Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
Characteristics of Open to Learning Conversations
OLC Key Components
Explanation and Rationale
What you might say
1. Describe
concern & point
of view
State your concern without
presuming that your point of view is
“the reality” or is shared by the other
person. You cannot be open to
learning, or expect others to be, if
you do not disclose your thinking.
Avoid expressing your point of view
via a series of manipulative
questions that are designed to get
the other person to say what you
don’t want to say e.g., “How did you
think it went?” when you think it
went badly but haven’t said so.
I need to tell you about a possible
concern I have about..
I think we may have different
views…
I realize this may not be how
you see it…
I’m really disappointed in the
quality of student thinking
being displayed because…
I’m concerned about students’
ability to monitor and direct
their own learning…
2. Describe basis
(evidence,
examples &
reason) for
concern
Disclose your views along with the
evidence, examples or reasons on
which they are based. This enables
others to understand “where you are
coming from” and to help you learn
about the quality of your thinking. If
you don’t give the grounds on which
you hold your views, then it is hard
for you or others to check their
validity. You then appear to be
treating them as obvious and taken
for granted – and this is a closed
rather than open-to-learning stance.
The reason why I was concerned
is..
Yesterday when I was going past
your hallway I heard..
If I’m right it’s the third meeting
you haven’t been able to come
to…
I don’t want parents demanding
that their child be moved from
your class. I want to work with
you to address their concerns…
3. Invite other’s
point of view
If you want to gain staff commitment
to a problem-solving or change
process you need to learn their view
of the current situation and of any
proposed change. Respect for others
implies openness to their views.
Validity is increased if differences
are treated as opportunities to learn
about the relative merits of each
view, rather than as opportunities
for persuasion.
Pause and look at the other
person or say..
What do you think?
You haven’t said much so far…
Do you see it differently?
I’m sure there is more to it than
what I’ve said…
This time I really want to
understand more about your
situation…
How do you feel about the
results?
4. Paraphrase
point of view
In conversations where issues are
complex and uncertain, the ability to
paraphrase, summarize and check
for accuracy keeps people
I got three important messages
from that…Am I on the right
track?
You’re shaking your head. What
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
emotionally connected and provides
some structure to the conversation.
The proof of whether or not you have
listened deeply to others is whether
they confirm that your paraphrase or
summary is accurate.
have I missed?
Tell me if I’ve heard you and
understand your point
correctly…your main point is
that…
5. Detect and check
important
assumptions
A key value of open-to-learning
conversations is valid information.
This value is seen in efforts to detect
and correct important assumptions
that are being made in the
conversation. The goal is to improve
the quality of the information and
reasoning being used by making
important assumptions explicit and
checking their accuracy by doing
such things as: saying what leads you
to your point of view; seeking
counter examples, and inviting
others to critique your views, as well
as express their own.
What leads you to believe that
the students can’t read?
What would be an example of
that?
What other possibilities or
explanations are there?
How would we know if we are
wrong?
What evidence do you have about
the effectiveness of this math
resource?
What would constitute evidence
of the deep understanding we are
hoping to sponsor here?
6. Establish
common ground
When people disagree or are
threatened it is important to
establish some common ground. The
common ground might be based on
an agreed process for resolving
differences, a shared expressed
dissatisfaction with the status quo,
expressions of satisfaction with the
conversation or relationship, or a
shared purpose or goal. The common
ground provides the motivation to
keep the parties working together.
We both agree this is
unacceptable as it is…
It sounds like we see the problem
the same way…
We both want…but we have
different ideas on how to get
there…
We see the cause of the
disruption differently but both
want to do something about it..
7. Make a plan to
advance the task
(teacher
learning) & get
what you want
It is not important who comes up
with the plan as long as both parties
have an opportunity to contribute
and are committed to it.
How would you like to learn
more about the new curriculum
requirements...?
OK – so what other evidence of
student learning do we need to
collect and look at?
OK – so when you talk to your
students, let me know next week
how they explain the results.
Use the Ladder of Inference to detect and check your assumptions to maintain
professional relationships based on respect and challenge.
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
Scenarios for Open to Learning Conversations
1. Worthwhile work that fosters deep understanding of important
concepts/competencies
The principal comes to you about complaints she’s received from three different parents.
Parents are complaining about the “projects” that students seem to be doing in their grade
ten class and they are concerned that their children won’t be prepared for the rigorous
work expected in higher grades and university. These parents have also been talking to
parents with children in the “regular” class and those students have hours of homework
every night and tests to study for almost every week. The principal asks you to talk to both
teachers in your department to determine the learning value of the work that students have
been asked to undertake. The principal reminds you that this is a school that has made
great progress and prides itself on the level of intellectual engagement students have
managed to achieve, as reported in the last TTFM student survey.
2. Assessment – Students learn to monitor and direct their learning
The school you are at has been focused on assessment for the past 3 years but when the
principal asked you to sit in on various classes in your department you became concerned.
In one class you visited there were several students who when asked, appeared to have no
idea about the purpose of the assignment they were doing nor about how it was going to be
assessed. Although some of the students seemed to know the general topic of what had been
assigned none seemed to know what mattered about the topic or what was really key for
them to understand. Furthermore, none of the students were able to describe what high
quality work would look like in terms of their assignment nor what criteria was being used
to assess it. A couple of the students did mention that the teacher would tell them if work
was good enough or if it had to be re-done. From what you observed, these students didn’t
have access to any type of assessment criteria to help guide their work nor did they know
what exactly they might do to improve. You have been asked by the principal to meet with
this teacher to discuss your concerns in light of the school’s focus on assessment and
emphasis on students becoming more self-directed learners.
3. Strengthening student relationships through meaningful work
Three or four different parents have called to complain about the number of group projects
that students have had to do in one particular class. They are concerned at the number of
hours their children seem to be putting into these projects and believe their children are
doing the lion’s share of the work even though all members of the group get the same mark.
The principal wants you to talk to the teacher and get back to him regarding your
department’s policy on group work and collaborative projects.
4. Strengthening student relationships to the discipline/subject
You stop by one of the classes to follow-up with the teacher about a student who has quit
coming to this class stating that it is “boring and irrelevant”. The class has already started so
you sit at the back of the class and wait for an appropriate pause in the class when you can
talk to the teacher. The teacher is at the front of the room talking to the class about different
cultures and how someone from a different culture might view our daily “Canadian”
routines and rituals as being rather odd. The teacher describes the act of shaving in great
detail, to further make the point. Although the teacher makes a few attempts to engage the
students in the topic, which seems to be about cultural norms, it is mostly a one-way
conversation with occasional responses by the same three students. None of the questions
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
posed by the teacher appear to be designed to interest students in the topic or engage them
in discourse with one another. Although all students are facing the teacher, you can see 3 or
4 who are texting from their cell phones, another who is doodling on her notebook and
several others engaged in activities unrelated to the topic at hand. One student finally puts
her head on her desk and closes her eyes. You resolve to meet with the teacher to have a
conversation about teaching and learning expectations in your department.
5. Making Learning Visible – Leading teacher learning and development
You have asked teachers to bring forward evidence of their planning to the department
learning meetings and PLC’s to help build their collective understanding about worthwhile
work and effective assessment practices. Over the year you have seen real progress as your
department has developed into true learning community where teachers work together to
generate ideas about worthwhile tasks and assessment practices to improve student
learning. Each PLC session has been structured in more or less the same way. Teachers have
been asked to bring copies of their task, assessment criteria and representative samples of
student work to the meetings to analyze and discuss with colleagues. This year the teachers
at your school have decided to focus their attention on principles #2 and #3 of the Teaching
Effectiveness Framework and Rubric related to worthwhile work and assessment. The
format of these PLC meetings is pretty consistent as teachers take turns presenting and
discussing the following using the rubric as the lens:
 A brief explanation of the overarching task and supporting activities
 A brief explanation of the assessment criteria and how it was used with students
 Evidence of student work (in progress or complete - usually 2-3 examples of student
work to illustrate the diversity of learning responses) including a brief commentary of
what the teacher has noticed about the learning of his/her students through this work.
There have been 4 PLC meetings scheduled since the start of the year and you are
concerned that one particular teacher has been consistently absent from all of them.
Medical appointments and illnesses appear to have prevented him from attending any of
the PLC meetings so far this year and the next PLC meeting is scheduled to occur in 2 weeks.
Therefore, you decide to schedule an open to learning conversation with the teacher to
outline your concerns and determine a plan of action in going forward.
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
Preparation for an Open to Learning Conversation
What I will do
What I might say
1.
Say what I think
2.
Say why I think it
3.
Inquire
a. into their reactions to
my thoughts
b.
into their own
thoughts/thinking
c.
Check the accuracy of
my understanding
(paraphrase & check
4.
Evaluate/critique thinking
(use the Ladder of Inference)
5.
Establish common ground
6.
Make a plan
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).
Galileo Educational Network, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
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Adapted from Building trust while tackling tough issues in Student-Centered Leadership. Robinson, V. (2011).