A Step-by-Step Guide to Teachers That Are Designing School Culture
Schools try to change professional development but fall into the ongoing tradition of the “sit-and-get” lecture-style presentation. At Ei360, we have a couple of ideas that will push schools towards transforming school culture. If you are an educational leader who wants to make this change, then try out these ideas and keep us informed of the outcomes. The three methods that support creative collaboration are when teachers dream, when teachers team-up, and when individual teacher passion projects come alive and become policy.
The first method is called “The Teachers Dream.” The teachers’ dream could be imaginary but developed into a reality. This is when a principal genuinely listens to each teachers’ imaginary wish-list and works throughout the year to incorporate the idea. One year, we had a teacher that wanted to create a simulation of a tsunami; It was a great idea that related to one of the reading units of natural disasters, with one phone call to a couple of colleagues our team was able to design it as a unit opener at school. It was so successful that the project moved from school to school. It took some planning but the experience for students generated discussion engaged our parents, and allow for extension activities. We donated to tsunami victims in Florida. The teacher had the idea and all it took was one phone call to put a plan in motion.
The second method is called Teachers Team-up. Teaming up is about connecting to other teachers and developing pen-pals across districts. This took a little planning with another school administrator but our elementary school teamed up with a neighboring school. We paired teachers and provide them with a little time off to observe, provide feedback, and mentor one another. This was a neat way to build relationships with other schools and it also allowed our team time to leave the school to be in another schools’ space. We did this once, and our teachers enjoyed the time away and made a new friend in the process. Our teachers came back with new ideas and were motivated to keep in touch with the other school. We were only scheduled for one visit but teachers wanted more so we decided to do it three times a year. It took some planning on our part but this was a great opportunity that was embraced by our staff.
The last idea is a Passion project. Passion projects can come in many forms but as an administrator, at the beginning of the year, I ask three questions. Question 1: What do you love about our school? Question 2: if you had a magic wand and could fix one problem, what would it be and how? Question 3: What brings you to work every day, what is your passion? I ask these three questions and receive various answers, the answers guide my plan for the year. The magic happens when we compile these answers and include our team in addressing much of the issues. One year, John; a second-grade teacher wanted to incorporate music into his day. His passion was music, he created a six week after school guitar program that had 15 people in it. Students rotated and played music during lunch. They even performed the 5th-grade graduation.
Being a change agent can be tricky but with a little help, you too can change a school’s norm. Yes, teachers and staff can shift a culture. Developing a teacher's dream list, working as a collaborative team, and fostering teacher passion projects are three ways to innovate spaces. These three ideas should get you started, it may take a while before some of these projects take off but once they are in-motion they will change the culture forever and become policy or a permanent part of the school’s identity.