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We’re back at Portfolio School this episode, having a conversation with Dr. Shira Leibowitz, Founding Lower School Director; Nancy Otero, Founding Director of Project Based Learning; and Lucas, a learner at Portfolio School.
Dr. Leibowitz has led independent schools in the greater New York City area for 20 years prior to joining Portfolio, serving as Department Head and Curriculum Coordinator, Lower School Principal, and Head of School. A recognized leader in project-based learning, educational innovation, and instructional coaching, Shira has coached teachers throughout the country in implementing project-based learning in their classrooms and has led online communities of practice for educators focused on educational innovation, teaching and learning, and instructional coaching. Shira’s book The Coach Approach to School Leadership: Leading Teachers to Higher Levels of Effectiveness, was recently published by ASCD.
Nancy Otero is the Founding Director of Project Based Learning. She is a design-thinking enthusiast and a world-recognized leader in the implementation of school Fabrication Laboratories (“Fab-Labs”). The focus of her work, especially with the Transformative Learning Technology Lab at Stanford University, has been the ways in which digital fabrication impacts learning. Nancy co-founded FAB!, a non-profit in Mexico, which serves underserved high-schoolers and teachers, and she has researched the efficacy of her programs in collaboration with Stanford. This year, Stanford is supporting Fab Lab implementations in five public high schools in Guadalajara, and looking to implement 50 more next year.
Lucas is a learner at Portfolio School. Lucas is 9 and he is a pioneering learning at the Portfolio School.
As a result of speaking with these leaders and learners, we are thinking about these questions:
- As a leader, how do you build in reflection time to assess progress toward your vision and define next steps?
- How can project-based learning support your vision for learning?
Resources:
- The Coach Approach to School Leadership: Leading Teachers to Higher Levels of Effectiveness
- Portfolio School
- Education Reimagined Feature on Portfolio School
- Student Portfolios
- Porffolio School on YouTube
- A Transformational Vision for Education in the US
- It’s a Paradigm Shift. So What?
- Episode 1: What is learner-centered? (with Education Reimagined Executive Director, Kelly Young)
- Episode 2: What is learner-centered leadership? (with Allan Cohen and Anya Smith)