Rough Waters

OK- so today I began working on a new place to work... the basement will now become a dissertation room...

I also looked through my materials from the beginning of the DU journey. It was refreshing to see my dissertation idea consistently popping up.

I am in rough waters right now- do not know how to move the paper along. I am still crafting the right research questions.

The latest attempt: What is Covey's impact on a student's personal mastery, enthusiasm, and ownership?

I do not know of any instruments available to measure this...

Cambourne's Conditions

Brian Cambourne wrote, The Whole Story. In this work he tells about 7 conditions for learning. Since engagement and enthusiasm are at the core of my research, I thought it was interesting that he made the following points:

• Engagement occurs when the learner is convinced that they have the potential to do what is being modeled before them.


• That the teacher is demonstrating something that will further the purposes of his or her life.


• That they can engage without fear of physical or psychological hurt if they answer incorrectly.

He states that the conditions increase the probability for engagement. His conditions are:

• RESPONSIBILITY (Learners need to make their own decisions about when, how, and what 'bits' to learn in an educational task.)


• USE (Learners need time to practice the new skills in realistic contexts)


• EXPECTATION (Learners need to feel our high expectations)


• APPROXIMATION (Learners must understand that mistakes are part of the process)


• RESPONSE (Learners must receive feedback that is timely, appropriate, relevant)


• IMMERSION (Learners must experience the skill fully)


• DEMONSTRATION (Learners need a variety demonstrations)

All in all we have a scholar that is identifying conditions for learning of which he states that these conditions also increase the probability for engagement. Has anyone written about the conditions for engagement?

Is there a tool to measure these conditions?

Chapters Redrafted

I sent my latest edition to a good friend of mine to look over for me. The research quesitons have shifted based on the advice of my professors- I removed several sections. I know I will have more revisions to do but feel things are headed in the right direction.

CORE INVESTIGATION

I am interested in the personal mastery levels of students.

Can we measure their engagement, their enthusiasm, and their capacity to make things happen?

In every classroom there will be a variety of levels yet perhaps there are some school designs that impact students more favorably.

Today I reflected on my progress- I wrote out a new illustration and had some good time to brainstorm potential questions.

But I am still overwhelmed thinking about all the adjustments I have to make to my chapters.

New Focus

This morning I woke up with some thoughts. My professors felt my dissertation was really bigger than one dissertation. They felt I needed to focus on one aspect of Personal Mastery from a student's perspective. They felt that this is an area of need since there is not a lot out there.

I thought focusing in on Personal Mastery was focused until I decomposed this construct into the elements of Awareness of Current Reality, Vision, Trust and Drive. So I want to focus on Drive. It is the key element that turns vision from wishful thinking to reality.

But I can't focus on just DRIVE because when you decompose this (it goes beyond Daniel Pink's work) there is a lot to study. So I will take the professors other suggestion and examine the student's perspective. Ultimately I believe the student possess vital information school leaders need in order to create the conditions that meet their needs. BUT we want more than to meet needs in our schools- we want students to THRIVE. To THRIVE it takes DRIVE.

So here is my newest attempt at a title:

FROM DRIVE TO THRIVE: How students perceive the educational system that surrounds them.

Here is my newest attempt at research questions:

1. What do students find engages them in schools?
2. Do students experience authentic, purposeful, and mastery in schools?
3. Do students trust schools?
4. Do students have hope?
5. Do students have internal locus of control

Well- Today I am going to study other research questions I found yesterday and I am going to read a dissertation about Covey's work and a Dissertation about the 5 Disciplines today.

Work Stoppage

I met with my dissertation committee a couple of weeks ago. It was a good meeting- lots of constructive criticism. I again must trim down the work in order to make it realistic. What was hard was the trimming seems to have an impact on my passion. It has been two weeks since I worked on this. I apologize for the sad tone- when I left the meeting they suggested that I trim out the autobiography section, the mathematical model section, the illustrations of the school system, the Covey/Baldrige section, and 3 out of the 4 elements of Personal Mastery (Trust/Vision/Awareness of Current Reality/Drive).

So I am going to attempt to pick up the work today. I will get some outlines to the committee and see what they think before I begin writing chapters 1-3 again. They would like a strong research question followed by a plan for the research.
So here are some thoughts from this morning:

How does a retained 3rd grader become an academic star?
How does the dumbest kid in class become a world renowned brain
surgeon?

The student in these stories took on more responsibility- their systems
changed because someone developed structures that required more. Someone
intentionally designed more responsibility for these students within their
systems. One at school while the other at home.

Today our country is looking at generations of African-American students
who are suffocating in our systems.

The problem is that our systems are not agile enough to meet the needs of
our children. We expect to have a zoo filled with penguins and can't figure out
why the giraffe's are dying.

How can we design systems that are more responsive to our students? Seek
first to understand. If we listen to them, maybe we can find out what is
missing- maybe we can find out what makes them flourish and thrive.

THRIVE- that is a word I want
to contemplate for a while. This is the essence of my passion. What does it take
to create conditions in which our children thrive...

There are systems that have promise because they intentionally design
systems that give voice to their students. Tools like issue bins, data
notebooks, and PDSA's are all means by which students gain power in educational
systems. These tools were used in business models for years to increase
productivity and ownership. This shift of responsibility is taking place in
schools that use Covey or Baldrige.

So my latest attempt at a research question is:
How do quality tools impact student engagement?

Executive Skills

It is exciting to read professional literature! Although the literature review process has been a little tough going because there is so much to learn, the discoveries I am making are inspiring. The September issue of Educational Leadership is filled with connections to this dissertation. In an article titled, Solving Problems that Count, author Dana Maloney writes about Pink and Senge within two paragraphs of each other! In the Responsibility Breakthrough ReLeah Cossett Lent writes about how a system that puts more responsibility for learning in the student's hands has given dramatic improvements in motivation and achievement! And there was another piece by Peg Dawson on Executive Skills for children. This work ties directly into the literature review section where I am writing about a child's capacity to plan, organize, and act influences their level of personal mastery. Here are some quotations that I like from the first chapter:

"Executive skills are what your child needs to make any of your hopes and dreams for his future- or his own hopes and dreams- come true." p, 13.

"you can't talk children into using skills they don't have... these are the fundamental brain-based skills required to execute tasks: getting organized, planning, initiating work, staying on task, controlling impulses, regulating emotions, being adaptable and resilient..."

"Thinking and doing go hand in hand. Very often we are teaching kids how to use their thoughts to control their behaviors."

"The thinking skills help children create a picture of a goal (vision) and a path to that goal (drive), and they give them the resources they'll need to access along the way to achieve that goal."

"When all goes as planned, we come up with ideas for things we need or want to do, plan or organize the task, squelch thoughts or feelings that interfere with our plans, cheer ourselves on, keep the goal in mind even when obstaclesm distractions, or temptations arise, change course as the situation requires, and persist with our efforts until the goal is achieved." p, 18.

"The frontal brain systems play a key role in the development of executive skills... kids who practice executive skills are not only learning self-management- independence- but in the process developing brain structures that will support their exectutive skills into later adolescence."

"[to teachers and parents] The work you do will always have two components: structuring the environment and directly supervising your child."

"As is the case with almost any set of skills, children have strengths and weaknesses that fall along a continuum."

I tie this into my contruct because I am arguing that peronal mastery depends on skills- and that these skills are at varying levels in our students. Schools can nurture and strenthen these skills.

Finally- the road from vision to reality includes a students capacity to plan, organize and act...

Sergiovanni Weighs In

I can't express how fortunate I am to have had a professor like Thomas Sergiovanni. I remember his passionate lessons on school culture. I remember him climbing up on a desk and pretending to surf- teaching us that sometimes all we can do is ride a school culture and not wipe out. It takes craftiness and wisdom- it takes compassion and honor. He taught us about moral leadership.

As I was reading through files for my dissertation yesterday I came across an article that completely astounded me. It is like the preface to my dissertation. I am so excited because this means his voice will echo in my work. I have been told his health is failing him these days- so this is one way I can honor him.

The article is called, The Virtues of Leadership. In this article he discusses hope, piety, faith and trust. In my work the thoughts around trust and hope are crucial. Earlier in my research I came across an article by Jeffrey M R Duncan-Andrade titles, note to Teachers: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete. In which he distinguishes between hope that is hokey- or false and hope that is audacious or powerful. Dr. Sergiovanni explains how hope is crucial to the construct of personal mastery. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

Perhaps the most important, yet neglected leadership virtue is hope.

Hope can change things for the better.

Facing reality rather than relying on hope is to accept reality. Relying on hope rather than facing reality is to change reality.

He quotes the research of Menninger, Mayman, and Pruyser:

Realistic hope... is based on the attempt to understand the concrete conditions of reality, to see one's own role in it realistically, and to engage in such efforts of thoughtful action as might be expected to bring about hoped-for change. The affect of hope, in this case, has an activating effect. It helps mobilize the energies needed for activity.

The activating effect of hope makes the difference.

Wishful leaders ... take no deliberate action. Hopeful leaders react actively to what they hope for and deliberately strive to turn hopefulness into reality.

WOW- The construct I am working from today involves Personal Mastery being made up of a TRUST a person has in the system connected with a person's AWARENESS of their current academic reality that is different from a person's VISION of what could be all acted upon by a person's DRIVE to move from the current reality towards their vision.
Sergiovanni is arguing that hope is a crucial factor. Although I can see hope fitting in with the Trust section and the Vision section, I believe hope will fit best in the Drive section because that is where efficacy and action capacity factor in. His later thoughts also tie into the Drive section:

Turning hope into reality is a deliberate process that requires answering the following questions:
-What are your goals? Goals are what we hope for.
-What are your pathways? Pathways are the routes we take to realize our hopes.
-How committed are we to agency- to actually doing something to realize our hopes? Agency is the determined and persistent efforts to travel the pathways.
-Is efficacy present in sufficient strength? Efficacy gauges the extent to which we believe that we can make a difference- that our efforts will be successful.

Sergiovanni writes about a commitment to responsibility. Students have choices to make about their levels of commitment. He writes about their confidence in their capabilities. He writes about their ability to set goals and plan action steps. These are all integral parts of the work I have been doing with Senge's personal mastery.

I want to investigate how schools are inspiring hope and personal mastery.

This is getting good people, this is really getting good!

AHA!- Self-Determinedness

Two nights ago I had this AHA moment... I have been reflecting on how Covey's work and Senge's work are around the same construct... being self-determined. My current school has focused on this construct so it was probably on my brain when I began researching this week.

Covey's first three habits are about a person taking responsibility for their lives. The habits teach you how to reflect and develop a personal vision, create a plan for that vision, and prioritize your life to reach that vision. Senge's personal mastery construct are about being aware of where you currently are and being able to develop a vision for where you would like to be. The final piece is moving towards the vision with action.

Update

Though the blog has been quiet, I have been pooring over literature as I build chapter 2. In the past month I have:
- Corresponded with a mathematical modeling expert
- Interviewed the Project Voyce founder (I adjusted my construct after that)
- Met Ben Carson and thought about how his story fits in
- Developed a diagram
- Organized my Literature Review around it
- Reviewed numerous files and research articles for the Literature Review
- Rewrote Chapter 1 and partailly chapter 2
- Found a Sergiovanni article that aligns perfectly (I am adding hope to the construct after that)

I will share more detail in the next blog- just wanted you to update you!

Drive by D. Pink

I was in a faculty meeting the other day working with our teachers around student self assessment, self monitoring, and independence. Well- these goals are awesome and totally linked to the dissertation I am working on. These goals also tie into the Private victory Covey writes about- he believes that one who learns the first three habits begins to have independence.

So in the faculty meeting one teacher (Kim) mentions that there is this book by Pink that addresses motivation. I listened to her (it is a good thing to listen to the voice of your teachers) and look how it benefited this research (thank you Kim)!

Pink writes the following:
"Human Beings have an inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities, to explore, and to learn." p. 8

"Enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation, namely how creative a person feels when working on the project, is the strongest and most pervasive driver."

"For some people work remains routine, unchallenging, and directed by others."

"Goals work. Goals that people set for themselves and that are devoted to attaining mastery are usually healthy. But goals imposed by others can sometimes have dangerous side effects."

Pink writes that there are 3 elements that make up a powerful motivation... Autonomy, purpose, and ta da.... Mastery.

If we define personal mastery as being aware of one's current reality, having a vision for one's future and finally having the DRIVE to move from the former to the later then maybe Pink's work will help flush out my definition on personal mastery. I have written to him today to see what he thinks.

Project Voyce

Tonight I met with Brian, the director of Project Voyce. This organization develops student leaders who go into schools to capture what students are thinking and what students feel about the school. Currently his organization is developing tools that teachers can use to capture student feedback. One of the main products his group has produced is stories from students that have moved from dissengagement to engagement. He says it comes down to three things... 1. Opportunities for student expression. 2. Student Participation in these opportunities. and 3. The Adult responses to these students who participate. Brian said that when students see their ideas making an impact on the systems around them- that they moved into the engaged category.

Exciting! We are going to think about how to work together- one thought I had was to connect him with people I have met that have designed tools. He is going to give me access to student interview video where students are telling their stories of engagement. I want to se if we can develop our survey together too. So here is what I am thinking about the survey:
1. Discuss the construct with the Senge folks and with the Covey folks. Nail down this equation.
2. Look at the questions in surveys Project Voyce has used and questions I found from a Senge school.
3. Create questions that include all the elements in the equation as well as some about the teacher relationship. Include questions that measure the three things mentioned Brian's organization mentioned as well, (opportunities, participation, impact).
4. Run the survey through some student focus groups and Project Voyce panels...
5. Celebrate

Project Voyce inspired me- they are a solid organization with a great vision!

Celebration: Chapters 1-3 Sent In

Lots of effort went into getting a draft of the first three chapters out. I am exhausted. I can't tell you how many pieces of literature I went through- and there are many more that I could not include... i am feeling positive right now because the first three chapters are a major step.

Deadlines and Late Nights

I am falling asleep at the computer. I was hoping to meet a self imposed deadline to have the first three chapters done by September. I rewrote chapter 1 after Dr. Brookhart gave me some solid comments. I have chapter 3 almost done (creating a survey and interview questions has been challenging).

This is tough. But I will keep at it- thanks for your thoughts and encouragement...

Measuring The Construct in Question

Assuming that the construct of Personal Mastery or the Private Victory truly is important, how can we measure a school population's levels of these constructs?

If we can, then perhaps we can begin to put together a case for things that organizations are doing to encourage this development.

This study will try and create an instrument to measure these levels. Once we can measure the levels we can identify strong schools. Once we can identify strong schools we can examine their practice. If we discover practices that are impacting a wide-variety of school populations- then we may find something useful for our school leaders to consider. But even more important, we may find hope for children trapped in systems that are hurting their potential and sufficating their passion to learn.

Notes from the Global Summit Day 1

What a powerful day. So much has happened- so much is going to support my studies. I saw a group of students speak today and they blew me away! They were shining as they spoke of personal vision and their love of school and their dreams.

I met Sean Covey today and told him about my dissertation- he connected me with the director of research who is going to assist me as I study the effets of the Leader in Me. He told me 5 others are doing their dissertations on this topic as well. I was excited to hear that now 250 schools are Leader-in-Me schools and India is going to launch 100 schools next year! All of the high schools in Guatemala are required to use the 7 Habits!

I also ate dinner with David Langford from Langford Learning. He invented the consensusgram. His work with Quality tools is powerful and he had a diagram that represented schooling on a spectrum from external to internal motivation. I will connect with him in the future too.

I also shared the meal with Principal Solome Thomas-El. He is an inspirational speaker- one of his lines that made me laugh was when he said: "I have students that give asprin a headache." He is working on his doctorate and it is focused on Self-Efficacy. He says part of his motivation is to be a role model for children and teachers. He wants to build data folders into his school.

Over and over I felt confirmation that this research is important- we can help this profession move forward by identifying the student levels of the Private Victory in students.

Off To The Global Summit

I am going to meet school leaders who are using the Leader-in-Me framework. I can't wait to see what people are doing to develop the personal mastery levels in students...

Quotations from Connie Moss and Susan Brookhart

From: Advancing Formative Assessment in every Classroom

"Just as a windmill intentionally harness the power of moving air to generate energy, the formative assessment process helps students intentionally harness the workings of their own minds to generate motivation to learn." p. 5

"Propelled by the formative process, students understand and use learning targets, set their own learning goals... and assess their own learning progress. And as students develop into more confident and competent learners, they become motivated to learn, increasingly able to persist during demanding tasks..." p. 5


Three central questions guide the formative assessment process:
1. Where am I going?
2. Where am I now?
3. What strategy can help me get to where I need to go?

This sounds a lot like Personal Mastery...
1. Vision
2. Awareness of one's current reality
3. Taking actions that move us closer to the vision

It sounds like Covey's private victory as well:
1. Begin with the End in mind
2. Be Proactive
3. Putting first things first

"Students are operating in the dark as well (as the teachers). Without the benefit of knowing how to assess and regulate their own learning." p. 9

"Students become self-regulated learners and data-driven decision makers. They learn to gather evidence about their own learning and to use that information to choose from a growing collection of strategies for success." p. 10

to be continued...

Reflective Practice is Missing

Reflective practice is an important discipline- Dr. Korach dedicated one of our whole classes towards this discipline. I remember Dr. Sergiovanni stressing this in our graduate work- we even had assignments to journal through our practicums in undergraduate courses.

So why is it important? What does it take to make time for reflection in our schools? Is it valuable to have students participate in this practice?

In my dissertation we will explore this. Covey, Senge, and Baldrige are all impacting education today and they stress Personal Mastery. Do these systems increase a student's level of Personal Mastery?

Covey developed a Franklin Planner, Baldrige uses data folders, and people like Stiggins and Marzano believe in student-involved recording of formative assessment.

Many great leaders in history write about the power of our thoughts:
"I think therefore, I am."
"As a 'man' thinks in his heart so is he."

What tools are we using in schools to provide opportunity for such thinking to develop? Is there room in the age of accountability for reflection?

LATEST THOUGHTS ON POTENTIAL METHODOLOGY

I could create a student survey that measures Personal Mastery and Covey's Private Victory.

This survey could then be sent to Baldrige, Leader-in-Me, and Traditional Classrooms. I could analyze the results to see if Personal Mastery levels are higher in classrooms where systems are in place that pay attention to Personal Mastery.

After the analysis I could develop interview questions based on the themes that emerged from the survey. I could then identify the sites with the highest levels of Personal Mastery and interview school leaders and teachers there... compile themes and maybe a grounded theory.

I will share this with my advisor then see what happens next...

Attended Donna's Defense

Yesterday a colleague from my cohort invited me to her defense. She ended her coursework a year a head of me to technically I could be in her shoes next year. I am grateful she allowed me to see this event. It was like a huge presentation. She shared her findings and then the professors asked many technical questions about the decisions she made in her research. Everything from the selection of the sample to the selection of her themes.

I felt so proud of her! She is a doctor now!

This experience gave me motivation to keep plugging away.

Methodology Options part2

Talked with Dr. Korach and Dr. Brookhart (2 members of my committee) and we tossed around a few ideas for the study.

Grounded Theory Option: Looking for sources of Personal Mastery in students through interviews, observations, and surveys. The part that is hard for me is giving up the data folders I designed.

Experimental Design Option: Studying the impact of data folders on a few classrooms. Looking specifically for personal mastery. In Leader-in-Me schools they will be following the work of Covey which uses the Covey planner for developing habit 3. This will just be a test of a potential scholastic planner.

Phenomenology Option: Studying the impact of the data folders. This time there is no theory coming into the study- just report the findings after I interview and survey.

Though I would like to already have decided this methodology a long time ago- I am still working on the first chapter which is the introduction- so the timing is OK. I am feeling a stronger sense in my gut to go with options 2 or 3.

Phillip Schlechty Quotes

These quotes are from a book titled, Working the Work.

"As leaders, great teachers understand that the needs and interests of those they want to follow them, the students, must be central to their concerns."

"Teachers must also ensure that those they lead respond to ends that may not be immediately appealing to students, though essential to the functioning of a democratic society."

"Sometimes it is helping those being led to see directions they might go that they would not otherwise have thought of and then inspiring them to go in those directions."

"Authentic engagement. The task, activity, or work the student is assigned is associated with a result or outcome that has clear meaning ... and value to the student."

"As schools are now organized, student success, especially success in doing well in an environment that places emphasis on high test scores, does not require authentic engagement."

"Beliefs shape visions, and visions drive missions."

"Control is not possible without understanding. Assessment is critical to understanding."

"the level and types of student learning are directly influenced by the effort students expend... the efforts students are willing to expend on tasks is determined by the level and type of engagement the tasks generate... the level and type of engagement depend, in a large measure... on the extent to which qualities that are built into the tasks are... most responsive to the needs and motives students bring to the tasks."

"The fact is that engagement precedes learning."

"For standards to motivate, they must have meaning and perceived value to those to whom they are being applied."

"What is real to children may be very different from that which is real to adults and that it is the reality of students that determines the kind of work they will find engaging."

Now this is primarily about engagement- however I am beginning to see lots of personal mastery woven between the lines here.

John Dewey Quotations

"The older methods set a premium upon passivity and receptivity..."

"There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active co-operation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying."

"There should be brief intervals of time for quiet reflection provided for even the young."

"Education is essentially a social process."

"Control of individual actions is effected by the whole situation in which individuals are involved."

"The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning."

"Every experience is a moving force...it is then the business of the educator to see in what direction an experience is heading."

"The mature person ... has no right to withhold from the the young on given occasions whatever capacity for sympathetic understanding his own experience has given him."

"The traditional scheme is, in essence, one of imposition from above and from outside. It imposes adult standards, subject-matter, and methods upon those who are only growing slowly toward maturity... the very situation forbids much active participation by pupils in the development of what is taught."

"The road of the new education is not an easier one to follow than the old road."

from Experience and Education (1938)

Many of these quotes support the direction of this dissertation. If students are seeing school in a way that say a homeowner sees a contractor- someone who has expertise and can constribute to or vision- then there are many reasons to believe academic effort will increase. So are there systems that can be put into use to help students reflect and then to inspire them to own their academic growth?

Making Progress

The first chapter is almost ready to be examined by my advisor. At one point in the process I felt like all these authors and all these major points were cutting in line- they all wanted me to write about them next... I had to tell them to get back in the outline and have a little patience.
Now I am just wondering how close I am to having the right tone, voice, and level of professionalism. Here is a little piece of it:
The educational system in the United States of America empowers adults from the policy makers and politicians, parents and business leaders, to the teachers and administrators. These stakeholders share data, create action plans, and design accountability systems. Policies like No Child Left Behind have increased teacher stress levels and influenced decisions on time usage within the classroom (Costa & Kallick, 2004). If teachers feel the need to reduce instruction in non-tested curriculum like social studies curriculum, how will they find time to include student reflection (Newberg-Long, 2010)?
OK back to work!

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

It could be because I have been a math facilitator for three years- who knows why- but today I came up with some mathematical representations for my dissertation. (I have been in a writing slump lately so this is good)

Here is what I think I am sharing during my dissertation presentation tomorrow:

CONTEXT: Today we live in the age of accountability: politicians and business leaders have changed the educational landscape. No Child Left Behind gives us statistical analysis where we illuminate the achievement gap.

Agap = SUM(Igap - Igap’) (The Achievement Gap = sum of student individual gaps)

Igap = PS – CR (Individual gaps = Proficiency by standard minus the individuals current reality)

LO = PM + SV + TL + MM + ST (Learning Organizations = Personal Mastery + Shared Vision + Team Learning + Mental Models + Systems Thinking)

PM = CT (Personal Mastery = Creative Tension)
CT= CRV (Creative Tension = a vector moving from Current Reality towards Vision)
V= SE + A1 (Vision – Self Efficacy + Awareness of possibilities)

SIGNIFICANCE: If a tool can create stronger CR & A1 then we will have a stronger CT and therefore a stronger PM which Senge believes makes an organization stronger and more vital. This tool may increase the personal mastery levels within a learning organization.

NEED FOR STUDY: School systems typically do not provide time or tools for students to use to reflect- teachers bear the majority of the responsibility to analyze data and action plan.

RATIONALE: The data folder system includes activities to raise awareness and to reflect on progress. Students who are aware and can begin to set plans into motion will share the responsibility and progress.

New Title

I believe the title will evolve as I read more and think more about providing a useful study. Here is the latest:

Sources of Personal Mastery in Urban Learning Organizations: Student's Reactions to 2nd Arrow Systems

The emphasis is on the develoment of personal mastery in urban kids.

2nd Arrow is a term created to describe student empowerment. It is easy to find instruction that has a starting point and an arrow that goes from the teacher to the learner. This second arrow describes systems that create a 2 way connection. Systems that involve the student in using data to set their own goals.

If we can find sources of personal mastery (Senge) then we can provide some resources to urban school systems.

Froebel & Blow

"The mind grows by self-revelation... learning begins when consciousness erupts." Friedrich Froebel (the creator of kindergarten)

Do we still have the Factory model in place in schools? The conveyor belt moves an engine block down the assembly line. Components are added- it is cold and mechanical.

Froebel urges us to protect the next generation from "mechanical actions without thought and consideration."
That engine block is not considering much is it... If schools can set up systems that include thought and consideration at the student level will they help us create a more productive educational system?

Froebel had a disciple named Susan E. Blow. She came to St. Louis in 1873 and began the first successful kindergarten in the United States. She had a huge impact on the city as the whole city had kinderarten classes by 1883. I am still looking up quotes from her speaking tours- she trained kinder teachers.

On a final note, something Froebel wrote reminded me of te conceptual model of schools I wrote about earlier.
"Children are like tiny flowers: they are varied and need care, but each is beautiful alone and glorious when seen in the community of peers."
See this image I created and imagine the students as the flowers on the ends of the school organization... The learning oganization

Is it About Awareness?

Lately I have felt a lot of pressure to get this dissertation focused. I am wrestling with a few options and throw in the end of the school year- out of town guest preparation- and job searching and it my time gets squeezed. So I got up 2 hours before the start of the day and wrote a few things.

Could this dissertation be about awareness? Is this concept missing in some schools?

Awareness at the student level- can they tell you what it means to be proficient? Can they tell you where they are personally? Can they tell you about thier strengths? Can they tell you about action steps that will help them?

Glasser writes about how this awareness motivates students to improve.
Marzano writes about how student progress monitoring is part of effective teaching.
Stiggins ties student performance recording to self efficacy.
Senge writes about Personal Mastery.
Covey writes about Personal Victory.

All begins with awareness.
So are students who are in Baldrige or Leader in Me schools more aware than students in other schools?

Methodology Options

This week I have been contemplating options for the study. It is a complex process and I am going to meet with Dr. Brookhart to hash out some of my thinking. I would be interested in some of your thoughts. Here are 2 options I am thinking about:

Option A. Take the data folder system I have designed into several classrooms. Using Bandura's or Stiggin's self efficacy survey I would pre-assess and post-assess the students and teachers. I could gather data by the end of January- analyze and write conclusions by May. I would choose to study classrooms with specific interests in mind:
Leader-in-Me network (A.B. Combs)
Baldrige Model Schools (I.S.S.)
Urban (D.P.S. or NEISD)

Option B. Take the self-efficacy survey to schools in the Leader-in-Me network and find out the impact of this system on mental models.

I will be thinking about this for the next 2 weeks- I have a dissertation design panel meeting me on June 11th at 2pm.

The LEADER in ME Model

Can THE LEADER in ME impact schools in such a way as to impact mental models?
Notes from the book:

"By teaching the skills of self-discipline, self-reliance, and self confidence, the teachers are fostering the opportunity to learn life skills... my children are being educated to open the door to their future rather than waiting for the door to open."

Jennifer Collins a parent at a Leader in Me school

"Everyday I get to see empowered five- and six-year-olds truly caring about our school's learning environment."

Maggie Lozano, Kindergarten Teacher at Stuard Elementary

"We concluded that students who go through the 7 Habits will be planners, they will take responsibility for their own learning..."

Jeanne Paynem Professional Development Coordinator, Decatur City Schools

The intent of this program as Stephen Covey puts it is to,

"teach them (children) how to lead their individual lives and how to succeed in the twenty-first century."

An old proverb reads with the same emphasis on the next generation: "My son, if you accept my words
and store them up within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand …
and find knowledge.

We may have to rally our students to confidently attack their own individual gaps in order to close our achievement gap. Each child has a choice to make about their future- and we might have some tools that can help them.

Bandura

Stiggins directed me to some research by Usher and Pajares. I have been reading,

Sources of Self-Efficacy in School: Critical Review of the Literature and Future Directions.

Now- here are some interesting points made in this research:

"Students who are confident in their academic capabilities monitor their work time more effectively, are more efficient problem solvers, and show more persistence than do equally able peers with low self efficacy. They also work harder, evaluate their progress more frequently, and engage in more self-regulatory strategies that promote success in school."

Albert Bandura first introduced the construct of self-efficacy in 1977. Coincidentally that was the year I repeated 3rd grade...

In this report the recommendations for future research include, "How to foster and nurture a student's budding self belief."

Do this dissertation could be a grounded theory. We can examine the effects of a couple of systems (The Leader in Me & Baldrige) on the mental models (self-efficacy) of students.

Baldrige helps students reflect and create action plans. They also progress monitor. The Leader in Me teaches students about their locus of control, about beginning with the end in mind, and about prioritizing.

The Prezi Tool & a Conversation with Stiggins!

My friend Alfredo showed me a program called Prezi (free and online). I am still learning how to use it but have been working on the conceptual model of a school- click the word school to see it.

I also have been reading the work of Rick Stiggins. Currently he is working with the Assessment Training Institute. He writes about involving students in assessment (Including having them record their performance). Today I spoke with him on the phone and he was kind enough to share some research with me!

Glasser Climbs In

During my first steps into the teaching profession I had a wise principal named Judy Wells. She led the staff through some training by William Glasser. I was even certified in the Basics of Reality Therapy under her leadership. Today something nagged at me to look back into the books I read back then... here is what I found:

From CONTROL THEORY 1984
Chapter 1: Everything We Think, Do, and Feel is Generated by What Happens Inside of Us.This is really like Covey's first Habit- "What moves you to act is inside, not outside, of yourself. Nothing we do is caused by what happens outside of us." I also see shades of Senge's "Personal Mastery" in this chapter.

Chapter 3: The Pictures in Our Heads
This reminds me of what Senge calls "Mental Models". "We begin to create what is best described as a picture album in our heads... a personal picture album... I like to use the word pictures rather than the technically correct term, perceptions... it is not the same as memory... when we change important pictures, we change our lives... it is not easy to change our own pictures... we have to replace it with another- this can be done through negotiation and compromise."
I wonder if this negotiation is similar to reflection & analysis. If so then we could look at the work in Baldrige as a way to impact our personal picture albums (or mental models).

Stiggins and Wiggins Weigh in

I have spent hours reading up on a couple of researchers. Rick Stiggins wrote; Using student involved classroom assessment to close achievement gaps. Which outlines some practices that close the gap- one of them being goal setting and meaningful involvement by students.
I also am reading lots about the Tripod Project- Ronald Ferguson and his team write about the conditions learning organizations need in order to motivate students to succeed. They write about student goal setting!
Grant Wiggins wrote Understanding by Design and this work addresses the idea called Locus of control (the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them).
My literature foundation is filling up... Senge, Covey, Ferguson, Stiggins, Fletcher, Baldrige, and more.

How Covey Fits In

If you have read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People then you know Covey is writing about leadership. He studied over 200 years of literature on successful leadership to come up with these 7 Habits. The first three are grouped into what he calls the PERSONAL VICTORY- (or Self Mastery).

Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First

When someone has worked these habits into their lives they move from dependent thinking to independent thinking. All of this ties into Senge's work in the book, The Fifth Discipline. He writes about seeing organizations as complex systems. In these systems there are 5 disciplines that needs attention. Two of them are PERSONAL MASTERY and mental models.

Discipline 1: Personal Mastery
Dicipline 2: Mental Models

"Personal mastery is a discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively." (p. 7)

2) "Mental models are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures of images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action." (p. 8)

So if I am writing about how tools can shift mental models then it seems the work of Senge and Covey are going to be helpful in thinking about this.

PERSONAL MASTERY (Senge) = PERSONAL VICTORY (Covey)

One Possibility

Title: "How Do Quality Tools Color the Mental Models within an Urban Learning Organization?"

Possible Research: Locate schools in urban settings that have used quality tools. Survey students. Compare results with students in schools that do not use quality tools.

Key Questions: Is there a survey that measures mental models? Where do I find a school that wholeheartedly believes in using quality tools?

Science of Social Networking

In class yesterday I was able to share my new thinking about organizations. I wrote about this in the previous post. I am beginning to picture the learning organization as an organism. The Quality Tools are like medicine. I will need to study for how this medicine impacts students, teachers, and parents.

I learned about social cognition yesterday. http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/soccog/soccog.html It describes how an individual's thinking is influenced by their context and the social network around them. I will be learning more about this for the dissertation.

In addition I ran across an organization that actually puts the thoughts I have been having into a graphical form. http://connectiveassociates.com/articles/picture_of_productivity.html
Here is a quote from their page: As sophisticated as these tools are mathematically, their visual impact is often even more powerful. Showing a group a network map of their relationships almost always produces a big “aha” moment. Individuals suddenly see how they are part of a whole system and shift perspective from “me” to “us.”

This is called SNA- social network analysis. I want to learn more about this now too.

My Growing Conceptual Framework

Right now I am leaning forward... my pulse has quickened... I am exploding with thought and joy. Here are some of the latest things I have been thinking about- they pertain to the research like a scientist who studies sea life or a doctor studying the behavior patterns of cells or vaccines.

I used to watch Jacques Cousteau reruns on T.V. Fascinated by the life in the ocean. I always wondered how they could swim up on things and not scare them away. When I was a boy I was going to be a marine biologist- or a zookeeper because of influences like that. Perhaps I can still pursue part of this childhood dream. Perhaps there are lots of similarities between a marine biologist and a doctor of education. Instead of swimming in a complex ecosystem called the ocean with incredible wildlife we doctors will swim in a complex edusystem called a learning organization. When we approach these "schools" we can scientifically begin to observe them- to learn about how they breath and move. I picture swimming up on a district and seeing the organisms from far off as a marine biologist might approach a bed of Sea Aneemone.
found on wikipedia The 49th plate from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904, showing various sea anemones classified as Actiniae

My mental model of a school looks like the inside of the brain- at the synapse level. the organism called school has a core- a network of relationships that include informal and formal leadership. These are invisible. When you walk into a building they are there and you can feel them more than see them. They can be fragile- they can be toxic- they can be strong- they can be healthy.

They are mental models- thousands of messages transfer back and forth every day about what is valued, important, hated, etc.

Each teacher "cell" in this organism is bonded to all the students they work with. This forms an outer covering or shell of the learning organization. When things are good and students are blossoming into all they can be a school organism looks amazing as you swim up to it. Not all of these organisms are the same shape or size. They have lots of different looks because each is unique. It is like discovering a new species each time you swim up to this anemone bed. However their outer shell colors all seem to follow a pattern. When students are able to blossom these organisms- no matter how uniquely shaped- all turn a beautiful blue. When students are hurting academically, they all turn red.

I can define what "blossom" means in many ways: student performance on state exams, student independence, or student passion for learning. In any case, I think the color of the outer shell is dependent on what is going on in the invisible network of mental models below the surface. Are there high expectations? Is there an enthusiasm and a passion for learning that is contagious? What does the core truly believe about the learners around them? These messages are transmitted whether they are verbalized or not in the way we look at children- in the structures and activities we create for them. When we believe they are the next generation of leaders and that they are capable of meeting our challenges... we then can see the colors of our shell change as students blossom.

What does this have to do with our potential dissertation? Is this too abstract? It has everything to do with this dissertation because maybe when we swim up to a bed of learning organizations we will be able to identify the schools that use quality tools by their color. Maybe the mental model network under the surface is similar in these organizations. It is like the biologist identifying the common genetic codes in a species. Could we describe schools that use quality tools as a family? Maybe the title of this dissertation should be, "How Do Quality Tools Color the Mental Models within an Urban Learning Organization?"

Title Brainstorming

So I contacted ASQ (the American Society for Quality) yesterday. They are at the forefront of using quality tools in education and had a lot of input on this study. There are thousands of schools all over the nation that are using these tools. The research options are endless... I could study how these tools impact Alaskan students (what a travel opportunity!). I could identify which tools seem to be most popular and which ones teachers are finding most difficult...

So I want to think about a title to help me focus a little. I know my heart is focused on seeing the "underdog" or students who underachieve in our systems find hope.

So here is a potential title...

How Quality Tools Impact Urban Learning Organizations and the Students They Serve

This report allows me to write about the following:
Quality (Baldrige, CCI, TQM)
Tools (Data Folders, Classroom Dashboards, Plus Delta's)
Urban (The Achievement Gap, Motivation)
Learning Organizations (My conceptual framework of schools, the mental model web)
Students (How these tools impact their thinking)

The floor is open for all feedback...

Senge Provides the Foundation

In his book, the Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge writes about 5 elements that make an organization work well. 2 of these are powerful "levers" we can use to lift our students... personal mastery and mental models.

Personal Mastery: "It is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our own personal vision... people with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them."

Mental Models: "They are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures and images that influence how we see the world and how we take action."

Senge's work leads this discussion down a road that leads to further capacity building and independence for our students.

I hope I can include this in my first chapter...

A Ripple of Hope

Can data folders send a ripple of hope that inspires children and their families? What does this tool potentially communicate?

1. It brings awareness to children- of what is essential to know in a grade level
2. It brings awareness to children- of their educational health
3. It shares with children that our school believes they have what it takes to achieve.

This all ties into the work of Peter Senge around mental models and personal mastery.

IF these folders are designed well. Many I have seen are thrown together without much thought. I think there are some components to make sure you include in a design:
1. Missioning (being aware of why we are here.
2. Data (showing our performance compared to the average)
3. A rubric of proficiency (so students can become aware of expectations)
4. A resource page (so students can plan a way to build the necessary skills)
5. A reflection section (where students think about their own strengths and opportunities to grow) and
6. An action planning section (this teaches leadership)

I can't tell you how much this motivates me- to even think these tools could possibly bring hope.

Case Study or Survey?

It is time to brainstorm all the different kinds of angles I could take.

I could study the effect of sata folders on the mental models of teachers, students, A.A. boys, principals, etc...

I could study the past 5 years of survey data from a school system that used baldrige and won an award.

I could collect folders from all over the nation and report on what they tell us on what is valued.

I also have to create a criteria for what literature is included in the study and what is not.

It is challenging to actually find the scope of the literature because some of the terms used are not universal. In addition- what should be the limits of my focus? Should I look at student engagement? That is a huge topic. I could focus it on African American Boys but then I have to become an expert on boys and on African Americans. I could focus on SES too- all of this is huge...

I also have to decide if I want to do a case study, survey, phenomenology etc...

A Flow Map

I tried to map out the path of my thinking around this dissertation today. I know I still need to immerse myself in the literature, however this map will guide my literature search, so I found it a worthwhile activity.

It also raised questions for me- places to stop and possibly apply research.

1. The Achievement Gap (I wish I could use my sketching here)
2. The Mental Models
3. The Use of Goal Setting & Data Folders
4. The Impact on Mental Models and on the Achievement Gap

1. So for the first point I wondered how to focus-
Academically: Math
By Gender: Male
By Grade Level: (3-5)
By Ethnicity: African American
By SES: low SES

2. I wondered if we have studies that show the mental models A.A. boys in 3rd grade have of school, themselves as students, and their teachers.
I also wondered if there is a tool in use that can measure a school's "warmth" towards the students above.

3. I wondered if there were aspects of a data folder design that motivated students more than others. Is it important to have a reflection piece? (We could create two prototypes and test them against each other) I also wondered if these tools shift student's mental models. Then I wondered if it shifted the teacher's mental models (or the families from the student-led conferences).

4. This could be answered earlier in point 2 or 3.

So this step seems important to me because the dissertation can develop out of several places here. I want the focus to beon these data tools at the student level because I think they hold a key to closing the achievement gap. Does it make sense to focus then on these tools? Am I adding too much by including the focus on A.A. boys achievement in math?

I do believe that this phenomenon (the achievement gap) is a form of injustice. This now moves beyond academics for me. I feel just like the chemist researching cures for cancer. I want to work on potential solutions to this problem and if they work- GREAT! if they don't then we can study the next theory.

As a 3rd grader I experienced a system that turned my educational journey around. It was based on goal setting and putting data in my hands. I want to see if this practice helps others like it did me and then begin to get this practice into our schools.

Beginning the Journey

Last week I met a president of a historically black university who told me that the best thing he does for students is make them aware of where they are in the educational race. Once students are aware- they can take action that moves them forward at a faster rate.

This awareness raises questions: what kind of awareness levels exist in elementary school boys? Are there tools that can impact that awareness and then is there a corresponding improvement on performance?

I want to make a web of potential studies and then think about the types of findings each one can bring.

For example- could a case study provide more useful knowledge than a phenomenology?

I then have lots of questions: Who are the experts out there? Which types of key words do I need to search for in the literature? (student ownership, goal setting, achievement gap, African-American males, cultural proficiency) I could create a data folder system and compare ones that include goal setting and one that doesn't.

This would preclude that a data folder is a solid tool- it is the design of this folder that needs some sophistication.

The Impact of a Continuous Improvement Process on Students

I have been wondering if the use of data folders can close the achievement gap because they are a tool that acts as a lever and is used to shift the student's mental model from a passive/teacher oriented point of view to an active/independent ownership point of view.
Is this direction valuable to the dialogue ongoing around student engagement and achievement? Maybe, but the data folders are actually a part of something bigger. Schools throughout the nation are using continuous improvement procedures. Baldrige, CCI, TQM- all of these are examples.
I would love to analyze the folders that exist- see what elements create passion, enthusiasm, and motivation in students.
My professor said I should look into the portfolio literature-

So today this is where I am at in my dissertation work.