Leading Adult Learning

Eleanor—Ellie—Drago-Severson is Professor of Education Leadership and Adult Learning and Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. A developmental psychologist, Ellie teaches, conducts research, and consults with team, school, district, and systems leaders—as well as teacher leaders—in public, charter, and private schools and systems. She supports professional and personal growth; leadership development for principals, assistant principals, teachers, schools, districts, and organizations; and coaching and mentoring in K–12 schools, universities, medical institutions, educational associations, and other adult education contexts both domestically and internationally. She is also an internationally certified developmental coach who partners with leaders to build internal capacity, lead on behalf of social justice, and strengthen capacity across their systems. For more than three decades, Ellie’s teaching, research, and partnerships in the field have sought—synergistically—to explore and extend the possibilities of adult development and developmental leadership as levers for internal capacity building at the individual, team, organizational, and societal levels. Her work explores interconnected streams that focus on the connection between internal capacities and educational leaders’—broadly and inclusively defined—practice on behalf of growing bigger selves and helping others to do the same. She also takes a developmental approach to creating conditions that support our desires to thrive and support those in our care, as well as feedback for growth, the pressing challenges national and international educational leaders are facing and ways to help them manage these challenges, and leadership preparation and development. In addition, her work offers a new, learning-oriented model for leadership development; supports adult development in individuals and teams within and across systems; lifts leadership at the individual and systems levels; supports diverse adult English language learners and those who serve them; and grows teacher, principal, assistant principal and district-level leadership. Consonant with urgent conversations about transforming teams, schools, systems, and society into more learning-inclusive and equity-oriented contexts, her work foregrounds how we can support leaders’ internal capacity building in schools, districts, organizations, and leadership preparation programs—and how these capacities inform the gifts leaders are able to give to those in their care, each other, and the world as they lead for social justice and strive to make the world a better place for all. Ellie loves opportunities to accompany educators and other leaders in their vital work—and never takes it for granted. Instead, she considers it a gift.At Teachers College, Ellie is director of the PhD Program in Educational Leadership. She teaches aspiring and practicing principals in the Summer Principals Academy; aspiring superintendents in the Urban Education Leaders Program; and leaders from a range of for-profit, management, and consulting sectors in the Accelerated Education Guided Intensive Study (AEGIS) Program. She also coaches leaders in the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished Leaders and in her private coaching practice to help them grow—on the inside—and to grow their practice. In addition, she serves as faculty director and co-facilitator of the Leadership Institute for School Change at Teachers College. Ellie is author of the best-selling books Helping Teachers Learn: Principal Leadership for Adult Growth and Development (Corwin, 2004) and Leading Adult Learning: Supporting Adult Development in Our Schools (Corwin/The National Staff Development Council, 2009), as well as Becoming Adult Learners: Principles and Practice for Effective Development (Teachers College Press, 2004) and Helping Educators Grow: Strategies and Practices for Leadership Development (Harvard Education Press, 2012). She is also coauthor of Learning for Leadership: Developmental Strategies for Building Capacity in Our Schools (Corwin, 2013), Reach the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Learning Designs (Learning Forward & Corwin, 2014), Tell Me So I Can Hear You: A Developmental Approach to Feedback for Educators (Harvard Education Press, 2016), Leading Change Together: Developing Educator Capacity Within Schools and Systems (ASCD, 2018) and Growing for Justice: A Developmental Continuum of Leadership Capacities and Practices (Corwin/Sage & Learning Forward, 2023).Ellie’s teaching, scholarship, and developmental approach to leadership foreground the power of growth, relationships, and interconnections—since these are essential to learning, development, individual perspective broadening, authentic collaboration, and capacity building at the individual, team, school, district, and systems levels. Her teaching, mentoring, and life’s work are inspired by her husband and soulmate, her parents and family, her relationships, her teachers, her own experiences as a middle and high school teacher, her experiences as a program director and teacher of adults, her work with leaders in the field, her coaching work, and—last but not least—her work with practicing and aspiring leaders in graduate programs and in the field. Taken together, these experiences form an interdisciplinary palette that is complemented by adult developmental theories and other life-changing frameworks.Ellie’s work has earned awards from the Spencer Foundation, the Klingenstein Foundation, and Harvard University, where she served on faculty for eight years and was awarded the Morningstar Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Dean’s Award for Excellent in Teaching. Most recently, Ellie received three outstanding teaching awards from Columbia University. She earned degrees from Long Island University (BA) and Harvard University (EdM, EdD, and a postdoctoral fellowship). Ellie grew up in the Bronx and is deeply grateful for the ways that it—and the community that raised her—have shaped her life.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorPart I. FoundationsCHAPTER 1: Why Adult Development Matters in the Context of Education TodayWhat Do We Mean by a Developmental Approach?How Developmental Capacity Helps Us Meet Current Challenges in EducationTechnical and Adaptive ChallengesAcknowledging Developmental DiversityIntroducing the Four Pillar PracticesCaring Is the Heart of Our WorkThe Evidence Base for This BookDevelopmental Underpinnings of the ModelThe Turbulent Context of Education TodayTeachers: Retention, Burnout, and Well-BeingBurnout and Work–Life Balance: A Persistent StruggleSocial-Emotional Learning Can Help Retain TeachersSupporting Teacher Well-Being: A Systemic ImperativeExpanding Roles and Rising Demands Drive Principal AttritionSupporting Principals for Long-Term RetentionA Foundational Strategy: Building Supportive Networks and Fostering CollaborationContemporary Issues in Education and the WorldKey Factors Influencing Our Postpandemic ContextThe “New Normal” as a Catalyst for ChangeSocial Justice in Education: A Call to ActionTechnology and AI: Navigating the Future of EducationBroader Societal and Environmental ChallengesWhat We Know: Professional Learning Is Like Oxygen for Educators and Leaders Across the SystemNew Roles for Leaders Demand a Developmental ApproachThe Power of Transformational Learning Across the SystemSummary and ConclusionCHAPTER 2: Constructive-Developmental TheoryConstructive-Developmental Theory and Transformational LearningHistory of Constructive-Developmental TheoryFoundations for Understanding Constructive-Developmental TheoryConstructivism, Developmentalism, and Subject–Object Balance—How Do We See and Make Sense?Self and Other, Subject and Object—How Do We See and Make Sense?TransitionsOrienting to the Ways of KnowingGrowth Takes TimeMoving From One Way of Knowing to the NextWhat Ways of Knowing Are—And Are NotDifferentiation MattersWays of Knowing: Developmental Strengths, Supports, Growing Edges, and StretchesThe Instrumental Way of Knowing: Rule-Oriented SelfDevelopmental StrengthsSupports, Growing Edges, and Developmental StretchesA Real-Life Example (A Principal’s Experience)The Socializing Way of Knowing: Other-Focused SelfDevelopmental StrengthsSupports, Growing Edges, and Developmental StretchesA Real-Life Example (Working With Yee)The Self-Authoring Way of Knowing: Reflective Self (Also Sometimes Referred to as “Systems-Focused”)Developmental StrengthsSupports, Growing Edges, and Developmental StretchesA Real-Life Example (Working with Ale)The Self-Transforming Way of Knowing: Interconnecting SelfWhy This Stage Is Hard to Pin DownThe Transition: Both Liberating and DisorientingCharacteristics of Self-Transforming KnowersDevelopmental StrengthsSupports, Growing Edges, and Developmental StretchesA Learning-Oriented Model of Leadership and Developmental AwarenessPreconditions for Supporting Adult DevelopmentPsychological Safety as a Form of Holding EnvironmentWhy They Matter in PracticeExpanding Openness and Reducing Blind SpotsNo Such Thing as a “Little Trust Problem”Different Ways of Knowing: A Developmental View of Safety, Trust, and RespectThe Holding Environment and Why It Matters for Adults in Teams, Schools, Districts—Everywhere!The Three Functions of a Holding EnvironmentGrowing the Growers—About Wings and ButterfliesLoving People Into BeingFrequently Asked QuestionsChapter SummaryApplication Exercise 2.1: Shaping Team, School, and District Cultures: Noble Expectations and Hidden Developmental DemandsApplication Exercise 2.2: Attending to Ways of KnowingQuestions to Consider in Relation to Box 2.1Sample ResponsesPART II: PILLAR PRACTICES FOR GROWTHCHAPTER 3: Teaming: Growth Opportunities for Individuals, Organizations, and SystemsHow Teaming Has Changed—And Remained the SameHow This Chapter Will Discuss Effective TeamingA Roadmap for This ChapterTeaming in the Literature TodayThe Importance of TeamingConditions Research Shows Make for Great Teams . . .. . . And a Word About the Use of TimeThe Need to Build Collaborative Cultures and Safe SpacesWhat Do Educators Value About Teaming?The Team as a Source of Individual Development: Engaging in Reflective PracticeThe Bedrock of Teaming: TrustAbout Vulnerability, Trust, and TeamingMore About Psychological Safety and Its Importance to a Developmental ApproachAttending to Developmental DiversityThe Instrumental Knower as Team MemberThe Socializing Knower as Team MemberThe Self-Authoring Knower as Team MemberThe Self-Transforming Knower as Team MemberThe Value of the Developmental Perspective in TeamingWhat I’ve Learned About Teaming From School and District LeadersWhat Leaders at All Levels Taught Me About TeamingHow Leaders Use TeamingDr. Myatt, Fenway Pilot High SchoolMr. Beshir Abdell, Assistant Principal, Bayside High School, New York CityMs. Christina Vittiglio, Teacher-Leader, Francis Lewis High School, New York CityHow Effective Teaming Promotes Adult DevelopmentEstablishing Ground Rules, Norms, and CommitmentsOn Powerful Norms, Open Dialogue, and the Need for Safe and Brave SpacesA Word About Safe and Brave SpacesSample Norms, Agreements, Guidelines From Teams in the Field—And Two Tales of Norm SettingBuilding Norms Helped One School After a Year of COVID-19A High-Trust, High-Functioning TeamFraming Questions to Attend to Ways of KnowingAssessing Team PerformanceAdditional Protocols for Furthering Team ProgressImplementing Teaming: Stories and Lessons From the FieldAdults Need Spaces for Vulnerability—A Principal’s RealizationHow a Principal Used the Pillars to Guide TeamsA Fresh Start in Leading a Grade-Level TeamA Protocol for Teaming DilemmasFrequently Asked QuestionsChapter SummaryApplication Exercise 3.1: Bridge to PracticeApplication Exercise 3.2: Capitalizing on Developmental Strengths and Growing Edges of TeammatesCHAPTER 4: Offering Leadership Roles: Learning and Growing From Leading TogetherAbout Offering Leadership RolesHow Is Offering Leadership Roles Different From Distributing Leadership?What the Literature Says About Offering Leadership RolesThe New Keys for Leading in Complex TimesPathways for Sharing LeadershipThe Principal’s Role: Relationships and Leadership StyleNeeded: Structural Supports and Clear Expectations for LeadershipCurrent Thinking About Teacher LeadershipDevelopmental Benefits of Offering Leadership RolesRelating Leadership Roles to Ways of Knowing: Pulling the Developmental ThreadThe Instrumental Knower as LeaderThe Socializing Knower as LeaderThe Self-Authoring Knower as LeaderThe Self-Transforming Knower as LeaderThe Leadership Role as Holding EnvironmentWhat I’ve Learned About Offering Leadership Roles from Schools and District LeadersOffering Leadership Roles to Teachers and to PrincipalsBarriers to Offering Leadership RolesLearning From Leadership RolesSupports for Those Assuming Leadership RolesExamples of Leaders’ Use of Offering Leadership RolesPrincipals Offering Leadership Roles for TeachersBuilding Capacity by Offering Leadership Roles at Middle School 88 in Park Slope, BrooklynThe Case: In Principal Mitchell’s VoiceImplementing Teaming and Lifting Teacher-LeadersHow Teams Functioned and Were SupportedImpact and Observed Benefits of Our ApproachMy Insights—and Tips and TakeawaysTeacher Leadership Roles Inside the SchoolTeacher Leadership Roles Outside the SchoolPrincipals Assuming Additional Leadership RolesPrincipals as Mentors and Coaches to Aspiring and Practicing PrincipalsPrincipals as Facilitators of Conversations With Newer PrincipalsPrincipals Assuming Leadership Roles in Collaborative Inquiry GroupsThe Case: Leading for Sustainable Change (In Dr. Wilson’s Voice)Offering Leadership Roles and Self-Insight—And Outcomes of the ApproachMy Reflections on the Process—And Some TakeawaysTeachers Assuming Their Own Additional Leadership RolesHow One Leader Offers Teachers Leadership Roles Within Schools and DistrictsCases and Lessons From the FieldGrowing Into and From a Leadership Role—Peter’s StoryJenni’s Story: Stuck in the MiddleEdgar’s Story: Changing a Math Program Through Teaming and Inviting Teachers Into LeadershipReferencesChristy’s Case: Offering Leadership Roles and Developmentally Intentional PDReferencesChapter SummaryApplication Exercise 4.1Application Exercise 4.2: Insightful Questions to Ask ColleaguesEndnotes: Chapter 4CHAPTER 5: Mentoring: Building Meaningful and Growth-Enhancing RelationshipsMentoring: Origin and OverviewKey Definitions and Roles of MentorsMentoring in the Professional Development Literature: Across SectorsThe Benefits of MentoringLearning to Be a Good MentorMentoring as a Lever for EquityMentoring in the Professional Development Literature: In K–12 EducationThe Link Between Mentoring and RetentionMentoring New TeachersMentoring Helps Mentors, TooMentoring School Leaders and AdministratorsRemote MentoringA Note on Coaching in K–12 Education and Leadership ContextsEffective Coaching Doesn’t Work in a Vacuum: Culture MattersCoaching and EquityCoaching and Cultural SensitivityThe Emotional and Intellectual Weight of CoachingThe Inner Life of the CoachCoaching LeadershipMentoring in the Adult Development LiteratureThe Mentoring RelationshipMentoring as a Holding Environment for GrowthHow a Mentor Can Offer SupportsHow a Mentor Can Provide Challenges—Stretching (When the Person Is Ready)Key Things to Keep in MindAbout Building Mentoring Programs—A Developmental PerspectiveMentoring and Developmental DiversityRelating Ways of Knowing to MentoringThe Instrumental Knower as MenteeThe Socializing Knower as MenteeThe Self-Authoring Knower as MenteeThe Self-Transforming Knower as MenteeHow Our Way of Knowing Influences How We MentorWhy and How School and District Leaders Employ MentoringExamples of Principals’ Use of Mentoring to Support Teachers’ Growth and LearningGeneral Features of Mentoring Programs Used by PrincipalsPrograms for Beginning TeachersMentoring Teachers in Using TechnologyAn Example of Principals’ Mentoring Assistant Principals’ LearningConceptions of MentoringCharacteristics of “Good Mentors”What Supports Mentees Most WantWhat Mentors Feel Most Proud OfSome Themes in District-Level Leaders’ Use of MentoringImplementing Mentoring and Coaching: Stories From the FieldA View From a Successful Mentoring ProgramA Transformative Mentorship: Redefining Wellness in Leadership Through Coaching and MentoringLearning to Prioritize Wellness Through Mentorship: In Jullia Lim’s VoiceA Shift to Prioritizing Emotional and Mental Well-BeingEmbracing a Comprehensive Approach to WellnessThe Impact of Mentorship on My LifeDevelopmental Mentoring in a Bronx High SchoolSupporting Adult Development in Schools: In Michael Barakat’s VoiceMeeting—and Mentoring—Teachers Where They AreMentorship: No Quick Fix, but a Powerful ToolMentorship as a Catalyst for Continuous DevelopmentMentoring New Principals in Chicago Public SchoolsMeeting the Developmental Needs of First-Year Principals: In Tai Maria Basurto’s VoiceImplementationBenefitsReflections and Insights—Tips and TakeawaysGrowing From Being Coached to Coaching Teachers and Leaders in AustraliaThe Transformative Power of Coaching for Adult Learning: In Andrea’s VoiceUsing Differentiation and Trust-Building in CoachingBuilding Others’ Coaching Knowledge and SkillsMy Journey ContinuesWhat These Cases Reveal About MentoringA Protocol for Building Mentoring Relationships That Nurture Adult DevelopmentChapter SummaryApplication ExerciseCHAPTER 6: Collegial Inquiry: Engaging in Shared Dialogue and Reflection on PracticeCollegial Inquiry: A Kind of Reflective Practice—And MoreReflective Practice Supports Personal and Professional LearningReflective Practice Helps Us Identify Our AssumptionsReflective Practice Helps Us Reconceptualize Our AssumptionsBuilding a Culture of Collaborative Reflective PracticeWho Should Engage in Reflective Practice?Requirements for Engaging in Reflective PracticeDeveloping Structures for Shared Reflection and DialogueNarrative Spotlight: One Teacher’s Call for Safe SpacesCreating the Conditions for Shared Reflection and DialogueModeling How to Engage in Dialogue and ReflectionIncreasing Self-Awareness Through Meaningful Dialogue and ReflectionAcclimating Teachers to a New CultureHow Collegial Inquiry Connects to Developmental DiversityRelating Collegial Inquiry to Ways of KnowingThe Instrumental Knower and Collegial InquiryThe Socializing Knower and Collegial InquiryThe Self-Authoring Knower and Collegial InquiryThe Self-Transforming Knower and Collegial InquiryCollegial Inquiry as a Path to a Different Way of KnowingApplication Spotlight: Goal Setting Across Ways of KnowingHow Leaders Can Developmentally Tailor Goal-Setting Practices With Adult LearnersHow Collegial Inquiry Applies to FeedbackDevelopmental Feedback as a Powerful Form of Collegial InquiryCompassionate ListeningDifferentiating Feedback for GrowthThe Flower Metaphor: Tuning Into Inner GrowthFeedback as a Holding Environment for GrowthBuilding a Feedback Culture Through Collegial InquiryGiving and Receiving FeedbackApplication Spotlight: Exercises to Practice Developmental FeedbackApplication Exercise 1: Questions for Checking in and Requesting Feedback on Your Coaching/Training/Leadership WorkApplication Exercise 2: Naming Your Feedback Dilemma/ChallengeApplication Exercise 3: Practicing Feedback Giving With a Feedback PartnerHow and Why Leaders Employ Collegial InquiryHow Leaders Are Having Collegial ConversationsEngaging in Courageous ConversationsPreparing for Challenging ConversationsCollegial Dialogue in a Racially and Culturally Diverse Public SchoolTeacher Conversations Within PLCsDevelopmental Conversations Between Schools and FamiliesPractices School Leaders Are Using to Initiate Collegial InquiryPractices Used by Principals and Assistant Principals With Teachers and Other AdultsPractice 1: Reflection Through the Process of WritingPractice 2: Reflection Through DialoguePractice 3: Reflection Through Decision-MakingPractice 4: Reflection Through Helping and Advising OthersPractices Used by Principals With Fellow PrincipalsPractices Used by Teachers With Other TeachersPractice 1: Initiating Book ClubsPractice 2: Initiating Groups for Sharing Best PracticesPractice 3: Initiating Groups on Grant and Proposal WritingFour Case Studies From the Field Using Collegial InquiryDealing With Profound Change: Making Sense of AI and Instructional RedesignThe Challenge of AI in Education: In Jerry Crisci’s VoiceA Prime Opportunity for Collegial InquiryThe ProcessMaking Time for Mourning and Incorporating Diverse VoicesHow This Learning Experience Benefited TeachersQuestions to ConsiderFaculty Self-Identifying Their “Way of Knowing” and Teaming With Complementary “Knowers” for Collegial ConversationsThe Ways of Knowing—A New Lens: In Mark Erlenwein’s VoiceThe Framework: Merging Ways of Knowing With Trust, Safety, and RespectThe Impact of WOK-Centered Feedback on Leadership and TeachingLeveraging Collegial Inquiry for Effective Grade ReassignmentsOur Challenge and the Pillar of Collegial Inquiry: In Felix and Jennifer’s VoiceBuilding Trust and Easing in ChangeHow Collegial Inquiry Benefited Our CommunityInsights, Tips, and TakeawaysHow One Principal Helped a New Team Bond With Each OtherA Day for Bonding—And Learning From GeeseSetting Goals for Working Better as a TeamAn Exercise to Surface Values and Build TrustChapter SummaryApplication ExercisesExercise 6.1: Convening: Personal Case-Based Discussions That Support Collegial InquiryOrganizing the CaseExercise 6.2: Goal Setting as an Instructional and Developmental PracticeCHAPTER 7: Futuring ForwardBuilding Developmental Capacity to Meet Adaptive ChallengesSchools and Districts as Learning CentersA Learning-Oriented Leadership Model for Promoting GrowthAttending to and Honoring Our Own and Each Other’s Internal CapacitiesValuing Adults’ Ways of KnowingSupporting Different Ways of Knowing—Without LabelingWhy Developmental Diversity Matters in Leadership and LearningPutting the New Learning-Oriented Model Into PracticeThe Power of Cathedral Thinking as We Try a New ModelCathedral Thinking in SchoolsOn This Journey, Renewal and Hope . . .The Challenge and Promise of Renewal—And TransformationLove and Listening Make Renewal PossibleA Call to Action: Carrying the Work ForwardWalking in Hope Toward Today’s—And Your Future—PurposeEpilogueGlossaryReferencesIndexBuilding Developmental Capacity to Meet Adaptive ChallengesSchools and Districts as Learning CentersA Learning-Oriented Leadership Model for Promoting GrowthAttending to and Honoring Our Own and Each Other’s Internal CapacitiesValuing Adults’ Ways of KnowingSupporting Different Ways of Knowing—Without LabelingWhy Developmental Diversity Matters in Leadership and LearningPutting the New Learning-Oriented Model Into PracticeThe Power of Cathedral Thinking as We Try a New ModelCathedral Thinking in SchoolsOn This Journey, Renewal and Hope . . .The Challenge and Promise of Renewal—And TransformationLove and Listening Make Renewal PossibleA Call to Action: Carrying the Work ForwardWalking in Hope Toward Today’s—And Your Future—PurposeEpilogueGlossaryReferencesIndex

"Ellie Drago-Severson once again offers the field a profound and deeply practical roadmap for educational leadership. In an era marked by complexity, uncertainty, and rapid change, Leading Adult Learning 2.0 reminds us that the most transformative schools and systems are built through the intentional development of the adults within them. Grounded in decades of research and brought to life through powerful examples and actionable strategies, this book is essential reading for leaders committed to building humane, collaborative, and growth-centered educational communities."