Category: Blog Posts

As we have become more proficient in the learner-centered paradigm through our work in the Salisbury Township School District, we have started spreading the learner-centered message!

Voice and Choice: The Learner-Centered Lens

What does it mean to give learners voice and choice in their learning? What distinguishes personalized learning, competency-based learning, open-walled learning, socially-embedded learning and learner agency in learner-centered environments from school-centered environments? What does it mean to innovate within your classrooms, school or district through the learner-centered lens?

 

Leading Innovation

Leading organizations with the learner at the center. Should this kind of leadership look different? How do we build our knowledge, skills, and dispositions to lead in new learner-centered environments? We think leadership in our schools today should look different! To explore this new territory, leaders in the Salisbury Township School District have been engaging Education Reimagined, learner-centered leaders and learners across the country in the Shift Your Paradigm podcast to uncover the characteristics needed to guide learner-centered transformation. The conversations are revealing the boundaries of what makes or breaks a shift. What are the lessons learned from national leaders who are co-designing innovative learning environments?

In Episode 23, we had the pleasure of speaking with Ezekiel Fugate and Jenny Finn from Springhouse Community School in rural Floyd County, Virginia. Springhouse Community School is a unique leaning environment where questions such as these are explored:

• How does a child successfully shed his or her childhood to fully enter adolescence?
• What does a young person need to deal with the complexity of adolescence?
• What does it take to emerge from adolescence prepared for young adulthood?

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders create a learning culture that balances structure and freedom. Learners are invited to explore what is true for them and what they are curious about while also being introduced to experiences and learning they may not have otherwise.

Takeaways

Learner-centered leaders have a curiosity about culture change – creating healthy culture, helping teenagers get comfortable in their own skin through a learner-centered approach.

“The way in which we educate isn’t as important (competency-based, project-based) as the way we very intentionally choose to meet the learners here in our environment. We are committed to seeing learners as whole human beings who are capable of coming to know themselves and their potential. That has been the guiding light for us – the focus on wholeness and the belief that each of us carries something unique to offer to the world. Our job as teachers and mentors is to figure out how to connect our learners to that and how to empower them to offer that to the world.”

Springhouse is a competency-based school, with competencies rooted in its mission: to prepare adolescents for young adulthood by providing an educational experience that is individualized, rigorous and engaging.

Competencies are divided into four core areas – four pillars: relating, critical thinking, innovating, leading.

Relationship and relating is central to everything they do: relationship to self (Who am I? What are my gifts? What’s getting in the way? What brings me alive? What puts me to sleep?); relationship to other (How do I show up in a world where there are people I may not like, people I really like? How do I tend to human relationships? How do I cultivate the skills to navigate challenge, tension and all the issues that may arise?); relationship to earth and the natural world (We are not strangers to planet earth. How do we rework the human/nature relationship?)

Critical thinking is some of where the more conventional learning takes place: thinking scientifically, investigating mathematically, analyzing the past and present, being an effective communicator.

Innovation is developing the skills to create – from idea to bringing it into the world. This encompasses artistry and entrepreneurship.

Leadership manifests itself in the notion that the individual needs to know how they might show up in the world as an individual leader, the person who they are.

Springhouse has nine program areas: mathematics, language arts, science, humanities, design, entrepreneurship, world language, coming of age, and  health. These program areas are explored through four core practices: project-based learning, one-on-one mentoring, community collaborations and nature connections.

The adults in the Springhouse community are passionate and have the capacity to spark curiosity and listen to students. Students are empowered to explore a year-long passion project under the guidance of a mentor. Projects have focused on learning how to rap, homelessness, solar energy, evaluating water quality and just about anything you can imagine.

Springhouse has a significant component that engages the community – internships and experience Fridays. Community members volunteer their gifts and passions they want to share with students. Students are exposed to something new each week.

Everyone at Springhouse is there to become more fully who they are – adults and children. Every person has a light inside of them. The school and those working and learning in it are there to support and invite out. Everyone has a gift to offer and the world has a need for that gift.

Ezekiel and Jenny believe that transformation is by its nature counter-cultural. They are asking students and parents to step away from a culture of education with different values and engage in a deeper way of learning and relating. The culture they’ve created is rooted in “soul” and is used to speak to that place where everyone can be their authentic selves. There is less centeredness around the ego and material worlds at Springhouse. While offered, stepping into transformation is often not easily received in our culture. Springhouse, one could say, invites transformation on many different levels.

Springhouse is a school that doesn’t privilege the intellect. It values the development of the whole child.

Connections to Practice

• Ezekiel and Jenny are curious leaders who have spent a lot of time translating their thoughtful planning of a school into a reality for their learners. There is a lot of intentionality in how we are approaching change in Salisbury with the development of the Profile of a Graduate, interrogating our beliefs about learning and designing professional supports to assist our teachers and leaders in this work – Leading #YourSalisbury.
• The four practices – project-based learning, one-on-one mentoring, community collaborations and nature connections are areas we have considered exploring in terms of designing learning environments. We are currently exploring PBL within the Leading #YourSalisbury cohort. We have loose connections to mentoring, but are exploring community collaborations through a high school internship program. We have offered workshops on place-based education which has some connection with the natures practice.

Questions Based on Our Context

• How can we remain curious about this work amidst the successes and challenges?
• How do we uncover the gifts in others?
• Do our learners know they have a responsibility to share their gifts?
• This conversation helps frame the notion of relationships – among ourselves as educators and our learners. How do we take the conversation about relationships beyond the transactional that tends be our focus in a fast-paced, always-on world?
• How do we help learners understand relationships – relationship to self, to other, to the world?
• What do competencies look like within our Profile of a Graduate? How do we begin to provide some structure to the Profile?
• How might we be more intentional about a design for appropriate practices that will support our Profile of a Graduate and learning beliefs? Do we see other practices in our learning community? What are they?
• How can we draw our community in and help them understand we need them to do this work?

Next Steps for Us

• Relationship to self – understanding ourselves as learners – is one of the key components of relationships and a gateway to personalization. What supports can we put into place that make relationship to self – self-awareness – an intentional core experience of being a learner in Salisbury, whether young or old?
• Look at our Profile of a Graduate and identify competencies in various areas – such as the nine program areas.
• Determine which practices best support learning in the context of our Profile of a Graduate and learning beliefs.

In Episode 22, we learn about learner-centered education in the Fraser Public Schools. Superintendent, David Richards, along with learners Emily Ruebelman and Julia Wallace shared stories that highlight learning in Fraser. a school district of over 5,000 students located in Macomb County, Michigan. The District is currently in the process of implementing a competency based education model across all grade levels which will allow students to progress through their academic experience based upon demonstration of proficiency in each of the subject areas.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders provide learners with new opportunities. While this can be difficult and very different from traditional learning, leaders can open a new realm of possibilities.

Takeaways

We started the conversation by asking the learners to share three words to describe their learning. The learners described their learning as engaging, well-rounded, valuable, new, personalized, and open. Because the learning is competency-based, learners see the value in learning. Because the learning is personalized, the learning is self-paced and different for each learner. Learners may be more receptive to this kind of learning environment because they appreciate being co-creators.

What does personalized learning/competency-based learning look like in Fraser? It is difficult to personalize learning without making it personal. The District is driven by a system that allows every child to proceed at his/her own pace toward mastery. Learners in a learner-centered environment need to persevere. Learners need to learn, monitor their learning, and re-learn. The focus is on mastery and proficiency instead of having learning be fixed around time or the school year. Can they create a system which allows every child to advance at their pace?  “This is not a one and done environment.”  Some students need more time, and other students need less. While learning in Fraser still has community and social emotional components, the grade levels become more blurred.  

Students have the opportunity to have 1:1 time with teachers in a seminar. During seminar, students have diverse opportunities for their learning. Sometimes the learners need individualized time with teachers during the seminars in order to master content. There are also seminars for clubs and other activities (student council, peer-to peer, band). Learners may also use the seminar time for collaboration in the media center.

Technology makes personalization more convenient and efficient. In addition to getting extra practice, students can also accelerate. Teachers build content in the learning management system, and students can access the resources. Having this learning management system has given more control to the learners. Teachers have transformed by letting go of control of content in the LMS. Students appreciate that they can accelerate and move at their own pace.Even learners as young as 3rd or 4th grade understand they can create an individual path and move on to new content when they are ready.

Learners shared some challenges in this new system. Self-motivation can be a challenge for students. Learners have to learn new skills to manage the choices in a more personalized learning environment. Learners need to own the learning, and that can be a challenge.

Memorable learning experiences included a student-selected inquiry project as well as respectful, safe class discussions. Students relate content to their world and their personal values. Real-world connections are a norm.  

Learners are leaders in Fraser. Learners need to take initiative and understand growth. Because they are responsible for their own learning, they need to have their own drive and devotion.  Students are required to persevere throughout the competency-based learning process.  Learners trust learners during these discussions and group collaborations.

Thinking about advice for learners and leaders…Today’s learners have grown up with technology and are learning differently than students in the past. We need to be open to the new changes and adaptations so today’s learners are different. The heavy lift is creating flexible environments where learning is the focus. Learner voice is critical as we look at how we will redesign schools. Leaders need to rethink, redesign, and take back the conversation!

Connections to Practice

• Our learners are different from the learners when many of our staff members started teaching. Do we all understand our Generation Z learners?
• We have some opportunities for learners to earn college credit through dual enrollment and specific programs. Additionally, we are piloting an internship program this spring.
• We need a clear profile of what it takes to graduate. Students need to have the 4Cs. They need to be equipped with how to learn and relearn, They need to have grit and get through learning struggles. They also need to uncover their passions. How do we help people to do this?
• In Fraser, learners are leaders. Certainly our elementary students view themselves as leaders largely due to the Leader in Me.  Do all of our secondary students view themselves as leaders?
• Releasing control is necessary to release agency. What are our challenges in releasing control? How do we help learners and the adults manage choices?

Questions Based on Our Context

• How would students benefit if they could set their own pace?
• How do our students have the opportunity to develop inquiry projects?
• How do we provide authentic audiences for our students?
• How can we embed college experiences?
• How can we be courageous enough to provide opportunities so all learners have a personalized path?
• How do we balance the struggle of covering content for the test and ensuring each student reaches competency in a given skill?
• When is self-motivation addressed? Before an implementation or during?

Next Steps for Us

• Engage in conversations with learners about their experiences in our schools.  Do they view themselves as leaders? Do they own their learning?
• Engage in conversations with our leaders. What components of the Profile of a Graduate and Learning Beliefs do they have a deep understanding of? What support do they and our teachers need to understand better? What are the best ways they see to build that capacity which will lead to greater opportunities for our learners?

In Episode 21,  we return to Maine and a second visit with RSU 2 (Regional School Unit 2). You may recall earlier in Episode 6 we spoke with superintendent Bill Zima, and Mark Tinkham, principal. With this episode we dig more deeply into what learning looks like in RSU 2 through the eyes of two learners/graduates: Will Fahy and Rose Warren.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders listen to learners and support them as they develop agency.

Takeaways

Students at RS2 relate their learning to freedom, exploration, and flexibility.  Teachers empower learners to utilize their choice, voice, and freedom as they move along their learning path.

Learners value being empowered and learning about topics which are of interest to them. For example, Rose, redesigned the school’s health curriculum to be more inclusive of the LGBT community. Will studied food science and investigated perceptions of people and how they viewed processed food. Students select project ideas at the end of their junior year, and they work with their advisors to develop the idea for a Capstone Project.

Capstone projects are facilitated through Google Classroom, where students submit and edit proposals. Every Capstone Project includes goals, has a research component, at least 15 hours of field work/interviews in the chosen topic, and a 25-minute oral presentation. A capstone Committee of teachers and administrators facilitate the Google Classroom, and the research paper is embedded in the senior English course. During the presentation, two staff members assess the project. Following the presentation, the student participates in a reflective exit conference which contributes to the final assigned grade.

On presentation day, underclassmen register to view several different presentations. This allows underclassmen to learn more about the process and the outcomes so they have experience from which to draw when they create their Capstone Proposals and Projects.

Time management and motivation can be two potential challenges in this learner-centered environment. Because the students own the learning, these factors are internal. Some students may need more support. Rose suggested one way to combat these challenges is to encourage learners to learn about something they really like and connect to.

Learners have opportunities to hold themselves accountable for their learning. Rose wanted to be engaged in literature class discussion so she completed the reading. Will genuinely wanted to see how his experiment unfolded so he developed the work to satisfy his personal inquiry.  As he truly enjoys learning, he became a member of Academic Decathalon with the sole purpose of expanding his knowledge (India, World War II.) Loving to learn has prepared him for college.

Does voice and choice exist across the organization? Yes.  For example, in AP Language Rose learned about genetics through art. Rose suggested completing a project in which the students developed an art project instead of an essay.  The teacher was open to and supported this idea.  Teachers are open to feedback from the learners about the content.

Thinking about the idea of leadership, what other opportunities are available to develop leadership?  Rose shared examples of students leading clubs, and Will shared an example in which he took the leadership role to build some of the content for the courses and Robotics Club. Everyone is encouraged to assume a leadership role.

Developing connections with faculty is imperative. Rose shared, “Students can work with teachers and administrators and do something they are passionate about – if they just ask.” She shared insight about how students contributed to ideas about events such as a Courageous Conversation Event.

Bill reminds us to “Listen to the learners. We can’t give them agency. They have to develop it themselves.”

Connections to Practice

• How can we provide more opportunities to listen to learners?  We have the Superintendent Advisory Council and recently added a high school social media council. What else can we do?  If we want to hear more about food service from our kids, could we create a child nutrition focus group?
• Is our curriculum biased towards one group of stakeholders?
• What opportunities do our students, K-12, have to work on extended projects connected to interests and passions? As we develop more opportunities, how do we ensure that we engage them in the design process?

Questions Based on Our Context

• Years ago, we discontinued the graduation project. How could our students benefit from a Capstone Project?
• How often do our students learn about topics in which they are interested?
• What barriers would need to be navigated in order to implement a Capstone Project or similar project?
• Would our students say they have voice and choice in some or most courses? How do we more actively listen to our learners?
• As leaders, how do we help everyone in the organization – teachers, leaders, parents – assume more agency? Is this an opportunity to practice enrollment?

Next Steps for Us

• Engage learners in a conversation around the concept of a Capstone project.
• Brainstorm a list of areas of focus in the district and schools that we want to engage the voice of our learners as we build the idea of agency in each of them.
• Intentionally create opportunities throughout the grade spans for learners to engage in extended projects that connect to interests and passions.

Episode 19 takes us to NH and the MC2 charter school where learning, knowledge, assessment and community operate at the core mission of the school.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders create the space and provide supports for learners to solve their own problems.

Takeaways

Learners are key partners in the learning process. At MC2, advisors help learners understand their personal passions, learning styles, strengths/challenges, and interests both explicitly and implicitly.

In MC2, learners are connected to their communities and learn through learner-identified community issues and problems, and they seek to add value.

The learning environment at MC2 is designed to ensure that all learners have the capacity to function in any learning environment.   Everyone is a learner (including advisors – or teachers), co-learning with younger learners. If a learner proposes inquiry on a topic the advisor may not have content knowledge in, the advisor and learner become co-learners, engaging ever-important skills in how to learn.

The four elements – learning, knowledge, assessment, community – are intertwined. For example, during a defense of learning (which is an assessment), community members are involved in providing feedback to the learning process and knowledge acquired.   MC2 uses rubrics to measure their 17 habits of mind such as curiosity/wonder, organization, critical thinking, etc. Each habit has a rubric – scaffolded progression of the habits – from emergence to lifelong.

Competency is represented at MC2 in phases (instead of grade levels) – Phase I, II, III, IV. Learners develop a gateway portfolio and deliver a gateway presentation to move to the next phase. There are no time constraints on any of the phases.   Learning is broken down into phases: designing, constructing, applying, documenting, defending. Portfolios and exhibitions are a part of the defending phase.

MC2 has framed transformation through several ways:

• assessment (as described above in the gateway process on school-wide rubrics for habits)
• authority/control – Where does authority stem from, and what does it say about relationships?
• expertise – Who is the expert, and how do we recognize the expertise of community partners who are applying discipline knowledge in practical ways?
• Assignments are assessed and given feedback to make the project better. This goes beyond simply grading as is done in the traditional grading system.

Things that don’t make sense are let go! MC2 let go of grades and grading. They recognize though, when you let go, other structures  need to be embedded to support the transition from what they know to a new way of working.

MC2 did experience some barriers to transformation: unlearning from the old paradigm – recognize, unlearn, relearn; parent involvement in the learning of their children; helping learners understand how to manage up.   Challenges become lessened as the the culture grows and they build sustainability.  They are working to develop the mindset that learners do well if they can; not if they want to.  This is important distinction for advisors and learners to understand.

Learners are leaders, but there are distinctions between being a leader and exercising leadership. Leadership means taking responsibility for what matters to you. We all have the opportunity and responsibility to exercise leadership. MC2 works to develop the habit of leadership through explicit opportunities in which learners exercise leadership through their strengths. For example, students may lead their own discussion in an English course. Students are required to take on a leadership role, and MC2 does not articulate when, how, or where that happens. While some students may lead from a stage, others may lead behind the scenes by supporting peers.  Another way learners exercised leadership is through the development of a Learner Bill of Rights  which articulates the learners’ rights and responsibilities.

A compelling mission and vision for learning is important but should be tempered with humility.  We are all learners and we are all curious. We need to stick with it, but also be able to step back and reflect on our work.  Leaders work to develop the skills and capacity for empathy in learners, teachers and the community. The curiosity and humility factors are important in building a skill for empathy.  Additionally, leaders need to step back and listen.    If leaders create the space and provide the supports for learners to solve their own problems, learners will solve their own problems. The more they solve their own problems, the greater competence they feel to take action in their own world.

Connections to Practice

We have identified clear skills for our learners through our Profile of a Graduate. Should we consider developing a district-wide rubric for each of the skills? What process would we use to develop those rubrics?

As we move towards personalization, we nee to get to know our learners. How well do our teachers know their learners? Do we encourage teachers to find the time to get to know their learners. What community-building and intrapersonal activities do our learners do throughout their years.

Our elementary students are Leader in Me schools. How do we build structures for our K-12 students to understand leadership and grow in those skills?

How could we connect the Learner Bill of RIghts in our district? What would our learners articulate as their rights and responsibilities?  Would our teachers and leaders agree? What process could we utilize to develop this powerful tool?

Questions Based on Our Context:

• How do we model being co-learners engaged in inquiry with our younger learners? How do we model learning?
• What conditions do we set in our organizations to promote learning up and down the organization?
• What do we explicitly do to learn about our learners – assessment of learner strengths and needs?
• What mechanisms do we have in place that send a message of authority and control?
• What if we provided the opportunity for our learners to design a Learner Bill of Rights?

Next Steps for Us:

• Talk with Superintendent Advisory Council about the Learner Bill of Rights?
• Engage in conversation with the Leading #YourSalisbury team about the development of K-12 rubrics for the skills identified in the Profile of a Graduate.

 

 

In Episode 18, we had a conversation with leaders and learners from Lindsay Unified School District in CA. Barry Sommer, Director of Advancement; Amalia Lopez, Curriculum and Instruction Specialist; and Lewis Cha, learner, shared a snapshot of learning in Lindsay through the lenses of both the learner and leader.  The highlighted the importance of leaders providing time for transformation to occur, the value of stakeholder buy-in to the vision, the centrality of agency and competency, the importance of a common lexicon as the foundation for cultural shifts, among other learner-centered topics.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders begin and stay with the learner at the center of the work. They align every decision, every purchase, every hire to the needs of the learners.

Takeaways

We started the conversation by talking with a learner, Lewis.  He shared, in Lindsay, learners are provided the space to learn at their own pace. For example, Lewis was able to move to the next level of math when he finished one target. He also talked about the valuable learning experience of his year-long engineering project in which his group engineered a sustainable shelter for the homeless. In addition to designing the structure, the team constructed a mock up building. Finally, he highlighted Lindsay encourages learners to develop their own passions. Students are encouraged to aim for the best and complete targets.

The transformation journey requires extensive time and conversations. Back in 2006, Lindsay reflected critically on the district’s work. Graduates were struggling, and assessment scores were decreasing. As a result, Lindsay organized councils of diverse stakeholders to develop a Strategic Design for Lindsay.  As a result of asking many questions and listening to many stakeholders, the district created a blueprint of core values with an emphasis on life-long learning. The Strategic Design will not change – instead it is a foundational document which the district constantly checks its practices against and applies to current context.

Lindsay works diligently to provide all of its learners with a personalized path. The planning and implementation team initially focused on competency-based learning and learner agency as they rebuilt the culture of learning.

What does open-walled learning look like in Lindsay? The district is now making strategic moves to emphasize open-walled and socially embedded learning. The district has provided devices for all learners, developed district-sponsored community wifi, built learning labs, incorporated socially-embedded projects, and created community internships for alternative education learners in support of the open walled learning component of the vision.

What has Lindsay given up in this journey?  First, they had to erase time structures. Grades of A-F no longer exist, and grades are no longer averaged. They shifted focus from academic proficiency to life-long learning. In addition to grading, they changed how they use space. All of the initial changes emphasized cultural shifts.

At the early stages of transformation, Lindsay changed their lexicon. Students were referred to as learners. Teachers evolved into learning facilitators because they no longer are the sage on the stage. Schools are now learning communities. Common language created a foundation for the shift.

Mental shifts were also required from early on. Everything was new and different, and this required a mindset shift for everyone.  What does it mean for the teacher who is no longer the stage on the stage, but now a facilitator?

In addition to mental hurdles, structural and systemic hurdles needed to be overcome – bell schedules, transcripts required by the state.

The district takes the same approach to personalization when working with parents and learning facilitators. For example, the site adminsitrators support learning facilitators with personalized professional learning.

Sessions for parents are offered and networks are developed so parents can better understand how new assessment systems work.

Before mindsets can be shifted, issues must be brought to the forefront and addressed. Consistency is key. Transparent feedback loops need to be developed while addressing mindset shifts.  Failure is a predictable and inherent part of all learning. Learners need to feel comfortable both giving and receiving feedback. Barry shared, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” This pervasive attitude cultivates a growth-oriented mindset.

It is essential to promote leadership roles for all stakeholders. Whether a learner leads within a project or outside of the classroom, everyone is expected to lead.

Barry shared some competencies for learner-centered leaders. Learner-centered leaders are future-focused visionaries who engage in deep listening, serve first, over-communicate, take risks, improve continuously, self-assess, and challenge each other.

Amalia encourages us to begin and stay with the learner at the center of the work. We need to align every decision, every purchase, every hire to the needs of the learners. Learners have needs that we don’t have structures to support. We have to build this as we go.  We cannot waiver from what is best for the learners.

Barry reminds us this work is heavy lifting. We need to remember to bring stakeholders, including learners, to the table to have these conversations.

Lewis reiterates the importance for transparency with the learners. Make sure the learners and their parents know what is going on in the system.

Connection to Practice

We are encouraging teachers to develop projects and learning experiences in which students develop collaboration skills.  We believe project-based learning can be leveraged to enact our learning beliefs in practice.

Building a shared vision is critical. We provided opportunities for our stakeholders to provide input into our Profile of a Graduate.  How can we better engage stakeholders in the on-going process?

We have made significant investments to remove the barrier of access for our learners. All learners 6-12 have access to a MacBook Air which they may take beyond the school walls. K-1 learners utilize a personal iPad, and learners in grades 2-5 have a personal MacBook Air to use in our schools.

This work is indeed heavy lifting. Transforming requires us to push previously-valued ideas to the side to make room for new and better ideas.

Everyone in our organization is a learner, and we are seeking the development of leadership in all of our stakeholders. Both of our elementary schools are Leader in Me schools in which the learners live Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits.

We need to be trusted critical friends for each other. Providing transparent, honest feedback is essential to moving forward in a more learner-centered system. How can we hold someone’s hand to move forward with this difficult work?

Questions Based on Our Context:

• How many of our learners do not have internet access at home? We are currently investigating piloting a wifi hotspot program to supplement our learners’ resources at home.
• How do we cultivate a culture of transparent feedback?
• How are we consistently sharing this message?
• How do we root all decisions in what is best for the learner?
• What do we have to “give up” or push aside to make room for the new?
• Do our learners, teachers, and leaders have critical friends?

Next Steps for Us:

• Develop our own lexicon for the district.
• Engage in conversations with our principals and teachers.

In Episode 17, we had a conversation with Bethlehem Elementary School’s  principal, Dr. Jessalyn Askew and teacher, Tiffany Early. Our conversation focused on the personalized learning efforts in Bethlehem Elementary and many interesting facets of learning and leadership: alternative assessments to demonstrate learning; shifting mindsets of learners, teachers and parents; providing space for teachers to take risks with instruction; ceding control; and cultivating and celebrating teachers.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders create risk-friendly environments. Teachers are encouraged by Jessalyn (and other teachers) to try new things and explore new ideas. Even when the learning is messy, teachers know Jessalyn will support their effort to take risks. Support comes in many forms: financial assistance, meaningful professional development, implementation of student-led conferences, and focused time. As the principal, Jessalyn gently nudges teachers out of their safety nets and supports their work so the teachers can “soar” and “fly.”

Takeaways

Jessalyn worked diligently to change the mindsets of learners, teachers, and parents. The school invites the parents into the classrooms to share what they are learning and doing regularly. Student-led conferences occur twice per year – once in the fall and once in the spring. During the student-led conferences, students share their work with their parents. Parents notice their students’ abilities in problem-solving and self-confidence increasing. As a result of this and the change in classroom instruction, parents are engaging in different conversations about school.

Cultivating learning beyond the school system is critical to the implementation of a new vision.  Jessalyn spoke about teachers opening their doors to other teachers in a model classroom approach. Model classrooms create an open door feel in the building, a culture of learning. In addition to learning from each other, teachers participate in site visits across the country to other systems to be able to see parts of their vision implemented elsewhere. This helps them bring the ideas alive in their own system.

Tiffany shared teachers in the sytem have had to relinquish control. Traditionally, the flow of knowledge comes from the teacher to the student. In this learning environment, the learning flows from everyone to everyone else. Teachers never know exactly where a lesson is going to go, and that can be scary. Students often come to classes with more knowledge than sometimes they get credit for, and that can cause fear.

One challenge of implementation was time. Because teachers do not have a set planning block, teachers receive two hour planning sessions twice a month to work on stations, playlists, and collaboration. Time is a commodity. During this two-hour block, students partiicpate in the makerspace for one hour and STEM for another hour.

Students’ voice changes everything. Students advocate for their choices and recognize themselves as peer teachers who get to decide what and how they learn.

Connection to Practice

We are supporting our building leaders and teachers in taking risks. Through the implementation of our Leading #YourSalisbury cohort, we are building capacity within our building teams to implement teacher-led professional learning and pilot a new idea through an independent professional learning project.

Time is often a challenge. We hear this from our teachers. Our teachers have nine professional learning days, but some of that time is consumed with specific initiatives or mandated trainings. How can we make the most effective use of our time? How can we create more time? Fortunately, all of our teachers have preparation time in their schedules.

Tiffany encourages us to think about our ideal learning environment, communicate that to the learners, and explain that there will be mistakes along the way. Do we talk about learning with our learners? Are we transparent about risk-taking?

Questions Based on Our Context:

• How often do our learners want to continue their work on the weekends?
• How do we promote professional learning beyond our building/district walls?
• Do our teachers LOVE to facilitate discussions with our learners?
• Are we allocating sufficient human and financial resources to support this transformation?

Next Steps for Us:

• Ask our teachers, “What is learning?”  Encourage our teachers to talk with their learners about their ideas about learning.
• Reflect on our work with our Leading #YourSalisbury team. Are we using the time effectively? Are we supporting our teachers and leaders effectively?

In Episode 16, we spoke with Roger Cook, superintendent of Taylor County schools in Kentucky, along with 3 learners – Weston Young, Lexi Raikes, and Lauren Williams – about learner-centered opportunities in Taylor County and their innovative 24-7 performance-based education school, Cardinal Academy.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders provide powerful learning opportunities.  They listen to their learners to find out what they need. Then they identify a way to create a program or other structure that supports the learners’ needs.

Takeaways

The superintendent, Roger Cook, seeks to provide success for all of his learners. Regardless of what the learner needs, he finds a way to provide an opportunity. This can look very different for individual learners, as it should, but he consistently engages in non-negotiables when addressing a learner’s challenge. In Taylor County, no one is allowed to fail. If a student wants to drop out, he/she needs to sit with Roger and talk about why he/she wants to drop out of school. Roger Cook is proud of the District’s 100% graduation rate! “If a teacher fails kids, the teacher is failing me.”  Not only are all current seniors graduating, but the District has also graduated 16 learners who dropped out of school in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Cook developed a six-spoke “Wheel of Learning” that allows teachers and students to chose the instructional style they prefer for each subject. The spokes are:

1. Traditional: typical teacher-directed learning and lecturing
2. Self-paced: a flipped classroom approach, in which teachers develop video lessons that students can access anytime, and then complete coursework on campus
3. Project-based: students focus on applying knowledge to real-world situations
4. Peer/group-led: Teachers facilitated group work that allows students to teach and learn among another
5. Virtual: classes offered completely online from an outside vendor
6. Cardinal Academy: a group of advanced students who don’t have a class schedule or assigned teacher, but instead have standards to accomplish on a daily basis that they decide independently how to complete

Learners in Cardinal Academy need to be proficient on the state standardized tests,  and demonstrate responsibility and discipline. Applicants are interviewed before enrolling in the Academy.  Before graduating, Cardinal Academy learners are required to complete a culminating community project. Learners shared they appreciated the agency they have over their time in the Cardinal Academy. Learners can manage their schedules to earn college course credit.

Opportunities abound in Taylor County. Everybody has a 1:1 device and can utilize it it to engage in self-paced learning. The District realizes some learners still prefer and a need a traditional approach to their education. In the traditional path, the students learn with a teacher in a more traditional, blended school model. Examples were shared during the conversation pertaining to a student-led bank and grocery store, students earning their flight credentials, and career/technology education (welding, cosmetology and agriculture). Regardless of student interest, a program exists at Taylor that can be personalized to student passion and interest.

STARS – Students Teaching and Reaching Students – The district is building student leadership through Cook’s Kids in the STARS program.  Currently there are 350 students teaching and reaching other students. The STARS earn credit by supporting the learners who need extra help.

To create these opportunities, Taylor County had to readjust some attitudes.  For example, they don’t give learners zeros as they overcame the notion of giving up on learners. No zeros. No failures. No dropouts. No excuses. Dropout prevention Specialists will meet with students 1:1 to talk about barriers to learning. If students are not working diligently in class, they are pulled out of class for a conversation with the Dropout Prevention Specialist.  

Teachers and school leaders need to look at every student every day and help to keep them in school.  As the leader of the organization, Roger holds the teachers responsible for living this mindset. He truly values learners. “If you trust kids and you give them responsibility, they will perform.”

The learners shared their perspectives on learning in the rigorous learner-centered environment. Having more agency over the learning environment requires a strong, and sometimes different, skill set.  The learners in Cardinal Academy need to learn how to be highly effective in time management, realistic about what they can achieve, and how to prioritize their learning goals and study time. The students reflected that working with an individualized schedule supports future work at college.

Leaders also need diverse skills to be effective in a learner-centered learning environment. To Roger, it is easy. Listen to the kids. Be compassionate. Be interested in your kids and see what it takes to make them successful.  Get the staff to listen to kids every day.  Be open-minded. Instead of thinking outside the box, throw away the box. Support teachers as they try something new. If something is not working, find out why and fix it.

Professional learning is a critical component to the evolution of this district. Students are dismissed at 1:00 every Friday so teachers can engage in professional conversations and learning. If students are unable to go home, the STARS students will provide additional tutoring.  Providing alternatives and options helps learners get what they need.

Connection to Practice

Our teachers have significant professional learning time. By contract, teachers complete nine full days of professional learning.  Of the nine, two are choice days in which teachers have significant autonomy over their learning. Are we making effective use of the days? How do we know?

As a result of our 1:1 digital transformation, our learners each have a device which can be used to access resources, collaborate, create, communicate, etc.  How can the tool support our next steps in developing a learner-centered learning environment?

Our graduation rate is very high, but as leaders at the top of the organization, we are not consistently engaging with those learners who are considering dropping out of school. Should we have a process for engaging those learners and their families?

Questions Based on Our Context:

• Will we get to the point where we maintain the “traditional spoke” and yet have much more to offer?
• How do we support our leaders as we implement this vision?
• How can we build student leadership?
• How can we release agency to our learners?
• We believe we are supporting teachers in taking risks. What would our teachers say?

Next Steps for Us

• Engage in conversations with our teachers about learner agency and risk-taking.

In Episode 15, we had a conversation about personalizing learning through internships based on learner interests; and the power of relationships with leaders and learners from Big Picture Learning and Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in Bronx, NY. We spoke with Dr. Andrew Frishman, co-executive director for Big Picture Learning; Naseem Haamid and Terrence Freeman, learners at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School.

Terrence shared examples of extended learning opportunities – internships and panels.  Naseem shared his transition from learning what teachers wanted him to learn to learning about what most interested him.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders provide opportunities for their learners to develop their passions.  They keep the “students at the center, but practice at the edges.”   How do we design a set of classroom experiences that compliment that? A school that supports educators who do that? An evaluation system that determines who is doing that well? Learner-centered leaders understand the critical importance of learner interests in designing deep, powerful, learner-centered opportunities that shift life outcomes and trajectories.

Key Takeaways

Learners need diverse opportunities for growth. For example, Naseem learned to dress more professionallly, communicate professionally via email and network through his internship in Madison Square Garden. These opportunities provide motivation for additional leadership opportunities. Through this experience, and a subsequent internship, Naseem worked towards visioning his future and developing the skills needed to realize it. He tells us he wants to be President of the United States.

Learners will have to adjust to a new environment with new expectations. For example, the development of a portfolio requires learners to write more effectively. This transition may be challenging for some learners.

Big Picture Learning schools are designed for learners who are interested in pursuing their passions. BPL schools are organized around progressive ideas – connecting to young people’s experiences/interests. Learning through interest creates a pull and reward for learners.  Learning is about relationships, and as people we are biochemically connected. Learning requires practice.  Bridging these three ideas – interests, relationships, practice – creates a unique learning environment.

Advisors need to understand students’ interests and passions. Naseem and Terrence really value the mentoring program. The advisors put the learners in a position to succeed, learn more about themselves as learners, and grow. In a Big Picture Learning school, the learners learn from the advisors, and the advisors learn from the learners. Learning happens within and beyond the school, and advisors recognize that.

Naseem encourages teachers to take the time to really learn about the students, and see something in the students that they don’t see in themselves. Terrence encourages teachers to regard individuality. Students should not be on the same pathway, and will not meet the same expectations. Students are not machines that will just mechanically produce.

Connections to Practice

At Salisbury, we are investigating implementing an internship program. We are actually going to start with some internal internships. We are creating a Social Media Intern and a Design Intern. What will this look like for our learners?

We are talking about developing digital portfolios with our secondary schools. Our specialist teachers in our middle school have worked with all middle school learners to create a digital portfolio using Google Sites. Content area teachers are also using the sites to show the students’ work. In the high school, some teachers are tinkering with WordPress sites, but it is not yet systemic.

Learners can help us determine what is necessary in our schools/systems. How can we leverage #stuvoice to learn more about what is possible in our context. We are working with superintendent advisory groups in each of our buildings. How do we connect more with learners?

Questions Based on Our Context

• What barriers to change exist for us, and how can we push through them?
• How do we increase opportunities for learners to connect with their passions?
• How do we leverage our community to determine what is possible for Salisbury learners?
• How are relationships different between advisors and learners in a learner-centered environment as compared to a school-centered environment?
• How do we become more sensitive to listening to learner voice – the users of our educational system?

Next Steps for Us

• Engage in conversations with our learners to better understand the disconnect between what learners do in school and what learners do outside of school. How do we bridge that gap?

In Episode 14, we had an engaging conversation with Sonya Wrisley, Neel Pujar and Stacey Lamb from Design39Campus in CA. There were lots of takeaways as we listened to the story of designing a school to creating the conditions for intentional conversations about what to give up from the old school-centered model. One of the most significant parts of the conversation had to do with the intentionality of letting aspects of the school-centered system go.

Key Competency

When working with a small team of leaders and learners to design Design39Campus, principal Sonya Wrigley created space for the team to have intentional conversation about aspects of the school-centered system to let go. Learner-centered leaders are intentional about what is being given up in the transformation. Here is what they discussed letting go: control and power, teacher isolation, territory, traditional classroom spaces with “stuff,” learning only happening at a desk, homework for homework’s sake, grade level boundaries.

Key Takeaways

It takes time to create a sustainable vision for transformation. As principal, Sonya worked on this for two years. She researched other school models around the country that exemplified key principles – a school designed with the learner in mind, collaborative community, design thinking, global connections, inquiry, technology and other real world tools, and a growth mindset poised to change the world.

Learner voice was a key factor in the development of the school. Through a design thinking model, learners were asked, “Why are schools built the way they are?”

As they engaged in the design thinking process, they thought deeply about what to let go of during this transformation:

• They wanted to reduce the isolation and concept of territory. Teachers (learning experience designers) would not have their own classrooms, and Sonya would not have her own office. Instead they created community learning spaces for learners, and the open collaboration areas became design studios.
• They thought intentionally about traditional school-centered spaces and how they needed to be modified for this new school. Teachers were asked to “dump their stuff.” Instead, they created “makeries” by contributing all of their “making” supplies to the learning community. Classroom books were moved to the loft so students could borrow resources which interested them.
• Giving up control was one of the biggest challenges. Teachers gave up the position of power or being a sage on the stage. Learners have knowledge, and the learning experience designers can learn from them, too.
• Traditional school-centered seating was also abandoned. Learners didn’t have to be seated at a desk to be learning; learning takes place everywhere from hallways to community learning spaces.
• Homework akin to doing 20 math problems was no longer acceptable. Instead, homework was completed when the learning naturally extended beyond the school day because learners didn’t want to stop what they were doing.
• Grade level boundaries evolved into learners learning at a pace that was appropriate for them.

While engaging in the design and implementation, the team mitigated some barriers. They had to learn to trust the community – including their colleagues. Team members needed to rely on each other because no one person can do this work. The team reflected on its work continuously, made modifications and will continue to assess their work.

They needed to shift mindsets and perceptions – particularly in the parent and school community. Everyone needed to understand this is not the school they attended in the past.   Design39Campus conducted design workshops prior to and during the school year. About 100 people attended the sessions and talked through the ideas. Parent tours were conducted to help parents experience the learning environment.

If they wanted to change the way they thought about something, they had to change the way they talked about it. In addition to classrooms becoming learning spaces, the administration building was referred to as the welcome center.   The shift in language helped the community understand the differences.

Design39Campus discovered the more voice/choice learners have, the more agency. Learners take control of their behavior, thoughts, and actions. They take control of themselves, and changes are evident. For example, issues on the playground have decreased as a result of learners taking control, solving problems, and taking leadership – even in social situations. Learners are empowered with trust and ownership and they then want to make their learning space the best space possible.

Shifting the paradigm of education is not easy and it is not quick. It is hard work. In education, we need to build empathy for one another. We need to listen to understand where others are coming from in their thinking.

Design39Campus team members shared advice with our listeners. They encourage us to start small and make some changes with the learners in our schools. They encourage us to let go of control and share the leadership. We need to encourage teachers to fail forward and fail fast. The environment has to support this with strong trust.

Connections to Practice

• The design thinking process is woven through this experience. We have been iterating our professional learning over the past few years. We have also iterated leadership team meetings and goals. Where else can we iterate? Where can we start?
• It is essential to develop trust across the organization in order to provide the space for risk-taking and failing. As leaders, we need to be explicit about this expectation. How well are we communicating this across the organization?
• To shift our mindset, we need to intentionally shift our vocabulary. As we learn and talk with other practitioners, our language is evolving. We will work with our Leading #YourSalisbury professional learning cohort to develop our own lexicon.
• We need to provide opportunities for collaboration. Teachers work in PLCs through grade level teams, departments, etc. What structures do we have in place to encourage collaboration? How can we best support out teachers and leaders when they are working in these groups? How can we engage their voice and choice to cultivate ownership?

Questions Based on Our Context

• Why are schools built the way they are?
• How can we more effectively engage our parents/community through school visits?
• What can we give up? Who needs to be involved in these conversation?
• How do we build empathy for one other?

Next Steps for Us

• Consider the above questions
• Identify areas we can “give up”
• Identify a strategy for getting started on our lexicon