Technically Yours Teamann — Page 50 — my version of transparent, collaborative leadership…with a Teamann twist

What’s your big three as an admin?

November 20, 2014 by Amber 1 Comment

Tony Sinanis recently blogged about his big “three” as an admin and challenged me to write about what I think might be my big three. While I completely agree with his three: “be the ears, be the voice, and be the culture”, it would be redundant to say mine are the same.

Instead I’ll share three gems of greatness that I think compliment his nicely. (Such a team player, aren’t I?)

1. You don’t always to be right.

As an administrator, it is crucial to be able to see the value in losing the battle, but winning the war. It doesn’t do anyone any good to win every argument if you alienate or isolate the people you work with while doing so. When meeting with teachers or parents, there is something to be said for allowing other’s viewpoints to be given weight and be heard. Someone who can communicate You can be the right-est person in the world and yet have no one on your side, which would a rather ineffective leader, wouldn’t it? Employ your inner empathy skills here. What distinguishes average to mediocre leaders from those who excel at leading others is how the latter group understands that their focus shouldn’t be simply directed to whether goals are achieved or not. Nobody wants to be on the same team with someone who has to win every argument, never giving any credence to other’s points of views.

2. You don’t always have to make everyone happy.

In fact, thinking that you CAN make everyone happy would be a mistake. No matter what idea you have or what positive motivation you have fueling your movements…someone will not agree. This has easily been the most challenging part of being an administrator for me. If decisions are made on what is best for kids, how could someone disagree with you? It’s easy to forget that people view decisions or actions through the same lens they view the world in. Never take it personal when someone disagrees with you! Use it as an opportunity to get to understand that other person and find out what lens they are using. Really listen to what they have to say…and at the end of the day, even if they still disagree with you, at least they can respect the fact that you gave them a chance to discuss their point of view. It’s also so important to have relationships with your team, so that they know what your vision is. You can disagree with how I might go about accomplishing something, but if you know my heart is always making decisions based on whats best for kids, then I am ok with you being unhappy.

3. You don’t always have to be in charge.

Delegation is a lost art. I don’t know if some leaders don’t like to delegate because they don’t trust the people they work with, because they are controlling, or if they truly don’t understand what empowered leadership looks like. I had a teacher I worked with who was an incredible event planner. She rallied teachers behind her, had terrific connections in the community, and was a natural at the detail oriented focus required to pull off a big school event. Early on I was intimidated by the fact that she was such a natural, but I learned how much easier it was to let her run with her passion, because at the end of the day, she was going to make it happen, and make it awesome. And wasn’t that what I wanted? It allowed me to step back and focus on other pressing matters…as soon as I relaxed and appreciated her strengths. Know your team and know their strengths. Maximize those strengths to benefit your campus! It really will make a difference when your whole team is invested in your campus vision.

What did we leave out? Can you elaborate or add? I would love to know what your big three would be!

Leadingly,

Amber

If the blog title fits…goodbye, Technically yours, Teamann!

November 7, 2014 by Amber 7 Comments

The evolution of this blog has come a long way. It began as a tool I used in my fourth grade classroom. It then became a place I could share all of the great things I was seeing in classrooms and share techie resources as a technology facilitator. It then became a place to share weekly happenings as an administrator. It became less and less about “technology” and more and more about leadership…about quality instruction…about all the things I am passionate about.

Did you know that there are Texas standards for principal efficacy? There are!

The leader is responsible for ensuring every student receives high-quality instruction.
The leader is responsible for ensuring there are high-quality teachers and staff in every classroom and throughout the school.
The leader is responsible for modeling a consistent focus and personal responsibility for improving student outcomes.
The leader is responsible for establishing and implementing a shared vision and culture of high expectations for all students.
The leader is responsible for implementing systems that align with the school’s vision and improve the quality of instruction.

Do you notice what is missing from those standards?

The leader who tweets and blogs.

There is much, much more to being an administrator, and much, much more than that to me.

The leader who tweets and blogs is simply using a tweet and blog vehicle for helping accomplish the goals of the principal. It’s not bad. It’s a choice. The standards are standards. They don’t define the tools used to address the standards.

I’m choosing to rename this blog, and the domain (henceforth to be www.amberteamann.com) to ensure the clarity of not being a technology driven administrator, but instead as an administrator who sees the importance of technology to help accomplish my goals as a leader. Just like I see an importance in having a strong system to work in, a focus on relationships, and a level of accountability for high academic expectations…it all meshes and melds together into a modern, effective, collaborative leader.

I am thankful for leaders like George Couros, who model so well what I hope to emulate for my staff, my district, and the PLN that has grown right along side me. As a leader, it is not just teaching “stuff”, but it is helping people to see why it is so importance to embrace the change needed in schools today. Whether that be through the Fundamental 5, instructional rounds, or literacy circles, this is a space where I share what I’m doing, what I’m thinking, and how that relates to education.

This blog is an investment into the kind of leadership that will allows teachers to be the very best that they can be, ensuring each student gets the education that they deserve. Pre-social media (pick your noun- Twitter, Google +, Blogger, Tumblr), many administrators were actively learning and enhancing their craft, but it was hard to really show that one was a “lifelong learner” that we promote so actively to our staff & students. We now have a variety of tools at our disposal. We can not only share our expertise, we can share it in a much more open example of transparent leadership.

This is a space of collaborating, of communicating, of creation. It also happens to be a blog.

Focus on the verbs, not the nouns.

Verb-ish,

Amber

#EDUDO: Giving feedback…easy ways to make it happen!

November 2, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

Taking part in the #EDUDO movement, I thought I would share a couple of tips and tricks discussed in our admin meeting last week on providing feedback. There was an ASCD post recently from Robyn Jackson that highlighted 4 ways to give effective feedback. There was a post in the Washington Post that came to the conclusion that feedback was a crucial part of the walk through process.

“Although the researchers suggest that their results should be considered exploratory, they do suggest a general principle of instructional leadership that fits well with one overarching principle of learning: feedback is essential. Instructional leadership activities that offer meaningful feedback to teachers may help. Those that don’t, will not.”

How then can you give quality feedback when you have so much else on your plate? By planning, making it a priority, and having the right tools!

1. Plan to be in classrooms to actually GIVE the feedback!

We use Eduphoria which has several tools to help me keep track of how many walk throughs & observations I have done for each teachers. (You could easily make a checklist in Evernote, which I’ll come back to in a moment. Put that in your pocket, save it for later.) Each week I get an email telling me how many I have completed. Within the system I can I easily check to see how many i have done for each teacher. I also have it sent to email me each every other week when there are teachers that don’t have a certain number of walk throughs.

I also, with the greatness of Melinda Miller, have made it a point to write down on our calendars exactly who we plan on visiting. If not by specific names, then at least with a number of rooms per day. It sounds completely simple, but it has been surprisingly effective!

2. Go old school with a note!

I’ve used this form and it’s been my go to for several years. It’s template based but allows me to personalize. I print multiple copies each week and commit to sharing them. Being intentional in looking for the good…I never run out of good things to brag on! Print your own at “Technology rocks. Seriously.”

3. Tech it up a bit with a suggestion from the greatness of Jessica Branch. I like taking pictures when I see something happening in the classroom, but she suggested combining the Red Stamp app and the picture to send a teacher a visual “wow!” instead of a paper post it. You have the option to even email it straight from the app, so it’s easy!

4. Remember that Evernote from earlier? Pull it out of your pocket to enjoy it now! Evernote is a tool that I’ve used in the past to keep a running record of the classrooms I visit. I’m able to create a page for each teacher, and take notes of what I see happening. Our standard walk through form doesn’t allow for a longitudinal record of my visits, but in Evernote I can make simple notes of what I am observing and be able t track feedback over the semester/year. Teachers have access to what I’ve written and know what I’ve seen each time I’ve been there. This is valuable to help keep me in line with visiting at different times and making sure I am seeing different subjects and teaching styles. (whole group, vs small group, etc.) there’s also a handy checklist option! You can read more about that here.

Feedback needs to be timely and relevant to the learner’s needs in order to be effective. Keeping that in mind, be ready to share something timely, something constructive, and something positive. Without feedback of any kind, we would not learn at all, period. We would end up doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again…but it also ensures that teachers (or students!) feel as if we know what is happening with each teacher (or student!) individually. Their lead learner should be the person who delivers that feedback as well the one who can help them move forward.

feedbackN,

Amber

An #ASCD opportunity!

October 23, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

FY15-PDIs-590x120 Flipping PD for educators allows them to do much of their own learning at home, at their own pace, and improves the time spent together in a large group. During the ASCD Educator Effectiveness Institute, Engaged and Inspired: High-Impact Strategies to Motivate and Challenge Each Learner, attendees will take part in both online and on-site learning.

Three weeks before the on-site meeting, participants will join an online learning community on ASCD EDge. Led by ASCD faculty member Stefani Hite, attendees will discuss student motivation theory based on the September 2014 edition of Educational Leadership, “Motivation Matters,” which includes important motivation topics such as choice, rigor, curiosity, relevance, feedback and relationships. At their own pace, participants will read articles from the EL issue that will frame their on-site professional development.

Next, participants will meet for one day on-site with Hite to explore what motivates students. Once on-site, participants will dive deep into student engagement and participation strategies that enhance cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral engagement. Attendees will identity four strategies and set goals as to how they will use them in their classrooms.

Finally, the virtual learning community will reconvene for coaching and collaboration with other participants and Hite. Participants will discuss the strategies that they have implemented in their school or classroom and share what has worked and what has been challenging. Participants can exchange feedback and ideas and Hite will also answer questions and offer expert advice for four to six weeks after the on-site meeting.

This is a great opportunity for educators to not only take part in flipped professional learning, but also address one of the most important factors contributing to student achievement.

You can find all details, locations, and dates here: http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/institutes/engaged-and-inspired.aspx

Happy learning!
Amber

Resources for National Writing Day….errrr…Week!

October 20, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

Happy Monday! We have some amazing learning specialists that work with our campus who are practically mind readers. I had a writing day post ready to go and then I received more resources so I’ve added hers below as well. (Thanks, Laura Moore!)

We all know writing is a life-long skill. Students are writing in all content areas and sharing their ideas through writing. As a former fourth grade writing teacher, I know the struggle to include as much writing as possible. Even if you’re not a writing teacher, you have the opportunity to add writing…as well as increase a students vocabulary. Take advantage of that academic vocabulary and get creative!

Here are some ideas to celebrate National Day on Writing:

Roll a story! During your literacy centers, have your students get creative with this writing freebie. It would be easy to turn this into a science or math center as well!
Create a writer’s checklist! As a class develop a checklist of all the attributes you want to see in each piece of writing. Have it available in a “writing center” with fun paper, colored pens, stickers, etc .
Let the “best” writers do a guest post on your classroom blog. Want to see some kids care about their writing? Give them a global audience.
Collaborative writing. Have a journal that can used for a class story…you begin with one sentence and then pass it around throughout the day and have the student create the story, line by line. Share at the end of the day!

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/happy-national-day-on-writing-2014/

write on!

Amber