Teachers’ Social Networks and Collaborative Sense-making in a School Reform Effort PDF Download
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Author: Kimberly Reed
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 70
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Book Description
Opportunities for deep, sustained organizational change exist when teachers are included in the conception and implementation of the reform model. Yet top down, hierarchical systems push teachers farther away from this process instead of drawing them closer. Leaning on theoretical frameworks that indicate that teachers build collective understanding through the relationships and networks they establish and those decisions ultimately impact the organization as a whole, this study seeks to understand collaboration within a reform effort. Situated in a district deeply entrenched in hierarchical processes, Grand Avenue School offers a glimpse into a organization grappling with a site initiated reform effort. Layering Social Network Analysis with journal entries for depth, staff members at Grand Avenue helped to paint a portrait of collaboration using positive moments of both formal and informal interactions. This study found that teacher leadership emerged, shifted and changed as the need presented itself and the participant had the knowledge and skills to meet it. Both formal and informal roles had the ability to mediate the flow of information throughout the network and to push the work of collaboration to levels that impacted pedagogy and teachers thinking about teaching and learning. Importantly, the study also found that strong personal relationships produced deeper levels of collaboration. These findings imply the need for re-visioning schools as open, flexible systems that are reflective of local talent within the organization, requiring that systems and structures be revised to create space for local expertise to rise up to meet local challenges. They also underscore the importance of relationships; relationships that are capable of supporting the meaningful conversations required for deep collaboration and knowledge exchange. Recommendations for future research are also presented.
Author: Kimberly Reed
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 70
Get Book Here
Book Description
Opportunities for deep, sustained organizational change exist when teachers are included in the conception and implementation of the reform model. Yet top down, hierarchical systems push teachers farther away from this process instead of drawing them closer. Leaning on theoretical frameworks that indicate that teachers build collective understanding through the relationships and networks they establish and those decisions ultimately impact the organization as a whole, this study seeks to understand collaboration within a reform effort. Situated in a district deeply entrenched in hierarchical processes, Grand Avenue School offers a glimpse into a organization grappling with a site initiated reform effort. Layering Social Network Analysis with journal entries for depth, staff members at Grand Avenue helped to paint a portrait of collaboration using positive moments of both formal and informal interactions. This study found that teacher leadership emerged, shifted and changed as the need presented itself and the participant had the knowledge and skills to meet it. Both formal and informal roles had the ability to mediate the flow of information throughout the network and to push the work of collaboration to levels that impacted pedagogy and teachers thinking about teaching and learning. Importantly, the study also found that strong personal relationships produced deeper levels of collaboration. These findings imply the need for re-visioning schools as open, flexible systems that are reflective of local talent within the organization, requiring that systems and structures be revised to create space for local expertise to rise up to meet local challenges. They also underscore the importance of relationships; relationships that are capable of supporting the meaningful conversations required for deep collaboration and knowledge exchange. Recommendations for future research are also presented.
Author: Kimbely Renae Reed
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 83
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Book Description
Opportunities for deep, sustained organizational change exist when teachers are included in the conception and implementation of the reform model. Yet top down, hierarchical systems push teachers farther away from this process instead of drawing them closer. Leaning on theoretical frameworks that indicate that teachers build collective understanding through the relationships and networks they establish and those decisions ultimately impact the organization as a whole, this study seeks to understand collaboration within a reform effort. Situated in a district deeply entrenched in hierarchical processes, Grand Avenue School offers a glimpse into a organization grappling with a site initiated reform effort. Layering Social Network Analysis with journal entries for depth, staff members at Grand Avenue helped to paint a portrait of collaboration using positive moments of both formal and informal interactions. This study found that teacher leadership emerged, shifted and changed as the need presented itself and the participant had the knowledge and skills to meet it. Both formal and informal roles had the ability to mediate the flow of information throughout the network and to push the work of collaboration to levels that impacted pedagogy and teachers thinking about teaching and learning. Importantly, the study also found that strong personal relationships produced deeper levels of collaboration. These findings imply the need for re-visioning schools as open, flexible systems that are reflective of local talent within the organization, requiring that systems and structures be revised to create space for local expertise to rise up to meet local challenges. They also underscore the importance of relationships; relationships that are capable of supporting the meaningful conversations required for deep collaboration and knowledge exchange. Recommendations for future research are also presented.
Author: Terrence E. Deal
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 145229805X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 177
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Book Description
With sample social network maps and steps for developing your own, this resource shows leaders how to navigate task, friendship, power, and culture networks to promote school goals.
Author: Alan J. Daly
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
ISBN: 1612503764
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 514
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Book Description
Social Network Theory and Educational Change offers a provocative and fascinating exploration of how social networks in schools can impede or facilitate the work of education reform. Drawing on the work of leading scholars, the book comprises a series of studies examining networks among teachers and school leaders, contrasting formal and informal organizational structures, and exploring the mechanisms by which ideas, information, and influence flow from person to person and group to group. The case studies provided in the book reflect a rich variety of approaches and methodologies, showcasing the range and power of this dynamic new mode of analysis. An introductory chapter places social network theory in context and explains the basic tools and concepts, while a concluding chapter points toward new directions in the field. Taken together, they make a powerful statement: that the success or failure of education reform ultimately is not solely the result of technical plans and blueprints, but of the relational ties that support or constrain the pace, depth, and direction of change. This unique volume provides an invaluable introduction to an emerging and increasingly important field of education research.
Author: Susan J. Bodilly
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 083304060X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 187
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Book Description
The Ford Foundation developed the Collaborating for Education Reform Initiative, providing grants to collaboratives in urban settings to improve the quality of teaching. Eight sites signed on, and the RAND Corporation assessed their progress. The authors found that, while none had met final goals, the collaboratives had varying degrees of success and some offered promise. By adopting such techniques as clear communication of expectations and involvement of school staff, collaboratives stand a better chance of success.
Author: Susan A. Yoon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351345354
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 244
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Book Description
Networked by Design brings together work from leading international scholars in the learning sciences that applies social network theory to teachers’ social interactions and relationships. The volume examines the direct and indirect relationships and communities that teachers navigate, as well as the models, plans, and other interventions that allow them to exercise control over these networks. Each chapter draws from case studies or latitudinal research to investigate a different intervention and its outcomes. By presenting research conducted in a variety of scales and contexts, this book offers scholars, future teachers, and leaders diverse insights into how interventions in social capital and social networks can create impactful, meaningful teaching and learning.
Author: Anthony Bryk
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 161044096X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 238
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Book Description
Most Americans agree on the necessity of education reform, but there is little consensus about how this goal might be achieved. The rhetoric of standards and vouchers has occupied center stage, polarizing public opinion and affording little room for reflection on the intangible conditions that make for good schools. Trust in Schools engages this debate with a compelling examination of the importance of social relationships in the successful implementation of school reform. Over the course of three years, Bryk and Schneider, together with a diverse team of other researchers and school practitioners, studied reform in twelve Chicago elementary schools. Each school was undergoing extensive reorganization in response to the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988, which called for greater involvement of parents and local community leaders in their neighborhood schools. Drawing on years longitudinal survey and achievement data, as well as in-depth interviews with principals, teachers, parents, and local community leaders, the authors develop a thorough account of how effective social relationships—which they term relational trust—can serve as a prime resource for school improvement. Using case studies of the network of relationships that make up the school community, Bryk and Schneider examine how the myriad social exchanges that make up daily life in a school community generate, or fail to generate, a successful educational environment. The personal dynamics among teachers, students, and their parents, for example, influence whether students regularly attend school and sustain their efforts in the difficult task of learning. In schools characterized by high relational trust, educators were more likely to experiment with new practices and work together with parents to advance improvements. As a result, these schools were also more likely to demonstrate marked gains in student learning. In contrast, schools with weak trust relations saw virtually no improvement in their reading or mathematics scores. Trust in Schools demonstrates convincingly that the quality of social relationships operating in and around schools is central to their functioning, and strongly predicts positive student outcomes. This book offer insights into how trust can be built and sustained in school communities, and identifies some features of public school systems that can impede such development. Bryk and Schneider show how a broad base of trust across a school community can provide a critical resource as education professional and parents embark on major school reforms. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology
Author: Mary Kooy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136651357
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 295
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Book Description
In the continuing global call for educational reforms and change, the contributors in this edited collection address the critical issue of teacher learning from diverse national contexts and perspectives. They define "teacher learning that matters" as it shapes and directs pedagogical practices with the goal of improving student learning. This book weaves together major studies, research findings and theoretical orientations to represent a globalized network of inquiries into the what, how and why of teacher learning that shapes teacher skill and knowledge. Teacher learning matters on an international scale because teachers are the portals through which any initiative for change and reform is realized. Recognizing that a highly skilled teaching force is instrumental to improving student achievement adds import to generating interactive dialogue on teacher learning around the globe.
Author: Mark Priestley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472525876
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 201
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Book Description
Recent worldwide education policy has reinvented teachers as agents of change and professional developers of the school curriculum. Academic literature has analyzed changes in how teacher professionalism is conceived in policy and in practice but Teacher Agency provides a fresh perspective on this issue, drawing upon an ecological theory of agency. Using this model for understanding agency, Mark Priestley, Gert Biesta and Sarah Robinson explore empirical findings from the 'Teacher Agency and Curriculum Change' project, funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Drawing together this research with the authors' international experiences and perspectives, Teacher Agency addresses theoretical and practical issues of international significance. The authors illustrate how teacher agency should be understood not only in terms of individual capacity of teachers, but also in respect of the cultures and structures of schooling.
Author: Carol Ann Tomlinson
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416612483
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
Looking for advice and guidance on how to implement differentiated instruction throughout your school? Learn from the experts. Administrators and teachers alike will find viable ideas and answers to questions as leaders at two schools share milestones and vignettes from their real-life experiences in converting entire faculties to this dynamic approach to teaching and learning. The authors balance broadly applicable guidance with specific illustrations of how two schools—a middle-income elementary school and a mixed-income high school—experienced the change process in dramatically different ways. In both instances, the new approach to teaching and learning had sweeping, positive results for staff and students. Carol Ann Tomlinson, Kay Brimijoin, and Lane Narvaez have combined their expertise with differentiation in schools—including professional development, research, leadership, coaching, and teaching—to highlight factors that contributed to the continuing success of school reinvention efforts such as *Approaching change with the particular school culture in mind. *Leading a staff toward change with appropriate pushes, pauses, and acknowledgments. *Fostering continued growth in understanding and skill with differentiation in the classroom. *Encouraging teachers to reinforce one another's strengths. *Monitoring progress toward expanded flexibility in instructional approaches. *Nurturing teacher leaders who can sustain the effort beyond one principal's tenure. *Providing strong support and role models for deep and broad changes in the school's teaching practices and learning potential. Every educator seeking to move beyond isolated efforts to differentiate instruction will find practical support and inspiration in this book. At the same time, you'll gain understanding about the key characteristics needed for deep, lasting instructional change that taps into the learning potential of all students in your classrooms and schools.
