HTH 315 - Leading progressive schools
How can we inspire and support teachers in designing classrooms where students engage in "work that matters"?
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Context
What exactly is progressive pedagogy? When we first started this course, I was a little confused about our Put It To Practice assignment, the reading assignments as well as all of the activities we did together. This class was titled “Leading Progressive School” and was very much looking forward to, well, being a leader at a progressive school. So what did it take? What could I do? And how should I do it? I very quickly realized that there is no right answer to the questions I had about leading a progressive school. Leading a progressive school involves being able to have difficult conversations with both staff and students as well as having an eye for designing and critiquing projects. It also means finding what “progressive pedagogy” means to you as a leader. At this point, I do not know if I have a single, conclusive answer to what progressive pedagogy means. I think it could look like and mean different things to different people. It could be something new and innovative or it might not. But one thing I learned through this project was that a staff, much like a classroom of students, consists of a diverse group of people. Not only will their personal backgrounds differ but their teaching experiences, the duration of their teaching, the training they received, their habits and tendencies, etc. And much like an effective classroom teacher, an effective leader should also never forget this fact. In addition, as leaders we need to set up structures in our school to support all teachers - whether they be first year teachers, veteran teachers and everyone in between. Therefore, for this project I investigated how we may further support students and staff at our progressive school.
It was evident that Isaac, my school site’s director, was thinking very much of the same thoughts when we began discussing possible Professional Development workshops for the staff. He was receiving a lot of feedback from new teachers regarding project design and development. Where does one start? What makes good project descriptions? How much detail do I need to have planned and should I include? All of these questions and more were common questions that new teachers presented to Isaac. Additionally, as a school leader Isaac saw that many veteran teachers also often struggled with writing up a project description or simply the concept of project design. As a teacher in a project-based learning classroom, I cannot agree more with Isaac. Even after three years at High Tech High, any time I begin the creation of a new project I am humbled and reminded of the complexities of deeper learning. Even as veteran teacher I do not think that progressive pedagogy and doing meaningful work is something that we as teachers can master perfectly - in fact, the term “veteran” can often be presumptuous in that it assumes the teacher is all-knowing when it comes to teaching. We can strive for mastery and perfection but our students are constantly changing as well as our world and society and technology continues to grow and become further complex but necessary. And when one adds the complexities of teaching itself, progressive pedagogy, or specifically project design for this particular PITP, is something all teachers can improve on.
Through the Professional Development my colleagues and I put together for our staff, I believe we started the beginning of a long conversation regarding designing a project for a project-based learning environment at a progressive school. By looking at templates and examples of how other teachers design and structure their projects, I believe teachers will have a better sense of what a great, meaningful project looks like and what they need to do to get there. When leading my own progressive school, I would like to start these types of discussions early on and ensure that all staff members understand what components are critical to a deep project. The more a project has things like an authentic audience, realistic benchmarks and meaningful deliverables, the more meaningful and deep the project is. So with my own staff, I want to have those discussions of what else makes projects great? Are there any exceptions? If so, what are they? By having this ongoing and extremely relevant discussion, I believe I will be supporting my staff and further honing their skills as a progressive educator.
What I Did
Throughout my time here at HTH I have seen a variety of formats for project descriptions. Some are long and detailed, others brief and to the point. Some qualities were consistent throughout all teachers and subject areas where some project descriptions were formatted specifically for a math or science class. Because of the way so many of our teachers were feeling regarding project design and the nuts and bolts behind it, I decided to focus on creating and executing a series of professional development workshops that focused on deeper learning through projects. However I didn’t want to just answer superficial questions such as “What format should I use for my project description?” or “What information should I include?” but I also wanted to answer deeper questions such as “How can projects be designed/structured in a way that ensures deeper learning?” or “What elements should a project have in order for it to be a “good” or meaningful project?”.
Two of my colleagues had already launched a professional development workshop focusing on the 6 A’s of Project Design - specifically, we focused on how our projects could serve others or, in other words, how our project could have an authentic audience. Stemming from this workshop I had planned a Gallery Walk-type activity where the staff got a chance to be exposed to all sorts of project descriptions and get some feedback on how to make their project even more meaningful. However, after a discussion we realized that if we were going to ask every teacher to bring in a project description we would need to have another PD between the two to further support the teachers and scaffold the activities. We were essentially planning a series of professional development workshops that focused on making our projects more meaningful and full of deeper learning.
The workshop I led offered my colleagues a Project Planner that I personally had never seen before (and after leading the workshop, I discovered that I was not alone). It was structured in a way that allows the teacher/designer to consider all the elements that make for a strong project such as essential questions, exhibition venues, outside experts and options for personalization. It was extracted from a book called Work that Matters which was written by one of my colleagues. I chose to use a modified version of the Rich Text Protocol to allow everyone to look through and discuss the Project Planner that I provided. Before the protocol began, I informed everyone of the Project Description Gallery Walk that we were planning on doing in about 2 weeks and that today’s protocol was in preparation for that Gallery Walk. Below is the modified Rich Text Protocol I implemented:
One of the concerns that my collaborating colleagues and I had was providing time for teachers to actually create the project description/design in order to have something to present for the Gallery Walk. In hopes to appease this concern, we decided to finish our PD meeting 20 minutes early and give that time to teachers to begin thinking about their project for the next workshop. We ended up providing the staff about 15 minutes of extra time. Some stayed behind and finished conversations but most left.
Moving Forward
At this point, I feel it’s a little too early to determine how effective or meaningful the workshops have been or will be because I have yet to complete them. The particular workshop that I am reflecting is one of many that I plan to be involved in. However, I still took away many learning moments through this project.
In “Changing the Subject” the author lists characteristics of a successful student in the 21st century: “readiness to collaborate, attention to multiple perspectives, initiative, persistence, and curiosity.” As a progressive educator not only do I agree with this statement but I also believe that the projects we assign to our students should give them opportunities to grow in those areas. However, as a teacher I am also guilty of being so absorbed into whatever it is that this particular project makes me obsess over that I begin to forget why we do this in the first place and I forget what is more important. It’s reminded me that as a school leader, we should be able to support teachers in a way that allows them time and energy to re-direct priorities and remember the “deeper learning” behind our projects. The PD we did together not only reminded teachers of the “non-content requirements” (like the ones mentioned in “Changing the Subject”) through the templates we looked at together but it also allowed teachers to actually utilize these characteristics. They had to collaborate and work as a group when analyzing the templates, they had to think about the project descriptions from the perspective of the students, etc.
Every single Exit Card I received from my colleagues, both new and veteran teachers, expressed their gratitude for being exposed to this particular Project Planner. “Awesome sheet - especially since I am a new teacher - wish I got this at the beginning of the year to help map out my projects and write project descriptions. I am going to print out a bunch of extra copies to help me with the 3 projects I have planned for the not-so-distant future” says one new colleague. Another claims “I like the planner and the idea that it maintain authenticity- good foundation of our roots.” I was glad that we offered our staff something that is useful and relevant to their practice but I couldn’t help but agree with the first colleague and wonder why we had not had these discussions earlier on in the school year. Which leads me to another wondering as a school leader: how does one prioritize? It’s not like we wasted time in the beginning of the year - we were still discussing relevant issues and participating in meaningful workshops. How did project design get left out? As I emerge as a school leader, how do I decide what to focus on first and last?
Another epiphany I experienced after my facilitation was my haste in deciding to implement a protocol for this particular PD. “I don’t know how productive the protocol for the meeting was...” said one colleague, while another echoes “was a bit confused with protocol. We didn’t exactly follow and were unclear as to what was being asked.” This latter comment was definitely true and I do admit that I did not strictly follow the protocol, which is unlike me. The reason for this happening, I think, was due to the inconsistent sizes of the groups. Some teachers were in a group of 3 while others were in a group of 5 or 6. Therefore some groups took longer to share out while others finished ahead. Because I had the protocol projected, I assumed my colleagues would move onto the next step if they finished early. As a result, the protocol ended up becoming a rather unstructured discussion in small groups with the facilitator, me, reminding groups of what they should be discussing and clarifying any questions. I don’t know that the discussions unproductive nor meaningful - in fact many of my colleagues commented in their Exit Card about how rich and interesting the discussions were. But I do woner if the protocol was necessary, if at all. And if it was, whether the Rich Text Protocol was appropriate. Although I modified it I think perhaps since the artifact my colleagues were analyzing was not technically a text per se but rather a graphic organizer that made the protocol not as effective. But the role of the facilitator is what drives the discussion so I think most of the blame could be put on me as the facilitator.
Another wondering I had relates to how my collaborating partners and I intended to provide work time for teachers to prepare for the Gallery Walk. I observed that many of my colleagues did not stick around and use the time the way in which it was intended for. Perhaps some returned to their classrooms and worked independently but that I cannot know for sure. In addition, someone wrote in their Exit Card “I would have loved some time built in experimenting with the Project Planner - I really want to fill it out.” Looking back, I’m wondering if maybe I could’ve incorporated specific steps in the protocol that would allow for teachers to slowly fill in the Project Planner instead of just looking at the Planner and just talking about it which is what we did.
Another comment in one of the Exit Cards really made me think about our Resource Specialists, College Advisor, etc. and how they fit in with these types of Professional Development workshops. This card said “How can Inclusion feel more involved in these meetings? It is hard to find our role in these developments.” This person definitely has a point and I agree wholeheartedly. I regret not thinking about our colleagues that are not teaching and how they might find the PD useful. I think there are ways in which these staff members input would be valued but I realized that if we as facilitators aren’t specific, much like students, our colleagues could just as easily get lost or feel left out. In the future, I’d like to keep in mind ALL of the roles that our staff members have and ensure that all of my colleagues are involved and has a role.
Through the PITP critique protocol as well as the course itself, I am feel I am just beginning my grappling of what teacher autonomy is and what it isn’t. Looking back, my original intention for this project was to help new teachers. But through the process I am understanding that all teachers in a progressive school should constantly be working on mastering their practice. With that frame of mind, I am left with even more questions. How do we get ALL teachers on board when it comes to professional development - especially when veteran teachers feel as though this doesn’t apply to them? How prescriptive should leaders be? How much autonomy is too much? Too little? As a leader in a progressive school, I want to eventually have a clear picture of what teacher autonomy is and set the expectation early on.
What exactly is progressive pedagogy? When we first started this course, I was a little confused about our Put It To Practice assignment, the reading assignments as well as all of the activities we did together. This class was titled “Leading Progressive School” and was very much looking forward to, well, being a leader at a progressive school. So what did it take? What could I do? And how should I do it? I very quickly realized that there is no right answer to the questions I had about leading a progressive school. Leading a progressive school involves being able to have difficult conversations with both staff and students as well as having an eye for designing and critiquing projects. It also means finding what “progressive pedagogy” means to you as a leader. At this point, I do not know if I have a single, conclusive answer to what progressive pedagogy means. I think it could look like and mean different things to different people. It could be something new and innovative or it might not. But one thing I learned through this project was that a staff, much like a classroom of students, consists of a diverse group of people. Not only will their personal backgrounds differ but their teaching experiences, the duration of their teaching, the training they received, their habits and tendencies, etc. And much like an effective classroom teacher, an effective leader should also never forget this fact. In addition, as leaders we need to set up structures in our school to support all teachers - whether they be first year teachers, veteran teachers and everyone in between. Therefore, for this project I investigated how we may further support students and staff at our progressive school.
It was evident that Isaac, my school site’s director, was thinking very much of the same thoughts when we began discussing possible Professional Development workshops for the staff. He was receiving a lot of feedback from new teachers regarding project design and development. Where does one start? What makes good project descriptions? How much detail do I need to have planned and should I include? All of these questions and more were common questions that new teachers presented to Isaac. Additionally, as a school leader Isaac saw that many veteran teachers also often struggled with writing up a project description or simply the concept of project design. As a teacher in a project-based learning classroom, I cannot agree more with Isaac. Even after three years at High Tech High, any time I begin the creation of a new project I am humbled and reminded of the complexities of deeper learning. Even as veteran teacher I do not think that progressive pedagogy and doing meaningful work is something that we as teachers can master perfectly - in fact, the term “veteran” can often be presumptuous in that it assumes the teacher is all-knowing when it comes to teaching. We can strive for mastery and perfection but our students are constantly changing as well as our world and society and technology continues to grow and become further complex but necessary. And when one adds the complexities of teaching itself, progressive pedagogy, or specifically project design for this particular PITP, is something all teachers can improve on.
Through the Professional Development my colleagues and I put together for our staff, I believe we started the beginning of a long conversation regarding designing a project for a project-based learning environment at a progressive school. By looking at templates and examples of how other teachers design and structure their projects, I believe teachers will have a better sense of what a great, meaningful project looks like and what they need to do to get there. When leading my own progressive school, I would like to start these types of discussions early on and ensure that all staff members understand what components are critical to a deep project. The more a project has things like an authentic audience, realistic benchmarks and meaningful deliverables, the more meaningful and deep the project is. So with my own staff, I want to have those discussions of what else makes projects great? Are there any exceptions? If so, what are they? By having this ongoing and extremely relevant discussion, I believe I will be supporting my staff and further honing their skills as a progressive educator.
What I Did
Throughout my time here at HTH I have seen a variety of formats for project descriptions. Some are long and detailed, others brief and to the point. Some qualities were consistent throughout all teachers and subject areas where some project descriptions were formatted specifically for a math or science class. Because of the way so many of our teachers were feeling regarding project design and the nuts and bolts behind it, I decided to focus on creating and executing a series of professional development workshops that focused on deeper learning through projects. However I didn’t want to just answer superficial questions such as “What format should I use for my project description?” or “What information should I include?” but I also wanted to answer deeper questions such as “How can projects be designed/structured in a way that ensures deeper learning?” or “What elements should a project have in order for it to be a “good” or meaningful project?”.
Two of my colleagues had already launched a professional development workshop focusing on the 6 A’s of Project Design - specifically, we focused on how our projects could serve others or, in other words, how our project could have an authentic audience. Stemming from this workshop I had planned a Gallery Walk-type activity where the staff got a chance to be exposed to all sorts of project descriptions and get some feedback on how to make their project even more meaningful. However, after a discussion we realized that if we were going to ask every teacher to bring in a project description we would need to have another PD between the two to further support the teachers and scaffold the activities. We were essentially planning a series of professional development workshops that focused on making our projects more meaningful and full of deeper learning.
The workshop I led offered my colleagues a Project Planner that I personally had never seen before (and after leading the workshop, I discovered that I was not alone). It was structured in a way that allows the teacher/designer to consider all the elements that make for a strong project such as essential questions, exhibition venues, outside experts and options for personalization. It was extracted from a book called Work that Matters which was written by one of my colleagues. I chose to use a modified version of the Rich Text Protocol to allow everyone to look through and discuss the Project Planner that I provided. Before the protocol began, I informed everyone of the Project Description Gallery Walk that we were planning on doing in about 2 weeks and that today’s protocol was in preparation for that Gallery Walk. Below is the modified Rich Text Protocol I implemented:
- Introduction (1 min)
- Reading & noticing (3 min)
- Sharing - 1 element that struck you (3 min)
- Checking - Questions within group? ( 3 min)
- Perspective - Look at the format from a student's perspective (3 min)
- Pair-Share - How can you use this format to provide your authentic audience with what they need/want? (5 min)
One of the concerns that my collaborating colleagues and I had was providing time for teachers to actually create the project description/design in order to have something to present for the Gallery Walk. In hopes to appease this concern, we decided to finish our PD meeting 20 minutes early and give that time to teachers to begin thinking about their project for the next workshop. We ended up providing the staff about 15 minutes of extra time. Some stayed behind and finished conversations but most left.
Moving Forward
At this point, I feel it’s a little too early to determine how effective or meaningful the workshops have been or will be because I have yet to complete them. The particular workshop that I am reflecting is one of many that I plan to be involved in. However, I still took away many learning moments through this project.
In “Changing the Subject” the author lists characteristics of a successful student in the 21st century: “readiness to collaborate, attention to multiple perspectives, initiative, persistence, and curiosity.” As a progressive educator not only do I agree with this statement but I also believe that the projects we assign to our students should give them opportunities to grow in those areas. However, as a teacher I am also guilty of being so absorbed into whatever it is that this particular project makes me obsess over that I begin to forget why we do this in the first place and I forget what is more important. It’s reminded me that as a school leader, we should be able to support teachers in a way that allows them time and energy to re-direct priorities and remember the “deeper learning” behind our projects. The PD we did together not only reminded teachers of the “non-content requirements” (like the ones mentioned in “Changing the Subject”) through the templates we looked at together but it also allowed teachers to actually utilize these characteristics. They had to collaborate and work as a group when analyzing the templates, they had to think about the project descriptions from the perspective of the students, etc.
Every single Exit Card I received from my colleagues, both new and veteran teachers, expressed their gratitude for being exposed to this particular Project Planner. “Awesome sheet - especially since I am a new teacher - wish I got this at the beginning of the year to help map out my projects and write project descriptions. I am going to print out a bunch of extra copies to help me with the 3 projects I have planned for the not-so-distant future” says one new colleague. Another claims “I like the planner and the idea that it maintain authenticity- good foundation of our roots.” I was glad that we offered our staff something that is useful and relevant to their practice but I couldn’t help but agree with the first colleague and wonder why we had not had these discussions earlier on in the school year. Which leads me to another wondering as a school leader: how does one prioritize? It’s not like we wasted time in the beginning of the year - we were still discussing relevant issues and participating in meaningful workshops. How did project design get left out? As I emerge as a school leader, how do I decide what to focus on first and last?
Another epiphany I experienced after my facilitation was my haste in deciding to implement a protocol for this particular PD. “I don’t know how productive the protocol for the meeting was...” said one colleague, while another echoes “was a bit confused with protocol. We didn’t exactly follow and were unclear as to what was being asked.” This latter comment was definitely true and I do admit that I did not strictly follow the protocol, which is unlike me. The reason for this happening, I think, was due to the inconsistent sizes of the groups. Some teachers were in a group of 3 while others were in a group of 5 or 6. Therefore some groups took longer to share out while others finished ahead. Because I had the protocol projected, I assumed my colleagues would move onto the next step if they finished early. As a result, the protocol ended up becoming a rather unstructured discussion in small groups with the facilitator, me, reminding groups of what they should be discussing and clarifying any questions. I don’t know that the discussions unproductive nor meaningful - in fact many of my colleagues commented in their Exit Card about how rich and interesting the discussions were. But I do woner if the protocol was necessary, if at all. And if it was, whether the Rich Text Protocol was appropriate. Although I modified it I think perhaps since the artifact my colleagues were analyzing was not technically a text per se but rather a graphic organizer that made the protocol not as effective. But the role of the facilitator is what drives the discussion so I think most of the blame could be put on me as the facilitator.
Another wondering I had relates to how my collaborating partners and I intended to provide work time for teachers to prepare for the Gallery Walk. I observed that many of my colleagues did not stick around and use the time the way in which it was intended for. Perhaps some returned to their classrooms and worked independently but that I cannot know for sure. In addition, someone wrote in their Exit Card “I would have loved some time built in experimenting with the Project Planner - I really want to fill it out.” Looking back, I’m wondering if maybe I could’ve incorporated specific steps in the protocol that would allow for teachers to slowly fill in the Project Planner instead of just looking at the Planner and just talking about it which is what we did.
Another comment in one of the Exit Cards really made me think about our Resource Specialists, College Advisor, etc. and how they fit in with these types of Professional Development workshops. This card said “How can Inclusion feel more involved in these meetings? It is hard to find our role in these developments.” This person definitely has a point and I agree wholeheartedly. I regret not thinking about our colleagues that are not teaching and how they might find the PD useful. I think there are ways in which these staff members input would be valued but I realized that if we as facilitators aren’t specific, much like students, our colleagues could just as easily get lost or feel left out. In the future, I’d like to keep in mind ALL of the roles that our staff members have and ensure that all of my colleagues are involved and has a role.
Through the PITP critique protocol as well as the course itself, I am feel I am just beginning my grappling of what teacher autonomy is and what it isn’t. Looking back, my original intention for this project was to help new teachers. But through the process I am understanding that all teachers in a progressive school should constantly be working on mastering their practice. With that frame of mind, I am left with even more questions. How do we get ALL teachers on board when it comes to professional development - especially when veteran teachers feel as though this doesn’t apply to them? How prescriptive should leaders be? How much autonomy is too much? Too little? As a leader in a progressive school, I want to eventually have a clear picture of what teacher autonomy is and set the expectation early on.