A rising tide lifts all boats

So two things are happening this month.  Firstly I'm leading an IB workshop for school leaders where we are going to explore the roles of the designer, steward and teacher of a learning organization.  We will be thinking about team learning and about building a shared vision.  Secondly I have just received the book Finding our way: Developing a shared pedagogy by Fiona Zinn and Anne van Dam.  The book has only been launched a few days ago, and my copy arrived today.  What I want to do over the next few posts is to weave together my ideas for my IB workshop with the wisdom contained in this book, and to consider the role of a leader in bringing a team together to build a shared purpose.

There are seven huge chapters in this book, and to be honest each of them deserves a post of its own.  For now I'm going to highlight some of the ideas that jumped out at me from the introduction.  Having worked with Anne in Switzerland, I can almost hear her voice as I read about the importance of educators bringing their "rich tapestry of cultural backgrounds, professional perspectives and lived experiences" together with their beliefs about education and learning.  The challenge for a school leader is to bring these diverse perspectives together, through dialogue and collaboration, in order to co-construct a shared pedagogy.  Leaders need to be courageous, to have conversations that acknowledge differences but still seek common ground.  They need to encourage teachers to listen, reflect and inquire, and to ensure that all voices are valued.

Anne and Fiona write that a shared pedagogy emerges over time.  The role of the leader is to "create spaces in which ideas can collide, evolve, and merge into something greater than the sum of their individual parts".  They also explain that "when schools commit to this process, they create an environment in which leaders and educators move beyond working side by side to engaging in dynamic, collaborative harmony."  This ensures that the purpose of education is "collectively owned, actively enacted, and deeply lived each day".

In the IB workshop we discuss the role of the school leader as a designer, steward and teacher.  We think about questions such as what a leader does to develop a vision that is both individual and shared, and how we listen to other people's vision.  We also ask how a leader keeps the learning community's sights on the big picture - the purpose of the school.  In Finding our way, the introduction also discusses how the leader sets a thoughtful starting point and how this needs to be anchored in values such as inclusion, participation, agency or sustainability and how from this starting point the team engages in a shared journey.  Along the way there will be tension between individuals (their perspectives, experiences and approaches) but the leader is responsible for designing "a process that makes room for teachers to express their conflicting understandings and to hear others' ideas, so that they can, together, find a way forward".  I love the expression used here footsteps forge the path, so that the team moves forward together to bring about intentional change.  The team needs to listen, to cultivate a curious mindset, and to reflect on the ideas, theories and values that influence the work of teaching and learning.  Leaders need to cultivate a climate of trust where teachers can discuss the outcomes they want for their children as well as the pedagogy that will help them achieve these outcomes.  To support these conversations, where teachers may feel vulnerable, leaders need to ensure that everyone understands that the strengths of the team come from the gifts and perspectives of the individuals.  

We are all on a journey and we are reminded that "the commitment to a shared pedagogy is not about arriving at a final point but about moving forward with curiosity, purpose and a willingness to reorient when new insights emerge ... the journey itself is what shapes us all, connecting us to one another and to the endless potential of what education can be".

Image by Christelle PRIEUR from Pixabay