Maintaining the Professionally Driven Environment #ProDriven
A common misconception from some is that the Professionally Driven model is a packaged "thing" that is handed over to replicate, like the passing of a three-ring binder or some store-bought curriculum. I understand this line of thinking, because that's how we've treated professional development in the past.
The Professionally Driven model is different.
Creating the Conditions
The Professionally Driven model is all about setting the right conditions to support what we know to be best for developing a growth mindset, building off of intrinsic motivation for adult learners, and supporting that through sustainable autonomy. This clip from the TV show Naked and Afraid, I feel, best illustrates what it is I'm talking about...
Why couldn't they get the fire lit?
The damp conditions did not allow the spark to catch.
Would it have been different if they had a lighter? Blowtorch? More kindling? Would TOOLS have made the difference? I address this in a keynote I gave back in February at the NDLA conference in Omaha, Nebraska...
It is not my mission to tell educators what to do. It's to create the right conditions so they may discover what's best for them and their learners. The Professionally Driven model is not a tool or flint in this case. It's a guide to shape the right conditions.
Maintaining the Environment
The conditions are what make up the environment as a whole, and my book attempts to layout those conditions. However, we must revisit these conditions from time to time when we feel the environment is shifting...and not for the better. When it's becoming difficult for educators to light the flame, we need to evaluate the conditions, NOT the educator.
A colleague of mine said to me, "If only there was something that a school/district could use to revisit the conditions and discover where they need to tweak in order to maintain the environment." This led me to develop the Implementation Assessment Survey. It's purpose is to reacquaint schools to what conditions need to be addressed in order to make sure the environment is conducive to developing a growth mindset, intrinsic motivation, and sustainable autonomy.
If you wish to administer the survey to all educators and not just a team, I have also created the survey as a Google Form, so that data can be aggregated quickly to prompt discussion as a whole staff. For this option, follow these steps...
Be sure you're logged in with your school Google account.
Click on the following link below.
Click on the blue button that forces you to Make a Copy.
Once the copy has been made, it's yours!
Make any changes you'd like (maybe add your own header photo, etc.)
Send to any and all in your district.
You own the form, and it can be used periodically to maintain the environment.
I hope this Implementation Assessment Survey helps districts to focus on the conditions that support the environment. I also welcome any feedback as well.
~Jarod
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