Essential pieces

The jigsaw of a successful school

Professor Tim Brighouse

• SUCCESS not failure

• MULTIFACETED not general

• INCLUSIVE not exclusive

• IPSATIVE and FORMATIVE not normative

• LIFELONG not once and for all

• Teachers TALK about teaching

• Teachers OBSERVE each other teach

• Teachers plan, organise and evaluate TOGETHER

• Teachers TEACH each other

The corner pieces

“We share values, a vision of the future and we enjoy telling stories.”

“Our language makes the school.”

“The school is a beautiful place.”

The corner pieces

“We try to do things right in our school.”

“In our school we sing from the same song sheet.”

“Our teaching, learning & assessment.”

“We try to do things right in our school.”“In our school we sing from the same

song sheet.”“Our teaching, learning & assessment.”

The straight-sided pieces

“We develop all our staff.”

“We listen and involve our pupils.”

“Are we data rich and information poor?”

The straight-sided pieces

“We practise learning walks.”

“We are fussy about appointments.”

“We understand and welcome change, because change is learning and that’s

our business.”

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Skills Incentives ResourcesActionPlan

CONFUSION=

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ANXIETY=

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RESISTANCE=

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FRUSTRATION=

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CHANGE=

Managing complex change

Adapted from Knoster, T. (1991) Presentation at TASH Conference, Washington DC(Adapted by Knoster from Enterprise Group Ltd.)

The wiggly pieces

“We value and involve our parents and the community.”

“We make our school personal. Every child and adult matters here.”

A piece that dropped on the floor?

“We communicate, collaborate, and are creative.”

School effectiveness– Nouns and adjectives

School improvement– Verbs and adverbs– Leading– Managing– Creating an environment– Teaching, learning and assessing– Developing staff– Reviewing– Involving parents and community

Punctuation– Butterflies

Outstanding teachers

Beliefs• Transformability rather than ability of children.• All children can succeed. • Intelligence is multifaceted and each intelligence

can be developed. • Children’s failure to learn is not a sign of a lack of

ability but is a challenge to teaching.• Children making great efforts to learn is an

indication of their character not of their lack of ability.

Outstanding teachers

Habits and behaviours• Hope, optimism, enthusiasm and energy.• Learning is a cooperative activity.• Tell good stories.• Are expert questioners.• Provide an example of learning themselves.

Outstanding teachers

Habits and behaviours• Have an infectious enthusiasm for what is taught. • Are creative about curriculum and pedagogy.• Are generous.• Are unpredictable in teaching. • Teach outside the classroom.

New skills and understandings

• Understanding of the global system.– Movement of capital, people culture

• Capacity to think creatively within disciplines.– Beyond the textbook

• Ability to tackle problems and issues that do not respect disciplinary boundaries.– e.g. AIDS, large scale migration, global warming

New skills and understandings

• Knowledge and ability to interact civilly and productively with individuals from quite different cultural backgrounds.– Both within one’s own society and across the planet

• Fostering of hybrid or blended identities.• Fostering of tolerance/respect.