Mankato Initiative to Transform Teacher Education

Minnesota State University Mankato recently got a mandate to significantly improve its teacher education program. Dr. Ginger Zierdt, associate professor of education leadership and director of the Center for School-University Partnerships, is on the front line. Mankato is one of 14 schools in the upper Midwest selected to partner in a historic teacher education initiative with the goal of improving teacher effectiveness. It will receive $6.2 million in funding for 10 years from the Archibald Bush Foundation, a Minnesota philanthropy. The new initiative has four strategies: recruiting potentially effective students; preparing at the pre-service level, placing at the in-service level and supporting through mentoring as the next generation of teachers. It uses “motion leadership” as its model, a phrase coined by Dr. Michael Fullan, an international leader on educational change and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He wrote the book Motion Leadership: The Skinny on Becoming Change-savvy (Corwin, 2009), which defines eight elements of the change process, which coincide with women's strengths as leaders: Zierdt spoke about how Mankato has tackled the first element of the initiative, change problems, at the 24th annual University of Nebraska conference on Women in Educational Leadership held in Lincoln in October. Mankato's teacher education unit faculty comes from arts and sciences and those teaching pedagogy courses. The goal is to create pipelines of strong candidates by identifying, involving, mentoring and advising diverse candidates with great potential to teach at all levels. The Mankato program significantly increases the amount of time teacher education candidates spend in the early childhood, preschool and K-12 classrooms. Most of the teacher preparation coursework is handled in the classroom and taught by teams of master teachers and faculty. Since candidates spend their days on-site in a real classroom, completing the coursework for their degree means online classes and after school classes each day. All candidates will also do at least six weeks of diverse field experiences either in Minneapolis, the state of Minnesota or internationally. So far eight districts have joined the program; Zierdt expects more to sign up. Using Fullan's model, the school wants to avoid the traditional “ready, fire, aim” process so prevalent in new initiatives. The “change problem” element seeks to put those in the correct order. He encourages paying attention to these nine insights: Relationships come first. If a leader comes on too strong, the culture rebels. If she's too respectful of the existing culture, she becomes part of the status quo. Change-savvy leaders listen to and learn from those in the trenches. They address people's concerns directly, obtaining buy-in for what needs fixing and developing a plan to fix it. Honor the implementation dip. Those who introduce change are usually not on the “battlefield” so they expect more than is actually deliverable. Change leaders move slowly, have a “moral commitment” to the cause and exhibit large amounts of empathy, Zierdt said. Beware of fat plans. A one-page plan that's clearly focused and simple gets better results than a 10-page treatise. Put behaviors before beliefs. Give people new experiences in non-threatening circumstances—with trusted peers and build on them—rather than expecting changes overnight. Communication is key at first. During this stage, the change-savvy leader constantly has two-way conversations to solve problems. Participants share a common vision and learn the strategy to put it into action. Learn about doing it while doing it. Many answers to problems can't be determined until a strategy is put into action and evaluated. Draw on the wisdom of the crowd and “Call it a good idea wherever it comes from,” said Zierdt. Excitement prior to action is fragile. High aspirations tend to dive dramatically during the activation phase. Change leaders acknowledge real problems, strive for small early successes, admit mistakes and protect their people. They also celebrate any success along the way. Take risks and learn. Mistakes are chances to learn. It's okay to be assertive. Change-savvy leaders combine assertiveness with humility. They respect complexity, use their knowledge without arrogance and recognize that they, too, are learners. Mankato administrators are so confident of success that they're guaranteeing the effectiveness of their graduates. The school will monitor them, offering three years of professional development and mentoring. “We're looking to see if there's student growth in three years by our teachers,” said Zierdt. For evaluation, Mankato has constructed a data system that includes “high quality performance assessments and surveys.” Predictive studies will allow the school to refine what's not working. The “skinny” of change, said Zierdt, begins with understanding that to get anywhere at all, you have to do something. Then you learn that you'll need specific skills, which will increase your clarity, resulting in ownership; working with others on it for shared ownership. Above all, never give up. “Persist no matter what,” she said. “Resilience is your best friend.” Contact: ginger.zierdt@mankato.edu or 507.389.5444.

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