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The One-Step Process for Creating More Reading Independence

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Literacy Daily-the blog of the International Literacy Association (ILA)-features education stories, teaching tips, book reviews, and more.

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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That was the question, followed by, "Are they students who want to take over the classroom?" "No," I replied, "it's about how students approach learning-motivated, confident, and ready to tackle the task."

Unfortunately, "empowered" is not how many of our students approach learning. They sigh, think about how hard it's going to be, think about how they aren't going to like it, worry that they're probably not smart enough, wonder if there might be some easier way, and wish they didn't have to undertake such an arduous task. And if they do try and don't instantly succeed, they give up quickly. We've all seen how students who aren't empowered respond to new learning tasks.

Like many widely used descriptors in higher education, "empowered learners" has acquired a more generic meaning, and that is unfortunate because it's the specific meanings that give this moniker its teeth. As a concept, empowerment was first used to describe a kind of relationship between managers and employees. It was defined as "the process of creating intrinsic task motivation by providing an environment and tasks which increase one's sense of self-efficacy and energy." (Frymier, Shulman and Houser, pp. 182-3)

Thomas and Velthouse offered one of the first specific descriptions by identifying four dimensions of empowerment.

Meaningfulness -This describes the value of the task in relation to individual beliefs, ideals, and standards. If the work you need to do doesn't have much or any meaning to you, doesn't seem to hold much or any importance, then there isn't much or any motivation to work hard and produce quality work.

Competence -Here's the confidence piece. Empowerment derives from feeling qualified and capable of performing the work. You can handle what you're being asked to do.

Impact -The more impact you believe you will have, the more motivation you feel to work hard. You are empowered if you believe you're doing work that makes a difference-work that matters and is important.

Choice -This dimension relates to whether you get to determine the task goals and how you will accomplish them. The more choice you have, the more empowered you feel.

It's an easy transition to take these descriptions of what it means to be empowered in the business world and apply them to the classroom-changing from managers to teachers and employees to students. And much research verifies the relevance of empowerment to education. When students are empowered, they learn more, and they learn better.

So how do we help those tentative, cautious learners who are lack confidence in themselves and, above all else, want learning to be pleasant and painless? There is good news: Teachers can play a key role in empowering learners. They don't do it with baseless hype about how wonderful students are or how students can do anything (especially when they know those students are missing key skills). They do it with accurate descriptions of those actions learners must take in order to succeed. They make the tasks clear and explain what steps to take and in what order. They do it by identifying relevant resources and they do it by supporting student efforts.

Then, after they've done that for a while, they start asking students to identify the actions they need to take, in what order, as well as locate whatever resources they may need to complete the task successfully. Teachers celebrate successes with students, even small ones, and teachers are there showing students how to make learning experiences out of failures. Students are empowered by good coaching.

Beyond teacher-student relationships, teachers can empower students by making sure the work students do is meaningful and important. Authentic assignments empower students. And finally, teachers need to talk about how beliefs affect behavior. Student beliefs about what they can and can't learn powerfully influence what they do and don't learn. The Frymier, et. al. reference includes sample questions from the instrument they developed that students can use to understand why they should work toward becoming empowered learners. Empowered learners do better in courses and in life.

References: Frymier, A. B., Shulman, G. M., and Houser, M. (1996). The development of a learner empowerment measure. Communication Education, 45 (3), 181-199.

Thomas, K., and Velthouse, B. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An "interpretive" mode of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15, 666-681.

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That was the question, followed by, "Are they students who want to take over the classroom?" "No," I replied, "it's about how students approach learning-motivated, confident, and ready to tackle the task." Unfortunately, "empowered" is not how many of our students approach learning.

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The term "fail forward" is becoming a popular one-it can be found in book titles, and even business ideologies. But what does this approach really look like within the context of a school environment, and how does it promote cultures of innovation?

In a 2015 Edweek post, "Fail Fast, Fail Forward" was the first out of the four steps listed to promote a culture of innovation in the classroom. Failure, though, is not an easy topic to discuss with educators who often feel overly scrutinized and undervalued.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jason Jowers, principal at Global Scholars Academy, a charter school within Durham Public Schools (DPS) in North Carolina. Jowers is a former DPS Teacher of the Year, and a firm believer in a "fail forward" approach to administration, teaching and learning. The slogan on the marquis outside his school reads "Free to discover!" and highlights the school's emphasis on innovative learning.

Jowers has done his fair share of creative experimentation beginning with his time as a classroom teacher, and not all of the experiments succeeded. For example, his last school tried an initiative that connected students who were thriving academically with students who were struggling.

According to Jowers, "In theory it was great, but in practice it failed miserably. So we tried it again the following year and refined the program. When things don't work, there's probably a reason for it and you don't have to give up after one try if it's worth doing."

Through his creative and sometimes unorthodox initiatives, Jowers was able to encourage students to follow his lead, allowing students to create and investigate in the classroom without the fear of repercussions if mistakes were made. For Jowers, success in and out of the classroom boiled down to motivation and trust. "You have to develop meaningful relationships with students. If students don't think you've bought in, then they don't buy in," he said.

Based on his experiences as a teacher and administrator, I asked Jowers to describe his own plan for creating and maintaining a culture of innovation in school. His response, along with my own observations as an educator, can be broken down into four main categories:

Train teachers as facilitators. Set an expectation that teachers are not lecturers. Students should feel like every day is different, that subject matter is never stale or stagnant and that teachers are constantly reinventing their lessons and instructional strategies to meet students' needs. Teachers should be made to feel that they're integral parts of school processes and encourage students to feel the same. Teaching within the confines of a curriculum is important, but integrating student-led learning and dialogue is critical.

Build a culture of trust. Building trust starts with getting to know students' interests and allowing them the freedom to create, experiment and make mistakes. After talking with Jowers, I was inspired to reach out to a few of my former fifth-grade students, now juniors in high school, to ask them a few questions about their experiences in school. When asked about what motivates them to be creative and overcome their fear of failure, one student responded: "I believe that no subject is impossible to learn. I just believe that the teacher plays a huge role in the learning of the students. I'm least fearful of failure when I trust the teacher on doing her job and when a teacher trusts me on following up in class."

Integrate the community. According to Jowers, his biggest success since becoming principal of Global Scholars Academy in July is witnessing increased buy-in from parents and a transition to a more community-oriented school culture. There has been increased attendance at "Parent Empowerment" meetings, "Dinner with Dads" and a greater appreciation of the school's mandatory extended day offerings. When students see parents and community members interested in their school experiences, they take a more active interest and feel empowered to make positive changes. The message to students, teachers and community members with regard to taking an active role in promoting academic achievement is simple: "Why not us?"

Promote student collaboration. Teachers can prepare students to be part of a collaborative, global market through classroom dialogue, project-based learning and training to develop both hard and soft skills. Group problem solving and inquiry-based projects allow students to have meaningful dialogue that connects to real-world issues. The process encourages students to respectfully voice opinions and share their work without fear of mistakes. Students are "makers" and "doers," rather than passive observers and listeners.

Building cultures of innovation in schools can, and should, start with the administration. Jowers encourages administrators to visit other schools and make observations just as teachers observe in other classrooms to learn from peers. This eagerness to learn and adapt to change eventually trickles down to students. "Administrators need to refrain from running a dictatorship and allow teachers the freedom to try new things," Jowers said. "Everything for us stems from a growth mindset-it's the only way to truly innovate."

To see more administrators, teachers and students building cultures of innovation in their schools, check out VIF International Education's 2016 impact report and Participate Learning's collection of culture of innovation.
This post is part of the "Impact of Teacher Learning" blog series produced in partnership with VIF International Education (@vifglobaled). Join the conversation on Twitter using #classroomstories. For more, check out the interactive website at impact.viflearn.com and see Meg Van Voorhis is the Manager of Dual Language Curriculum and Instructional Services at VIF International Education. Follow Meg on Twitter, @mcvanv :

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A "Fail Forward" Approach: Building Cultures of Innovation in Schools

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By: Meg Van Voorhis. How does the popular term 'fail forward' apply within the context of a school environment to promote cultures of innovation? Here is a plan broken into four categories for creating and maintaining a culture of innovation in school.

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Recently I explored the notion of the "Innovator's Mindset", and have thought a lot about this idea. As I look to write on the topic of "Leading Innovative Change " within schools, we are looking to develop educators as innovators. To be innovative, you have to look at yourself as an innovator first, and to create schools that embody this mindset as a "culture", we must develop this in individuals first.

Building upon Carol Dweck's work, I have been looking at the traits of the "Innovator's Mindset ", which would be summarized as follows:

Belief that abilities, intelligence, and talents are developed leading to the creation of new and better ideas.

To develop students as "innovators" in their pursuits, we must embody this as educators. As I continue to research and look at different processes where innovation excel, such as design thinking, there are several characteristics that seem common amongst these themes. Here they are below and why they are important for educators:

1. Empathetic - To create new and better ways of doing things, we need to first understand who we are creating them for. As educators, innovation starts with the question, "what is best for this child." For us to create something better for our students, we have to understand their experiences and this is why it is imperative that we not only talk about new ways of learning, but immerse ourselves in these opportunities. This way we can understand what works and what does not work from the perspective of a learner, not a teacher. If anything, teachers have to a deep understanding of learning before they can become effective in teaching. We need to put ourselves in our student's shoes before we can create better opportunities for them in our classrooms.

2. Problem Finders - As Ewan McIntosh talks about, it is important that we teach our kids how to ask good questions instead of simply asking for answers. All innovation starts from a question not an answer. The invention of the home computer started with the focus of, "How do we bring the experience of a powerful computer into the homes of families?" Many capstone projects developed by students in their classrooms start with first finding, and then solving problems both locally and globally. How often do we as educators immerse ourselves in a similar process? If want to be innovative, we need to look at questions first.

3. Risk-Takers - Many would argue that "best-practice" is the enemy of innovation. To be truly innovative, you sometimes have to go off the beaten path. The reality of this is, that for some kids, the "tried-and-true" methods will still work, but others, you will need to try something different. In a time where many kids are totally checking out of school, is "best practice" truly "best", or just "most well known"?

4. Networked - Steven Johnson has a powerful quote on the importance of networks where he states, "chance favours the connected mind." Innovation does not happen in isolation, as it is often ideas that are being shared amongst many that lead to new and better ideas being developed. The best educators have always created networks to learn from others and create new and powerful ideas. Now though, many have taken the opportunity to take networks to a whole different level through the use of social media to share and develop new ideas. Isolation is the enemy of innovation. Networks are crucial if we are going to develop the "Innovator's Mindset".

5. Observant - A practice normal amongst those that would be considered "innovative" is that they constantly look around their world and create connections. It is normal to have a notebook or use their mobile device to record ideas or thoughts around them and link them to their own ideas. In education, we often look to solutions to come from "education", but when organizations around the world share their practices and ideas, we have to tap into their diverse expertise and learn from them as well. Wisdom is all around us, we just have to look for it.

6. Creators - So many people have great ideas, yet they never come to fruition. Innovation is a combination of ideas and hard work. Conversation is crucial to the process of innovation, but without action, ideas simply fade away and/or die. What you create with what you have learned is imperative in this process.

7. Resilient - Things do not always work on the first try, so what are the tweaks or revamping that is needed? To simply try something and give up as soon as it fails never leads to innovation only a definitive end. This is something great teachers model daily in their teaching, as they turn good ideas into great ones.

8. Reflective - What worked? What didn't? What could we do next time? If we started again, what would we do differently? What can we build upon? It is important that in education and innovation, we sit down and reflect on our process. This last point is definitely lacking in many aspects of education as we are always "trying to get through the curriculum", yet reflection is probably the most important part of education as the connections we make on our own is where deep learning happens.

For educators to embody this, it is imperative that leaders create a culture where this types of characteristics are not only accepted, but encouraged. It is also imperative that at both the leadership and whole organization level, these characteristics are embodied. To many, being "innovative" is no more than a buzzword, but if we truly have innovative students, we need to embody the "Innovator's Mindset" at all levels.

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8 Characteristics of the "Innovator's Mindset"

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Recently I explored the notion of the "Innovator's Mindset", and have thought a lot about this idea. As I look to write on the topic of "Leading Innovative Change " within schools, we are looking to develop educators as innovators.