Tying it all togetherSharon D. KruseMarch 14, 2011Skruse@Uakron.edu

What have you learned?• At your tables, list as many of the key ideas you have taken

away from the speakers in this series.• Rank the key ideas in order of importance, salience, interest

or significance to your work.• Be ready to share your thinking.

3 X 3• Murphy

1. Interventions and structures must be integrated, coherent, aligned and consistent for problems to be solved

2. Collective adult attention to problems matters for student achievement to occur

3. We’re in this for the long haul• Smylie

1. Continuous improvement is the most effective option for schools to respond to changing environments

2. Continuous improvement must become an organizational priority for success to be lasting and meaningful

3. Small strategic change can add up to fundamental change• Tschannen-Moran

1. Trust among stakeholders in the school community is necessary for real work to be accomplished

2. Attention to both tasks and relationships matters3. Building trust can result in the attainment of other school goals

What does it mean?• So what?• How do these ideas align with the work you are currently

doing?• How do these ideas offer you new ways to think about your

work?• Be ready to share your thinking.

Assess your schools and districts• Complete the inventory provided for you.• At your table discuss the ways in which the current

organizational design of your school and district supports or constrains its current improvement efforts.

• Be sure to clarify the kinds of improvement efforts you are thinking about. What evidence can you point to that supports your assessment?

One way to think about this

Adoption and implementation

EffectiveProgram Choice

IneffectiveProgram Choice

Effective Implementation

Continuous improvement is strengthened as new knowledge and skills are incorporated into current practices. Trust is enhanced.

Continuous improvement efforts are fragmented when time and resources do not provide expected results. Trust may be maintained but the belief we can do better is tested.

Ineffective Implementation

Continuous improvement is disjointed when even effective results are not worth the cost of attainment.Trust may be lost, learning uneven and irregular.

Continuous improvement efforts are eroded when focus is lost, trust is misspent and resources are wasted.

How will you use this?• Think about the programs and practices you have adopted for

your schools.• How well do they match the problem you wish them to

address?• How well have they been implemented?• How do they support or constrain continuous improvement

efforts?• How might you capitalize on the supports you have in place?• How might you address the constraints you face?

Communicative messaging

Feedback…Can… Provides

information that tells participants…

Context Examples

Confirm If they are right or wrong

Best used for positive feedback

Good work!Well done!

Correct If they need to change and provides direction

Best used for negative feedback

Almost there, we should try increasing communication

Diagnosis Where they might have gone wrong and how they might improve

Use to provide negative feedback but offers corrective direction

Perhaps we might get a better solution if we collected more data

Explain or Elaborate

Confirms the answer and offers more information

Extends the discussion

I agree, both means and ends are important

What matters• Purpose…• Turns plans and policies into coordinated action.

• People…• Reminds us that including others in the implementation and

evaluation of our actions breeds success.• Participation…• Provides us assess to the energy, intellect and expertise of others.

• Process…• Suggests that some days it flows and some days it stalls.

• Persistence…• Requires that we keep at thoughtfully selected interventions.

• Possibility…• Means that leaders must see the potential of their efforts to

positively affect the educational and life outcomes of students.

Questions?