Leading in a Time of ChangeThe highs and lows of being a new leader

WANTEDA miracle worker who can do more with less, pacify rival groups, endure chronic second-guessing, tolerate low levels of support, process large volumes of paper and work double shifts (75 nights a year out). He or she will have carte blanche to innovate, but cannot spend much money, preplace any personnel or upset any constituency (R. Evans, Education Week, 12 April 1995)

Key Components Leading diverse teams:

collaboration and delegation

Membership in other teams: challenging the status quo and supporting whole school change

Implementing a new syllabus: a planned approach

21stC fluencies: focus on student engagement and improvement

Who are you?

About Me… My Journey, so far English Coordinator, Xavier College,

Llandilo

Year Coordinator for 10 Years

2014 Leader of Learning, Xavier College

aroach2@parra.catholic.edu.au

What the “experts” say “change is all around us. The need for individuals and

organisations to engage in continuous adaptation, enhancement and innovation is on going.” (Scott, G., Change Matters, 1999, Allen & Unwin, p.xi)

“The forces of change are already making themselves felt within countless classrooms…” (Hargreaves, A., “Rethinking Educational Change” in Fullan, M. The Challenge of School Change, p. 11)

“ the goal then is to get into the habit of experiencing and thinking about educational change processes as an overlapping series of dynamically complex phenomena” (Fullan, M. “The Complexity of the Change Process” in Fullan, M. The Challenge of School Change, p. 28)

What Alyssa says: Change is inevitable. We deal with

change everyday. As leaders it is part of our job to manage the impact of change on the people and systems we lead.

Change creates resistance. This is inevitable. It’s how we deal with it that matters.

Leading diverse teams: collaboration and delegation

High expectations: high support Present a clear vision of your educational

philosophy and what you want to achieve based on the data.

Lead by example. Maintain pedagogical discussions based on

student learning improvement. Know the strengths of the members of your

team and play to them. Work together. Don’t be afraid to delegate

MY KEY LEARNINGS

ONE: Play to your Strengths Mine: • Building relationship• Vision/Creativity• Curriculum

o Yours?

TWO: Be A Leader of People

We lead people. Although our business is teaching children and student improvement, our first port of call is developing quality teachers.

Geoff Masters, Teaching and Learning School Improvement Framework http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/C2E-Teach-and-learn-no-crop.pdf

No. 5 An Expert Teaching Team

THREE: A Listener be Listen… Listen… Listen…

Discern

Act

FOUR: Give a Voice To your team

The power of collaboration, and combined experience and practice

Consolidate the professional talents of your team: Play to their strengths

Link to Karen’s Address

FIVE: Hold Fast Own your space

Know your goal

To thy own self be true

Be proactive

Compromise

SIX: Be a Learner Emulate the qualities and practices you

want to see in your teachers and students

Find ways to continually develop yourself: make the time.

Leadership Qualities

What qualities do you admire in your leader(s)?

What would you emulate?

What qualities do you dislike or find aberrant to good leadership?

We learn from challenges than success

My story…

Being a Member of the Middle Management Team

Collaboration and support

Speak up – part of your role is to challenge the status quo, where applicable

When challenging an existing practice always offer an alternative

Approaches to Implementing the New Syllabus

Spend time with your team exploring the document.

Use this as an opportunity to evaluate existing practices and programmes

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Delegate. Share the programming load.

Focus on improving student learning

Start backwards

A focus on Student

Improvement

21st Century Fluencies

21st Century Fluencies “Today, it's essential that all of our students

have a wide range of skills beyond those that were needed in the 20th century, a range that includes the skills needed to function within a rapidly changing society. These skills are not about technological prowess. The essential 21st Century Fluencies are not about hardware, they are about headware! Critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, innovation, and so much more.”

Lee Crockett, http://fluency21.com/fluencies.html

Take-Outs: tips To thine own self be true.

Have a vision - know where you want to go and own it!

Walk your talk.

It’s okay to cry.