May 2007: Leading Student Achievement: Our Principal Purpose
In May, 2007 principals gathered together to discuss the progress that has been made throughout the year as a result of our partnership. Dr. Michael Fullan spoke on the topic of turnaround schools/turnaround systems, and touched on the topics of tri-level reform and the principalship. Victoria Hemming shared information on the use of EQAO data and resources to inform practice in schools. Finally, Maureen McKenna and Nancy Nightingale delivered an overview of the appreciative inquiry process.
Dr. Michael Fullan, is an author, educator, and consultant who is currently Special Advisor to the Premier and Minister of Education of Ontario. He is also Professor Emeritus of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT).
In the video segments below, Dr. Michael Fullan highlights a number of 'newish' concepts that underpin successful educational reform and describes six key insights regarding successful change. He also touches on the topics of tri-level reform and the principalship.
Video Segments:
- Introduction (Length: 3 minutes)
- Factors in School Reform Which Lead to Improvement in Student Achievement (Length: 7 minutes)
- Theory of Action That Underpins Our Strategies: Seven Newish Concepts
(Length: 7 minutes) - Six Insights That Lead to Action and Result in Improvement (Length: 10 minutes)
- The Three Levels: School, District, and Province (Length: 8 minutes)
- The Principalship (Length: 3 minutes)
- Conclusion: Questions and Answers (Length: 13 minutes)
View Full Video (Length: 53 minutes)
Victoria Hemming, Chief Assessment Officer, EQAO
In this video segment, Victoria Hemming provides information on the use of EQAO data and resources to inform practice in schools. She covers the following topics:
- The use of data, especially item level data
- Large scale assessment and the way in which it aligns to classroom assessment
- School and board reports and the framework for looking at the results these reports contain
- The new features to be found in the school and board reports in 2007
- The framework document that shows the alignment of the assessment itself to the Ontario curriculum
- The process by which the assessment is built by the writers
- The way in which item information reports are currently used; details regarding how they have been redesigned and positioned in 2007
- A detailed explanation of the 'Profile of Strengths and Areas for Improvement' and the 'Student Roster'
- 'Strategies for Educators' included in the provincial report provided to schools
- The process used by EQAO personnel for examining item level data
- Resources
- Educator opportunities
Video Segment:
Maureen McKenna, The SuMo Experience
Nancy Nightingale, Principal, AY Jackson Secondary School, Toronto District School Board
In the video segment below, on 'Appreciative Inquiry' (AI), McKenna and Nightingale deliver an overview of the process. They begin by defining the terms, 'appreciate' and 'inquiry' and then explain the three concepts that form the underpinnings of 'Appreciative Inquiry', namely, wholeness, narrative rich, and relational. They outline the change process of AI, called the 'Five-D Phase Cycle', and also give a summary of AI's six principles. In addition to this information, the presenters describe two activities that are part of the AI process: the first, a paired interview activity and the second, a sharing activity. They conclude the presentation with a number of examples of how AI has been used successfully in an educational setting.
