Fullan Reflections on Chapters 1, 2, and 3

Chapter 1:
One of the biggest takeaways from chapter one is that one of the biggest tools for implementing
change is practice. The process of actually making a big change is something that takes
repeated practice to actually change who we are, how we think, and/or how we operate. So this
means we need to practice, practice, practice in order to see change and improvement. One of
the quotes that stuck with me the most in this chapter was, Its easier to act your way into a
new way of thinking, than to think your way into a new way of acting (Fullan, 17). Fullan was
referring to using practice and experience to move forward and work towards change. We do
have to spend time getting to know ourselves, our faults, etc in order to make forward progress
towards change, but we can only spend so much time thinking and theorizing. We cant expect
to simply read about what others do to implement change, focus on the change thats well done,
and suddenly see change. We must take action and work towards the change. Practice makes
perfect is something I was often told growing up. I dont know that practice will make you
perfect, but it can indeed work to change things for the better.

Chapter 2:
In order to be an effective leader of change, I must possess a purpose in life that is deeply
grounded in my morals. I must understand my morals so that I am able to understand where
others are coming from even if I dont agree with them. It is my job as a leader and change
agent to work to understand people and be able to relate to them so that we can work towards
reaching change together. Instead of losing focus or getting frustrated when things arent going
exactly as planned, I need to take time to learn about others, empathize, take a step in their
shoes, and then figure out how to get them on board and help the whole organization move
forward. I must remember to never give up on the organizational change as a whole because
one person can spark change, but that one person needs the backing of others to make change
on a large scale. I must always remember not to give up, no matter how grim things look.

Fullan also discusses collaboration as a very strong and important aspect of successful change.
Its important to recognize that knowledge or skill itself is not enough to motivate change. This
reminds me of John Hatties research on effect size in education. Hattie often reminds us that
teacher content knowledge alone has very little effect on student learning just as the content
knowledge or skill of the mayo doctors alone was just not enough to make an outstanding
hospital. It is important for people to have the content knowledge to move towards change, but
that in itself is simply not enough.

Another point that resonated with me in chapter two was that Fullan refers again and again to
cultivating strong leaders and hiring/ bringing up leaders from within an organization. I find that
this is something extremely important. Far too often in education we see districts stifle strong
leaders and force them out of the district to go elsewhere in order to gain a chance at
leadership. I had a principal in my last district in Wisconsin who herself moved from associate
principal to principal and then to our district superintendent just as I was leaving the district. So
not only did she show her strong leadership skills, the district put faith into her to help her move
up and continue to be a change agent, but then from day one as a teacher in that district she
was working with me to figure out what my goals were and what I was going to work towards.
She worked to cultivate strong leaders and change agents in every single one of us. In my
current district, I see teachers feeling stuck, trying again and again for positions in which they
are qualified only to be stifled and forced to leave the district to get a chance at leadership. You
don't realize what a large effect both of these systems have until you see them both in action
and in total opposition of one another.

Chapter 3:
The point that resonated most strongly with me in chapter three was that in order to motivate
people to change and get them on board, we as change leaders have to guide them through an
experience in which they experience the change first hand and that they can refer back to. The
experience has to provide people with an emotional experience that is meaningful to them in
order to help intrinsically motivate people. Extrinsic rewards only tend to squash motivation and
performance. Recently when introducing our districts Digital Learning Plan, we, the technology
integration specialists, planned an experience at every school for the teachers to experience
first hand what types of activities and experiences the DLP is referring to. This was to help guide
teachers towards naturally coming up with the life skills included in the Digital Learning Plan that
we want to make sure students graduate from PLSAS as future ready learners with. In our DLP
we want students to be risk takers, innovators and problem solvers, and these are exactly the
traits that we want to encourage in our teachers, our change agents.

Its also important to realize that even before this experience occurs, we as change leaders
need to take the time to first develop relationships with those whom we are hoping to help with
the change. Through this process we can then help these implementers learn from their fellow
colleagues, other implementers, and work towards a climate of peer culture and collective
ownership for change and innovation. Our district and building leadership groupings just had a
pretty big change where teachers could apply to be a part of the building instructional leadership
teams. On these BILT teams, they work to build the school's improvement plans, share that with
the district, work to do whats best for the building, and keep the lines of communication open.
We want to make sure that those involved in the change can experience success. This will
energize them and help lead to successful change for all.