1. Leading Professional Learning: Challenges and Possibilities Dr. Keith Eades District Transformation Coach

2. This interactive session will Explore the relationship between leadership, school improvement and professional learning Introduce a model of Professional Learning Communities Investigate the barriers to collaborative ways of working 3. How do we ensure success for all students in all settings? 4. Old v New Reform (Harris, forthcoming)OldNew Standardization Professionalisation Punitive Developmental Compensates for poor Advocates effective practice Control Reductionist Focus on Failure De-Professionalization practice Empowerment Expansionist Emphasis on success Professional Collaboration 5. Drivers (Fullan 2011) WrongRight Accountability Capacity Building Individual teacher and Group Solutionsleadership quality Technology Instruction Fragmented Strategies Integrated or systemicstrategies 6. Mc Kinsey How the world's most improved school systems keep getting better 2013 7. The Most Powerful Levers Leadership Capacity Teacher Quality 8. School Improvement Does not occur without some change in leadershipor leadership practice 9. Leadership: What we Know Leadership is the key lever of high organizationalperformance. Successful organizations have widely and carefully distributed leadership. Effective leaders grow and support other leaders 10. FIVE DIMENSIONS OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP (Robinson, 2008)0.421. Establishing Goals and Expectations0.312. Resourcing Strategically3. Planning, Coordinating and Evaluating Teaching and the Curriculum0.424. Promoting and Participating in Teacher Learning and Development0.845. Ensuring an Orderly and Supportive Environment0.27 00.10.20.30.40.50.6Effect Size0.70.80.91 11. Leadership Matters So Leadership Matters 12. But What type of school leadership transforms organizational performance and outcomes? 13. But What Type of Leadership? Transformational Instructional Distributed Strategic System 13 14. So we know What is important and what to focus upon But how do we make it happen? 15. Effective Leadership is Distributed and Collaborative 16. Distributed Leadership is concerned with(Harris, 2008)Building leadership capacityinter-relationships that build leadership 17. Distributed Leadership in context (Harris, 2006) Leadership shifts according to need Collaborative teams formed for specific purposes Team membership changes according to task, roles and expertise.. 18. Pause and Reflect How far is leadership distributed or collaborative in your school/district? 19. Research suggests that professional development is most effective when: it addresses the concrete,everyday challenges involved in teaching and learning Does not focus on abstract educational principles or teaching methods taken out of context. Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad Darling Hammond et al 2009 NSDC 20. Professional Learning Communities in Action 21. Whats in a name? Communities of Practice Professional Learning Communities Collaborative Learning circles Communities of Interest Professional Learning Teams 22. Professional Learning Communities as A mechanism for distributing leadership An infrastructure for change A platform for professional learning 23. Connecting Professional Learning Working together on the barriers to learning throughcollective inquiry, joint decision-making and problemsolving. 24. Professional collaboration Collaborative practice is about teachers and school leaders working together to develop effective instructional practices, studying what actually works in classroom, and doing so with rigorous attention to detail and with a commitment to not only improving ones own practice but that of others as well. 25. Professional Learning Communities PLCs engage in processes of inquiry in order to improve student outcomes. Through using evidence from school self evaluation, including data and teacher assessments, members of the PLC identify the strengths and needs of a group of pupils and then determine the strategies and skills needed to improve outcomes. 26. Characteristics of a PLC Data informed Distributed Leadership Focused on Learner Needs Experiment with Pedagogy / Instruction Inquiry driven- outcomes lead to change in practice and improved learner outcomes 27. School Priorities Effective Professional Learning aligns with school improvement priorities and goals. 28. Effective PL addresses school improvement priorities in context School PrioritiesProfessional LearningStudent Learning 29. PLCs You do not DO PLCs once a week or once a term. Beingpart of a PLC is an on going process where teachers work collaboratively in cycles of collective enquiry / action research to achieve better results for the students they teach 30. Without stones, there is no arch. Marco Polo 31.