As benchmarks for designing team leader-centered lessons, the seven characteristics to incorporate are:
- Leaders continually learn—create a lesson that teaches students that they not only need constantly educate themselves and share their knowledge with their team, but they also need to be open to listening to the ideas of those around them. Just modeling good listening skills and talking about the positive aspects of doing this will incorporate this characteristic into any lesson.
- Leaders need to be service oriented—the idea of putting someone else’s needs, or in this case, the team’s needs before your own is an important leadership quality. Just organizing fundraising ideas of any kind and promoting school pride while working together with a team as opposed to just giving the team orders or something to do while a leader watches, is a good lesson in how to model a service-oriented approach.
- Leaders need to radiate positive energy—consistently reiterating and promoting positive words and positive actions in a student chosen to lead a team is good practice for this characteristic to develop not only with the leader of the team, but as a healthy approach to attitude for the entire class to practice and embrace.
- Leaders believe in other people—this is about teaching a leader of a team to not react negatively to criticism or setbacks during a group activity; instead, showing leadership through constructive feedback and finding positive alternatives in potentially bad outcomes. As part of this benchmark, invite business leaders to come and speak to the students. In my area, I invited a marketing company, Utah SEO Services, to talk about how they help small businesses to grow just by listening to their needs and giving them feedback on what they believe are the strengths and weaknesses that the business needs to work on. The marketing leader focused his discussion on how they need to believe in those companies they serve, and that making them more successful gives him satisfaction.
- Leaders lead a balanced life—teams can participate with their designated leader in discussing and then creating vision boards that emulate a variety of their own individual interests in politics, religion, sports, art, and any they choose to add on their own. This should lead to a class discussion about how the most successful leaders in business are the ones who can enter any environment with a variety of people from all walks of life and be able to carry on engaging conversations with anyone because they have gained knowledge through taking the time to educate themselves on many different things and not just a few that interest them. This also allows for a wealth of creative thinking.
- Leaders see life as an adventure—any successful business team leader takes on challenges and looks at them not as a burden or something that is insurmountable, but as someone exploring their best options. So, this is incorporated into a lesson through presenting problems that need to be solved. The leader not only has the task of presenting the problem, but must actively engage his team to explore possible solutions that will ultimately resolve it.
- Leaders create synergy among those following them—this last characteristic of principle-centered leadership is really connected to the first six in many ways. A leader’s synergy, especially when leading a team, speaks to first being a good communicator. Sometimes, that means negotiating with the team to collectively agree to utilize a solution that the leader believes will be the best route to success. It can also persuade teams to action. For example, if you created a lesson that challenged them to create a marketing campaign for selling personalized cutting boards, the leader of that team would have to creatively prompt a discussion about something that most of the team may not be excited about. This is what is most challenging oftentimes for a leader in business.
After you have read the above information, please comment on the 2-3 that you find most important for you as a classroom teacher and how you incorporate them into your daily teaching.
Two areas I focus on as a classroom teacher is life as an adventure and being a continually learner. I am always sharing things with students during lessons and changing things up during pullouts. I want the student input as well and take in what they have to say. In the lab, I use this ideology as learning lesson when the student approaches me on a reading I am not familiar with. We then learn it together and I try to exemplify the love of learning. This goes with life as an adventure as I try to push students to find solutions. Sometimes it is small as guiding students on how to find answers they need in Odysseyware to finding how to put together a yearbook:) Often for both categories there is group work involved to allow students to share and solve problems together.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of being a continual learner. I think students need to know that they will be learning their entire life.
DeleteI probably focus most on continuous learning and radiating positive energy; I'm not afraid to say "I don't know; let's see if we can find it in your study" to students who ask me for help with a question. It shows students (hopefully) that learning is something that can be done on a daily basis, whatever your age or education. As far as positive energy, it can be as simple as saying "Is this going to get you to your goal?" instead of "Wake up!" Also, smiling and being energetic can go a long way in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteI like this post but am not sure who published it. Please create a profile so we know who is responding.
DeleteThe above is mine--aka Unknown. Helen N.
ReplyDeleteShould have read down before replying above.
DeleteAs a classroom teacher, I find that being an example of a continual learner is very important. If you show the students that you don't know everything but you are willing to find the answers in reference material, they are more apt to emulate your behavior. I also think that leaders that have a balanced life and have a wide range of interests, lead to a stronger connection with students. I try to stay up on things that interest teenagers, like music, cars, and sports even if it is not my priority. I think that building connections that way is crucial to building relationships, which leads to learning.
ReplyDeleteMarc, who is the author of this article?
I try and show my students that leading a balanced life is important, and I try and show them that learning is continual. I believe that teachers and students need to recognize that we have lives outside of school, and that bringing in outside interests to make connections to lessons will only strengthen learning. Continual learning is also very important to me. Even as a teacher I don't know everything, so I am constantly learning. If students don't learn to question things around them and push beyond what they think they know then they will never grow. As a social studies teacher I was always taught to look at events and people from multiple sides. If you learn that something happened one way and don't attempt to learn more you are missing out.
ReplyDeleteBeing a continual learner is paramount to me as both a person and a teacher. It’s important to show students that learning can take place anywhere and with anyone. I point out to individual students how they help me learn new things, such as through their different interpretations of literature and perspectives on life. Continual learning also reminds me what it is like to be a student, both the joys and the challenges, and helps me be more empathetic with students. I currently take an online class and a knitting class. Both remind me often of the occasional struggles of learning new material, the feeling of awkwardness and insecurity as you wrestle with new ideas and techniques, and the joy of new discoveries and accomplishment. I try to tie in my learning experiences with theirs to help them see that learning never stops and being a life-long learner is both fun and important.
ReplyDeleteBelieving in people is especially important in an alternative learning environment. I strive to make sure students know I believe in them and encourage them to keep trying, to assure them that they are capable and can succeed. Sometimes I literally tell them “I believe in you!” before they work on a question or quiz to encourage them and bolster their confidence. Then I follow up with an “attaboy” or ‘attagirl” when they succeed (or point out their mini-successes instead, as needed).
I believe that first a teacher should radiating positive energy. Many of our students have a very negative outlook on life and them self. They may have difficult home lives and come to us with a lot of disappointments in life. We need to to help them have a positive attitude and show them that things can turn around.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that as a teacher and leader we need not to react negatively to criticism from our students. Our students lash out and say negative things because they do not know how to handle and react to certain things that happen in their life. They do not always mean the negative things they say to us but sometimes we are the nearest to them and they lash out. I think that this happens also because they know that this is a save place and that we will forgive them and help them.
"Leaders believe in other people"
ReplyDelete"Leaders see life as an adventure"
These are the two points that I thought resonated most in what I try to do in the classroom. Emphasizing that a leader needs to believe in others through discussing how they should be able to respond to criticisms is very important in our school setting as many of our students do not know how to respond positively to negative feedback. We need to be able to model these positive responses even when it's hard to. When a student is critical of how you are teaching it can be hard to not immediately take defense, but you have to realize that that is exactly what a student does when we accuse them of not working themselves. By modeling a willingness to listen to and talk about the criticism ( Why do you feel that way? what could I be doing differently to help this problem ect ) you can use the same techniques to talk through with a student when you want to discuss their lack of progress with them and hopefully instead of getting defensive and shutting down they will be more receptive to listening and improving. I also strongly believe in seeing life as an adventure can help in multiple ways within the classroom. It helps me to keep motivated and fresh in my willingness to greet each day in the classroom as well as being able to deal with new instances that pop up and surprise us. This I feel ties into the positive attitude but takes it a step further that instead of just putting on a happy face with what is in front of us that we can press onward and look at trying new and different things. This is something many of our students are uncomfortable with and so I try to be very open with sharing the adventuring spirit with them and staying true with myself when they ask me questions and respecting and inquiring about their own interests.
As a classroom teacher I find that being a continual learner is almost second nature to me. I try to keep up on current trends and bring that information to my teaching. Before teaching I worked in the business world giving me a background of real-life experiences that I share with my students. I don’t ever have a problem letting a student know that I don’t know the answer! Taking on challenges and seeing life as an adventure is also a great way to solve problems with my students. I present a problem and actively engage with the group to show them ways to solve it. I also find that being flexible makes the process less complicated.
ReplyDeleteThanks to those who responded so far. Good points made by all.
ReplyDeleteWing Russell October 16, 2017
ReplyDelete1. Leaders continually learn: As a teacher, I have to be a lifelong learner. Schools change, students change, and teacher must change along with them. I need to never stop learning new techniques and strategies to remain on the cutting edge in the education field.
2. Leaders need to radiate positive energy: Teachers have the power to create more positive experiences in students' lives by being a source of positive energy in the classroom. Our students who come from all walks of life may struggle with their personal lives. They may not have caregivers who demonstrate to them the positive ways of living out their lives.
The two characteristics I focus on being an educational leader are leaders need to radiate positive energy and leaders believe in other people. As students arrive, I make comments to individuals that let them know that you notice who they are and say something about their appearance a new hairdo, a cool T-shirt, or etc. I believe radiating positive energy motivates them to complete their work and creates a positive relationship with students. With positive energy students will feel more comfortable to ask you for help. Students will also be more open to accepting feedback and critiques because they know you care and want them to achieve their goals. I also believe it is crucial to believe in our students. Several of our students are not getting that support at home from parents. Motivating them to change their mindset to I can instead of I can’t will help them achieve goals here and throughout life . Exploring and informing them of different options for after graduation is another great way to show students you believe in them.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTwo areas I focus on are the areas of continually learning and also radiating positive energy. I feel that being open to new ideas and also learning from others is an important aspect of being an educational leader. For example, last week I did not know a certain computer function. I asked a few students near my desk if they knew and one of them did. After the student helped me, I thanked them and said that I appreciated learning from them. Also I feel that radiating positive energy carries over to the students. I know when I show excitement for learning and the subject matter the students begin to have more interest.
ReplyDeleteRobert Goralczyk:
ReplyDeleteTwo characteristics I will focus on are: Leaders continually learn,and leaders lead a balanced life. I believe we should all be life-long learners and continue to grow in our field. A leader will also model this love of learning to others. Regarding leading a balanced life, a leader needs to be well-rounded and maintain his his health through participating in a wide variety of interests.
Two characteristics that I feel are most important are: Believing in Other People, and Being a Life-Long Learner. Students need to know and be reaffirmed that we believe in them. Many of our students have a very negative self perception when they come to us. They don't believe in themselves and they sure don't believe that others believe in them. There are many days that I hear, "I can't do this; I'm terrible at this, etc". I try hard to keep reminding them that they can do what ever it is that they are struggling with at that moment. Very often it takes others believing in you before you can believe in yourself. Also, to be an effective leader you need to trust others to lead themselves and accomplish their tasks for the good of the group. You need to believe in others so that you don't end up doing everything yourself. A good leader knows how to assign tasks/delegate tasks to others and believes that those individuals will do their part. Being a good leader doesn't mean doing it all. The other characteristic that is important is "Being a Life-Long Learner". Learning can be traditional, classroom type learning, or life learning lessons. My grandfather used to say that you should learn something new everyday and that when you stop learning, you stop existing. This comes from a man who was born in 1904 and lived until 1996. The amount of change he witnessed and experienced was incredible. I try to remember this in life and look at each day as a learning experience. When things don't go as planned, at school or in my personal life, I try to step back and figure out what I should be learning from that particular situation. Sometimes the lesson is very obvious and other times it takes a lot of thought and reflection. Our students need to understand that they will be learning the rest of their lives. They need to learn that life itself is learning. They will need to learn to keep up with their jobs and/or careers and they will need to learn to keep up with their own personal lives.
ReplyDeleteOne characteristic that I feel is important in my position as a leader and counselor is to be a lifetime learner. An example of why I find it important is to be informed on the new dangers out there for students as well as being informed on new ways kids are hiding things or ways to get high. It is also important for me to know if there are more effective ways to help my students therapeutically. I am always looking for more ideas in how to help our students cope with obstacles beyond their control or help them find strategies to manage anxiety. These subjects are quite common in our building.
ReplyDeleteBoth radiating positive energy and believing in other people (or students in this case) are a must as a counselor. Many of our students come from unstable and negative environments. If I can give them a little bit of positivity in their lives, I'm hopeful that the positive energy that I show will promote a positive outlook on their own lives and their futures. I truly believe in the students in the building and believe that although they may not have always made the best decisions or the best circumstances, that each and everyone of them has potential to do wonderful things in their lives and in their future.
Modeling good listening skills and talking about the positive aspects of the individual group and the project will help the students and the group continue to learn and begin to share their viewpoints, knowledge, and questions.
ReplyDeleteAs an example, the afternoon leadership group was very hesitant at first to share ideas with group leaders. After modeling good listening skills, providing an environment that encouraged sharing, and introducing boundaries to establish trust, students began to express opinions and ideas on leadership and projects. Students were successful in developing and implementing school spirit week, provided input and opinions on how to improve the “Ok2Say” program and school improvement ideas.
Based on student feedback and direct observation, modeling good listening skills and encouraging students allowed the group to begin to develop skills to continue learning from other group members and share ideas in a leadership/group setting.
The second leadership characteristic I use when working with students is encouraging positive energy. I provide supportive and encouraging statements and positive support to all students. Our students may not have any other positive environment during their day, any encouraging words may make a big impact, whether or not the student acknowledges or react to our words visible.
One example of the impact of positive energy and a kind work and a smile happened right before break. A student stopped in the counseling office to say hi to Mrs. Primo, he stated that he already saw me in the morning standing by the front door. However, when he entered the school, he didn’t look at me or acknowledge that I said good morning, but just by standing there greeting the student, it made a positive impact on his day.
Leadership takes many forms, I see so many differ types within the building – it takes all of us to succeed!
Modeling good listening skills and talking about the positive aspects of the individual group and the project will help the students and the group continue to learn and begin to share their viewpoints, knowledge, and questions.
ReplyDeleteAs an example, the afternoon leadership group was very hesitant at first to share ideas with group leaders. After modeling good listening skills, providing an environment that encouraged sharing, and introducing boundaries to establish trust, students began to express opinions and ideas on leadership and projects. Students were successful in developing and implementing school spirit week, provided input and opinions on how to improve the “Ok2Say” program and school improvement ideas.
Based on student feedback and direct observation, modeling good listening skills and encouraging students allowed the group to begin to develop skills to continue learning from other group members and share ideas in a leadership/group setting.
The second leadership characteristic I use when working with students is encouraging positive energy. I provide supportive and encouraging statements and positive support to all students. Our students may not have any other positive environment during their day, any encouraging words may make a big impact, whether or not the student acknowledges or react to our words visible.
One example of the impact of positive energy and a kind work and a smile happened right before break. A student stopped in the counseling office to say hi to Mrs. Primo, he stated that he already saw me in the morning standing by the front door. However, when he entered the school, he didn’t look at me or acknowledge that I said good morning, but just by standing there greeting the student, it made a positive impact on his day.
Leadership takes many forms, I see so many differ types within the building – it takes all of us to succeed!