EducationPlus

EducationPlus
St. Louis Regional Professional Development Center

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Change is hard at first...

Change for change sake is meaningless, wasteful, frustrating, and non-productive. Now change that impacts students, staff, and your school community in a positive manner is exhilarating, celebratory, refreshing, and renewing, and healthy.

So as the school year draws to a close it it’s important to reflect on what worked, what did not work, and what could be tweaked to be even better.

Change… Sometimes we need a new perspective to reflect on our own practices. Then we can determine what facets of our practices need refining. Here are three key areas that are important to consider:

Relationships – Do your students believe that they are important, significant, and able to do the work? Do your students know that you care? They their work is viable and relevant? By first building relationships with your students, you set the foundation for a positive and richly rewarding academic journey. Your students will readily take on more challenging tasks because they know you believe in them and in return, they will believe in themselves.

Rigor- Do you believe that all students can achieve at high levels? If so, what is the barometer reading on the rigor? Are we doing what is best for students? This work receives quite a bit of grief. However, if we do not take time to really consider what is rigorous and what is not rigorous, we may miss the boat completely on helping our students move beyond where they “are” to get to where they “should be”.

Relevance – The work our students are completing in class. How relevant is it to their learning? Have we moved beyond worksheets and coloring? At different junctures in lesson work a worksheet or color element can supplement learning. However these two elements should never take center-stage in the learning process. In looking at the big picture and planning for next year. It is important to determine the true relevance of each facet of the learning process model.

Change does not come easy at first. As a culture and society we are creatures of habit and change does not always sit well with us. So I challenge you to earnestly look at the three Rs (noted above) and determine “Where you are right now”, “Where you want to be (when school starts)”, and “How you plan to get there”.


I plan on taking time this summer to reflect on my school year and to determine what facets, areas, and strategies that need “change” in my own practices.

Resources:
Character.org (formerly Character Education Partnership) is the leading national organization that supports character education in our schools and communities. Their philosophy is based on the 11 Principles of Character Education.  http://character.org/

The International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) is a great resource. The breadth and depth of information relating to Rigor and Relevance will help you in your journey. http://www.leadered.com/

McREL International, which supports their Nine Instructional Strategies research and best practices, is an excellent source for you. McREL work in educational research and practical application will greatly benefit any school or classroom.  http://www.mcrel.org/