Laura K Spencer, Ed.D.

Year: 2020

  • You’re Not Communicating Enough

    You’re Not Communicating Enough

    With COVID-19, and schools going online, offline, partly online, maybe closed, maybe open, maybe only partly open (whew!), people are getting bombarded with messages and emails and notifications flying at them from all angles.

    And yet, no one feels informed… why is that?

    I thought I’d share some food for thought that I learned years ago when studying organizational leadership.

    Seven Times!

    If you think you’re communicating with your team (or parents, students, etc) enough, you’re not. 
    Patrick Lencioni, author of The Advantage, says employees don’t believe a leader’s message until they hear it 7 times. Seven times for crying out loud!! No wonder my students didn’t believe me when I told them everyone indents their paragraphs, not just students in my class…
    So how do we get to the magic number seven? To get there, Lencioni says we need to Create Clarity, Overcommunicate Clarity, and Reinforce Clarity. (He actually says a LOT of things, but if you want the full scoop, read the book…)

    Two Words

    How do we do that?
    Well, Lencioni has some ideas about that, too, but for right now I just have two words for you:
    Strategic Messaging
    If we want people to be clear on our message (and to believe it), then there is no such thing as too much communication. We can’t be afraid to repeatedly reinforce ideas or information that is vital to the organization (or school).

    Many Questions

    Some questions to ask yourself, and maybe those around you:

    • Is everyone on the same page in terms of what should be communicated and why?
    • If messages are flowing down from the top, or after limited attendance meetings, how are they being disseminated? Does everyone know that? Is everyone on board with that?
    • If someone missed the message the first five times, how can they get connected to the messages? 
    • Where are these messages? Are they on motivational posters in hallways? Archived on a google group board? Or is it a fend for yourself approach to getting information?
    • How are we helping people get, understand, and implement the message if they’re struggling? 

    And ultimately, who is owning the message? 

    Again, according to Lencioni:

    Leaders must not abdicate or delegate responsibility for community and reinforcement of clarity. Instead, they have to play the tireless role of ensuring that employees throughout the organization are continually and repeatedly reminded about what is important.

    Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage

    More Readings
    You’re Not Communicating Often Enough With Your TeamThe Untapped Advantage of Organizational Health

  • I Don’t Know What I’m Doing

    I Don’t Know What I’m Doing

    Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, when asked about how he gained more confidence as a singer, said:

    My starting point for most things, no matter what, playing or anything, is that I don’t know what I’m doing. That’s a healthy place to be. 

    Rolling Stone Article
    What am I even doing? GIF

    It’s a healthy place to be for all of us. If you’re like me (and Dennis Dill), you are tired of hearing that this pandemic is an “unprecedented” time, but it truly is a unique time in our lives, and because of that, we’re all forced to figure it out day by day.

    None of us got into teaching thinking we’d be in this situation, and yet here we are. Figuring it out. Both for our students and for our own children.

    So embrace your unknowns… that you don’t know what you’re doing. Embrace being a learner.

    It’s a healthy place to be.

  • You’re Doing The Best You Can…And That’s Enough

    You’re Doing The Best You Can…And That’s Enough

    My first year teaching middle school was …well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. I had spent my teacher prep program determined I was going to be a high school English teacher. Students would love discussing literature as much as I did, and would turn in glorious essays filled with thematic connections, thoughtful historical references, and eloquent rhetoric.

    And then I started teaching 7th graders.

    7th graders cared for none of those things. They cared about social pressure, and puberty, and where to sit at lunch. Everything I thought I knew about teaching and learning had to be left at the door. These students, the ones in front of me, wanted, maybe even needed, to learn about navigating life. Literature would have to wait.

    I made a lot of mistakes that year. Mistakes in classroom management. Mistakes in what I assigned and how. Mistakes in assuming that all students should be able to complete homework every night. Mistakes in thinking that sending a kid to the office would solve behavior issues.

    But I learned. And got better. And grew to love middle school so much more than I ever thought I’d love teaching high school. But it took time. And patience. And reflection. And a lot of self-forgiveness. And forgiveness from the students, too, at times!

    And that’s where you come in…

    If you’re like most educators in our country, you’re at home right now. Trying to figure out how to teach in this new frontier. It’s like the first day of the first year of teaching all over again. And it probably feels that way every day that you wake up. A bizarre Groundhog’s Day movie in which you star.

    Bill Murray in Groundhog’s Day

    But unlike the first day of the first year of teaching, you may also have your own children with you, needing attention, help with schoolwork, or just reassurance that the world is okay.

    You’re probably concerned about your elderly family members, or neighbors, and wishing you could visit them.

    Or worried about just how many squares of toilet paper should be used per visit to maximize the rolls you have tucked away in the closet.

    Perhaps you’re stressed because your significant other is also working from home now. Or has to still go to work and be amongst the virus. Or worse, can no longer work at all.

    Regardless of where you are, you’re carrying a huge load on your shoulders. There’s pressure to be successful in this new environment.

    But success takes time. Time we don’t have right now.

    So please, give yourself grace and know that you’re doing your best.

    If that means you are making paper packets, awesome.

    If that means you’re hosting a Zoom call for 100 students in your jammie pants, sweet!

    If that means you’re learning Google Classroom 10 minutes ahead of your students, amazing!

    If that means you’re creating lists of resources for other teachers and parents to use, cool beans!

    If that means you’re creating a color-coordinated hourly schedule for your family, or you’re hating the people who have made the color-coordinated schedule, carry on my friend!

    And if that means you need time away from everyone to scream into a pillow, or take a quiet walk, or just step away from the insanity, please do it!

    You got this!

    And we got each other!!

    Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash
  • Designer or Design Thinker?

    Designer or Design Thinker?

    Innovation is when something new is created and implemented that adds value. Inventions happen every day, and every year inventions find their way into our classroom. 

    It’s only when an invention adds value that they become an innovation. A lot of times we get caught up in the invention, or the idea. I call this the glitter dust syndrome. 

    Ever receive a card with glitter on it? It’s pretty and you’re excited to receive it. But after you read the card and put it out for display, you see it… glitter. It’s everywhere. It’s stuck on your clothes, your skin, your carpet.

    It added no value to the card. In fact, sometimes the message of the card gets lost because you’re too busy cleaning up the glitter. If there is no value add, there’s no innovation. Just invention. 

    So how do we determine whether something is going to be a value added innovation in our classroom or a case of glitter dust?

    Design thinking.

    We are all designers. Every lesson plan you write, every bulletin board you create, every assessment you assign, even the outfit you put together for today. But that doesn’t mean you’re a design thinker. Human-centered design requires us to step away from our own needs, our own assumptions, and look at the world through the lens of others. 

    Design Your Mask

    During my keynote presentation at SDCOE’s Learning and Innovation Summit Saturday, I asked everyone in the room to design a mask that they could wear without holding it. They also had to be able to see through it. One piece of cardstock paper was the only material provided. The timer was set for three minutes.

    Just about everyone was able to design a mask and wear it. But then I asked them to trade masks with the person sitting next to them. Quickly, they realized that their mask didn’t quite fit their colleague as well as it fit them. Maybe the eye slits were off, or the way it latched on to their face didn’t quite work. Those who used their glasses to hold it on had to also give their glasses to the colleague, which caused some blurry moments!

    Why didn’t the mask fit as nicely on the colleague as it did on the designer? What needed to happen for the mask to fit somebody else?

    Innovation in Education

    Human-centered design requires us to step away from our own needs, our own assumptions, and look at the world through the lens of others.

    When considering innovation in education, it’s important to differentiate between invention and innovation. What is the value add for our students? Is there one? Schools implement adaptive tech programs that promise to increase reading scores. Tables on wheels are placed everywhere. Social-emotional curriculum is purchased. 

    But whose face are we designing the mask for when we do so? Are we simply covering our students in glitter dust?

    When we recognize that our mask doesn’t fit everyone else like it fits us, we realize how our bias, our experiences, our beliefs, impacts student learning. And we start becoming human-centered designers. 

    This is the difference between designers and design thinkers. 

    This blog post is adapted from a keynote I gave at SDCOE’s Learning and Innovation Summit Feb 8, 2020.

  • Digital Detox Part 2

    Digital Detox Part 2

    I’m starting to podcast my blog posts, so if you’d rather listen than read, check me out on Anchor, or any other podcast medium, under #CageFreeThinking. They aren’t polished and professional… just me talking.)

    Okay, so I’m still working on the digital detox, and with mixed results. I think releasing the grip on the phone is harder than when I quit my six-pack a day Pepsi addiction!

    The cards my daughter bought are helpful. They give me a moment to reflect on an alternative to scrolling Tik Tok videos for an hour. Here’s the cards I focused on this week:

    Mute.

    "Mute. Silence combats the overstimulation we're all suffering from and turns our attention to what's going on inside."

    I’ve been intentionally focused on physical activity for a few weeks now to combat the sedentary work I do. One way I’ve been doing that is to get up and take a short walk every hour or two. In the past, this meant connecting my Air Pods and getting some steps in. But this past week I’ve learned to mute the noise and just take the walk without my tech. (Well, except for my Apple Watch because you gotta get that step count in! 😏)

    Friday was my first time doing a full blown work out without music. I ran the convention center stairs downtown for 30 minutes and truly enjoyed the sound and scenery (which is the cover photo of this post). Seriously, how much have I been missing by constantly keeping my ears plugged up with tech, and noise?

    It’s amazing how many sounds there are outside when you are intentional about hearing them. Right now, as I type this, my window is open and I can hear the finches as they enjoy the seeds I set out for them. I hear an airplane flying overhead, and ooh, I think a bird just took a bath in our fountain.

    Think Positive.

    Think positive. Take social media offline and hand out some real 'likes' to friends, family, and strangers.

    On Tuesday I decided I needed a change of scenery and brought my laptop to UCSD’s Design Lab to work. The people there are amazing. Their creativity and deep thinking inspires me when I’m stuck on an idea. After a couple of them left for the day, I took a moment to leave Post-Its on their desk with a note letting them know just how awesome I think they are. One responded:

    A few days later, while at a professional learning for our staff, a colleague handed me a thank you card, and like the text above, I didn’t realize how much I really needed that encouraging note.

    This is important.

    Both of my detox cards this week were important life lessons. Life lessons I knew, but needed to be reminded of anyway. Taking time to mute the noise and share positivity with others is definitely going to stay a part of my life routine.

    How’s your detox going? Share an idea below…

  • Digital Detox

    Digital Detox

    For Christmas, my daughter bought me a deck of cards. But they aren’t your ordinary cards. These are Digital Detox cards. On each one there is an idea of a way to be less reliant on digital technology. I knew I was having issues with my tech reliance, but getting those cards from my daughter really brought it home. So now, even though most of my job relies on technology, I’m now working on detoxing from it.

    If you’re also feeling the need to put the phone down a bit more, here’s a few of the ideas that you may want to try: 

    • Challenge yourself to refrain from using any of your devices during the first hour after you wake up in the morning.
    • Get some fresh air! When you do go out, make sure to leave your devices at home.
    • Practice not responding immediately to every notification that comes up. Be more conscious of when you respond to things.
    • Spend 10 minutes doing nothing, on purpose. Be still, be quiet, listen to the sounds, feel your breath and experience the sensations in your body.

    I was going to try one a day, but Jordan thought I should stick with one for a week and see how it goes. I’ve been working on the fresh air one. I’ll admit that I do bring my phone (for photos like the one with this post), but I’ve been turning off notifications and just enjoying the weather a lot more.

    Do you engage in any digital detox? Would love to hear what works for you. And I’ll periodically share different cards and how it’s going for me.