Incremental vs Revolutionary Changes
The authors of the Head First book series (Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates, and Eric Freeman) blog entry on Incremental vs Revolutionary Improvements have an illustration showing when it is necessary to continue to make small incremental changes and then what happens when we hit the wall - necessitating revolutionary changes.
Two passages stand out in my mind: “The true art of product or service development might come down to this: Knowing when it’s appropriate to make incremental improvements and knowing when you need a revolutionary leap.”
So “revolutionary” often just means “revolutionary in THIS context.” And that’s also a way to think about where to find ideas for revolutionary improvements… look at what’s being done in other domains, that might work in yours.”
The authors took a look at classroom experiences and books, then changed how they wrote their Head First series.
Take a look at the school library program. Have we hit any walls lately? What about in the area of advocacy for school libraries? Do we continually implement new PR campaigns, marketing strategies, and reiterate the same litany of complaints? When do we look at the big picture and make revolutionary changes?
A simple revolutionary change in my elementary library this year is this approach I am using with every group: “You are responsible for everyone learning this strategy. If one doesn’t get it, none of you got it. If you have truly learned it, you can help teach it to your teammate.” I know they are hearing this because as soon as I begin the phrase, “If one doesn’t get it…” all the students chime in. I grade everything they do regarding instruction. I give the team a star or none. It’s A or F. Nothing in between. Throughout formal instruction, I pause and remind them to check the learning of all their teammates. If they are having trouble reteaching it, I will help. I have found that this teammate approach has resulted in students getting up from groups and going over to help others. The students are extending the meaning of my saying to the entire class now. If one group doesn’t get it, none of them get it. How does this translate? Students are teaching each other. Show and tell is alive and well in computer and internet usage. Students move around, teach older and younger students, and actively seek new ways to do things so they can teach something new.
Why did I make the revolutionary approach this year? My assistant was cut to half time. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving students from 20 classrooms out of 28 came to the library. Nine classes needed me for direct instruction. There was no assistant to help. I laid it on the line with students this year. We are a team. We have to help each other. I am no longer the only teacher in this room. Rule #3 is “Take care of your library.” The students understand that the library is a thinking, learning place and they have to help enable that to occur. Never have we emphasized the “your” as much as this year. It shows.
