My 4DX Plan
My innovative plan is up to par and it’s time to introduce an implementation strategy. Through extensive research, the 4 Disciplines of Execution (McChesney, Covey and Huling, 2012) provides clarity on how to create and implement the logistical strategy of change. Understanding this concept generates a better accession embedded in my strategy.
The four disciplines and the steps leading to implementation are outlined below. This strategy will serve as a catalyst for my plan becoming promising yet effective. Understanding the concept of adaptation in conjunction with flexibility will make trial and error challenging, but exciting as changes occur. Adjustments should happen and re-adjusting is common. Tweaking measures, goals, and data are expected, but having a growth mindset through this process until finalization of the plan remains a steady goal. Through it all, the primary objective should remain, which is a constant reminder of why I’m setting this plan in motion.
There are five steps to implementing my 4DX strategy.
Clarity - My team and I should be accurate about our goals as we venture through the 4 disciplines. Meaning, we are accurate perusing the benefits affiliated with blended learning. We have covered our “why” through believing that blended/digital learning is needed to help our students own their learning. Our goal is to shift the teaching method from teacher-centered to student-centered.
Also, we need to be accurate about what is expected from each team member. We operate as a unit, we must influence one another productively and positively for this method to work. If not, input and hard work of others will not be justifiable.
Accuracy combined with measures needs to be established – how and when we will measure success. Most of this will be determined through open discussions with team members as well as key people within the department, school and district.
Launch - A meeting with the department head and the high school principal will be the first step. Once authorization is given, the initiative will be launched during the early summer of 2019 as the two piloting teachers and myself begin to execute our plan: preparation of our forms, measures, technology and lesson plans. In the fall of 2019 we will prepare our blended learning environments and present the initiative to the entire department so that they can understand what we are wanting to implement. We will also ask for team members to begin implementing a few blended learning activities every week in order to get the ball rolling and create familiarity with the format. Our primary objective is a full adoption of the blended/digital method throughout the entire department.
During this phase I will be identifying the models (motivated teachers in my department who are willing and able to incorporate a creative process which will ensure changes within the classroom), the potentials (those who have not bought-in yet but are observant and paying attention as it unfolds), and finally the resisters (those who are not subject to change). I need to show them all respect, understand that some are more willingly subject to change, and encourage everyone by positively modeling leadership behavior.
At the beginning of the school year, we will include an open meeting with students and parents, weekly team accountability, weekly hands-on meetings for the piloting teachers and a monthly report of our department meetings to spur interest and further involvement.
This phase requires high focus and energy – especially for myself as the original divergent. It is deemed necessary to remain focused and diligent during this phase, entrusting the process even when the bumps in the road hit. The whirlwind will be strongest at this phase, because we are introducing a new element into an already very full and demanding job.
Adoption - After imitation, adopting strict adherence to the process should take place. It will take time to see results of our plan, but over time the plan should be fully adopted. When new vital behaviors become part of the whirlwind, then, the reality of adoption has taken place. Such topics include a culture change, inclusion of more and more teachers, as well as continued encouragement and support for those who are implementing the new plan.
Optimization – Gaining the attention of others and getting them on board becomes simpler as results are established. As we display our results, our successes and the changes that we see during our monthly department meetings, more educators will be granted the chance to become familiar with the process, try it out in their own classes and ease into the transition through support. We can use that time to share strategies with them that they can immediately try in their classrooms. As they gain experience through success, they will be included in the “winning” scoreboard and will become more likely to follow us into further steps of implementation the following year.
Habits - My team and I will continue to effectively use our new skills in our daily teaching. We shall commit to weekly meetings and monthly briefings. Lesson planning is something we will share with each other through full collaboration which will ensure full team support. In addition, activities such as work-shops and activity creation is a must to ensure active engagement takes place. We will receive training with both technological aspects as well as the Blended learning aspects of our new innovative plan.
As we reach our goals and update the scoreboard every week, the successes and the progress that we are making will bring about a shift: blended learning will become the new norm.
There are 4 Disciplines essential to following the five steps
My team will consist of myself and the three other teachers who will pilot the blended learning initiative in our department.
There are 4 main disciplines which we will need to incorporate together in order to successfully execute our plan.
Discipline one as a team the first discipline is to identify our Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). This is the Clarity step.
It is important to do this as a team so that there is immediate ownership and buy-in. Sub-wigs must ensure the success of the parent WIG. Each wig must have a clear finish line and clear measures of success. We are to focus on no more than 2 WIGS on any given week.
Wildly Important Goals:
Implement blended learning in 5th grade classrooms for the 2019-2020 school year
Implement blended learning in 3rd – 5th grade classrooms by 2022
Success for 5th grade students to receive the necessary skills to carry into middle school.
Examples of Sub-wigs that will support the WIGs:
▪Students will learn self-awareness, self-assessment and self-advocacy skills by using the self-assessment leadership form each week.
▪Secure the needed technology (labs and software or iPad carts or laptop carts).
▪Teachers will be competent and confident with the use of the technology.
▪2 student-centered activities (active learning) will be used for every teacher centered one.
▪Technology will be used to monitor student progress and competency.
▪Classrooms will reflect student owned space and student centered learning in its physical design.
▪Weekly checklists will be given to the students and teachers will create them to reflect personalization and individual pace.
▪Teachers will be experts in blended classroom procedure.
Discipline two is to act on the lead measures. This covers the launch and adoption steps.
As a team, we will establish lead and lag measures for each WIG and sub-wig. Establishing lead and lag measures is critical to the long-term success of implementation of this plan. Lag measures measure the goal and give us the results at the end of the week or month. These are the results. They show if we succeeded or not reaching our goal. Lead measures measure the steps needed to reach the goal, and how well they are being performed. Lead measures are influenceable, they are predictive of the success of the lag measures. Extensive measuring of the right things will insure continued moving into the right direction.
Use a self-monitoring chart to record the nature of every activity performed in class or assigned that week, (a common question) is it student-centered or teacher ran? The goal is to have 2 student centered activities for every one teacher centered.
Record the amount of time that students are conducting self-paced, independent learning in the classroom. The goal is 30 minutes per day.
Measure the ACTFL proficiency levels for the students to monitor their competency and progress.
Use the metrics from the technology tracking to see student progress and plan appropriately.
Record the number of weekly planning sessions attended by the teachers
Record the number of weekly accountability (WIG) meetings attended by the teachers
Use a weekly engagement metric gathered from student surveys.
Discipline three is taking all the measurements and create a compelling scoreboard for our team (optimization step).
The four keys to making an effective scoreboard are:
The members should be able to tell immediately whether they are winning or losing
It must be in a highly visible place so that all involved can see it daily
It must be simple to read and simple to update
It needs to show both the lag and lead measures
Being introduced to google form (google doc) through my DLL program, I found that sharing this form would be suitable. It can serve as a document for educators to share and collaborate ideas with easy input all in one place. For others who may need a visual, a print out of the scoreboard can be hung in the classrooms illustrating what has been covered by other teachers. Scoreboards will be included also.
Discipline four involves accountability, this is the final Habits step. Accountability will consist of weekly attendance for a duration of 20 minutes. This shall include myself and team members involved in the blended/digital learning method.
Questions that should arise: what are the 1-3 things we can do this week to impact the scoreboard? Are the lead measures moving in the right direction? If so, are the lag measures responding? Report of last week’s commitments should be ready for review as well. Also, state further commitments for the upcoming week.
Keeping the meeting at precisely 20 minutes will keep planning straight forward. Any time over the allocated time would result in dullness with an abundance of unnecessary information.
Influencer vs. 4 Disciplines of Execution
Through my research, I’ve found both books and formats informative. The information presented serves a great purpose to orchestrate the changes within my department.
The influencer assimilates Chesney, Covey and Huling 4DX strategy. Grenny refers to identifying our Guinea Worm (our WIG). He encourages the reader to pinpoint one or two vital behaviors which are like the lead measures – the actions that we need to change in order to meet the goal. Such methods created a vision that clarified my objective. The 4DX method generated a logistical method that will strengthen my strategy. The influencer creates the vision, and 4DX serve as the guide. Both methods have their strengths which have given me the needed edge to make this transition possible.
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York, NY: Free Press.
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change: 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
4 Disciplines of execution image (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2019, from https://sites.google.com/a/franklincoveyphilippines.com/www/Home/organizational-solutions/4-disciplines-of-execution
