“Employers are increasingly saying that they don’t just need people with basic job skills, but people who are creative (and) who can generate new ideas and new ways of solving problems,”

~Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg – Massachusetts

http://steam-notstem.com/articles/praesent-in-orci-mauris/

We want all students to be college and career ready and in order to do that we are focusing on Reading and Math results.  However, in a few states creativity indexes are also being explored.  The intention seems to be based in preparing students to compete in the 21st Century.  In Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Brain: why right-brainers will rule the future, he describes a future that will belong to “creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers.”

There are pros and cons for measuring creativity of schools and curriculum.  One benefit could be a balanced curriculum that includes arts, debate, science fairs, filmmaking, and independent research.  Schools that focus on creativity in their classrooms would reach out to the whole child.  Creative curriculums could approach learning in new ways and boost student achievement in Math and Reading scores by providing an education that connects facts and concepts with application in innovative ways.

The fear is that the index could trivialize creativity into a checklist of activities.  “We don’t want to encourage quantity over quality of activities,” said Robert J. Sternberg in a recent article in Education Week.

However, one way that the creativity index could emphasize a balanced curriculum would be to provide schools with another measure of effectiveness.  In the same Education Week article, Daniel J. Hunter states “If the only public measurement of your school is a standardized test, then schools have every incentive to teach to the test.”

What does this mean for teachers?

This could mean that teachers would feel empowered to design instruction that looks outside of the box.  Instruction would be geared towards the need for students to develop skills that include collaboration, problem-solving, and communication.  Educational strategies could be thematic or problem-based.  This creativity index could provide support for teachers who are feeling confined to measurement by state tests.

What does this mean for policymakers?

Administrators and policymakers will need to support and allow flexibility for creative teachers.  Research shows that a quality demonstrated by creative individuals is risk-taking.  Teachers must be allowed to take risks when developing innovative approaches to learning.  Currently, teachers feel constrained by testing demands that dictate the schedule in the classroom.  High-stakes tests also affect the approach taken to instruction including where we prioritize our strategies and personnel.  There are a number of other issues that restrict free-thinking by classroom teachers.  I welcome blog readers to provide comments about these limiting factors so that we may dialogue about them.  Implementing creativity indexes could be another way to measure teacher effectiveness and could provide more balanced data for teacher ratings.

Final Thoughts:

Research is finding that creativity is not an innate gift experienced by a select few. In fact, it is a skill that can be learned and nurtured. When presented with opportunities to actually think and to problem-solve real-life situations, students are offered more chances to demonstrate creativity.  As teachers, we need to be able to give them those opportunities. If administrators and other policymakers were willing to focus support on and nurture the creativity of teachers, we would have the encouragement we need to cultivate a creative environment in our classrooms that teach our

students how to be truly prepared for the 21^st century.

The most powerful words from the State of the Union? “Teachers Matter” and “teach with creativity and passion.” The creativity and passion in teaching has been leached out over the years by increasing emphasis on high-stakes testing.  Everything seems to hinge on a single assessment.  Though we talk in my district about viewing the whole child and analyzing more than one source of data, we find that people are attached to certain results almost to the exclusion of common sense.

In the State of the Union address, President Obama spoke about teaching with “creativity and passion.”  Teachers need to once again feel confident in their approach to subject matter.  The teachers I know are passionate about teaching.  They love to see the light bulb go on when students “get it”.  They are driven by the need to teach students.  They crave that interaction.  Currently, teachers swim through red tape that serves as an educational obstacle.

As teachers, we agree that we want data about student abilities.  We need to understand how much a child knows so that we can take him beyond that knowledge into enriching possibilities.  When children are struggling, assessments can help in determining an action plan to meet their needs.  And high-achieving students must be challenged to continue to grow.

Also, teachers welcome an opportunity to be evaluated as a professional when those assessments result in feedback that can help them grow.  We as teachers hope for evaluation systems that not only provide feedback but are connected to professional development to help us improve. Even our best teachers still seek knowledge and training for improvement. That should be a goal for every teacher in the profession.

The President called for an end to teacher bashing.  Too often society is driven by sensational news that clings to a controversial topic in order to sell headlines.  We need to look for the positive events in education.  We need to celebrate the triumphs.  We need to recognize teachers as a major element in a child’s life and respect them as such.

What does this mean for teachers?

Teachers must live up to this respect.  Educators must put concerted effort into planning for student instruction.  Professionals need to act and dress the part as well.  

Teachers need to feel confident again to teach standards creatively.  Common Core State Standards provide a framework for WHAT needs to be taught, but teachers are the driving force for HOW those standards are taught.  This is where, though the same standards are taught, educational strategies for students may differ.

Teachers need to voice their thoughts.  Educators must participate in discussions about the ways that student growth and achievement are measured.  Teacher voices are also needed to determine fair and consistent ways to measure teacher performance. Teachers can look for ways to get involved in important conversations about education.   Look for opportunities within your district and your state.  Teachers can look to non-profits to amplify their voices.  Hope Street Group provides a platform for discussions like this.

What does this mean for Policymakers?

Policymakers need to listen to the “in-the-trenches” voices of teachers.  Policymakers (and the public) cannot just assume that teachers are trying to protect their jobs in these discussions of student achievement and teacher evaluation.  Policymakers must recognize that educators represent a valuable steering element for these discussions.  These teachers serve as necessary resource.

Policymakers can look to other states that are working with teachers to gather their voices in meaningful ways.  Delaware, for instance, is working toward involving the work of state teachers when developing the teacher evaluation system that will be put into place.  I participated in a workgroup that created assessments to measure student growth.  During these work sessions, I had access to the people working for the department who are making decisions. I have voiced my concerns and the concerns of my colleagues.  In addition, I have suggested possible solutions.  I have found the ears of my policymakers to be open.

Final Thoughts

President Obama’s remarks about Teachers and Education lead us down the path of transforming our educational systems and re-thinking some strongly held beliefs about the methods we use to educate students.  A step further contributes to the conversations about ensuring that our children receive an education from the best teachers available.  While our paradigm is shifting, we must remember to share our voices together in this important conversation.

As professionals, teachers want to be involved in conversations about education reform, whether at the federal, state, or local level.  Unfortunately, the opportunities for engagement are often limited or even non-existent.  As a Hope Street Group Teacher Fellow, I am presented opportunities to be part of policy conversations and even help facilitate them for other teachers.  In an effort to connect teachers with policymakers, Hope Street Group hosted a webinar with Delaware’s U.S. Senator Chris Coons.  This experience was exciting.  I was able to research current education issues within my state, help promote the event to my colleagues, and pose thoughtful questions for the Senator to answer.

As a group, the other Delaware Teacher Fellows and I began with research into educational topics that are held dear to the Senator and we also researched topics of which we would like to inform the Senator.  For instance, I researched Delaware’s Race to the Top grant to determine what had been promised with regards to teacher evaluation.  This exercise was wonderful.  I read more deeply into the grant because of this focus and I was therefore better able to formulate questions and to generate conversations – not just with the Senator, but also with my fellow educators.

According to the Race to the Top grant application, Delaware will have an evaluation system that takes into account student growth.  Although we have always considered student growth, measuring that growth will now be critical to a teacher’s rating.  Student growth will be measured in three components.  The first will be determined according to success on the state test for Reading or Math.  In the second component, teachers will select a cohort, or group of students and a portion of the teacher’s evaluation will be based upon the growth of this cohort as measured by the state assessment.  In the third component, student growth will be measured through both external and internal assessments.  The external measures, standards based evaluations, are currently being approved by the Department of Education.  The internal measures are being developed by educators from various districts across the state.  These internal measures will be used by teachers to measure other areas of growth that are not assessed on the state test.

Another interesting aspect of the webinar was posting questions to be asked of the Senator.  At the same time, I could read other questions that had been posted and I could vote on them.  Through voting, questions would rise in priority and teachers had a voice in the questions eventually asked of the Senator.

Overall the webinar was a success. Teachers were able to connect to a policymaker, Senator Coons, in a way that made him accessible across distances.  As a Teacher Fellow, I was able to learn more about what was happening in my state through research and through reading questions that my fellow teachers were asking.  This experience has helped me grow and to understand relationships that can be built between teachers and policymakers. 

Having read an article from Education Week (Race to Top Winners Feel Heat on Teacher Evaluations), I am left with an anticipation for the reform process being used to serve students in the best way possible.  Race to the Top Grants serve as a financial opportunity for states, districts, and schools to pay for their reform efforts; but more than that, these grants provided an impetus for strategic planning and implementation.  Unfortunately, it seems as though the sense of urgency that is brought on by deadlines, is creating rushed products.  Fortunately, it appears as though the government recognizes this and is offering extensions to these deadlines, as appropriate.

I work in one of the Race to the Top recipient states, Delaware, and I have been lucky enough to be involved with many aspects of Race to the Top implementation.  Delaware is a small state and if an educator has the desire, he or she can be readily involved in state reform.  I know that is not the case in all states; so I recognize that I am fortunate.

Delaware is also one of the states that has applied for and been granted an extension to complete Race to the Top implementation efforts as we examine the current measurement procedures, primarily for the non-tested subjects, but also for core subject areas.  We will be evaluating current assessments and developing assessments that will serve to provide additional data about student growth.

What does this mean for teachers?

Delaware is not the only state working on revising and refining how teachers are evaluated.  In the Education Week article, New York, Rhode Island, Georgia, Hawaii, and Colorado are mentioned.  Many more states are applying for Race to the Top funds or are revisiting their teacher evaluation systems.  Some of this work is being done within districts and some work is completed at the state level with district support.

As a teacher, raise your voice to be heard.  Be aware of opportunities to inform your district and state about the best ways to measure your effectiveness.  Have a say in the process.  This could be through contacting district officials or state employees who are developing policies that will shape the manner in which you are evaluated.

What does this mean for policymakers and administrators?
In a simple fashion, include your teachers.  Let them inform your decision-making.  If they do not approach you, then reach out to them through town hall meetings, email, online surveys, conference calls, etc.  Reach out through more than one channel.  As we develop systems to effectively evaluate educators, we have to be aware of all of the stakeholders in the situation.  This means that teacher engagement is key.  In fact, according to the article, points were awarded when teachers and their unions backed Race to the Top proposals.

Other ideas for how states are developing their evaluation systems can be found in Fact Sheets from the government describing methods explored in Race to the Top applications.

Final Thoughts
The next steps belong to us all.  As we cling to our traditions in education, it is difficult to see the path ahead that contains change.  We can all recognize that our world has changed in many ways over

the decades.  What is important now is that we work together to embrace the change and create living documents that continually adjust.  These documents can reflect the best thinking of the time, but can be flexible as understandings grow.   When talking about teacher evaluation, teachers must be heard but teachers must also speak.  We each have a responsibility to make our educational systems the best that they can be.

Teacher: The Iconic Profession

Going Back to Zero

Enough already! As a nation, we generally agree that the teacher is the single most important variable in the education of children. However, very little has been done since A Nation At Risk was published in 1983 to improve the status of the teaching profession.

So what is, you may ask, the definition of a “profession”?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a profession is a vocation based on specialized educational training.  A “professional” is defined as engaged in one of the learned professions, usually characterized by or conforming to the ethical standards of a profession. Some of  the generally accepted characteristics of a professional teacher are:

1. Skills based on extensive theoretical knowledge.
2. Professional association.
3. Extensive education and training.
4. Testing of Competence
5. Licensed Practioners.
6. High Status and Rewards (I know, I know)
7. Legal authority over activities.

So to all the teachers out there, do you feel like you are a professional? A professional teacher?

I think most of us teachers feel that we are professionals and our job is critical to the future of our students, our community and our country. However, if your experience as a teacher is similar to mine, then you know that our view is not always shared by all.  Now, there are some exceptions to this but as I talk to my colleagues across the nation, I get a similar response to the question.

A quick Google search on education reform brings up many topics such as Teacher Leaders, International Benchmarking, Teacher Retention and Evaluation, Economics and the Workforce and many, many others. Some of these current education reform efforts incorporate the teaching profession but few of them focus solely on elevating the profession itself.

While there are so many important and well-intentioned reform efforts underway, I propose that the first reform agenda item that needs to occur is reform focused on the profession of the teacher. Given the many parties involved in reform and their respective political needs, it seems to me the most cost effective and practical approach is Going Back to Zero.

Going Back to Zero suggests that we start with a blank slate and begin to rebuild the main components of the teaching profession, knowing what needs to occur now and for the next century. These would include initial recruitment, training in pedagogy and core subject areas, ongoing professional development,  evaluation, reward and compensation.   Best practices are all around us in the United States and throughout the world. It's up to us as teachers to determine the most important features for professionalizing the teaching profession, discover where the best practices for doing so exist, and recommend to policymakers that those best practices be implemented.

As a policymaker, how can you begin the process of Going Back to Zero?

One of the best suggestions I have seen so far comes from Mckinsey and Company in their report, “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools”

“Given the complexity of the issues, and the regional and national dimensions of the talent pool, the research also suggests there would be benefits to creating a National Teaching Talent Plan. A commission assigned to this task might propose next steps and timelines for phasing in changes in how we recruit, prepare, retain, and reward teachers, informed by global best practice.”

If you are a policymaker or administrator and you believe that the teacher is the single most critical factor in the success of children in the classroom, then this publication is a must read. I would encourage you to engage teachers in a genuine way by Going Back to Zero within your own school, district or state by asking the question, “what could or should the profession of teacher look like?" If we don't start asking ourselves this question soon, we may experience a  future that is similar to what the National Commission on Excellence in Education saw in 1983:

• Too many teachers are drawn from the bottom quarter of graduating high school and college students.
• The average salary after 12 years of teaching is only $17,000(1983) per year, and many teachers are required to supplement their income with part-time jobs.
• Severe shortages to certain kinds of teachers exist such as math, science, foreign languages, special education and dual language.
• Master teachers are not significantly involved in the professional aspects of their vocation.

Note: This blog is a first in a series of blog postings on Teacher: The Iconic Profession. Future posts will include more specific pieces of the puzzle including recruitment of teachers, training and development, evaluation, rewards and compensation. Enjoy and Engage!