In 1945, psychologist Karl Duncker created the Candle Box Problem. He presented his research participants with a question:
"How can you attach a candle to a wall and light it so that candle wax won’t drip on the table below?"
In 1945, psychologist Karl Duncker created the Candle Box Problem. He presented his research participants with a question:
"How can you attach a candle to a wall and light it so that candle wax won’t drip on the table below?"
In a recent report, trust was sighted as an important contributor to school culture. With an atmosphere of trust, teachers’ fear of judgement and failure is removed and so they feel more able to work together collaboratively, taking informed risks and innovating to improve outcomes for students.
"That climate of trust is also about taking risks... It’s about having that openness that we all make mistakes and that is fine and that we’re going to learn from them as a staff and as colleagues."
Alex Quigley
But how can you help to build trust in your school? One way is through establishing an open-door community within your school. This will encourage professional discussion and sharing between you and your colleagues.
People need to feel psychologically safe in order to learn and be productive, according to Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard. Amy claims that, when taking a risk, we need to believe that we are in a secure environment where others will not judge, resent or humiliate us if we make a mistake or need help.
This month, Washington State passed a new law defining standards for educator professional learning. The professional development law ensures that educators are given PD opportunities that are personalized, data-driven, and sustained.
"An evaluation system that fosters teacher learning will differ from one whose aim is to measure teacher competence." Robert J. Marzano
Teacher evaluations provide an opportunity for educators to recognize what they're best at, as well as a chance to notice any areas with room for improvement. But, evaluations should be an empowering process and the teacher should leave the process feeling empowered to change, not criticized or disheartened.
Did you know that K-12 schools spend a collective average of $18 billion per year on professional development courses, of which $3 billion is paid to external providers (Gates Foundation, 2014)?
Doug Lemov believes great teachers are made, not born, and it’s this belief that inspired him to try and find out what makes a great teacher.
When teaching at a school in Boston, Doug never considered himself to be a brilliant teacher. In the staffroom one day, a colleague gave Doug some clear advice to help him with giving directions to students and it was exactly what he needed...
This professional learning toolkit, from the Office of Educational Technology (OET), provides busy leaders with a 5-step decision-making process to help schools achieve student learning and improvement goals.
