GEELS 2010

Brilliant conference held by ACEL in Sydney last week. Below are the conference objectives with a brief reflection on each.

• Acquire an in-depth understanding of LEADERSHIP THEORIES and models in order to gain a framework through which to lead and develop.
  

I think this was a lofty goal because in two days, it was going to be difficult to cover theories which would otherwise be studied in a two year Masters degree. The presentation by Andy Hargreaves, whose journal articles were a part of the Winter School prescribed reading list I did in 2008, skilfully summarised the theories. Effective teacher leaders around the world have three things in common: they work hard, they are in it for the kids and they know how to work with colleagues. Through his analysis of the four 'ways' (or approaches) to educational reform, he provided us with the sociopolitical background and key advantages and disadvantages of educational change over the last 40 years. His description of the systems put in place in Finland, parts of Canada and the UK which have resulted in significantly positive outcomes for teachers and students was especially interesting - in Finland teachers are the most desirable marriage partners! He brought effective leadership down to two key ideas - relationships and direction.

• Develop SELF AWARENESS of their current leadership strengths and begin to build a personal leadership philosophy.
  

This was one of the only downsides of the conference, not enough time. A week before we left we were asked to complete a survey from which a personalised profile of leadership capability was generated. The survey was quite involved and although the results themselves provided me with some obvious areas for reflection, there was only token reference to the capabilities framework during the conference. There was an offer from Jenni Lewis (ACEL Chair) made to all delegates for follow up by joining ACEL and undertaking further study, but it would have been more meaningful if the opportunity to look closer at the results had been made more a feature of the conference. As you may see from the graph included in the presentation referred to above, I have a way to go in the two domains, leads others and leads the organisation for learning.

• Examine the challenges to DRIVING CHANGE in educational institutions and learn how to lead others with emotional intelligence and resilience.
  

There was a panel presentation at the end of the conference which included Tony Mackay from ACARA, Valerie Hannon from the Innovation Unit (UK) and Albert Bertani (Illinois). The national curriculum, systemic change, improvement versus innovation, student engagement, community involvement and creating high performance teams were some of the major ideas discussed. The four practices central to creating engaging peagogy, described by Valerie Hannon, provided a clear example of effective change across a system. They were: inquiry based learning, extended learning relationships (coaches, mentors, experts), learning commons (everyone there to learn) and school as 'base camp' (not the end point but the preparation zone). Tony Mackay stood up quite well to some fairly pointed questions relating to the implementation of the national curriculum and Albert Bertani related some interesting examples of community led change in schools from the Chicago area. An interesting feature of the panel discussion and indeed a large number of the presentations over the two days, was the consistent reference to examples from the primary and middle years as change leaders. I met early childhood teachers , primary principals, middle school specialists, senior school teachers from government and independent systems as well as people working in education oustide the classroom - the diversity was a highlight of the conference and I was not the only delegate over 35!

• Be EXPOSED to innovative approaches to improving learning outcomes.
  

A workshop approach to actioning change was led by a highly engaging presenter, Anders Sorman Nilsson. He focused on 'branding' and examples of innovative ideas from industry and education before leading us through a simple process of creating a picture of the change through metaphor, making a clear distinct point (direction) and getting the data to back up the need for change. I referred to the successful 'Tablet Week' idea generated by Rob when going through this process. We also heard from David Faulkner, an educator from the NT who specialises in indigenous education; Aaron Tait who shared some amazing experiences of leading a school in an AIDS affected community in Kenya and starting an education and micro-finance NGO, Spark ; Stephen Harris from Northern Beaches Christian School who has develoiped an amazing resource in the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning; the brilliant Michael Furdyk from Taking IT Global and a representative from the educational reserach facility at Microsoft. These leaders provided us with real examples of how an idea for (radical) change can come to be, each was an inspiring and thought provoking presentation.

• Set clear GOALS for future leadership development and plan to establish mentoring relationships.
  

Clearly, this is up to the individual and while I am feeling energised and challenged to act in developing some clear goals for myself, this may take some time. Through my current role as a technology specialist I have the opportunity to get better at relationship building, mentioned so often as the key to effective leadership. As were Rob and Toby, I am encouraged by the positive response to tablet week as this not only helped to promote the strategic goals set for technology integration but importantly broaden the number of people with whom I can foster a relationship with. Using technology effectively in the classroom is a key component of educational change and I am excited to be a part of the team which is helping to develop this at Hale.

• Establish a powerful NETWORK of like-minded emerging leaders.
  

The chance to meet with such a range of teachers from across Australia and other parts of the world was fantastic. Listening to their experiences and, probably more pointedly, their ideas for change helped to make the conference so memorable. The establishment of Facebook, Twitter and blog sites means that the delegates can continue to share ideas and develop their leadership capabilities.