Anyone who grew up in the UK knows that judging a service by the quality of the building is dangerous... having received great health and educational experiences in Victorian buildings (they just don't fall down)... and indifferent ones in modern premises... yet with decent infrastructure can the best teacher or clinician be even better?
Staying on the subject of buildings, I know of an incredible GP surgery that has recently been built and the reactions of staff working in it... they previously had to camp in a series of demountables waiting for their new building to be completed... did the quality of the care they provided change according to the environment... NO! Do they all feel more content and proud of their new workplace... YES!
Moving on to what makes a good teacher... John Hattie's views reminded me of Atul Gawande's 'Bell Curve' see the New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/12/06/041206fa_fact?currentPage=all
I believe there are lessons both in what John Hattie had to say and Atul Gawande describes for us all. What can managers learn from this...? What distinguishes a good manager from an excellent one? The domains of education and health have long had an array of performance measures (albeit of disputable merit)... however listen to what John Hattie has to say about tests and their results... listen to what Atul Gawand has to say about a clinician's attention to teat results...
Think of the good manager and the excellent manager... constantly reflecting on the impact they have... constantly reviewing performance data, budgets HR metrics and acting accordingly... There has to be something we can learn.
Just one thought at a time...
