Kevin Bartlett’s Post

Dan Kerr and I discussed the Collective Growth System (CGS) on our podcast with Kevin Bartlett, the visionary behind it. We explored how this innovative approach can transform school cultures and elevate student outcomes. https://lnkd.in/gxZhRQMg Kevin's CGS shifts the focus from individual teacher performance to collective growth, prioritizing learner needs and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Key takeaways from the CGS: Learner-Centered Focus: Prioritize student learning outcomes. Collective Impact: Work collaboratively to achieve shared goals. Formative Assessment: Use data to inform instruction and guide improvement. Teacher Efficacy: Build collective teacher capacity and confidence.

THERE'S ONLY ONE THING WRONG WITH TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEMS... ...they don't work. If that minor flaw doesn't bother you, knock yourself out. I should qualify my sweeping statement. They don't work if the goal is to improve student learning. They do work if you want to waste energy and increase stress. So why don't they work? I recently asked that question to a group of great thinkers who are members or friends of CGC. We had no trouble filling 2 flip charts with answers.The problem is so obvious yet so normalised that we can't see it. Here's the logic: -Schools are cultures. -It's only a culture if everybody truly buys in. -Therefore it's only a culture if it's what we do when nobody's watching. -Therefore the whole notion, and the whole language, of 'supervision' is wrong from the start. We are now piloting an approach to professional growth that starts from a cultural premise. Working title: A Cultural Continuum. Here's how it works. We do the necessary foundational work of co-creating a learning culture with our teaching colleagues...it's a workshop series. That culture includes the elements of any true culture: a shared language (provided by our 3 Cs Learning Definition), shared values in the form of learning principles, and shared norms: the learning practices suggested by our principles. These are refined to reflect research. We then use them to map 10 continua, simple rubrics that describe what learners are doing in classroom cultures that predominantly Inform, Inquire or Inspire. Teachers then choose one continuum and describe what they would like to see their learners being able to understand, do, become, and how they will learn themselves to support student growth. Everyone takes on the responsibility of documenting and sharing evidence of their student's growth...and their own. If it's what we do when nobody's watching, then, logically the emphasis on observation should be reduced. Leaders are not the learning police, any more than teachers are with students. As Deming said, 'Quality is everyone's responsibility'. Feedback to each other uses the CGC's S.T.A.R. system.  It's fractals. Like our kids, we only get better at something if we LEARN to get better at it. We don't need evaluation systems, except in extreme cases. We need professional learning systems. We need to build and sustain Learning Cultures, moving from SUPERvision to SHARED vision. From models of compliance to models of collaboration. You can't control people into quality...except in factories...maybe. What we do when nobody's watching... #CGCKevin #Parul Minhas # Leo Thompson #Inge Rozendal #Julie Stern #Mike Crowley

If teachers should stop differentiating lesson plans and materials to cater to "learning styles", what should they be doing to support individual academic needs? 1. Universal Scaffolds Instead of creating entirely different lessons for different students, focus on universal scaffolds—strategies that benefit everyone but can be adjusted to meet students where they are. Here are two: - Chunk complex texts and tasks into manageable parts to reduce working memory overload. - Provide sentence stems that focus student responses and can push the rigor. 2. Use Targeted Questioning One of the simplest, yet most powerful ways to differentiate within tier 1 instruction is through targeted questioning. You don’t need a different lesson for each student—you just need different questions to pull students toward mastery. Here's two ways: - Ask higher-order, open-ended questions that push thinking. Stick to more guided, scaffolded prompts like "What's the first/next step?" for those that need support. - Ask questions to break down the learning task like "Where did you get stuck?" or "Say it in your own words." to tailor your support 3. Focus on Feedback, Not Rewriting Lessons After delivering whole-class instruction, give individualized feedback during independent work time. Feedback is the heart of real-time differentiation that drives learning, and it doesn’t have to mean more planning—it’s about being present, observant, and responsive. Planning content specific prompts and embedded scaffolds to common misconceptions are the key to unlocking individual learning. You also gather individualized data that can be followed up on later in the lesson or during an intervention block, Why These Methods Work and Are Easily Implemented They’re Part of Solid Instruction: These strategies aren’t add ons—they’re part of best instructional practices that help all students engage with the material. Scaffolding, questioning, and feedback are tools every good teacher already uses. We’re just amplifying their use to meet the diverse needs of students without extra planning. They Don’t Require Redesigning Lessons: The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t ask you to recreate the wheel. You’re not rewriting lessons for every student. Instead, you’re using flexible, built-in supports that keep your instruction efficient and effective. They’re Grounded in Cognitive Science: We know from research that all students benefit from high expectations and consistent, structured support. Differentiation is most impactful when it’s about how we engage students with the content, not when we divide the classroom into 25 individual learning paths. By focusing on universal scaffolds, targeted questioning, and feedback, you can provide differentiated instruction that works—without burning yourself out. This is how we drive learning efficiently and effectively in today’s classrooms.

The Strength of 'WE': Redefining Success in the Classroom The Power of "We" Instead of "I" for Facilitators In the classroom, the difference between "I" and "We" is more than just a matter of pronouns—it's a shift in mindset that can profoundly influence both teaching and learning. "When a teacher says 'We' instead of 'I', they are not just including students in the conversation; they are inviting them into a partnership of learning." — Unknown This quote captures the essence of what it means to lead a classroom where the focus is on collective growth. When teachers use "We," they acknowledge that learning is a cooperative endeavour. It reinforces the idea that both teacher and students are on this journey together, working towards common goals. Here are 4 benefits of using WE. 1. Building a Collaborative Environment When a teacher says, "We will explore this topic together," it implies that the teacher is also a learner, ready to discover new insights alongside the students. This approach can demystify the learning process, making it less about being right or wrong and more about the shared experience of gaining knowledge. 2. Encouraging Shared Responsibility Instead of saying, "I want you to complete this assignment," a teacher might say, "We will work on this project together." This subtle shift in language encourages students to take ownership of their work, understanding that their efforts contribute to the success of the entire group. 3. Enhancing Emotional Connection Saying, "We need to find a solution to this problem," rather than "I need you to solve this," can make students feel supported, reducing the pressure and stress that often accompany academic challenges. 4. A Shift in Perspective Ultimately, the power of "WE" lies in its ability to shift perspectives. It moves the focus from individual performance to collective progress, from teaching to learning together, and from a hierarchical structure to a partnership. This shift can lead to more meaningful interactions, deeper understanding, and a more positive classroom atmosphere. Embrace the power of "We" in your classroom today. By fostering a collaborative environment, encouraging shared responsibility, enhancing emotional connections, and shifting perspectives, you can transform your teaching approach and create a more inclusive, supportive, and effective learning space. Start by integrating "We" into your language and mindset, and watch as your students grow into confident, active participants in their education. Together, let's redefine success as a collective journey where everyone thrives. In a world where education often emphasises individual achievement, the power of "WE" reminds us that true success is rarely achieved alone.

Have you ever wondered how we can prepare our learners for a world that's constantly changing, even when we don’t have access to the latest technology? In today’s world, critical thinking is one of the essential "4 Cs" – alongside communication, collaboration, and creativity – that are key to success. Critical thinking isn't just about finding the right answer; it's about questioning, analyzing, and making thoughtful decisions. Many educators believe that critical thinking is only relevant during math lessons, quantitative aptitude exercises, or assessments. But it applies to all areas of learning, even the ones we least expect, like reading a story or doing a simple classroom activity. As educators, we often feel compelled to use high-tech tools to engage learners and foster critical thinking. While I acknowledge the significant impact of EdTech tools in promoting critical thinking, it’s important to remember that we can still foster deep thinking when these tools are not available and even when they are available. For example, instead of having my learners simply underline conjunctions in sentences, I challenge them to use conjunctions to create their own sentences. This approach helps them think critically about sentence construction and enhances their understanding far beyond just identifying parts of speech. There are numerous simple and effective strategies we can use, Instead of giving direct answers, try asking open-ended questions that prompt deeper thinking. When reading a story, for instance, ask, “Why do you think the character made that choice?” or “What could have happened if they made a different decision?” These types of questions encourage students to think critically about the content. ♦️Think-pair-share is another great technique. Pose a question, let learners think individually, then discuss their thoughts with a partner before sharing with the class. This method not only helps learners articulate their reasoning but also exposes them to different perspectives. ♦️Role-playing is also highly effective. Have learners act out scenarios related to your lesson. This approach helps them consider various viewpoints and think on their feet in an engaging and interactive way. ♦️Reflective activities is another great technique. After a lesson or activity, ask learners to draw or write about what they learned, what they found challenging, and how they approached solving problems. This practice helps them reflect on their thought processes and reinforces their learning. By implementing these straightforward methods, we can significantly enhance our learners' critical thinking skills. These strategies not only make learning engaging but also prepare learners to tackle the complexities of the modern world with confidence. What creative strategies have you used to promote critical thinking in your classroom? Share your ideas and experiences in the comments below!

The 'Not So Much Spoken About' Art of Teaching. 1. Walk away from lousy classroom practices. Could you let go of outdated methods? The relentless pressure to do it all. Ask yourself. --- Which programs drain more energy than they return to student growth? --- Where are you focused more on optics than outcomes? --- What would happen if you paused more? Free up space to thrive. 2. Standardisation can aid innovation. We tend to glory reinvention, tweaks, and customisation, but ask yourself what's sustainable? Innovation can scale when we build on what works. --- Identify your strategies that deliver results. This will take some time and an audit. --- Rank your best practices. --- Use them as frameworks, not rigid systems; be mindful of how/when you use your most powerful strategies. i.e. onboarding, during a dip, or moments of class high anxiety. Think smart, not always 'new'. 3. Slow and steady. Right now, we are drawn more to rapid results and models in education. Growing THINK Global School took us a decade. Growth is messy, slow, and sometimes invisible. Speed can kill. --- Set achievable milestones (as a leader, I was looking for a 20-30% improvement of what we were doing year-on-year). --- Resist "moving the needle" if you sacrifice the long term. --- The priority is lasting, meaningful connections. Respecting the long game. 4. Path to freedom. It sounds sterile, but as a paradox, systems allow us to focus on what matters. Consider this: --- Document more. Your 'vault' should be filled with lessons and experiences that never cut it. --- Build 'the pivot' into your systems. --- Avoid 'reinventing the wheel' in unnecessary places that don't offer any impact or 'real' results. Systems can = freedom. 5. Identify where it counts. We get the swamp of test scores and metrics. Often, the growth is in the shadows. The intangible is not often on spreadsheets. --- Nurture passion, purpose and autonomy. --- Use fewer but smarter resources. --- Adapt and evolve. It's strength, not weakness. There are no silver bullets for growth as an educator. Growth is often beyond a KPI-based Excel sheet. We need to work smart and adaptable and create a more resilient agency as a community.

Are kids bored at school? The 2016 Gallup Student Poll suggests they are, especially as they approach high school graduation, with a sharp decline in student engagement from fifth to twelfth grade. While some argue that emotional engagement is key to learning, others believe success depends more on structured, evidence-based practices. This debate is critical as educators face the challenge of re-engaging students in ways that foster both enthusiasm and achievement How important are engagement and enthusiasm to learning? Engagement and enthusiasm are crucial to learning because, as Nick Shackleton-Jones emphasizes in his book “How People Learn”, learning is deeply rooted in emotions. When students feel a connection to the material, they are more likely to retain and apply what they've learned. This is particularly evident in the Gallup data, which shows that students’ engagement sharply declines as they approach graduation—a trend linked to a lack of personal relevance in their studies. Like the saying "you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink," simply presenting information isn’t enough; if students don't feel motivated or connected to the content, real learning doesn't happen. From a learning science perspective, research practitioners would argue that while engagement is appealing, it’s not a definitive driver of learning outcomes. They would emphasize evidence-based practices with clear causal relationships and would caution that the Gallup data shows only a correlation between engagement and student success without proving causation. Just because engaged students tend to perform better does not mean engagement alone leads to improved learning. Other factors—such as prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and external support—could be influencing both engagement and achievement. Learning scientists would likely stress that genuine learning requires instructional methods rooted in research-based strategies, rather than relying on engagement alone to ensure success. Given the mixed perspectives on engagement, an educator’s best approach is to blend emotional engagement with evidence-based instructional practices. This means creating learning experiences that both connect with students on a personal level and adhere to proven strategies for cognitive development. Educators can use immersive, meaningful activities to capture students’ interest, aligning these experiences with structured, research-backed methods like retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and explicit instruction. For example, an engaging VR simulation of a historical event can be followed by guided discussions or activities that deepen understanding and reinforce learning. By balancing emotional relevance with scientifically supported techniques, educators can meet students where they are emotional while ensuring they acquire the skills and knowledge needed for long-term success.

Creating a positive classroom is essential for reducing stress and enhancing both teaching and learning experiences. When students are deeply engaged, not just with the material but with the underlying concepts and ideas, the classroom becomes a dynamic and energizing environment. An engaged classroom is a happier classroom. By inviting students to explore big ideas and ask meaningful questions, we create a space where learning is active, collaborative, and fulfilling. Here are two inquiry-based, conceptually-driven activities that will transform your classroom into a hub of curiosity and positivity. These approaches foster a positive classroom atmosphere where students feel empowered and stress levels decrease. 1. Concept Mapping for Deeper Understanding Instead of simply delivering content, encourage students to develop their own understanding of a topic through concept mapping, which emphasizes inquiry and big-picture thinking. Choose a central concept: For example, in a science class, the concept might be "ecosystems," or in a literature class, it could be "themes of identity." Ask students to think about questions like, “How do all the elements of an ecosystem interact to maintain balance?” or “In what ways do different characters in literature explore their identity?” Working in pairs or small groups, students build a visual map that connects the central concept to related ideas, supported by evidence from their learning. Encourage them to investigate relationships between concepts. This inquiry-based approach engages students on a deeper level and creates a more positive and collaborative classroom environment, reducing the stress associated with passive learning and rote memorization. 2. Inquiry Circles for Critical Exploration Inquiry circles allow students to engage with challenging questions and explore big ideas collaboratively. This activity invites students to investigate and share their thinking, helping to foster a culture of curiosity and engagement. Start with a driving question: For example, in a history class, the question might be, “What causes societies to change over time?” or in a math class, “How can we use patterns to predict outcomes?” Divide students into small groups, each tasked with exploring different facets of the question. They can use research materials or classroom discussions to delve into the topic. Encourage students to share their findings with one another, debate different perspectives, and refine their understanding of the concept. Each group can then present their insights to the class, sparking a broader discussion. Inquiry circles turn learning into an exploration of ideas, allowing students to become active participants in their learning and feel more connected to the learning process. Designing learning where inquiry and curiosity lead to engagement will create a happier, more relaxed learning environment for everyone. #StudentEngagement #PositiveClassroom #InquiryBasedLearning

Our paper on the relationship between student engagement and perceived learner control has been published recently. We explored this relationship not at the course level, but within specific learning activities, such as reading literature, watching knowledge clips, and attending lectures. Contrary to our initial expectations, we found that the relationships between learner control and engagement in these different activities were largely insignificant. This could suggest that students may not  be able to make appropriate decisions and effectively use the control they perceive to achieve a higher level of engagement. From these findings, I have come to appreciate the critical role of support in learning. While granting students autonomy is undoubtedly essential—since the goal of higher education is to foster independent learners capable of continually upgrading their knowledge—the empowerment of students should always be accompanied by support from teachers and the learning environment, such as online platforms. This insight resonates with my own PhD journey. When I first began, my promotors, Roeland M. van der Rijst and Wilfried Admiraal, asked me, "What do you want to focus on?" while I was working on my research proposal. As an international student raised in an Asian culture, I was initially taken aback, thinking, "What? I need to decide that on my own?" I struggled to navigate the autonomy they granted me. However, as I became more familiar with my institution, ICLON, and the Dutch higher education system—with the support of my supervisors and colleagues and by observing how others in our research group conducted their work—I gradually gained a clearer understanding of my research direction, the courses I should take, and the conferences I should attend. The arrival of my daily supervisor, Arjen Arjen de Vetten, further highlighted the importance of support. He not only made me aware of the responsibilities I needed to take on as a PhD student—paralleling the concept of learner control—but also provided direct feedback on my mistakes and areas for improvement. Without this guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to use the learner control I was given effectively or develop into a self-directed learner. Combining the findings of our study with my own experiences, I strongly recommend that educators provide appropriate support to students when offering them control over their learning. This balance of autonomy and guidance is key to fostering confident, self-directed learners who can navigate their educational journey effectively. I am so thrilled that this paper has finally been published, and I truly appreciate all the support from people who consistently believe and encourage me (no list of names here, toooo long 😂). https://lnkd.in/eT7WeywY

An engaged classroom is a happier classroom. When students are deeply engaged, not just with the material but with the underlying concepts and ideas, the classroom becomes a dynamic and energizing environment. Designing learning where inquiry and curiosity lead to engagement will create a happier, more relaxed learning environment for everyone. Terri Walker