View source for OER4Schools/Leadership for Learning

{{OER4S
|title={{Get session title}}
|session=1.5
}}[[Category:CCE]][[Category:Leadership]]__TOC__
{{OER4SchoolsWSInfo
|intention={{ OER4SchoolsWSInfo/intention intro}}
* the lens metaphor for exploring the 5 LfL principles:
::# Focus on learning
::# Conditions for learning
::# Learning Dialogue
::# Shared Leadership
::# Shared Accountability
* leadership practices that support learning and which can be organized within the 5 LfL principles 
* LfL in the classroom by watching a video of teachers in action to see if some or all of the 5 LfL principles can be identified.

 

 
|success criteria={{ OER4SchoolsWSInfo/criteria intro}}
* use the lens metaphor to identify LfL in the classroom and record your observations and reflections on a table mat 
* identify the LfL practices employed in the OER4schools programme
* develop a personal and professional understanding of leadership practices that support learning and which can be organized within the 5 LfL principles 
 
|ict={{ OER4SchoolsWSInfo/ICT intro}}
* consolidate your skills with concept mapping, geogebra, images, and typing.
{{ OER4SchoolsWSInfo/ICT intro students}}  
* you will continue with Geogebra, images, and typing.
|resources=You'll need large pieces of paper (one per group of two or three) to use as table mats for recording observations.
}}


= {{name for review of follow up|offset=2}} =

{{review of follow up|offset=2}}

= Leadership for Learning =
{{todo|this has now been used in 1.4}}
'''''Leadership for Learning is a way of thinking, doing, communicating, working, and reflecting about educational leadership in schools for the singular purpose of promoting the activity of learning.'''''<br>

In a  previous session you identified the leaders and learners in your school and considered your own potential as a leader.  We will now examine each of the five LfL principles more closely.  

Here are the five principles of Leadership for Learning:

{{: OER4Schools/LfL/5_principles }}

In this session and throughout the programme you will reflect further on the five principles of LfL '''''with a view to contributing your own ideas''''' about Leadership for Learning through interactive learning opportunities. 

'''''Leadership for learning is happening all around you''''' 

If you know what to look for you will see elements of LfL in classrooms and schools, in your own community, and even in the setting in which you might be working through this unit!

You may be wondering, 'If Leadership for Learning is all around me already, why am I doing this unit?'  Well … the short answer is that even though the LfL principles describe common attributes of many classrooms and whole schools, they are not present, coordinated or sustained at levels that support consistently positive learning effects.

= LfL:   Seeing is believing =

[[Image:Critical_lense.jpg|150px|A critical lense]]

Let’s start by considering a few ideas about LfL, its 5 principles, and how we might observe and identify these in classrooms and schools.

We like to think about ‘seeing’ the LfL principles by using what we have come to call an ‘LfL Lens’ or set of ‘LfL Lenses’. What do we mean by lens? We use a familiar image of spectacles or glasses to depict or serve as a useful metaphor for clarifying what we mean by an LfL Lens. 

{{activity|tpr| your ideas on what an LfL lens means.|10}}    What do '''''you''''' think we mean by an LfL lens as illustrated by the spectacles or glasses metaphor?


{{ednote|text=

'''Pedagogy:'''  {{activitytag|tpr}}

THINK: Suggest each person works independently for 1 minute and identifies/thinks of 1 - 3 responses/contributions. Participants make a note of each (mentally, or preferably, written down to support recall and reference). 

PAIR: In pairs, participants discuss and compare ideas. 

SHARE: The whole group comes together, with each pair contributing one or two ideas from their discussion. 

Sample responses: “It helps you see things differently”, “An LfL lens makes you focus on LfL”, “It’s a way of describing how we look at the world differently depending on our attention or interests.”
}}

= LfL: The five lenses =

[[Image:LfL_lenses.png|300px|The five lenses]]

Let’s take our metaphor of the LfL lens a step further, and suggest that there are 5 different LfL lenses (spectacles) needed in order to ‘see’ all 5 LfL principles:

{{oinc|OER4Schools/LfL/5 principles }}

'''Consider''' the 5 LfL Lenses and their usefulness for focusing on learning practices. 

* What are the kinds of things you might see in a classroom if you were looking through the LfL lens ‘'''Focus on Learning’'''?
* What are the kinds of things you might see in a classroom if you were looking through the LfL lens ‘'''Conditions for Learning’'''?
* What are the kinds of things you might see in a classroom if you were looking through the LfL lens ‘'''Learning Dialogue’'''?
* What are the kinds of things you might see in a classroom if you were looking through the LfL lens ‘'''Shared Leadership''''?
* What are the kinds of things you might see in a classroom if you were looking through the LfL lens ‘'''Shared Accountability’'''?

{{activity|Small group activity| on what to look out for in the classroom as evidence of LfL.|25 }}  

Your facilitator will explain to you how to go about this group activity. Before that, you may like to take some time to refer to the background reading to help you understand all the 5 LfL principles.

{{ednote|text=
'''Pedagogy:''' Plenary session or Jigsaw

Extending the use of the lens metaphor from the previous think-pair-share exercise, the facilitator can suggest one of the following group activities to help the participants make further use of the LfL lens.

'''Plenary Activity'''

# Ensure that the participants are in five different groups.
# Assign each group to one particular lens to discuss what are the kind of things they may look out for in the classrooms using that one particular lens. This should take at least 10 minutes.
# One member from each group will share with everyone in a plenary format. (ie. each person to take turn to share what they have discussed in the group)
# The rest of the participants can ask questions for clarification or raise comments on the overlaps and links across the 5 LfL principles. This should take another 15 minutes.
# Remind the participants that this is a purely exploratory exercise, with no incorrect answers. 

'''Jigsaw Activity'''

# Ensure that the participants are in at least two groups of 5 participants each.
# Assign each member  in each group to one particular lens to think about what are the kind of things that he/she may look out for in the classrooms using that one particular lens. This should take at least 5 minutes.
# The members who are assigned to the same lens from the different groups will meet together as a temporary ‘expert’ group to exchange ideas. This should take another 5 minutes or so.
# The members return back to their original group and share their findings to the rest of the members. Each person will have about 2 minutes to share their findings.
# Remind the participants that this is a purely exploratory exercise, with no incorrect answers. 

Use the following background reading to explain the terms. There is another educator note below this background reading, that gives further details for each point in turn. Make sure that you have spent time reading and thinking about this before the session as the participants may need your prompting to help them ‘see’ through each of the lens.
}}

{{activity|reading:| expanded LfL principles|10 }}

{{background|text=
{{: OER4Schools/LfL/5 principles expanded}}
}}

{{ednote|text=
This educator note is meant to be read in conjunction with the above background reading. It provides additional prompts for each of the points above.

{{: OER4Schools/LfL/5 principles with questions }}

}}

= Application of LfL lenses to a classroom situation =

{{activity|Small group activity:| Use 'table mats' to record observations and reflections on LfL in the classroom.|30 }}  Let’s try putting this idea of looking at classroom teaching and learning through an LfL lens into practice.

We are going to watch a short teaching/classroom video. 

Before we do''', choose only 1 LfL lens that you will use''' as your ‘critical lens’ to ‘see’ the practices in this classroom. By choosing your 1 LfL lens, you should only ‘see’ and note down those things that your lens helps you to focus on.  Decide as a group, what exactly you want to look out for based on the lens that you have chosen.

For example, if you choose, ‘Conditions for Learning’, then try looking only for those things that you believe contribute to promoting conditions for learning in the video.

{{ednote|text=
It is helpful if different participants choose different lenses so at least two, ideally more, are represented.

'''Pedagogy:''' ‘Table mats’ to record observation and reflection 

Invite participants to work in pairs or groups of three, and prepare a ‘table mat’ for recording. Each group has a large piece of paper, in the middle of which they draw a quadrant (if pairs) or a triangle (if threes) big enough to record the outcomes of the group discussion. Divide the outside area of the paper into half or third (to match the group size).

Agree which LfL principle each group will adopt as their critical lens for watching the video. 

As they watch the video, participants make notes in their outside area of the table mat.

After watching, participants share their observations and reflections, and together agree the salient points of the lesson from the perspective of their chosen LfL principle to record in the central area of the table mat.

Emphasise that there are no wrong answers, and groups should try their best to focus their attention using their chosen LfL lens. 

'''Extension:''' The table mats could be collected and displayed for whole group, firstly comparing any that focused on the same LfL principle, then comparing those that used differing lenses. Exploration of the similarities and differences is likely to reinforce the understanding that using a single lens brings specific aspects of a lesson into sharper focus, and that the five principles are interrelated and overlap. 

}}

OK, watch the video now, wearing your chosen LfL spectacles!

This video clip shows the highlights of a lesson study (also known as research study) going on in an American primary school classroom. Lesson study is another form of ongoing professional development activity whereby teachers come together to decide on an area of teaching or learning that they would like to understand and improve on, in order to help students learn better. The teachers observe learners in a class being taught by one of their colleagues and collect specific, detailed data for discussion with the lesson study group later. In this video clip, the teachers want to find out whether the students are able to recall and retell the sequence of a story read to them by their teacher. 

{{: Video/Lesson Study - Research Lesson and Debrief.mp4 }}

{{ ednote | text=

The facilitator could suggest these following prompts if the participants appear to be uncertain of what to look out for (but do not give them straight away!). Each should address only one lens and set of prompts of course, not all of them.

* Focus on learning - what aspect of teaching and learning did the teacher want to focus on understanding and improving? How did they go about collecting data on it? What did they learn from the data?

* Conditions for learning - did all the teachers have an opportunity to share what they have learnt? Did the teacher who was observed, appear to be nervous? Did all the teachers feel ‘safe’ to share their opinions and to listen to one another? How much time did they have to set aside for meeting together? Would it be easy to set aside time to observe their colleague teaching?

(NB: Please highlight to the participants that the purpose of peer lesson observation is NOT to find faults, judge or criticise the teacher’s teaching. Rather, it is an opportunity to discuss what is the learning that has taken place by observing the students’ responses. Based on the observations and discussions, teachers can suggest what they may like to try out differently or similarly in the next lesson study. It is not unusual to re-teach the same topic in another class, if the teachers feel that will be a helpful follow-up.) 

* Learning Dialogue - did all the teachers have the language to discuss the particular aspect of teaching and learning they have chosen to focus on? Were they able to come to any conclusion about what were some problems they had identified and how they could improve on it? Was the dialogue between the teachers a helpful one in advancing their professional learning? Why?

* Shared leadership - did it appear that there was one leader who ‘directed’ the teachers on what to do? Did every teacher have a part in contributing to the research lesson? Why do you think the teachers were committed to coming together for this research lesson?

* Shared accountability - did it appear that all the teachers had a stake in trying to find out how they could all learn from this research study? (or did they leave it to just one teacher to do all the work?) How did they ensure that every teacher could learn by being an active participant in this research study? How did they substantiate their comments by drawing from evidence of their observations? 

}}

= LfL across the OER4schools programme =

LfL is not only an effective framework for exploring others’ teaching and learning, it is also very useful for reflecting upon your own learning pathways. Teachers, student teachers and other participants are autonomous thinkers and learners, doing their own learning both individually and collectively. We hope that the new (and familiar) ideas presented in the OER4schools programme and the supporting resources will feed into your understanding of learning, classroom conditions and your leadership role, impact on student learning and what you can do to enrich and enhance learning opportunities.

There are no "right ways" but lots of possibilities to explore; in this sense you always a "leader" – leading learning in your classroom. Hopefully you can also share the responsibility for leading learning within your school or institution. We will explore this in 6.2 and 6.3.

Adapted from "Creating Learning Without Limits", by Maddock, Peacock, Hart & Drummond, p.108-9. OUP, Maidenhead."


{{activity|Think-Pair-Share:| Does the OER4schools programme support LfL?|10 }} 

Consider what you have learned in the sessions leading up to this point in the programme. Did your workshop facilitator and/or the materials ‘focus on learning’, create the ‘conditions for learning’, promote and enable ‘learning dialogue’, provide opportunities for ‘shared leadership’ and ‘mutual accountability’?  Also, using the 5 principles, why not consider evaluating yourself, your own involvement and contribution to increasing the learning capacity in the programme thus far for you and your colleagues? LfL is an effective way thinking about your learning, the learning around you, and how you can go about improving learning capacity. 

Think about these questions and pair up with one other colleague to share your ideas before feeding back any salient points to the rest of the group.

= ICT practice =

{{activity|ICT practice| on various topics.|20}}

= {{Name for connecting with overarching goals}} =

{{Activity for connecting with overarching goals}}

= Follow-up activities =
{{activity|Agreeing follow up activities|5}}



We would like you to practice using the LfL lenses when you are back in your own classroom settings, or even when you are watching others in the act of teaching and learning.

1. Take time to think about the course, your own learning and how you contributed to and were supported in your learning. Use the LfL framework to organize your mental and audio reflections, enabling you to return to our next session ready to discuss your own teaching, teaching you have witnessed, and ideas about learning through the framework of the 5 LfL lenses. This will help us to focus our discussions and thinking about  teaching and learning in a way that will help you develop your discussions with your peers.

2. Please undertake a 30-minute peer observation, where you observe student learning in a colleague’s classroom using the LfL lenses. You can choose to use just one lens, or more than one – whichever you feel is most appropriate for the exercise. It will be helpful to have a pre-lesson discussion prior to the peer observation lesson, to agree on what the lens means, what the observer could potentially be looking for and other ground rules of etiquette. (e.g. the observer should not unnecessarily interfere with the classroom activities, remain quiet etc.) The teacher may like to brief the observer on the profile of his/her class. There may be particular students the observer would need to pay more attention to due to various reasons (e.g. learning difficulties).

We suggest that if both of you agree to use more than one lens, then the observer can configure his/her notes in sections – perhaps even dividing your note taking paper into labelled, headed sections prior to the observation. That way he/she can jot down elements he/she observe under each heading in the prepared framework. It is important for the observer to remember that he/she is observing '''practices''', not people. 

If possible, conduct a quick post-lesson discussion as soon as possible. Try to ensure that the discussion focuses on observations about practices and contextualise comments by framing the observations as ‘ I noticed pupils...’ or ‘When you supported pupils to... I noticed...’. Remember, the observer is not reporting what he/she THINKS he/she should have seen in a lesson, but what him/her DID see. By doing this, the discussion can avoid problems of possible unhelpful critique of peer professional practices. 

We would not be surprised if both of you report back that certain LfL principles are observed more often than others. If you find this to be true, consider proposing an explanation for this to your colleagues at our next session and what you might suggest we can learn from your findings.

{{setting of follow up}}

= Acknowledgement = 


This page was authored primarily by Stephen Jull, drawing on collaborative work with Sue Swaffield and John MacBeath of the Centre for Commonwealth Education, University of Cambridge.

http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/centres/cce/ccepeople/staff.html

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