ICDE Effective Pedagogical Principles that are Easy to Implement and Have Big...Dr. Kristin Palmer
This presentation covers some of the ideas that faculty at UVA shared as effective practices during COVID that they plan to keep for both face-to-face and online teaching.
ICDE Using MOOCs and Whatsapp in Africa to Create Lasting Economic Impact and...Dr. Kristin Palmer
This concise impact talk for the ICDE virtual global conference talks to our Africa Scholarship program and how it has promoted lasting economic impact and gender equity.
Building Community Capacity through Broadbandsondramilkie
This document summarizes a presentation on building community capacity through broadband. It discusses the importance of broadband for community sustainability and engagement. It outlines the role of UWEX in building broadband capacity by engaging communities, writing grant applications, and implementing broadband infrastructure and adoption programs. These programs include community area networks, education webinars, and an awareness campaign to evaluate broadband access and use. The goal is to facilitate community ownership of broadband and public-private partnerships through outreach.
A Cross Country Comparison: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Blended LearningMark Brown
This document provides an overview of blended learning programs in different countries and discusses some of the key tensions in developing blended learning at scale. It notes that while many say they are implementing blended learning, few are actually doing it well. It then discusses the National Institute for Digital Learning in Ireland and some of its goals like being demand-led rather than supply-driven. The document outlines three main tensions in blended learning as individual vs collective development, quality assurance vs enhancement, and operating at a cottage vs enterprise scale. It advocates for peer review, professional trust, distributed leadership, and policy alignment to help address these tensions.
Marinette panel on Broadband 017.005.2016WI Broadband
This document summarizes key points about broadband development. It defines broadband as always-on, high-speed internet access capable of handling multiple devices simultaneously. It explains bandwidth measurements and how download speeds can vary greatly between technologies like dial-up, DSL, cable, and fiber. The document discusses factors that influence broadband development like infrastructure, demand, affordability, and regulations. It outlines the roles of federal, state, and local actors. Research is presented showing broadband's importance for businesses and its correlation with higher median household incomes.
The LIVEWell website was created by Elaine Bowen to inform, inspire, connect, and encourage West Virginians towards healthier lifestyles. The website features stories of inspiring residents, weekly challenges, recipes, blogs, and resources from affiliate organizations. Analytics show the website is motivating improved health among Extension employees and focus group participants rate weekly tips and recipes highly. The literature supports that online messages can increase healthy behaviors when customizable goals, social support, and daily messages are provided. Lessons learned include the need for fresh, relevant content and constant promotion to establish the site as a health information source.
ICDE Effective Pedagogical Principles that are Easy to Implement and Have Big...Dr. Kristin Palmer
This presentation covers some of the ideas that faculty at UVA shared as effective practices during COVID that they plan to keep for both face-to-face and online teaching.
ICDE Using MOOCs and Whatsapp in Africa to Create Lasting Economic Impact and...Dr. Kristin Palmer
This concise impact talk for the ICDE virtual global conference talks to our Africa Scholarship program and how it has promoted lasting economic impact and gender equity.
Building Community Capacity through Broadbandsondramilkie
This document summarizes a presentation on building community capacity through broadband. It discusses the importance of broadband for community sustainability and engagement. It outlines the role of UWEX in building broadband capacity by engaging communities, writing grant applications, and implementing broadband infrastructure and adoption programs. These programs include community area networks, education webinars, and an awareness campaign to evaluate broadband access and use. The goal is to facilitate community ownership of broadband and public-private partnerships through outreach.
A Cross Country Comparison: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Blended LearningMark Brown
This document provides an overview of blended learning programs in different countries and discusses some of the key tensions in developing blended learning at scale. It notes that while many say they are implementing blended learning, few are actually doing it well. It then discusses the National Institute for Digital Learning in Ireland and some of its goals like being demand-led rather than supply-driven. The document outlines three main tensions in blended learning as individual vs collective development, quality assurance vs enhancement, and operating at a cottage vs enterprise scale. It advocates for peer review, professional trust, distributed leadership, and policy alignment to help address these tensions.
Marinette panel on Broadband 017.005.2016WI Broadband
This document summarizes key points about broadband development. It defines broadband as always-on, high-speed internet access capable of handling multiple devices simultaneously. It explains bandwidth measurements and how download speeds can vary greatly between technologies like dial-up, DSL, cable, and fiber. The document discusses factors that influence broadband development like infrastructure, demand, affordability, and regulations. It outlines the roles of federal, state, and local actors. Research is presented showing broadband's importance for businesses and its correlation with higher median household incomes.
The LIVEWell website was created by Elaine Bowen to inform, inspire, connect, and encourage West Virginians towards healthier lifestyles. The website features stories of inspiring residents, weekly challenges, recipes, blogs, and resources from affiliate organizations. Analytics show the website is motivating improved health among Extension employees and focus group participants rate weekly tips and recipes highly. The literature supports that online messages can increase healthy behaviors when customizable goals, social support, and daily messages are provided. Lessons learned include the need for fresh, relevant content and constant promotion to establish the site as a health information source.
Place Based Poverty Intersections and Approaches - Scott Taterpesapan
This document discusses place-based poverty and promising approaches to address it. It examines how poverty is linked to place and neighborhoods, and how problems become bundled together. Three promising approaches are highlighted: (1) Turning the Tide on Poverty, which explores causes of poverty and develops community-based action plans; (2) Neighborhood identity projects, which focus on local initiatives to build neighborhood pride and trust; and (3) Neighborhood microenterprise programs that support small local businesses. These approaches aim to address multiple problems by building social ties, reducing divides, and linking communities to resources. Examples of early outcomes and impacts of these projects are also provided.
Pulitzer Center and Student News Action Network PowerpointMark Schulte
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting provides short, accessible articles on under-reported international stories. It offers travel grants to journalists to cover issues from the field. The Center's Global Gateway program inspires students to engage with news and aims to educate students about global issues through online interactions with journalists and multimedia projects.
The document summarizes a regional breakout session meeting between professionals from programs that support individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. The group discussed current and potential collaborative activities. They decided to create 1) a shared online space to post resources like videos and training materials and a list of members' expertise, and 2) a survey for members to detail their areas of expertise. The goal is to increase information sharing and cross-program collaboration in the region.
Digital books offer interactive functions and provide learners with a combination of textbooks, reference books, workbooks, dictionaries, and multimedia content like videos, animations, and virtual reality accessible at school and home without constraints of time or space. While digital books are lightweight and can adjust to different devices, some argue that they are harder to read from and could exacerbate the digital divide. As digital books become more prevalent, schools and states are exploring how to fund and support their use in classrooms and online courses.
The document discusses how technology has changed society and education, arguing that we now live in a digital world where computers mediate many aspects of life. It states that both teachers and students need to stay updated on technological advances so that students can be prepared for the digital society and world they will enter. The document concludes by emphasizing that education is key to a brighter future and that parents should be involved in their children's education.
Communication 2.0 tools were explored in this workshop. These tools challenged school board members and superintendents to think about how they could engage in dialogue with their communities.
The document outlines a typical daily routine, including waking up at 8am, getting dressed and having breakfast at 8:30am, going to work at 9am, having lunch at 2:30pm, doing housework in the afternoon, having tea at 5pm, reading a book in the evening, having a shower at 9:30pm, having dinner at 10pm, watching TV at 8:30pm, and going to bed at night.
This document discusses beekeeping in Nepal. It notes that Nepal has diverse geography and climate that support four native species of honeybees. Apis cerana is the most common species kept in traditional wall and log hives by rural beekeepers. Beekeeping provides income to farmers and is an important resource. The document outlines the distribution, behaviors, seasonal migration patterns and traditional management of different honeybee species in Nepal.
The professor used a parable about guests choosing cups for hot chocolate to illustrate that people focus too much on superficial things like status and possessions. He explained that the cup does not change the quality of life, which is represented by the hot chocolate. People should enjoy what they have been given and not envy others or be stressed over temporary things, as God provides what is truly important.
Este documento describe un intercambio escolar entre el IES Alfonso Moreno en España y el Collège Darius Milhaud en Francia durante 2016-2017. Se detallan las fechas del intercambio de abril y mayo, el transporte, el programa y el coste de 400 euros. También se explica el proceso de selección de alumnos para el intercambio basado en el curso, los resultados académicos, la conducta y las solicitudes de los corresponsales franceses del año anterior.
Verify High-Sigma Design is a tool that allows designers to quickly and accurately verify high-yield circuits. It uses an importance sampling technique to estimate yield with far fewer simulations than traditional Monte Carlo methods. The tool extracts design-specific high-sigma corners from runs that can be used for rapid design iterations to improve yield. It provides yield estimation with SPICE accuracy in a fraction of the time of other methods.
The document discusses reinventing business models. It uses examples like the iPod and Apple's iTunes store to show how business model innovation, not just product innovation, can drive success. The key aspects of a business model discussed are the customer value proposition, which helps consumers solve problems, and identifying non-consumption in society for new opportunities. The document encourages brainstorming different customer value propositions for existing brands and problems companies could solve for consumers.
Place Based Poverty Intersections and Approaches - Scott Taterpesapan
This document discusses place-based poverty and promising approaches to address it. It examines how poverty is linked to place and neighborhoods, and how problems become bundled together. Three promising approaches are highlighted: (1) Turning the Tide on Poverty, which explores causes of poverty and develops community-based action plans; (2) Neighborhood identity projects, which focus on local initiatives to build neighborhood pride and trust; and (3) Neighborhood microenterprise programs that support small local businesses. These approaches aim to address multiple problems by building social ties, reducing divides, and linking communities to resources. Examples of early outcomes and impacts of these projects are also provided.
Pulitzer Center and Student News Action Network PowerpointMark Schulte
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting provides short, accessible articles on under-reported international stories. It offers travel grants to journalists to cover issues from the field. The Center's Global Gateway program inspires students to engage with news and aims to educate students about global issues through online interactions with journalists and multimedia projects.
The document summarizes a regional breakout session meeting between professionals from programs that support individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. The group discussed current and potential collaborative activities. They decided to create 1) a shared online space to post resources like videos and training materials and a list of members' expertise, and 2) a survey for members to detail their areas of expertise. The goal is to increase information sharing and cross-program collaboration in the region.
Digital books offer interactive functions and provide learners with a combination of textbooks, reference books, workbooks, dictionaries, and multimedia content like videos, animations, and virtual reality accessible at school and home without constraints of time or space. While digital books are lightweight and can adjust to different devices, some argue that they are harder to read from and could exacerbate the digital divide. As digital books become more prevalent, schools and states are exploring how to fund and support their use in classrooms and online courses.
The document discusses how technology has changed society and education, arguing that we now live in a digital world where computers mediate many aspects of life. It states that both teachers and students need to stay updated on technological advances so that students can be prepared for the digital society and world they will enter. The document concludes by emphasizing that education is key to a brighter future and that parents should be involved in their children's education.
Communication 2.0 tools were explored in this workshop. These tools challenged school board members and superintendents to think about how they could engage in dialogue with their communities.
The document outlines a typical daily routine, including waking up at 8am, getting dressed and having breakfast at 8:30am, going to work at 9am, having lunch at 2:30pm, doing housework in the afternoon, having tea at 5pm, reading a book in the evening, having a shower at 9:30pm, having dinner at 10pm, watching TV at 8:30pm, and going to bed at night.
This document discusses beekeeping in Nepal. It notes that Nepal has diverse geography and climate that support four native species of honeybees. Apis cerana is the most common species kept in traditional wall and log hives by rural beekeepers. Beekeeping provides income to farmers and is an important resource. The document outlines the distribution, behaviors, seasonal migration patterns and traditional management of different honeybee species in Nepal.
The professor used a parable about guests choosing cups for hot chocolate to illustrate that people focus too much on superficial things like status and possessions. He explained that the cup does not change the quality of life, which is represented by the hot chocolate. People should enjoy what they have been given and not envy others or be stressed over temporary things, as God provides what is truly important.
Este documento describe un intercambio escolar entre el IES Alfonso Moreno en España y el Collège Darius Milhaud en Francia durante 2016-2017. Se detallan las fechas del intercambio de abril y mayo, el transporte, el programa y el coste de 400 euros. También se explica el proceso de selección de alumnos para el intercambio basado en el curso, los resultados académicos, la conducta y las solicitudes de los corresponsales franceses del año anterior.
Verify High-Sigma Design is a tool that allows designers to quickly and accurately verify high-yield circuits. It uses an importance sampling technique to estimate yield with far fewer simulations than traditional Monte Carlo methods. The tool extracts design-specific high-sigma corners from runs that can be used for rapid design iterations to improve yield. It provides yield estimation with SPICE accuracy in a fraction of the time of other methods.
The document discusses reinventing business models. It uses examples like the iPod and Apple's iTunes store to show how business model innovation, not just product innovation, can drive success. The key aspects of a business model discussed are the customer value proposition, which helps consumers solve problems, and identifying non-consumption in society for new opportunities. The document encourages brainstorming different customer value propositions for existing brands and problems companies could solve for consumers.
WASB January 2010: Re Culturing A Visionbradfordgs
1. The document discusses re-culturing a school district's vision using Web 2.0 technologies through community engagement. It describes convening a Community Vision Team to have conversations with stakeholders about changing expectations for public education.
2. The Community Vision Team used tools like MindMeister and gathered data from engagement workshops to analyze themes, trends, and insights from conversations.
3. The recommendations from this process will inform the school board's decisions on adopting a new vision, purpose statements, and district and school goals.
This document provides information about the Center for School-University Partnerships (CSUP) at Minnesota State University, Mankato for the 2011 spring semester. It discusses how CSUP has expanded partnerships to new school districts and grown connections between education professionals to better support teacher candidates. New initiatives like the AVID partnership and online InfoBrief aim to strengthen collaboration across the professional development school network and transform teacher preparation.
Wooten e with embedded videos - ppt2010NANCYWOOTEN
The document summarizes information about Michigan Virtual School (MVS), a division of Michigan Virtual University. MVS provides online learning opportunities for K-12 students throughout Michigan. It offers over 150 online courses, as well as career exploration and professional development resources for teachers. MVS aims to provide flexible, high-quality education that can supplement learning in traditional schools.
Wooten n without embedded videos - ppt2010NANCYWOOTEN
Michigan Virtual School (MVS) provides online learning opportunities for K-12 students in Michigan. It offers over 150 online courses including AP and foreign language courses. MVS aims to provide flexible learning options that allow students to access educational opportunities regardless of their geographic location or other commitments. Studies have shown that online learning can be as or more effective than traditional classrooms, and MVS has helped expand educational options for Michigan students.
Southern K-14 Education Innovation Summit October 30-31, 2013Kelley Jackson
Dr. Jabari Simama, President, Georgia Piedmont Technical College and Cathilea Robinette, Executive Vice President, eRepublic, launch the first Southern K-14 Education Innovation Summit. The conference is scheduled for October 30-31, 2013 on the DeKalb Campus of Georgia Piedmont Technical College in Clarkston, Georgia. The summit will convene leaders in education to discuss innovative education models in the K-14 space.
Build Stronger Connections with Your School Community Using Online ToolsBlackbaud
There is perhaps no greater predictor of a school’s ability to effectively support its students than the level and quality of its communications — among staff, students, administration, alumni, the community and, very importantly, families. Even in a world where communications is happening all the time and all around us (via always-on smartphones, tablets, and the like), it can be challenging for schools to develop a clear channel through which they can engage all stakeholders in a meaningful and relevant way.
Web-based platforms such as Blackbaud’s Online Campus CommunityTM are helping educational institutions create open channels of communication hooked into back-end databases, delivering purposeful, meaningful communications to students and their families.
The schools interviewed for this white paper widely and strongly laud Online Campus Community for its highly customizable interface, which enables them to tailor their messaging and promote their brand, mission and value proposition to existing families and alumni, as well as to families of prospective students. This has helped educational institutions develop and maintain strong relationships with their students’ families, and to create new opportunities and efficiencies for fundraising efforts.
No one tool can take the place of a concerted and comprehensive methodology for effectively working with an educational institution’s many stakeholders, but tools such as Online Campus Community that serve as a robust communications hub can ease, focus, and amplify schools’ efforts.
http://www.blackbaud.com/k-12
The document discusses using social networking to engage parents and sustain a 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) after-school and summer program called CROP. CROP serves over 1,200 students across 16 rural school districts. It faces challenges with funding, parent involvement, and communication due to its large geographic area. A new partner, NYCON, aims to provide training to develop a social networking model to improve communication, involvement, and fundraising to help sustain CROP for the long term. The document provides examples of how CROP can use tools like Facebook, blogs, and Constant Contact to connect with families, gather feedback, promote events, and build community to support the program.
This document is a resume for Daniel Schwartz, who has 24 years of experience leading progressive independent schools. It summarizes his qualifications and experience as the head of Baker Demonstration School, where he increased enrollment and student retention. It also outlines his experience as principal of Carleton Washburne School, where he oversaw curriculum development and facilities planning. The resume lists his areas of expertise in strategic leadership, fiscal administration, and developing strong community and board relations.
The document discusses how online tools and learning can help school districts save money and resources in several ways. It provides examples of districts that have saved millions through online professional development and digital content management. It also discusses trends in online learning growing and students performing better on average in online versions of courses compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. The document promotes the role Blackboard tools can play in blended and online learning.
The document discusses how online tools and learning can help school districts save money and resources in several ways:
- Baltimore City Schools saved $6 million per year with online professional development and digital content management.
- A school in New Hampshire saved 75% of the cost of extending the school year by going online after a closure.
- Online classes in Wisconsin cost on average $3,600 less than in-person classes.
- The document promotes the use of Blackboard tools to help districts with community engagement, curriculum management, professional development, virtual schooling, and blended learning.
The document discusses how online tools and learning can help school districts save money and resources in several ways. It provides examples of districts that have saved millions through online professional development and digital content management. It also discusses trends in online learning growing and students performing better on average in online versions of courses compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. The document promotes the online products and services from Blackboard that can help districts achieve goals like engaging communities, providing curriculum and professional development, and expanding learning opportunities.
This document summarizes a benchmarking report prepared by Wilkes Community College (WCC) to develop a unified model for providing wrap-around services to meet students' basic needs. It discusses why WCC is focusing on this issue, how peer institutions identify student needs, common needs addressed, staffing models, funding sources, strategic partners, communication strategies, engagement levels, and results achieved. The goal is to research best practices and design a program that improves student retention and graduation by addressing issues like food insecurity, housing, childcare, transportation, technology access, and mental/physical health needs.
The document discusses strategies for improving school districts and ensuring success for all students. It emphasizes developing a compelling vision focused on high levels of learning for all students, ensuring data-driven and compliant actions are taken, and creating an aligned system through collaboration between the district and schools. The key is taking a whole child, whole community approach through partnerships that engage families and address students' basic needs in order to create a culture where all believe in students' potential for success.
Vicki Montgomery has over 30 years of experience in non-profit management, program development, and financial management. She has a background in strategic program development, resource development, outcomes measurement, and financial management. Most recently, she was the Director of Programs & Impact at the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin where she successfully obtained funding, developed educational and gardening programs, and led the formation of a performing group.
NE Teaching & Learning Conference (& LMDC)Cable Green
The document discusses higher education and eLearning opportunities. It promotes (1) leveraging eLearning and digital technologies to support new ways of learning, (2) sharing open educational resources to increase access to knowledge, and (3) developing a technology plan to transform learning through innovative and student-centered technologies across community and technical colleges.
ACSA Technology Leadership Group Position Paperdvodicka
This document provides recommendations from the Association of California School Administrators' Technology Leadership Group on promoting effective technology integration into teaching and learning. It discusses the need to transform classrooms from information centers to places where students develop 21st century skills. Recommendations are provided for teachers, site leaders, district leaders, and state leaders focused on challenge-based learning, customized learning experiences, online resources, and revising standards and assessments to reflect digital-age needs. The goal is to better prepare students through strategies that engage them and develop skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and digital literacy.
This document discusses the history and development of e-learning and online professional development for educators. It traces the origins of distance education back to the 18th century and highlights universities like the University of London that began offering distance learning degrees in the 1800s. The development of the internet allowed for the rise of the first fully online university in 1996. Research found that online professional development can improve student outcomes when delivered as a coordinated series over time. Challenges in developing online professional development included ensuring it meets individual needs as well as providing collaboration and active learning opportunities for teachers.
ACSA Technology Leadership Group Position Paperdvodicka
This document provides recommendations from the Association of California School Administrators' Technology Leadership Group on promoting effective technology integration into teaching and learning. It recommends that teachers permit collaborative projects and provide meaningful feedback on challenge-based learning. It recommends site leaders provide resources and training to support challenge-based learning and customized learning experiences. It recommends district leaders revisit age-based grouping, promote new communication tools, and support online access and learning experiences. It recommends state leaders revise standards and assessments to reflect digital-age skills and support flexible learning models. The overall goal is to better prepare students for the 21st century by transforming classrooms from information centers to places where students can develop skills like creative and adaptive thinking.
The document discusses the Fort Hays State University Red Balloon Project, which is an initiative to transform teaching and learning at the institutional level in response to the "unwinding" of higher education. The project focuses on blended learning, collaborative learning, and using new technologies and open resources to support collaborative knowledge creation. It aims to incentivize learning and outcomes through exploring innovative approaches like flipped classrooms and reimagining course development and academic strategies. The Red Balloon Project is a metaphor for how knowledge can be created, aggregated, and disseminated in new ways through collaborative problem solving.
1. Rethinking leadership: why it is important Deb Gurke, Director of Board Governance Wisconsin Association of School Boards January 14, 2009
2.
3. The Effective Leader “The ability to communicate across the various constituencies of the organization (both internal and external) is the key to effective leadership.”Margaret Wheatley
22. Creating and Sustaining Positive Culture Beliefs – Values – Norms How we act towards each other
23. The Challenge How do we operate as a team so we can focus our energies on student achievement ?
24. “Well-functioning, successful teams usually have chemistry that can’t be quantified. They seem to get into a virtuous cycle in which one good quality builds on another.” Jeffry Sonnenfeld, Harvard Business Review September, 2002
Editor's Notes
We need to remember the ultimate goal of our work: children who are able to enjoy success--academic, social, artistic--in our schools. This is an important goal, one that is difficult to realize as school districts are complex organizations affected by numerous factors. Further complicating your job as the district leadership, you are removed from the day-to-day interaction with students. We will talk about some of this complexity today and give you some tools to help you with your work. Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, spoke at the National School Board Association’s annual meeting in San Diego. He said, the adults need to set aside their own wants and desires and do what is best for kids. There are a whole lot of reasons why we need to get really serious about addresses the challenges in public education today.
How do we develop trusting relationships?How do we manage conflict?
The KnowledgeWorks Foundation has created a Map of Future Forces and developed this list of drivers of change. You can googleKnowledgeWorks to see an interactive version of the mapGrassroots Economics No longer economies of scale Economies of relationships Peer-to-peer self-organizing systems Anyone use E-bay—no central authority Wikipedia—as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica Openness MIT courses online Procter and GambleRejecting mass offerings You can design your own Mini-CooperHow does this work in public education when we have to consider standards? There is a tension between what is happening in the economic world and what is happening in the policy world of public education Social Networking People want to self-organize to create shared experiencesMoving from Information Age to Connected AgeMySpaceFacebookMeet Up Often no real apparent purpose beyond self-organizingThese sites can and have been used for organizing MoveOn.org Grassfire.org—700,000 people signed a petition that derailed immigration legislationThe latest social networking option—Twitter (look at the TED video to see how this works) What collective actions can educators, parents, students take?Kids want to connect. How do we do this in school while keeping them safe? How can we make schools reflect the world our kids live in when they are outside of school? Strong Opinions Strongly Held Polarization, multiple ideologies Congress, legislatures, Creationism, other social issues We often see only the either/or Can further isolate us CNN, msnbc, Fox News—validates your opinion How can we find common ground in this cacophony? We see this in the debate over Arlen Specter’s change in party. Sick Herd Ecology term—environment is no longer able to sustain a population Compromised health The Swine Flue outbreak is the latest health issue to emerge. But we have had a series of these. A few years back it was bird flu.Chronic illness Asthma Diabetes Depression AllergiesHealth needs to be managed every day. What are the implications for education? Urban WildernessIn the United States, 80% of the population lives in urban areasCities are becoming extreme Social cities—contingent on a creative knowledge base Feral cities—no social services or safety net, corruption, violenceWhat is the impact on public education in these extreme environments? Are we creating a divided society? Chicago as an example. End of Cyberspace No separation of virtual and physical Technology becomes embedded in our environmentPhysical space enhanced by technologyMap—Mapquest—GPSI can get a text message from the Madison Metro telling me of weather-related delays. What does this mean for public education?What do we do with this information? How do we use it to inform ourselves, district staff, and our communities about what we need to do in our schools? These are dramatic changes. How do schools keep up with this environment? I don’t have the answers. I am putting this out there for you to think about. Maybe you take this back to your community and talk about it with your board and with others in the district and community.
Twenty years ago, when I moved to Minnesota, the per capita income of Wisconsin and Minnesota were separated by a few dollars. Today, the gap is $4000 and grows wider every year. The population of the two states is similar which means that Wisconsin is significantly poorer in relation to Minnesota.
When we look at the education level of the populations we see another disturbing picture: Minnesota has more citizens with baccalaureate degrees. And I know some will argue that many of those come from Wisconsin, that we actually educate our citizens but that they don’t stay here, the result is that Minnesota is better positioned to respond to the drivers of change. Why is it important to understand these drivers? Because we need to rethink the way we approach the challenges we face in our state and in our schools.Minnesota 34%, ranks 5thU.S. Average 27%Wisconsin 25%All of these statistics are related to one of the most troubling in Wisconsin—we have one of the worst achievement gaps in the country.In addition to the moral obligation we carry to educate all children, there are strong economic reasons for addressing the achievement gap. The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in American Schools reports that the achievement gap “imposed on the United States the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession. If the gap between black and Latino student performanceand white student performance had been narrowed, GDP in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher, or 2 to 4 percent of GDP. The magnitude of this impact will rise in the years ahead as demographic shifts result in blacks and Latinos becoming a larger proportion of the population and workforce.” Wisconsin has one of the biggest achievement gaps so it is not a stretch to say that our state feels this pinch more than others. This economic impact is one reason state and federal policy makers have entered into the education arena.Solving this problem will not be easy.
The problems we face require more skills and different ways of approaching them. Traditionally, we tend to take a rational approach when it comes to thinking about how to solve problems. It looks something like this, following a set process whereby we gather and analyze data and use this data to formulate and implement a solution. Yet….
The problems we face today are not only complex—they are wicked
Wicked problems don’t follow the rational pattern. Instead, it is an iterative process, where we continue to learn about the problem as we attempt to develop the solution. We learn we need to go back and gather and analyze more data as we formulate a solution. As we attempt to implement the solution, we further learn and have to make adjustment, maybe returning to the data gathering stage as we further refine what we know about the problem.Solutions are not right or wrongThere is no stopping ruleEach problem is unique and novelYou don’t understand the problem until you have developed the solutionWicked problems have certain characteristics that make them wicked. It is not simply that they are complicated that problems are wicked. Wicked problems do not have right or wrong solutions; no easily discernable end; are unique and novel; and perhaps most importantly are not easily understandable.A problem can be quite complicated yet be relatively tame. For example, putting a human being on the moon was a complicated process but it was not complex, not a wicked problem.In education, we have a number of issues that can be created wicked.Crime and violence in our schoolsClosing the achievement gapConnecting with the public
Part of the reason we have had difficulty addressing these kinds of issues is that we think we need to apply technical expertise to address them. If it were that simple, we would have already solved issues like the achievement gap. Instead, the challenges require adaptive change.For example—on the surface, making evidence-based decisions might seem like a technical change. However, deeply embedded in this practice is the need for adaptive change. There are all kinds of values and traditions in the old way of doing things. What happens when you try to change report cards? What happens when we talk about linking teacher pay to achievement? What happens when we talk about moving resources from class size to professional development? All of these decisions require a shift in the way we work—adaptive change.Adaptive change is culture change. And we need different kinds of leadership to address adaptive change. Effective leaders understand that command-and-control doesn’t work when you are attempting adaptive work. This is where the hard work resides. For example, focusing on individual students, differentiated teaching and learning, is very different than the mass education system that was created, and still exists in many places, today. What are some of the issues we face in trying to change the model?As you work on adaptive change you will find yourself in the whitewater.
As governance team members, you are the keepers of the organizational culture. You shape it.You maintain it.You may have to proactively shift it.
Well-functioning, successful teams usually have chemistry that can’t be quantified. They seem to get in a virtuous cycle in which one good quality builds on another.This is what I call creating more energy than you use. DanMulhern, author of Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life, calls it “putting energy on the grid as you lead with your best self.”