Welcome to the PBS - network

1. Welcome to the PBS - network

2. Monica Evermark The Swedish education system

3. The Swedish education system

4. What is compulsory school?

5. Upper Secondary Education

6. The Swedish Parliament and Government

7. Personal progress review

8. Teachers Teachers are organized in work teams most often with pupils in common as the principal of composition

9. Hans-Åke Scherp Problem-based school development

10. School development • School development refers to conscious sustainable changes integrated in the everyday life of a school that • encompasses the whole or at least an extensive part of the school. • The focus is to enhance the quality in the learning processes of the pupils.

11. Results from earlier studies • School development from an actor perspective is about finding solutions on problems encountered in the everyday teaching situation. • The pupils are the main problem. When pupils do not learn or develop in the extent expected from earlier experiences, the teachers experience a problem that needs to be handled. • The experiences of the teachers and their dialogues with other teachers and with the pupils about these experiences are stated to be the most influential factors of their way of teaching

12. There is no point in trying to influence what teachers do or do not do. They do whatever they do anyhow, as long as they have the understanding they have of the mission and how to realize that mission in everyday work.

13. Erfarenhetslärandet Actions Experiences Planning Reflections Conceptions Conclusions Learnings Research and other’s conceptions

14. PBS • Organizing sensemaking processes of learning based on everyday problems • Learning groups are organized to deepen the understanding of important everyday problems • Trained learning leaders lead the learning groups • Teachers and school leaders are the main actors in the knowledge building of learning and teaching • School leadership: To organize and be a leader of the joint learning process about learning and teaching instead of planning and organizing the activities of the teachers

15. PBS-leadership To be a leader of school development means to participate in the dialogues about what is puzzeling and unexpected and contribute with a sensemaking whole from which the unexpected can be understood and guide the actions.

16. Already existing knowledge Lectures and books etc. Activities Create knowledge together Definition of the problem or learning field Learning process Collecting reliable basic data Conceptions Looking for patterns Understand why the pattern looks like it does  learnings Testing the learnings in practice

17. Åke Malmeling Why did we join the network and what are the results? Experiences of PBS in a Swedish commune

18. “What are we doing today?” “How are we doing it?” Why are we doing it? We have very little knowledge about each others work but we have lots of thoughts about it? The need for common reflection about the assessment and how to realise it? Common comprehension! – common learning? Why did we enter the PBS-network? • Difficulties: • Now I have the chance to tell the others what's right and wrong. • We need to learn how to reflect in a professional way.

19. Four years later…. Results

20. Results for the children • “PBS is a way to work with the pupils.” • “I have become more engaged in my work and as a result of this I’m more focused on creating interest and intrinsic motivation among the pupils. Even in areas where there haven’t been that big interest before.” • “I have organized learning groups among the pupils. Their conversation is very interesting.” • “Today we are better listeners and the meetings are more respectful. Teachers-Children, Teachers-Teachers, Children – Children” • A child’s reflection: “You need to listen to the others. They might be right.”

21. Results for the teachers • “The openness, the respects of thoughts, the security is gradually increasing.” • “The others are listening to me. I have something to add. My perspective is important and that makes me more creative.” • “When it's up to us to decide areas for development, when its our everyday problems that are in focus, we don't consider it as a burden but a stimulating task to deal with.”

22. Results for the principals • “As a principal I think I have to be more precise with the aim of the PBS-work. Why do I want this?” • “How can I create good conditions for learning among my staff? • “How can I become a challenging principal?” • “We wish that our principal would be more sharing and challenging.” • “We need a total plan for the learning process. Not in details but as a big picture. Which are the crucial parts?”

23. Results for the central administration • “It's very important to provide a vision, a big picture.” • “If we mean that it's important to build an organisation on common comprehension and common learning we must live up to that ourselves. • “High expectations. Tolerance for and interest in diversity in ways of thinking and working.” • “Important that the signals out in the organization are coherent with the holistic idea.” • “Important to communicate and to interact all the time.”

24. Results for the politicians • “This is interesting, Could it be something for us? Reflection on what we do, what decisions we make, why we do it and what the results are?” • “What is our role? It feels far away from the traditional.” • “How can we contribute to better conditions for learning”

25. Hans-Åke Scherp The results of research

26. PBS-results • According to the teachers a PBS-leadership to a greater extent influences their way of working and their understanding of the mission. • The realization of a PBS-culture makes the teachers to experience that they are more professional and succesful in accomplishing their mission. • PBS-leadership contributes to teachers confidence in the management • The realization of a PBS-culture raise the contentment in work among teachers as well as school leaders • Improved climate for dialogues. More aiming at understanding and learning from each other

27. Åke Malmeling Experiences, learnings from PBS

28. Experiences, learnings from the PBS-work • “Help, what am I getting into?” • “In the beginning there was still a feeling that this was something that was coming from the top. It was hard to get commitment for the idea.” • You are interested in school development aren’t you? Well you see I see no use of that. I think it's just working fine just the way it is. • “It is clear when the developing process changes from outside to intrinsic driven. The clearest sign is that meeting-places round important issues occur spontaneously. Then there is no problem finding time for common learning .”

29. Everyday issues • “We don't push the problems in front of us. • “It's important to get the process more directed into everyday problems instead of separate courses.” • “To be successful it's necessary that the content is linked to the everyday work.”

30. Learning dialogues • “Sometimes it is important to have learning dialogues about the learning dialogues.” • “If it’s decided that we shall have a learning dialogue then we must stick to that and not start dealing with something else.” (ex practical issues) • “It’s hard to reach the deeper levels in the conversation.” • “We have a never ending learning dialogue. We have become much calmer and more secure with each other.”

31. Gun-Britt Scherp Maps of conceptions, one of the ”tools”

32. Cognitive Mapping(Kathri and Miles, 1995) • a tool for portraying a person’s cognitive structures • shows the various ideas or concepts we hold and the linkage among them • gives a general indication of what a particular, simplified cognitive structure might be at a given time • help us to arrive at a person’s “big picture” thinking about any subject matter and limitations

33. Map of conceptions

34. Interviewer Start the thinking by asking the interviewee to write down her conceptions on Post-its about What kind of leadership will inspire developement?

35. Interviewee 1. Write one key concept on each Post-it. You may use as many as you wish. 2. Arrange the Post-its on a large sheet of paper in a meaningful order. 3. Start elaborating the concepts on the Post-it by choosing the most important

36. Interviewer • - Youwrote … – what was on your mind? • - Can you help me to understand what you mean by .....? • - That sounds interesting. Can you describe more precisely? • - Is this what you mean ...? • - Can you elaborate this? • - What did you mean by ...? etc. Assume that you do not understand what is written on the Post-its and ask clarifying questions to get a deeper understanding of the key concepts by using questions like :

37. Interviewer Write down the interviewee’s words on the large sheet of paper when he/she elaborates the key concepts on the Post-its. Use his/her own words as much as possible.

38. Positions The interviewee should be able to follow her/his thoughts to be able to se the linkages and make clusters

39. Interviewee When you have ”travelled” through your thoughts and all Post-its, look at the map to see if it corresponds with your conceptions

40. What kind of leadership will inspire developement? Practise cognitive mapping two by two

41. Katina Thelin The importance of a holistic idea

42. Extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation

43. Monica Evermark Swedish teachers’ learnings about teaching

44. Teachers’ voices • Children are smart and competent – It is the best starting point • Be aware of children's reality today, and show them respect for their situation • Participation in planning • Start from the pupil’sreality and create curiosity

45. Different perspectives • “It is fantastic to hear different experiences, ways of seeing things and all creative thoughts. It makes me think.” • “Often there are like summersaults in our brains before we go deeper in to the meaning of different terms.” • “I want someone else to come to our group and challenge us with another perspective.” • “You can easily get fossilized and that is the least we want.” • “When you get stuck you need some driving force from outside.” • “It isn't always enough to dig where you stand.”

46. Per Fagerström The learning process

47. Learning group When people meet they learn

48. + Take care of the problems Quick fix Deepended understanding

49. The new phase Go on with questions not answers ”This is stupid, not good, we can´t work like this etc.” Go back and inquirehow it is today. Shared understanding of the problem

50. + Quick fix Take care of the problems Heterogeneous mix of co-workers Deepened understanding Ask everyone to give his point of view