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Weeding the Garden. From: Doug Reeves (2011) Finding Your Leadership Focus: What Matters Most for Student Results. How Do We Create a Plan That Focuses on a Few Strategies AND How Will We Implement with High Fidelity (By at Least 90% of Our Staff?).
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Weeding the Garden From: Doug Reeves (2011) Finding Your Leadership Focus: What Matters Most for Student Results
How Do We Create a Plan That Focuses on a Few Strategies AND How Will We Implement with High Fidelity (By at Least 90% of Our Staff?) Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
3 Keys to Successful Implementation Focus Efficacy Monitoring Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
Laser-Like Focus: Why Weed the Garden? • Of 21 variables studied, the combination of FOCUS, MONITORING, and EFFICACY were most powerfully related to student results • Schools with effective monitoring and focus had TWICE THE GAINS in reading over three years compared to low focus schools • Schools that most needed focus were least likely to have it. Webinar Title: 02/07/2011 Change Leadership in Action www.leadandlearn.com/multimedia-resource-center/webinars
The Focus (Stage 2: Plan) Goals, Strategies & Actions Steps • Efficacy • When staff believe that what they do in the classroom DOES predict the outcome of student achievement, their levels of stress, anxiety, and burnout are lower. • Monitoring (Stage 3: Implementation) • Frequent: at least every 1 -2 weeks • Adult Actions must be addressed • Constructive Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
Is Another Person’s… One Person’s
1.Toxic Weed Thistle: Deep roots, use caution when touching Toxic Weeds • Demand a response • We are reluctant to challenge and remove them • May look good, sound good, make people feel good in the short term • Once introduced into the environment, they strangle the life out of the other plants that we had hoped to cultivate Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
2. Unsustainable Weed Unsustainable or Programmatic Weeds • Can be a meritorious idea • Becomes a weed when it is unsustainable! • Can quickly move from good intentioned to chaos Bamboo can grow quickly and become a weed when not carefully planning for it’s growth/use. Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
3. Diversionary Weed Diversionary Weeds • Earnest intent and good appearance • Becomes a weed when it takes time and focus away from priority • What we do with our time has to have an outcome related directly back to student achievement Melaleuca Tree/Brush: Takes over in Florida. Not native to USA Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
Implementation Audit Protocol 1. Initiative Inventory: a.) Look at each initiative listed. Start with items in the “Current” column. Repeat Steps 2-4 with “Possible/New” column. 2. Determine Impact on Student Achievement a.) Review actual student achievement and researched achievement claims. Define from Low to High. 3. Range of Implementation: a.) Define/quantify the levels of implementation i. How much time, energy and fiscal/human resources will be needed to continue to implement at a level of at least 90%? HIGH Implementation is 90% of staff implementing with fidelity. 4. Plot results on the chart Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.
2 minutes: Each person (without discussion) list the CURRENT initiatives in their district/building that are being undertaken. THEN, combine the individual lists into one group list. Definition of Initiative: Anything being undertaken that must maintain a focus, needs human and/or fiscal resources and should be monitored for implementation.
Step 2: Determine Impact on Student Achievement Hattie, J. (2008). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. New York, NY: Routledge.
HIGH i.e. District mandates a specific assessment be used for short cycle assessments to use in TBTs. Negotiate that you’ll do SCA but can a variety be used instead. Boundaries vs. Micromanagement High learning High action able to be taken Impact of Decision on Learning • Youhave control but there is low impact on learning. • i.e. using a textbook from front to back even if standards aren’t addressed vs. only using the chapters that focus on the standards • Low impact on learning AND • Low action on part of implementers • We keep doing it because we always have LOW Level of Implementation LOW HIGH
Research findings from Implementation Audits 1) Non-linear relationships 2) Drowning in initiatives 3) Most initiatives not monitored 4) Many initiatives are not linked to student achievement Threats to Sustainability 1.) “Program Orientation” – tradition of cycles of initiatives, boredom, death, and then comes another new initiative 2.) Vocal Opposition of a few wears the leadership down 3.) Political Opposition – i.e. Honors classes increased in size due to improved core instruction which created large class sizes in honors which were traditionally small Deliberate Practice • It takes 24 (Reeves) to 40 hrs (Darling-Hammond) of practice to apply new professional practices. Reeves, Douglas B (2011). Finding your leadershipfocus: What matters most for student results.