- I have approached Sue Berry who has eagerly agreed to be my mentor.
- Over the past few years Sue and I have developed a rapport strengthened by mutual respect. I view Sue's leadership style as one I would like to aspire to. I also admire Sue's constant striving to improve as a leader.
- We will meet on my release Fridays to plan, prepare and analyse any critical conversations, and to answer any other leadership questions I may have.
- I will need to be prepared for these meetings with a conversation planned in advance for us to fine tune so the outcome will be productive, leading to better people within my teams.
- The date for our first formal meeting is set for Friday 4 July.
- Develop the conversations using Russell's framework.
- Keep Carol Dweck's Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset graphic in mind when designing the conversations.
Goal 2: Meetings
- Plan future thinking meetings
- Where the answer to the question "Do we really need to have this meeting?" is always yes.
- Ensure the agenda is clear and outlines the decisions that need to be made.
- Send out agenda and readings in advance so teams can come prepared.
- Spend last 10 mins of meeting recap decisions that were made, deciding what communication needs to be made, and how this will happen.
- Ensure everyone knows 'where to' from here.
Goal 3: Digital Learning Team
- Meetings with a purpose
- as above for meetings
- professional development component included in each meeting
- Readings shared at end of meeting to be completed and shared at following meeting.
- Sharing of skills component at each meeting
- celebrating each others' skills
- adding to our own digital knowledge
- giving team members opportunities to shine
Goal 4: Self-reflection after receiving critique from others
- View criticism as a means to personal growth
- Reflect on feedback from others - both formal and informal
- Take one or more pieces of advice and act on them
- Feedback to the other person involved what I have changed in my practice
Goal 5: Professional Reading
- Spend the holidays focusing on professional readings esp around Carol Dweck's Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset work, GPILSEO change model and 10 ideas for 21 Century Education.
Goal 6 : Personal Reflection
- Spend this 100 days reflecting about how well I am monitoring and responding to my behaviour, how this is affecting my team and, ultimately, how this is improving student achievement at our school.
- I suspect this will only be a start into the reflection.
Inquiry into my goals
ReplyDelete4 July
Goals 2/3:
Meetings agendas have been edited to include a set time for reflection and reviewing where to next.
Google Drive has been introduced to the whole Year 5/6 team and we now have a shared folder that they can all access, update and add to whenever they wish.
Professional readings have been included with the Digital Learning Team. They team will share their feedback on this at the next meeting.
Need to inquire into the success of each meeting and my part in running each meeting. How to do this?
Goal 5:
Have discovered some readings around Growth Mindset and bookmarked these. Good bedtime reading for the holidays. The concept is simple and obvious but the research behind this is interesting, and I want to find out how to change students and teachers from a Fixed to a Growth mindset.
Goal 6:
Discuss with Sue - What is the best way to go about this and to record this?
Will try this again!
ReplyDeleteGoal 1:
Was pleased with the way DC's comments during meetings have become more upbeat and less destructive. However, I have heard feedback about some comments in the staffroom that were inappropriate. This is being discussed at SLT level with an agreement on the language and approach the LT will use when addressing DC.
Other team members are working well together. The type of conversations with them will be around giving recognition. JG especially has a high profile role that deserves recognition.
Goals 2/3:
Meetings are running smoother with the additions to the agendas. Concerns now seem to be around the frequency of the meetings and people giving their apologies when not attending. Especially with the digital learning team, do we need to meet weekly?
Goal 4:
Haven't really received any criticism except from SB during coaching/mentoring sessions. I need to find examples, no matter how minor, and reflect on the type of criticism and how I cope with it.
Goal 5:
Didn't get around to the readings. When??
Goal 6:
Still need a formal forum for this. At the moment it is only anecdotal when meeting with SB.
The 100 Days is over. How did it go? And what now?
ReplyDeleteGoal 1: Plan and practice a critical conversation with a mentor/coach.
This is the goal I was most worried about and I guess I failed to achieve anything.
Before having a critical conversation with any of my team I needed to consider was the reason for the conversation real or perceived. This meant I had to look closely at the people involved, especially me. Was the problem being addressed as big as we perceived or just something that had grown from stressing about it?
In the case of DC, other structures have been put in place that have slowly created change. By working alongside her to set goals for 2014, she set a personal goal around implementing PB4L language into her teaching and professional life. She has taken this onboard with her teaching - which has developed positive atmospheres in the classrooms she is working in.
Changes have also been noted in team and staff meetings where her attitude has been more positive and constructive. Yes, she still has a moan occasionally, but so do I.
This change in attitude appears to have more to do with her personal growth and outside factors than with any input from me.
Goal 2: Meetings
Meetings appear to be going a lot more smoothly with less sidetracking and more focus. There is still a lot of laughter and support happening. Using Google Drive has ensured the agenda is visible to everyone, every team member can have a say in what is covered in the meetings, and the minutes are shared immediately the meeting is over. The collaboration involved allows for greater input from everyone. Draft agendas are set at the end of the previous meeting and added to before the meeting takes place.
Goal 3: Digital Learning Team
ReplyDeleteAs a team we are more cohesive, mainly due to the Ulearn experience where we got to know each other at a personal level, but also got to understand each others' background and hopes where Digital Learning is concerned.
The meetings are too short for such a wide field but by flipping the meetings, with readings and shared tools being sent out in advance, we are able to cover a lot more than previously.
There is a lot more purpose to the meetings and relevance to the team.
Goal 4: Self-reflection after receiving critique from others
ReplyDeleteThe only major critique I have had in the last 100 days has been in the form of the Team Health Check, and like most teachers, I rated my performance more harshly than my team did! Maybe teachers are natural Pollyannas.
Goal 5: Professional Reading
ReplyDeleteAnother area I have failed! I really didn't get much reading done. I spend a lot of time trying out new resources, apps and websites but, if I am to move further up the ladder, I need to look more into the research and theories that underpin our ever changing education system. This will be especially important next year when I have a year's sabbatical to study at university.
Goal 6 : Personal Reflection
ReplyDeleteThis personal inquiry has been a valuable exercise. It has made me aware of how I can have a positive effect on my colleagues, meetings and myself. There have been moments when I have caught myself being negative or lazy. There have been times when I have been frustrated with myself, but this is related to my class and my personal life. I am improving at separating my various roles but need to be more aware of how my reactions to one aspect of my life are affecting other aspects.
So, what to inquire into for the next 100 days??
ReplyDeleteGoals 1 and 5 need to be more rigorously inquired into. I also think I need a goal around the balance between my various roles - something that allows me to explore time management and energy management.
Notes from meeting with Russell
ReplyDeleteTerm 3
When having Critical Conversations
1. State positive intentions
- I'd like to talk about ... (eg the stress of working with our students
on a daily basis.)
- We've been talking with the leadership team today about handling
stress. I'd like to talk to you about some of the ideas we had.
2. Describe what we talked about
- The SLT has had some feedback about what you have said in the
staff room
3. Impact - state the impact on others.