THE Big, Hairy Question For Schools and School Leaders
November 21, 2013Here is the question that education leaders should be screaming to each other and to the world: what is the business of school? For millennia, the business (some of my colleagues think we should not use the word business with respect to education; replace it with purpose if you like) of schools has been to…
My Book Will Be Published by Jossey-Bass!!
November 16, 2013I am so happy, honored, and to announce that I have signed a contract to publish my manuscript covering my travels and work of the last year with Jossey-Bass Publishers! To be honest, I had never given a lot of thought to who publishes the books I read. But when I started to reach out…
Is This the Future of Teacher-As-Learner?
November 16, 2013For those of you who are not active on Twitter or don’t follow me there (why not on both counts?!) this partnership between St. Andrew’s School in Potomac and the Harvard Graduate School of Education is such a wonderful and leading example of teacher-as-learner. Keep track of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at…
Cool Sketchnote of a Keynote, via Jim Tiffin
November 14, 2013Bo Adams and I kicked off the NYSAIS Assistant Heads and Division Heads meeting today with a talk; we have about 7 hours of active learning sessions over the next two days based around the theme of Time, Space, and Curriculum. We have about 190 attendees, so just think of the ideas and new perspectives…
The “Eco” in Educational Ecosystems: Words Matter
November 13, 2013Words matter. The first time I saw the word “ecosystem” used to describe a process of learning more attuned to the future needs of our students was by Thomas and Seeley-Brown in “A New Culture of Learning”. It resonated with me; they described the teacher as a farmer who sets out the boundary fences of inquiry…
Simple, Elegant, Revolutionary Idea to Massively Increase Faculty PD Time?
November 8, 2013Did a 9th grader just solve one of the most intransigent obstacles to school innovation? I think so! It is a simple, elegant, easy way to create large blocks of time for faculty to collaborate on their own professional development and growth. Read on and send comments; is there a hidden thorn in this rose…
Students Seeing Behind the Curtain of Their Own Learning
November 3, 2013When I first thought to teach students the tools of their own self-evolution as learners, using The Art of War as a toolkit, it struck many educators as quirky, to say the least. Still does. But when I get to spend a few hours with students, immersed in the simple, powerful lessons that I have…
Powerful Gathering of Ideas on Education Innovation as I Criss-Cross America
November 1, 2013Ending a POWERFUL two weeks of interactions with roughly 700 students, teachers, school administrators, and parents. I was at schools and conferences where educators gather to grow as professionals. What did these events have in common? We asked questions that many had not asked before. We included voices that are often not included in planning…
Innovation Lessons for All From Special Needs School: Noble Academy
October 31, 2013What can a small school for students with learning differences teach the rest of us about differentiated, student-owned learning? Perhaps a lot. I visited Noble Academy in Greensboro, N.C. today, a K-12 school with about 175 students, all of whom have one or a combination of learning differences. I did not even realize their specialization…
Imagining the Future of Learning Takes Hold at Miami Valley School, Dayton
October 30, 2013Exactly one year ago I was in my Prius driving through the Carolinas visiting schools and blogging from the road. This morning I am in Greensboro, N.C. and this time the Prius is back home in California. But I get to report on another school, Miami Valley School in Dayton, Ohio, that is taking some…
Students Crush Meaning of Learning, Pretty Much on Their Own!
October 28, 2013I did not think my afternoon session with the freshmen at All Saints Episcopal School could top the “you made my head hurt” whirl of systems thinking with the sophomores. I may have been wrong. I had a 70-minute learning block with the 9th grade cohort of the Tad Bird Honors College, and with virtually…
‘Creative Confidence” by Tom and David Kelley a Critical Tool for K-12 Educators
October 28, 2013I just finished reading Creative Confidence by David and Tom Kelley. This is not a review, a summary of design thinking, or an argument on why design thinking is a critical life skill. It is a short list of both intellectual and emotional responses to the book, primarily as it relates to my field of…
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