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What do you want to know? How are you going to learn it? (Hint: Try a book discussion!)

/ mkessenburg

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

What do you want to know? 

  • What is that 1 thing about your content, your pedagogy, your students, or your well-being that you’d really like to grow in? Is it student motivation? Project-based learning? Using AI in school? Making the most of independent reading? Engaging English language learners? 
  • How could engaging with that 1 thing help you help yourself, your colleagues, and your students flourish even more?

How are you going to learn what you want to know? Here’s a 4-step process you can use that includes a book discussion—I love reading!

  1. Pick 1 your 1 thing. 
  2. Find 1 colleague at your school or elsewhere who is also interested in that topic. You might be able to find more than 1 colleague!
  3. Collaboratively work with your colleagues to pick 1 book to read, but first do some research on good books to read. You and your colleagues can do this by reading book reviews, seeing what ACSD offers, or talking with others. 
  4. Purchase the book. Then with your colleague, read, discuss, and apply a chapter every week or two. 

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed doing many in-person book discussions with groups of colleagues from my school. This school year I learned it also works to do a book discussion online with just 1 person. And because there were only 2 of us, each discussion took less time. We did it in 30 minutes every 2 weeks, while my colleague was eating her lunch!  

What did our 30-minute book discussion look like? We used the time to… 

  • Report on ways we’d implemented things we’d learned in the past 2 weeks. 
  • Discuss what we found interesting from the chapter we’d read for this meeting.
  • Brainstorm how we could implement ideas from the new reading.
  • Pray for each other.

Source

The 1 thing my colleague was interested in was how to help students displaying traits suggesting Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). So, I contacted a friend who had been a learning resource specialist and asked her for a recommendation, which was Decoding Autism and Leading the Way to Successful Inclusion by Barbara Boroson (an educational specialist, and also the parent of a child with ASD). 

What did my colleague and I learn? A lot of empathy as well as strategies for helping children with ASD deal with their challenges so they can acquire the content and skills they need to flourish. 

The author goes chapter by chapter through anxiety, executive function, sensation, communication and socialization, engagement and content acquisition, and finally behavior. The first half of each chapter is devoted to explaining what the issue is, and how a student with ASD experiences it. The second half offers tips for helping the student deal with the issue in the classroom. 

Why was behavior addressed last (when that’s what we wanted to address first)? Because accommodating student needs minimizes behavior issues! 

My colleague was so excited about what she learned that she is scheduled to share it with the rest of the elementary teachers at her school at a meeting! And now she wants to learn more about teaching reading: What’s the controversy about? How can we best help students? 

So just like last time, I contacted a friend who serves as an elementary principal. She said her staff was reading Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom. We look forward to starting that discussion soon!

Source

How about you? What do you want to learn in order to help yourself, your colleagues, and your students flourish even more? How will you learn it, share it, use it? 

My suggestion? Try a book discussion! Find one or more colleagues who want to learn with you. Reach out to someone who can recommend a helpful book. Read, discuss, and implement your reading together over time. Even if it’s only 30 minutes every 2 weeks in a virtual discussion with 1 person–you can still experience transformational learning! 

Get flourishing!

Kim
P.S. Here are a few books I highly recommend: 

(1) The Will to Learn: Cultivating Student Motivation without Losing Your Own

(2) How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms

(3) AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and a Vision for an Artificial Intelligence Future

(4) Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers

(5)The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students

Leaders, how healthy is your relationship with your international Christian school board?

/ mkessenburg
I want leaders to flourish in terms of healthy relationships. My deep hope is that leaders are consistently experiencing…
(1) A leadership team that exhibits transparency, vulnerability, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and a focus on team results.
(2) A trustworthy, supportive, respectful, empowering Christ-centered board.
(3) Respectful appreciation of others’ cultural backgrounds.

This blog post addresses #2 above.

ErikaWittliebによるPixabayからの画像 

Not healthy. Ever feel like your relationship with the board isn’t fully healthy? Like instead of being vibrant, it’s just OK? Or like it might be even showing signs of being unhealthy? Indicators of a relationship that is not healthy include:

  • Inconsistent or rare thank yous for specific things.
  • Unclear job expectations.
  • Communication that doesn’t feel fully transparent.
  • Feedback that’s vague instead of kind and clear.
  • Inadequate funding for your own professional development.

A relationship with the board that isn’t healthy isn’t good and won’t help you flourish. A healthy relationship (one characterized as trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering, and Christ-centered) will. Indicators of a relationship that is healthy include:

  • Having autonomy to make decisions. 
  • Being deeply listened to.
  • Having a clear job evaluation process.
  • Being encouraged to develop and communicate a vision.
  • Having your personal and professional needs prayed for.

Bottom line: When your relationship with a board is characterized as trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering, and Christ-centered, good things happen, including you experiencing healthy relationships. 

You might be wondering, “What are possible causes for board members not trusting, supporting, respecting, or empowering me or being Christ-centered?” Here are 9, formatted as things a board member might say:

(1) “I don’t know the leader all that well. I don’t know about family, formative experiences, hobbies—you know, the kinds of things I know about my friends.”

(2) “I don’t feel we have much of a relationship. We only interact during meetings.”

(3) “I’m not clear on how the board relates to the leader. Are we the supervisor? The caregiver? A group of advisors? And I’m not sure how to support the leader.”

(4) “I’m not clear on what a board member does and doesn’t do. For example, just the other day, a parent talked with me about a concern he had about a teacher his student had. Because he was concerned, I thought I best listen carefully. But after that I didn’t really know what to say, so I said I’d look into it. Was that OK?”

(5) “I don’t really understand what’s happening at school, how things are going, what the leader is doing and the challenges he’s facing.”

(6) “I don’t really have a good feel for the way the leader has moved the school forward or is moving the school forward. I don’t really know what the school was like in the past or where the leader wants to take the school.”

(7) “In terms of decision-making, what does the leader decide, what does the board decide, and what do the leader and board decide together?”

(8) “As board members, we don’t really relate to each other all that much as Christians. While we do pray at the beginning of meetings, I was hoping we could pray in small groups for the school, the leader, and each other for 15-20 minutes at each meeting.”

(9) “We’re all Christians on the board. We all agree with the school’s purpose statements. But I don’t really understand them very well. I’m not sure others do either. And I’m not sure how to connect the purpose statements to what I do as a board member.”

Which of the 9 possible causes resonate with you? For my early career, I resonate with #1, #2, and #4. Based on things I’ve read and those I’ve coached in the past 10 years, I resonate with #3, #4, #6, and #9.

AlexaによるPixabayからの画像 

So, what can you do to further cultivate a relationship with the board that is trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering and Christ-centered? Things that come to mind for me include:

  • Showing interest in each board member.
  • Asking the board for input on decisions and on your job performance.
  • Demonstrating vulnerability by regularly sharing challenges and concerns. 
  • Openly sharing with the board the type of relationship you want to have.
  • Sharing specific examples of how students are flourishing in Jesus.

What about you? What happens when your relationship with a board isn’t characterized as trusting, supportive, respectful, empowering, and Christ-centered? What happens when it is? What are possible causes for board members not trusting, supporting, respecting, and empowering your or being Christ-centered? What can you do to further cultivate a better relationship with the board?

Here are some related blog posts:

Get flourishing!

Michael

International Christian school educators, should we be teaching our secondary students about AI?

/ mkessenburg

Source

Teach your secondary students about AI! Why?

(1) Because it is a part of the creation God has given us stewardship over, and it is a tool that can help us exercise more effective stewardship and flourish as God’s image bearers. 

(2) Because it is a part of our current world and will be an ever-increasing part of the future world, the one we are preparing students for.

(3) Because it can act as an assistant, saving us time so we can focus on priorities that AI can’t do and catalyzing our best efforts.

(4) Because our students are learning about it and formulating their own responses—if we aren’t modeling responsible, ethical, creative, just responses, they may be fumbling on their own or falling under influences that are irresponsible, unethical, deadening, and unjust.

(5) Because teaching our secondary students about AI is a best practice. In AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and a Vision for an Artificial Intelligence Future, Matt Miller says, “For our students’ sake, to prepare them for the future, we can’t look at the world through ‘today glasses.’ We must use our ‘tomorrow glasses’” (Loc 96).  

Where do we start? I started out by thinking deeply about ChatGPT when it first came out (see my blog posts here and here). Then I experimented with ChatGPT (you can sign up for a free account here). Think of ChatGPT as having your own research assistant. Here are some ways I’ve used it recently: 

(A) For I-need-to-know-questions: The bread package was left open and the bread got hard. How can I soften it again? 

(B) For answers to questions kids ask: Why do we call it a garbage can when it is much bigger than a can? (After I got the answer, I asked my AI assistant to level the answer for a 5-year-old. It did it!)  

(C) For examples that can be used in blog posts: What are 10 examples of collaboration in important scientific advances?

(D) For support for students with learning needs at a small school without a specialist: Write a social story for a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder illustrating the importance of coming into the classroom quietly. (I learned about social stories while discussing the book Decoding Autism with another teacher, and we were really impressed with their effectiveness, but wondered where we’d get them. Then I had this brainstorm!)

Image by Freepik

You might be thinking, “Okay–I can see why and how I could start to explore using AI. But I have questions:

  1. Why be the one to introduce kids to all the potential harm and cheating AI can generate? 
  2. Even if I wanted to, just how do I get started? 
  3. Why use it in my classroom?
  4. What does using AI look like?
  5. How will using it help me personally?”

All good questions. Let me respond to each: 

Question 1: “Why be the one to introduce kids to all the potential harm and cheating AI can generate?” Please keep in mind that we’re not the ones introducing students to AI. I’m pretty sure that most students have heard of it. If not yet, then soon. The tech savvy ones are using it. Shouldn’t we be part of that? Giving them information, examples, and a model of how intelligent, godly, faithful adults deal with new technology? Otherwise we’ll just be putting out fires, handing out punishments for misuses when we haven’t given guidance on proper uses.

Question 2: “Even if I wanted to, just how do I get started?” You can get started with AI by…

  • Helping students understand what AI is and how it helps us grow, create, love our neighbors, and steward creation—and how it could also threaten and stunt all those things. 
  • Using 1 or more of these 8 short (20 minutes or less) AI literacy lessons for grades 6-12 from Common Sense. 
  • Using the 12-step continuum below from Matt Miller’s book and website to generate student discussion:

AI in the Classroom: What’s Cheating? What’s OK? (Ditch That Textbook)

Question 3: “Why use it in my classroom?” Use AI in the classroom to further student learning and better prepare students for their future. Imagine graduating students with no experience of using AI into a workforce where even entry-level workers have an AI research assistant and secretary at their service. I don’t remember the source for this statement, but it really resonated with me as a writer: AI will not take jobs away from writers, but writers who use AI will take jobs away from writers who don’t use AI.   

Question 4: “What does using AI look like?” Miller shares frequent examples, and one of my favorites is adding it to the “Think-Pair-Share” protocol:

  • Students think about a question on their own (in a quick write or in their minds), discuss with a partner (pair) what they’ve thought about. 
  • Then, before sharing out to the whole group, they add the steps of individually going to AI with additional questions and coming back together to discuss what they’ve discovered. 

Here are more examples Miller gives: 

(A) Ask AI for advice: What are good ways to study for the test tomorrow?

(B) Anticipate AI’s response: How do you think AI will answer, “How did World War 2 shape the world today?” Then generate the answer, and note anything the AI omitted or added. 

(C) Take several AI responses and make a better product: Give me 3 definitions of Krebs cycle. Then create your own.)

(D) Get a different perspective with AI: Ask AI what someone from a different place, time, or group would think of an argument, issue, or topic you’ve been studying.

(E) Deepen learning by using AI to reformulate your answer to a question you’ve been studying: Write a rap using given vocabulary words or concepts.

Note: When you start having your students use AI in the classroom, you will want to develop with them classroom rules for ethical use. For example, check out the poster for Classroom AI Rules that Vicki Davis uses. Miller models this kind of transparency in his book, ending each chapter with a disclosure of the percentage that was generated by himself vs AI, and then giving the portions that were AI generated–usually definitions and lists, which AI brainstormed and Miller chose from, added to, and expanded on.

Image by pch.vector on Freepik

Question 5: “How will using it help me personally?” Using ChatGPT can save you time. Who doesn’t want more time? ChatGPT has saved me time by generating sentences for student practice, summarizing texts for English language learners, and generating model writing. Miller notes other ways ChatGPT can save you time, including: 

  • Creating lesson plans, discussion prompts, and review questions and activities.
  • Helping you with writing report card comments, parent emails, letters of recommendation.   

You can use the time ChatGPT saves you to plan that really cool unit you’ve been wanting to work on, get some regular exercise, subscribe to a professional journal, go on a date with your spouse, and read a book. Why not buy yourself back that time? 

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

If you’re interested in learning more about AI (how to think about it and how to use it for yourself and for your students), check out the website for Matt Miller’s book, AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and a Vision for an Artificial Intelligence Future. On the website you’ll find a summary and support materials for each chapter of the book. If you find that helpful, consider reading the book. And here are some more related resources: 

(1) 2 Reasons to Write in an AI World: What I taught middle school student writers. 

(2) 5 Fun, Ethical Uses of AI I’ve Shared with Students: An article with some good specific ideas you might want to try.

(3) 9 Questions for English Teachers in a World with AI: My reflections on ChatGPT.

(4) AI Literacy Lessons for Grades 6-12: 8 short, basic lessons, less than 20 minutes long each.  

(5) The Cool Cat Teacher Blog, by Vicki Davis, IT teacher, Christian, winner of educational awards. Her whole blog is full of good articles (the classroom poster is hers).

(6) Navigating a World of Generative AI: Suggestions for Educators, Next Level Lab, Harvard School of Education.   

Bottom line: Teach your secondary students about AI!

Get flourishing!

Kim

How can you get your students to ask and discuss difficult faith-related questions?

/ mkessenburg
I want students to flourish in terms of passionate purpose. My deep hope is that students are experiencing…
1. Personal goal setting.
2. Making a positive impact for Jesus.
3. The freedom to ask and discuss difficult faith-related questions (see Construct: Questioning, p. 14).
4. A living curriculum (staff) that models Christ-centered passionate purpose. 

This blog post addresses #3 above.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Get your students asking and discussing difficult faith-related questions! Why?

  • Because Jesus, the Master Teacher, asked and discussed difficult faith-related questions.
  • Because asking and discussing difficult questions helps students think, take ownership of their faith commitment, and deepen their understanding of God, His world, and their place in it.
  • Because when students don’t ask and discuss difficult questions, they can get frustrated, doubtful, and tired of Christianity.
  • Because getting students to ask and discuss difficult questions is a time-test, research-based best practice (see Construct: Questioning, p. 14).

How can you get your students asking and discussing difficult questions? Things that have helped me include…

(1) Cultivating a classroom culture of inquiry where students exploring their own questions drives learning. I work to make it normal, expected, safe, even celebrated for my students to ask questions—including hard, faith-related ones. 

(2) Modeling humility (intellectual and spiritual) and an eagerness to learn. When a question is difficult, I acknowledge that fact and the braveness of asking it. I do research and bring in resources to help the class process the question and develop answers.    

(3) Modeling vulnerability and transparency by sharing questions I’ve wrestled with, for example: How do I trust the goodness and power of God in a world where so much pain happens? How do divine sovereignty and human responsibility relate? What do I do with unanswered prayer? How do I forgive? Is God in control when the world seems chaotic?

(4) Using essential questions to direct inquiry in every unit, for example: 

  1. Who am I? 
  2. Who is my neighbor? 
  3. What’s the significance of words? 
  4. What’s wrong with the world? 
  5. So what? Now what? 
  6. How do writers reflect the image of God? 
  7. How do people build or break shalom? 
  8. What is human dignity and why does it matter? 
  9. What do I do with what I learn? 
  10. How do poets help me see truth? 
  11. What are people searching for? 
  12. What is empathy and why is it important? 
  13. Why would a reasonable, rational, normal person do that? 
  14. What is love and how is it related to infatuation and to romance? 

Here are some related resources:

What about you? What happens when students ask and discuss difficult faith-related questions? What happens when they don’t? How can you get your students to ask and discuss difficult faith-related questions? 

Get flourishing!

Kim

Leaders, what happens when you clarify and overcommunicate big ideas? What happens when you don’t?

/ mkessenburg

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

International Christian school leaders, clarify and overcommunicate big ideas! Why?

  • Because doing so helps staff flourish.
  • Because doing so increases the likelihood that staff develop shared understanding and are inspired, aligned, and moving forward with achieving the mission.
  • Because not doing so increases the likelihood that staff will be muddled, frustrated, misaligned, and underperforming.
  • Because clarity, big ideas, and overcommunication are best practices.

You might be thinking, “What do you mean by big ideas?” As a leader, I think of myself as a teacher and the staff as my students. So when I think of big ideas, I think of enduring understandings. Here’s an example of a big idea: Christian education is about holistically flourishing in Jesus.

You might also be wondering, “Does using big ideas actually work?” For me, I’d say, “Yes!” Just like using big ideas (enduring understandings) helps students flourish, so big ideas help staff flourish. 

When I use documented big ideas, discuss them with staff, refer to them in daily conversation, and use them to guide decision-making, I find that staff are more together, cohesive, effective. I also find that overcommunicating the big ideas keeps them in the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

But let me ask you, “What helps you clarify your big ideas?” What helps me includes writing them down, sharing them with others to get input, revising them, and field testing them. 

And let me also ask you, “What are your big ideas (enduring understandings)?” Mine include:

(1) Get Flourishing Framework: Holistically flourishing means consistently experiencing passionate purpose, resilient well-being, healthy relationships, transformative learning, and helpful resources; and helping others do the same.

(2) Christ-Centered Purpose Statements Plan: Christian education is about holistically flourishing in Jesus, and Christ-centered purpose statements focus us on Christ and on holistically flourishing in Him.

(3) Christ-Centered Purpose Statements Plan: Good Christ-centered purpose statements are user-friendly—meaningful (aka inspiring), measurable, memorable, memorizable, easy to say, and easy to use.

(4) Curriculum Plan: Our curriculum is our plan for helping students holistically flourish in Jesus.

(5) Expected Student Outcomes Assessment Plan: Good ESOs describe what it looks like for our students to flourish and are academic and non-academic (see ACSI Inspire 1.4), measurable, memorable, memorizable, and countable on 1 hand; and good ESOs are mission-aligned.

(6) Financial Health Plan: Financial health is being able to consistently and sustainably meet our financial obligations and help our students, staff, and leaders holistically flourish—both current and future generations.

(7) Governance Plan: The governing body’s purpose is to ensure our students, staff, and leaders holistically flourish in Jesus—both current and future generations.

(8) Helping Students Grow Strong in the Lord: A caring, inquiry-based, inspiring, open, relational, respectful, and safe environment helps students increase their knowledge of, positive attitude towards, and faith in Jesus.

(9) Organizational Culture Map: Organizational culture can help us holistically flourish (think effective communication and healthy relationships) or can hinder us from holistically flourishing (think toxic culture).

(10) Personalized Flourishing Plan: Stop using a professional development plan, and start using a personalized flourishing plan that is designed to help you consistently experience each of the 5 elements of flourishing: passionate purpose, resilient well-being, healthy relationships, transformative learning, and helpful resources.

(11) Student Assessment Data Usage Plan: We use student assessment data to increase our students’ transformative learning—which helps our students flourish!

(12) Well-Being Culture Plan: Christian education is all about holistically flourishing in Jesus. Part of holistically flourishing for students, staff, and leaders is consistently experiencing resilient well-being. 

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

So, how can you overcommunicate your big ideas? How can you keep the big ideas in the forefront of everyone’s minds? Things I’ve found helpful are documenting the big ideas, starting team meetings by reviewing relevant big ideas, and using big ideas as the focus of staff training.

What about you? How do you feel about clarifying and overcommunicating big ideas? What are your big ideas? How can you overcommunicate you big ideas?

Get flourishing!

Michael
P.S. If you’d like help in developing big ideas, feel free to contact me.

What mindsets do you want to use to get flourishing in your current context?

/ mkessenburg

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Use mindsets that help you get flourishing in your current context! Why?

  • Because using context-appropriate mindsets help you get flourishing.
  • Because by using context-appropriate mindsets, you increase the likelihood that you’ll see challenges as opportunities and that you’ll take risks and carry out experiments as you pursue your purpose.
  • Because by not using context-appropriate mindsets, you increase the likelihood that you’ll see challenges as stressors, that you’ll use inappropriate or less helpful mindsets, and that you’ll seek comfort rather than pursue new opportunities that entail taking risks.
  • Because using context-appropriate mindsets is a best practice.

What mindsets could you use to get flourishing? Mindsets that come to mind for me include:

The mindsets you choose must take into account your current context—so, what’s your current context like? Your geographical context might be in Asia or Europe. Your cultural context might be egalitarian or hierarchical. Your work context might be inspiring or ho-hum, and your economic context might be prosperous or poor. Your context might be familiar, unfamiliar, or somewhere in between; and no matter the context, it is affected by sin, and with varying degrees of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA).

What mindsets do you want to use to get flourishing in your current context? My context is new in terms of location (North America) and role (coach/consultant working remotely), so I’m intentionally using a combination of open mindset, growth mindset, and promotion mindset to get flourishing.

  • I need to be open to new cultural experiences.
  • I need to grow so that I can be helpful as a coach/consultant.
  • And I need to take some risks in order to promote my purpose of helping international Christian school students, staff, and leaders flourish in Jesus.

If a key feature of my context was uncertainty, I’d consider using the 6 mindsets suggested in The Imperfectionists: Strategic Mindsets for Uncertain Times:

  1. Curiosity mindset (not a closed mindset).
  2. Imperfectionist mindset (not a perfectionist mindset).
  3. Dragonfly-eye (aka multiple-lens) mindset (not a single-lens mindset).
  4. Occurrent (aka real-time experimental) mindset (not a rely-on-past-data-or-projections mindset).
  5. Collective-intelligence mindset (not a we-already-have-all-the-smarts-we-need mindset).
  6. Show-and-tell mindset (not a just-logic-and-facts mindset).

Source

Robert McLean and Charles Conn (authors of The Imperfectionists) provide help and hope for those pursuing their purpose in uncertain times. I found the following 3 quotations to be insightful:

(1) “… in times of rapid change, you should be curious, embrace risk and not avoid it, you should be suspicious of experts, you should think about how to run your own experiments, you should consider ways to source ideas from entirely different fields, and you should convince your colleagues that you have the right answer with rich and visual storytelling that speaks to their values rather than to logic alone” (loc 416). 

(2) “Curious questions can be irritating when you’re under pressure. But when companies stifle curiosity, they are shutting off opportunities to search, question, and experiment” (loc 686).

(3) “If tomorrow’s strategic and operating environment is going to be like today’s, there isn’t a strong case for experimenting. But if rapid change and high uncertainty are part of an industry’s structure and dynamics (what we face in nearly every situation today), then experimenting is imperative to developing the case for action” (loc 592).

The authors conclude, “All real-life strategic problem solving is a wager on an uncertain world. Fortified with a good understanding of your problem’s structure, stakes, and odds, and armed with the six mindsets, we hope you are well equipped to overcome risk aversion and confidently step into uncertainty as a full-fledged imperfectionist” (loc 3696).

To learn more, explore this article, this video, and this podcast.

Bottom line: Intentionally and consistently use mindsets that help you flourish in your current context. 

Here are some related resources:

What about you? What mindsets could you use to get flourishing? What’s your current context like? What mindsets do you want to use to get flourishing in your current context?

Get flourishing!

Michael

P.S. What kind of leadership mindset do you need in your current context?

Leaders, what’s your own professional development aligned with? 

/ mkessenburg
I want leaders to flourish in terms of transformative learning. My deep hope is that leaders are consistently experiencing…
1. Professional development aligned with individual, team, and schoolwide goals (see Construct: Professional Development, p. 16).

2. Participation in sessions with a qualified coach/mentor, in professional organizations, and on accreditation teams.

3. Frequent feedback—criticism that is kind and clear, praise that is specific and sincere (see Construct: Feedback, p. 16).

4. Measurable growth in terms of carrying out the Christ-centered mission, helping students achieve the Christ-centered outcomes, and serving as a flourishing role model of passionate purpose, resilient well-being, healthy relationships, transformative learning, and helpful resources (see Construct: Data-Driven Improvement, p. 16).

This blog post addresses #1 above.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Your professional development isn’t helping you serve more effectively, makes you look self-serving, and seemingly models the idea that professional development is ancillary fluff. No good, very bad things happen when your professional development isn’t aligned with individual, leadership team, and schoolwide goals! Additional bad things include:

  • You looking like you don’t care about contributing to the growth of your team members and/or your staff.
  • You looking like you’re disconnected from school improvement and from learning what it takes to improve your school.
  • You being an ineffective steward of your God-given gifts and/or your school’s God-given resources.

But, good things happen when your professional development is aligned with individual, leadership team, and/or schoolwide goals. Things like:

  • You improving your skill in listening, inquiring, focusing, and encouragement, helping you achieve your goal of serving others better.
  • You studying key concepts related to a leadership team goal, resulting in you asking better questions as the team works on the goal.
  • You deepening your understanding of using data to drive student learning, and you sharing your findings as you initiate schoolwide efforts to address a school improvement goal on using assessment data.
  • You serving as the living curriculum in terms of transformative learning.

Bottom line: Pursue aligned professional development. Avoid unaligned professional development.

You might be wondering, “What are possible causes of professional development not being fully aligned with individual, team, and/or schoolwide goals?” Here are 9, formatted as things a leader might say:

(1) Unfortunately, I don’t really do professional development. I feel bad about saying that, but I just don’t really do it.

(2) I don’t do goals. Goals are like New Year’s resolutions—they don’t work. I just give my best reaction in the moment and keep moving.

(3) I don’t have goals. Neither do my team or my school. 

(4) I have goals, as do my team and my school. But nothing is documented.

(5) I have documented goals, as do my team and my school. But they’re a bit fuzzy. Instead of being specific, our goals tend to be more like “Learn about data.”

(6) When I talk about how my professional development fits with team and/or schoolwide goals, I don’t get the confirmation I expect. I’m beginning to wonder if others think I don’t fully understand the goals or if I don’t fully understand doing PD that fits my role as leader.

(7) I don’t have a documented process for establishing goals (individual, team, schoolwide) or a process for determining what professional development targets the achievement of those goals.

(8) I have documented goals, as do my team and school. But none of us have plans for achieving those goals. I hear that other schools have plans that include goals and the professional development needed to achieve those goals. We don’t have that yet. We don’t really have documented plans for much of anything.

(9) I don’t use an order of operations when it comes to growth and professional development. I don’t grow myself to grow my team in order to grow my staff.

Which of the 9 possible causes resonate with you? For my early career, I resonate with #4, #5, #7, #8, and #9. Based on things I’ve read and those I’ve coached in the past 10 years, I resonate with #1, #2, #4, #7, #8, and #9.

Photo by Leeloo Thefirst

What can you do to further align your professional development with individual, team, and schoolwide goals? Things that come to mind for me include:

  • Start with yourself. (Remember the order of operations? “Grow yourself to grow your leadership team to grow your staff.”)
  • Document a process for establishing your own goals and for determining the professional development you need to achieve your goals—then using your process!
  • Ask your leadership team, “To help us and our staff grow, what are some things that would be helpful for me to do professional development on in the next 3 years?” Listen intently. Document your 3-year professional plan, share the plan with your leadership team, report on progress, and invite feedback.
  • Assess the alignment of your professional development with individual goals, leadership team goals, and schoolwide goals, using the following rating scale: No Alignment • Unsatisfactory Alignment • Satisfactory Alignment • Brilliant Alignment.

What about you? What happens when your professional isn’t aligned with individual, team, and schoolwide goals? What happens when it is? What are possible causes of professional development not being fully aligned with individual, team, and/or schoolwide goals? What can you do to further align your professional development with individual, team, and/or schoolwide goals?

Here are some related blog posts:

Get flourishing!

Michael

Avoid Faulty Assumptions (#5): We can flourish without experiencing transformative learning, right?

/ mkessenburg

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Please note: Consistently pursuing a granular vision (aka vision script) of flourishing students, staff, and leaders helps international Christian schools to flourish. This post reflects my vision.

What do the following have in common?

  • Becoming Christlike.
  • Taking care of God’s world.
  • Loving God and our neighbors.
  • Sharing the Gospel.
  • Being part of the Church.

There’s a range of possibilities, including: they’re all found in the Bible, they’re all responsibilities of Christians, they’re all indicators of flourishing in Jesus, and they all involve learning—about God, His world, and our place in it. So, my response to your question is, “No, you can’t flourish without experiencing transformative learning. For example, how exactly do you become Christlike without learning about Christ and without learning that results in transformation, in being more Christlike?”

Let me explain my response by processing some related questions:

Question 1: What comes to mind (and doesn’t come to mind) when you think of transformative learning? For me, what comes to mind includes: 

  • Deep change (not deadening decline).
  • Students identifying themselves as scientists, musicians, social scientists, mathematicians, readers, and writers who are deeply vested in regularly learning more about God’s creation (not: students studying science, music, social sciences, math, reading, and writing only when required to do so).
  • Metamorphosis (not irrelevant obsolescence).
  • A staff member learning about a growth mindset and actually changing from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset (not: a staff member learning about a growth mindset and then continuing to use a fixed mindset).
  • Impactful discovery (not stale stagnancy).
  • A leader taking an online course and changing the practice of listening to respond to listening to understand (not: a leader taking an online course on developing healthy relationships and then resuming past practices).

To learn more, please read What’s the difference between transformationless learning and transformative learning?

Photo by Pixabay

Question 2: What does transformative learning at an international Christian school look like to you?  It looks like…

(1) Students consistently experiencing best practice content, assessment, instruction, and feedback that are designed to help them achieve the Christ-centered outcomes; and experiencing measurable holistic growth (intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual), including achievement of the Christ-centered outcomes (see Construct: Data-Driven Improvement, p. 16).

(2) Staff consistently experiencing professional development aligned with individual, department/team, and schoolwide goals (see Construct: Professional Development, p. 16); and experiencing measurable growth in terms of carrying out the Christ-centered mission, helping students achieve the Christ-centered outcomes, and serving as a flourishing role model

(3) Leaders consistently experiencing participation in coaching sessions, in professional organizations, and on accreditation teams; and experiencing measurable growth in terms of carrying out the Christ-centered mission, helping students achieve the Christ-centered outcomes, and serving as a flourishing role model.

Now back to our original question: We can flourish without experiencing transformative learning, right? Learning, growing, changing, transforming—these are integral to flourishing. I don’t seem to be able to imagine flourishing while stagnating, just maintaining, and/or experiencing rote learning, can you? I don’t seem to be able to imagine consistently experiencing the blahs in relation to learning in a school setting and somehow thinking, “That’s flourishing.” So, my answer remains, “No, you can’t flourish without experiencing transformative learning.”

I think it’s great that ACSI includes a teaching/learning domain (complete with 8 research-based constructs) in its Flourishing Model. And I think it’s great that ACSI includes a teaching/learning domain (complete with 4 standards) in its new accreditation protocol.

Bottom line: Avoid the faulty assumption that you can flourish without experiencing transformative learning.

Question 3: What other faulty assumptions might you need to address about transformative learning? Here are 3 examples:

(1) Student: “I just follow directions and do what the teacher tells the whole class to do. I’m not really sure what you mean about what else helps me learn. And I don’t really understand what you mean about my strengths. Do you mean which classes I get better grades in? I basically get all Bs—so that’s not much help.” 

Following directions and doing what the teacher tells the class to do is important for students to do. And while each student is a member of the class, each student is also an individual created by God with learning tendencies and with strengths. When a student isn’t aware of how s/he learns best and what their strengths are, they will find it harder to learn, harder to flourish. Teachers, please provide “[i]ndividualized instruction…[that helps students know] how they learn best and…identify their natural strengths” Flourishing Schools, p. 16).

(2) Staff: “I’ve gotten my teaching basically down. I like how my classroom feels and runs. I like my units and lessons. I’ve got my go-to strategies. I’ve perfected things. I receive feedback annually in my evaluation—not all that helpful. And I’m not looking for additional feedback. I’m fine where I am.” 

I’m glad you’ve been working to perfect your classroom management and teaching practices. I recognize that annual evaluations may not be all that helpful to you. However, this is a school, schools are all about learning, you are a teacher (the living curriculum), so you need to keep growing. You need to ask for regular feedback on your “teaching practice and classroom management …[so you can make] adjustments in real-time” (Flourishing Schools, p. 16). Keep growing—don’t stagnate!

(3) Leaders:  “I have pretty good hunches, and going with my gut works for me. I think we’re doing pretty well as a school, and when something comes up, like I said, I go with gut.” 

Hunches and going with your gut do work, but to a limited degree. To flourish, you need to also be using data. At the flourishing international Christian school, “[d]ata is used to gauge school results and effectiveness, determine goal attainment, and address problems the school faces” (Flourishing Schools, p. 16).

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

Question 4: What change(s) do you need to make to consistently experience transformative learning and help others do the same? Please remember that ongoing change is part of flourishing, that you don’t need to do everything, and that you should start with yourself.

Options for changes related to transformative learning include:

  • Setting a focused, 3-year professional development goal. Transformation takes time.
  • Assessing actual growth (instead of assessing activity completion).
  • Identifying who you want to help flourish, what you want the help to focus on, and then targeting learning that will help you help others.
  • Determining the type of person God wants you to be. Ask God for help. Find and study resources that help you become that kind of person.
  • Scheduling time each week to learn, grow, and flourish!
  • Regularly talking with others about personal and professional growth.

Note: To help yourself successfully make a change, be sure to identify what helps you. Getting newsletters helps me—regular reminders to keep growing!

What about you? 

  • What comes to mind when you think of transformative learning?
  • What does transformative learning at an international Christian school look like to you?
  • What faulty assumptions might you need to address about transformative learning? 
  • What change(s) do you need to make to consistently experience transformative learning and help others do the same?
  • What helps you make the changes necessary for experiencing transformative learning?

Get flourishing!

Michael

Haphazard, ho-hum, hero, or hypocrite—leaders, which word best describes you in terms of your modeling of flourishing?

/ mkessenburg

Photo by Kati Hoehl on Unsplash

As your international Christian school’s chief role model of flourishing (aka champion of and living curriculum for flourishing), assess what your role modeling of flourishing is like. Why?

(1) Because assessing your modeling of flourishing can help you know how to get flourishing even more.

(2) Because assessing your modeling of flourishing increases your awareness of the quality of your modeling and its impact on others, and the likelihood that you’ll identify action steps to model flourishing even more effectively.

(3) Because not assessing your modeling of flourishing increases the likelihood that you’ll lack self-awareness, lack understanding of the impact of your modeling, and that you won’t take any action steps to model flourishing more effectively.

(4) Because assessment is a best practice.

Photo by Stephen Kraakmo on Unsplash

Before you assess your modeling of flourishing, get clear on 3 things: (1) what flourishing looks like, (2) the meaning of the ratings (haphazard, ho-hum, hero, or hypocrite), and (3) the need to be brutally honest. Let me explain.

(1) Get clear on what flourishing looks like. For me…

Flourishing looks like key character traits, including humility (Philippians 2:5-7), “faith, hope, and love” (1 Corinthians 13:13, ESV), and “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV).

Flourishing looks like key best practices, including…

  • Consistently talking about and celebrating progress on the mission.
  • Routinely getting good quality sleep, exercise, food, and devotions. 
  • Vulnerability, transparency, healthy conflict, commitment and follow through, accountability, and focus on team results.
  • Meeting weekly with a coach, participating in professional organizations, and serving on an accreditation visiting team annually.
  • Having a personalized flourishing plan (instead of a professional development plan) and the funds I need to grow as a leader.

Flourishing looks like consistently experiencing the 5 Elements of Flourishing: (1) passionate purpose, (2) resilient well-being, (3) healthy relationships, (4) transformative learning, and (5) helpful resources. Here is my vision script for international Christian school leaders.

Flourishing looks like helpful mindsets, for example:

And flourishing looks like key school leadership practices as described in ACSI’s Leadership for Flourishing Schools (p. 14):

(2) Get clear on the meaning of the ratings (haphazard, ho-hum, hero, or hypocrite). The chart below can help:

RatingAKADescriptors
HaphazardBadSurviving, unsatisfactory, non-compliance, not good
Ho-humBlahOK, satisfactory, compliance, maintenance
HeroBrilliantThriving, robust, inspiring, growing
HypocriteBrittleToxic positivity, image management, unfulfilling, hollow

Note: Hypocrite can mean saying one thing but doing something else. And it can also mean knowing Christian education is all about flourishing, but not modeling flourishing both by talking about it and by doing it:

  • How much do you actually talk about flourishing, how you’re personally doing on flourishing, and how Christian education is all about flourishing?
  • To what extent are you actually flourishing? Keep in mind that flourishing is one step above healthy or good.

(3) Finally, get clear on the need to be brutally honest. The goal is to identify the actual quality of your modeling of flourishing, not the quality you want to have or the quality you want others to see you having. When in doubt, round down.

So, which word describes your current modeling of flourishing: haphazard, ho-hum, hero, or hypocrite? Full disclosure: It took me a long time to understand that as leader, I was the chief role model, the living curriculum. It took me a long time to understand the impact my modeling was having—both good and bad. And it took me an even longer time to understand that I needed to both intentionally and consistently serve as a model of flourishing at the “hero” level in order to really help others get flourishing.

All this to say, my modeling at times could have accurately been described as haphazard, ho-hum, and hypocrite. Just in the past few years have I been moving toward hero and away from haphazard, ho-hum, and hypocrite. I’m grateful for my growth.

What do you want your modeling of flourishing to be like? Now that I have a better understanding of how my modeling impacts others and out of a desire to help others, I want my modeling to intentionally and consistently be at the “hero” level. For me, that takes patience and discipline over time and under prayer.

What can you do to be that kind of model of flourishing? For me, right now I’m working toward using an open mindset when I’m experiencing high stress (instead of using a closed mindset.)

Here are some related blog posts:

What about you? How do you feel about assessing yourself as your school’s chief role model of flourishing (aka the champion of and living curriculum for flourishing)? What does flourishing look like for you as a leader involved in international Christian education? Which word describes your current modeling of flourishing: haphazard, ho-hum, hero, or hypocrite? What do you want your modeling of flourishing to be like? What can you do to be that kind of model of flourishing? 

Get flourishing!

Michael

What mindsets help you to flourish and to help others flourish?

/ mkessenburg

International Christian school leader, use helpful mindsets! Why?

  • Because using helpful mindsets helps you to flourish and to help others flourish.
  • Because using helpful mindsets helps you seek growth opportunities, ask questions, focus on your purpose, and care for others.
  • Because not using helpful mindsets increases the likelihood that you will stagnate, have others frustrated with you, focus on avoiding problems, and see others as objects.
  • Because using helpful mindsets is a best practice.

As a Christian leader, you know that the Bible emphasizes the important of mindset—that you are to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NIV), that you are to use the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 3:16, NIV). You also know that there’s a long list of different mindsets (see this list of 110 mindsets), including lists of mindsets that improve your life, impact your career, and help you grow or show you what to outgrow.

Question: Given all of this, what mindsets do you want to use to help you flourish and help others flourish? 

Consider the 4 mindsets emphasized by Ryan Gottfredson in Success Mindsets: Your Keys to Unlocking Greater Success in Your Life, Work, & Leadership:

In his book, Gottfredson discusses what mindsets are and what their impact is, asking, “Do you think that your thinking is the best way to think?” (p. 4) Then he explains and shows you how to develop the 4 helpful mindsets that are fundamental to success. 

Gottfredson dedicates a section of the book to each of the 4 mindsets, encouraging  you to…

(1) Use a growth mindset (not a fixed mindset): This involves believing you and others can change, seeking growth opportunities, and putting out effort. A growth mindset helps you grow, instead of just maintaining and stagnating. 

Gottfredson says that “the hallmarks of a successful person are a lifelong love of learning, tendency to seek challenges, valuing effort, and persisting in the face of obstacles” (p. 51).

(2) Use an open mindset (not a closed mindset): This involves asking questions, seeking feedback, and recognizing that you are limited and need to practice interdependence with other staff. An open mindset helps you collaborate with and develop others, instead of doing your own thing while others are frustrated that you don’t take their ideas seriously. 

Gottfredson asks, “Would you prefer to follow a leader with an open mindset, someone open to the possibility of being wrong, interested in finding the best ideas, and willing to change their perspective? Or a leader with a closed mindset, who always thinks they are right, seeks to validate their personal perspective, and does not concern themselves with others’ thinking?” (p. 129)

(3) Use a promotion mindset (not a prevention mindset): This involves focusing your purpose and taking the necessary risks to achieve your purpose. A promotion mindset helps you focus on making progress, instead of focusing on avoiding problems. 

Gottfredson notes, “When we do not have a clear purpose, goal, or destination, we develop a prevention mindset and focus on not failing, avoiding problems and risk, seeking comfort, and playing it safe. But when our goals and purposes are clear and activated, we adopt a promotion mindset aimed at succeeding, anticipating problems, taking risks, seeking gains, and making progress, even if uncomfortable” (p. 157 ).

(4) Use an outward mindset (not an inward mindset): This involves addressing the needs of others, caring for others, and believing others are doing the best they can. An outward mindset helps you see others as human beings, instead of seeing others as objects. 

Gottfredson writes, “When we treat others as objects, are they going to work at their best, smartest, hardest, and most skilled level? No…. Conversely, when we have an outward mindset, our thinking is cued into doing what is best for those we lead. Rather than leveraging our authority and relying upon the use of rewards and punishments, we try to develop the characteristics of a leader that others want to follow and set an example” (p. 219).

Gottfredson concludes his book with this: “Be growth-minded: believe that you and others can change abilities, talents, and intelligence. Be open-minded: seek after truth and optimal thinking. Be promotion-minded: have a clear purpose and destination that you are shooting toward. Be outward-minded: see others as people of great worth and value them as such” (p. 244).

What can you do to further use helpful mindsets? I took Gottfredson’s free self-assessment on the extent to which I use the 4 mindsets (growth, open, promotion, and outward). I found it insightful, and I’m now working to use an open mindset when I’m stressed (instead of using a closed mindset). Helpful!

Here are some related blog posts:

What about you? What’s important about using helpful mindsets? What does the Bible say about mindsets? What mindsets do you want to use to help you to flourish and to help others flourish? What can you do to further use helpful mindsets? 

Get flourishing!

Michael