Some interesting approaches to building school cultures.

“Schools cultures that support excellence can look very different.” Ron Berger ^[1]

One of the more enigmatic findings in Graham Nuthalls work is his unpicking of classroom and learning cultures ,  not all of which are  positive and nurturing. Where the relationships between students determining largely whether they are supportive or not. Nuthall shines a light on this problem but gives (disappointingly - am I allowed to even think this? )little by way of practical solution. He suggests that to negate negative peer cultures teachers should  “subtly work with it to manage each students learning opportunities “ and to “ create a powerful classroom culture that overrides the natural peer culture”.^[2]  So what might a "powerful classroom culture" look like?  

Due to the complex nature of cultures, it may be useful to look at some case studies of how different institutions have set about tackling establishing a “powerful classroom culture” . The Expeditionary Learning schools, and Uncommon school may at first appear diametrically opposed being either student centric to teacher centric models. However, it is the commonalities that may provide more use in establishing our classroom cultures. I recognise strategies and approaches from both in my classroom, and that’s OK. It really is.

The clearest and most impassioned view of what powerful learning communities can look like can be found within the pages of Ron Berger’s inspiring book “An Ethic of excellence” If you haven’t read it, you must. Do it now. Go to a bookshop. Take my car. Just do it. In it, Ron shares his passion for high quality student work, which provides for him, and the teachers at Expeditionary Learning Schools, the mechanisms for building a supportive and challenging community. High quality student work encapsulates all aspects of how and what students do: from Maths work to how they communicate publicly. They make clear what the expected standards are for each aspect of school life and then relentlessly teach and model it so that students understand what they must do in order to attain it. It clearly makes for aspirational and motivated students who know how to provide one another with “kind, specific and feedback” during the act of learning.

At the heart of Expeditionary Learnings philosophy^[3] (and similar schools such as the High Tech High group of schools in San Diego) is that success is defined by getting everyone to the top of the mountain not just ourselves. The strength of the school resides in the strength of its community. Students are therefore obliged to think of others and their role with their community, and as a result see themselves as active participants in their education becoming “crew not passengers” ^[4] along the way. In fact, my first classroom experience at High Tech High saw me naively ask a student what they were working on. The student showed no signs of pity in his response, but did not show me his work, but showed me around the classroom describing in astonishing detail the work of his fellow students. It was clear that their work was his work, and as result he benefited from a deep understanding of the subject.

It is no surprise that these schools engage with the wider community as a lever for student responsibility and learning. In these schools, the students undertake public exhibition of their work. These high stakes, reviews of their learning and character occurs regularly throughout the year and becomes the motivational mechanisms for the students.

My first exposure to students exhibiting their work was at High Tech High in San Diego. The students had been building toys for first graders that involved using a cam in the toys mechanism. The first graders had been interviewed by the students to develop a design brief, allowing them to make a bespoke toy for the younger child. A dozen or so international visitors were lead into the exhibition hall by the Larry Rosenstock, CEO and founder of HTH, and Rob Riordan, the legendary Emperor of rigour. The hall was already a mass of parents, families and business leaders from local toy factories. This was quite a daunting audience. My eyes settled instantly on a student who appeared to have no toy on display in front of them. Approaching her, she smiled, and I asked “Where is your toy?”. She smiled again and said “I did not get it finished in time”. At this exact moment David Price, our party leader and very astute educator, interrupted and asked “Where is your work?”, “Again she smiled and began to explain again “I did not get finished in time, but I will get it ready for the first graders on Monday”. Just as I was about to ask what had happened, Martin Said, a true gent and master classroom craftsman, interrupted asking "Sorry, where is your work... This is a rather extreme form of student accountability. As extreme as this sounds, with three unknown adults, who are hugely interested in education, that have travelled thousands of miles to be there are grilling you on where your school work is.

The surprising thing for me was how well she coped with this. She smiled, listened  to our questions, communicated clearly, honestly responded to our queries. Infact, she excelled in this situation. Her work was actually finished, but she had run out of time putting a high-quality finish onto it, and was not prepared to put inferior work on show. Yet, she had a large ring binder file, overflowing with her learning, which she gleefully shared and explained. It was very clear that she had learned lots of physics, lots of technology and was getting to grips with how to be a very successful learner. The exhibition served as very productive reflection for this student.

Now, I know that at first glance this looks almost superficial with students standing next to their work in a kind of glorified show and tell. I know it also sounds risky, with parents and visitors coming in to view the quality of student work, ergo your work. Furthermore, I know this sounds a complete pain in the backside scheduling student work, writing letters and organising an event in an already bounteous workload. I know these things, yet I wholeheartedly recommend that you do this. If I can’t convince you then please speak to your Art department at school, who have always done this, and ask what effects it has on the students. It does indeed require a curriculum set up to do this to this scale, but even small extent it can raise the stakes for students on quality and importance of their work matters. A simple mechanism is to may be sit at parents evening looking at student work rather than just some numbers on a piece of paper.

These schools clearly and obviously value both academic and character building success, and provide the operational conditions that allow student to thrive here. Berger challenges us to imagine a school culture that for students to fit in they must do well academically and be kind. What would you have to do in your school and classroom to start to work to this end? To normalise academic success as “what we do around here” requires more than one teacher efforts being supported fellow teachers, sharing and using consistent language of practice and shared values are essential. We intuitively understand this, as part of what we rely on to work as teachers. Our challenge is to provide classrooms that students get to see this too.

On a visit to two expeditionary Learning schools I was struck by the consistency of language used by the teachers. Nearly every classroom exchange (and hallway for that matter) involved the language of choice that lead in making their own decisions. The notion that self-direction  is powerful in these communities, although it should be noted that students may not naturally provide such a supportive environment. Communities need building, and one such story comes from Kathy Greeleys’ wonderful book “Why fly that way?”^[5] The transformation of a disparate and fractious groups of students into a cohesive and supportive community is far from a straight story, beset with setbacks and slow progress. Greeley’s persistence and belief in keeping classroom culture at the heart of her endeavours and planning eventually works for these students. At times, she took the brave decision to shelve the curriculum until the issues in the class had at least been challenged. This will certainly ring true to a lot of teachers where either the students’ behaviour, attitudes and relationships must be addressed before they are able to productively engage with the curriculum. It reminds me that sometimes culture must trump content.

At the heart of Greely’s approach was the belief that rituals and routines can be used to value the qualities of the community they were striving to be. Her students were provided many opportunities to talk and share thought and feelings, as she sought agreement on the student culture, in circle time. Circle time- the act of sitting students in circles in order to talk may seem a little childish or even hippy-ish, but they do allow sharing without authority, hierarchy and the sharing of ownership, and in doing so help build relationships.

Berger, Greely, Expeditionary learning and High Tech high encapsulate much of what was defined as the conditions for “Powerful learning “ ^[6] The components as:

1. . What they learn is personally meaningful.
2. What they learn is challenging and they accept the challenge.
3. /What they learn is appropriate for their developmental level.
4. They can learn in their own way, have choices, and feel in control.
5. They use what they already know as they construct new knowledge.
6. They have opportunities for social interaction.
7. They get helpful feedback.
8. They acquire and use strategies.
9. They experience a positive emotional climate.
10. The environment supports the intended learning.

Uncommon schools

“Teaching is the best and most important work in our society” Doug Lemov 390

The first thing that strikes you about Uncommon schools is just how teacher centric their approach appears. They take this approach as a group of pragmatic idealists that didn’t chase educational equity in the abstract but pursue it relentlessly as instructional problem solvers in learning communities. It is based on a belief that students rely on teachers to create such environments. They started by looking closely, analytically even at what the most successful teachers did, the ones whose students were “joyfully engaged academically, working collaboratively as a team, and generating jaw dropping results”. In his book, Teach like a champion 390 Lemov identifies that teachers are not often serious about learning from teachers that are like this.

This approach is remarkably similar to the Effective Teacher behaviour research of Reynolds and Mujis ^[7] we saw in chapter 7, in which we summarised effective teacher as:

Effective teachers are confident in their ability, and highly committed to the success of all students. Their interactions are consistently fair and respectful, inducing a sense of trust in their classroom. They have the ability to think analytically and conceptually allowing them to be flexible in their approaches. They act proactively and are constantly seeking out information to make good decisions. They set high standards, modelling them and hold others accountable. They have an overwhelming passion for learning and what education can do. They work in teams, understand the motivations of others and seek to influence them in positive ways. They communicate clearly and are inclusive. They employ a variety of teaching methodology that engage and stimulate thinking. They take an active interest in their own pedagogical content knowledge and use this knowledge to teach as well as they can. They create classroom communities that provide an ordered and civilised climate where students feel safe and suitably challenged. They teach and they learn and seek to model the behaviours that exemplify these noble pursuits.

The teachers the Uncommon Schools studied excelled at the parts of a teachers job we often take for granted, or consider to mundane: How we patrol our classrooms; How we ensure that all students are engaged; How we target questions; How we frame situations in a positive light; How we use time well; and how we strategically move students on . Uncommon schools take pride in “well delivered lessons [with] a heart of love, and [the] celebration of teachers for their impact on students life trajectories.” It sees itself as an organisation that is about great teaching and teachers most of all.

Their approach is based upon “sure fire routines, and a joyful culture that builds a productive platform for learning”. It is more than just really good classroom management with a critical focus upon a “culture of error” where it is safe for students to show their mistakes. A culture that resonates loudly with the themes of this book: students’ prior knowledge, their misconceptions and how we can use feedback well.

Teachers are portrayed as artisans, who use simple tools to craft learning and students. The tools may be simple, but things of beauty can be created . It is the focus on getting what may be considered the small things right, and much more. In perfecting the use of simple tools, we get to reflect upon the art of teaching too. Lemovs’ book, forms the basis of teaching toolkit for teaching well and ensuring all students achieve. Lemov insists on naming techniques so that a common language can exist to allow teachers to “analyse and discuss” the classroom, and perhaps more importantly be ready to “adapt and adjust” the techniques so their style, context and students are catered for as well as possible.

The problems of teaching are endemic, and therefore “entirely predictable” according to Lemov. You may have seen this approach alreadyon this blog, with PEEL’s “teacher concerns”. Similarly the Uncommon Schools approach seeks to align common problems with “specific, concrete and actionable techniques” . It is the skill of the teacher to select the right tool, for the right job at the right time.

The Uncommon Schools is neatly encapsulated in what seems to be a benign teacher action whilst issuing resources., in this case a worksheet. The teacher has the student practice handing sheets around the classroom so that it takes around 10 seconds to complete, rather than the usual  80 seconds, thereby saving a significant amount of time each lesson, each day and each academic year This allows the students to concentrate more on what matters: the cognitive work, and many of  their routine and rituals are used to build “strong learning habits”  and increase student autonomy so that the proportion of cognitive work increases. This may not sound that important to leafy suburban schools, but the structured approach and the accountability and autonomy the routines imparts have been seen as instrumental in tackling the achievement gap between the rich and the poor. The ethos of Uncommon schools is to focus “primarily on serving students of the greatest need”. These may well be the students who do not have the consistent and structured home lives that lead to good self-regulation and learning habits, so the orderly approach provides their experience of how this can help a person become successful.

Interestingly, the idea of culture in Uncommon Schools is linked inextricably to behaviour, once more reminding us that behaviour management is not enough, as Lemov rightly points out “order is necessary but not sufficient for learning, and culture is more than just eliminating disruption”. Lemov goes on to define what culture means in this context identifying five principles, that when “well balanced” can provide for a “strong” learning culture.

The following table will hopefully illustrate the hierachy within these principlesand gives prompt s for teacher thinking and planning steps. 

Principle	Definition	Implications for the teacher.	Planning questions
Discipline	Knowing the right way to do something.	Students must be shown/ taught how the teacher wants each task done.	When and where do the students get to practice these routines/ techniques? How do you know when this routine has become a habit?
Management	Process of reinforcing behaviours	Relationship building is an essential part of this. Rewards and sanction become less effective over time.	How do you construct relationships that are ”non-transactional” i.e. contain no rewards or punishments. How do I link good learning behaviours and academic success?
Control	Capacity to cause someone to do what you ask	The power a teacher has to assert control over a class the more freedom can be given. Students are more likely to be controlled by someone they trust.  Being specific with language-e.g. instead of saying “calm down” rephrase to say “please return to your seat and start your work”	How can you phrase your requests so that they are more likely agreed to? How do you build trust with students/
Influence	Next step beyond control. Helping a student to internalise the thing you suggest	Aim of using influence is to get students to believe in long term success by wanting to behave positively. Often a failure to exert influence is what stops students from believing in classroom cultures designed for their benefit	How do you move students from behave to believe? How can you building in greater autonomy so that the students have greater ownership of the responsibility for learning?
Engagement	Engaging students in “important, interesting and challenging work”	How do we get students to do more of the cognitive work?	How do we transport students to “real scenarios?” How do get students to have a vested interest?

So, what can we learn about classroom culture from these institutions?

Most importantly, culture does not lie in the differences between these approaches, but rather in their commonalties. Just as we need to be able to explain the concepts of our subjects in multiple ways, we also need a variety of approaches to start, develop and maintain a productive classroom community. Kathy Greeley’s book- Why fly that way? – highlights that the answer will be different for different students in different contexts, there is no one right answer. But it is in the blend of elements that we can begin to understand.

Both emphasise high academic expectation as a central tenet to their approach, communicating that all students are capable of achieving highly. Students success is clearly correlated to teacher expectations. ^[8] However, this is easier said than done. Poor differentiation, along with teachers de-selecting concepts which they believe students cannot comprehend, even before the students have attempted them, ultimately cause our students to experience low expectations All too often we just hidebehind the claim that we have high expectations of their “behaviour”. Yet the mathematics here is simple:

Low Academic expectations + High Behaviour expectation= Low expectations

Our craft and skill here, is how we sculpt a culture that encourages student to be willing to tackle all that you throw at them academically speaking, and how we grant access to all of the content to students who are “less able” or in reality students who have impoverished prior knowledge. Lest we forget all students have the same capacity to learn, it is just the so called “more able” have a higher starting point when it comes to the attainment tests, that inform our opinions of ability. Our ability  to express high expectations begins with how well we can cater to their needs.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect that both approaches share is the prominence of the teacher. Without highly motivated and supremely motivating great teachers neither system would work. Do not be misled by the apparent student centric view of Expeditionary Learnings approach. There is a great deal of design, organisation relationship building along with brilliance in their teaching behind this successful school culture. Likewise, it would be folly to think that the teacher centric aspects of Uncommon Schools are the be all in and end all of their success. Their culture works because the teacher creates the environments in which students take increased levels of autonomy and responsibility in their learning.

Both organisations believe that the act of learning can be learned, so that students can increase their capacity to do more of the cognitive work of learning, which ultimately, they develop deeper academic understanding. Routines and rituals are ubiquitous in both approaches in order to provide smooth running classrooms and facilitate student work. It is the habit-forming nature of these ways of working that forms the basis of the students learning skill set and attitudes.

Routines and rituals require a common language and understanding. Sharing language with fellow teachers and with students allows the conversation of the classroom to be about learning, and how to do it. Learning becomes the culture, and how we use routines and procedures and their associated pedagogical purpose are what changes it.

Finally, both approaches understand that it takes time to build a truly aspirational and supportive culture, and that the rules and routines are just the start points, and that we must proactively develop our classroom cultures.

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Some suggested Reading and References

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[1] An ethic of excellence _ Ron Berger.

[2] Graham Nuthall The Hidden Lives of Learners NZCER

[3] Now this section of the book is going to make me sound like some right jet setting Charlie, and for that I apologise. Although the sweet Maine lobster in Portland, and the view from the Pacific Beach Alehouse in San Diego make it ever so hard to be sincere with this apology.

[4] Expeditionary Learning Core Practices.

[5] Kathy Greeley Why fly that way?

[6] Ron Brandt http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/198179/chapters/Conditions-for-Powerful-Learning.aspx  Accessed 27/07/17

[7] Reynolds and Mujis 1999 The Effective Teaching of Mathematics: A review of research

[8] Speybroek et al: The Role of Teachers' Expectations in the Association between Children's SES and Performance in Kindergarten: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Cultures of Quality

We’ve all seen those wonderful adverts from one of the unscrupulous banks that are designed to make us think that the bank understands humans. They feature Japanese business men falling asleep on the shoulders of New Yorkers,  much to their alarm and a lambasting French drivers removing their cars from too small space betwixt two pristinely kept and parked German “Autos” . Amusing as these are, they do remind us that we are all rooted in a pervading cultures, and that these cultures are local and on a human level. If their advertising has any sense of truth,  then it is sensible and natural to  allow the culture to influence and guide how we operate.  Our schools should do the same.

On a recent trip to Portland, Maine to visit two Expeditionary Learning schools, I was fortunate enough to be confronted by one such culture.  Hungry, I walked into a diner, specialising in Seafood and not least lobster. Portland is a lobster town. The fishing fleet there has never been conglomerated, the licences and boats are still family owned,  it is what they do. Sitting down, I noticed a ring-bound and laminated book upon the table.  The book was about the science of lobsters; their lifecycle, their anatomy etc.  The book, written by third grade students from a local elementary school, clearly grasped the right sense of culture.  Students were learning science and literacy through their community’s culture.

Ron Berger argues that "The only way to understand a school culture is to understand what students experience in being part of it". These students and their families “do lobster” so using this educationally  is rudimentary in connecting them to their town and its cultures and adds a potent relevance to engage the students in what they are learning.

The Culture of Quality that Berger  so eloquently writes about is an all-encompassing one, that can be found "in all domains......[and has ] standards for kindness, integrity, industriousness and responsibility."  These standards do not just apply to the classroom but to the hallways, the dining hall and the community. They are for every student and member of staff.  So what might cultures that obsess about quality have in common?

“Self esteem from accomplishment, not compliments” Berger

Firstly, the people in these cultures have a great sense of pride in what they do.  Therefore students need to routinely experience of success. David Grant of Expeditionary Learning states that building a culture of student engaged assessment is best started by a school adopting methods that celebrate success. This gives students positive, emotive experiences that allow them to show what they know and what they can do. They can be passionate about learning.  Exhibition of project work is the perfect vehicle for this. As the exhibition progresses it becomes less about the product the students have made and more about the students themselves and their sense of achievement.  This feeling and the confidence or esteem it brings can have long lasting motivational effects, with students wanting to recreate that feeling, with everything they do.

“The power of the (school) culture rests in community.” “School culture must extend beyond the school walls.” Berger

The second factor is the involvement of the community. This is what I experienced in Portland. Through the involvement of experts, community members and from a strong sense of classroom community students engage in education, produce work of note and achieve highly.  Involvement of the community provides opportunities for the students to be purposefully challenged in authentic local issues, matters that are of their and their families concern. Whether it is raising awareness of the impact of poor diets here in the North East or if it is Ron Bergers students surveying Radon levels in their town,  the students and school can act on behalf of and with their community.  These projects not only have a very interested audience, providing motivation, moreover, they provide the context for learning content and developing your maths and literacy skills. It all has significance, it all matters. Which leads us nicely to the third commonality of cultures of quality.

“This is the process that adult professionals go through (when designing), they go through a lot of drafts, get lots of critiques and its public.” Berger

Thirdly, cultures of quality also work hard at getting things right. They sweat the small stuff and are always open to feedback. Critique and drafting are central tenets to success.  Purposeful practice and rehearsals combine with thoughtful reflection to ensure quality is achieved. Fortunately students see the benefits to this way of working instantly, but require a safe and supportive environment so that risks can be taken and criticism is seen as helpful. The classroom norms of hard on content, soft on people, and being kind, specific and helpful are fundamental in establishing the right environment, that can then affect the attitudes and beliefs students hold about learning.

“Imagine a school in which to be cool, to fit in and be regarded as popular, you have to do quality work and treat others well.” Berger

Finally, cultures of quality know that the individuals in the culture are important. They spend time defining and developing the desirable character; dedication, resilience, hardworking and courage for example.  As individuals we all operate as part of a team, and our individual success is inextricably connected to the success of our teams. The expeditionary learning edict of “Everyone-every teacher and every student,regardless of beginning levels of preparedness-must work together as a team to get to the top of the mountain.” is not only a goal but an essential operational condition for their success.

The relevance of these elements of culture to schools is beautifully summed up in this quote from Warren Simmons (taken from the preface to Ron Bergers book “A Culture of Quality”.)

"There is a common perception that today's schools are in crisis. People are grasping for solutions- longer days, new management structures, alternative assessments, and fresh curriculum, even a return to curriculum from the past. Though I support many of the initiatives being proposed, I think there is a real danger in assuming there is any quick fix or single strategy that will " save schools." It is in this context as Simmons puts it " it is worth [considering] improving quality of practise in individual classrooms by creating a culture of quality in the entire school."

Book Review - A Culture of Quality by Ron Berger

Why would you review a book that is 17 years old?
The answer. thankfully comes from the quote chosen by Warren Simmons (Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School reform) to open the 2011 reprint of the book. It rings as true as ever, as does Bergers thinking and writing. The quote is taken form the book.

"There is a common perception that today's schools are in crisis. People are grasping for solutions- longer days, new management structures, alternative assessments, and fresh curriculum, even a return to curriculum from the past. Though I support many of the initiatives being proposed, I think there is a real danger in assuming there is any quick fix or single strategy that will " save schools." It is in this context as Simmons puts it " it is worth revisiting Berger's reflections on improving quality of practise in individual classrooms by creating a culture of quality in the entire schools."

This is why I am re-reading and reviewing this text. On the surface, it looks and sounds very much like the precursor to "An Ethic of Excellence", it's steeped in Bergers classroom experience and is driven by narrative. Some of the differences are nuanced, but it is the depth of thinking into school culture is the real beauty of this book.

A quick glance through the chapter headings and sub-headings reveal a series of very useful axioms.

School Culture Still Matters.

An Opportunity Arises.

The Radon Project. Motivation. Learning from Past Experience. Learning on the Job. Focused Work. Analysing our success. It was a good curriculum idea. There was some inspired teaching. These were gifted kids. The key to our success; School culture.

What is a culture of Quality? What goes on in the hallways is as important as what goes on in the classroom. Less Can be Better. Qualities of a Good Project. Quality Entails Universal Success. The most important assessment in schools is done by the students, not the teacher. The Language of Critique. The role of Portfolios. Peer pressure should be directed, not discouraged. When Quality is cool. Pressure has its rewards. Art is fundamental. Setting Standards. Is this real art? Details are important. An obsession with detail. Unexpected benefits. High standards require negotiation. What is negotiable? Earned Power. School culture must extend beyond the school walls. Teachers need support for growth as much as students do.

Adult work and children's eyes.


For those who lament the idle cretinous Govian rhetoric it  is pleasing that Berger has already tackled this head on.

"We still underestimate the capacity of our students and teachers and focus on "fixing" individuals rather than building communities that bring out the best in everyone" and the scarily prognostic criticism of the use of "narrow and shallow metrics of success for students, teachers and schools and spend little time considering the features of comprehensive school cultures in effective schools that shepherd students to success".

I'm sure most teachers will recognise this, with individuals picked out "for development" following a performance management observation that's " requires improvement". Our system is awful.

He then goes on to point to the development of Expeditionary Learning Schools model for doing just this. If you have never been to their Website, please go now. Take my car, you must go now.

This is just the Preface.

So what do I think this book can teach us?

That school can, and should from time to time have impact beyond the classroom.Schools should have a wider role within the community. This is not substitute for teaching students, but a shift to educating them. As with everything Berger writes, it has deep roots in community. I don't think it's an accident that the Radon Project involves a significant collaboration with the local University. As a method of raising aspiration of all students this is a powerful method, reminding me of something Larry Rosenstock said "Students will only go to University as far as they have travelled". We need to show all students the (academic) world.

Authentic projects provide motivation, there is a genuine reason for knowing "stuff". If you get it wrong there is a consequence. It is impossible to teach a student everything before a project begins, and just like the "real" world a certain amount of learning on the job must take place. The obvious examples are the tacit bits of knowledge, that must be experienced and reflected upon in order to learn. I recognise this, I am a better teacher than I was last year.  Less obvious is the fact that literacy, numeracy and subject content  all now have a context. Projects are not an addition to the curriculum but become the reason for the elements in your curriculum.

The idea that how time is spent in school is also important. The multiple lesson day approach actively inhibits not only the securing of relationships within the classroom that allows such demanding work, but also the opportunity for such focused work where learning, practise and improvement to be made. This is where Ken Robsinson is right, the 100 year old system is failing our kids. Learning is too often a slave to the timetable.

Reflection and debriefing are essential as part of this process for both students and teachers. I have written more on this here and here. This can lead us to challenge some of the assumptions on what great teaching looks like (Berger suggests a focus on learning, student dispositions, and deep knowledge of each student)  and what constitutes a "gifted" students stating "all of my students were gifted in different ways" .  Reminding me that the much derided Multiple Intelligences still have a role to play in broadening our thinking about the narrow way the measures of education are currently determining the experiences are students gain while being schooled. Whether you agree with Gardner or not,  a breadth of experience for all students in the 13 years of schooling is not just a desirable, but should be a fundamental part of it.Within this is the power of this book.


All of this stems from the school culture which is rooted in IT'S community. Berger goes on to argue that "The only way to understand a school culture is to understand what students experience in being part of it" , he does this in a all encompassing way "in all domains......[and] standards for kindness, integrity, industriousness and responsibility."  Explaining the choice of sections on the hallways, the community, the focus on quality over quantity, on every student (reminding me of Jeff Robins' worthy PBL summary below) , the opportunity to apply what they have learned immediately. Relevance is an underplayed educational card.





Berger makes a coherent argument that the Culture of Quality is and should be pervasive. Student portfolios play a central part in the assessment and reporting on students learning and progress to parents. Students undertake  Presentations of Learning  , "formal presentations...that students prepare with discussion, critique and rehearsal...highlighting their strengths and weaknesses" These portfolios as a result turn into a source of accomplishment for the students.

This clip shows Rob Riordan ( HTH's Emporer of Rigour) unpacking the process. It clearly demonstrates the prior learning and the learning that takes place during this process.



Models of high quality are central to this culture. It allows students to see the details of quality in all subject areas and give them ways of at least emulating this.  I too struggled for most of my teaching career that it "should be process centred, or perhaps person centred- anything other than product centred", but these products become the conduits for knowledge and personal development. The more I think about this, the more I become convinced the blend between well designed knowledge based lessons and experiences authentic projects and products can bring is the Holy Grail we are looking for.  This book does nothing but reinforce this feeling.

Despite this book advocating a model, it is remarkably student centred. No more than the section on Negotiation and its role in ensuring the quality. "More than once this year, a student has approached me , often with eyes a bit teary, to explain that the work I would not accept represented much more effort than I had guessed...... I applauded their self advocacy". Berger is correct to highlight our job , partly to "aspire to push each student to his or her maximum potential by refusing to except work of poor effort"  To differentiate he makes clear that the components of the project may be negotiable but Quality never is.

Staff development is central to this approach, ensuring consistency and understands that teacher behaviours are hard wired , and that the lack of true educational apprenticeships (I think this is changing) and the professional reflection this brings makes it difficult to develop. At the time of writing he contemplates how good a teacher he would be if he had a third of each working day to plan, reflect and prepare his lesson as the teachers of Japan have, and not just evenings and weekends. Oh how this resonates.

The final section Adult Work and Children's Eyes, is a highly connected statement, I think potentially subconsciously alluring to a common background with David Perkins at Project Zero. Perkins excellent book Making Learning Whole and the notion of finding Junior Versions of The Real Game, also makes clear the teachers role in making learning accessible to all, while maintaining a focus on quality and challenge. However, it is always, always through the eyes of what their students experience. Maybe, this is something for us all to "think on".

You can buy a Culture of Quality here

Developing aspects of an Ethic of Excellence.

Here's draft one of some ideas around one of the aspects of developing an "ethic of Excellence". It just so happens to be around one of my favourite #bergerism. " Self Esteem from Accomplishment not Compliments".

I asked myself a simple question, what would need to be in place for this to thrive. It's more complex than I thought, hence the crush and disorganisation. Draft 2 may be clearer.



Draft 1

I suppose my next steps would to identify the areas I feel my practice/ or my culture is weakest in. Having enough high quality exemplars and models is probably best for me to start on, and is something I have begun to compile and catalogue. A longer term target would have to be around the engagement and involvement of an Audience through Exhibition, but as this exercise shows, simple ideas beget complex results.

Potential start points on the road to excellence.

I think we have all been inspired by the approach of Expeditionary Learning Schools and the vision of Ron Berger, who communicates his passion and the role projects play in helping developing a school culture were excellence is the norm. Ron does make it clear that projects are only part of the culture in which excellence can prevail and where some of the difficulties lie.

 "Because the origin of standards is poorly understood, I believe schools spend a great deal of time saying they want high standards while doing a great deal to undermine them." Ron Berger.

So how does a school go about embedding an ethic of excellence in their institution?

Here are some initial thoughts.

Define and be strategic

The first step is to define and agree what your institution means by excellence in the areas you want to see it. Although, putting some of the facets of in place will have an impact, I believe a systematic approach is imperative, leaving no stone unturned.  Entwined in this believe is the acknowledgement that culture comes from community, so being inclusive and  strategic with no shortage of foresight are highly desirable from the off. It is definitely worth checking out EL Schools Core Practices to see how they have meticulously defined what excellence is in all aspects of their schools. Projects are part of it, but not the whole answer.

Preserve.

My initial thoughts about creating a school wide culture of excellence erroneously turned to the analogy of a stopping and turning around an oil tanker. Unless you are starting a new school, you are not starting from zero, and there will be (many) parts of your culture that already demonstrate excellence. So, a more appropriate analogy may be that of the baby and the bath water. Be sure to identify and hold onto what you excel in.

Build
The Sigmoid Curve model, used by Derek Wise in developing Cramlington Learning Village, may also be a useful mental model. This YouTube clip, I hope, makes it clear how transitions between systems/ modes of working can be planned. Applying this will be useful in identifying what may be needed in developing a new stronger school community where excellence can flourish even if you are coming from a successful past.




Communicate.
Everything the leadership of a school says and does is directly setting the tone for that culture, you're always on. An Ethic of Excellence must extend to the little things, as these are the things add up and become the culture.

Attend even the little things.
MIT Professor Edgar Schein, describes three levels of cognitive organisational  culture. The first is ARTIFACTS, the things that can sensed by a visitor. So things like the dress code, how each person interacts with each other and visitors to slogans and furniture. This shows the breadth of the challenge in creating the culture that you want.
Secondly are the VALUES the organisation declares are important, these become ingrained in how the organisation works and thinks, for this to happen consistency is key. Final and most difficult tare the TACIT ASSUMPTIONS or unspoken rules, these are seen as often subconcious, but often drive decision making. The failure to align these with the first two is often attributed to failure when an organisation is trying to make a change. This is why I think establishing what you are looking for clearly and succinctly is the first step.

Less is more.
As an addition to this, I am also a big believer that simple plans beget complex results, so the succinctness and clarity where you want to head are vital. I cannot  say it any more elegantly that John Tomsett. So I won't.

Identify Professional development opportunities. 

Training is a key way of transforming the culture, and the breadth of potential reveal the extent that an ethic of excellence can/should permeate. If "Training" seems excessive then "conversations to have as an institution" could be useful.

For example.

1. What would the curriculum of your need to be like?
2. How can we develop staff to staff dialogue to embed an ethic of excellence?
3.How can we develop staff to student dialogue to embed an ethic of excellence?
4.How can we develop student  to student dialogue to embed an ethic of excellence?
5.How can we build a classroom community?
6.How can we develop our schools role in the (local) community.
7. How can we develop models of student work to communicate what quality looks like?
8. How can we use display to promote an ethic of excellence?
9. How can we develop the school community?
10.What would assessment and reporting need to be like to develop an ethic of excellence?
11. How might Carol Dweck's Open Mind set be useful in developing an ethic of excellence?
12. Planning Projects.
13. Running Critique.
14. Running exhibitions and curating student work.
15. Running presentation of learning.
16. Metacognitive strategies and ways of debriefing learning.

They will be more and not all of these are will be needed, but they are worth trying to answer. The permeating quality of excellence is clear from this list.

This video of Sammamish High School charts their journey in creating their school culture. There are many things to like in this video, and few things I would query. However, it's worthy to note the role professional development plays, and the use of project and enquiry based learning models adopted by this school.

"There's no magic bullet towards excellence , it's all cultural, and by building a culture within the our schools where our kids feel pressured to do good work and be good people, we succeed." Ron Berger

Use Projects across the curriculum.

Project Based Learning , is a vessel for this all, making the building of this culture  "easier", as students will have an audience, purpose and protocols. The need to produce quality work is evident, but how you get their may not be quality. A classic sporting example is Jose Mourinho, who has won countless trophies playing the most awful style of Catenaccio, stifling creativity, individualism and entertainment ( a cardinal sin in football).  In essence this is where the league table "KULTCHA" has brought us.

"Accountability stops being on page 32 of a text book and becomes about the kind of quality of the work that your kids are doing, and the kind of people that they are AND their test scores." Ron Berger

What an ethic of excellence suggests is that there is a different way, a more Pep Guardiola or Juup Heynecks way. Where the manner of how we succeed and the way our students engage with their world matter. Learning and schooling that is memorable, joyous and successful. 

20 Berger Quotes around Culture- Some food for thought.

I've been pondering what I would like school/ education to be like for my son and my students. For me the culture of education seems like the place to start. Although I don't believe one person has all the answers I believe the vision of Ron Berger  of Expeditionary Learning. encapsulates what can be right about the culture of learning. Here are some quotes in no particular order, that have made me think.


We built our curriculum around connecting our students to the outside world.

Not many would trust students to carry out original research.

This is the process that adult professionals go through (when designing), they go through a lot of drafts, get lots of critiques and its public.

The best way to motivate people, for them to bust their guts , is to have a reason for doing something , where they are creating something to be proud of.

Accountability stops being on page 32 of a text book and becomes about the kind of quality of the work that your kids are doing, and the kind of people that they are AND their test scores.

We can build projects that engage students in their cultural roots and yet are academic projects to the core.

There's no magic bullet towards excellence , it's all cultural, and by building a culture within the our schools where our kids feel pressured to do good work and be good people, we succeed.

The peer community sets the tone on how to be.It sets positive peer pressure.

What makes our school culturally clear is that every older child is paired with a younger child, to help them read ,get their boots on and to ride the bus with them.

My ethic of excellence runs deep, we care for where we live, the people here, not just our academic skills.

It's a long term commitment. It's a way of life.

Schools cultures that support excellence can look very different.

My personal passion is a culture built around beautiful student work.

Self esteem from accomplishments, not compliments.

Building and maintaining a positive community takes constant vigilance. It's a job that's never really done.....

The power of the (school) culture rests in community.

School culture must extend beyond the school walls.

Imagine a school in which to be cool, to fit in and be regarded as popular, you have to do quality work and treat others well.

What goes on in the hallways is as important as what goes on in the classroom.

A school culture of quality connotes a culture of high standards for all students in all domains.