The Essence of Being a Leader

What is the essence of leadership? How do leaders effectively implement, sustain, and scale change? There is no shortage of responses regarding the topic, which is why questions are more important than answers. Narrowing down the most critical competencies can take time and effort. However, let’s look at it from the perspective of debunking what authentic leadership is, not to get at the heart of what it really is when it comes to agents of change.

The word "leader" is often paired with "follower." However, leadership is not about attracting others to follow. In fact, I think that this definition of leadership is outdated and limiting. Leadership is about inspiring others to take action. It's about creating a shared vision and then working together to achieve it. It's about empowering others to reach their full potential. Leadership is not about power, authority, or control. It's about collaboration, trust, and respect. It's about creating a sense of community and belonging.

The definition and perception of leadership need to change. We must move away from the traditional view of leadership as a top-down hierarchy and embrace a more collaborative and inclusive approach. We need leaders willing to listen to others, learn from their mistakes, and share power. We need leaders passionate about their vision and ready to inspire others to join them in making a difference.

Influential leaders don't tell people what to do. Instead, they take them where they need to be to succeed. They don't need to create a harem of followers or disciples because they know that their success depends on the team's success. True leaders understand that one person cannot win a war, election, or football game. It takes a team effort. Each person has an important role to play. The same principle applies to businesses, schools, and districts.

Leadership is not about position. It's about action. Great leaders are not afraid to get their hands dirty. They are willing to roll up their sleeves and work alongside their team members. They are also willing to take risks and make mistakes. Leadership is about creating a better future for everyone. It's about making a difference in the world. Great leaders are not afraid to dream big. They are also fearless in putting in the hard work necessary to make their dreams a reality.

In Learning Transformed, Tom Murray and I developed an acronym that speaks to the essence of being a leader. The best leaders do the following consistently:

Learn 

Empower

Adapt 

Delegate

Engage

Reflect

Serve

Learn

Effective leaders understand that learning is an ongoing process. They know there is no such thing as perfection and can constantly improve their skills and knowledge to develop vital competencies. They make time to learn new things daily and share their learning with others. Leaders who love their work are always learning. They are curious about the world around them and always look for ways to improve their skills and knowledge. They are also willing to take risks and try new things.

Empower

Empowering others is a key element of effective leadership. It involves giving people the freedom to take risks, promoting a mantra of failing forward and granting them autonomy to innovate. When people feel empowered, they are more likely to find greater value in their work. This leads to respect and trust, which builds powerful relationships where everyone is focused on achieving shared goals. Here are some specific ways that leaders can empower others:

• Promote consensus. Give people the opportunity to influence decisions and take ownership of their work.
• Provide feedback. Let people know how they are doing and offer suggestions for improvement.
• Celebrate successes. When people do a good job, make sure to recognize their efforts.
• Create a safe environment. Make sure that people feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes.

Empowering others can be challenging. It requires leaders to be willing to let go of some control and trust that their team members will often do the right thing. The benefits of empowerment are worth the effort. When people feel empowered, they are more likely to be engaged, productive, and creative. This can lead to significant improvements in the performance of any district, organization, or school.

Adapt

The world is constantly changing, and leaders must be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to these changes to succeed. This means being flexible and open to change, as well as being able to adapt to different situations, challenges, and pressures. Consider the following:

• Be willing to change your plans. Things don't always go according to plan, so it's essential to be ready to pivot or shift as needed.
• Be open to new ideas. Feel free to try new things, listen to different perspectives, and move beyond your comfort zone.
• Be able to think outside the box. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to look at things through a different lens.
• Be able to learn from your mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, but it is important to learn from them and avoid making the same mistake twice.

Adaptable leaders are more likely to be successful in the long run as they are more in tune with the ever-changing needs of their organizations. They are also more likely to be able to solve problems and overcome challenges. Adaptability is a crucial competency for leaders in today's world. Leaders who can adapt will be more likely to lead their organizations to success.

Delegate

Delegating tasks and responsibilities is not a sign of weakness. This is a common misconception. Some people think that delegating tasks means the leader is incapable of doing them themselves. It is actually a sign of strength as it shows that the leader is confident in their ability to lead others while freeing up the leader's time so that they can focus on the most critical tasks. This could include strategic planning, getting in classrooms, providing feedback, or building relationships with key stakeholders. When leaders delegate tasks, they are allowing others to develop their leadership competencies, and this, in turn, builds capacity.

Engage

Information is king in the sharing economy, which is our current reality. Leaders who understand this fact develop strategies to authentically engage their stakeholders through multi-dimensional communications, public relations, and brand building. They meet stakeholders where they are, encourage two-way communication, and become the storyteller-in-chief. 

Reflect

Great leaders always reflect on their work, which is essential for learning and growth. When leaders reflect on their work, they can identify what they did well, what they could have done better, and what they need to learn in the future. In the digital age, there are many ways to reflect, and doing so can lead to greater transparency. However, what matters most is that leaders make a consistent effort to reflect on their actions and decisions.

Serve 

Servant leaders put the needs of others first. They are not focused on their own personal goals or objectives but rather on the success of their staff or team. Those who put serving above all else are not motivated by power or prestige but rather by a desire to help others and make a difference in the world. This type of leadership style can create a more collaborative and supportive environment where employees feel valued and heard.

Leading change in any organization is a difficult task. Be true to yourself and others. When you fail (and you will), showcasing your vulnerable side will only help to strengthen the bonds with those you work with. Being human is more important than being right all the time. You will never have all the answers or solutions needed to move significant change efforts forward. Look to others for answers to questions and help you achieve your change goals. Continue to improve in ways that push you outside your comfort zone. With authenticity on your side, finding success will be much easier.

Meaningful Learning Begins and Ends with the Opportunities We Create

Learning hasn’t really changed, but the conditions that impact and influence it has. In Learning Transformed my co-author Tom Murray and I detailed eight keys backed by research and evidence that can facilitate a transformation of practice that will result in improved outcomes and better experiences for kids.  For change to occur, it is essential to continually evaluate where we are at in the process to eventually get to where we want to be, and our learners need us to be.  Ownership and empowerment result when meaningful opportunities are created for kids to explore, interact, design, and create in real-world contexts. How well are we developing critical competencies in our learners as depicted below?

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Our beliefs, values, and experiences all work to shape our respective practice. When it comes to learning the emphasis has to be on what the kids do, not the adult. Therein lies the significant distinction between teaching and learning. It’s not that the former is bad per se, but ultimately kids should be actively engaged in the thinking and the work.  As we work to create powerful learning opportunities, it is important to reflect upon and update our belief system as needed. 

I recently shared what I believed in. Don Bartolo, in his book Closing the Teacher Gap, shares a list of beliefs that should be considered when creating learning opportunities for kids. I have merged his list (italicized), which I slightly tweaked, with some of mine, as there was overlap. Bartolo suggests engaging in the following exercise where you pick 3 of the items below that most resonate with you. 

• Knowledge must be organized around key concepts and not learned in isolation as this promotes understanding. Relevant application to construct new knowledge matters.
• Learners must receive feedback from more knowledgeable others as well as peers. It must be timely and specific.
• Learners must be given the opportunity to connect current knowledge with new learning to build on what they know and can do.
• Learners need to be working for a purpose and not ritual compliance. Real engagement means students are involved and invested in their work.
• To become self-directed learners, students must learn to monitor and adjust their approaches to learning.
• Young learners need to be immersed in all kinds of texts, fiction, and nonfiction.
• Learners need time and opportunity to practice, use, and apply what they have learned. Mistakes and approximations are a part of learning.
• Learner perceptions must be addressed directly. Understand what students are thinking, especially when beginning a new topic or unit.
• Spaces and environments should be more reflective of the real world.
• Just because it worked in the past doesn’t mean it still does.
• Technology can be a game-changer with a solid pedagogical foundation.
• All kids can learn.
• Chase growth, no perfection.

So which of the above did you choose in your quest to transform learning? The key going forward is to reflect upon what you feel can help to create meaningful learning opportunities for students and decide what actions need to be taken on your part. It is important to note that we must also work to create powerful learning opportunities for ourselves. 

For more questions that can help guide you in the process of improving student and professional learning check out the free Learning Transformed Study Guide from ASCD. 

Power Up Your Spaces

Times are a changing in case you haven’t noticed. We have seen disruptive innovation across so many different sectors of society.  If you were to go back in time and pinpoint when disruption began to take off, I would wager that it correlates with the proliferation of the smartphone. Pause a second and think about companies such as Uber and Airbnb.  Had it not been for the smartphone their innovative apps might never have come to fruition or experienced immense scalability as they have. Where would many of us be without these or similar apps today?

Now we know that across the world adults have pretty much embraced the smartphone. Some would even go as far to say it has become an additional appendage of many. Statista predicts that approximately five billion people will use a smartphone by 2019. Imagine what this number will be in years to come.  With all of this predicted usage, I was curious to know how many of our learners owned a smartphone. Well, I did find some stats for kids in the United States and am willing to bet that other developing countries have similar numbers.  The site eMarketer found that 41% of students ages 0-11 and 84% ages 12-17 owned a smartphone in 2016.  These numbers are predicted to increase to 49.7% and 92.9% respectively by 2020. Before we know it almost everyone that wants a smartphone across the globe will have one.

The increase in smartphone ownership is a good indicator as to where many schools are headed.  Over the years we have seen more embracement of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and 1:1 device rollouts.  Cost and ease of access will only lead to more schools and districts going down this path. The USDOE’s Office of Educational Technology places emphasis on students and educators having access to a robust and comprehensive infrastructure when and where they need it for learning.  The National EdTech Plan goes on to state the following:

Preparing students to be successful for the future requires a robust and flexible learning infrastructure capable of supporting new types of engagement and providing ubiquitous access to the technology tools that allow students to create, design, and explore. The essential components of an infrastructure capable of supporting transformational learning experiences include the following: 

Ubiquitous connectivity. Persistent access to high-speed Internet in and out of school. 

Powerful learning devices. Access to mobile devices that connect learners and educators to the vast resources of the Internet and facilitate communication and collaboration. 

High-quality digital learning content. Digital learning content and tools that can be used to design and deliver engaging and relevant learning experiences. 

Responsible Use Policies (RUPs). Guidelines to safeguard students and ensure that the infrastructure is used to support learning.

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Now don’t get me wrong, all of the above are great.  However, there is one crucial aspect that needs to be considered. A focus on logistics must complement the pursuit of a more enriched and challenging learning experience for students in the digital age, which Tom Murray and I lay out in Learning Transformed.   In laymen’s terms, this means having enough power to support all of the connected devices.  I know it’s not flashy, aligned to research, or even directly connected to pedagogy….but it is a necessity if the goal is to support learning. 

To begin, consider conducting an audit consisting of walk-throughs with IT, maintenance staff, teacher leaders, and administrators to determine where there are areas of opportunity. Many outlet additions can be completed over summer and holiday breaks.  Polling students to gain their insight is a good move as well.  The next step is to determine if there are excess funds in the budget (there is almost always money to spend at the end of the year) to make changes immediately.  If not, then this should be worked into the budget for the following year.  Below are some practical suggestions to power up your school.

• Transform blocks of hallway lockers into charging bars. During a coaching visit to the Downingtown Area School District, I saw how Lionville Middle School has begun to transition some of their obsolete locker spaces into charging bars (pictures above). Many lockers go unused as our digital learners don't find a need for them so converting them seems like wise decision. 
• Overhaul old typing rooms and computer labs. If your middle or high school building isn’t relatively new, then the chances are that there were at least one typing room and numerous computer labs. These rooms had numerous outlets throughout to power devices so a little innovative design can transform these spaces into power hubs. 
• Purchase furniture and accessories that have built-in electrical outlets. This strategy seems like a no-brainer when schools are looking to refurbish libraries and comfortable furniture for common areas. Check out Steelcase for an array of ideas and solutions specific to education. 
• Replace standard outlets with multi-functional USB combos – When assessing power needs through an audit, count the number of outlets in classrooms, hallways, and common spaces. You can then purchase and replace those outlets with dual USB tamper-resistant models, which will essentially double the available power in any room or space.  
• Invest in school branded charging stations – As the principal, I invested in a few of these mobile stations from a company called Kwikboost and placed them in common areas throughout the building (picture below).  One of the benefits was that each station already came with every type of charging cable pre-installed.  During events like concerts, plays, and art shows these devices can easily be temporarily placed in these spaces to meet the power needs of stakeholders visiting the school while showing off some school pride in the process. 

When more devices, whether school or student-owned, are integrated to support learning an infrastructure must be in place to support the need for power.  What unique ideas and strategies have you seen that you would add to the list above? 

Shifting from Passive to Active Learning

“Nothing could be more absurd than an experiment in which computers are placed in a classroom where nothing else is changed.” - Seymour Papert

When it comes to improving outcomes in the digital age, efficacy matters more than ever.  Billions of dollars are spent across the world on technology with the hopes that it will lead to better results.  Tom Murray and I shared this thought in Learning Transformed:

Educational technology is not a silver bullet. Yet year after year, districts purchase large quantities of devices, deploy them on a large scale, and are left hoping the technology will have an impact. Quite often, they’re left wondering why there was no change in student engagement or achievement after large financial investments in devices. Today’s devices are powerful tools. At the cost of only a few hundred dollars, it’s almost possible to get more technological capacity than was required to put people on the moon. Nevertheless, the devices in tomorrow’s schools will be even more robust. With that in mind, it’s important to understand that the technology our students are currently using in their classrooms is the worst technology they will ever use moving forward. As the technology continues to evolve, the conversation must remain focused on learning and pedagogy—not on devices.

Unfortunately, technology is not a magic wand that will automatically empower learners to think critically, solve complex problems, or close achievement gaps.  These outcomes rely on taking a critical lens to pedagogical techniques to ensure that they evolve so that technology can begin to support and ultimately enhance instruction.  If the former (pedagogy) isn’t solid, then all the technology in the world won’t make a difference.  As William Horton states, “Unless you get the instructional design right, technology can only increase the speed and certainty of failure.”

As I have said for years, pedagogy trumps technology. This simple concept can be readily applied to how devices are being used in classrooms.  In Learning Transformed my co-author Tom Murray and I discussed in detail how technology can be an accelerant for learning.  There was a specific reason that this was a focus near the end of our book and not in the beginning.  Going back to the sage advice of William Horton we stressed the need to improve pedagogy first and foremost.  Improvement lies in our ability as schools and educators to move away from broad claims and opinions to showing actual evidence aligned to good research.  This is why efficacy through a Return on Instruction (ROI) is equally as important. 

As technology continues to change so must instructional techniques, especially assessment. A robust pedagogical foundation compels us to ensure there is a shift from passive to active learning when it comes to devices in the classroom.  Passive learning with devices involves the consumption of information and low-level and engagement instructional techniques such as taking notes, reading, and digital worksheets.  On the other hand, active learning empowers students through meaningful activities where they actively apply what has been learned in authentic ways.  Are learners in your school(s) using devices passively or actively?

There is a vast amount of research to support why learners should actively use devices.  Below is a summary curated by Jay Lynch:

Robust research has found that learning is more durable and lasting when students are cognitively engaged in the learning process. Long-term retention, understanding, and transfer are the result of mental work on the part of learners who are engaged in active sense-making and knowledge construction. Accordingly, learning environments are most effective when they elicit effortful cognitive processing from learners and guide them in constructing meaningful relationships between ideas rather than encouraging passive recording of information (deWinstanley et al., 2003; Clark & Mayer, 2008; Mayer, 2011).

Researchers have consistently found that higher student achievement and engagement are associated with instructional methods involving active learning techniques (Freeman et al., 2004 and McDermott et al., 2014). 

The primary takeaway from research on active learning is that student learning success depends much less on what instructors do than what they ask their students to do (Halpern & Hakel, 2003).

The natural shift when it comes to device use by students is more active than passive learning.  Here is a great guiding question - How are students empowered to learn with technology in ways that they couldn’t without it? It is really about how students use devices to create artifacts of learning that demonstrate conceptual mastery through relevant application and evaluation.  What might this look like you ask? Give kids challenging problems to solve that have more than one right answer and let them use technology to show that they understand. When doing so let them select the right tool for the task at hand.  This is the epitome of active learning in my opinion.

Passive learning, as well as digital drill and kill, will not improve outcomes. Additionally, our learners need opportunities to develop digital competencies to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Investing in devices only matters if they are used in powerful ways that represent an improvement on what has been done in the past. Knowing is important, but being able to show understanding is what we need to empower our learners to do, especially when it comes to technology.

Learning Transformed Course

The reaction to Learning Transformed has been truly humbling.  Tom Murray and I have watched many book studies and Twitter chats unfold since the release of the book in June of 2017.  We have also had the honor of co-presenting workshops across the United States. All of these experiences empowered us to think about and then create a deep learning experience that could be easily accessible to all educators across the globe.  As a result, an online course was created with the help of Participate. Anyone can register HERE.

Below you will see how the course is structured as well as learner outcomes.  The content is aligned to well over 100 research studies in addition to what successfully implemented innovative practices actually look like in action. The key to change is not telling, but showing how ideas can transform teaching, learning, and leadership.  We can't stop here.  The most important aspect of this course is pushing learners to not only reflect on their own practice but to also develop focused plans to take action through constructivist learning theory.   

Course Description

The Learning Transformed course is designed to support your classroom, district or school's transformation efforts! The current speed of technological and innovative breakthroughs has led to the coming age of workplace automation, dramatically altering the world of work that our students will enter. With all that is known about how students learn and the predictions regarding the world that our students will face tomorrow, a one size fits all approach to teaching and learning is educational malpractice. 

Built on the foundation of leadership and school culture, a redesigned learning experience fundamentally shifts the teaching and learning paradigm to one that's personal. It alters the use of authentic assessments, how technology is leveraged, the spaces in which the learning occurs, the way educators grow professionally, how schools collaborate with the community, and the sustainability of the system as a whole. The authors will dissect an approach to unlocking tomorrow's schools so that today's modern learners leave ready to create new industries, find new cures, and solve world problems.

Although not a required reading, the content for this course expands upon the book, Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow's Schools, Today. Throughout the course, participants will be encouraged to reflect and share their learning using the hashtag #LT8keys on Twitter and/or LinkedIn.

The course is structured in a way for all educators to take a critical lens to their practice in order to improve the learning culture in a classroom, building, district, or organization. Each module is designed to support your learning through self-assessment, content delivered by us, independent readings to extend learning, videos that showcase innovative practices in action, opportunities to reflect, and application to practice. Tasks in each module are listed further down.  Directly below are the nine modules that participants will work through asynchronously. 

1. Vision for Change
2. Creating a Culture of Innovation
3. Redesigning the Learning Experience
4. Return on Instruction
5. Designing Learner-Centered Spaces
6. Making Professional Learning Personal
7. Leveraging Technology 
8. Collaborating and Engaging with the Community
9. Leading the Charge

Driving Question

How can classroom, school, and district leaders transform the student learning experience to one that better prepares them for their future?

Course Objectives

Participants will:

• Self-assess current beliefs and established practices to develop a call to action.
• Learn from Tom and Eric as to how research-based and evidence-driven practices can transform the learning culture in your classroom, school, or district.
• Explore and reflect on video content and innovative practices in action from educators currently leading these change efforts.
• Complete activities to support your individual, school, or district's transformation.
• Actively apply what has been learned to initiate sustainable change and achieve efficacy.

Course Module Activities Include:

• Self-assessment
• Content delivery from Tom Murray and Eric Sheninger
• Independent readings
• Video case studies
• Podcasts
• Reflection questions
• Action items for completion that align with your specific role and context

Learning Hours

20 hours.

What You'll Get

Learners will receive:

• Digital badge
• Guided lessons from Tom and Eric
• Access to Tom and Eric when using #LT8Keys on social media
• Activities to guide transformation and reflection
• Articles and videos to spur conversation and push thinking
• 50 additional tools and resources to drive innovative change 

We hope you enjoy this course and encourage you to take the time to reflect and dive in to support your school, district, organization, or classroom's transformation. Your brain might hurt at the conclusion of this journey, but rest assured you will be equipped with the ideas, strategies, and tools to transform learning for every student. Together, we can do this. You are part of the solution. Register today!

Consult with your local school or district as to how this course can be used to satisfy continuing education and professional learning hour requirements.  In addition to the digital badge awarded at the end of the course, once all requirements have been met we can also send a signed certificate of completion. 

To Move Forward We Need to Let Go

“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”  ― C. JoyBell C.

There is nothing easy about change.  The process is fraught with many obstacles and challenges.  Once such challenge that I have yet to write about is that for many of us it is tough to let go of certain things. Our reluctance or inability to move forward when faced with a decision to remain the course or move into uncharted territory can stop the change process dead in its tracks before it even has a chance to begin.  Typically, there are many factors in play, but three common behaviors that keep many of us stuck in our ways include fear, mental habits, and stubbornness. During different points of my professional career, I had to come to grips with each of these factors and how they were paralyzing my role in the change process.  Once I was able to overcome them the next step was helping others to do the same.

We are all afraid of something.  However, we cannot let it stop us from improving professional practice.  Fear of the unknown or failure holds us back from moving forward with change.  I love this quote from Zig Ziglar, “F-E-A-R has two meanings: 'Forget Everything and Run' or 'Face Everything and Rise.' The choice is yours.” Life is all about choices.  We can ill afford to allow fear to hold our learners and us back from what’s possible.  It is essential to understand that if we fear the risk, then we will never reap the reward that taking the risk provides.  When trying something new or different the chances are good that you will fail.  If and when you do, learn from the experience and use the power of reflection to improve practice or yourself. By letting go of some of your fear you will be surprised at what you can accomplish.

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Another issue many people face and have a difficulty overcoming is mental habits. As Jason Silva states in one of my favorite videos, “Once we create a comfort zone we rarely step outside that comfort zone.” When it comes to education, we see many practices that fall into this category, but more on these later.  The toughest adversary that many of us face rests between our shoulders in the form of our minds.  We often think we can’t do certain things or we have been lulled into a sense of complacency.  Without opening up the mind to new ideas and ways of doing things, change will never happen. Think about your mental habits that are holding you back from implementing innovative change. What do you need to let go of first to improve? How might you help your learners do the same within their context?

The last issue that plagues the change process is good old-fashioned stubbornness.  It is a trait that can destroy friendships, marriages, and professional relationships.  I don’t know if anyone knows for sure why people are stubborn, but my thinking is that both fear and mental habits play their part.  What are you holding on to that might not be in the best interests of your students or the people you work with? I believe this question can serve as a catalyst to begin the process of overcoming certain elements that negatively impact not only our practice but also the relationships we strive to create and support.  

Below is a list of five things that I believe need to be overcome if meaningful change and improvement in education is the goal. Each is influenced by fear, mental habits, and/or stubbornness in some way.

Status Quo

The status quo in schools is like a warm blanket on a frigid night – no one wants to get out from underneath it. When it has a tight grip on a school culture, any attempt at change is met with resistance or blatant inaction.  You can all but hear the whispers of this too shall pass, we’ll wait it out, they won’t hold us accountable, so I’m not changing, why risk it or everything is great because we have high test scores. Will you challenge the status quo to improve the educational experience for your learners?

Traditional Grading Practices and Homework

There is a great deal of research out there that supports changes to how educators grade and the use of homework. In light of what the research says and the negative impact on our learners, it has been difficult for educators and schools to let go of these two practices. We often assign homework and grade a certain way because that was either what was done to us as students or what we were taught to do during our teacher preparation programs. One of the most challenging initiatives I ever led as a principal was working with my staff to change how they graded. As our district took on homework. What will you do to improve these practices?

Drive-By Professional Development

In Learning Transformed Tom Murray and I highlight the research that illustrates how drive-by professional development has little, if any, impact on professional practice. The concept of development as a whole needs to change to a focus on professional learning that is research-based, job-embedded, practical and takes into account the real challenges educators face. On top of all this, follow-up and accountability are crucial if the goal is to scale the changes that are being supported by the investments in professional learning. How will you work to improve professional learning in your school or district?

Technology Avoidance or Low-Level Use

This is a two-part scenario.  On the one hand, some people loathe technology and fail to embrace how it can transform teaching, learning, and leadership. The fact is technology is here to stay.  The key is to develop ways to integrate it with purpose aligned to research-based pedagogical practices. On the other hand, some people are in love with the stuff and toys.  Technology has the potential to support and enhance learning in ways that we can never have imagined a few years ago. However, we must not fall victim to the engagement trap and use technology in ways that just support low-level learning.  How will you empower your kids to think and use technology to show that they understand while unlocking their potential?

Grudges

Has someone wronged you, rubbed you the wrong way, or just irritated you for whatever reason? Get over it!  Please take a minute to read this article by Nancy Colier on the subject. As she states, “It’s not about the person who wronged you. It’s about who you want to be.” She continues to explain that the problem with grudges is that they don’t serve the purpose that they are there to serve. “They don’t make us feel better or heal our hurt. When it is all said and done we end up as proud owners of our grudges, but still without the experience of comfort that we ultimately crave, that we have craved since the original wounding.”  What grudges are you willing to let go of to move forward for the greater common good?

Once we better understand the causes of the adversity to change we can then begin to move forward. However, to do so, we must be willing to let go of practices and behaviors that are holding us, our schools, and most importantly our learners from opportunities for growth and improvement.

To move forward, we must be willing to let go.

Efficacy in Digital Learning

As a principal, the buck stopped with me.  I was reminded of this by numerous superintendents during my tenure as a school leader.  However, when we began moving forward with our digital transformation one particular superintendent asked me point blank what evidence I had that actually supported our claims that new equated to better. This not only stopped me in my tracks, but that moment in time provided the grounding that my school and I really needed.  For change to really be embraced by all stakeholders it is critical that we just don’t tell and claim that improvement is occurring, but that we also show. 

Accountability matters and is a reality in our work.  We are accountable first and foremost to our learners. As a supporter of the purposeful use of technology and innovative practices, I had to illustrate how effective these strategies were at improving learning.  Statements and claims didn’t cut it and this was more than fair.  It was at this time where the term efficacy kept finding its way into the conversation and my head. In the real world of education efficacy matters and it is important that this is part of the larger conversation when it comes to digital. It is a word that, in my opinion, has to be a part of our daily vocabulary and practice. Simply put, efficacy is the degree to which desired outcomes and goals are achieved. Applying this concept to digital learning can go a long way to solidifying the use of technology as an established practice, not just a frill or add-on.

The journey to efficacy begins and ends with the intended goal in mind and a strong pedagogical foundation.  Adding technology or new ideas without this in place will more than likely not result in achieving efficacy.  The Rigor Relevance Framework provides schools and educators with a check and balance system by providing a common language for all, creating a culture around a common vision, and establishing a critical lens through which to examine curriculum, instruction, and assessment. It represents a means to support innovative learning and digital practice as detailed in the description of Quad D learning:

Students have the competence to think in complex ways and to apply their knowledge and skills they have acquired. Even when confronted with perplexing unknowns, students are able to use extensive knowledge and skill to create solutions and take action that further develops their skills and knowledge.

Aligning digital to Quad D not only makes sense but also melds with a great deal of the conversation in digital and non-digital spaces as to why and how learning should change.  A framework like this emphasizes the importance of a strong pedagogical foundation while helping to move practice from isolated pockets of excellence to systemic elements that are scaled throughout the learning culture.  It also provides the means to evaluate and reflect in order to improve. 

Rigor Relevance Framework

Once an overall vision for digital learning is firmly in place you can begin to work on the structures and supports to ensure success.  This brings me back to efficacy.  The why is great, but the how and what have to be fleshed out.  Determining whether technology or innovative practices, in general, are effective matters.  Below I will highlight 5 key areas (essential questions, research, practicality, evidence/accountability, reflection)  that can put your classroom, school, district, or organization on a path to digital efficacy. 

Essential Questions

Questions provide context for where we want to go, how we’ll get there, and whether or not success is achieved.  Having more questions than answers is a natural part of the initial change process. Over time, however, concrete answers can illustrate that efficacy in digital learning has been achieved in some form or another.  Consider how you might respond to the questions below:

• What evidence do we have to demonstrate the impact of technology on school culture?
• How are we making learning relevant to our students?
• How do we implement and support rigorous and relevant learning tasks that help students become Future-Ready?
• What is required to create spaces that model real-world environments and learning opportunities? 
• What observable evidence can be used to measure the effect technology is having on student learning and achievement?
• How can targeted feedback be provided to our teachers and students, so that technology can enhance learning?

Research

Research is prevalent in education for a reason.  It provides us all with a baseline as to what has been found to really work when it comes to student learning.  Now, there is good research and bad.  I get that. It is up to us as educators to sift through and then align the best and most practical studies out there to support the need to transform learning in the digital age. We can look to the past in order to inform current practice.  For example, so many of us are proponents of student ownership, project-based, and collaborative learning. Not only does digital support and enhance all of these, but research from Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget, Papert, Bloom, and many others provide validation.  See the image below. For more on authorship learning click HERE.

One of the main reasons Tom Murray and I wrote Learning Transformed was to provide a sound research base that supports digital learning and the embracement of innovative practices.  The research of Linda Darling Hammond found that technology can have the most impact on our at-risk learners when it is used to support interactive learning, explore and create rather than to “drill and kill”, and constitutes the right blend of teachers and technology. This is just one of over 100 studies we highlight. Then there is the comprehensive analysis by John Hattie on effect size – a listing of the most effective instructional strategies that improve student learning outcomes all of which can be applied to digital learning. If efficacy is the goal, embracing a scholarly mindset to inform and influence our work, not drive it, is critical.

Practicality

All of what we do should align to the demands, and at times constraints, of the job.  This includes preparing students for success on standardized tests. If it’s not practical, the drive to implement new ideas and practices wanes or never materializes.  The creation of rigorous digital performance tasks that are aligned to standards and the scope and sequence found in the curriculum is just good practice. All good performance tasks include some form of assessment, either formative or summative, that provides the learner and educator with valuable information on standard and outcome attainment.  Again, this is just part of the job. 

The Rigor Relevance Framework assists in creating performance tasks that engage learners in critical thinking and problem solving while applying what they have learned in meaningful ways.  There is also natural alignment to incorporating student agency. This is exactly what so many of us are championing.  My colleague and good friend, Weston Kieschnick, has created a template that combines research and the practical aspect of performance task creation to assist you in creating your own.   Check it out HERE. You can use the template and go through the process of developing a rigorous digital performance task or just use it to inform as you design your own. 

Evidence and Accountability

As many of you know I do not shy away from openly discussing how important this area is. Just go back to my opening paragraph in this post for a refresher. Evidence and accountability are a part of every profession and quite frankly we need more of both in education to not only show efficacy in our work but to also scale needed change. Not everything has to or can be, measured. However, focusing on a Return on Instruction allows everyone to incorporate multiple measures, both qualitative and quantitative, to determine if improvement is in fact occurring. 

Reflection

When it is all said and done the most important thing we can all do is constantly reflect on our practice.  In terms of efficacy in digital learning consider these reflective questions from your particular lens:

• Did my students learn? 
• How do I know if my students learned? 
• How do others know if my students learned? 
• What can be done to improve? 
• What point of view have I not considered?

Amazing things are happening in education, whether it be through digital learning or the implementation of innovative ideas.  We must always push ourselves to be better and strive for continuous improvement. The more we all push each other on the topic of efficacy, the collective goals we have for education, learning, and leadership can be achieved. 

Scaling Change to Create Schools Learners Need and Deserve

We live in exciting times although it is often difficult to keep up with how fast society is changing. Many of us can remember a world where there was no Internet or smartphones.  Now we not only have smart watches, but rumors are swirling that a global Wi-Fi network powered by commercial airliners is in the works that will provide people access virtually anywhere in the world.   We keep seeing major disruptions across the service sector. Up until a few years ago, there was no Uber or Airbnb. Now millions of people are hailing rides and booking rooms in ways that are more convenient and cost-efficient. With the exponential rate of change we are seeing, it is a bit exciting to think about what the future holds.

Education is beginning to experience some pretty exciting changes as well.  Across the globe, evolving technologies are being utilized to engage students in a variety of ways authentically.  Critical competencies such as creativity, collaboration, and communication are now easier to demonstrate through the use of numerous tools.  Classroom and school design are beginning to move away from what many of us experienced as students.   Flexible spaces, virtual learning options, and makerspaces are providing students with new opportunities to demonstrate what they know. Social media has flattened the world as educators have discovered how powerful this standard medium is in enabling the sharing of ideas, strategies, and resources regardless of time or place. Just like society, the future of education is bright.

Image credit: https://teachingdigitaltechnology.wordpress.com/

There is one caveat here though.  The pace of change in the education space has not matched that which we see across the world. Even though progress has and continues to be made, the paragraph above represents a small fraction of the education space. So, what gives? Why education needs to change has been discussed at length by authors and bloggers alike for years now.  If providing compelling reasons, research and opinions were enough I suppose education would look and feel a lot different at scale now.  We have also been exposed to all the many technology tools, programs, and pedagogical shifts that can support and enhance learning for students.  Some improvement claims are valid, while others tend to be on the fluffier side. With all this being said, change at scale still tends to be elusive. 

The conundrum painted above is not as perplexing as one might think.  I often go back to the work of Simon Sinek and his Golden Circle.  The "why" and "what" dominate conversations, writings, and presentations in my opinion.  I am not saying this is entirely a bad thing.  This is ideal for short-term satisfaction, but the "how" is the key to sustainability and scalability. In Learning Transformed, Tom Murray and I went to great lengths to unearth the why by presenting a vast research base to validate the ideas presented. The how is framed through the Innovative Practices in Action (IPA's) found in each chapter.  What often holds educators and schools back is taking great ideas and showing how they can be implemented under a variety of conditions and contexts. The video below provides a bit more insight into our thinking around this.

Change begins with you. Never forget that. The key, however, is to create a movement through collective actions that fundamentally improve learning for all.  Scalability matters if the goal is to build schools of the future by transforming teaching, learning, and leadership in the process.  Details on how this can and is being accomplished in the context of the real challenges educators and schools face on a daily basis can help move isolated pockets of excellence to scalable changes that influence all learners.  

Avoiding Initiative Overload

As many of us know all too well, the process of change is not always a successful venture. It is fraught with twists and turns, not to mention challenges that come in all shapes and sizes. Out of the chaos excuses materialize, further complicating the process.  One common excuse, or challenge depending on your point of view, is too many initiatives at once.  In business, some estimates indicate that 70 percent of change initiatives fail. That’s right. Research has shown that up to 7 in 10 corporate initiatives have not led to sustainable change (Blanchard, 2010). 

Image credit: johnrchildress.files.wordpress.com

Initiative overload is just as common in education as it is in business. The numbers referenced above could easily correlate to education, and the percentages may even be worse. Today, schools and leaders work to juggle numerous initiatives simultaneously.  This can result in a drain on resources as well as a lack of focus on the primary task at hand – improvement of student learning. While each separate initiative is established to improve school culture, the more tasks that are added to the proverbial plate increase the likelihood that they all will not be sustained over time. For every new initiative launched, another one slows down or ceases altogether.

Tony Sinanis, a newly appointed superintendent and great friend, tackled this topic on his blog. He makes the point that many initiatives are problematic from the start.  

"I would argue that initiatives, as they are generally rolled out within education, are often doomed for failure before they even have a chance to impact educators and learners." 

Tony goes on to outline four specific reasons, based on his experience as a practicing school leader, why too many initiatives can be problematic:

• Initiatives are about a program and not about a skill set.
• Initiatives are piled one on top of the other.
• Initiatives are often about doing the new "trendy" thing in education and not about doing what is best for OUR kids.
• We are shocked when educators express feeling overwhelmed by a new initiative and are in need of more time to successfully implement it.

Tony provides some wise advice for all educators as we grapple with mandates, directors, the “flavor of the month”, and a need to innovate while also increasing achievement. A general understanding that the student learning experience must be transformed has created incredible opportunities for the future yet has simultaneously caused significant turmoil. As school leaders work to redesign their schools, they must be careful not to immerse themselves, their teams, and their students in an alphabet soup of initiatives. This is something Tom Murray and I address in Learning Transformed. In our experience, initiative overload is one of the primary reasons that transformational change fails. When making investments in the form of time and money, think about where you will get the most bang for your buck. Investing in people is the best investment one can make. That’s the key to sustainable change.

Throughout the book, we present a plethora of research, evidence, stories, and practical steps to transform learning, but school leaders cannot lead change in all areas, at all times. It’s easy for leaders to get excited about what could and should be, especially for those who are most passionate about creating new innovative opportunities for students and staff. Although well intended, too many ongoing initiatives can easily dilute the effectiveness of sustainable change. Avoiding initiative overload by maintaining a laser-like focus on what evidence indicates is required and essential for sustainable growth and transformation. 

It all comes down to this basic piece of advice. Do one thing great instead of several things just ok. Leading transformational change isn’t easy. But our kids are worth the effort. 

Research-Influenced Learning Spaces

“We need to move away from classroom design that is “Pinterest pretty” and use research/design thinking to guide the work.” – Eric Sheninger and Tom Murray

When Tom Murray and I set out to write Learning Transformed our goal was to connect as much research as possible to our ideas and statements as well as the amazing work taking place in schools, known in the book as Innovative Practices in Action (IPA’s). Research should be used to inform as well as influence the actions we take to implement sustainable change at scale.  It is also a great way to move those who are resistant to change to embrace new ideas. Below is an adapted section of Chapter 4 from our book that looks as research that can influence learning space design in classrooms and schools.

Image credit: http://www.naturalinteriors.com/wp-content/uploads/Steelcase-2.jpg

One area where we found a growing body of research was learning space design. In studying various pieces of literature on the effect of design, Barrett and Zhang began with the understanding that a “bright, warm, quiet, safe, clean, comfortable, and healthy environment is an important component of successful teaching and learning” (p. 2). Their research suggested direct connections between the learning space and sensory stimuli among students. The evidence of such connections came from the medical understanding of how human sensory perception affects cognitive calculations. As such, Barrett and Zang (2009) identify three key design principles:

1. Naturalness: Hardwired into our brains, humans have the basic need for light, air, and safety. In this area, the impact of lighting, sound, temperature, and air quality are prevalent.
2. Individualization: As individuals, each of our brains is uniquely organized and, we perceive the world in different ways. Because of this, different people respond to environmental stimuli in various ways. Therefore, the opportunity for some level of choice affects success.
3. Appropriate Level of Stimulation: The learning space can offer the “silent curriculum” that affects student engagement levels. When designing the space, it’s important for educators not to overstimulate and thus detract students’ ability to focus but to provide enough stimuli to enhance the learning experience. 

Supporting this notion, a research study out of the University of Salford Manchester (UK), followed 3,766 students in 153 elementary classrooms from 27 different schools over a three-year period, analyzing classroom design elements along the way. The report indicates clear evidence that “well-designed primary schools boost children’s academic performance in reading, writing, and math” (Barrett, Zhang, Davies, & Barrett, 2015, p. 3). The study found a 16 percent variation in learning progress due to the physical characteristics of the classroom. Additionally, the study indicated that whole-school factors (e.g., size, play facilities, hallways) do not nearly have the level of impact as the individual classroom.

School leaders will often write off the notion of redesigning learning spaces due to financial constraints. However, research indicates that schools don’t need to spend vast amounts of money to make instructional improvements. In fact, changes can be made that have little to no cost yet make a significant difference. Examples include altering the classroom layout, designing classroom displays differently, and choosing new wall colors (Barrett et al., 2015). These research-based factors are minimal financial commitments that can help boost student outcomes. 

The effect of learning spaces on various behaviors—territoriality, crowding, situational and personal space—has been the focus of some sociological and environment behavioral research. The consensus of this research is that the space itself has physical, social, and psychological effects. One study measured the impact of classroom design on 12 active learning practices, including collaboration, focus, opportunity to engage, physical movement, and stimulation (Scott-Webber, Strickland, & Kapitula, 2014). The research indicated that intentionally designing spaces provides for more effective teaching and learning. In this particular study, all of the major findings supported a highly positive and statistically significant effect of active learning classrooms on student engagement. 

In a research study on the link between standing desks and academic engagement, researchers observed nearly 300 children in 2nd through 4th grade over the course of a school year (Dornhecker, Blake, Benden, Zhao, & Wendel, 2015). The study found that students who used standing desks, more formally known as stand-biased desks, exhibited higher rates of engagement in the classroom than did their counterparts seated in traditional desks. Standing desks are raised desks that have stools nearby, enabling students to choose whether to sit or stand during class. The initial studies showed 12 percent greater on-task engagement in classrooms with standing desks, which equated to an extra seven minutes per hour, on average, of engaged instruction time. 

There’s little disagreement that creating flexible spaces for physical activity positively supports student learning outcomes. However, it’s important to note that it’s not simply the physical layout of the room that affects achievement. One particular study investigated whether classroom displays that were irrelevant to ongoing instruction could affect students’ ability to maintain focused attention during instruction and learn the lesson content. Researchers placed kindergarten children in a controlled classroom space for six introductory science lessons, and then they experimentally manipulated the visual environment in the room. The findings indicated that the students were more distracted when the walls were highly decorated and, in turn, spent more time off task. In these environments, students demonstrated smaller learning gains than in cases where the decorations were removed (Fisher, Godwin, & Seltman, 2014).

In addition to the physical and visual makeup of the learning space, a building’s structural facilities profoundly influence learning. Extraneous noise, inadequate lighting, low air quality, and deficient heating in the learning space are significantly related to lower levels of student achievement (Cheryan, Ziegler, Plaut, & Meltzoff, 2014). Understanding how the learning space itself can affect the way students learn is key. Part of the issue facing school leaders today is that quite often the decision about learning space design is made by those without recent (or any) experience teaching or by those with little knowledge of classroom design. If learning is going to be transformed, then the spaces in which that learning takes place must also be transformed. Design can empower learning in amazing ways.

Today’s educational paradigm is no longer one of knowledge transfer but one of knowledge creation and curation. The “cells and bells” model has been prevalent for more than a century, but it is no longer relevant for today’s learners. As educators work to shift to instructional pedagogies that are relational, authentic, dynamic, and—at times—chaotic in their schools, learning spaces must be reevaluated and adapted as necessary. Pedagogical innovation requires an innovation in the space where learning takes place. Simply put, if the space doesn’t match the desired learning pedagogy, then it will hinder student learning outcomes.

Fore more research-influenced ideas and strategies to transform education grab a copy of Learning Transformed. There is also a free ASCD study guide aligned to the book that can be accessed HERE.



Cited Sources

Barrett, P., & Zhang, Y. (2009). Optimal learning spaces: Design implications for primary schools.

Salford, UK: Design and Print Group.

Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Davies, F., & Barrett, L. (2015). Clever classrooms: Summary findings

of the HEAD Project (Holistic Evidence and Design). Salford, UK: University of Salford,

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Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat, J., & Kobbacy, K. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis

identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678–689.

Cheryan, S., Ziegler, S., Plaut V., & Meltzoff, A. (2014). Designing classrooms to maximize

student achievement. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(1), 4–12.

Dornhecker, M., Blake, J., Benden, M., Zhao, H., & Wendel, M. (2015). The effect of standbiased

desks on academic engagement: An exploratory study. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 53(5), 271–280.

Fisher, A., Godwin, K., & Seltman, H. (2014). Visual environment, attention allocation, and

learning in young children: When too much of a good thing may be bad. Psychological

Science, 25(7), 1362–1370.

Scott-Webber, L., Strickland, A., & Kapitula, L. (2014). How classroom design affects student

engagement. Steelcase Education.

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