Words 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 [...]
Did 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 [...]
When 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 [...]
Ending 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 [...]
What 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 [...]
Exactly 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 [...]
I 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 [...]
I 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 [...]
“You made my head hurt”, the 10th grader told me during reflection of our three-hour learning block on how to observe, analyze, understand, and communicate about systems. He assured me he meant it in a good way, and that comment immediately went into my top-five all time moments as a teacher. It was my honor [...]
Is there a place for student-centered school innovation at the crossroads of poverty, test scores, and growth mindset? What does that look like? Many others are tackling this question, but I had the opportunity to see a piece of it today when Laura Dearman of the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence and I visited Holy [...]