Switch: Leading Change in Education

Vickie SaxMarch 15, 2012

CHANGE IN EDUCATION IS HARD

• Long standing traditions

• Well established systems, rules, and procedures

• Culture is adverse to risk

• Many differing perspectives and beliefs on what

changes are needed

• Many situation-specific changes may be needed

one size does not fit all; no single silver bullet to cause

change

• Impact of change often takes a long time to realize

Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two sometimes competing systems – the rational

mind (the rider) and the emotional mind (the elephant).

Adapted from Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, D. Heath and C. Heath

HOW DO WE SUPPORT CHANGE?

CHANGE

1. Direct

the Rider

2. Motivate

the Elephant

3. Shape

the Path

AS AN EDUCATIONAL LEADER…..

How do you direct the rider?

Explain to teachers, staff, parents,

students, school district leaders …

1. what you are doing

2. why you are doing it

3. where it will take you1. Find the

BRIGHT

SPOTS

2. Overcome

Analysis

Paralysis

4. Make

Goals

Attainable

5. Point to

Destination

Postcard

3. Script the

Critical

Moves

CHANGING THE CULTURE TO VALUE ACADEMICS OVER ATHLETICS

• Find the Bright Spots - Identify student-athletes who

exhibit good study habits & commitment to academics

as role models, regardless of what grades they receive

• Overcome Paralysis Analysis – Chose a set of academic

policies as a starting point, asking parents and student-

athletes for feedback for improvement

• Make Goals Attainable – Set a goal for study hours

during the weekend, not for everyone to be on the

honor role

• Script the Critical Moves – Engage parents in establishing

& communicating academics as a value and priority

• Point to Destination Postcard – Set the goal for weekend

study hours & engage students in determining how they

will achieve the goal

AS AN EDUCATIONAL LEADER…..

How do you motivate

the elephant?

1. Create emotional engagement

2. Make change feel manageable

3. Create a sense of community

1. Find the

Feeling

2. Shrink the

Change

3. Grow

your People

CHANGING THE NEGATIVE CULTURE CENTERED AROUND STATE TESTING

• Find the Feeling – Rather than “analyze-think-change”, focus on the “see-feel-change” sequence of change (exemplary work wall in each classroom, sharing of data with students)

• Shrink the Change – “Push kids”; parent outreach; individual data tracking tools; student achievement books

• Grow Your People – Teacher and student creation of “destination postcards”; focus on the growth mindset; create a “peaks and valleys” visual

AS AN EDUCATIONAL LEADER…..

1. Tweak the

Environment

2. Build

Habits

3. Rally the Herd

4. Keep the

Switch Going

How do You

Shape the Path?

CHANGING THE CULTURE OF RTI(BUILDING BRIDGES)

• Tweak the Environment – Grade level teams doing

“walk to read” and “walk to math”; “out of the box”

interventions

• Build Habits – Begin data meetings with a discussion

of “what is working between classroom teachers,

special education teachers, and intervention

specialists”; faculty meeting time; five minute

“toolbox time”

• Rally the Herd – Professional Learning Communities;

Data Huddle Meetings

• Keep the Switch Going – Grade level mentors for RTI

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO …

•Direct the rider?

•Motivate the elephant?

• Shape the path?

CONSIDER YOUR WORDS: CHOOSE TO BE POSITIVE

• The 24 most common “emotion” words in

the English language

• Only 6 of the 24 are positive emotion

• Psychologist James Averill analyzed 558

emotion words in the English language and

found that 62% of them were negative and

38% were positive. Averill, J.R., 1975. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in

Psychology, 5330, Ms. No. 421

Averill, J.R., 1980. In: Plutchik, R., Kellerman, H. (Eds.), Emotion: Theory, Research and Experience, Vol. 1. Academic Press, NY, pp. 305–339

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES