The following question in the context of a conversation connected to class size was posed to me via Twitter and the blog of @danhaesler and warrants a response longer than 140 characters. “A poor lesson in front of 40 kids will still be a poor lesson in front of 20″. Could a great lesson...
Posts Tagged ‘ vision for schools ’
Manifesto for education change
(This article is a compilation of tweets – feel free to add your comments and questions and advance the conversation.) Imagine Learning Manifesto for education change #edchat #education #cpchat The world is changing rapidly. Regrettably, education is not keeping pace with change. We need to re-think education. Toffler said 21st C learning is about learning,...
Witnessing a fundamental shift in the role of teachers to that of creative directors
“People come from all over the world to the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning. Typically they come to see buildings, spaces and furniture. They leave seeing the possibility for reconstructing their own learning spaces, pedagogy, teams and thinking. That is, I suspect, at the core of my professional achievement.” Cross post of an...
Brave new worlds: matching exec functions to 21st century priorities
As I plan for 2013, I was inspired to take up a challenge. Most executive positions in schools piggy back on to old paradigm thinking and roles. How many companies retain positions and titles simply because you’ve always had them? They wouldn’t and i viagra uk f they wish to remain alive, they don’t....
6 powerful strategies for paradigm-shifting teacher PD
As educators and leaders, we need to re-think every aspect of our professional practice to consider ‘could we be doing this better?’ Here is a brain-dump of the 6 most powerful strategies that I have used or in which I have participated. 1. Use a ‘hands-on’ approach that teaches team work I want the...
5 Thoughts on Maximizing Student Voice
Last night my grad school colleague and friend Brandon Wiley shared with me 17 minutes of thought-provoking lecture – from a student. I was struck by this inspiring Ted Talk from 17 year-old Nikhil Goyal. He is a current senior at Syosset High School in New York, and has chosen to make his valuable...
Re-designing spaces for learning
(This is a copy of a my guest blog post published this week for the World Innovation Summit for Education – WISE, Qatar – on re-designing spaces for learning: http://www.wise-qatar.org/content/stephen-harris-redesigning-spaces-around-collaborative-teaching and slide show: http://www.wise-qatar.org/node/16860 RE-DESIGNING SPACES FOR LEARNING There is a clear movement occurring in education globally right now – a movement that is seeking...
Is Twitter encouraging a type of ‘Arab Spring’ within Education?
This interesting thought occurred during a conversation today. Are we living through a process whereby social media is finally breaking down some of the traditional divides that have kept education transformation suppressed? I suspect we are. What is twitter managing to do? Break down the barriers that have made it difficult for teachers...
‘We are not going to miss out on the technological revolution’ Paul Kagame (paraphrased)
Rwanda 2012 Reflection #4 – do you use your role for a higher purpose? As Principals, Superintendents or school leaders, do you use your position to try and ‘be the change’? It seems like a straightforward enough question – but probably one that bears a...
‘They walk straight past us’
Rwanda Reflections #3 – ‘They walk straight past us’ Through this series of blog posts, I am seeking to process another profound experience – visiting Rwanda for the fourth time. I am also hoping to raise awareness of the educational needs of this country – particularly in the regional rural schools. And I...
‘We could and should have done more’ – Kofi Annan, 2004
Rwanda 2012 Reflection #2 – ‘We could and should have done more’ – Kofi Annan, 2004 A journey I have just spent 8 days in Rwanda in preparation for a summit I am organizing with some colleagues – Innovate Rwanda (www.scil.com.au/rwanda). During these days, I had the privilege of being invited into...
Privileged at birth – but for what purpose?
Rwanda 2012 Reflection #1 Circumstantial Privilege I probably think way too much and I’ve had the opportunity to travel a fair amount in the last few years as part of a process to determine ‘next practice’ for our school. When in the air and looking at a map of the terrain over which...
2011 Lesson #3 – “Do then think”: take risks
Okay … this lesson probably commenced in my early childhood if I count the number of hospital visits from bumping into (stupidly designed) concrete telegraph poles in Auckland, slipping off high chairs to raid the top kitchen cupboards or eating poisonous plants because they looked nice. But the notion of learning by doing...
2011 Lesson #1 – Vision has to trump administration
2011 has been an amazing year for me professionally – a year of great change at NBCS and a year of outstanding opportunities, travel and thinking for me. It has also been a year of new connections. I am going to try and capture some of the main insights during 2011 gained in...
Process Post – Exploring Lines of Flight, Orchestrating and Coordinating #Innovation, and Other Murmurations
Preface “Birds of a feather flock together.” How is it that various flocks of birds fly together in non-linear formation? How exactly do they communicate with each other to cut and cross paths in synchronized patterns? Is there a captain or a conductor or a coordinator? Do zigzagging birds rotate those roles of captain,...
We need schools where “everybody knows your name.”
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles...
What is the State of your school?
One of the key events of the year is when the President of the United States holds the State of the Union Address. Each president has addressed the nation in order to convey a specific message and move the nation to action. One of my mentors named Keith Bell has been a successful and...
No Office Day
Sometime in December, 2010 I read a blog post by David Truss, principal of a school in Dalian, China titled, “No Office Day.” The title piqued my interest, but what really got my attention was something he wrote. “If a principal stays in the office all day, he/she might as well stay at home.”...
8 Guiding Questions for Conversations about Becoming a School of the Future
I highly recommend a brand new online publication, A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future. The 60 page document, prepared by Robert Witt and Jean Orvis as lead authors, is an attractive, appealing guide and deserves reading by every principal, connected or not. (Its intended audience is independent schools, but I...
Choose Your Battle
Choose your position: Are you a gatekeeper, policemen, guard… or teacher? All these jobs are necessary, but which one belongs in schools? Choose your battle: Filters that also filter learning -or- High expectations about appropriate use? Banning POD’s (Personally Owned Devices) -or- High expectations about appropriate use? Teaching without technology -or- High expectations about...
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