I welcome you to imagine a school where this chart drives all decisions. Imagine a world where we don’t hear things like “What does the data from the test scores tell us?”Imagine a school where we don’t hear, “You can’t do that because {blank} says you can’t.”Imagine a classroom where we don’t hear, “We have to learn this because you need…
How many times have you heard someone say, “You just have to get out of your own head?” Usually, you hear this when you are “stuck” and questioning yourself. Well, wouldn’t it be interesting if instead of “getting out of your own head,” you made your head a nice place to be? I think that sounds better!How can you make…
Blur words are words that are so vague in meaning that they are not useful in trying to explain anything. Those of us in education come across blur words a lot…they are kind of like the phenomenon when you buy a new car, and then suddenly almost every car you see is just like yours. Blur words are like that.…
Those of us engaged in public education must constantly adjust, reflect, and react to what is happening in the education environment. This means we nurture what is working in our schools right now, while also trying new practices to adjust to the future.I like the “Three Horizons” framework to help us think through how we can concentrate on our present…
First of all, my headline is slightly bullshittish. How do we define “success?” Our job as educators is to help learners figure out what success means for them and their families within the context of their world. BUT, I do like the idea of figuring out what are the actual skills students need to have a chance in today’s world,…
Okay, we know we live in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world. A statement of fact: in the past two years we have experienced an exponential rise in VUCA. How can you make plans and reach for goals in a VUCA world? For every project or goal figure out your parameters of possibility. Ask yourself this question: Under the…
Psychologist Mihály CsÃkszentmihályi developed the concept of a “flow state.” Have you ever been working on a project or a task and you had so much concentration that you didn’t notice that hours had gone by? That is a flow state. It is safe to assume that people love to be in a flow state, but it is hard to…
Last week I had in-depth conversations with three outstanding educators. Two of them are teachers, and one is a building principal. These people are the cream of the crop when it comes to educators. All of them have dedicated their lives to making the world a better place for the learners in the classrooms and buildings. None of them have…
I recently heard a school administrator say that they were looking for “rigor” in how learners are taught. Great.Good for them.Now what?Just because you say words that sound good, doesn’t mean they will have any impact on how learners are taught or how your school is run. Too many times we say words with the assumption that everyone agrees on the…
I created the New learning Ecosystem chart seven years ago. It was my attempt to try to make sense of the direction learning should go in the future. Interestingly, “learner-centered” is having a moment right now. There are so many great resources to learn more about becoming a learner-centered educator. A recent group that is having a lot of impact is…