The Lead Learner is the Learning Leader

"...time spent on instructional leadership was not associated with student learning outcomes. But once “instructional leadership” was made more fine-grained, the picture changed.

Time spent coaching teachers — especially in math — was associated with better student outcomes. So was time spent evaluating teachers and curriculum.

But informal classroom walkthroughs — the most common activity — were negatively associated with student achievement. This was especially true in high schools.

I scooped this article because I have recently experienced a new administrator who is much more visible and who visits my classroom frequently. But the author reports that more frequent classroom walkthroughs actually is negatively associated with student achievement. This is especially the case if these visits are not opportunities to provide meaningful feedback. Time spent coaching teachers is an activity that has benefit. 

Growth Mindsets:

1. Contribute to the motivation to learn
2. Encourage students to embrace challenges not avoid them
3. Develop self-discipline and perseverance
4. We believe in you! Set high standards and assure students that we will support them in achieving those standards. We set very high standards but we are committed to helping you reach and exceed them (support)
5. Send the message that "you can join the ranks of the 'best and brightest' through work and effort on challenging tasks
6. Encourage students to take 'ownership', which is a critical factor
7. When students make choices and have a big 'why' their motivation increases
8. Ikea Effect - the longer students work on a challenge, the more committed they are to the project
9. Help students understand that intelligence is not something you were born with, but something you create
10. Continual growth and improvement over time is the central focus of learning
11. Help students understand that they can contribute
12. Cause students to believe that they belong here

Key points for school leaders:

• Student engagement correlates highly with achievement!
• A one-percentage-point increase in a school’s student engagement was associated with a six-point increase in reading achievement and an eight-point increase in math achievement scores.
• Schools in which students were in the top quartile of average engagement results were 50% more likely to be above average in statewide reading achievement scores than schools in which students were in the bottom quartile of Gallup’s engagement database.
• "The more you can do your work and gain helpful feedback on your work the more engaged you will be."
• "“Motivation is at its highest when students are competent, have sufficient autonomy, set worthwhile goals, get feedback, and are affirmed by others." - John Hattie, Visible Learning
• "eight in 10 students who strongly agree that their school is committed to building the strengths of each student are engaged in school."
• "the only hope for significant advancement of engagement and thus performance is to spend each day in a joyful, focused, and collaborative school."

Years ago I too bought into the idea of Learning Styles, but I learned through years of professional practice that, while students had learning preferences, those often changed with context. In addition, implementing learning styles in a classroom was impractical and ineffective. So, what I ended up doing was using what is now referred to as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which calls for multiple forms of input and output.

For the best explanation of the topic read Dan Willingham's "The Myth of Learning Styles" http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/September-October%202010/the-myth-of-learning-full.html

and "Why Learning Styles Don't Exist"

http://neurobollocks.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/why-learning-styles-dont-exist-by-daniel-willingham/

Growth Mindsets:

1. relate directly to 'Deeper Learning' and Expeditionary Learning
2. orient the student to a focus on learning not knowing
3. teach students that taking on challenging tasks helps the brain make new connection and, thus, they get smarter
4. students embrace challenges because "work hard and get smart"
5. learn that "easy is a waste of time"
6. students are proud of tackling and resolving challenging problems
7. instead of avoiding and covering up mistakes, students embrace them
8. mistakes motivate and increase student interest
9. students gain self-confidence by taking on challenges
10. students develop a sense of purpose and a belief that they can make a difference

Key Points for School Leaders:

• more affluent parents were slightly more likely to help their children with homework
• no correlation between teachers' years of experience and the amount of homework they assigned
• "no correlation between the homework time and math scores
• "In the United States, 4th grade teachers who participated in the study reported that they assigned an average of 19 minutes of math homework per night. By contrast, grade 4 teachers in other countries typically assigned 25 minutes of math homework per night."
• 79 percent of U.S. 4th graders said their parents made sure that they set aside time for homework on a daily basis as compared to 70 percent of students worldwide. It is unclear why this was the case.

Differentiation is an Expectation: A School Leader's Guide to Building a Culture of Differentiation

Teaching and collaboration

While these are "tips for e-learning", they apply to all learning and instruction.