I have studied problem solving and the arts of strategy for decades, and their application to schools for more than 15 years. Simply, school organizations have gotten strategy wrong; we have been active but ineffective problem solvers. During times of relative stasis, that is a condition we can live with; during times of dynamic change [...]
Last night Bo Adams and I were honored to chat about the nature and strengths of design thinking and its role in K-12 education. This Fireside Chat was organized under the auspices of the weekly #DTk12Chat on Twitter which takes place on Wednesdays at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. It is routinely attended by dozens [...]
If, like me, you are less than a mathematical prodigy, any study of Chaos Theory other than the popular model for civilians is beyond our reach. But even at that non-rigorous level, we find that there are few concurrences more elegant, observable, repeatable, and downright beautiful than the fractal patterns of our world. We find [...]
For those of you who are not active on Twitter or do not follow me (what??), my post a few days ago that responded to Ira Socol's thoughts about "grit" and "slack" has touched off what I think many of us feel is a truly important discussion for educators. Some of our best educational thought [...]
On this easy Sunday morning, I read a Tweet from Ira Socol, teeing up Martin Luther King’s “Mountaintop” speech for students. I last saw this speech at the National Civil Rights Museum and MLK memorial in Memphis. It is not as well known as his “I Have a Dream”; it is longer and filled with [...]
There is the traditional and relatively easy way of developing strategy for your school. And then there is a non-traditional, more complex, and RIGHT way. Which is better in a time of rapid change? Traditional strategic planing and implementation goes something like this: Brainstorm ideas. Group those ideas together. Make sure all of the bases [...]
I have read and commented on three or four recent blog posts related to leadership in schools. I went back through some of my own harvesting of leadership research and found these short reflections on leadership practices that resonate at effectively innovating schools: Leading innovation is always best done from the front. Innovation is not [...]
On a warm Christmas morning, my first thought is to count my blessings, thank my wide circle of friend/colleagues for the year, and wish everyone a happy return on the day...which of course I do! Then I think what I would really like for Christmas... So deep are the divides of the human experience: north [...]
In fine-tuning the chapter on creativity chapter in my upcoming book, I wanted to write about the explosion of opportunities that teachers and students now have to make that leap from consumers to creators of knowledge within their learning process. I was honored to interview Neeru Khosla this morning; Neeru is the co-founder and Executive [...]
I am on a "what does Google have to share with a K12 school" kick. Today, via a Tweet from IDEO, I saw this post from David Garvin of the Harvard Business School with a summary of the semi-annual feedback that Google managers get from their direct reports. Check it out. What can schools learn from [...]