How should we scale great schooling? If individualisation is the mother of innovation, then surely variability must be the enemy of equity, and addressing that enemy poses an interesting ideological dilemma. If, as in France for example, we believe in providing an ‘equal education’ for all students, then just how far are we prepared to
Finding the Right Balance: Autonomy and Variability Read More »
For all that we have written about the shifts we are starting to see in our schools, there are an increasing number of questions that need to be answered. Where do we start and what is the path or roadmap going to look like? There is plenty of discussion currently around ‘deep learning’, so is that
One Small Step…in Time Read More »
It’s been interesting to observe over the last eight months or so a growing chorus of parents, authors, educators and even some policy makers begin to articulate their concern over the relevance of the current practices that we use in schools to “educate” our kids. While the arguments and discussions vary on the edges, it
As the year draws closer, I’ve been reflecting on which are the words we use in education that we have managed to normalise, appropriate, or in some cases bastardize over the past twelve months. No doubt ‘narrative’ has to be a big contender for a top 3 spot and it would all be very funny
The Transformation Fantasy Read More »
There are times when I truly wonder if traditional schools can actually change in any appreciable way that moves agency over learning and teaching to the learners and the teachers. Reading Bruce’s column from last week, I was struck by the dedication on the part of the Finns to push their thinking and practice forward
Can We Really Change? Read More »
I’m sitting in the office of Pasi Silander, Development Manager for the Helsinki Department of Education, and I ask him what he thinks really matters for young people in Finnish schools. His answer doesn’t have a 4 letter acronym starting with ‘P’ in it, in fact it doesn’t relate in any way to tests, scores
What If the Finns Got it Right, Again? Read More »
I’m really happy to announce the “Solutions for Modern Learning” series of books from Solution Tree. Last year, I pitched them on the idea of this collection, and I was lucky enough to entice Audrey Watters, Roger Schank, Bryan Alexander, Gayle Allen, and Bruce Dixon to join me in writing an edgier type of book
Introducing the Modern Learner Series Read More »
Right now, there are eight Tibetan Monks staying at my house. They’re sleeping on floors, couches, and my kids’ beds. (My kids are now on my bedroom floor.) They’re with us for 10-days as they do healings and meditations and school visits. (They made it down to Science Leadership Academy on Friday, in fact.) Only
The Zen of School Change Read More »
It’s a funny thing, but despite all the predictions and over-the horizon talk we continually hear around emerging technologies, I can’t recall any ‘futurists’ predicting the impact personal technology access is now having on our very young children. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with anticipating future trends per se, it’s just that we seem
Babes in the Technology Woods Read More »
Every now and then when I have some free time between basketball tournaments and conference presentations I actually do some reading using these things called “books.” Some of them I actually have to hold in my hand and manually turn paper pages. Shocking, I know. Some have been on my shelf for a long time,
Schools That Learn Read More »
Something’s happening. Call it a groundswell, a rumbling…whatever you like, but it seems to me that the call for educational change has suddenly gotten louder. No longer is this a cry from the wilderness for a simple ‘70’s renaissance, nor is it a belief in the miracle of technology, but rather this time it represents
Disruption, Delusion and Deep Learning Read More »
A few months ago I found myself in a room full of administrators having a conversation about how to change their schools. These were principals, assistant superintendents, and other leaders from a number of rural districts in the Midwest. “What I really need,” said one of those in attendance, “is for you to help my teachers
Given the torrent of publicity that has surrounded the release of the most recent PISA report on Students, Computers and Learning, it might be about time that we starting asking questions around the scope and intent of the whole PISA regime and the impact that it has around the world. Whether we like it or not,
A High Stakes Question for the World’s Highest Stakes Test Read More »
Is it me, or does it seem like much of what we’re doing in education these days is trying to fix what we ourselves break when it comes to kids and learning? I mean, what does it say that our kids come to us as creative, innovative thinkers when they’re five or six years old,
Fixing What We Broke Read More »
How many times have you been held to ransom by the bureaucratic silos that inhabit so many of our government and large corporate organisations? You usually find yourself wringing your hands and saying the ‘left hand doesn’t seem to know what the right hand is doing,’ and sadly it seems, that’s in fact exactly the
Who you gonna call? Silobusters! Read More »
