Creating a Culture of Learning

1. Creating a Culture of Learning
Moving Towards Student-Centered Learning
Glenn Meeks

2. Learning Objectives:
• Understand Meek's "Coherent Planning Process for Student-
Centered Learning“
• Identify seven organizational silos that impact student-centered
learning
• Provide best practices and planning questions within each silos
• Recommendations for strategic planning at district level

3. Glenn Meeks
• Author of Creating a Culture of Learning & founder of Meeks Professional Services
• Specializes in the facilitation of internal strategic plans
• The book and planning process focus on a roadmap to move K-12 school districts from
a teacher-centered to a student-centered learning (SCL) culture
• Known for his technical & practical expertise in educational technology systems
• Spent 17 years as a systems engineer with work related to Audio systems, Data
Networks, Video Networks, and Security Systems
• Current PD focuses on working with districts for Technology Master Plans, Technology
Standards and Guidelines, and developing SCL Roadmaps

4. Coherent Planning Process for
Student-Centered Learning (SCL)
Meeks defines “student-centered learning” as an
organized, specific-content focused environment where
the teacher is the facilitator of the student experience
Your SCL focus may be project-based learning, inquiry-based
learning, flipped classrooms, STEM, STEAM, constructionist, learning
communities, or a mix of methodologies

5. Coherent Planning Process for SCL
“Do you believe your school district needs to move towards a
student-centered culture of learning?”
• The book provides a roadmap for the planning process that:
• Explores the connections and conduits between seven organizational silos with
impact SCL
• Addresses changes in district policies and processes
• Directs district conversations regarding revision of curriculum, assessment,
teacher-evaluations, and other factors that impact SCL and gathers them into a
coherent organizational plan
• Assists district planning teams in creating an SCL Roadmap containing tasks,
goals, timelines, budget across a span of five years to execute plan

6. Coherent Planning Process for SCL
7 Silos
• All anchor on What/How Kids Learn
• People categories: PD,
Policies/Process, Tech Support
• Things categories: Systems & Loose
equipment, Tech Support
• Places categories: Facilities,
Infrastructure

7. What/How Kids Learn
• Your vision for learning becomes
the primary driver within the
other 6 silos
• All about the student experience
and how learning and teaching
affects student academic and
civic achievement
• The plan should articulate how
far down the student-centered
learning path the organization
wants to progress within the
timeline of the plan

8. What/How Kids Learn
• Some questions to be answered:
• What student-centered
activity/experience engages the
students in 21st Century skills?
• Are they gaining that knowledge
and skills at the appropriate time?
• Does the instructional structure
support & enables teachers to
facilitate those activites?
• Do students have the academic
and technology literacy skill sets
to operate in this environment?

9. Professional Development
• The educational training received by
the majority of our teachers does
not match the new expectations
outlined in the learning standards
(common core or TEKS)
• Just like the change corporate
America made 2-3 decades ago,
school districts have to retrain their
employees
• Research suggests that if you can
convince 30% or more to adopt
desired change, the whole
organization will change

10. Professional Development
• Some questions to be answered:
• Does the faculty have competency in 21st
Century learning methodologies, concepts, and
processes?
• Are basic troubleshooting skills for computing
devices, network connectivity and audio-visual
(AV) systems included in teacher tech training?
• Has the district converted formative
assessments to electronic formats?
• What tools have you provided the teachers for
managing everything they are expected to do?
• Does the district PD plan contain teacher and
principal technology literacy expectations?

11. Policies and Processes
• This silo represents how you
manage people and the systems
that are involved in the
instructional program
• Addresses the goal of how we
make changes to a SCL and
teaching environment
sustainable
• Includes who is the “keeper” of
the formal and informal
processes enabling a successful
student-centered 21st C program

12. Policies and Processes
• Some questions to be answered:
• What “formal communication channels” are
in place to ensure polices are followed?
• How does campus staff provide input to the
overall learning and teaching functions and
decisions?
• Does your organizational structure reflect
today’s changes in how teaching, learning,
technology components and supports are
changing in education?
• Where in the organizational structure is the
tech support department located?

13. Technical Supports
• Finding ways for learning and
teaching support personnel
(curriculum specialists, content
specialists, media specialists,
etc.) who work in the classroom
to work cohesively with tech
systems support personnel who
work to keep things running (IT,
computing services, services,
networks, instructional
technologists, communication
systems, IP security)

14. Technical Supports
• Some questions to be answered:
• Has the district developed the concept
of blending content specialists and tech
support personnel into a learning and
teaching coach or similar position?
• Does the district have a traditional IT
help desk or “merged” service desk
providing incident support for IT, all
technology, and applications?
• What quantity of personnel performs
what tasks for the technical systems
support group?

15. Facilities
While effective and sustainable
student-centered 21st Century
learning and teaching can occur in
any existing instructional space,
facilities designed specifically for
student-centered activities
provide a more effective
environment

16. Facilities
• Some questions to be answered:
• Is the district planning to construct new
facilities?
• New – are those facilities planning for a
combo of flexible spaces for small
student groups and collaborative areas?
• New – is the district planning for a
“teaching wall” or “presentation
surface”
• Renovate – is the district planning to
revise floor plan/replace existing
furniture with flexible furniture?

17. Infrastructure
The infrastructure considerations
are primarily focused on the
support of the technology used in
the learning environment and
specifically related to AC power,
cable pathways, and the
cooling/heating systems.
These supports called “hidden
support systems” anchor on how
infrastructure supports SCL.

18. Infrastructure
• Some questions to be answered:
• Has the system been designed to current
indoor air quality standards from the
EPA?
• Is the district using web-browser
computing devises or standard
computers; if computers, do they have
enough AC power capacity?
• Are the typical lighting systems in
classrooms designed to darken the area
near the projection surface?

19. Systems and Loose Equipment
Systems and Loose Equipment need
to align with the vision for student
learning. Typically, that would
include an increase in quantity and
revisions in type of student computing
devices along with high-density
wireless networks. In today’s digital
learning environment, student
computing devices are similar to the
No. 2 pencil and paper of old. They
should be available when and where
the students need them for learning.

20. Systems and Loose Equipment
• Some questions to be answered:
• What is the current ratio of devices to
students?
• What devices are used for teachers?
• Does the district use VLAN (virtual local
area network) on their data network?
• Has the district worked through 20th
versus 21st century aspects of
interactive boards?
• Has the district standardized on an
interactive manufacturer and
methodology?

21. Coherent Planning Process for SCL
People, Places, and Things
• Represent 3 areas of knowledge
the facilitator(s) need to have
experience in and working
knowledge of in order to
facilitate the planning process
• A People person is someone who
gains energy by interacting with
others
• A Things person finds energy by
working with things, not people

22. Strategic Planning Process

23. Strategic Planning Process
Exposing the planning participants to the best
practices, identifying district-specific
hindrances and obstacles to student-centered
learning in all silos, and generating goals and
strategies addressing those hindrances and
obstacles are at the heart of this planning
process (p. 147).
The planning process follows the sequence of
all four questions in the diagram for all seven
silos starting with “What/How Students Learn”
and reflecting on the instructional
delivery/curriculum viewpoint.

24. Strategic Planning Process
• Planning Lab # 1 – “Where do you want to
go?” This is a two-day planning lab where
a complete representation of the
organization members participate
(superintendent, board members,
principals, teachers, technologists)
identify priorities and create a plan that
addresses all 7 silosThe assessment phase, “Where are you now?”
requires data gathering (interviews, site visits,
etc.).

25. Strategic Planning Process
• Planning Lab # 2 –“How will you get there?”
This is where alignment of the plan to the
cultural and political aspects of the local
organization starts to come forward as the
plan aligns to those realities. It includes a
reporting out of the capital and operational
budgets available and start the process of
reconciliation of funding. An overview of the
timeline of the plan activities is reviewed.
• As a final activity, the planning participants
will discuss and generate a set of metrics
that will be used in five years to determine if
the plan was successful.
The assessment phase, “Where are you now?”
requires data gathering (interviews, site visits,
etc.).

26. Final Steps
• “Creating a Culture of Learning” first draft to include:
• The district assessment of the 7 silos
• Where the district wants to go
• A roadmap to how the district will get there
• Executive Cabinet/Board Review
• Creating a Culture of Learning with Roadmap Review
• Final draft submittal and presentation for board approval

27. Final Thoughts
• Student-centered learning consistently results in dramatic
improvement in student academic achievement
• Always assess the process by asking, “Does the execution of the
roadmap/operational plan generated by this process increase the
number of teachers using student-centered learning experiences
on a regular basis in their classroom?”
• That’s the ultimate goal of this process
• The process of reviewing the seven silos really allows a district
superintendent to take a closer look and inspection of the 10
functions