Communication is such an important element of leading schools successfully, yet the amount of time we spend planning communication is grossly underestimated. Good communication within and external to a school can not just keep stakeholders informed of what is going on, it can create action when needed, establish a school's identity, purpose and direction, as... Continue Reading →
Students are often asked to compare and contrast, distinguish, or pick out the similarities and differences between two or more items. Frequently, I have observed students attempting to respond by describing each of the items separately, in turn, without forming a comparison or contrasting statement, which is what this type of question prompt calls for.... Continue Reading →
Human Graphing is a great way to check for student to establish student views and perspectives on specific questions. Two simple methods that human graphing include: 4 Corners Graphing - Label four corners of the classroom e.g. A,B,C,D or 1,2,3,4. On a presentation slide, pose a question with 4 possible responses and ask students to... Continue Reading →
Leading successful change in schools is not just about the ideas and initiatives but the implementation. The best change agents are those who can see change through from start to finish and consolidate that change as part of a school's culture. This takes time, patience and, most importantly, follow-up. Leaders of change in schools must... Continue Reading →
Knowing when it is your turn, or your time, as a leader is an important skill to master that if done well can have a significant positive effect on those around us. Leaders need to go first in times when they are needed to model the way forward and set the example for others to... Continue Reading →
To lead schools successfully, the relationship between the various leaders in the school and the teams that they lead is critical to establishing a healthy school culture and to achieve continuous improvement. There are times, perhaps, where leaders focus too much on the team members driving improvement as opposed to whether the team members are... Continue Reading →
The purchase of new school materials to support student learning is the subject of much discussion among educators. Oftentimes, conversations center on there being inadequate resources in many of our schools. This may certainly be the case in a number of schools, but there are some cases where schools waste the resources that they are... Continue Reading →
To have a successful school, it requires leaders who are abreast of how everything in a school works. Schools are highly complex places where poor decision-making in one area of the school can have significant impact on another. Schools are complex in that external forces that either mandate or create pressure for change on certain... Continue Reading →
As a school leader, solving problems, moving initiatives forward and supporting colleagues requires difficult conversations from time to time. Reflecting further, depending on how much is going on in our respective school environments, it can appear at times the a number of difficult conversations are necessary in a short period of time. Without a doubt,... Continue Reading →
