What were you doing four years ago? For some that might seem like a recent memory, while for others so much water has flowed under the bridge it seems like forever. For Will and I, it was a conversation over a great bottle of red that launched Modern Learners. One thing that all of us do know is that in those four years we have witnessed more change in the world around us than we have ever seen before. That thing called the internet, effectively non-existent 20 years ago, linked 1 billion people by 2005, 2 billion people by 2010 and 3 billion people by 2015. Now, over half of humanity is online. So what’s changed in our schools? For too many, not much, but for an increasing number the past four years have meant a big shift in thinking about what school could and should be. Hopefully that’s you, but then maybe you’ve been in that space for longer than four years, so the exciting thing for you is... now you’re not alone. For one thing, you’re now part of the rapidly growing … [Read more...]
Beware of Proxies
As we work through our busy lives, I’m intrigued by how readily we seem to accept so many of the assumptions that impact on that work. I don’t think for a minute that this is something we do consciously, but when you have so much going on in your life, you simply don’t have the time or inclination to reflect or test the veracity of what we assume to be correct. Take our use of proxies. As Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame outlined recently in his annual newsletter, a common example is process as proxy. Good process serves you so you can be more effective or efficient in what you are seeking to achieve. But if you’re not watchful, the process can become the thing. It’s the sort of language and double-speak that clumsy bureaucracies thrive on, and the education sector is certainly no exception. It can happen very easily in large companies, public sector organizations or schools. The process becomes the proxy for the result you want. You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you’re … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Planets
There are two planets in the Universe of Today, Planet Earth and Planet School. Planet Earth can seem a little crazy at times, but it's connected, complex and in a constant state of change. It’s a cultural melting pot, and people are continuously communicating across more countries, more often in more mediums that we might have ever imagined. Working on Planet Earth is very different to what it used to be. Everything seems interconnected, interrelated and most critically, interdependent. The traditional rules of order have changed, where many of the assumptions about business that were previously valid, are no longer relevant. Risk-aversion is not an option, rather it is now about the pursuit of opportunity when the context seems much more uncertain. People work when they need to, as they have to, often from a variety of venues including their home, and more frequently, not for long with one company. Their employment is no longer dependent on what they know, but rather on what … [Read more...]
Voice, Choice and Mastery with Rodney Bowler
In this episode, Will Richardson talks with Rodney Bowler and Aaryn Schmuhl from Henry County Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. Rodney is District Superintendent for Henry County Schools, while Aaryn is Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Leadership. Highlights of their conversation include: Why being intentional by being courageous at the same time are really important dispositions for the leadership of a change movement. Why we have to change our metrics of success and start thinking differently about what makes the kids life ready. How do you measure the immeasurable? Why sometimes a hard reboot is what a school or District really needs. What does giving students voice really mean, and what are the implications for their learning? Why it’s not about tailoring content to kids, but rather it’s about giving kids the power to learn how to tailor content to themselves. How do you do that? How do you get teachers to be authentic project based learners as well? … [Read more...]
If Only…
In a week when we have had more conversations with more changeleaders than Will and I might ever have imagined possible, it has given me cause to reflect. While the amount of interest we’ve had from leaders across the world who wanted to be part of Change.School has been a little overwhelming, it has, on the other hand also only highlighted the level of caution and timidity that still dominates the education sector. We heard from many school leaders who loved the concept of Change School, but... “If only...” And sure, plenty of the ‘if onlys’ were tough stories from leaders who knew their schools should change, but struggled to do so. What the past week did tell us very clearly, however, is that there is now evidence of growing worldwide passion for change in our schools. So what happens if we drop 'only' and stick with ‘if”. If must be one of the most powerful words in the English language because those two letters can convey so much about opportunity and possibility, but when … [Read more...]
The Realities of Deep Change with Lawrence DeMaeyer
In this episode, Will Richardson talks with Lawrence DeMaeyer about the realities of deep change at Peel School Board outside of Toronto, Ontario. Lawrence received his Masters in Education from the University of Toronto, and in recent times has lead much of the development of many of the elements of the Peel School Board’s Empowering Modern Learners initiative. As such he is now Peel Board's coordinating Principal of Modern Learning and guiding the implementation of the new vision for modern learning. His responsibilities include: implementing the new vision: Empowering Modern Learners coordinating professional learning and training that aligns with Ministry of Education and district priorities championing e-learning supporting principals and vice-principals with technology and data-related matters supporting protocols and practices to ensure that all data is clean, accurate, accessible, secure and available for integration advising Learning Technology … [Read more...]
How Curious Are You?
I’m curious about curiosity. It's not something we have talked enough about in the past, but in a society that celebrates creativity and innovative thinking, I feel it will be a lot more prominent in the future. So when I hear someone say that it’s a pity their kids aren’t more curious, I wonder what their motivation in saying that is. Surely you must learn to be curious because you need to be curious to learn. So what’s going on? If we assume our young people arrive on the planet curious about the world around them, asking questions about anything and everything, what happens to them? Do they just ‘lose’ their natural curiosity and 'grow out of it', or is it that we really do manage to teach the curiosity out of them? If curiosity is really the essential food of learning, then the obvious question is, why don’t we focus more on developing searchingly curious minds as a priority in our students? While we’re tripping the 21stCentury learning light fantastic, maybe we should have been … [Read more...]
How Community Voice Can Drive Change in Schools with John Jungmann
How often have you thought of your school community as a driver for change? And if you have, how do you manage that? How can we establish better connections between what happens inside our schools and the everyday experiences of people in the wider community? In this episode, Will Richardson talks with John Jungmann, who is the superintendent of the largest school district in Missouri which you might be surprised to hear is Springfield not Saint Louis. John and his team are as good as you’re going to find in bringing in the community to what he calls the courageous conversations that we need to be having right now. But also in getting his students out in the community in the businesses and organizations where they can learn in real life settings around the things they have a passion for. Dr. Jungmann received his Doctor of Education from the University of Arkansas. Prior to being named superintendent at SPS, Dr. Jungmann was the superintendent of Liberty Public Schools and … [Read more...]
Diversity in a Complex World with Rafranz Davis
What’s required to build support for change in a diverse community? How do you tackle the big issues around change, when so many small ones are gathering momentum? What does it take to ensure that the day-to-day distractions that every school leader has to address don’t distract you from maintaining a focus on long-term sustainable change? In this episode of the Modern Learners Podcast, Will, talks with Rafranz Davis who is the Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning for Lufkin ISD. She is also a highly regarded speaker at education and technology conferences across the U.S. Rafranz’s passion for creativity and student centered learning has driven her work in supporting Lufkin’s transition to taking more innovative approaches to teaching and learning through integrated computational thinking, makerspaces and community driven personalized professional learning. When Rafranz is not disrupting the status quo in East Texas, she can be found connecting with the … [Read more...]
The Only Skill That Really Matters
When you think about it, learning is a rather quaint, but deceptively powerful word which we continually use, abuse and misuse in our work almost every day. Yet we see it constantly trivialised and thrown about like confetti across so many different contexts it's no wonder that it's real meaning is then lost in so many of the critical conversations around the purpose of school. For some, it's simply seen as a measure of intellect when someone is described as being learned or scholarly; at other times it is taken as a function of teaching, as in the oxymoronic “she only learned what she was taught." Still many use it as a comfort word within schools when they talk about 'learning spaces" and being "learner centered." In recent years it has become fashionable to preface it with an adjective such as "flipped," "blended," "personalized," "deeper" et al. as if the word ‘learning’ on its own is simply not capable of conveying significant meaning. Now we all know it’s not … [Read more...]