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See also...
1. A possible problem with the Planner
According to the coordinator in one school, after a couple of years of
systematic, astute and whole school use of the Planner to support their ISP
initiatives they are beginning to run out of problem children!!
What a great problem to have!!
2. Everyday conversations make the difference
How come? The coordinator is confident that one of the major factors is the way in which the everyday conversations have changed
- teachers describe their experiences more objectively
- students have information about what they are doing
- staff, students and their families plan helpful responses collaboratively (ISP)
- staff coach students (and their families) to reflect on
- what they are doing (problem students rarely know - perhaps the most common school error!!)
- what they might do next time to help themselves and help others
- whether things are improving
- overall the focus is on what to do to make things better (not why things are not
OK)
Similarly, community purposes, values, arrangements, knowledge, practices are continually constructed,and reconstructed, in everyday conversations (seeded by ideas, strategies, and information re processes, programs…)
3. Peace work and conflict states (Transcend):
Peace: success & well-being = no conflict
There are three conflict states
- before violence
- during violence
- after violence
Note: it is important not to confuse these states... nor to assume that one's own experience is a reliable guide to the experience of others.
4. School development outcomes
The key outcome of school (community) development is improved everyday
interactions between members of the community.
And it requires considerable professional learning leading to expanded
understandings and available responses (Law of Requisite Variety)
5. Stages of staff/school development
The patterns of thinking and interaction of users tend to change as they become more experienced and creative with the Planner.
As a result of engaging in well informed conversations with a widening range of other stakeholders schools tend to move along the following continuums focusing on
- production .... service .... development .... capacity building .... seeding emergence of community ....
- working ON .... working for .... working WITH ....
- rules .... expectations .... agreements
- problems .... prevention .... solutions .... sustained solutions ....
- incidents .... concerns .... observations ....themes/trends ....
- individual .... group .... team .... whole school .... community ....
- behaviour management (consequences & interventions) .... interventions .... support actions .... collaborations ....
- behaviour management (consequences) .... support .... community building ...
- controlling .... teaching .... learning ....
- distress .... disturbance .... peacekeeping .... peacemaking ....
- past .... present .... immediate future .... now and (long term) future ....
- recording .... planning .... communicating ....
- reaction .... resolution .... response .... sustainability ....
- collecting data .... reporting information .... engaging in conversations ....
- records .... patterns & links .... constructing knowledge and new possibilities ....
- individual actions .... individual (social) skills .... interactions ....
- special .... individual .... everyday ....
- problems .... conflict resolution .... peace work, ie, moving towards peace ....
Notes
- Each of the above appears to represent a developmental pathway.
- Movement along the pathway is a result of personal/professional learning and development (and not simplistic rationale decisions)
- Each element contains the prior elements on the pathway, eg, observations include concerns and incidents
- These developmental stages are not a result of the Planner itself.
- Rather using the Planner helps people move into a ‘more helpful richer shared space’ – one in which they are prompted and enabled to be more in touch with what is actually happening (better informed and more open to possibilities) work with others to systematically improve what is happening make it easier for others to do their part well
6. Personal history
Revisiting a student’s personal history appears to be important for students to understand themselves, others and the interactions of which they are a part. History is important to understand change as movement (rather than just as a difference, or even having been ‘bad’ and now being ‘good’)
7. The business of an 'education' system
The business of an education system is to help schools move towards (5 criteria)
- success as
- peaceful
- purposeful
- communities
- of learning
8. Using a 'business case' model for developmental initiatives
Transferring the features of the Planner into StIMS properly requires a business
case.
A business case is an argued proposal for an initiative within a business (three
questions)
Q1. What is the business? Its values/purposes/methods...?
Nb. Methods maybe maintenance, production, service and/or development
Q2. What is the proposal ?
Q3. What are the implications of the answers to Q1 & Q2 ?
