So, I want to tell you why I think you should join us for Change School 4. And I want to get personal, which many of you know is one of my favorite words. For the last dozen years or so, I’ve spent a lot of time on the road visiting lots of schools, keynoting […]
The Power of “Live-By” Professional Learning Read More »
What norms do you have in your school, not just for behavior, but for learning? In most schools, norms exist, but they are not as clearly articulated as these five at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School outside of Atlanta, Ga.: Start with questions Assume the best Fail up Share the well Have fun Those norms form
#20: Brett Jacobsen – Norms for Learning Read More »
For those not yet totally overwhelmed by the information stacks and flows of the modern world, here’s a not so secret trick to pushing yourself over the edge. Login to your Google account. Go to Google Alerts Create an alert for “computers in education” Copy the RSS feed for that alert Paste into your favorite
How to Read “Tech in Schools” Stories Read More »
How often have you ever had to wait for a taxi that never seems to come, or in fact never does? And how do you respond to that prolonged wait? Frustration, anger? So, what was so different about Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp who, on a snowy Paris evening in 2008 also had trouble hailing
Dare to Re-imagine Read More »
Remember 1849 when everyone seemed to be heading to California in search of gold? That’s the feeling I’m getting lately when it comes to change in education. Almost everyone seems to be trying to lay claim to “change” in schools these days. Chromebooks! Personalization! AI! It’s the new gold rush (though I doubt the football team
Raising the Bar on Change in Schools Read More »
It’s time to raise the bar on our conversations around school change. For too long, we’ve been paying lip service to “transformation,” unwilling or unable to reimagine our work in schools in ways that are fully relevant for the realities of the modern world. And as we pursue half-measures to become “better,” we neglect the
10 Principles for Schools of Modern Learning Read More »
A snowy start to the year can certainly slow things down a lot in the North of our planet, and below the equator, a sharp dose of summer will mean lying on beaches to enjoy the end of the summer vacation. So maybe we all did need a wake-up call to get us going this
Who is Paying Attention? Read More »
I’ve been trying to imagine the pothole filled ride that 2017 is about to deliver, and I’m not sure “buckling up” is going to do much good. I can’t remember a new year that augured so much uncertainty. You? My first instinct is to tie everything down, stick to the routines, make sure emergency measures
Our Resolution: Be Less Efficient. And Ship. Read More »
As the year draws to a hectic close, and clichés like that one become more prevalent, I have been reflecting not so much on my best books or films or even restaurants of the year, but rather, on what I have learnt* over the past 12 months? Here at Modern Learners, we’ve spent another year,
What Have You Learnt This Year? Read More »
I got an email recently from a superintendent in a district where I’ve had the good fortune of visiting a number of times. She writes: “It is interesting to me that teachers really believe they can’t take risks. How do we help them believe they can and must???” As with many, many things education, I think
Tell “Risky” Stories Read More »
Stay with me on this. Its a topic that I think warrants a little more than we normally share here, and I promise, no politics and no mention of the “T” word… I’m not sure if you’re fully aware, but right now there are signs of a fundamental shift in the way our students will
The End of the Beginning of New Credentials Read More »
I was lucky. I completed my teaching degree in the 1970’s during a time of new ideas, new directions and new thinking. It wasn’t just a time for hippies and Woodstockers, but importantly it was also a time of provocative and open discourse around education, which inspired vigorous public conversations around the role of school and
The Moons are Aligning Read More »
How much of what we do every day is part of a routine, habit, or in some cases almost a ritual? I know that for most of us the getting out of bed, shower, teeth thing certainly is, but when it comes to our work the context of the question shifts, and maybe it’s a
Bells and Cells and other Big Fat Myths Read More »
“How much of our “progress” as teachers has been spurred by fear of failure, of punishment, of low test scores, of a poor evaluation?” That’s a question that has me thinking this morning, asked in an interesting blog post by Arthur Chiaravalli on Medium. It’s especially compelling considering my recent trip to Finland (summarized in our
What If We Stopped Evaluating Teachers? Read More »
Like many of you I’m sure, I enjoy reading Seth Godin. Maybe not as much as I like reading Sarason, Papert, and Frank Smith, but Godin’s thinking is often a sharp left turn from where I often find myself. I was reading some copy he posted on his AltMBA course site this past week: Welcome to the age
Looking at Technology Through a Learning Lens Read More »
