Caution: Collaboration & Competition

Sitting in the hairstylist’s chair, I hesitated to share with Euan that one of my previous careers was hairdressing. Euan asked what I’m doing now. We talked about education and postgraduate study with Euan sharing how his mother completed postgraduate studies later in life and how challenging it was for her. I shared how I finished school in Year 10 because I was offered an apprenticeship and my family thought that it was a wonderful opportunity for me. Euan had a similar experience. After completing my 4-year apprenticeship, I managed one of six salons and later owned and managed my own salon. Later, with a Canadian work visa I worked with 22 stylists in a large salon in Calgary. I asked Euan how hairdressers were paid in Scotland. Apparently, they are given a standard salary and then they received commission or a bonus based on their profits. I shared how in Brisbane I was paid per hour, regardless of busyness or bookings but if you made your target you received a small bonus. In Canada, I worked on commission, which was an entirely new experience.

View from our apartment in Banff.

As my accent and blow-drying with round brushes were novel, clients often requested me. Unfortunately, this created competition within the salon as I was taking others’ income away from them. Being reliant on commission creates strong competition. I was working more for the experience. Unlike my colleagues who were working to pay house or car repayments; we were working for travel money. I felt guilty taking colleagues’ income and struggled with the fact that money and competition was coming between us. Fortunately, we moved to Banff for my husband’s new project and I relinquished the 3 months left on my working visa.

I shared with Euan that currently politicians and some organisations are suggesting that teachers should be paid on merit and sanction those who underperform. Additionally, I explained how some want outcomes-based funding. I agree with Piccoli who states outcomes-based funding is unfair. Research in other countries have shown paying teachers on performance to be less than successful. If research suggests collaboration and collective responsibility is key to student success and effective teaching, it is vital that this proposal does not have teachers pitted against each other. The proposal seeks for about 0.5 per cent of educators become ‘master teachers’, paid $180,000 ($80,000 increase). Personally, I am not entirely convinced that the Highly Accomplished and Lead accreditation process identifies the most effective teachers. I don’t believe we should rely on one process to ‘reward’ or ‘identify’ the most effective teachers. There are many effective or quality teachers who chose to spend their time either completing postgraduate study/research or chose to spend time learning about other interests. This may take the form of additional reading, traveling and visiting other schools and countries, or spending time gaining knowledge in another subject area.

If instructional specialists are paid a lot more than regular teachers, a power imbalance will be created. Paying some teachers more may not create a better education system but a more divisive system. I read this article, ‘10 Reasons Teacher Pay for Performance Is Ineffective’ and agree with the author. After working in the US, I have always thought Australian teachers are paid quite well. I do think however, that the level of administration and box ticking processes I’ve experienced in Australia are much higher. I don’t believe teachers want more money in their pay packet but less classes. This will provide more time to analyse data, collaborate, plan and provide student feedback. It will also mean employing more teachers, which can only be a positive, as the workload is overwhelming many teachers. I am not stating that I have all the answers but I think we need to be asking more questions. We need to include all stakeholders when making these monumental decisions. Most importantly, we must ask the teachers what they need to develop professionally and to positively influence student outcomes. We should also review the findings from other countries.

Reviewing Fullan's four criteria to judge a driver's effectiveness, does it-

1. foster motivation of teachers and students;
2. engage educators and students in continuous improvement
3. inspire team work; and
4. affect all teachers and students?

Do any of the suggestions for reform support intrinsic motivation, instructional improvement, and teamwork? You may think instructional improvement will result from having instructional leaders but I can assure you that an effective teacher does not guarantee an effective instructional coach. Do the most effective teachers make the most effective principals? Here are some wonderings...

• To increase the level of professionalism, could we increase all teachers award salary?
• If teachers become instructional leaders, why not simply decrease their teaching load? 
• If we want to create a collaborative and authentic partnership approach to professional learning, we need to have a balance of power.
• If we want teachers to develop professionally and instructional specialists are the answer, we must be careful that they are not used as performance managers.

This blogpost concludes with Hargreaves & O’Connor’s (2018) powerful statement,

In education, professional collaboration and building social capital among teachers and other educators improves student learning as these educators circulate their knowledge and take more risks. It improves teacher recruitment and retention as teachers in collaborative cultures realise there are others who can help and support them.

Always wondering...

@stringer_andrea

Rose-coloured glasses

According to the Grammarist, rose-coloured glasses describes a disposition that is upbeat, hopeful, with optimism and positive thinking overflowing. Positive psychology is dedicated to studying the optimist and optimism, and how that type of personality and philosophy can lead a person to have increased confidence and an improvement in attitude and happiness amongst other things. Dr Martin Seligman and other psychology researchers have discovered that those who do not dwell on negativity and pessimism tend to succeed more.

A cynic may reject this idea, believing that to look at life through rose-coloured glasses creates unrealistic expectations and may indicate that you only notice the good things. Having a tendency to forget the negative things that happened in the past and by focusing mainly on the positive attributes, you view the past nostalgically. Cynics believe this view is unrealistic. 

Having a glass half full outlook or looking on the bright side is typically my approach to work and my life in general, and I believe I’m quite optimistic. However, I have had my rose-coloured glasses shattered a few times and you may be surprised to learn that I think this is a good thing. Glass shatters is that moment of realisation that changes your perception of something or someone. You've developed a new awareness; one that can't be unseen. I've included a clip from How I Met Your Mother to explain further.

While this moment may cause some disappointment in either a person, organisation or event, reflection is vital. Shattering the rose-coloured glasses can help close chapters, build resilience and provide space for new perspectives, commitments and opportunities. The cynics in my life will at times, advise and question my naivety. While I don’t think I will ever be that cynic or pessimist, I do agree that on some occasions, I need to be more realistic.

Always wondering...

@stringer_andrea

Learning to Trust…Again.

We’ve all experienced it. Trusting someone, only to be disappointed or worse, shattered. Whether it is betrayal by a friend or colleague for their own benefit, not honouring a future promised, or having another share information that wasn’t theirs to share. I assume everyone has had their trust broken at some point in their career, however, because the majority have experienced it, it doesn’t make it less significant. It’s not what happens, or the actions taken in that moment that generates the most harm, it is the aftermath…the ripple effect. I read Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead at the beginning of the year and she speaks of trust.

 

Trust is the stacking and layering of small moments and a reciprocal vulnerability over time. Trust and vulnerability grow together, and to betray one is to destroy both (p.34).

I visualise trust as slowly placing building blocks on top of each other. It takes time, as the pieces are purposefully placed. When trust is lost, these blocks are instantly smashed and the ability to show vulnerability is shattered. I believe the effects are long-lasting if one does not purposefully heal. On Twitter recently, I read how many teachers had been burnt because of toxic workplaces or people. I spent a great deal of time thinking about their comments and stories, and how they recovered. A wise person once said, “Make sure you don’t become bitter”. This resonated because while you may have been the one hurt or let down, being bitter reflects upon you. People are more likely to judge you, not the person who broke your trust. 

I wondered how people restore their ability to trust and express their vulnerability? Trust is a two-way street, so is it something one can do on their own?  Does a person need to develop their own psychological safety first? If the goal is to restore the ability to trust again, what role can coaching play? Does coaching require vulnerability and trust first, or does trust and vulnerability develop through coaching? 

We need to trust to be vulnerable, and we need to be vulnerable in order to build trust (p. 30).

Still wondering...

@stringer_andrea

Informed, Innovative, Empowered & Successful

Early June, I Tweeted out a request asking to visit schools to learn how early career teachers are supported through coaching. Principal, Greg Turnbull from Blairmount Primary School reached out with an invitation to visit, as they currently have 3 full-time Assistant Principals that are pedagogy coaches. It wasn’t until I viewed a Tweet from Blairmount that I realised @tickytechy was also a part-time technology coach who works between 2 schools. An inspiring educator, I met Ashleigh in 2013 at ISTE and also attended #PBLAustralia with her. 

While living in the US, I was training to be a math coach, but told that we don’t really do teacher coaching in Australia. It's exciting to see how coaching is being incorporated into the professional learning of teachers. So why am I wanting to learn about how schools are implementing coaching? I’m currently a doctoral student at UNSW, Gonski Institute and my cohort is focused on School Reform and Equity in Education. My research topic is the early career teachers’ perspective of their first few years of teaching. While the working conditions and school climate influence the teacher’s experience, the accreditation process and professional learning is of particular interest. This professional learning may be personalised through coaching.

It was amazing to talk with Greg as he explained his journey over the past 5 years. By implementing coaching years ago, his team has learnt, adapted and incorporated coaching within the day-to-day learning at Blairmount Primary School. Greg chooses to invest in 3 full-time coaches that work with all staff on their goals. These goals are separate to the Professional Development Plan but often align. Blairmount Primary School has 3 strands to which the teachers’s goals can align.

Reflective Practitioner that includes the Spiral of Inquiry (Linda Kaser & Judy Halbert) & Learning Sprints (Simon Breakspear).

Student Voice – Greg is part of a collective network from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The research and information from Russell Quaglia is a valued resource.

Visible Learning that includes ‘Learner Dispositions’ or as the students named them, ‘Learner Qualities’. The students were involved in selecting and identifying the qualities and designing the icons to represent them.

The Learning Pit

Coaching can facilitate learning within all these focus areas and Greg emphasised the importance of personalised professional learning. In every focus area, each teacher was at different point on the learning continuum. Some teachers were new to the school and had limited ‘Spiral of Inquiry’ knowledge. Others may have a strong understanding of most of the areas. Coaching recognises and respects each teacher’s point of need.

Each coach works with 7 teachers and they meet once a week for an hour. In addition, teachers also meet 2 hours a fortnight in Stages. The coaches meet with Greg once a week for 45 minutes to debrief, share and as Greg indicated, at times, he coaches the coaches. Once you observe the benefits of coaching, you are unlikely to return to being the 'expert' or the 'rescuer'. I asked Greg what was his first experience of coaching? He shared that Kathy Powzun is an amazing Director who introduced him to coaching. Years later, he is fully committed to coaching and investing in his teachers’ professional growth.

The coaches each have reflective journals to document their journey and thinking. Sharing the reflective journal is optional, as some parts may be personal and sensitive. Clearly, confidentiality is a respected component of their coaching culture and is practised by coach to coachee, and between the coaches and the Principal. At the end of each term, the teachers are asked to share their learning and while this is optional, Greg advised that the majority of teachers are keen to share their learning. I spoke with a coach and also with an early career teacher who is fortunate to receive coaching. Both shared their experiences and the positives they have witnessed. Coaching provides a level of emotional and professional support. We discussed how it is important to first establish what coaching is and what it isn’t with the staff. The high level of trust was evident, as classrooms were open and teachers were willing to share. While sharing and celebrating student learning is vital in project-based learning and design thinking, we need share more teacher learning between schools. Many schools are doing amazing things and while context plays a vital role, we can learn from each other and adopt and adapt to suit individual contexts.

Greg mentioned that some of the teachers have always been coached, as coaching has been embedded within school for over 5 years. To support teachers' professional growth, coaching is their way of being. Greg provided me with his school 'Evidence Book', which had 'Informed, Innovative, Empowered & Successful' on the cover. I commented that this could apply to the teachers at Blairmount too. He replied, 'and our parents too'.

I would like to showcase other schools that support their early career teachers through coaching. If you're interested in having me visit and write up a short blogpost, please send me a direct message.

Thank you Greg Turnbull & the staff at Blairmount Primary School for sharing your learning.
Let's share great practice more often.

@stringer_andrea