Here are the conferences at which I presented recently. I hope to present new findings based on a project underway currently at a conference in Hong Kong in December. This example, “‘The more we get together, the happier we’ll be’: promoting shared practice through curriculum initiatives” was created for the Orientations: Language, Learning and Translation – a conference held at Sohar University, Sultanate of Oman in 2008.

1. Al Razi Independent Preparatory School for Boys. April 2008 Dr. John A. G. McKeown School Management Advisor Mosaica Education International Doha, Qatar

2. Dual identities … Shared Community? - Promoting Bilingual and Bi-cultural identities through curriculum initiatives.

3. Session objective: Creating a positive school climate that allows for a freer exchange of ideas and opens opportunities to build common goals is challenging within the education reform process currently underway in the Gulf. We’ll explore practical strategies to create a positive school culture and promote a collective vision, shared by all community stakeholders, through the implementation of curriculum initiatives.

4. Wenger 1998 “We cannot learn without belonging and we cannot belong without learning the practice norms, values, and understanding of the community that we belong to.”

6. Supreme Education Council State of Qatar

7. Aims and objectives of current education reform curriculum initiatives that moves from a teacher-centered pedagogical approach to a student-centered program Statistics from Qatar and the SEC (see article handout)

8. Dual --------------- identities Language Content knowledge Pedagogy Life priorities Personal communication Reporting and responsibility Imposition of ideas Expert knowledge Solutions focus Work priorities Task management Direct communication Accountability

11. Shared school culture Don’t lecture: “Show me … don’t tell me.” lead by example Put it directly and simply: “This is the way we do things around here.” “This is what we are required to do.” No learning without tension: personal development goes hand in hand with professional development.

13. How to get results for change? ICT presentations ICT – use for grades and data collection Gather data and take ownership Analyze data and use it Present data to a variety of audiences Follow up on details and offer assistance regularly on areas of practice. Encourage participation with learning

15. Everyone is perfect where they are Focus on specific incremental behavior changes in practice NOT attitudes. Demonstrate LEARNING, always. Work comfortably with diversity and difference. Practices, and everything about them, go to the very core of our identities. In a learning community, we identify with tools we tend to use in practice -- “I am a part of the English group that uses diagnostic tools.”

16. Offer multiple choices for change We create what we need in our context; not conforming to an “ideal” standard. Learn with others what is needed. Not a ready-made product nor creating teacher-proof work. Not delivering a “cookie-cutter” model. Our “rule of 10” – options for change

17. Education for a New Era

18. Importance of feedback Specific, timely, contextualized, immediate Positive feedback Negative feedback Multiple sources of feedback Matching messages Receiving and acting on feedback Opinions meet evidence

20. Evidence Grades: importance of component parts for reporting Curriculum maps and annual plans Lesson, unit and semester PLANS Student results Seating plans / groupings Multiple checklists Observations - reflections Photos &Videos

24. Science Determine English vs. content objectives Delegate organizational tasks Use a variety of on-going assessments Focus on note-taking and reporting Involve teacher leadership Mix novice and experienced faculty Expand pedagogical knowledge

26. English Define tasks and share responsibilities Develop teacher leaders Distribute leadership Set planning goals and stick to them Enlist support from each individual teacher Extend topic knowledge Observe peers and provide feedback

27. Mathematics Create templates for use by all participants Share successes Use goals to build unity Focus on small teaching changes Expect results and track them with data Expand content knowledge Encourage discussion by use of talking points

30. Building new knowledge – tiered mentoring Curriculum offers opportunities for teachers and students to create knowledge and supports an organizational identity … and sustainability. Peer tutoring helps move the process forward. The dilemma: “I’ll fix the problem.” By sharing learning and building knowledge, we learn together.

31. “Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”(Wenger, 1998) DOMAIN: A community of practice is not merely a network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest. Membership with a commitment to the domain therefore is a shared competence that distinguishes its members from other people. PRACTICE: Members are practitioners, developing a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, and ways of addressing recurring problems. This takes time and sustained interaction. COMMUNITY: In pursuing joint interests in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other. Having the same job does not make for a community of practice unless members interact and learn together.

32. “Practice is a shared history of learning.” (Wenger)

33. Building community through practice One important consideration is that hierarchy is about instruction given from an expert to the receiving party. The other is about conversation that results from interaction between peers. Both are valid modes of transmission.

34. Work teams --------------- versus CoP Are involuntary Obliged to join Need for on time delivery Focus on management goals By association Are organic Join out of an interest Tend to evolve Focus on continual improvement

35. They also serve who stand and wait: YOU ONLY NEED 11% OF YOUR STAFF TO MAKE A CHANGE. YOU BUILD CAPACITY FOR CHANGE ONE TEACHER AT A TIME and by small behavioral changes in practice.

36. REFLECTION:ONE THING THAT SURPRIZED YOU! Discuss with a partner the following: “because in my experience…. “because I always thought … “because I thought I knew … “because I had assumed… Summarize your surprise at learning in the next step: SYNTHESIZE your learning into a “SOUND BITE” of 15 words