-member exchange, and commitment to change: The case of higher education in Malaysia. Proceedings of World Academy of Science: Engineering & Technology, 41, 574-580. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Marion, R. (2005). Leadership in education: Organizational theory for the practitioner. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.

Rothstein, R., & Jacobsen, R. (2006, December). The goals of education. (Cover story). Phi Delta Kappan, pp. 264,272. Retrieved August 6, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Senge, P. (1996, December). Leading learning organizations. Training & Development, 50(12), 36.   Retrieved September 15, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database

Related posts:

1. Change Theories in Education
2. Visioning and the development of outstanding teachers. Duffy, G.
3. Radical change and wikis: teaching new literacies.

Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom by Alan November from Brian Mull on Vimeo.

Related posts:

1. Things to Learn
2. Podcasting 101 – how educators can use this new technology. Dionne, M.
3. The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. Friedman, T.

“Students today depend on paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” –Principal’s Association, 1815 1, 2

“Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.” –The Rural American Teacher 1928 1,2

by Chris Wondra, WTWL Editor

The problem with blind spots is that you don’t know you’ve got them. I mean, it’s obvious to us today that students weren’t going to need a slate or homemade ink in order to be successful.

But imagine living in that time. There was no way those people could have foreseen the changes that make us snicker at those statements today.  Might we also be clinging to faulty beliefs about what will make our students successful? If so, how do we identify them? How do we differentiate between the beliefs that are no longer relevant and need to go, and the ones that are and we need to keep? What skills and content are we teaching that will be irrelevant in five years? What tools are we still using that are already outdated?

And how can we possibly determine that?

Out with the old, in with the new

As a quick exercise, take a part of your curriculum, any part, and imagine for a moment that it’s totally irrelevant to our students’ realities in the 21st century. Then make a bold and crazy statement–or two.  I’m an English teacher. Let me start.

1. The traditional research paper in English classrooms is dead.
2. So is the traditional works cited or bibliography–you know, that MLA or APA formatted way of documenting your sources.

In some districts, those two statements would probably be grounds for my dismissal. But we’re all friends here. So let’s just play around with this for a while.

The research paper: A closer look

Why do we have students write research papers in the first place? Why include a works cited? Well, we assign the paper to instruct and assess skills and knowledge related to researching, organizing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. We have students include a works cited to show that they’re not just making stuff up as they go along. But works cited and bibliographies also serve two other important purposes:

• They give credit for ideas, and
• they point us in the direction of those ideas–so that interested readers can follow up and learn more.

Organizing, analyzing, synthesizing, writing, and attributing ideas are valuable skills. So what could possibly be wrong with the research paper?

The problem is two fold:

1. If we want to read some of the sources, we have to do more work.  We have to order a book, go to a library, find a specific journal, magazine, or article. This takes effort.  But perhaps, more importantly . . .
2. This takes time.

What would happen instead, if we assigned students a research blog or asked them to collaborate on a research wiki?  Like this.

Couldn’t they then simply link to the actual source that they used, and/or help the reader along by linking to a definition for potentially confusing terms or concepts (as I did above)? Doing so simplifies the whole process by attributing, defining, and also actually supplying the source of the ideas referenced.

Yes, I know. Sometimes that’s not entirely possible. One can’t always link to an entire book or periodical. Alas, not everything is on-line and free. But we can still link to a listing of the book on Amazon.com, an author page, or biography. So we can get pretty close–much closer than a properly formatted APA citation.

So, in comparing this approach to the traditional research paper:  What skills are we missing?  Nothing. We’ve enhanced it. We’ve taken the research paper and made it better, faster and stronger.

But that’s not all . . .

Perhaps the most glaring weakness with the traditional research paper is who has access to it. If the topic and writing is truly relevant, aren’t they also potentially valuable to greater audiences?  And isn’t that audience’s feedback also valuable?

Today’s tools make all this possible in ways we couldn’t imagine as recently as five years ago.

So is the traditional research paper, in fact, going the way of the slate and homemade ink? I’m pretty sure it is.

And if that’s the case, and we’re still attached to the research paper (and we are), to what else might we teachers be clinging?

And how can we possibly know?

We can’t. But I think we can shine a little light in this darkness by asking ourselves two basic questions:

1. What will the future look like? and,
2. How do I prepare my students for that?

The engine of change revs to exponential speeds

If Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod are right:

• there are five times as many words in the English language than when Shakespeare lived, and
• the amount of technical information we have available to us is now doubling every 72 hours.

We think we’re supposed to know what our students need to thrive in the 21st century? C’mon. Let’s get real.

These kids are going to have fourteen jobs, many of which don’t even exist today, before they turn thirty-four. How do you prepare students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet? How can we–how can they–possibly plan for that?

We can’t. They can’t.

The bottom line (and perhaps most important reality to consider) is that the rate of change is accelerating exponentially. We can’t possibly keep up. Ergo we can’t plan. Apple or PC? Explorer or Firefox? Google or Yahoo? Photoshop or Fireworks? A blog or a wiki? Ford or Chevy? It doesn’t matter. Today’s standards will not survive the night. Tomorrow will be completely different. By the time these kids hit the job market, we’ll be snickering at questions like these.

In fact, somebody somewhere is probably snickering already. The cost to communicate has fallen through the floor and the speed to do so has gone through the roof. This creates a whole new world. A flat one. Ideas, collaboration and creativity no longer have borders. Technology is removing the traditional constraints that used to slow progress. Today, our students can collaborate in real time, with information and people half way around the world, to solve problems, create solutions and to change everything.

We don’t know what, and we don’t know when. All we can be assured of is that, eventually, everything will change—again. And again. And again. It’s time to face the music. We can’t possibly plan for that. That’s the bad news. Welcome to the 21st century.

The Good News

The good news is that we can coordinate like never before.

Let me explain.

Remember what it was like a few years ago, before we all had cell phones, when you had to pick someone up at the airport? Remember what had to take place in order for that to happen? Lots of planning. You had to consider where the baggage was. You had to get there early to park the car. You had to meet at a prearranged time and place. And hope the plane was on time.

You don’t have to do any of that now. Just check the flight schedules on-line, and have your party call you when they land. If the flight’s late, run a few errands. If it’s early, just pick them up outside. Figure it out on the fly. No planning. Just coordination.

Now, with cell phones, it makes more sense to just wing it. Flight schedules change, baggage takes time to pickup, stuff happens. But now we can adjust on the fly. It’s easy to just roll with it.

Preparing our students for their futures is a bit like using our cell phones to coordinate an airport pick-up.

Successfully navigating the chaos of the pace of 21st century change will not require our students to know how to use today’s technology. It will not require them to plan very far ahead. It will, however, require them to connect to people and information and be able to create and collaborate in real time–on the fly.

It will require that they be able to “roll with it.”  To “wing it.”  To improvise.

Think of life in the 21st century as improvising in a jazz quartet. You never know exactly what’s coming, so you can’t plan too far ahead. Still, it’s not chaos.  You are connected to the other players through the structure of the music. The notes of the piece flow from a combination of that structure and the harmony of your collaboration and creativity.

Our job as teachers is to show students what is possible within the structure of our time and space, an how to coordinate information and people in ways that create music with our lives . . .

. . .and then to dance.

Your Turn

Reflect on your beliefs and add your thoughts in the comment section below:

• What skills and concepts are you teaching that will help students be successful in the fast paced changes of the 21st century?

• If the “Research Paper” is going the way of the Cuckoo, what are some other instructional techniques/strategies/tools that might soon be outdated, or look very different in the near future?

• Sometimes the more things change, the more things stay the same. So what essential understanding are you teaching today that won’t change in the 21st century. What do you believe will stay the same?

Source of quotes:

1. Thornburg, David. Edutrends 2010: Restructuring, Technology, and the Future of Education. Starsong Publications, 1992. (link)

2. To see additional statements read and scroll to the bottom of this article .

Related posts:

1. Teaching English language arts in a “flat” world. Burke, J.
2. Perspective-taking as transformative practice in teaching multicultural literature to white students. Haertling Thein, A., Beach, R., & Parks, D.
3. The Library of Congress is Using Flickr: Shouldn’t Teachers?

A teacher affects eternity; no one can tell where his influence stops. –Henry Adams

“It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it!” –my wife (more times than I can count)

Guys, let me tell you, I’ve been married for fourteen years now, and the moment you hear that, it’s pretty much over. Sure, you can debate semantics and linguistics all you want, and logically, on paper, I’m sure you’re on the money. Still, I hate to break it to you—you’ve got no shot. It doesn’t matter how airtight your logic. Your best option is to run up the white flag and surrender. Apologize as sincerely as possible and try to change the subject. Drop it and move on. This is fourteen years of marriage speaking. Trust me.

There is no way to win this fight, because what you said doesn’t mean a thing. The only thing that matters is what she heard. And what she understood about your meaning has a lot more to do with your tone of voice, facial expression, posture, and proximity than the words that came out of your mouth. Forget that you were in the process of pulling a bee’s stinger from your eyeball. It doesn’t matter.

I’ve noticed this to be true in the classroom as well. Regardless of how I feel on any given day, if I make a conscious effort to bring energy to my craft, the kids always seem more upbeat too.

It doesn’t matter what I say. If I say it with a smile, if my tone is upbeat, if I’m standing straight with my head up high, if I’m moving around the classroom, making eye contact—the kids are more engaged.

And thus, more learning takes place.

The opposite is also true. If I’m blah, to a certain extent, so is the rest of the classroom environment.

But this is all common sense stuff, right? Much like the stand-up comic, as teachers, we all know that our “delivery” matters . . .right? This isn’t rocket science.

Turns out, however—it is brain science.

How Feelings Are Contagious

According to research done at Harvard and the University of California at San Diego by Dr. Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, who have been mining data collected from nearly 5,000 people over a period of twenty years, “Happiness spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion.” So if you bring positive energy to your lessons, that energy is going to rub off on your students.

But why is this? Here is where it gets truly fascinating. They’re called, mirror neurons, and their job in the brain is to literally mirror observed emotions so that a person actually feels the pain and joy of others.

This truly astounding neural WiFi was discovered by neuroscientists in monkeys in 1992; but they have since also confirmed the presence of mirror neurons in the human brain through a series of experiments so sensitive it boggles the mind. It turns out we now have electrodes so laser-thin that they can be implanted within a single brain cell. Not only are they small, but these electrodes are so sensitive that they can measure the firing of a single neuron.

In his book, Social Intelligence: The Revolutionary New Science of Human Relationships, Dan Goldman reports of a remarkable study. After implanting and monitoring an electrode in a fully conscious person, scientists found that the same specific neuron will fire when a person anticipates pain (of a pinprick) as well as when watching someone else receive a pinprick. As Goldman puts it, the lighting up of that electrode is the equivalent of taking a “neural snapshot of primal empathy in action.”

But that isn’t even the most powerful discovery. To understand that, we have to revisit what Christakis and Fowler discovered about happiness. As it turns out, the energy you bring to the classroom doesn’t merely stay there for the benefit of only that class with only that lesson. It ripples outward and affects people you don’t know, have never met, and in places you may have never been.

According to Christakis and Fowler, if you project positive energy, you increase the chance of feeling good in those near you by 25%, but it doesn’t stop there. When your students leave the classroom, people close to them (friends, family, neighbors, etc . . .) enjoy a 10% chance of experiencing positive energy. Likewise, a person close to that person has a 5.6% chance of getting a positive charge.

Ever wonder what happiness looks like? Each node in the diagram represents one person (circles are female, squares are male). The lines indicate relationships (black = siblings; red = friends, spouces). Color represents degree of happiness, with blue indicating “the blues,” and yellow indicating sheer joy. Green is somewhere in between. Images by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, courtesy of BMJ

The Impact of One Teacher

What does this mean? Let’s just say, for the sake of simplicity, that you come in contact with 50 students a day, and each of those students then interacts with just five other people. That’s 250 additional people that you can affect–bringing your total to 300. But it doesn’t stop there. Remember, you still have a 5.6% chance to affect all those who connect with those additional 250. If we keep it simple and give those 250 each five contacts, that increases your potential outreach by 1,250–bringing your grand total to 1,550 people each day.

And that’s just based on the students in your classes! (Yes, yes I know you teach more than that, but, “Dammit Jim! I’m a Language teacher not a mathwiz!”) Now calculate, if you like (and you are a math wiz), the rest of your contacts in a day, and you’ll truly begin to understand the scope of your influence.

You should feel good about that. Still, guys, it would NOT be wise to bring that up during your next communication snafu with your wives or girlfriends. It won’t help. Trust me on this one. Sometimes it is what you say.

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Few ideas about teachers’ professional growth resonate with me more than those of Richard Elmore, professor of educational leadership at Harvard, who has gone as far as to argue that school structures make learning for adults unlikely at best and nothing short of impossible at worst. In a 2002 report for the Albert Shanker Institute, Elmore wrote,

As expectations for increased student performance mount and the measurement and publication of evidence about performance becomes part of the public discourse about schools, there are few portals through which new knowledge about teaching and learning can enter schools; few structures or processes in which teachers and administrators can assimilate, adapt, and polish new ideas and practices; and few sources of assistance for those who are struggling to understand the connection between the academic performance of their students and the practices in which they engage.

So the brutal irony of our present circumstance is that schools are hostile and inhospitable places for learning. They are hostile to the learning of adults and, because of this, they are necessarily hostile to the learning of students. (pp. 4–5)

To assert that schools are hostile to learning is a bold statement—but if you’ve worked in education for any length of time, chances are you were nodding your head as you read Elmore’s thoughts. Adult learning is often pushed aside in schools as educators sprint through the day, worried about leaving no child behind.

The few moments that we can steal for professional development are usually spent in sessions with experts pitching the latest silver bullet. Teachers rarely get to self-select learning opportunities, pursue professional passions, or engage in meaningful, ongoing conversations about instruction.

What makes professional development even more frustrating to practitioners is that most of the programs we are exposed to are drawn directly from the latest craze sweeping the business world. In the past 10 years, countless schools have read Who Moved My Cheese?, studied The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, learned to have “Crucial Conversations,” and tried to move “from Good to Great.”

Although most of my colleagues recognize that business-driven reform efforts are likely to have little effect on student learning, they are largely unwilling to challenge the status quo. “Nothing’s going to change,” they insist. “This is how professional development has always been done. Just bring a big stack of papers to grade, and you’ll keep busy.” A history of poor professional development experiences has left them jaded and stagnant, groaning when given “opportunities to learn.”

Changing Times, Changing Tools

Times have changed in two significant ways, however, since Elmore began describing the hostile learning environments that have often held schools back. First, there’s a new emphasis on the importance of collaborative learning among members of close-knit teams in schools. School leaders are beginning to believe in the human capacity of their faculties and are structuring opportunities for teachers to reflect on instruction together. These joint efforts are targeted and specific, increasing educators’ motivation and engagement.

Second, digital tools now help fulfill Elmore’s desire for fresh “portals through which new knowledge about teaching and learning can enter schools.” Specifically, thousands of accomplished educators are now writing blogs about teaching and learning, bringing transparency to both the art and the science of their practice. In every content area and grade level and in schools of varying sizes and from different geographic locations, educators are actively reflecting on instruction, challenging assumptions, questioning policies, offering advice, designing solutions, and learning together. And all this collective knowledge is readily available for free.

With the investment of a bit of time and effort, I’ve found a group of writers to follow who expose me to more interesting ideas in one day than I’ve been exposed to in the past 10 years of costly professional development. Professional growth for me starts with 20 minutes of blog browsing each morning, sifting through the thoughts of practitioners whom I might never have been able to learn from otherwise and considering how their work translates into what I do with students.

This learning has been uniquely authentic, driven by personal interests and connected to classroom realities. Blogs have introduced a measure of differentiation and challenge to my professional learning plan that had long been missing. I wrestle over the characteristics of effective professional development with Patrick Higgins (http://chalkdust101.wordpress.com) and the elements of high-quality instruction for middle grades students with Dina Strasser (http://theline.edublogs.org). Scott McLeod (www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org) forces me to think about driving school change from the system level; and Nancy Flanagan (http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_in_a_strange_land) helps me understand the connections between education policy and classroom practice. John Holland (http://circle-time.blogspot.com) and Larry Ferlazzo, Brian Crosby, and Alice Mercer (http://inpractice.edublogs.org) open my eyes to the challenges of working in high-needs communities.

What’s more, the readers of my own blog challenge my thinking in provocative comments day after day. Mike, a reader from Texas, jumps in on conversations regarding teacher empowerment. K. Borden, a parent from the school district in which I work, pushes my thinking about holding schools accountable for improvement. Steve, a school district leader in North Carolina, lends expertise to conversations about curriculum, and Bob Heiny, a longtime education researcher, has unique perspectives on the classroom uses of technology. I’ve met only a few of these people in person, yet they are a vibrant part of my own professional learning and growth.

Reading Blogs

Whenever I suggest that peers embrace blogs as a source of continual learning, however, their first reaction is typically, “I don’t have the time to visit a dozen Web sites every day to read articles—I’ve got plans to write, papers to grade, parents to call, and a family to raise!”

That’s when I introduce them to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed readers. Feed readers are probably the most important digital tool for today’s learner because they make it easy to sift through the amazing amount of content that is being continually added to the Internet.

Also known as aggregators, feed readers are free tools that can automatically check nearly any Web site for new content dozens of times each day, limiting the amount of time spent browsing and customizing learning experiences. With a feed reader, learning from edubloggers goes from a frustrating search through thousands of links to quickly browsing the thoughts and ideas of trusted writers.

Although there are dozens of different feed reading services to choose from, Pageflakes (www.pageflakes.com) is my favorite primarily because it has a visual layout that I find easy to read. Pageflakes has also developed a teacher version of its tool (http://teacher.pageflakes.com) that includes an online grade tracker, a task list, and a built-in writing tutor. What I like best is that interested Pageflakes users can actually write a blog and create a discussion forum directly in their feed reader, creating an all-in-one digital home for the reading, writing, and speaking opportunities of both teachers and students.

Getting Started as a Reader

To incorporate blogs into your daily efforts to grow as a professional, consider the following steps:

• Start by using a feed reader as a learning tool for a few weeks. Find several blogs that target educators in your grade level or content area and organize them with an aggregator of your choice. The search for blogs probably best begins at the SupportBlogging wiki (http://supportblogging.com), which includes a list of hundreds of blogs broken down into specific categories, such as education blogs, principal blogs, teacher blogs, classroom blogs, and librarian blogs. Aggregator services—such as Pageflakes, Google Reader (http://reader.google.com), and Bloglines (www.bloglines.com)—have extensive tutorials designed to help new users create a collection of active feeds.
  If you’re not sure where to begin, explore the blogs that I’ve organized in my professional Pageflake at www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/16618841. I read these blogs all the time. Some leave me challenged. Some leave me angry. Some leave me jazzed. All leave me energized and ready to learn more. School leaders may be interested in the collection of blogs at www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/23697456.
• Dedicate a few minutes each day to browsing the changing content in your aggregator. Notice how new posts are added automatically. Make a commitment to reading two or three entries each week. Find topics that motivate you and challenge your thinking. Leave comments for the authors and see whether they respond. Engage other readers in conversations or friendly debate.
• Tell others how much you enjoy having your thinking stretched by the blogs you read. Use your enthusiasm to generate buzz about the potential for making professional learning organic, easy, and fun.
• Share your feed reader with your learning team and begin to explore together. Ask peers about the most interesting articles they’re reading. Make it a point to talk with a colleague about a shared blog post at least twice each week.

Over time, you’ll start to see a real change in the quality of the conversations that you’re having with your peers. Instead of simply chatting about your weekend, you’ll find yourself debating the merits of the new practices that you’ve stumbled across online. For perhaps the first time, your learning team will work from a common foundation of challenging ideas that can stretch your cooperative thinking and growth.

Writing Blogs and Wikis

Although reading blogs is the best way to start incorporating 21st-century tools into your plan for professional learning, writing your own blog about instruction can be equally powerful. Bloggers spend significant time pushing their own thinking—and having their thinking pushed by others. They respond to comments and link to other writers, connecting to and creating interesting ideas. Some develop curriculum and instructional materials together. Others review resources and debate the merits of the individual tools of teaching. Philosophical conversations about what works in schools are common as teachers talk about everything from homework and grading practices to school and district policies that affect teaching and learning. Blogs become a forum for public articulation—and public articulation is essential for educators interested in refining and revising their thinking about teaching and learning.

In today’s digital age, free digital tools like blogs and wikis ensure that your voice can be heard without cost. All you need are a few good ideas, a bit of determination, and some basic word-processing skills.

Writing Blogs

If you’re confident in your writing ability, consider starting your own blog. Although becoming a blogger may sound intimidating, most blog services are user-friendly. After you create an account, you’ll be working in windows that look like those in any word-processing application. Familiar toolbars enable you to change fonts, add links, and center content. When you’re finished writing, click on a “publish” button and your work is automatically posted to the Web.

Explore the following blog services:

• Typepad (www.typepad.com): Typepad is a blogging service that requires a paid subscription, but it may be worth the investment because it comes with a broad range of technical support and file storage options that free blogging services don’t always provide. I’ve chosen Typepad for my own blog, The Tempered Radical (http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical).
• Blogger (www.blogger.com): The main advantage of Blogger is that it’s a free Google product. Google users need only one username and password to sign in for all of their Google services, which makes it as close as you can get to one-stop shopping for digital tools. For an example of Blogger in action, check out The Fischbowl at http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com.
• Edublogs (www.edublogs.org): Edublogs is one of the only free blogging services that is completely dedicated to educators. The advantage of creating your own digital home with Edublogs is that you’ll be instantly connected to a community of like-minded writers who might just become your readers. For an example of Edublogs in action, check out In Practice at http://inpractice.edublogs.org.

Writing Wikis

If you’ve just begun to dip your toes into the digital waters, work with your peers to create a collaborative writing wiki. Wikis are editable Web sites and, like blogs, they require little technical skill to master. Wiki toolbars look just like those in common word-processing programs; when you’re finished saving contributions to a wiki page, your work is automatically posted online.

The difference between a wiki and a blog is that wikis are designed for collaboration among groups of users. Anyone with the shared wiki password can edit the content on a wiki at any time. Wikis also provide discussion boards for every page, enabling users to engage in ongoing conversations about their developing project. Some teams of teachers—such as the teachers creating Digitally Speaking (http://digitallyspeaking.pbwiki.com)—use wikis to reflect on the characteristics of effective instruction. Others use them to create warehouses of materials among teachers working in the same content area (http://cesa5mathscience.wikispaces.com) or as a source for teachers and teams creating entire classroom textbooks (http://anatowiki.wetpaint.com/?t=anon).

Consider finding a few peers to write about teaching and learning together. Divide your topic of interest into subtitles or sections. Teachers could be responsible for creating content for their area of expertise; they could generate key ideas, add links to external resources, upload appropriate documents, or embed interesting videos. Then allow users who are fluent with language to polish your final text. Find members who are sticklers for spelling and grammar and turn them loose.

On a wiki, the writing process is far less intimidating than on a blog because you’re not responsible for an entire selection all by yourself. Instead, you’ll reflect with colleagues—which in and of itself is a powerful form of professional growth.

Several wiki services are available:

• PB Wiki (http://pbwiki.com): This is quickly becoming one of the most popular wiki services for educators because it’s just plain easy to use. For an example of PB Wiki in action, check out Stay Current at http://staycurrent.pbwiki.com.
• Wikispaces (www.wikispaces.com): This is one of the first wiki services that educators embraced. As a result, there are literally thousands of Wikispaces that you can look to for samples of what’s possible. For an example of Wikispaces, check out Digiteen at http://digiteen.wikispaces.com.
• Wet Paint (www.wetpaint.com): This is one of the newest wiki services available to educators, but it’s also one of the most intriguing. With an emphasis on tools for collaboration and professional templates, Wet Paint wikis will make you look good. For an example of Wet Paint in action, check out the Anatowiki at http://anatowiki.wetpaint.com.

Elevating Voice, Improving Practice

Although I enjoy the opportunities for reflection and articulation that digital tools have made possible, I see even greater potential in using blogs and wikis to gain influence as a teacher leader. Early on, I realized that I had valuable experiences to share with everyone from parents to policymakers. Now, in just over two years, my blog has attracted nearly 350 regular readers. No longer do teachers have to sit unsatisfied, wishing that we had more influence over our profession. Blogging has made it possible for all of us to be publishers and to elevate our voices to improve classroom practice.

Digital tools have also changed who I am as an instructor because I’ve introduced these tools to my students. Together, we use feed readers to explore collections of student blogs (www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/20982438) and organize resources on topics connected to our curriculum, such as biofuels and global warming (www.pageflakes.com/wferriter/22534539). We write a classroom blog reflecting on current events (http://guysread.typepad.com/theblurb) and use wikis to collaborate around content (http://carbonfighters.pbwiki.com). I teach my students to challenge the thinking of digital peers with their comments—and to enjoy the challenges that others make to their own electronic thinking. At the same time, my students are learning to create, communicate, and collaborate—and to manage and evaluate information found online.

All these skills are essential for students to succeed in the most progressive workplaces today and the most common workplaces tomorrow, in which corporations open their companies and encourage digital collaboration across borders, primarily because they recognize that the human capital beyond an organization will always be greater than the human capital within. As Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, authors of Wikinomics (2008), write,

A power shift is underway and a tough new business rule is emerging: Harness the new collaboration or perish. Those who fail to grasp this will find themselves ever more isolated—cut off from the networks that are sharing, adapting, and updating knowledge to create value. (Kindle location 268–271)

Blogs and wikis are changing who we are as learners, preparing us for a future driven by peer production and networked learning. All you need to get started is a willingness to explore and a sense of the kinds of tools that make this work easy.

References

Elmore, R. F. (2002). Bridging the gap between standards and achievement: The imperative for professional development in education. Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute.

Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. (2008). Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything. New York: Penguin Books.

Bill Ferriter teaches 6th grade science and social studies in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a Senior Fellow in the Teacher Leaders Network. His blog, The Tempered Radical, is found at http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical

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