Educational Leadership for the 21st Century… Comments added in blue to original article
The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model continues to prove its effectiveness as a clear, evidence-based path to achieving the extraordinary—for individuals, teams, organizations, and communities. It turns the abstract concept of leadership into easy-to-grasp practices and behaviors that can be taught and learned by anyone willing to step up and accept the challenge to lead. As measured and validated by the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI)—one of the most widely used leadership assessment instruments in the world—ongoing studies consistently confirm that The Five Practices are positively related to both the effectiveness of leaders and the level of commitment, engagement, and satisfaction of those that follow. Specifics have been added to address the challenges faced by community colleges, as outlined in the Reclaiming the American Dream (RTAD) report released April 2012.
/ / Model the WayLeaders establish principles concerning the way people should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. They create standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow. Because the prospect of complex change can overwhelm people and stifle action, leaders set interim goals so that people (students faculty) can achieve small wins as they work toward larger objectives. They unravel bureaucracy when it impedes action; they put up signposts when people are unsure of where to go or how to get there; and they create opportunities for victory. Crystal clear expectations form the foundation of this journey.
· The greatest enemy of excellence is good! Expectations and goals must be crystal clear. This is precisely why a comprehensive list of student objectives for each assessment is provided to students before the unit or activity even begins. Mistakes are approached as opportunities to improve, with only new mistakes allowed.
· Culture is how you do things right at your institution. For community college students, their culture of origin is not always consistent with the culture of the institution and workplace. A true culture of quality is based on constant improvement using data to drive decisions. For ANY issue, concern, or problem the first question is, “What could I have done to prevent this?”
· Faculty, like students, do not do optional…except for the ‘top shelf’ faculty (and students), which is why they are so exceptional. This is why it is imperative there be standards set for every area of assessment with a system of accountability to provide the motivation and monitoring of progress, as one cannot manage that which cannot be measured. It cannot be an option to participate, as this is the number one reason programs come and go in education….the lack of faculty participation. Accountability breeds responsibility.
· By focusing on I-CAN (Improvement, Constant And Never-ending) and using data to drive decisions, action plans become the documented evidence of proactive assumption of responsibility for all that happens or does not happen in the learning environment. Data from course success rates and course evaluation results provide the information needed for faculty to address both the affective domain and pedagogy in their action plans. Studies consistently show that a positively perceived learning environment improves student success for all students, although the improvement is exponentially greater for the low-income minority students. As the RTAD report states, there is a need for a “dramatic redesign of students’ educational experiences”.
· Set faculty up for maximum and immediate success by incorporating a holistic approach to instructional strategies. If there were twelve strategies proven and guaranteed to each increase student learning and success, why would only one or a few be implemented? Knowing there is a problem and not addressing it, or knowing strategies that would increase student learning/success and not implementing them, would each constitute a major breach of academic integrity for the institution as this affects hundreds or thousands of students at each institution. As one of the most educationally researched nations on the planet it is not a matter of not knowing what improves learning, as much of this is common knowledge. The challenge is to make that which is common knowledge, common practice! Without a plan to address the least effective faculty community colleges would simply be giving ‘lip service’ to the closing of the student achievement gap, as these are the faculty that are contributing to this gap the most.
· Establishing a ‘Commitment Statement’ (oath) for faculty is a great way to make expectations crystal clear for everyone, while reinforcing the vision set forth in response to the challenges of educating the 21st century community college student. A separate oath for the instructional leadership team provides the same benefits. Introducing a new initiative (I-CAN) focused on more effectively meeting the mission of community colleges to educate millions of underserved students, provides an opportunity to implement multiple proven strategies to drive the momentum of change (improvement).
/ Inspire a Shared Vision
Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They envision the future, creating an ideal and unique image of what the organization can become. Through their magnetism and quiet persuasion, leaders enlist others in their dreams. They breathe life into their visions and get people to see exciting possibilities for the future.
· The vision is to provide a truly equal opportunity to all students, regardless of their past experiences and lack of parental/cultural support (google/read….’30 million word gap’ article). The goal is to create a more active learning environment conducive to innovation, creativity, and taking proactive risks. This is an environment where the achievement gap between low and high income students is minimized, realizing that a student achievement gap exists because an instructional/instructor effectiveness gap exists. Both of these gaps exists for the same reasons; a lack of effective training, support, and accountability. This is why the RTAD report stated a need to “significantly reduce student achievement gaps”.
· Using only the top ten enrollment courses at a rural community college with a fall enrollment of about 5000 students…reaching a goal of 75% success rate would result in over 1760 more successful students per year (duplicated headcount) when compared to a baseline success rate of 59%, with a savings to taxpayers of > $500,000/yr. for classes paid for via financial assistance (80% of our students), but not completed. This equates to over 17,600 students per decade and > $5 million saved.
· This vision must be constantly and passionately communicated at every opportunity possible. This is crucial to maintaining a positive can-do attitude of whatever it takes! Communicate the PURPOSE with PASSION and POSITIVE PERSISTENCE.
· One of the keys to reducing the stress of change at the beginning of an initiative is to remind faculty that they are not evaluated on their actual results, but on their response to improving (I-CAN) these results. This is true for both course success rates and course evaluation (student perceptions) results. This keeps faculty focused on constant improvement and not final goals. Anyone can set high standards, but the question is…’Does one provide a level of training, accountability, and support that exceeds the level of those standards?’ For a professional educator the answer is always ‘yes’, with a concerted effort to always find ways to improve that training (I-CAN).
/ Challenge the Process
Leaders search for opportunities to change the status quo. This may or may not be true for managers or administrators, as the focus for these folks tends to be on effectively maintaining the system already in place. Leaders look for innovative ways to improve the organization, as a leader is needed to take the organization somewhere it has never been. In doing so, they experiment and take risks. And because leaders know that risk taking involves mistakes and failures, they accept the inevitable disappointments as learning opportunities….both for themselves and for their faculty, staff, or students. This requires a leader to have the courage to put the mission and purpose first and foremost, even against seemingly overwhelming resistance.
· Unfortunately, the status quo has historically fueled this resistance to change (improvement) in community college teaching. This is precisely why the RTAD report emphasized “Courageously ending ineffective teaching strategies.” The status quo in community colleges has historically been to ‘weed out’ those students deemed ‘not college material’. Since community colleges are not dealing with students incapable of learning, a much more aggressive and proactive responsibility to improving teaching strategies is required to provide a truly equal opportunity for success to support the open access policy of community colleges.
· Why would a community college allow faculty to continue to solely use the least effective means of teaching (straight lecture) while also ignoring the valuable data from course evaluations, knowing this approach is limiting the number of students completing their pursuit of higher education? This is not acceptable in a time where research consistently shows the pursuit of higher education as the single greatest thing one can do to improve their opportunities in life.
· Focus on just three main instructional areas…maximum engagement (minimum straight lecture), relevant instruction (life skills, study skills, etc.), and supportive relationships (early intrusive intervention, frequent low-stakes assessments, etc.). The objective is to create a more active learning environment conducive to a deeper and more meaningful learning. Providing lecture videos online is a great way to free up class time for more engaging learning opportunities (flipped lessons). Professional development (training/support) in these areas is vital, as the single most neglected aspect of higher education is the training of teachers! Training, however, is most effective when the purpose and system of accountability are clear.
/ Enable Others to Act (Empower!)
Leaders foster collaboration and build spirited teams. They actively involve others. Leaders understand that mutual respect is what sustains extraordinary efforts; they strive to create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity. They strengthen others, making each person feel capable and powerful.
· Assuming responsibility is an absolute must for empowerment! “We can make excuses or progress, but not both at the same time.” This requires breaking status quo statements such as “It is not my fault, I told them (students) what to do”, or “It is not my fault, I told them they could come by my office if they had any questions”. The common word among these statements is the use of the word ‘fault’, a defense mechanism to avoid having to react (change) to the issue. Avoiding change means avoiding improvement, so the empowerment comes in the form of constant improvement (I-CAN). Replace “It is not my fault…” with “It is my responsibility to react to….”.
· An environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve and only new mistakes are allowed, empowers folks to be more proactive and use initiative to solve problems at the lowest level possible. Empower employees with the statement… ”You decide.”
· Same questions recycled for every issue/problem: What are YOU doing about it?... How is it working? (Is it effective?)... What are YOU doing in response? The ONLY wrong answer is to do ‘nothing’! This expectation empowers folks to make things happen, and not just wait for things to happen. The purpose of a leader is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Leadership throughout the organization must be the goal of every community college, as many faculty are responsible for teaching hundreds of students each year and thousands each decade. As each division begins to assume responsibility for results the I-CAN initiative moves to WE-CAN!
/ Encourage the Heart
Accomplishing extraordinary things in organizations is hard work. To keep hope and determination alive, leaders recognize contributions that individuals make. In every winning team, the members need to share in the rewards of their efforts, so leaders celebrate accomplishments. They make people feel like heroes.
· The demands on faculty to compensate for every area of a student’s life is a daunting task reserved only for professional educators. These are the faculty who have committed to constant and never-ending improvement (lifelong learning) in their teaching strategies, using data to drive their decisions. They realize effectiveness is evaluated based on results, not activity….learning, not teaching. They also realize that I-CAN is a requirement for any ‘professional’ in any field.
· Must provide an aggressive training regime focused relentlessly on maximizing instructional effectiveness and student success. The absolute best professional development is ACTION! Since the number one reason for lack of significant results is faculty resistance, which is a natural phase of change, it is imperative to shorten this resistance phase as much as possible…”Participation is not an option.” The encouragement comes as soon as there is the least bit of effort and improvement. As Zig Ziglar says, “I would rather train them and lose them than not train them and keep them!”
· Praise in public, censor in private! When something must be said, ‘Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don’t be mean saying it!’ Also, when sending an email congratulating faculty or a group always copy your director, dean, or president. By having knowledge of many of the achievements they would not otherwise be aware of, they can also follow-up with an email themselves. This is a way of spreading that contagiously positive attitude of appreciation that is so crucial to building the momentum needed to change the culture of instruction.
Tony Holland
Dean of Instruction
Wallace Community College - Dothan, AL
Questions for discussion…
1. After reading this packet what would be some of your concerns about implementation?
2. List (or have your faculty list) at least three problems that prevent students from being more successful. Once this list is completed, state what you (or your institution) are doing in an attempt to improve each of these issues/problems. For any issue where the answer is ‘nothing’, do not move to the next problem on the list until a possible solution to implement immediately is determined. For any issue where the answer is something other than ‘nothing’ the question becomes, “How is this strategy working for you?” If it is not getting the results needed, “What is being done in response?” Upon completion, this list will serve as evidence that each issue or problem identified has been addressed with an ACTION plan.