Shrink the Change
As I’ve grown into leadership through an administrative internship in the midst of COVID19, I’ve had to learn this skill at the same time as I’ve been called on to support others. Throughout this Pandemic, it’s become a mantra, a steady beat in my mind, providing support and compelling me forward.
The desire to shrink the change drove my colleague Elizabeth and I as we facilitated the adoption of common digital tools for teaching and learning in our school district. It helped us focus the team’s attention on the “through lines” of equity and access which ground our district’s values.
This same mentality continued to anchor my work with the District Digital Ed Team through the summer. As I reflected on how to shrink what seemed like an insurmountable change, starting the year in fully-remote instruction, the team’s focus on digital strategies and tools to support the effective instruction and culturally-responsive classroom management made the task tangible and recognizable.
These through lines remain true as our district transitions to K-12 Hybrid Learning this month, reflecting on feedback that teachers at all levels are struggling with student engagement. Last week, our superintendents called on our district leaders to remember the importance of feedback around instruction. They asked Elizabeth and I to draw from our experiences as interns, and what we’ve learned from listening to student and family feedback this year, to share some tangible strategies for Remote and Hybrid (even Simultaneous) Teaching to help principals shrink this change for their staff.
Here are some of our recommendations.
Equity & Access
Take a “remote-first” approach to lesson planning, including related to instructional materials. Go paperless! Teachers are comfortable in this mode at this point. Prioritizing remote teaching in lesson planning ensures a more equitable learning opportunity for all students.
Remind teachers to consider students’ hierarchy of engagement needs as they problem-solve with students and for their classroom environments. Are students’ basic needs met? What support do teachers or students need so students have the opportunity for higher-level participation?
Effective Instruction
Scale, Target, Success Criteria - Now more than ever, students are asking what their learning has to do with the real world. Effective scales and targets with success criteria makes that connection for students and gives them the purpose and motivation for learning.
Making Meaning During Live Instruction – How does live (remote or in-person) class time look different than independent, asynchronous time? Students have been clear that they want and need time for collaboration and problem solving with their peers. Encourage teachers to reflect on the question, could this be done independently? If the answer is yes, make it asynchronous.
Making Meaning During Asynchronous, Independent Learning – At-home practice should be for deepening knowledge and practice for mastery. Plan authentic tasks that make a real-world connection to their learning. Encourage staff to use learning logs, interactive journals, or reflection activities. Students have shared that when practice at home is more difficult than what was taught in class, it is discouraging and de-motivating.
Formative Assessment & Feedback - Admin, staff, and students have all neural-downshifted this year. We might be operating from a place of survival less than a place of excellence. Have empathy for what we’ve all gone through, validate what staff or students are doing well, and help them redirect using targeted, actionable and strengths-based feedback.
Student-Self Reflection - Consider student interviews (private, written reflections or during whole-class circles) to gather feedback from students about instruction and pacing. For example, create a Google Doc or a Question Assignment for students to reflect on daily or weekly.
Culturally-Responsive Classroom Management
Intentionally plan for how to get to know students. The internet is full of great examples like appreciation circles, I Am poems, class mantras, and more.
Take a curiosity stance when students don’t meet the expectation. This can help identify obstacles and create partnerships with families and students to help them overcome those obstacles.
Schedule regular SEL check-ins during transitions or classroom breaks. Students continue to give feedback that they appreciate these as opportunities not only to build connections, but also to ask private questions and give feedback to teachers. These SEL strategies, among others, can help us create safe spaces for our kids to grow.
Shrink the change. Find the through lines. Recognize the consistency within the chaos. However, you phrase it, this is one of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learned this year. I hope these “feedback nuggets” might help you bring this lesson forward to context, too.
As you reflect on this article, I’d also love to learn from you in the comments. What has “shrinking the change” meant to you in these exceptional times?
