WELCOME DAY TWO
Principals Institute LA
Today
Explore a variety of resources and practices informed by
current best thinking from neuroscience on poverty and the
impacts for schools.
Reflect on current beliefs held by leaders, teachers and
students that if examined closely may be influenced by this
information.
Use the collective wisdom in the room to design the next
improvements to the model.
Norms
Have Fun
Honor our Time
Fully Participate
Vegas Rules
SUSTAINING OUR GAINS
WHEN LAST WE MET……
Using DN to Meet Our Educational
Challenges
• Two Drivers of Student Success
• Quality of Coursework-Shapes Mind (in part can be
measured by grades)
• Quality of supportive and effective adult
relationships-Shapes Will (in part can be measured by
student surveys)
How Many Students Experience Quality
Coursework and Have Quality Adult
Relationships Drives School Success
• Each is impacted at whole school, classroom, and
individual level-the three tiers DN and the four pillars of
TD are designed to support
| July 8-9, 2013 | Baltimore, Maryland
4 Diagnostic Questions About Students
Question
DN Tools
 Are they regularly attending
school? If not, why not?
 STF, Teacher Teams + CY + CIS
 Are they able to focus on
schoolwork in school?
 STF, Success Highways
Assessment, CIS
 Are they productively persistent
i.e. trying in an effective
manner?
 Mastering Middle Grades,
Freshmen Seminar + CY
 Do they connect school effort to
life success?
 CY Near Peer Relationship,
Career Academies, CIS
| July 8-9, 2013 | Baltimore, Maryland
4 Diagnostic Questions About Classroom
Instruction
Questions
DN Tools
 Which students are missing what
knowledge and skills assumed by
grade level content?
 Instructional coaches, PLC’s, TD
extra-help labs and catch-up
materials
 Are good lessons being consistently
delivered and are students being
asked to do quality coursework?
 Instructional coaches PLC’s
 How often do students end the day
confused?
 Are students completing their class
assignments? Are their effective
second-chance opportunities for
students to avoid failure?
 CY Corps members working with
classroom teachers
 Teacher Teams, Instructional
coaches, CY and CIS
Poverty is the hungry bear who
keeps eating our lunch
We Are Learning How Poverty Impacts
Academic and Social Behaviors
Exposure to Violence
Residential In-Stability
Hunger and Poor Family
Health
Students as Caregivers
Kids who grow up in stressful
environments find it harder to
concentrate, follow directions, rebound
from disappointment. This has a direct
effect on their school performance.
The stress and trauma of poverty impact
children’s brain development, learning,
and behavior.
67 % of pediatric
subjects in a low
income community
experienced one or
more ACEs, 12 %
experienced four or
more. (Burke et
al.,2011)
Prolonged, repeated
stress and anxiety
increases levels of
cortisol and diverts
brain functioning
towards reactive,
impulsive areas of the
brain (Hackman et al,
2010; Burke et al, 2009)
Research shows a dramatic link between
adverse childhood experiences and
subsequent learning and behavior
problems.
51 % of subjects with four or
more ACEs had learning
/behavior problems
compaired to 3 % with no
ACEs.
Over the course of children’s
brain development, this results
in an underutilized cortez and
underdeveloped executive
functioning, including attention,
self-regulation, working
memory, and other capacities
critical for learning (Raver et
al, 2013, DePrince et al, 2009,
DeBellis et al, 2009,
WHAT’S YOUR ACE
SCORE?
Felitti, V.J., and Anda, R.F., (2009) The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study: Bridging the gap
between childhood trauma and negative consequences later in life. Retrieved April 11, 2009
from http://www. acestudy.org/.
ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE
DRAFT
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS
Adapted from the research of Martin Teicher, MD, Ph.D
BRAIN
Hormones, chemicals
& cellular systems
prepare for a tough
life in an evil world
INDIVIDUAL
• Edgy
• Hot temper
• Impulsive
• Hyper vigilant
• “Brawn over
brains”
TRAUMATIC
STRESS
NEUTRAL
START
BRAIN
Hormones, chemicals
& cellular systems
prepare for life in a
benevolent world
INDIVIDUAL
• Laid back
• Relationshiporiented
• Thinks things
through
• “Process over
power”
OUTCOME
Individual &
species survive
the worst
conditions.
Dissonance between
biological
expectations &
social reality fuels
psychiatric/health
disorders
OUTCOME
Individual &
species live
peacefully in
good times;
vulnerable in
poor conditions
Case Study: Executive
Function Problem or Lazy Kid
In your experience, how do our
education systems respond to young
people with underdeveloped
executive functions?
How do these systems’ responses
work for children and families?
HTTP://RESILIENCETRUMPSACES.ORG/POPUPS/5MINU
TES.HTML
STATIONS
TIME FOR A BREAK
RESTORATIVE
PRACTICES
LUNCH
Assumption for our session
Within this network of school leaders is the collective
wisdom to generate what is necessary to take the next
steps in model development ( maybe we say next steps in
implementation?)
UNDERSTANDING
SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERIES
SOMETIMES REQUIRES
UNLEARNING
WHAT WE ONCE BELIEVED TO BE
TRUE
On the surface we are able to
see what people say and do
just as with the iceberg.
Under the surface are the
meanings we construct
influenced by our values,
assumptions, beliefs and
identity, some of which are held
consciously and others without
conscious awareness .
Adaptive Solutions
Technical Challenges
Learning a skill set,
process or routine to
meet a challenge
Adaptive Challenges
Can only be met by
changing our mindset
Require us to interact
with our environment
and change our
behavior in response
to that environment
We all have an inner map we use to interpret the world
We have different levels of capacity to be aware of our own
inner map and how we create our experience of life
through it
We each have our own inner commitments to our own
person priorities aligned to this map
The inner commitments will override any counter intentions
that conflict with them
The hidden commitments are linked to our inner “hidden”
perception of our own physical, psychological, social or
emotional well being.
This hidden commitment is nearly always outside our
conscious awareness.
The conflict between our hidden commitment and our
stated commitments evidences as “resistance” to change.
Kegan and Lahey Immunity to Change
List a commitment to change we are unable to
keep
List behaviors what are we doing we doing
and what are we not doing to support the
commitment
Identify the hidden commitment that has
greater priority
Identify the “Big Assumption” that underpins
the competing commitment
TABLE GROUP
EXAMPLES
Follow the four steps for the example
provided at your table
 In what ways does the finding that
trauma is woven into our bodies and
cells challenge our mental models
about biology? Behavior?
Psychology?
 Collectively, what beliefs may we
have educators need to examine in
light of this new science?
Area we can influence
Mindsets we may want to examine:
Leader
Teacher
Student
System
Column One – Identify Commitment
What is the most important thing we need to get better at or
change to progress toward our goal of ______________.
We are committed to the importance of______________.
It should “feel” genuine and important.
It should not yet be fully realized…area for growth.
It should be clear how this commitment gets us closer to
our goal.
Column Two – Identify Behaviors
What are we doing or not doing that is keeping our
commitment from being more fully realized?
List specific behaviors skip rationale for behaviors.
The behaviors should be only those behaviors that
work against the commitment.
Behaviors may be for anyone in the group…not
necessarily the whole group.
Column Three – Identify the Competing
Commitment(s)
If we did the opposite of the behaviors, we fear
that……
Draw a line after the fears and write what you
believe the competing commitment may be.
We are also committed to……
This commitment will make us uncomfortable and
will be clear how it is self protecting.
It illuminates why the countering behaviors “make
sense”.
Column Four – Identify the Big
Assumption
The “big assumption” is a rule or prediction about
what will happen if we act in certain ways.
Take your competing commitment, reverse it and
replace it with the words we are committed to..and
replace we are committed to …to we assume
that…..
We assume that if …… then ______________.
The big assumption shows why the 3rd column
commitment feels necessary.
Column One – Identify Commitment
What is the most important thing we need to get better at or
change to progress toward our goal of ______________.
We are committed to the importance of______________.
It should “feel” genuine and important.
It should not yet be fully realized…area for growth.
It should be clear how this commitment gets us closer to
our goal.
Then what?????
Observe the big assumption in action.
Challenge our big assumpiton.
Student Capacities
Challenge
Attendance
Behavior
Course
Performance
DN/TD
Approach
Current
Impacts
Next Improvement (Phase?)
Teacher Capacities
Challenge
Attendance
Behavior
Course
Performance
DN/TD
Approach
Current
Impacts
Next Improvement (Phase?)
Leadership and Organizational Capacities
Challenge
Attendance
Behavior
Course
Performance
DN/TD
Approach
Current
Impacts
Next Improvement (Phase?)
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ORK.HTML
The Happiness Advantage
Thank you for ALL you
do and safe travels!