Transformative Principal

Andratesha Fritzgerald
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[00:00:00] Welcome to Transformative Principle. I am here live for this episode at the CAST UDL Con International Conference, and here we are talking about all things related to Universal Design for learning, which is a way to make it so that learning is accessible to all students. This has been a great conference

the one you're listening to right now is from the UDL Conference. And really a great time. Check it [00:01:00] out, Check out cast.org for information about UDL. UDL-Con and so much more. Alright,

Welcome to this special episode of Transformative Principal. I'm here at the UDL Con with AndraTesha Fritzgerald. I was nervous about saying your name right, and then I overthought it. Okay. I made it. Well, thank you so much for being here. I was in your session today and I, I thought it was wonderful.

I really enjoyed it. One of the things that you talked about, well, you did a bunch of things. You did a bunch to set up the space first. Which I thought was great so that we could then be in a place where we were capable of, uh, doing this next thing, which is the, uh, instructional practice interrogation.

So talk to us about the instructional practice interrogation first, and then we'll talk about how you set it up in an actual session.

Uh, thank you so much for having me on the show. I'm so glad that, um, we could have this conversation today. Um, the. [00:02:00] Instructional practice interrogation protocol really invites us to lean in and slow down just a bit on practices that we hold very dear.

And so there are some practices that are universally applied, but they're not universally designed. This protocol gives a chance to think about who's in front of us, what they need. And the why behind the decision that we're making or the strategy that we're using. And so we get to interrogate the strategy, um, identify the barriers, identify the perspectives and how different students would be experiencing it, and then make some decisions about our own actions, uh, the theories that we're using and the reality that is causing, is it causing harm or is it leading to learning?

Yeah. And how do you define causing harm? Because some things are. Not necessarily going to cause harm, but they're not necessarily going to help either. How do you, how do you personally figure out that balance?

When we're looking at it at different levels, I think that, um, identifying [00:03:00] harm comes in a number of different ways. So what is separating learners from the learning or from the setting or from the curriculum?

Where is there a struggle that has been punished or, um, looked at in a punitive way in the past? And this gives us a framework to think about systemically. Um, I know that one of the things that Nicole Tucker Smith, who is a UDL expert says is that we don't, we're not in the work of changing hearts and minds, but we certainly can change systems.

And so this interrogation process leads us to think about the practices that we're using, and then is it bringing about the desired result, or is it a barrier to the actual result that we're trying to get? So in that way. We can look at it as harm or causing barriers or anything that is keeping learners from the desired outcomes.

Our data tells us where their harm is, where there is harm, even if we're not ready to admit that. And so the protocol invites curiosity so [00:04:00] that we can find out where those stumbling blocks, blocks, or barriers are, and then we can move in with the brilliance of the community.

Yeah, I really like that idea of the curiosity, uh, being curious about it because if you, uh, interrogation doesn't sound like a curious word, but that's what you're doing is being curious, what is going on, what's missing, what is, what is happening here that I may not be prepared for? And the example that you had us go through was the turn and talk strategy.

Um, which I have been railing against for years. And so it was, it was nice to have a, a different framework or protocol for, uh, dealing with that particular issue. Um, so let's talk about how you set it up, because you went through a lot and um, and spent the majority of the hour that you had getting us ready to talk about that.

Why did you make that instructional decision? Because it wasn't just. Uh, I, I don't have enough content, so I need to fill it up with this [00:05:00] preparation stuff. It was in fact the opposite. So why'd you make that decision to talk us through that? Mm-Hmm. And how can you.

we have to set up a number of. Um, almost like warmups so that community can form. We were only together for an hour in a setting where we maybe have a semester together. It's, um, that first day of class, so to speak.

But I wanted to emphasize the really critical focus on community universal design for learning cannot be done or implemented in isolation. We must have community and if we are to have community, we have to be. Attentive to the supports, structures, and systems that are in place in that community. We have to be aware of our positionality, our privilege, [00:06:00] our voice, and then how does that interplay in the learning process?

What will be a barrier and what will be an expressway? We get to decide that as a community, and it's something that we can set up truly with how we set the expectation, and then we get to co-design what it looks like and it feels like in action.

Yeah. And what, and what's so powerful about that is that by having, uh, that different pers that community perspective, you're able to get everybody involved in the decision.

You're able to get everybody. To be a part of it so that somebody isn't left out unless they're choosing to. And you know, you did a lot to make people feel like they were part of a community and it wasn't just a let's do these processes so that we can like, fill up time or, or do them because they're, they're quote unquote best practices, right?

And, and that I thought was, was really well done and you laid the groundwork so that we could then be prepared to have those more [00:07:00] challenging conversations. So an instructional practice that I would like to, uh, interrogate is this idea of, um, of learning objectives, uh, and posting those on the board first.

Do you have anything to say about that, uh, before we dive into that a little bit more?

I think the power of community is that we get to harvest the wisdom in the room, and so when we interrogate a practice such as the learning practices or the learning objectives on the board, this gives us an opportunity to think about who or what, what perspective is represented. What perspective is missing and really just slow down the process.

So instead of just doing it because it's something that we've always done, we interrogate the practice to see is it yielding the results that we need? Is it helpful to the learning or is it just something that we hold precious and dear because we're going through the motions?

Yeah. Very. Very good. And I, I find that when you take that approach, it makes it easier for you to say, maybe this is a [00:08:00] practice that works in some situations and sometimes in places.

But for us, in this situation, this doesn't work. And I did not prep you for this. I just want everybody to know. But that is the perfect lead in to why I feel the way I do about, uh, uh, about learning objectives. So. Um, I was in a school as a principal where we were doing a lot of inquiry based learning and one of our requirements for E value, there we go.

Is that better? Sorry about that. One of our requirements for inquiry based learning or for our school was to do some inquiry based learning, but the requirement, now I got confused. Excuse me. Uh, one of the requirements for evaluation was to have your learning targets on the board, and this was a big dramatic thing that.

The previous principal said, you have to have 'em. So people were, uh, what's the word, trying to be subversive. And they would just stick the, their standards on the wall so they could say, yes, my learning targets are posted. Um, [00:09:00] and again, there was, there wasn't a conversation about why we were doing it, it was just, uh, Marzano says we need to, so we're gonna do it.

And, and we just missed, there were a lot of, a lot of things that went wrong there. But the problem was, was that we were trying to do some inquiry based learning, and in our situation, to put the learning targets on the board, you were basically spoiling the whole point of the lesson, which is to discover what the, the learning was through a carefully designed and planned, uh, activity from the teacher who would help you get to that point and understand it, and, and learn the thing that you need to learn if you knew the learn target beforehand. It was a total waste. Like why would you even bother? There was no point. And, and so what you just said of being able to define in our own community why this is beneficial, is really powerful because that's exactly what we needed to do. And so when a teacher brought this concern to me, she said, [00:10:00] here's the requirement and here's what we're trying to do.

These two things don't line up. And she was absolutely right. And so I said, well, when you're doing an inquiry based learning. Lesson, you don't need to have the learning target because it defeats the purpose. And, and that's okay. And I would never hold that against you in an evaluation because it's, it's, that's the right choice.

Does that make sense?

Yes, I hear you. So as a principal, um, what you're saying is that in community, teachers have the freedom to question the practices at hand. And so when we think about leadership, part of the marker of a safe community is those who question the authority, question the practices that are in place.

And I find that those kinds of communities lead to learning, um, with a little more fervor. And so the question that I would ask. Or that, um, what I would propose as you're harvesting the wisdom from this situation is, um, how do we create that community where the practices can be [00:11:00] interrogated, um, but they can also be changed.

Is it bringing about, um, is it a blanket mandate? That is now just frustrating teachers, or is it really naming the goal? I think it's important to name the learning goal, but the way that you do that will look different in each lesson. If you're using novelty as a design quality to say there's something that people will discover or there's something, there's an activity that I want them to do, and then I'll uncover the learning standard or the goal because then they'll understand we did this because it leads to that.

That makes sense. And so. What happens in schools or in institutions of higher learning is sometimes we begin to operate by rote, by tradition, and those traditions interrupt instruction and they interrupt innovation, and they interrupt progress and structures that really would move the learning forward.

When the tradition interrupts the present, then we know we have to pause. And that is a beautiful crossroads to interrogate the [00:12:00] practice really slow down because many traditions are systematized. Everyone knows them. We do them all the time. It's where comfort lives, even if learning doesn't. And so once we begin to interrogate those practices, to really lean in to see why are we doing this?

Who does it help? Who asks for this? If it doesn't meet those requirements of what our overarching goal is, are we brave enough to pause? That doesn't mean throw learning objectives out the window, but think about how we introduce the learning, uh, objective. Where Is it just posted on the board or is it built into how students can say, this is what I can do, this is what I know.

This is where I am. This is what it will take for me to get to the next level. This is where learning is communal. It's not just from teacher to student, but as a leader in a school, are you willing to hear from the teachers what is just wrote memorization and tradition? Are you willing to be interrupted in order for innovation and true learning to flow?

Yeah, a absolutely. And one of the [00:13:00] examples that I use about this specific thing a lot is the idea that if you, it can also stifle learning that if you say our learning objective is to. To learn what? Two plus two equals four. Then once the kid learns that learning objective, then what's the point of continuing?

Like, okay, I'm gonna stop. I've met the goal, now I'm gonna go goof off. That's not what we want, but if the learning objective instead is to improve our addition skills, the kid who's learning one plus one equals two, and the kid who's learning five plus five equals 10. There's room for both of them in that situation.

This is the power of community. So even if I've mastered the content, the learning objective of the day, there's something that I can offer to the community.

Mm-Hmm.

Perhaps this is where I sharpen the way that I listen. Or maybe it's an opportunity to reteach, but I'm a member of a community and this is our focus for today.

And so as we move forward, how do we build those communities to say, I have something to [00:14:00] offer. I also have something to gain or to receive, and I'm willing to be a contributor, but also to be a recipient. This is where we have to really, um, hone in on the communal skills that are needed. Prior to during and after learning, the power of Reflection has always been central to universal design for learning.

And so if the learner has mastered this learning goal, is there space for them to reflect on what do I need to do to be a better learner? How did I acquire this knowledge? Is this something that I came in with? Am I reflecting on what I need to do with it or how I can flip this into a real world application?

And so. Um, oftentimes we stop short at just demonstration of mastery, but how can we then flip that so that learners have an open arena to show what they know to a world that's waiting for their knowledge and action.

Yeah. Uh, I love it. Okay, so. We're at our, our time limit here, [00:15:00] so this was great. But, uh, there's so much more that I want to ask you, so I'm gonna invite you to come back on again in the future. So, uh, thank you. How can people connect with you?

You can connect with me on www building blocks of brilliance.com. We believe that every learner has a gym of brilliance inside, and it's up to us to find that gym blast away at barriers until that gym shines. And so building blocks of brilliance.com, or you can find me on any social media at Fritz, F-R-I-T-Z, Tisha, T-E-S-H-A, Fritz Tisha, all one word, would love to connect.

And I'm also on LinkedIn.