Pitfalls In Effective Change Management

Transforming a Pedagogically Traditional School into an IBPYP School

11 Insights for a Turbulence-Free Ride

By Apoorva Saini 

Schools that undertake the journey towards becoming an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IBPYP) school have their own special tale to tell - of tears and joy, of before and after, of progress and transformation. A successful change management journey is significantly longer and bumpier for schools with predominantly teacher-led pedagogy. The degree to which school leaders can pragmatically gauge the pitfalls and close the distance between the goalpost and their current location, has a strong bearing on the ease of transition felt by stakeholders. My experience in leading the IBPYP in different school contexts has piqued my interest in ‘what works’ in nurturing a positive experience of change. My work with guiding pedagogical change in non-IB schools has also significantly informed this article.

Summarized here are 11 critical factors at play. While some may be anticipated and accounted for by school leaders, others, if left unaddressed, can creep up later to destabilize the pace and trajectory of change.

If you are looking for ways to ensure a smooth transition for your school, or simply wish to learn about change management, read on.

11 Factors at Play

1. Begin in the Future: The adoption of student-centric practices is necessary to transition from teacher-led pedagogy. Since a new practice can take a while to take root, it is important to consider whether it will still be relevant and desirable for your school a few years on. The school’s change-leader should assist the staff in projecting as a team where the school sees itself in five to ten years. This exercise will help them see the extent to which their current practices align with the PYP framework, and the ways in which the new framework will support their collective vision for the future. This is worth investing time in to ensure each teacher identifies with the need for change in their teaching style. It goes a long way in preempting the need to rehash this later with fence-sitters and detractors.

2. Grow the Paradigm: If the intended pedagogical change is a big step for the school, teachers could perceive it as idealistic and foreign to their style, which could stymie the movement’s success. When planning for change, it is important to understand teachers’ existing worldview. Gaining insights into the mindset of teachers and school leaders begins with uncovering their ideas, tastes, and preferences*1. While schools produce and instill socialized tendencies in their members (Blaxter and Hughes 2003; Moi 1991), individual teachers have their own underlying habitus*2, visible in their interactions with stakeholders. For example, a teacher’s beliefs about responsibility of learning could range from ‘students are responsible for their learning’, to ‘teachers are responsible for student learning’. These beliefs shape their actions and interactions, even when the school professes a different ideology. Change agents must reach teachers where they are at present. Slowly exposing them to diverse perspectives and practices will enable a sustained and meaningful shift in paradigm.

*1) The term ‘Cultural Capital’ introduced by Pierre Bourdieu refers to the symbols, ideas, tastes, and preferences that can be strategically used as resources in social action.

*2) Bourdieu sees this cultural capital as a ‘Habitus’ - an embodied socialized tendency or disposition to act, think, or feel in a particular way.

3. Aim for End-Practice: Strategies adopted by schools in realizing their vision and ensuring effective change management can vary. Some schools choose to directly unfold the end-practice in its complexity, while others follow a staged approach, with improvement targets that incrementally build over time. In the staged approach, schools sometimes adopt interim practices to serve as bridges between the current and the end practice.

Here's an example: In the staged approach, schools may choose to move from textbook-based learning to thematic learning as the first step. Once established in this practice, schools could shift their focus to teaching interdisciplinary skills and concepts, before finally moving towards unpacking the end-practice - transdisciplinary concepts. Whereas in the direct approach, schools begin unfolding transdisciplinary concepts right from the start, leveraging the central idea, lines of inquiry, and other aspects of the PYP framework to help students make sense of their learning. In this approach, while a slow deepening of practice takes place, the goalpost remains steadfast.

Although a staged approach seems easier to tackle and more attainable, it could result in perceived progress where there has been little. Change-leaders and teachers could lose sight of the big picture. When teachers become experts in the interim practices, such as thematic learning, they could resist moving again to concept-based learning, the end practice.  A feeling of wasted effort may be felt by teachers if the goalpost keeps shifting to newer practices, just when they begin to feel accomplished at it. Unfolding the end-practice directly is a better option. Teachers know where they are headed, they can situate their small successes in the larger context and continue to strive for the end game.

4. Flatten Hierarchy: Carefully consider the approaches that will enable smooth pedagogical transitions. While introducing the PYP, schools generally go with training a small core team, who in turn leads the charge. If this core team has significant PYP experience, then this could be an effective approach. However, if this team is new to PYP, then they may be unable to earn the trust of the teachers. An alternative approach, which involves the change-leader training all teachers together as one change-team, considerably lowers hierarchical dependency, and infuses collaborative action. Since this approach treats teachers and middle leaders alike as novices, it reduces pressure on the middle leaders to be knowledgeable and decisive about a complex framework that is new to them. It aids ‘sense-making’ together, promoting a stronger sense of belonging, and a quicker transformation. While being part of this group of learners, middle leaders continue to monitor progress and timelines, assisting with administrative oversight.

5. Keep it Simple: The IBPYP framework can be overwhelming for schools reliant on didactic-teaching methodologies. A multilayered framework with defined standards, approaches to learning, transdisciplinary themes, and much more, the PYP can be difficult to take-in in its entirety at first. It can also be tricky for teachers to visualize in practice. What works well in understanding the basics is frequent sessions led by change-leaders, teaching the teachers as we would our students, peppered with examples and little assessments along the way. This simple method alleviates pressure on them to learn on their own and to assimilate the new ideas and processes at the pace of rollout. Investing the time and energy in ensuring teachers fully understand the foundations of inquiry-based learning will lead to deeper manifestation in the long run. Many iterations may be required before the lexicon is acquired and even more before the interplay between PYP elements is understood. Remember to pack humor along for the journey; a handy tool in a leader’s arsenal, perfect for when you find a colleague dozing off during the sessions.

6. ‘Copy’ this: A word of caution for school leaders to avoid frequent use of readily available samples on every aspect of PYP as far as possible. An abundance of resources is a click away, in fact, the entire curriculum can be imported. However, one size does not fit all, and teachers will be blindly following practices touted by others instead of growing their own skills, and catering to their context. Teachers should be trusted to craft their own plans and resources. Once they have applied their own ideas, reviewing other teachers’ resources, and improving one’s own is an act of learning. Although most teachers perceive a perpetual lack of time in tackling their laden to-do lists, it is well worth their time and effort to design their own lesson plans and teaching aids. While availing of freely shared samples may initially appear to save time, it limits teachers’ creativity, confidence, and expediency in the long run.

7. Know When to Lead, When Not to: Catering to the needs of the community is of paramount importance for successful change. Change-leaders should begin the journey with a needs-analysis and be on the look-out along the way for teachers that require support and scaffolding. The key to encouraging ownership in the team lies in the change-leader striking the right balance between direct leadership and interpretative action by teachers. Armed with a clear map of the central aspects they will lead, leaders must also provide unsupervised spaces where teachers are free to discuss different approaches amongst themselves, reflect on the outcomes in the classroom, and adjust their sails accordingly. This allows teachers the time to experiment and adapt these to suit their own style and their students’ needs.

8. Cultivate Capacity and Competency: In didactic environments, the role of a teacher is radically different from that of a facilitator of inquiry. Teachers who consider themselves the central resource find it difficult to step aside and become facilitators. Such teachers often express a feeling of redundancy when asked to reduce talk time. The inadequacy experienced in opening oneself up to new expectations can be partially assuaged by involving these teachers more. Inviting them into ‘how might we’ sessions, encourages teachers to think through the requirements, connect to their own practices, and give suggestions for the way forward. These collaborative planning sessions are a perfect platform for transfer of competencies, which are the skills and knowledge bodies that enable a teacher to be successful. Teachers’ perception of themselves is contingent upon their successes. Encouraging discussions on what works and what does not, helps develop teachers’ perceptions of their abilities and expertise, and signals an environment that values them. Confidence in their own competencies results in enhanced capacity.

9. Be a Dynamic Leader: Since confident manifestation takes time to become evident in practice, a variety of leadership styles may need to be employed to aid this process. Depending on the school context and the phase of implementation of change, these may range from Authoritative to Pacesetting at the start, later morphing to Affiliative or Coaching styles of leadership. Recognize when you reach the tipping point – when the new practice can be considered the prevalent one and give more leeway to teams to power themselves. Be watchful against a tendency to fall back on old, comfortable ways or fit the new aims into old ways. Success can be found on many fronts – in the classroom, in the demeanor of the teacher, in the engagement of students. Catch and celebrate these moments.

10. Secure Buy-in from Senior Leaders: Support from senior leaders is vital in fueling the movement. Change-leaders need the autonomy to lead the transformation, along with support to maintain their own positivity. This is especially relevant when the change-leader is a newly hired PYP Coordinator, unfamiliar with the school context. Pain-points may be experienced when staff members wish to retain old practices or events that were part of the school’s tradition but may now need to be phased out or re-imagined. Cliques within school staff could push for their own agenda. These push & pull forces can weigh heavy on the team’s emotions and impact progress. Since the PYP pervades all aspects of school functioning, from the outset senior leaders’ sound understanding of PYP philosophy, its framework, and expected milestones, ensures that wider decisions are in alignment in the running of the whole school.

11. Manage Parent Expectations: Change brings apprehensions. Getting parents on board with the new student centric PYP methodology should happen prior to and alongside the roll out. However, apprehensions about how these changes will affect their child, can sometimes drown out the key message schools share during the initial parent orientations. From the first unit itself, inviting families to end of unit celebrations is a great way of making outcomes visible, and having students showcase what they have been learning. When students are explicitly taught independent learning skills from the get-go, they can display ownership of the outcomes to their own families. This helps allay misgivings that may fester when such sharing of learning takes place only later in the year. As the pedagogical practices of teachers deepen over units and students demonstrate deeper learning, parents also begin to appreciate the ways in which their child is benefitting from the new approach.

Successful Change Management is a catalyst in transforming schools. Good luck on the road ahead!

Bibliography

1. Bourdieu, P. (1986). “The forms of Capital”, în Richardson, J. Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, 241-258.
2. Blaxter and Hughes 2003: 6 in Meo, A. I. (2006). Institutional habitus and the production of educational inequalities: The case of two state secondary schools in the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina).