Margaret Peterson, World Language Program Administrator San Francisco Unified School District

1. Margaret Peterson, World Language Program Administrator San Francisco Unified School District Relationship Building, Establishing Trust, and Creating a Culture of Mutual Respect and Support

2. Words are Windows Or They’re Walls

3. Trust • The ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust truly is the key leadership competency of the new global economy.

4. Trust • Low trust creates: • Hidden agendas • Politics • Interpersonal conflicts • Win-lose thinking • Defensive & protective communication • Low trust slows everything – every decision, every communication, every relationship

5. Relationship Building • When two people create a relationship that is built on honesty, openness, trust and respect, they accomplish the outcomes they desire.

6. Novel Ideas Only Strategy • How can a cooperating teacher and mentor build a trusting relationship with their student teacher? • Form groups of 3 • Everyone numbers a blank paper 1-8 • Brainstorm answers to the prompt above • Draw a line under the last answer

7. Novel Ideas Only Strategy • How can a cooperating teacher and mentor build a trusting relationship with their student teacher? • All groups stand • One person reads list, then group sits down • Remaining groups read “novel ideas only” • Other groups record new ideas below the line

8. Your ideas

9. Recognizing Rapport • Feeling connected to another person • Being “in sync” with another person • Feeling in harmony with another person • Feeling a deep state of understanding and appreciation of another person (Facilitation Skills for Chaotic Times, 2008)

10. Establishing Rapport • Listening and trying to understand each other • Sharing personal information and values and finding common connections • Experiencing a similar crisis, dilemma or challenge • Speaking in the same language patterns • Matching body movements and gestures (Facilitation Skills for Chaotic Times, 2008)

11. Teachers Have Feelings: What Can We Do About It? • Staff Development programs are moving beyond the “what” and the “how” of teaching practices • They are focusing on the “who” – the human being in the role of educator – and integrating the “who” with the “what” and the “how” (Journal of Staff Development, 2000)

12. A Model for Educational Change A Model for Educational Change Obtaining Information Taking Action Obtaining Emotional Support Reflecting and Planning

13. How can we be heard? • Dyads • Support Groups • Listening • Coaching

14. Constructivist Learning • Just as students must construct their understanding of a subject, teachers must construct their understanding of teaching that subject. • Teachers need time to reflect on and express feelings about their own learning and teaching.

15. Constructivist Listening “I agree to listen to you.” • For the benefit of the speaker • Requires construction of thoughts and change in beliefs • Cognitive and affective process results in increased understanding • Emotional distrust interferes with listening

16. DYAD – Ground Rules • Equal time to talk • No interruptions, no advice • Double confidentiality • No criticism (Weissglass, 2000)

17. DYAD – Practice • One person speaks for two minutes • Listener does not interrupt, offer advice, or make any comments at all • When timer sounds switch roles

18. DYAD – Practice • What is a challenge you are currently facing at work or at home?

19. DYAD – Debrief • What did it feel like not to be able to interrupt? • What did it feel like to be heard?

20. Dyads in Action • Teachers using dyads in professional development report: “ We have grown closer and more trusting of each other and therefore have freed ourselves to be better teachers.”

21. Are support groups just for people with problems? • NO! • Yet, how many teachers participate in support groups for teachers? • Anyone trying to make professional improvements, particularly people who have a responsibility for nurturing children, can benefit from talking about their feelings in an emotionally supportive environment.

22. Different groups have different purposes • Discussion groups • Action groups • Dyads/Support groups • Coaching groups

23. Listening Exercise • What is something you recently learned? How did you feel as you were learning? When did you feel successful?

24. Listening Exercise • What is something you recently learned? How did you feel as you were learning? When did you feel successful? • One person speaks for two minutes • The other person listens without interrupting • When the timer sounds, the listener summarizes what the speaker said in the form of questions “Is __ what you mean?” • Reverse roles

25. Listening – Debrief • What did it feel like not to be able to interrupt? • What did it feel like to be heard?

26. Which way did you prefer to be heard? • How did it feel to be heard in different ways (e.g., dyad, listening exercise)? • Dyads • Support Groups • Listening • Coaching

27. Trust is essential We must provide teachers with opportunities to develop trusting collegial relationships so that they can reflect on their own beliefs, construct their own understanding, work through feelings that inhibit change, and make decisions about how to take action.

28. Relational Trust in Schools • Trust is the connective tissue that holds improving schools together. (Truth in Schools: A Core Resource of Improvement, 2002)

29. References • Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools, 2009 • Nonviolent Communication: Making Collaboration Real, Empowering the Workplace, 2011 • Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion, 1999 • Tschannen-Moran, Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools, 2004 • Weissglass, Journal of Staff Development, 2000 • Zuieback, Facilitation Skills for Chaotic Times, 2008