Christmas Wish List and Playlist for Educators and Schools

By Vicki Bechard, Secretary

When you see a kid with missing front teeth at this time of year, we immediately smile and begin to hear that familiar jingle playing in our head, “All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth…” At no time do you think there is something horribly wrong with the child; their missing teeth are just a reflection of the growth process they are undergoing.  The song is a fun poke at the growing pains we all go through and gives one hope that in time, once those teeth come in, things will be just fine.  Speech will become clearer, the ability to whistle will return, and eating will be easier.  No Grinch will steal their joy. It will be so much easier to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (Happy Holidays, Hanukkah, or whatever one is celebrating!)!

Music sparks our thinking and engages our emotional attachments.  We know from lots of research (here’s one source from Neuroscience News) and perhaps your own personal experience, that music is engaging and helps connect us on a deeper level.  As learners, the use or playing of music often is associated with better concentration, improved cognitive functions to create meaning, increased vocabulary and reading levels, all of which can lead to higher levels of achievement and better learning experiences.  If music can be helpful in the classroom to improve focus, meaningful connections, engagement, and overall success, why not use it in the school improvement processes we undertake?

As schools, educators, and students experience growing pains every year, we look for better ways to create a culture of learning, acceptance, and success. If we thought about every school’s Christmas wish list that would take them into the New Year, what might that look like?  Sometimes they might be looking for their “2 front teeth” – a natural part of their growth process, but other times it might be something that leads to a much bigger transformation.  To create a deeper commitment, how might we include music to touch the hearts of educators and engage their minds and work? To that end, I’m sharing my Christmas Wish List (and including a Playlist to support that list) for schools, educators and students this holiday season as they continue their improvement journey into the New Year: (disclaimer: there are MANY more songs that would work based on what you or your staff like to listen to!). 

1.       Purpose and Goals:  The Impossible Dream (The Quest) – This song speaks of the quest of goal seeking with purpose and perseverance.  When learners understand their purpose (WHY), set a goal (WHAT), and develop a plan to achieve that goal (HOW), the quest becomes their improvement journey. This quest will have detours and obstacles, but the determination to succeed will lead achieving that goal.  Climb Every Mountain (from Sound of Music as performed by Audra McDonald) – reinforces the idea that perseverance is required to achieve one’s goals even when mountains stand in your way.

2.       Believe/Efficacy:  This is Me (from The Greatest Show on Earth); Believe (Josh Groban from Polar Express). Both of these songs encourage the importance of believing in yourself and your abilities and by doing so, you will give wings to your dreams and fly.  When a group or team believes in a common goal, collective efficacy emerges and success typically follows.

3.       Collaboration & Teamwork: When We Stand Together (Nickelback) – We win when we stand together; work together; hand in hand; no one can divide us, no matter the obstacle.  While this song addresses more worldly issues, it also can be applied to the world within our schools. Collaboration and productive teaming focused on improving teaching and learning is a win for everyone! We know we are #BetterTogether and We Will Rock You! (Queen).  Consider attending the Learning Forward Kansas Annual Conference Feb. 2 & 3, 2020 in Wichita as Collective Efficacy with Jenni Donohoo will be the feature of our 2020 Vision on Collaboration and Leadership. Click here for more information or to register.

4.       Change and Growth: Everything Will Change (Gavin DeGraw) – If we are not changing and growing we are not improving.  Change happens or it needs to “before it gets too late.”  How do we do that? “Walk the talk.  Separate the men from the boys; women from the girls; tools from the toys.  Even if you’re freaking out, just relax.”  Find your purpose; take a risk; work together; persevere. Change means having to make adjustments to avoid remaining the same.  Even this funny throwback video from the Brady Bunch talks about when It’s Time to Change, it’s time to rearrange.

5.       Supportive Leadership:  Vision is a hallmark of leadership, but more importantly the cultivation of relationships, commitment of support, and willingness to stick with those whom they lead through the trials of implementation are critical to creating and maintaining a culture of learning. Leaders anchor staff and provide the glue as they work together to achieve the desired goals. We can see this theme of trust, connection, and dependable support in these songs: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel); I Won’t Let Go (Rascal Flatts); You’ll Never Walk Alone (from Carousel; Celtic Women version)

6.      Gratitude: Above all, be grateful for the leadership, staff, and community members who work tirelessly for the kids.  Be grateful for those kiddos who depend on your wisdom, caring, and guidance.  Look for the silver lining.  There is plenty of good and promise on which to focus our thoughts and actions. Louis Armstrong got it right when he encouraged us to just look around and appreciate What a Wonderful World we live in.

As the first semester comes to an end and you head into the winter break, may your heart continue to be touched and motivated to be the best you can be as educators so that your students can be their best too.  We at Learning Forward Kansas challenge you to come back after the holidays, refreshed, renewed, and recommitted to improving your instruction to impact student learning.  Let us know if we can help with that. Thank you for making a difference.  We know we are all #BetterTogether.

Happy Holidays from Learning Forward Kansas! 

Learning is a Process.....Inspired to Learn: One Kansas Story

By Vicki Bechard

Secretary LFKS

The primary goal of education in Kansas today is to prepare our students to be successful adults.  There are many skills, traits, and knowledge that will build that capacity.  Of course academic knowledge and technical skills will be a big part of this picture, but it will take a broader educational experience to achieve successful adulthood.  As identified in the Soft Skills to Pay the Bills curriculum at youth.gov, students will need to possess communication skills, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, networking, problem solving and critical thinking skills, and professionalism to be employable and productive citizens.   How will we as educators acquire, model, and facilitate these skills so that our students can practice them in authentic learning experiences to apply what they have learned so these critical skills might transfer to life after high school?

To that end, consider what professional learning might look like if we changed how educators learn, and moved toward doing something new that stretches our knowledge and skills and increases our capacity as instructional leaders.

One way we have done this at Learning Forward Kansas is to apply for and receive the Learning Forward Foundation Affiliate Grant.  This was a dream that suddenly got legs when we were awarded this grant in spring of 2015.  Little did we know about the magnitude of this undertaking until the announcement of the award made it very real and we started to put our dream into action.  What we had was enthusiasm for this project.  What we didn’t have was the technical expertise to make our dream a reality.  However, we did have some soft skills at our disposal that would lead to a greater knowledge base, critical partnerships, the ability to work in small teams, and the professionalism to ask for and accept feedback that was sometimes hard to hear.  This new learning was a process, and one that has changed my thoughts on how to present project learning to students and teachers as well. 

As traditional learners, we waited for the “how” from our partners at Learning Forward.  They weren’t sure either but had a few ideas.  We waited and brainstormed and waited some more.  Finally we created our own storyboard format instead of waiting for the perfect template to be delivered to us.  We spent a lot of time asking for ideas and examples from our colleagues and peers.  Each time we had to share our vision and convince them they had something worth sharing.  Slowly but surely it started to take shape.

Partnerships, networking, and perseverance were keys to this project.  Finding a willing tech partner that would be professional in product creation but do it for a song and a thank you was realized through the educational circles we had been a part of over the years.  Soon we connected with a few educational leaders and schools, and eventually received some invitations (and invited ourselves!) to view examples of professional learning that we could film and include in our first video.

This was a lengthy process as we turned a vision with no real parameters into a finished product.  We had to evaluate and synthesize our ideas and turn them into something manageable and meaningful.  At last, the first video was rolled out – ultimately too long and too rambling.  We were excited to have something to share, but immediately headed back to the drawing board to focus our message and reduce the length.  So we worked some more.  Soon the second video attempt was ready for feedback. We chose another group to look at this next draft.  Again, we were given feedback that was hard to hear, but specific enough that we could continue to refine the video into something that would be useful and meaningful.  The third time was the charm. 

Why Professional Learning Matters:  In Our Building It’s Everyone’s Job to Learn is the first video of the LFKS series Inspired to Learn:  Kansas Stories.  It is online ready for you to view and use with your district, building, staff, or team to create and implement effective professional learning.  There is also a resource guide to accompany this video to deepen and enhance the learning experience as one examines why professional learning matters.

And just as with any other goal attainment, we savor the moment, and then move on to the next goal.  The second video in this series will focus on What Effective Professional Learning Looks Like and is scheduled to be released before the holidays. 

The moral to our story is that in order for us to change how we educate our students, we must change how we educate ourselves. 

We used soft skills to navigate the process, with minimal outside directives, and limits that were largely self-imposed.  In the end the messiness of our initial work and the refining that occurred throughout the process were part of the reward as we produced a product that reflected our purpose and was one in which we could be proud.   We had more questions than answers going in, but we have grown and stretched our capacity as educators and as leaders.  We did that by immersion and being actively involved, not by sit and get, or being told what to do at each step along the way.  There is no better lesson for educators to learn in ways that can be passed on to students.  That is WHY Professional Learning Matters.  And as a result, we embrace the idea that it’s everyone’s job to learn!

Excellent Teaching and Learning Every Day

By Vicki Bechard

Secretary, LFKS

Wouldn't you want to work in or have your own children learn in a school that practices excellent teaching and learning every day in every classroom?  This is the new vision from Learning Forward that emphasizes the teaching and learning for the adults. What if we also understand that the adult teaching and learning leads to excellent student learning?  This vision clearly states what all educators, parents, and community members want for their school.  So if this is what we want, then what would that look like? 

Schools ask, “How do we get and sustain this in every classroom of the building?”  Educators ask, “What I do I have to do?” Excellent teaching and learning begins with effective Professional Learning. 

The Standards for Professional Learning provide a framework for implementing and sustaining any initiative, including the vision of excellent teaching and learning every day.  Creating a culture of learning in the school for all adults begins the journey toward achieving this vision of excellence.  When adults practice continuous learning and transfer their own learning to improve their instruction, we get excellent student learning and success.

Excellent teaching isn't accomplished in a one day, sit and get, professional learning session.  It comprises new learning, or learning how to use existing knowledge in a different way.  It occurs during practice and after mistakes.  It occurs after feedback and support through the implementation process.

Success for all educators…  Consider:

·         How do we provide & support new learning?

·         How do we support implementation?

·         How do we demonstrate learning?

·         How do we extend learning?

Always Remember….

·         To have conversations about what was learned and how it worked during practice, after the learning, before moving onto the next topic or issue.

·         To connect Professional Learning to student results.

·         That excellent adult learning leads to excellent teaching which leads to excellent student learning and success.

Stay tuned for more posts on achieving the vision of Excellent Teaching and Learning Every Day!