Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership | Tags: cell phones, change, Leadership, Physical Education, physical education classes, School Policy, schuylkill river trail, ugg boots
BTWPhoto on Flickr by UggBoy/UggGirl
As I was running on the Schuylkill River trail last week, I could not help but think how sad the recent ruling to ban Ugg boots by the Pottstown Middle School in PA was. I just don’t understand it. What do the Ugg boots have to do with a cell phone policy at school?
- Students record their data during the workout in their portfolio.
- Students take photos and/or video of their workout and then they are able to look at their technique. The feedback is immediate and they can make corrections right there on the spot.
- Students listen to music while they are working out. Pretty important since studies have shown that music can lead to better workouts.
This has been an excellent learning experience for the students and we feel that this will set the stage for lifelong fitness. I really feel sorry for those students and teachers in Pottstown Middle School who are talking about the Ugg boot ban instead of teaching and learning in today’s world.Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Leadership | Tags: change, k12online, Leadership, Risk taking
My presentation, School Leaders Set the Tone by Playing, Experimenting and Taking Risks went live yesterday. While I have given many conference presentations over the years, this one is something new and different for me. The reality that my work will be on the website for the world to see for who knows how long, is exciting. At the school level is was neat to see colleagues show up for an after school session where my video was the main event. On a global level, I loved seeing educators tweeting about watching the presentation. The MS teachers at Singapore American School were probably surprised to see a clip from their assembly Flashmob video.
This process made me realize the importance of sharing ideas with my own school community and getting them involved in the discussion. In the past I may have gone off and presented without sharing with the faculty and students. In this presentation I included teachers and students in the process. While I’m not someone who enjoys self-promotion, in this case I think that it will be valuable for our school community to view the presentation and spend time discussing the ideas. The concept of risk taking for innovation is one that we all should consider. While I didn’t mention it in the presentation, I view the act of creating a K12 Online Conference presentations risky. We’re all putting ourselves out there for the world to see.
You can hear my Voicethread description of the story behind the making of the presentation at the 2011 Presenter Backstories page. Creating a video was a new endeavor for me. One that I hope to repeat in the future. I know for a fact that I’ll do a much better job of editing the final product. That’s the one area that needs the most work.
Who knows how many people will be exposed to these ideas?
Photo from Creative Commons: Boy Scouts – Gettysburg
Michael Coakley holds the new official NBA basketball, left, and the old one, at right. outside the Winstanley offices in Lenox. Tue June 27 2006 (Bonnivier)
For those of us who are promoters of change it’s important for us to step back and carefully consider how those involved with the change initiative are feeling. In 2006, the NBA made the decision to change from leather to synthetic basketballs. There hadn’t been a change to the basketball in 35 years. Talk about a sensitive subject.
The league tested out the synthetic balls for approximately 3 months. Spalding, the ball manufacturer, stated “We believe the microfiber composite ball offers many superior characteristics to leather…” After the player’s union filed a grievance and many of the players complained, the NBA decided to switch back to the leather balls. At the time, David Stern reported “Although testing performed by Spalding and the NBA demonstrated that the new composite basketball was more consistent than leather, and statistically there has been an improvement in shooting, scoring and ball-related turnovers, the most important statistic is the view of our players.”
“The only thing that we love the most is the basketball. That’s your comfort. I mean, without your basketball, it doesn’t work. That was my biggest problem, was, why would you change something that means so much to us? ” —LeBron James, Cleveland
So, the NBA decided to listen to the players and not make the change.
I’ve been thinking about this example a lot lately as we take on change at school. While we’re not going to drop our work on assessment, PLCs, and teaching and learning in today’s digital world in a 1:1 environment, we can certainly decide to slow down or backtrack a bit when necessary. Whenever we make significant changes there are always unanticipated demands on time and energy. These demands can lead to frustration, anxiety, anger and grievances among colleagues. Sometimes the leader has to press on, and act as a cheerleader for change. Other times the leader has to listen to the teachers, students and other administrators and slow down or back track a bit. David Stern certainly understood this in 2006 and the league backtracking didn’t seem to have a negative impact on the NBA.
Like David Stern, I hope that I am able to recognize when it’s time to back track on planned changes.
Photo from Jacobwolman
Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Leadership | Tags: 21st Century Schools, change, Leadership, Vision
During a leadership team discussion on Graded in the future, one of my amazing colleagues came up with the quote of the year. She was explaining how she made the decision to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for leading in today’s 21st century landscape. She decided that she either needed to “learn or retire”. Her testimonial provided all of the members of our leadership team with inspiration and motivation to move forward. For educators, it doesn’t matter what stage of your career, you either “Learn or Retire”.
Filed under: Change Agent, Instructional Leader, Leadership | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Assessment, change, Curriculum, Leadership, Vision
Crossed Posted on 1to1 Schools
This is part 1 of 2.
I slowly worked my way through Heidi Hayes-Jacobs book Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World for the past couple of months. It’s been slow only because I haven’t had much time for serious reading lately. Once I got my new iPad I was able to breeze through it. While I was skeptical about the content at first, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with what I learned from the book. Hayes-Jacobs with help from Stephen Wilmarth, Vivien Stewart, Tim Tyson, Frank W. Baker, David Niguidula, Jamie P. Cloud, Alan November, Bill Sheskey, Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick present an argument, along with practical steps for “upgrading the curriculum”. This first post will focus on two key points from the first four chapters by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.
What year are you preparing your students for? 1973? 1995? Can you honestly say that your school’s curriculum and the program that you use are preparing your students for 2015 or 2020? Are you even preparing them for today?
Start with changing the assessments – As I visit classrooms I’m constantly asking myself how will the lesson change when everyone has ubiquitous access to the right technological tools (we’re preparing to go 1:1 in 2012). As we talk about this transformation I agree with her in saying that the first practical step to take is to change the assessments to. Her suggestion is to consider what “21st century social scientists, scientists, mathematicians, artists, writers, language specialists, musicians, and business men and women might produce…” To put this in place she suggests the following steps.
Step 1 – “Develop a pool of assessment”
Step 2 – “Teachers working with IT members, identify the existing types of software, hardware, and Internet-based capabilities in their school…” Suggestion for teachers to become comfortable with at least one new tool per semester.
Step 3 – “Replace a dated assessment with a modern one.”
Set aside a book report and replace it with a podcast, virtual literary tour, video or magazine book review.
Step 4 – “Share the assessment upgrades formally with colleagues and students.”
Step 5 – “Insert ongoing sessions for skill and assessment upgrades into the school calendar.”
Upgrade the Content -While changing the assessment is a good first step, upgrading the content through changes to the curriculum get to the heart of the matter. We, in international schools have the luxury of being able to develop our own curriculum. The suggestions that Heidi Hayes-Jacobs offers are refreshing and exciting. How would students feel about the following units?
- How does cultural anthropology shedding light on the economy of resource-rich Brazil?
- Science units focused on ideas that changed the world. Also thinking ahead to future ideas that have the potential to change the world.
- Physical education students organizing a 5k run for the community to promote healthy lifestyles.
- A unit on book to film where students study the process and results of making a movie from a book.
- Using an integrated approach to teaching math/economics where students look at the economics of real life problems. The students create their own Freakonomics scenarios.
- Students organizing a virtual orchestra concert with musicians from around the world.
I believe that these steps can help us make a transition into a school that is preparing students for 2011. Has anyone tested the ideas out?
If you’re interested in joining the Curriculum 21 Learning Commons you can join the Ning.
Part 2 will be devoted to key learnings from the other authors.
Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership, Modeler | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, change, Leadership, Learning, Modeler
Cross posted on 1 to 1 Schools.
We know that practices change when teaches, students and administrators have ubiquitous access to technology on a daily basis. In the classroom, teachers and students have to explore different strategies for teaching and learning. In the administrative offices, school leaders should, “promote and model effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders using digital-age tools.” (From ISTE’s NETS-Administrators). These changes don’t happen overnight because it can be difficult to develop new skills and knowledge and to change habits. What does the school leader who suddenly finds him/herself in a 1:1 environment do? In what ways do they change their practices to effectively leverage these new tools?
Let’s look at the following scenario: The principal and/or administrative team members are in charge of facilitating a planning session(s) with community stakeholders and all members of the group have access to a wide variety of resources and technological tools.
It’s very likely that the sticky notes and chart paper will not be needed for this meeting.
Let’s begin with Jeff Utecht’s four questions that Nick mentioned in his post entitled, “I’ve got to think of a new job title.”
- Is the technology being used “Just because it’s there”?
- Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in Old ways?
- Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in New ways?
- Is the technology creating new and different learning experiences for the students?
These questions can certainly be used by the leader to guide his/her planning. It seems to be a real challenge to develop a planning session that will create a different experience for the participants.
Some of the possibilities include:
- Using the tools to cut down on the face to face meeting time. Only meet in person when it’s really necessary.
- Using software to organize thoughts and ideas into visually stimulating digital images.
- Providing the group with a wide variety of online resources that they can review anytime, anywhere.
- Encourage the participants to seek out related information and resources throughout the session.
- Start the discussion off with a blog post for people to comment on.
- Communicate key concepts and ideas with stimulating visuals instead of the traditional bullet points.
I’d love to hear how school leaders are changing their practices to capitalize on this new environment. How are you “creating new and different learning experiences” for your community?
Filed under: Instructional Leader, Leadership, Visionary | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, Action Plans, Data, Educational Leadership, Leadership, Standards, Technology Plans, Vision
Check out this new post on the 1-to-1 Schools Net on creating a vision for student success in a 1-t0-1 laptop environment. I haven’t figured it out yet, but I’m working on it. It’s actually a very exciting project!
Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership | Tags: change, Leadership, LeaderTalk, Michael Watkins, school leadership, The First 90 Days, Transitions
Cross posted on LeaderTalk.
Five years ago I used Michael Watkins‘ book, The First 90 Days to help me prepare for my transition into a new principalship and I plan to do the same with my next job. In August, I’ll become the High School Principal at the Escola Graduada de São Paulo, or as those of us in the international circuit refer to it, “Graded”. Graded is an American international school in Sao Paulo serving the children of host nationals and expatriates. I feel strongly that this book was a main reason that I was able to successfully transition into my last job change. The first 90 days definitely set the tone for the rest of my tenure.
You might say, “This doesn’t apply to me because I’m not changing positions”, but you can also use the book and process with new leaders (e.g. assistant principals/superintendents, department heads, coordinators) in your organization. It doesn’t matter whether the new leader is coming from within the organization or from the outside. The book would be great to use in orientations and/or retreats before new leaders begin.
Michael Watkins is the Chairman of Genesis Advisers, an executive on-boarding and transition acceleration company located in Newton, Massachusetts and he opens the book by stating,
The actions you take during your first three months in a new job will largely determine whether you succeed for fail. Transitions are periods of opportunity, a chance to start afresh and to make needed changes in an organization. But they are also periods of acute vulnerability, because you lack established working relationships and a detailed understanding of your new role. If you fail to build momentum during your transition, you will face an uphill battle from that point forward.
If nothing else, Watkins creates an awareness of the importance of planning for “accelerating transitions” for the reader. Instead of going into the details I prefer to share just a few highlights.
The foundation of the book is based on the following propositions:
1. The root causes of transition failure always lie in a pernicious interaction between the situation, with its opportunities and pitfalls, and the individual, with his or her strengths and vulnerabilities. “Transition failures happen when new leaders either misunderstand the essential demands of the situation or lack the skill and flexibility to adapt to them.”
2. There are systematic methods that leaders can employ to both lessen the likelihood of failure and reach the breakeven point faster.
3. The overriding goal in a transtion is to build momentum by creating virtuous cycles that build credibility and by avoiding getting caught in vicious cycles that damage credibility.
4. Transitions are a crucible for leadership development and should be managed accordingly.
5. Adoption of a standard framework for accelerating transitions can yield big returns for organizations.
With an understanding of the five propositions one can then embark on the 90-day plan. There are ten steps to take during the process.
- Promote yourself
- Accelerate your learning
- Match strategy to situation
- Secure early wins
- Negotiate success
- Achieve alignment
- Build your team
- Create coalitions
- Keep your balance
- Expedite everyone
After just reviewing these ideas I’m excited to get started with my accelerated transition. After all, August will be here before I know it.
Anyone else used these strategies in the past? If so, I’d love to hear more about what happened.
Filed under: Change Agent, Leadership | Tags: 1:1 Laptop Programs, 21st Century Schools, Educational Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Technology, Technology Plans
I just recently started posting on the 1 to 1 Schools Net which is a blog that was established by CASTLE and Nick Sauers is the principal blogger.
Check out my latest post entitled Leadership and the 1-to-1 Bus.
Flickr by Edge of Space
