1. Two attachments are below
that can be used to explain why the
title "LtoJ" is used. The first attachment
is a 3-slide Power Point presentation. The
slides show the L, the bell and the J.
These slides may be inserted into any powerpoint
presentation. Secondly, the same three
slides are placed on one page as a handout that
you may include with other materials.
2. The data for the three slides were
provided by Colleen Confer of Area Education
Agency 13 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Colleen
had the same reaction as many have when they
first hear about LtoJ. They say, "I wish
I'd known about this when I was in the
classroom." The consistent advice I give
to administrators and curriculum consultants who
hear about LtoJ after taking their new position
is to (1) go into a classroom once a week
for a year to give the LtoJ quizzes, (2)
lead the graphing process and (3) help the
students improve their learning. Colleen
took this advice, which is one reason her
expertise is in such demand. She can be
reached at cconfer@aea13.org.
3. The Arizona Department of Education
is sponsoring a two-day LtoJ seminar October
3-4. Enrollment is open. Go to https://www.ade.az.gov/onlineregistration/EventLocationSelection.asp?EventID=1143&EventDate=10/3/2006 for
complete information.
4. I mentioned last month that
aspects of the LtoJ Seminar are now
available as an on-line course. I envision
this as an opportunity for newly hired educators
to learn about LtoJ and catch up with other
educators who have experienced the
seminar. I have reviewed the editing of
the video and believe that the KDSI staff has
done a remarkable job of structuring the
course. At the right side of this
newsletter is information that I requested
from KDSI. Attached is a flyer or you
may click on www.kdsi.org/lee for more
details.
5. In Metropolis, IL, teacher Laura
Walker was assigned the responsibility of
teaching algebra I to the students who had
already failed algebra I. At the same time
she experimented with one of the LtoJ
graphs: the histogram. The students could
see the graph move from the L to the J.
Laura related her story to colleagues in her
district during an LtoJ seminar. She said
the students told her they would earn an "I" for
her, but they had to settle for a
"J." (An "I" shaped graph occurs when every
student has the exact same score.) I was
very impressed that Laura was able to build a
team of algebra students, who had
previously experienced failure, and they
created a "J" their second time around.
6. LtoJ basics: All run charts
will have plateaus, inclines and valleys.
Inclines, often referred to as all-time-bests
are for celebration. Valleys are for
discussion about special causes and plateaus are
for team building. It is the process of
establishing and testing hypotheses that
educational teams are built with the teachers
and their students.
7. On page 30 of the Maxwell
Leadership Bible, John Maxwell lists 7
methods of influencing others from worst to
best. They are force, intimidation,
manipulation, exchange (incentives), persuasion,
motivation (energizing), and honor
(communicating esteem). When the LtoJ
process has its most success, students are
creating superb work because they are
both energized and honored.
8. All prior newsletters and
attachments are now posted on the LtoJ
Consulting website, www.ltojconsulting.com.
Lee Jenkins, Lee@LtoJConsulting.com
