Author: Lynn Fuini-Hetten and Randy Ziegenfuss

In Episode 38, we spoke to Dr. Toni Hull, principal at Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy (MVLA), an innovative middle school in the Las Cruces Public Schools in New Mexico. MVLA has a unique project-based learning approach which allows students to produce real-world products and presentations that demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency in any given subject. Each project is based on a monthly theme which is developed by teachers and school leaders.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders create the space for trying new and different. This involves both learners and adults. Once that space is created, time needs to be set aside for conversation and reflection – what worked, what didn’t work.

Takeaways

• MVLA was started to fill a need. Middle school learners were in need of a learning environment that starts with the learner. Students are the drivers of their own learning. Upon developing MVLA, the district wanted to focus on project-based learning.
• An example of how MVLA starts with the learner is that students focus on developing competencies. Unlike our traditional system, students are not tracked by grade. For example, an 6th grader may be working on 8th grade math, or vice versa.
• Another example of a learner-centered approach is the valuing of students’ ideas. When students come to the adults with an idea, the answer is never, “No.” Instead, the response is, “Hmm, let me think about that. Let’s figure that out. How can we do that?” Students are then enlisted to help solve the problem they just surfaced. Learner-centered leaders create the space for trying new things and engage learners along the way.
• While MVLA is a public school and has to meet certain standards, the how is in the individual learning plans, not in a textbook or pacing guide.
• MVLA connects learners to their passions through My Time, a period of time every day where learners can set goals and dive in to an area of personal interest. Learners can pursue a different area each month.  Over the course of their educational career, learners will have pursued many passions, thus providing a rich, middle school exploratory experience.
• Assessment also looks different in this environment. Because MVLA is a project-based school, paper/pencil tests are uncommon. Most assessments are performance-based.
• MVLA embraces learner agency. When students have a question, teachers put the question right back to them for a solution. This can initially be a shock as students tend to come from schools where the adults do that work for the students. It can be a bit of culture shock!
• Learning experiences are also open-walled and socially-embedded at MVLA. Toni talked about the Amazing Shake where community partners are involved with students helping them build soft skills – “…how to handshake, do interviews, do toasts, motivational speeches, pitch your product, do a weather cast…” Learning these experiences in an authentic work environment develops relevance and meaning for the learners.
• MVLA values the school-home connection and partnership.  They recognize the learners’ parents are their first teachers.
• Learners at MVLA go through a goal-setting process. This helps individual learners personalize their own learning and identify what is important to them.
• The day at MVLA takes into consideration the social/emotional learning by offering brain breaks and meditation time at various times throughout the day.
• Toni shared that learner-centered leaders need to also give their teachers the space to try new things. Engaging in the conversation around what worked and what didn’t work is equally important. “You have to be able to let go, and let it be, let them do their thing.”
• Learner-centered leaders are strong advocates. Toni is principal in a public school and has to advocate to the district administration for things such as fewer tests. “I have to continually advocate, I have to continually educate.”
• Learner-centered leaders also have to “market” this work to various audiences – parents, teachers, district administration, etc.  Telling their story is a critical component of their success.

Connections to Practice

• Our middle school Project Wonder is an example of a learning environment that starts with the learner. How will we extend this to more learners?
• As we work with our Leading #YourSalisbury teaching and learning transformation all of our teachers are taking risks in redesigning two learning tasks to better reflect our learning beliefs. By developing this professional learning opportunity, we are creating space for the new!
• Leader in Me Leadership Days help capture the soft skills similar to the Amazing Shake. What other opportunities do we shape for this purpose?
• We have experienced success in saying “yes” to our learners, and many new clubs and activities have been formed as a result. How have we extended/do we extend those “yes” statements to what is happening in our core program?

Questions Based on Our Practice

• How often do we say YES to ideas put forth by our learners?
• How do we engage parents? Do we value them as the “the first teacher”?
• Are we all involved in “marketing” our work? How do we continue to tell the story of Project Wonder for our stakeholders, beyond information presented in curriculum meetings?

Next Steps for Us

• Continue the work with Leading #YourSalisbury to encourage risk-taking, support the new ideas, and provide relevant/meaningful feedback.
• Talk with leaders about our perceptions of creating the space for these new ideas. How often do we say, “no”?
• Identify additional forums for learners to share ideas.

In Episode 37, we revisit One Stone in Boise, Idaho to learn from Neva Geisler, Opportunity Wrangler, and two learners – Kylie Caper and Bennett Huhn. You may recall that we spoke to members of the One Stone community previously in Episode 29. One Stone is a unique learning organization. It’s student-led and directed and focused on making students better leaders. The program empowers high school students to learn and practice skills through experiential service, innovative initiatives, social entrepreneurship and the radical reinvention of learning.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders fearlessly embrace the work of transformation. The coaches and learners at One Stone collaboratively design learning environments and expectations that represent a break from the system. They embrace what many in the realm of education would consider innovations. And in a manner that is designed to disrupt the system driven by the mission of helping students become better leaders and the world a better place.

Takeaways

• One Stone is driven by a mission – a mission to make students better leaders and the world a better place.
• There is a significant emphasis on agency and student ownership. In a school-centered environment, students may be involved in service projects organized by adults. Students just need to “show up.” At One Stone, students demonstrate agency in participating in student-led and directed projects they are passionate about. In order to create the conditions that connect learning to student passions, the culture has to help learners find their passion. To do that, they start with the learner first!
• One Stone is led by a board – 2/3 students; 1/3 adults. Learners really do have a voice in the organization!
• Teachers are known as coaches and have a role different from the traditional teacher. Bennett shared, “If you’re in a bowling alley, and we’re the bowling ball, then the coaches are the bumpers on the side that are really kind of just guiding you towards your goal.”
• The focus at One Stone is on growing the learners as people. This is different than in the traditional school-centered paradigm that might be focused on, according to Kylie, “getting good grades and getting that perfect test score. But here at One Stone, I’ve realized that it’s the experiences that I’m learning here and the knowledge and insight that I’m gaining that will help me be more successful in the future.” Neva followed up with the framework at One Stone: Knowledge, Skills, Creatively, Mind Set.
• Learning experiences at One Stone are connected to learner passions. Bennett shared an example connecting physics to his passion for music. Neva spoke about the One Stone makerspace, the Foundry, which provides opportunities for learners interested in doing work with their hands.
• One structure in place at One Stone that fosters and recognizes student passion is Winter Exploration. This is a week-long deep dive into one thing students are passionate about.
• Neva shared her thoughts on leadership. Leaders must be vulnerable. “We talk a lot here about vulnerability, and vulnerability can be tough. But when you are vulnerable within your community, that really opens up avenues for creativity and this culture of failing forward. We are all encouraged to show up as our real, authentic selves. Whatever that may look like. You’re supported here in that, and we are here to help each other grow.” Empathy is also key to Neva. “I think from the coach perspective, you really need to believe in the power of students, and we do here at One Stone. We believe that learners are capable of extraordinary things when they find their voice and they’re empowered to use it.” Kylie and Bennett reiterated the emphasis on the power of student voice.
• One Stone has an advisory model where students are encouraged and supported to check in and set goals.
• The One Stone community are committed to being “fearless, embracing the work. It’s not easy to disrupt the system, but that is what we are here to do.”

Connections to Practice

• Our high school students are provided some open-walled, personalized opportunities through our internship program.
• We have advisory models in our high school and middle school. What are the successes and challenges of these learning experiences? How could these experiences be developed further so learners are setting goals and tracking progress?
• We offer many clubs and activities at all levels. This summer we added some workshops – Fly a Drone, Etc – for our learners. But, how do we do more.  Could we have a Winter Exploration session? What would that look like?

Questions Based on Our Practice

• How can we take our high school internship program to the next level by releasing the agency of our learners to find the projects and work they are most passionate about?
• How can we get more students involved in decision making?
• Do we talk to learners (and adults) about how to own their own learning – how to shift that mindset?
• In what ways do we start with the learners first? In what ways can we improve?
• Do we believe in the power of students (and the adults in the system) – that they are capable of extraordinary things when they find their voice and are empowered to use it?
• How do we create more opportunities to connect students with projects in the community?
• What are the barriers that constrain us from disrupting the system? What does our community want to disrupt?
• As leaders across the organization, are we fearlessly doing this work? Are we making ourselves vulnerable? How do we know?

Next Steps for Us

• Reflect upon the ways we act that start with the learner and the ways we start with the system.
• Consider the idea of a winter exploration session. What are the possibilities? Constraints? If not winter, could it be summer?

In Episode 36, we visited with the Founder/Executive Director and a learner from an innovative learning environment in Bethel, CT – Workspace, a maker and co-working space designed to help families implement education their way in a vibrant learning environment. Families choose and co-create what their children need in this private school environment. The learning environment is a place where parents can teach, bring in teachers and experts, or choose from a database of tutors and teachers, online classes, and curriculums, as well as a smorgasbord of classes that appeal to all kinds of learners.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders approach work with learners using an assets model. They believe all learners have passions, interests and curiosities. Effective learning environments build upon these.

Takeaways

• Catherine Fraise, the Founder and Executive Director of Workspace has brought to life an audacious vision for learning: Google-like-high-tech spaces and feel, parental and family engagement and involvement, high levels of learner agency, support resources to help parents co-design powerful learning opportunities with their children.
• The Workspace environment provides learners with the opportunity to explore their curiosities. “I feel as though Workspace has given me the option to try things and really tell me where my curiosity will lead me, so that my curiosity takes me through the world.”
• The Workspace learning environment is designed to provide learners with options. For example, Raphael, the learner on the podcast, spoke about the Socrates room. “I think that was really a powerful moment for me when I realized the space was giving me a toolbox and not a piece of paper that told me, ‘These are all the things that you’re going to do.’ It wasn’t a checklist. It was options.”
• Learner-centered leaders need to be great listeners and observers if they want to create the ideal environment for personalization.
• Learner-centered leaders understand that age and quality of ideas do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. They respect everyone for his/her ideas. Young and old are co-learners.
• Learners have opinions. They have power. They can be heard. Learner-centered leaders encourage that. Raphael shared, ” As long as that is encouraged, speak out whatever it is that you’re thinking, and dream as big as possible.”

Connections to Practice

• Workspace has a high level of family engagement. While our families are not engaged at a level we may want, conversations with parents and board members indicate a level of support for our learner-centered vision.

Questions Based on Our Practice

• Do we operate from an asset model? Under what circumstances do we drift?
• While Workspace is a private school with different constraints than traditional public schools? What elements of Workspace could transfer to public schools/our schools? What constraints of the public school system (policy, funding, etc.) are we not yet pushing on hard enough to realize an audacious vision for learning?
• As we move toward our vision of a competent learning, how will we ensure the vision is available to all learners regardless of how well they read, how much money their family has, the language they speak or what they believe in?
• It would appear that Workspace provides significant room for families to determine what learners need to know and be able to do. Where does the role of community fit into the vision for learning? What other “communities” shall we engage in our work as we strive to develop competent learners? What happens when the members of various communities do not accept the invite to be involved?
• How are we getting to know our learners – young and old – so we are able to design environment conducive to personalization?
• What areas could we be more “learner-centered”? For example, looking at our goals, how can families and learners intersect with the work, improving the outcome? What’s appropriate?

Next Steps for Us

• As part of our goals this year, draft an advocacy/policy white paper on learner-centered education in the context of a rapidly changing future to share with policymakers as appropriate.
• More intentionally include conversations about learning space design in task redesign activities this year.
• Design creative ways of engaging families in the learning process. How do we go beyond the custodial role of education in the current era?
• Uncover areas in our goals where we could be more learner-centered.