I recently finished reading "Helping People Win At Work" by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge. The book is for the business world, but I see a lot of parallels to education and I was able to come away with some great information. The book is based on the experience the company WD-40 had when implementing a new evaluation strategy. Education is all about evaluation and this book showed that the traditional way of doing something may not be the best. I strongly recommend this book and the best part is it is a free book on Kindle.
1. Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A
This is a concept I had a hard time with at first. In education it seems to be expected that someone fails. Teachers who give all A's are either too nice or their class is too easy. Why does someone have to fail in order for others to be successful? If I truly want all of my students to be successful, then I need to make sure that my classroom is setup with that goal in mind. I also need to make sure that my students are working towards attainable goals. Overall goals should be similar, but that does not mean that all students are working at them the same way or at the same time. Students achieving success should be our number one goal. In this business model, the coaches (managers) take responsibility for the success of the people below them (our students). Imagine the power if a student and a teacher were working together to achieve individual student goals? I believe the achievement could be endless. We all need someone in our corner who will guide and help us through our challenges.
2. Building the Right Culture/Relationships:
I believe that relationships are the key to a happy and successful life. Great things happen when people treat other people well. Learning consists of messing up, trying again and eventually mastering the skill of concept. This willingness to mess up can only occur when there is a atmosphere of trust and respect. Evaluations should not be a "gotcha" time. A time to tell the person everything they have done wrong. Instead they should be a time for honest communication and reflection on the original goals and a time to monitor if those goals have been accomplished. People tend to get defensive when they believe others are judging them. If we are working towards the same goal and I am told I am weak in a specific area, I can be open to getting better because I know the other person has nothing to gain by telling me I am struggling. This is the power of a relationship. Person A judging Person B is not nearly as beneficial as Person A helping Person B grow and achieve new skills.
The culture of an organization, classroom or team is vital to the success of that group. Sports teams are a great example of this. Teams that are successful are not successful by accident. There is a culture of excellence and high standards that are an expected way of life within those groups.
3. The Importance of Coaching:
This builds on the concept of relationships. In sports, a coach assess a player and is constantly working with them to help them improve their skills and knowledge of the game. This coaching does not happen once a week or once a month. There is no evaluation period. Coaching is constant and they are always giving feedback, both positive and negative to their players. People want to know when they are doing well and most want to know how they can improve. This feedback is more effective when given regularly. No one wants to sit down and hear a list of everything they have done wrong in the last six months. At the same time, how effective is praise if it is given all at one time? We are not here to judge our students; we are here to coach and guide them to achieve success.
4. Celebrate Success
We all want to be successful and we spend a lot of time and energy working towards our goals. It becomes very anti-climatic if we do not stop for a moment to celebrate our achievements. In sports, this can be as simple as a high five or a way to go! In my classroom I have my students clap, we may do a happy dance or some other silly activity that helps us celebrate our achievement. These activities also remind us that learning is sometimes hard, but it should be fun! The important thing is for us to acknowledge the achievement of individual students. We need to share in their excitement and joy.
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