As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a course called 'Leaders influencing Teachers' High Expectations', led by Christine Ruby-Davis and Richard Newton. I am attending with our leadership team made up of myself, our Principal and three lead teachers. We've had two sessions now, focusing on research, barriers and proven strategies that promote or inhibit teacher's high expectations. As with any new learning, I connect discussion themes to my own knowledge and previous experiences and this learning has given me pause to reflect on how my own behaviours have impacted classrooms I have led.
Working with our staff on developing teachers high expectations, our new learning from the LITHE course was shared in a staff meeting workshop which I facilitated. The discussion, questions and reflection that resulted was thoughtful, challenging and deeply reflective. Staff were open to the ideas which challenged their educational values and beliefs and in some ways were confronted with their own ideas on pedagogical practice. It was inspiring to listen to them share their experiences and reflect on the messages shared, making connections and relating them to their students and our community.
Below is the slide deck we prepared for the meeting workshop. We began the meeting with a youtube Tedtalk by 'Rita Pearson' about championing our kids (it's 'Believing in our students' in red on the cover slide)....a wonderful start to encourage teachers to reflect on where they come from and the impact they have on their students. We then move into research and questions around what "high expectations" teachers do to accelerate the learning in their room. Check out the slide deck below:
