Cooper on Curriculum - thoughts from an elementary principal / curriculum nerd

Brand Your School. Not Yourself.

This Tuesday I’ll be starting my first full-year as the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District. Since assuming the position last spring, one of my priorities has been making sure there is ongoing communication between the school and the community. Although nothing entirely replaces face-to-face communication (which should be our default, when possible), we have also been leveraging a weekly newsletter (created in WordPress), social media, and a district hashtag – #OldTappanProud – to inform our stakeholders and tell our story.

By the time last school year came to a close, pretty much all of our classroom teachers were on Instagram, pushing out photographs (and some videos) with their classroom accounts. And, the students and the community have made it clear they love the sneak peeks into what’s happening in our learning spaces. These previews help us to be transparent with our work, while assisting us in growing and promoting our school’s brand or identity.

As the principal, I’m currently the only person who posts to the school’s social media accounts (although, in the future, it may be advantageous to occasionally turn over the reins to students or teachers). Therefore, as the school’s default storyteller-in-chief, I have both the responsibility and pressure of making sure what’s posted accurately and positively reflects what’s taking place at the school. In other words, according to Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo, I have to “ensure that the brand promise matches the brand experience.”

That being said, as I continue to reflect upon how I represent my school on social media, and as I continue to learn from other educators who post about their schools, I’ve started to think it’s possible to categorize the different ways in which posts contribute (or don’t contribute) to a school or district’s brand. Awareness of these categories can help us to ensure our intent goes hand-in-hand with the perceptions of our stakeholders who view what we publish.

Although it’s impossible to categorize every post, here are five categories I have found to be common amongst administrators. (Keep in mind, the lines between these categories can also be blurred.)

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Project Based Learning: Six Hours of Professional Development (a free mini-course)

By Ross Cooper Leave a Comment

Last spring, as part of a professional development series organized by Tom Marshall (an Elementary Principal in Paramus, New Jersey), I facilitated three two-hour sessions on project based learning (PBL).

Below is an outline of the five activities that were spread out across the three sessions. In six hours total, the goal was to start with an introduction to PBL and then finish with participants feeling at least somewhat comfortable in designing their own projects. (Yes, we packed in a lot.)

There’s enough here for individuals or groups to work through these activities (or versions of them) on their own, as if it’s a self-paced PBL mini-course. Also, keep in mind, about 10-15 educators took part in the professional development. So, if you plan on using these activities to facilitate learning in your own school or district, some adaptations could be necessary.

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Session 1 of 3: What Is Project Based Learning?

Activity 1: What’s the difference between projects and project based learning?

Directions

In small groups, claim a column on this spreadsheet (which you’ll need to copy in order to use) and ask as many questions as you can related to the above graphic and the differences between projects and PBL. Your questions should be recorded in the blue. (10 minutes)
Transfer your three most important questions from your blue to your red. (5 minutes)
Group discussion based on everyone’s red questions

Resources

Activity 2: What are the essential elements of project based learning?

Directions

Read, Buck Institute’s Gold Standard PBL: Essential Design Elements.
In different small groups, using this spreadsheet (which you’ll need to copy in order to use), rank the seven essential design elements from most important to least important (column B). For each ranking, provide justification (column C).
Group discussion based on everyone’s rankings

Resources

What are your next steps?

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Four Reasons to Tackle Flexible Learning Spaces

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

Since this past January, I’ve been the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District. And, as I’ve previously detailed in my blog post – Flexible Learning Spaces: The Start of Our Journey – one of our first initiatives involved flexible learning spaces. In short, every teacher was given money to spend on furniture for his/her classroom.

Why Every Teacher?

Yes, every teacher had the option. This idea probably sounds a bit unconventional, as most initiatives begin with a pilot group that paves the way, making it easier for late adopters to follow. However, in this instance, due to certain constraints (timing, budget, etc.), I believe it made more sense to let everyone jump on board, which has its upsides. As Prakash Nair announces in Blueprint for Tomorrow, “Indeed there is evidence that reform efforts focused on improving the capabilities of individual teachers are less effective than those that engage teachers collectively.” There is value in everyone moving in the same direction at the same time while learning from one another and continually refining their work (or learning spaces) as necessary.

Why the Classrooms?

I also played with the idea of taking a look at other parts of the school, such as (1) furniture that would allow for students to more comfortably work in certain sections of the hallways, and (2) rethinking the area right outside the main office, which is what is first encountered when entering into the building. However, it didn’t take long to realize all of these changes would have been too much too soon. And, if we’re going to start anywhere, it makes sense to start with the classrooms, as this is where students and teachers spend the majority of their time. In The Third Teacher, John Stanford, the late superintendent of schools in Seattle, tells us, “The victory is in the classroom.”

Now let’s take a look at four reasons why we prioritized flexible learning spaces.

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How Do We Assess (And Possibly, Grade) Project Based Learning? #HackingPBL

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

Last week, Erin Murphy and I facilitated a two-day project based learning (PBL) workshop for an inspiring group of educators from Madison City Schools, Alabama. As part of the workshop, we spent some time focusing on what assessment (and possibly, grading) can look like within the context of PBL.

When discussing this topic, it’s first and foremost important to keep in mind there is a difference between assessment and grading. Whereas the goal of assessment is to improve student learning, grading (or a grade) is generally used to evaluate current level of performance.

Should Projects Be Graded?

In short, the answer is a resounding “No!”

Project based learning experiences should call for a great deal of student critical thinking and creativity. And, research tells us that “carroting and sticking” these types of skills isn’t just ineffective, but detrimental.

Pause for a second and watch this Daniel Pink TED Talk, The Puzzle of Motivation, which is based on his book, Drive. Or, if you are in a rush, just watch from 1 minute 30 seconds to about the 7-minute mark. And, if you really don’t want to watch the video, here is the take-home point for this segment:

If-then rewards work really well for those sorts of tasks, where there is a simple set of rules and a clear destination to go to. Rewards, by their very nature, narrow our focus, concentrate the mind; that's why they work in so many cases…But for the real candle problem [a problem that requires creative problem solving], you don't want to be looking like this [tunnel vision]. The solution is on the periphery. You want to be looking around. That reward actually narrows our focus and restricts our possibility.

Pink also makes it clear this experiment is not the exception to the rule: “What's interesting about this experiment is that it's not an aberration. This has been replicated over and over again for nearly 40 years.”

Looking back on my work as a fourth grade teacher, I can draw a straight line from Pink’s work to my use (or misuse) of grades as the carrot and the stick. The more I engaged my students in project based learning, the more I realized that grading the actual project was not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful.

If Not Grades, Then What?

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Throwing Our Own Ideas Under the Bus

By Ross Cooper 3 Comments

For next school year, I’m throwing around the idea of a community book study for the school at which I’m the principal – T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School in Old Tappan, New Jersey.

Right now, I’m in the process of reading through a few books that could potentially be used. One of these books is Originals by Wharton professor, Adam Grant. While most of the book doesn’t directly discuss education, it does contain countless implications for the field.

In Chapter 3, I was particularly drawn to a section – Putting Your Worst Foot Forward – in which Grant emphasizes the importance of proactively calling attention to the problems with our own ideas. He first illustrates this point by examining how the popular website Babble gained traction:

After having their first child, Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman were appalled by the amount of false advertising and bad advice being offered about parenting. They started an online magazine and blog network called Babble to challenge the dominant parenting clichés and tackle the cold, hard truth and humor. In 2009, when Griscom pitched Babble to venture capitalists, he did the exact opposite of what every entrepreneur had been taught to do: he presented a slide listing the top five reasons notto invest in his business.

Two years later, Griscom took a similar approach when pitching Babble to Disney. One of his slides read: “Here’s Why You Should Not Buy Babble.”

In both instances, Griscom’s strategy worked. The year he pitched to venture capitalists, Babble brought in $3.3 million. Then, Disney ended up buying the company for $40 million.

Grant cites four reasons why we should accentuate the flaws in our own ideas when “pitching a novel idea or speaking up with a suggestion for change.”

“Leading with weaknesses disarms the audience.” When we’re only presented with positives, we become skeptical and look for holes as if to say, “What’s the catch?”
“People think an amateur can appreciate art, but it takes a professor to critique it.” We hold in higher regard those who can praise and critique vs. those who heap on nothing but lavish praise. Think restaurants reviews, movie reviews, book reviews, etc.
“It makes you more trustworthy.” This speaks to the credibility of the person pitching the idea.
“It leaves audiences with a more favorable assessment of the idea itself.” If the idea is a good one, and we’re already pointing out its worst problems (which aren’t so bad in the first place), there’s nothing damaging left to uncover.

Implications for Education

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Here’s How We’re Moving Forward as an Elementary School…

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

As I continue to document my journey as the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District (which began about five months ago), here are my posts from oldest to newest:

Now let’s take a look at how we’re moving forward as a school.

Below is a slightly modified version of a document I sent out to my teachers and staff with about two weeks remaining in the school year. Going into the summer, I believe it’s beneficial for everyone to have this information, (1) in case they want to get a jumpstart with the learning over the summer, (2) so everyone knows what to expect when returning to school in the fall, and (3) so everyone can better wrap their heads around how the different areas of focus fit together.

For curriculum, this is what will serve as our main areas of focus for the 2018-2019 school year. For each area, for this blog post, I’ve included additional background information.

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I’m a New Principal, Here’s How I Followed up on My Entry Plan…

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

In a previous post – I’m a New Principal, Here’s My Entry Plan… – I outlined my entry plan for when I became the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District, about five months ago on January 15.

For easy reference, here’s a very brief rundown of the entry plan’s components:

One-On-One Voluntary Interviews with Teachers and Staff
Meetings to Learn About Core Subject Areas
Student Meeting(s)
Parent Meetings
Questions for Superintendent
Digital Communication

Now, here’s a look at how I formally followed up on my entry plan at a Faculty Meeting on May 21.

Prior to the meeting, teachers were sent a Google doc, divided into three sections: Entry Plan Overview, Entry Plan Results Summary, Entry Plan Activity.

Entry Plan Overview

To remind teachers what the entry plan involved, this section outlined the plan in very much the same way as the previously mentioned blog post. Everyone was encouraged to look at this on their own time.

Entry Plan Results Summary

Here I included the results from the student meeting and parent meetings. More or less, the teachers received a cleaned up version of my notes. To preserve confidentiality, I didn’t include what I learned from the teacher and staff interviews (more on this in the next section). Once again, everyone was encouraged to look at this on their own time.

Entry Plan Activity

This activity encompassed the entire Faculty Meeting. Here are the activity’s directions, verbatim:

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It’s the Learning, Not the Lessons!

By Ross Cooper Leave a Comment

Not too long ago I tweeted the following:

“It’s powerful when we shift the conversation from ‘What lesson are you on?’ to ‘What are your students learning?’”

It's powerful when we shift the conversation from “What lesson are you on?” to “What are your students learning?”

— Ross Cooper (@RossCoops31) April 1, 2018

This tweet was motivated by a conversation I witnessed, during which a principal from another district said something to the effect of, “I’m working with my teachers to understand that it’s ok for students to demonstrate their learning in multiple ways, but we’re struggling.”

Although I still don’t know the entire context of this particular issue, I can say with confidence that a similar problem exists across countless schools and districts.

So let’s unpack it.

One of the Many Problems with How Textbooks Are Used

From what I have experienced, the majority of teachers still rely on a textbook when determining what to teach. And, if the principal’s problem is present, there’s an even greater likelihood the textbook is being used as a crutch, with teachers spending the year going through the textbook from cover to cover (more or less). This isn’t to say there is anything wrong with the actual book itself; the problem lies in how it is used.

The first warning sign is when the textbook is referred to as the curriculum, when in reality it’s a tool or resource that can help us to meet the needs of our students. And, if we’re treating the textbook as the curriculum, I’m more inclined to point the finger at the administrator (curriculum supervisor, principal, etc.) who is allowing for such abuse to take place.

So, if I’m a teacher heavily relying on my textbook, without the proper professional development to “move away from it,” I too would be baffled by someone telling me, “Teach Chapter 2 in a different way!” or, “Let your students show they understand Unit 7 however they want!”

At least three major steps are required for a paradigm shift to take place.

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What Is Our Default Reaction to Disagreement?

By Ross Cooper 3 Comments

Not too long ago, Tony Sinanis (Hastings-on-Hudson Superintendent) and I presented on 5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning. One of the main points we discussed is how feedback must be a normalized and welcome part of the learning process. While conversations about feedback generally focus on what feedback is and isn’t, why it’s valuable, and how to give it, during our presentation Tony went out of his way to emphasize the idea of being mindful of how we respond to feedback. For instance, as an administrator, if I’m not accepting of feedback, I shouldn’t expect my teachers to listen to what I (and possibly, their peers) have to say. In other words, I need to model the behavior I want to see in others.

Confirmation Bias

The Oxford Dictionary defines confirmation bias as “The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.”

Confirmation bias (along with other factors, such as insecurity and ego) can prevent us from being accepting of feedback, and to a greater degree, disagreement.

In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull (author and President of Pixar) explains how confirmation bias can hinder an organization:

Most of us walk around thinking that our view is best – probably because it is the only one we really know. You’d think the fact that we all have major misunderstandings with people at times – squabbles over what was said or what was meant – would clue us in to the reality that so incredibly much is hidden from us. But, no. We have to learn, over and over again, that the perceptions and experiences of others are vastly different than our own. In a creative environment, those differences can be assets. But when we don’t acknowledge and honor them, they can erode, rather than enrich, our creative work.

5 Stages of Disagreement

Since our presentation, I’ve tried to be more cognizant of how I respond to any type of disagreement. And, based on my experiences (and my mistakes), I’ve mapped out five stages of disagreement. All of the stages, with the exception of the fifth (the “highest”), involve some form of confirmation bias.

When looking at these stages, if you’re self-evaluating, ask yourself, “What is my default reaction to disagreement?” (And then maybe think about whether or not your colleagues would agree with your self-evaluation.)

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5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning

By Ross Cooper 8 Comments

Last weekend at the Long Island Connected Educator’s Summit, Tony Sinanis and I facilitated a session, 5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning. A few days prior to the conference he shot me over a bunch of ideas and then we worked together to refine them for our presentation. So, as a disclaimer, these “5 ways” are more his than mine, although I do agree with them.

That being said, here are the five ways to support a culture of learning. And, after each one are three points to consider.

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