A Symphony Of Skills

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A Symphony Of Skills

Here's what it takes to learn in concert with others

By Lyn Sharratt and Beate Planche

February 2018

Vol. 39 No. 1

Skilled collaborative leaders are in high demand in schools, school systems, and districts worldwide. The success of schools as learning organizations hinges on how well people can work together as they seek to build collective capacity and problem solve to improve student outcomes. As the Leadership standard of Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning states, we need “skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems for professional learning” (Learning Forward, 2011). Collaborative learning has now emerged as the vital strategy for learning — both for staff and students. According to a recent OECD education paper, schools that are learning organizations share these seven characteristics: Develop a shared vision centered on the learning of all students. Promote and support continuous professional learning for all

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Authors

Lyn Sharratt and Beate Planche

Lyn Sharratt (lyn@lynsharratt.com) is an author, education consultant, and coordinator of the doctoral internship program in educational administration for the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Beate Planche (bmplanche@gmail.com) is a sessional instructor of doctoral students studying educational leadership at Western University, an education consultant, and a director and chair of Learning Forward-Ontario.

New Vocabulary for Collaborative Leaders

The credibility of collaborative leaders includes “knowledge-ability” — having a deep understanding of high-impact classroom practice.
The authenticity of collaborative leaders includes “mobilize-ability” — focusing others on work through shared beliefs and understandings.
The integrity of collaborative leaders is demonstrated in “sustain-ability” — building safety, trust, and strong relationships.
The creativity of collaborative leaders is demonstrated in “imagine-ability” — encouraging innovation and an openness to possibilities.
The influence of collaborative leaders and team members is demonstrated in “collabor-ability” — using a co-learning approach to co-work.

Source: Sharratt & Fullan, 2012; Sharratt & Harild, 2015; Sharratt & Planche, 2016.

References

Bens, I. (2012). Facilitation at a glance! (3rd ed.). Salem, NH: GOAL/QPC.

Hargreaves, A. & Fullan, M. (2013, June). The power of professional capital. JSD, 34(3), 36-39.

Kools, M. & Stoll, L. (2017). What makes a school a learning organization? Education Working Paper No. 137. Available at www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=EDU/WKP(2016)11&docLanguage=En.

Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for Professional Learning. Oxford, OH: Author.

Ronfeldt, M., Farmer, S.O., McQueen, K., & Grissom, J.A. (2015, June). Teacher collaboration in instructional teams and student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 52(3), 475-514.

Sharratt, L. (in press). Clarity: What matters most in learning, teaching, and leading. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sharratt, L. & Fullan, M. (2009). Realization: The change imperative for district-wide reform. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sharratt, L. & Fullan, M. (2012). Putting FACES on the data: What great leaders do! Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sharratt, L. & Harild, G. (2015). Good to great to innovate: Recalculating the route to career readiness, K-12+. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sharratt, L. & Planche, B. (2016). Leading collaborative learning: Empowering excellence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Planche, B. (2004). Probing the complexities of collaboration and collaborative processes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Planche, B. (2017, April 17). Deeper classroom collaboration by refining your leadership skills [Blog Post]. Available at https://thelearningexchange.ca/deepen-classroom-collaboration-refining-leadership-skills.