Teacher Leaders are agents of innovative school change

Situated in the heart center of education, teacher leaders are the true heroes of the education system.

Your vision and passion lead the quest for deeper learning and transformation. Your intuition and experience guide your path.

But what happens when you see the way to bring more meaningful and relevant learning experiences to your students, yet challenges and obstacles litter your path?

Maybe you’ve been there?

I have. So have many of the amazing teachers I get to work with.  So along the way, I’ve been collecting some tools and tips to pave the way for triumph (think: secret treasure map). I want to share them with you here.

To be clear, when I call you a hero I don’t mean to call you a savior or a tireless model of perfection. What I mean is more along the lines of what Cornelius Minor describes in his book, We Got This: Equity, Access, and the Quest to Be Who Our Students Need Us to Be: an imperfect and weary change-agent who is working to improve your own teaching, schooling, and the world. Heroes don’t always get it right the first time, and they get tired and hungry. But they rise again. And again.

So, teacher leaders, get ready for your quest. We’ve got your back.

Act 1: The Call to Adventure

For every hero who is called to adventure, the quest must be worthy.  The ring called Frodo, the ocean called Moana, the Force called Luke, and home called Dorothy.  These aren’t small potatoes: in order to leave the comfort of their warm, safe hearths, the call must be worthy. Much will be at stake.

For educators, we are perpetually reinventing our curriculum and our approach to better meet the needs of our students. I don’t think I ever taught the same unit twice – or at least the same way I’d taught it the previous time. It can be exhausting to be in a constant state of reinvention, yet at the same time, it can also be invigorating.

Kinda sounds like a call to adventure, right?

Alena Wehof and Sarah Marcus teach science at Proctor High School and were early adopters of a proficiency-based learning system. After a couple of years of implementing self-paced proficiency-based learning in their classrooms, they were beginning to feel the constraints of their school’s bell schedule.  Their call came in the form of a question: “How could a flexible schedule, within a school day, create opportunities for personalization and help students meet their graduation proficiencies?”

This question launched them into their own quest and has been a rich and deeply rewarding experience. But it hasn’t been without its own riddles or labyrinths either.
We can learn a lot from their quest, but before we begin,

What’s calling you to adventure, teacher leader?

Have you been wondering what it would be like if you moved part of your curriculum outdoors? Are you considering what would happen if you let students take on responsibility for running the daily routines of your classroom? Thinking about how those Genius Hour projects are going really well and you’re grappling with how to make more of the learning time that self-directed?
What is it that’s got you thinking, ‘what if…’? C’mon, tell us, teacher leaders!

Act 2: Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My

Setting out on your adventure is always exciting at first. Your idea is glimmering, waiting for implementation, just ahead.  The path is paved with yellow bricks that seem to sing to you as you set out…

And then.

Trials and tribulations. Unforeseen obstacles. Caves. Dragons. Poppy fields. Riddles. Know unknowns. Unknown unknowns.

For Alena and Sarah, they took a wrong turn in the labyrinth when they proposed a schedule change to their colleagues. While their colleagues were open to new ideas, they were perplexed by this suggestion.

Because Sarah and Alena were deep into developing a student self-paced curriculum, they could clearly see how shifting time could benefit students. Yet a schedule change wasn’t high on their colleagues’ priority list: Sarah & Alena were trying to solve a problem that their colleagues weren’t experiencing.

Because a schedule shift would impact everybody, and not everyone was yet on board, Alena and Sarah recognized they need to take a different path in their pursuit of personalized learning. And they needed everybody on board.

Out of their Hero’s Knapsack, they pulled…

Oh, if it was only that easy!

But I do have a tip for you here, and it comes from educational coaching expert Elena Aguilar: When you come up against unforeseen obstacles in the form of collegial hesitation or resistance, you need to Mind the Gap.  That is, you need to try to figure out what’s getting in the way- is it a capacity gap: is time (or energy or resources) a limiting factor? Is it a knowledge gap: does everyone has the information and understanding they need to carry the work forward? A skill gap? A will gap?

Aguilar’s Mind the Gap is an amazing resource to unearth what might be getting in the way- because knowing is half the battle. (Thanks, GI Joe.) Seriously though, if we can figure out why we’re not all on the same page then we have a better chance of figuring out how to get there. If it’s a capacity gap we need to find resources, if it’s a skill gap then we need training. You get the idea.

Oh, and here’s a #protip:

Aguilar warns us that a will gap (i.e. resisting the change) is often a cover for another type of gap! So if you find yourself battling resistance, use your Compassionate Heart Power and dig deeper: empathize. Put yourself in others’ shoes and ask questions with kindness.
Sometimes things feel out of our control and they may very well be, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have power. Some problems feel unbeatable- they make you want to run away!  Trolls! Enter: the Spheres of Control. This framework can help you see how you might approach these problems: what do you control? What you can influence? And…then there’s everything else. The magic here is that once you know where you can have the most impact you can focus your energies there.

What’s in your way?

When you think about bringing your innovation to life, what stops you? What’s getting in your way? Which gaps are at play? What systemic barriers exist? Where do you have the most control (or autonomy)?

Act 3: Redemption in Community

So, our heroes Alena and Sarah, instead of forging ahead on their own decided to form an….er… fellowship– that is a band of merry and hearty travelers with whom they would pursue their quest, for meaningful and personalized learning for all students, together.

They took a few steps back with their colleagues and realized that there was a constellation of knowledge, skill, and capacity gaps at play in their school’s implementation of personalized learning. They needed to slow down and learn and reflect together.

Fortunately, they had a few other tools already in their knapsacks. It’s one thing to have a meeting, but achieving true collaboration takes intentional planning. It also helps to use clear structures and processes to scaffold conversations.  Enter protocols and norms.

Alena had recently completed a course on the use of protocols and the facilitation of adult work. So for their next move, Alena and Sarah convened their school’s leadership team and trained their colleagues to use these structures in their already established PLCs.

Think these sound like just what you need, teacher leader? Learn more about protocols here: Getting Started with Protocols and Using Protocols for Equity.

The results have been overwhelmingly positive. The staff are now engaged in rich discussions about personalized learning and working together to implement incremental changes that move the whole school closer to full implementation. School culture is stronger.

While their quest isn’t over, they have found progress through fellowship – collaboration. It really is true that we’re stronger together.

Who are your traveling companions?

So the magic here was truly in collaboration.  Who are the folks- near and far- who can join you in this quest? While you’ll need your colleagues to bring big change to your school, reaching out to kindred spirits can bring you sustenance and inspiration.

Find your own personal learning network on Twitter, or consider TIIE’s Learning Lab.

We’re in this together.

Coda: Hero’s Knapsack

This, dear heroes, might be the most important gift I can bestow upon you as you embark on your quest.

Designed by the Tarrant Institute’s own superhero, Susan Hennessey, this Book Creator digital flipbook curates the #bestof the Hero’s Knapsack. Gaps and Spheres are in here, as well as a ton of other amazing resources that make working together with our colleagues in pursuit of powerful outcomes for all students…. a piece of cake. Or, at least, you know, manageable.

So are you ready?

Get out there! You can do it, teacher leaders! We’ve got your back.

Um, for real, reach out if you need help on your quest.

Go, hero!

And thank you.

Seeing back-to-school activities & personalized learning through the lens of trauma-informed classroom practices

I had a eureka! moment this summer.

We are so lucky when our critical thinking converges ideas in ways previously unrealized. It transformationally reframes our thinking. Those moments enrich ourselves and arrive with the promise that our private learning should have public relevance to make others’ lives more just, joyful, and equitable.

I want to share a recent moment of reflection, even as I just begin my learning journey at the intersection of trauma-informed classroom practices and personalized learning.

I’ve been involved in thousands of conversations with educators from dozens of schools about personalized learning, but I have never before viewed those conversations through a trauma-informed lens. And, I don’t recall anyone overtly bringing those conversations to the table.

This past summer, I was fresh off a year with middle-level educators to continue evolving our school’s approaches to Personalized Learning. One of our final accomplishments of last year was a newly redesigned Personal Expression Process to engage students and faculty in a scaffolded inquiry into self-knowledge and understanding, focused on both individual and shared identities.

IG for PD

Somewhere in those following summer months, I serendipitously connected with education consultant Colleen Wilkinson by first stumbling across her “‘Back to School’ Activities that can Traumatize Students and What to do Instead” Instagram post. 

In her succinct half-dozen images, she caught my attention: full-stop; she provoked educators to be critical caretakers as they consider and construct back-to-school prompts. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Planning mode is full swing for teachers heading back to school. But does your content and curriculum consider the emotional health of your students? Or does it inflict educational trauma on your students? We can create healthy positive environments that build resilience and relationships by first doing no harm. Here’s some common issues I see in classrooms, and some simple alternatives. Can you think of other common activities that harm students? Add them in the comments!

A post shared by Colleen Wilkinson (@trauma_informed_montessori) on Aug 4, 2019 at 11:27am PDT

In an exchange with Wilkinson, she acknowledged that much of the missteps she notices are done unknowingly,

“Teachers are creative professionals who often desire to meet the many complex needs of their students without understanding the impact of some common activities.”

She also expanded on the post, explaining common missteps, why they might not work, and what to try instead.

Here is what she shared:

Asking about students’ summers, weekends, out-of-school learning, names, family timelines, and baby pictures, are prompts that on the surface seem perfectly typical to many classrooms yet are impossible to answer for some students who may be, or have been, in foster care or adopted. Additionally, when these prompts are given without choice, they push students to be vulnerable on our terms, not theirs and can trigger recollections of traumatic events, re-traumatized students who deserve nothing but our very best care. 

Two things struck me when I read through Wilkinson’s post and still strike me now: 

1. It made me realize just how common a practice it is for teachers to, with no intention of doing so, harm vulnerable children with common classroom activities. I have not talked to a single veteran teacher who has said they have not put one of these prompts in front of whole classes of students.
2. I was gifted a new lens to reexamine countless conversations about learning and to be more critical about future ones.

While my learning arc has just begun, and I now engage in self-work toward deeper understanding, that eureka moment has clarified this personal, working truth:

When we invite our students to consider self-knowledge and understanding, we must do so knowing that we have an immeasurable responsibility to not further marginalize and re-traumatize our most vulnerable students.

That statement seems overly obvious, but classroom upon classroom is unknowingly attempting to connect with students only to push some of them further away, further marginalizing the very students who most need positive connections.

While a few decades old, the landmark 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs) brought to light “the relationship of health risk behavior and disease in adulthood to the breadth of exposure to childhood emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, and household dysfunction during childhood,” and it provided a yardstick for just how pervasive these reported experiences are for children. ACEs found that nearly 52% of adults reported an adverse childhood experience, as outlined below, and 6.2% of adults reported at least four adverse childhood experiences:

• Abuse:
  • Emotional abuse
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse

• Household Challenges:
  • Mother treated violently
  • Substance abuse in the household
  • Mental illness in the household
  • Parental separation or divorce
  • Incarcerated household member

• Neglect:
  • Emotional neglect
  • Physical neglect

(“About the CDC-Kaiser Study.” CDC)

From 2016, The Child & Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative reports that 46% of children, nationally and a similar percentage in Vermont, have experienced one or more adverse childhood experiences from the list of 9 ACEs. (CAHMI)

While it’s an imperfect correlation, we know many students are disempowered, and we need to inform our design of education with that in mind.

Applying a trauma-informed lens to personalized learning:

There are so many getting-to-know-you activities, like the ones Wilkinson shared, that educators use every year as a means for organizing student inquiry into self-knowledge and understanding. It’s an honest, yet uncritical, attempt to capture some of the “Critical Elements” of the Personal Learning Plan, such as a student’s own understanding of strengths, abilities, and skills; core principles; career assessment and/or learning styles inventory; and academic achievement.

As I reconsider potential learning opportunities to scaffold inquiry into self-knowledge, I wish to give students a choice:

• to inspire creativity,
• to imagine empowering hopes and dreams, and
• to determine how and to what degree they allow themselves to be vulnerable.

Alex Shevrin, who works extensively in the field of trauma-informed education, has this to say about trauma and personalized learning:

“A great promise of PLP and personalized learning, in general, is that it offers students a chance to be in control of creating their own story, on their terms. So to me, the takeaway here is that, rather than providing limited choices for students that may dredge up traumatic memory or current traumatic situations, consider how students are truly given the choice to let themselves be known in the way that they want to be. It’s also worth noting that for some kids, it’s not safe to let adults or peers get to know you, and keeping a distance might be a survival mechanism.

“Similarly, some kids really struggle with the ‘strengths-based’ part of PLPs because they have a damaged self-concept and don’t know how to see themselves as a person with strengths. I think that the biggest thing for teachers is: don’t shy away from the complexity — there is no magical “trauma-informed getting to know you prompt,” it’s just about applying what we know about trauma to our classroom design. And challenge yourself to provide many options when it comes to students sharing personal things, while always giving the power to the student to choose the level of vulnerability.”

How do you approach trauma-informed personalized learning?

Additional Resources:

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network
  • “The 12 Core Concepts: Concepts for Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses in Children and Families“
• Attachment and Trauma Network
• KP Institute for Child Development at TCU
• Lives in the Balance
• “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime.” Ted Talk by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
• “What is Social Emotional Learning.” CASEL