Your weekly source of learner-centered inspiration
Dear Educator,
Our LCC team just took two days to pause and reflect to better understand our impact and determine our next steps forward. I always get so much out of the time and am reminded of the power of reflection. One of my favorite quotes from Margaret Wheatley is, “Without reflection we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful.” It is a worthy reminder to stop and slow down to ensure we are on the right track and evaluate our impact. Summer is a great time to do this but it is also important to embed reflection in the school year, too.
This week, I want to highlight the importance of creating time and space for reflection to support your team in deeply understanding and owning the work.
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BRIGHT SPOT OF THE WEEK
Creating more impactful learning experiences for educators.
I had the opportunity to be a part of a few different district-wide professional learning days over the years where district leaders provided structured time for their staff to pause, reflect, and do the work needed to move forward intentionally.
Marlon Styles (Yes, the same Marlon who is a Partner at LCC supporting district leaders nationwide!) worked with his team in Middletown City School District and provided the day for teachers to gather, collaborate and work together based on their needs and goals. You might be thinking, “they are just letting everyone do whatever they want all day?” Well, YES! And as a result of being celebrated, trusted and able to choose what they need to work on, they did. We visited teachers planning challenge based units, working on ISTE certification, collaborating in grade-level teams, and others were in choice workshops getting what they wanted or needed. There were also structured workshops and open times to collaborate.
We can continue to create new initiatives and programs, but if teachers are not part of the process, we will miss out on our greatest lever in educational change. Teachers’ practices are shaped by their experiences both past and present, and these are mirrored in their classrooms. If we don’t prioritize authentic and relevant learning experiences for educators, how can we ensure our students have deeper learning experiences? Making shifts in how we learn, teach, and lead in education requires that we move beyond talking about theory and best practices (or even a really great framework) to ensuring we not only develop new knowledge and expertise but use it to change how students learn.
If you don’t have a whole day, consider taking a staff meeting, team time, or an afternoon to honor what teachers need and give them time to process all that is coming their way. We often try to cram it all in to say we have considered it, but if those who are supposed to learn it and use the new information in new ways aren’t truly taking time to learn, process, and use the new information, maybe it’s time to slow down to have the impact we desire.
How do you take time to learn, process and reflect?
