So here’s a question I was discussing a couple of weeks ago with a superintendent at a gathering of educational leaders: What percentage of the teachers at your school do a good job of preparing kids to take meet the requirements, pass the tests, and get prepared for college, and what percentage do a good job of teaching them how to learn? Not suggesting that the two are mutually exclusive, but as we talked about it, she shook her head at one point and said “I think 90 percent of my staff is really good at delivering the goods, but only about 10 percent really get student centered, inquiry driven, lifelong learning.”
That answer stuck with me. I would guess that’s probably the case for most schools, and the reasons are obvious. I know many schools and districts have full-time positions for testing coordinators and college counselors and data-driven decision makers. We put a great deal of emphasis on outcomes with our kids, but I keep wondering how much more we could do in emphasizing the process of learning as well, not just for students but for everyone in the school.
So when I read Jay Cross’s latest piece in CLO magazine, I wondered how many schools could point to someone, anyone, who is in charge of learning. By that I mean someone who manages the culture of the school by focusing not on outcomes as much as how learning is writ large in the system. Someone who also understands the ways in which social Web technologies accentuate the need for the learning skills we’ve desired all along: creativity, critical thinking, independent thought, collaboration, etc. I know I keep going back to this, but I wonder how many of us can look at our colleagues and answer the question “How does that person learn?” And think of the leaders in our schools in that light as well.
And it really is about a culture that supports, celebrates and shares learning. Jay points to a survey about CLOs from TogetherLearn that I think acts as a good barometer of that work. Does your school:
- Welcome innovation and contributions from its teachers?
- Encourage (and provide time for) reflection on successes and flops?
- Tolerate mistakes and reward thinking out of the box?
- Share information openly?
- Foster learning for everyone?
- Experiment with new ways of doing things?
- Work across departments and unit boundaries with ease?
All of that suggests a place that emphasizes process, not outcomes. (The rest of the survey is definitely worth a look in the context of schools as well.) And it also suggests intent, not just serendipity. We need to hire for learning, plan for learning, and share the learning of the entire system, students, teachers, and support staff alike. We need to leverage the potential of the local personal learning communities as well as the global networks of which we can become a part. We need people to lead that work, however, people who understand deeply the passion-based, self-directed potentials for learning in a connected world, and the importance of a vision for true learner-centered classrooms and curricula for everyone in the building.
So I’m wondering, do you have a CLO in your school either by name or reputation? Should we be thinking about hiring CLOs in our schools and districts? Modifying other positions to include these ideas?
You don’t have to look any further — many schools already have qualified people to assist/collaborate in this area — they are called library media specialists or Teacher-Librarians over here in Australia.
We are educated to work across the system – across subjects/units/grades, to work with teachers to find new ways to teach/learn.LMS were among the first educators to embrace ICT and online resources for learning. We share information openly, foster learning for everyone. If you’ve got one at your school drop in and discuss the future!
Hi Cathy. Here, here. I tried to leave my comment about Library Media Specialists/Teacher-Librarians, but I don’t see that it posted. Why are so many being riffed when these people are the answer?
I’ve found that many of the folks who are best at engaging learners in personalized and passionate ways (and who have experienced this in their own learning) are unwilling to engage with the often narrow training paths and subsequent standardization of licensed teaching and traditional school structures. Instead, I see them in fields and activities like environmental ed, outdoor rec, museums, coaching, homeschooling, community ed, extracurricular mentoring programs and creative parenting. I know lots of licensed teachers who want to engage learners, too… but the entanglements of current educational structures make this pretty darn hard.
Ironically, the school boards have created mission statements that value creating life long learners. Yet as you pointed out, they allowed the system and structures to be set up that focus on outcomes. So at your next school board meeting, ask your school board what they are doing to create a culture of lifeling learning.
We do have people in charge of instruction in various content areas but I think they get bogged down by paperwork as well and have little influence on the classroom.
I have been calling for schools to implement CLO for several years now. How is it that organizations of learning are NOT Learning Organizations? Professional development is seldom more than lip service. If schools want to really be about learning, we need to see the learning become authentic with the students and extend to all members of the organization- faculty, administrators, staff- everyone! We don’t need people in charge of instruction. We need people who are in charge of developing a learning culture. We are stuck in the Henry Ford model of education. Why is it that L&L feels the need to ask if class time should be taken to accommodate for professional development? Should this even be a discussion point anymore? In a culture of learning, this would all be blended together (teaching, learning, professional development). A learning culture is about EVERYONE learning. Enter Action Research. But for that to work, teachers would have to be reflective and critical of their personal practice, research best practices, theories and systematically make changes and track the results. Of course that will take time. This is why it needs to be the CULTURE of the school and formalized. Yes, it seems crazy that schools usually don’t have anyone in the role of CLO.
Hello? School Administrators? Are you reading this. Please look carefully at Cathy’s post.
Teacher-Librarians are specially trained in inquiry based learning and almost all of us have higher degrees in Library and Information Science. This doesn’t mean we only rock at buying books and keeping our shelves neat and tidy. We teach process and understanding of content. We don’t drill, we engage. We teach teachers how to use 2.0, and technology tools to engage and to encourage problem based learning.
We also have very good research which shows that having us in your building will positively improve your students learning and test scores. So, why are you always cutting the positions of teacher-librarians? Why are we seen a glorified aids and non essential?
What works in education? Having as many Teacher-Librarians you can on staff. Don’t belive me, look at the data. Quit riffing us!
http://tiny.cc/PNME8
Maureen, I am not sure that all School Administrators don’t believe that you are good at what you do, and I am thinking you are generalizing when you are making your point. There are many administrators who are models of learners. There are many teachers that are models of learning. Let’s include all in this discussion. I am sorry, but I, too, am tired of being bashed just because I am in a specific profession. I pride myself on the learning and sharing, and I would say that I am one of those people that Will describes in his post.
I respect all professions. I think the bigger problem than the lack of teacher-librarians is the structure we have in place that does not place them in the classroom, co-teaching, coaching and modeling. Our teacher-librarians rock at this, but I am still thinking we can maximize this even more. Let’s think together vs. blaming.
Melissa, It is refreshing to hear from an admin who understands that collaborative planning and teaching to meet the needs of all students, and teachers, is essential for a progressive and inquiry based curriculum.
I sincerely hope my post is a generalization, but I fear in a growing number of districts it is not. I am advocating to stop a practice that is widespread across my state, and unfortunately across the US at this time. The trend of eliminating media specialists from schools needs to be addressed head on and without worrying about politically correct niceties that pay lip service to what is best for students. The main purpose of fighting for the educational rights of young people is to advance relevent change, not to ensure that someone feels good about the endorsement on their license and the title on their business card.
This riffing trend is most disturbing when it happens in districts were administrators recognize that eliminating library media specialists stifles or hurts student achievement and teacher development, but for some reason (perhaps self preservation) they do not argue against this practice to their higher ups and school boards.
I agree that not all media specialists are in the classroom as needed, and that some old school librarians have not gotten on board. Saying this, I personally see many media specialists denied the autonomy to teach process and build curriculum because administrators fail to stretch their concepts of scheduling. Instead most still insist on a traditional and highly flawed model of compulsory “special” visits to the library media center. The only purpose this ridge schedule serves is to easily ensure that “real teachers” get their prep time. It does not promote real, relevant learning in any way, shape, or form. I also see secondary, non-specials, LMS’s bogged down by a 1 LMS : 1000+ student : 100+ teacher ratio. And no, please don’t blame teacher associations for this, because that is a cop out.
In my district we are fortunate enough to have hard working collaborative LMS’s, many supportive principals, and a strong and forward-thinking advocate and mentor in the form of our assistant superintendent of curriculum.
However, I sit on the board of my teacher-librarian professional association, and am highly concerned for the state of education when I see all these “chief learning officers” getting pink slips every spring. There is also a growing trend of districts not rehiring for retirees and forcing one media specialist to cover multiple schools.
In my state, when we identify a potential riff or eliminated fte position, we are quick to send letters, share documentation and research, make phone calls, and do the whole dog and pony show to persuade the purse string holders to reverse their decision. But we are still fighting a losing batter. It is rare that I witness a district decision to reduce the number of non teaching admins to make up for a shortfall of cash.
I find in education it is much easier for those who hold relatively secure non-teaching office positions to be the ones touting the “can’t we all just get along” speech in times of budgetary crisis. I get along very well with my administrators. I also am very vocal about right and wrong, and am not afraid to speak truth to power. Thankfully, they respect me, and my motives, enough to consider my input.
If educators of all types are truly passionate about doing what is best for kids, then we honor our students by keeping library media specialists in schools and by giving teachers more autonomy and financial support to develop and deliver cutting edge curriculum. I guess I just don’t know how to say this “nicely” and get power holders to sit up, take notice, and act.
As I was reading your post, I couldn’t help but think that there are library media specialists that provide this kind of glue in their buildings. And as I look at some of the posts here, I feel validated by the fact that others see the same thing.
Seriously, if you know how to construct a technology-enabled enquiry classroom, you can create both individual and negotiation curricula – you can blast right past the standards. All you have to do is gear your learning ‘pitch’ the metacognitive approaches.
I don’t like ‘chief’ anything, that kind of top down thinking got us in this mess.
Agreed on the curriculum piece. But I think we have a hard time getting to the more effective curriculum without shifting the way we think about learning. Drop the chief if you like, but we still need folks who can model this stuff at a greater scale than we currently see in most schools here in the US at least.
What a refreshing question. I teach in a Pennsylvania Public School (just outside of the city) and I feel that there is often talk of this as importance, yet our entire budget is being allocated and our course offerings are being realigned for PSSA Assessment Readiness. I know that we have teachers that are focused on actually learning, and I am watching the spark be squelched out of them after our fourth practice test (loss of 2 instruction days per test) for the PSSA’s was scheduled.
I wonder how we enable the freedom necessary to teach learning and facilitate that trust of instruction that when a teacher is allowed to teach, the almighty test results will follow?
Unfortunately, too much of the kind of autonomy Kate is speaking about, comes down to leadership. If you have building principals who are willing to give up some control to teachers, you will have teachers who are willing to give up control in their classrooms. I think most schools have a few teachers with the courage to challenge the status quo, but the majority want to do what they are told because it comes down to being armed with information and data to support the educational risks. I’m lucky that my principal will allow me to do quite a bit if I present an action plan and then share results, regardless of success or struggle. It would be MUCH easier if I had people to collaborate with, but most times my colleagues don’t have the time or energy to do so because they are so busy writing lessons and assessing (that would be much easier and BETTER if we wrote them together).
The fact is, as much as I loathe the PSSA’s, we still have to give them (14 STRAIGHT DAYS OF TESTING NEXT YEAR!!!) Maybe it’s a chicken or egg scenario, but if more teachers owned research and presented creative learning opportunities, more principal’s would give autonomy to do so…and if test results follow…who knows? Maybe we wouldn’t even utter the words “test prep” until the day of the test…
(In Response to Will’s Presentation in Niagara Falls, ON on May 14th, 2009.)
Thanks, Will.
You certainly demonstrated today that in order for us to ensure that we all become more effective CLO’s, we need to embrace these technologies that our students are already using.
We like how you view our role as ever evolving and point out that our students need us more than ever in order to to fully understand their digital worlds.
Unquestionably, we have more learning to do but we loved how you “walked the talk” by immersing us in these new applications (myspace, twitter, diigo, igoogle and so many more).
We’re so pleased to have Niagara Falls, ON as a “dot on your map.”
DSBN Teachers
Absolutely…and why are SO MANY focused on the cost of staff rather than looking at what those staff members are doing to promote learning, engaging our students and raising the bar on 21st Century Learning skills. Laying off information specialists at this point is detrimental! If we don’t keep teacher librarians and tech teachers on board, I fear for the promise of our country’s future…seriously. And I am not one, but have had the pleasure to see what they can offer our schools. In this day and age we cannot be without them.
Thanks for the post because I have recently heard too many stories about laying of excellent seasoned teachers and librarians because they were too expensive! THAT is ridiculous. We need a learning reality check…
Hi Cathy. Here, here. I tried to leave my comment about Library Media Specialists/Teacher-Librarians, but I don’t see that it posted. Why are so many being riffed when these people are the answer?
I fear the biggest problems with teaching for tests rather then the joy of learning is that so many children beat themselves up for failing the tests or get puffed up for passing the tests. People who love to learn only use a test to gauge what they still don’t fully understand. By knowing that you don’t know something you actually become teachable on the subject.
I suppose in many ways teaching has become cast aside by politics as we constantly give way to trying to build kids up as far as possible without truly taking the time to make sure the foundation is sure.
Will–
I checked in to see where you have been, no post since the beginning of May? That’s almost a month dude–I need you out here, helping ME to learn. . . and now to the point,
if I’m not the CLO as the CSO, what the heck am I? Seriously, that’s a major part of who I am as a leader or what am I modeling exactly? I love learning and figuring out how best for my teachers/adults in the organization to learn so that they can in turn, turn on our students to learning. Can’t do that without reading and listening and learning. Hopefully every day.
Post please. Remember what you told me, just keep writing. I don’t care if you’ve said it before. Nothing changes unless we keep saying it. Say it Will. We have too many people just showing up now not to hear your voice.
Definitely could use another post! Of course I understand if you are busy (I am busy working on my MBA classes that I found out about with the link in my name) but I really appreciate your blog.
My experience has been that many teachers themselves are not life long learners, readers, academic risk takers. The wonder of the world is gone for them. How can you impart what you do not have?
After reading your posting, I really considered who I would label as being in charge of learning in my school. Our district of course hires Math and Reading coaches, Heads of Curriculum and Development for all of the content areas, and other specialists with titles that appear to give them this role. However, when you step back and look at the responsibilites and duties assigned to these indivuduals, all you see is data collection and improvement plans based on the numbers. I recently became familiar with the term Web 2.0 and completly changed my view on how technology should be used to create the lifelong learners we all claim to desire. I think these opportunities have been overlooked as everyone is so caught up on standardized test scores. Many politicians may disagree, but I agree with your statement read on page 6 of your book that “In reality, however, these tools have considerable relevance to state and local core content standards, and there is much reason to believe their implementation in schools will better prepare students for a slew of new literacies and competencies in the post-education lives.”