Understand the Transforming Teaching design principles in order to identify pain points and opportunities in the construction of educator roles. These principles will guide work throughout the program.
Today’s teachers are isolated, under-respected, overburdened, and mired in a rigid system ruled by the bell. District and LEA leaders can pull school system levers—hiring, curriculum, schedules, technology, use of space, etc.—to redesign current systems, creating teaching roles that are more attractive and sustainable, and more likely to contribute to students’ success.
Following rigorous research, a canvas of alternative models, and extensive conversations with practitioners in the field, we identified four design principles that address four common pain points experienced by teachers.
<aside> 🛠️ TTP - Design Principles slides
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These slides provide brief descriptions of common pain points educators and schools experience in the design of teacher roles: isolation, lack of respect, “jack-of-all-trades,” and ruled by the ball. The slides also show how these pain points can shift into opportunities grounded in the design principles of shared responsibility, professional trust, specialization, and workday flexibility.
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Transforming Teaching Design Principle Cards
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This document provides an overview of the common pain points and how the Design Principles address each. Designed for printing to allow teams to use the cards as discussion prompts.
<aside> 🛠️ TT - Design Principles organizer for reflection
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After reviewing the design principles, use this organizer, with rating scales and brief writing prompts, to reflect on how educators in your school community experience their roles.
<aside> 🛠️ Levers / School System Elements one-pager
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This tool from Transcend Education describes ten major components of how schools operate. This will allow Transforming Teaching teams to consider which “levers” they must adjust in order to implement new models for educator roles.
Video: Design Principles and School-Based Levers. This 11-min video explains the design principles and how the configuration of levers within a school constructs the way that educators experience their roles.