We don't rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems". (James Clear)
Background
A minimum requirement of full-time teachers in Queensland is 20 hours of Professional Development (PD) per year (QCT, 2020 #). This means that if a teacher stays in the industry for 20 years, they will spend the equivalent of 16 full 24-hour days investing time in PD generally aimed at increasing the quality delivery of their job (i.e. the pedagogy of teaching and the learning of all students). Whilst this is clearly an aspirational aim, it can be argued that some of this PD fails to have a long lasting impact, despite best intentions. Why is this, and how can we as a system improve?
Habit Acquisition
It is my belief that the missing component a lot of the time is lack of knowledge and/or planning in habit acquisition. Teachers receive PD on such a range of topics: subject specific matter, the science behind how students learn, new technology. Yet the vast array of these rarely gets to the nitty-gritty about how to make it work daily, and ongoingly in the busy classroom environment.
“Habits are the routines and behaviours that we do automatically.” (Karim, 2018). According to a study in 2006, researchers at Duke University have found that more than 40% of the behaviour we perform each day is actually a result of habit, not conscious decisions (Neal, Wood, Quinn, 2006).
As Daniel Karim (2018) so cleverly articulated:
“Half of our life is lived on autopilot. Crazy right! I believe that we humans are basically habit machines. Think of your brain as a smartphone. Habits are the apps on your phone. Think of the possibilities of a smartphone for a second.
Person A uses his smartphone to play candy crush, flappy bird and Facebook or binge on Netflix or youtube.
Person B uses downloaded Evernote, Duolingo, Trello and Telegram and uses his smartphone to thrive.
Both phones are capable of the same feats, but the first person installed bad software on their brains and Person B has chosen its brain programmes a bit wiser. Their results, however, are like day and night."
I believe this information has powerful repercussions for teachers. If 40% of what we do is delivered via autopilot, the key question for those delivering PD should be: how do we hack/nudge our teachers to continue this great work so that it continues on autopilot?
To do this we need a knowledge of how habits work. In his seminal 2012 book “The Power of Habit”, Duhigg spoke of habits as a three step loop: Reminder, Routine, Reward.
Reminder: a trigger that signals your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to enact (e.g. feeling bored/hungry)
Routine: the actual physical or mental behaviour (e.g. walk to the donut shop)
Reward: We consolidate and redo habits which have a payoff (e.g. hunger and boredom placated)
In his 2018 New York Time Best Seller, James Clear found that to change habits we should make it:
Obvious: time and location, being aware of cues
Attractive: reframe associations
Easy: quantity not duration initially, automate
Satisfying: immediate reward is repeated, track progress, reward self/others.
Impacts for Schools
As stated, this information is relevant for PD providers looking to improve the practice of teachers. Here are some stages for PD providers (or school administration) to think through when conducting any new PD:
Conclusion
Have you got any success stories of schools implementing PD which has a sustained benefit in all classrooms? Do you have other ideas to make improved pedagogy a sustainable habit for teachers? Please share in the comments section.
# Many other states have similar requirements for continued accreditation.
References
Clear, J., 2019. ATOMIC HABITS. [Place of publication not identified]: RANDOM House BUSINESS.
Karim, D. 2018. Charles Duhigg – The Power Of Habit. [online] Available at: <https://danielkarim.com/book/charles-duhigg-the-power-of-habit/> [Accessed 24 November 2020].
Duhigg, C. and Chamberlain, M., 2012. The Power Of Habit. New York, N.Y.: Random House.
Hansen, 2020. Educators - what is your Ulysses' Promise? [online] Available at: <Educators: What is Your Ulysses' Promise? (wixsite.com)> [Accessed 24 November 2020].
Neal, Wood, Quinn (2006). Habits- a Repeat Performance. Duke University15:4, page(s): 198-202 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00435.x
Qct.edu.au. 2020. CPD Requirements - Professional Development Requirements | QCT. [online] Available at: <https://www.qct.edu.au/professional-development/requirements> [Accessed 27 November 2020].
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