Anne Smith

Opportunity for Change: Leading the tribe

 

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead.html

Over the past three years, I have been leading my tribe of students into the 21^st century empowering their learning with a 1-1 student centered constructivist learning environment.  I have seen firsthand tremendous growth and change in the way I teach and more importantly in the way my students learn.

Next year, all ninth grade Language Arts classrooms will be undergoing a radical change through the introduction of EEE PC’s in each classroom. Not only will this be a transformation for students who are entering their first year of high school, but it will be a major shift in the teaching practices and pedagogy of many of our ninth grade teachers. 

The opportunity for change for me lies not just within the change my students will be undergoing, because I have witnessed this change already for the past three years having laptops. Instead, it will be in helping lead the way for the ninth grade team to take hold of the possibility that lies within this new adventure in learning.  The impact of this explosion forward will be tremendous if done well, and a learning experience if not. 

The most important actions that I must take to be an agent of change, with the introduction of a 1-1 learning environment in all Language Arts classes, are

1. Create a supportive environment for change- open forum to discuss challenges in dealing with technology issues as well as technology integration into curriculum. Make sure that there is a place to discuss challenges as well as successes.  Good listening encouraged.
2. Technology support- matters that concern the tools are handled efficiently and timely so as not to take away from class time.
3. Teacher training: teachers as learners- attending conferences, sharing best practices, learning new tools, on-going supported both within the school, at district, state, and national level. Also, we need to examine the pedagogy behind what we are doing making sure that we are using technology appropriately to support learning not just to use technology.
4. Reflective practices- we all learn and grow when we reflect. Teachers, staff, technology personal, and students need to be regular reflective practioners to vocalize the changes they are undergoing and witnessing.
5. Outliers- seizing the opportunities that appear- hold each other accountable to take advantage of learning opportunities as they come our way.
6. Wisdom of Crowds- pull in other disciplines into the Language Arts classes to benefit from their expertise and knowledge as well as push the initiative further into other disciplines and grade levels.
7. Teachers as leaders- hold one another accountable to present at either a local, state, national level the changes we are making at our school. This way we are creating a greater community of agents of change. I also need to be a leader with the changes I have already experienced having had laptops for the past three years while still remaining open to the possibilities others are introducing.

Most importantly, I am basing my leadership off of what we have read in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, and a TED talk by Seth Godin.  All speak of the importance of capitalizing on opportunities, leading people through a shared interest and connectedness, and as Godin eloquently put “challenge everything, establish the culture, be curious, connect, and commit.” 

If I can help the teachers challenge how they have taught before while not completely abandoning good practices, create a culture of change for student centered classrooms, allow for curiosity and questioning, connect us all together as we embark on this new adventure and commit to helping everyone succeed.  We are stronger together than we are as individuals, but we need to allow for individual growth and learning.  We will be stronger by being collective about our wisdom allowing for diversity amongst our opinions “And everything we know about decision making suggests that the more diverse the available perspectives on a problem, the more likely the final decision will be smart (Surowiecki 77).

My hope is to lead the ninth grade team in this change and possibly help manage this change as well. I want to be there as not only a participant, but a colleague, listener, and leader.  Having experienced many of the aspects that these teachers will face, I think I can provide a valuable insight into how to teach differently in a 21^st classroom. 

There will be teachers who are willing to make the change, teachers who are hesitant and I am also guessing some teachers who will be forced to make the change. If this is done well, and we provide support through the utilization of our already in place PLC time to answer questions, share best practices, and read about learning theory, then the teachers and students undergoing this process will see a dramatic shift in their teaching and learning.  If this is not done well, I hope that we can reflect on the areas that teachers felt unsuccessful and we can use our PLC time to discuss concerns and questions.

This will be a challenge in balancing between managing and leading.  As we have dicussed in our face to face in Los Angeles, there is a difference between the two.  But both require vision, action, and if I can help my team members deal with the emotional change (by being a leader) and how to support their changes (by being a manager), I think this will be a tremendous change not only for me personally to be in a new role at my school, but for my colleagues, and most importantly for my students.