What is the Secret Sauce of School Change?

"There's an assumption that schools are for students' learning. Well, why aren't they just as much for teachers' learning?" - Seymour Sarason

"I'm not asking you to change, I'm asking you to learn."
Missy Emler, Change School v3

Last Monday night and Cohort Three of Change.School was discussing change leadership and learning when Missy Emler dropped this gem on us from fifty thousand feet. Her follow-up comment was, "When people learn, people, systems, and organizations change." This simple, yet insightful commentary has been rattling around in my head for the past few days.

While mowing the front yard the following evening, I begin thinking about famous individuals who went through some form of transformation, historical figures, sports heroes, celebrities in pop culture. What preceded their conversion? All of the situations I could think of supported Missy's assertion, there was some kind of challenge, a period of reflection, possibly an epiphany, that resulted in learning, and in turn, transformative change.

Change is difficult. I have been curious whether people find the name change.school to be a bit threatening. What is the typical reaction when people are asked to change? My response would be something along the lines of, "Why, what's wrong with me?" That's what I find so sensical about Emler's advice, ask people to do something that is challenging, organic, and nourishing, change follows naturally.

The following evening, Wednesday, Will Richardson referencing Seymour Sarason, challenges our breakout chat room by asking, "What do you mean by learning?" This question is more complicated than it seems. Sarason tells us without an agreed upon, working definition of learning, school improvement becomes significantly harder to achieve.

Finally, after being held a few days in suspense, Bruce Dixon, while moderating tonight's conversation provided us with my favorite definition of learning, also from Sarason,

"Productive learning is a process which engenders and reinforces wanting to learn more."

There you have it, my takeaway from this week's sessions of change.school and the secret sauce of educational reform are learning. Think about how many of the emotionally charged issues facing administrators, teachers, students and their caregivers, get framed appropriately when we keep learning in its deserved place of prominence. Afterall, the business of school is learning. Pass the teriyaki, please.

6 Reasons for Teachers and Students to Love "Big Hero 6"

Wanting a break from last week's IETC conference in Springfield, I decided to walk across the street to the AMC-8 theater to see " Big Hero 6 ". I thoroughly enjoyed my second viewing of " Big Hero 6 " with a big bag of popcorn and a large Coke. If you are a teacher or a student, you will love this movie, not only because it's a captivating story, but also because it features themes currently prominent in learning and education. A box-office hit, here are six themes from this movie that will have teachers and students laughing and cheering from their theater seats. STEM EDUCATION - 14 year old robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada uses his engineering skills to inventively help his heroic friends overcome an evil adversary. Science, math, and technology are featured problem solving tools for Hiro and his robot friend, Baymax. When times get tough, Hiro encourages his friends to find solutions through creativity and innovation. Credit to Disney for trut...

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl...

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined ...

Nocking the Arrow

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