Collaborative expertise
So I have been thinking a lot about Hattie's research and how the in-school variance in student learning is something solvable - or at least something we can reduce. I got reading... and then thought... best if I 'take some notes'. What became clear is that, like many things, it comes back to the culture of sharing and trust we have in our colleagues and in our schools. Hattie talks about Collaborative Expertise as something which would reduce the variance and I really like this and see this as...
A WAY FORWARD
but as much as things make sense and for all the guidance there is out there, for collaborative expertise to 'work' at reducing the variance in student learning within schools there needs to be conversations between teachers and leaders about what is working and these practices then shared... it is about working TOGETHER not as individuals in our boxes ( yes there are many of us still providing learning experiences from single-cell boxes). What is ironic is some of us in single-cell boxes are doing more collaborating with teachers in other parts of the country / world than we are with teachers in our own school. Why? Teachers firstly have to understand the benefits and value of collaborating and connecting themselves before they will do it. Right, enough thinking out loud...now to the notes...
What works best in Education - Collaborative Expertise John Hattie 2015
In ‘The Politics of Distraction’ Hattie shared that the largest barrier to student learning is within school variability. In New Zealand the variance of expertise between schools is 16% while within schools the difference 84%. The variability among teachers and their effect on student learning is something we can do something about. Hattie suggests ‘collaborative expertise’ as a way forward. At the heart of collaborative expertise are teachers, leaders, and the system. Hattie lists 8 tasks we need to discuss and put in place for collaborative expertise to embed and be effective.
Task ONE: shift our narrative about teaching and learning.
reframe the narrative away from standards and achievement and to move it towards progression. (I like to think about it this way...let's UNCOVER the standards rather than COVER them. Help design learning experiences which are memorable, interest-based, student directed in the first instance and FIND the evidence from this instead of the focus being on the assessment - better still, have your learners find their own evidence).
thanks @gcouros for the 'things to look for' & @sylviaduckworth for the graphic via Twitter
Task TWO: agreement among educators about what a year’s progress looks like.
introduce moderation, worked examples and collaboration to decide what it means to progress across different levels of the curriculum. (meaningful and valuable moderation requires a collaborative culture in the first instance and has to involve discussion of the things we find uncomfortable - it exposes us - we need to be open to critique and be prepared to justify our opinions - this in turn will help build expertise)
Task THREE: expect a year’s worth of progress by raising expectations that ALL kids can achieve.
By the age of eight many students have learned their place in the achievement hierarchy of the classroom and are satisfied to keep achieving at that level in the hierarchy. The greatest influence on learning is the expectations of the students and the teachers. (To me this is why personalised learning is where it's at. If we can design learning experiences - or coach the kids to design their own learning experiences - which meet their own needs and help them to achieve from where their starting point is - we can expect a years progress over a year - remembering that everyone will reach different levels of achievement at different rates).
thanks to @PalmyTeacher for sharing this via Twitter
Task FOUR: Develop new assessment and evaluation tools.
More measures of learning such as the extent to which students can engage in collaborative problem-solving, deliberate practice, inter-leaved and distributed practice, elaboration strategies, planning and monitoring, effort management and self-talk, rehearsal and organisation, evaluation and elaboration and the various motivational strategies – the ‘how to’ aspects of learning. (Learning how to Learn is important. Skills including self-management, metacognition, prioritising, initiative, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, grit, and questioning are all important in light of the reimagining of education.)
thanks to the Center for Curriculum Redesign for the graphic.
Task FIVE: Know thy impact
Understand what success is meant to look like before you start teaching, and this increases the likelihood that teachers communicate these notions of success to the students. Using student voice about teacher impact. (I am BIG on getting student voice. Ask the kids what success will look like,they will always be honest. and what better way to gauge the effectiveness of any learning experience than to ask those who it was designed for - then if it wasn't effective - make changes!)
Task SIX: ensure teachers have expertise in diagnosis, interventions, and evaluation.
If students are not learning, then it is because we are not using the right teaching strategies; and we have to make the changes to these strategies. (We need to know HOW to use evidence to make decisions about 'where to'...HOW we can change things and use different strategies for different kids...Teachers need Professional Development opportunities - you can always brew your own too!)
Task SEVEN: stop ignoring what we know and scale up success.
One of our major limitations in education is that we have little interest in scaling up successful ideas. (Why is this? - too risky? it's different to what I normally do? it's not the way we've always done it? it's uncomfortable for me? it's new? I might get it wrong? I will have to change? - GET OVER IT - It's not about you it's about the kids! To be frank - I am sick of hearing 'change takes time' - accept it is happening (and always has) and get on with SOMETHING which will help re-engage today's learners!)
Thanks to @pernilleripp for sharing this from @Taml17
Task EIGHT: link autonomy to a year’s progress.
Create a system where leaders know their high-impact teachers so that they may create a coalition of the successful who can work together on reducing within-school variability. (Yep - collaborative expertise! - respect for what each person can bring to the conversation and work together to share this in order to reduce in-school variance)
SO... to summarise...
Hattie says...“We must stop allowing teachers to work alone, behind closed doors and in isolation in the staffrooms and instead shift to a professional ethic that emphasises collaboration.” I say… “A culture of openness needs to be cultivated and it takes TIME to do this...but we have to start. For so long in many schools we have been working away in our own little box with the door closed and we were left to 'teach the way we were taught to or the way which was comfortable for us. Learning is about the kids, it should not be about what is easy for us. There should be an EXPECTATION that teachers work together and observing others needs to become part of the PD cycle. Time needs to be set aside for collaboration where we discuss the big issues and not be distracted by the politics. We could introduce ‘critical friends’ as one way to generate this collaborative culture.” https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/01/14/building-a-culture-of-collaboration/
Hattie says...“The focus of collaboration needs to be on the evidence of impact, common understandings of what impact means, the evidence and ways to know about the magnitude of this impact and how the impact is shared across many groups of students.” I say… “Let’s focus on student learning (rather than standards and assessment) and evidence of this and discuss how we can share the good stuff. Let’s make use of the expertise within our school and value what all teachers can bring to the discussion. Cultivating this collaborative culture will enhance equity and ultimately impact positively on learning. ALL learners should have equal opportunity at progress". Hattie says…”Collaboration is based on cooperativeness, learning from errors, seeking feedback about progress and enjoying venturing into the ‘pit of not knowing’ together with expert help that provides safety nets and, ultimately, ways out of the pit.” I say…”Teachers need to get excited about the unknown. Be prepared to try things and let the kids take some control over the direction. Know that asking for feedback and learning from errors IS at the core of learning - for us as well as our students. Read 'Punk Learning' and be a punk learner alongside your kids.” Go here to read my blog post reviewing the book.
thanks to @OscarNowik for the 'happenings' & @silviaduckworth for the awesome sketch-note graphic via Twitter
Hattie says…”The aim is not aspiring to utopia but scaling up the success already about us. It is expertise, it is reliable judgement, it is passion for making the difference, and it is collaborative sharing of this knowing and doing and caring.” I say…”PASSIONATE teachers is what will make the difference. We have to WANT to get better, we have to want to be lifelong learners too, and we have to have a desire to make a difference. There is a saying in the connected world that ‘kids don’t learn from people they don’t like’."
another @silviaduckworth sketch-note graphic via Twitter
"We have to SHOW we care about them all”.
"We have to use our collaborative expertise to ensure our learners are not let down and that student progress is equitable ".
And to finish...
thanks to @courosa for the truths & @silviaduckworth for another superb sketch-note graphic