Those who followed my EdJourney will recall my report on Doug Berman and his ground-breaking four year computer science program at Porter Gaud School in Charleston. Doug Bergman is a nationally recognized teacher and his courses are a blend of open-ended projects on student-created ideas that he describes as “structured but chaotic”. During my visit, [...]
Frequent visitors to this space will know and not be surprised that I am honored to find that educational thought leader Bo Adams and I think a lot alike. His beautiful piece a week or so ago about schools as natural habitats is just another example. Bo likens the common school experience to a zoo, [...]
If you or your school is struggling (and struggle is good and essential!) with what transformative learning innovation looks like, with painting that picture of where you want to go, well, here is a big freebie brush via Glenn Whitman, Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Those [...]
As some of you will recall, I have blogged about and visited with Aaron Baldridge, the young AP Environmental Science teacher who created a class for seniors at the highly ranked Townview Center STEM magnet school in Dallas. Aaron has started putting out results from the course via his blog, and I encourage you to [...]
If you want to fill up 12 sheets on yellow pad with detailed notes and your head with great ideas for how to elevate student engagement, spend three hours at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian in Atlanta. I was warned ahead of time that Head Dr. Brett Jacobsen would direct a fire hose at me, but I [...]
History drips from Porter Gaud School like Spanish moss from the trees. Fort Sumter lies just across the salt marsh and a short stretch of the harbor. An old cannon from the Civil War era Federal armory sits on a pedestal. A visitor hears the story of how Dr. Porter, a Confederate, saved the life [...]
A week or so ago I posted on my visit with Pam Moran and the senior admin team of Albermarle County Public Schools. I mentioned a very clear figure they showed me that they use to articulate the "sweet spot" we are aiming for when we use the (dreaded) term 21C skills. With thanks, their [...]
Here is a sign of the times: in a meeting with about 14 senior administrators yesterday, the ink in my pen ran out. (I can still write faster on a yellow pad than I can type.) I asked for someone to lend me a pen. One person, Paul Ibsen, the business officer had one. No [...]
*Thanks, followers of EdJourney...700+ views yesterday! Incredible interscholastic sharing going on, free to all followers! Pass the link to a friend or colleague.* This post is going to be simple; clarity breeds simplicity. It will be about remarkable leadership and management style. There will be those who say, “we can’t learn from a public school [...]
One of the predominant themes of this journey has been that if a school wants to increase the rate of innovation, either out of desire or necessity (or both), they create a structure, name it, provide resources, and give it a charge. This post is about a school that is doing just that, out of [...]