Episode Details

What kind of school environment encourages teachers to race tricycles down the hallways while also engaging in deep conversations about student learning in PLC’s?

Kenny Ward, this week’s special guest, discusses how schools like his own must keep exploring ways to create cultures of learning and fun at the same time.

In our conversation, he explores:

• How do you help adults learn in ways that encourage them in better practices?
• How do you cultivate a school culture where students and teachers want to learn and grow
• How do you understand your “why” so you stay motivated in leading and serving others?

Principal Kenny Ward

Kenny Ward is Principal of Bridge Creek Middle School in Blanchard, Oklahoma, a reward middle school where his team practices professional learning communities every day.

He is also the 2017-2018 Oklahoma Middle Level Principal of the Year and has served on the Executive Board for CCOSA, Oklahoma’s state association for school leaders.

He is active in connecting with other school leaders across the state and country in professional learning. He is also an adjunct professor at Southern Nazarene University. As a part of his doctoral dissertation and university work, Kenny has visited schools across the state as he researches best practices among school leaders.

In this conversation, we explore three topics:

Topic 1: Andragogy vs Pedagogy: Teaching Teachers, Not Just Teaching Students.

As educators, we talk a lot about pedagogy: the methods we use for helping students learn. But andragogy, the methods we use for teaching adults, is a topic we may often ignore. Malcom Knowles categorized andragogy in five ways:

1. Need to Know
2. Foundation
3. Self-Concept
4. Orientation
5. Motivation

When adults engage in a “power of struggle” with learning concepts, they are more open to meaningful professional development. For further reading on lessons from Knowles, go here.

As teachers are evaluating their own instruction, help them explore the following questions:

1. How do you know if students are learning?
2. How are your fellow teachers reaching students?
3. How are you using your own “power of struggle” to motivate new teacher learning?

Your brain must build the capacity for learning by practice–an important truth, not just for students, but also for teachers. For research on the brain and learning, Kenny recommends The Talent Code.

Topic 2: School Culture–The Foundation for Strong Learning

Kenny also explains how culture is the foundation for student learning. He recommends

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