PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP

Leading by learning: leading conversations that build trust for collaboration and improvement

Why LbL?

Leading by Learning (LbL) goes beyond thinking about and practising effective conversations and is described as ‘the next generation’ from the previous work of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Viviane Robinson and Jacqui Patuawa on leadership conversations.

It challenges the motivations and thoughts of leaders and reveals how these contribute to the effectiveness of problem-solving conversations. Leading by Learning examines how leaders may need to unlearn, and then re-learn, how they think and act in situations they find challenging.

Every educational leader strives to improve the engagement and achievement of the students for whom they are responsible. Yet every educational leader has encountered situations where this has proved impossible because the complexity of the work and of their contexts outruns the resources and capabilities that they can deploy. As a result, some of the problems of teaching and learning that contribute to unsatisfactory and inequitable outcomes persist despite their best efforts.

The Lbl ACEL pre-conference workshop

This preconference workshop will introduce you to the theory and practice of Leading by Learning. This approach is is designed to teach leaders a theory and practice of ethical instructional leadership that enables them to make significant progress on the problems of practice that prevent them or their colleagues from achieving improvement goals. We believe that the quality and rigour of conversations predicts the likelihood of improvement goals being reached. Instructional leadership by school leaders will continue to be impeded if educational leaders do not have the confidence and skills needed to engage with other leaders, teachers, parents and students in productive, respectful meetings and conversations about issues affecting the quality of teaching, learning and well-being. The Leading by Learning approach to leadership development teaches participants how to build trust in teams and with individuals, while tackling the tough issues associated with the work of school and teacher performance and improvement.

Leading by Learning has been developed by Distinguished Professor Emeritus Viviane Robinson in partnership with Doctor Jacqui Patuawa and her team at Evaluation Associates. As such it will provide valuable links and more detailed information to Viviane’s conference keynote address.

As a result of attending this unique pre-conference event you will be able to:

• use the theory and practice of Leading by Learning to understand and improve your capability in collaborative problem-solving conversations.
• apply a learning-focused approach in the context of networks, team meetings and conversations.
• make greater progress in collaborating with others to solve the problems that have or are likely to prevent achievement of improvement goals.
• increase your skill in building trust while tackling tough issues (leading to inequity) through effective conversations.