Ash Vasudeva, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Research)
Glen Harvey, WestEd (Policy)
Candice McQueen, Tennessee Commissioner of Education (Practice)
Robert Hull, NASBE (moderator)
Hull:
How do you think creatively to solve a problem? This session brings together leading experts in reasearch, policy, and practice to consider how state board members can pursue and support innovation. How can improvement science foster a more user- and problem-centered approach to improving teaching and learning? We will explore ways to build state capacity to identify, adapt, and scale up promising innovations.
Vasudeva:
Collectively, we expand decades of research, practice, and policy-making.
Wisdom in this room, and classrooms -- education systems continue to face extraordinary challenges.
Many times, "what gives" is a rich and rewarding educational experience.
[Missed the name of the person referenced in his example here]: Addressing families at large community forums: first thing is stating/admitting that "they don't have it all figured out".
Just giving voice to that moved the dynamic from confrontation to communication.
Expertise alone is not enough - need to work with others to accomplish goals.
Form new relationships.
Admitting we don't have all of the answers doesn't mean there's nothing we can do.
(Introduces concept of "Discipline Inquiry" - create teams to test solutions and commit to make meaningful progress).
Disciplined inquiry bridges the organizational journey from compliance to continuous improvement by attending to and focusing on learning.
References the book: Learning to Improve
ESSA represents the opportunity to make this shift (^ from enacting policy from "compliance" to "continuous improvement" by attending to and focusing on learning).
Three questions for consideration:
1. What is the relationship between research and practice?
2. What constitutes evidence?
3. What is the role for policy?
Researchers are expected to innovate; practitioners are expected to implement.
Need to connect research to practice.
ESSA plans for making progress.
Use discipline inquiry in service to innovation and improvement:
Evidence - Disciplined Inquiry = Compliance Modes of Thinking
Evidence + Disciplined Inquiry = Improvement Mindset
As SBEs, how do you use your policy superpowers? (Power to Convene; Power of the Question; Power of Policy)
McQueen:
Reality on the ground when you try to put research to practice.
It's messy.
TN articulated a Vision: for all students to have knowledge and skills to successfully embark upon their chosen path in life.
Comprised five priorities - 4 of them very policy driven; they are:
- Early Foundations & Literacy;
- High School & Bridge to Postsecondary;
- All Means All;
- Educator Support.
The last one, District Empowerment would use research for solving problems in practice through newly created Network Improvement Communities (NIC, in 7 districts).
Utilizing NICs:
- Foster a new kind of working relationship between the state and districts
- Leverage collective expertise to solve a statewide challenge
- Identify scalable solutions to common implementation challenges that hold the state back from achieveing its goals
- Learn at all levels how to "get better at getting better": and develop a collective sense of ownership for the work to sustain progress
Learning to date:
- Improving literacy outcomes
- communication between teachers and interventionists is important for success
- Empowering district innovation
- culture of learning and sharing is critical to making progress
- Engaging educators in continuous impovement efforts
- educators must want to learn from one another through a community approach
What's next?
- Scale and spread the NIC approach
- Spring 2016: Cohort 1 = 7 districts in 2 CORE regions
- Fall 2017: Cohort 2 = 21 districts in all 8 CORE regions
People sometimes don't want the process, they want the pill.
Reality is, when they know the outcome they will work to embed in practice.
Go slow at first; once familiar, then can go fast.
Harvey:
Learned so much from [NASBE sessions] yesterday.
Learned so much from [NASBE sessions] yesterday.
Thank you for the TN story - grew up in KY, not a leader in education reform; it's empowering to see how much can be accomplished over time.
State policy role in supporting innovation...
What is innovation anyway:
"A process that creates something that addresses a specific need effectively in a new and different way with better outcomes creating value"
Emphasis on "different" and "better"
Problem is, if it is "new and different", it probably doesn't have a lot of evidence.
Need to balance tried-and-true practices with something new.
What's your capacity for innovation?
To take risks?
What's the pulse in your state?
SBEs: Champion of children and their right to an equitable, quality education:
- Convenor, giving voice to others -- stakeholder engagement through listening tours, town halls, and focus groups
- good ideas can come from anyone and anywhere
- model openness to new ideas and different perspectives
- create a process for exploring promising new ideas
- communicate back what you have heard and will do
- keep the dialogue going
- Visionary and catalyst for change, keeping the public's collective eye on what matters most
- use the power of the bully pulpit
- be the state's storyteller
- keep everyone's eye on the state's North Star (the big idea)
- focus on big ideas, enduring problems, and solutions
- use the power of persuasion, vision, staying power
- Enabler and empowerer, removing barriers to innovation (removing policy so people can move forward):
- NH: flexibility to achieve a big idea (i.e., competency-based learning)
- CA: flexibility focused on state and local indicators (i.e., a local control funding formula; school safety and climate)
- CO: flexibility to spark innovation for learning (CO Innovations Schools Act -- ask for waivers from SBE to move forward)
Create opportunity.
Need to do better by those children who are not doing well right now (especially to consider homeless, foster, trauma, i.e.).
Before establishing a new policy based on local innovation, ask:
- Is this new approach addressing a specific need?
- Is there sufficient evidence that it addresses the need effectively?
- Is there a solid research base?
- Is the solution economically viable?
- Is it scalable and sustainable?
- Do we have the capacity to implement, scale, and sustain across the state?
- Is there stakeholder buy-in?
- What unintended consequences might there be?
Q&A:
Ohio asks about Trauma-informed education; says, under ESSA, Title II funds available for this.
Massachusetts asks TN about importance of aligning standards with work in the NICs.
-- End of Session --