Transcript Reviewing Our Future

Designing Our Future
Technology Planning
North Platte High School
December 5th, 2008
The rest of the quote…
“We must be the change we wish to see in the
world. We must risk more than others see as
safe, care more than others think is wise,
dream more than others think is practical,
and expect more than others think is
possible.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Designing Our Future
• I believe in you. I believe in us. I believe in this
community.
• I believe we can become a world class school
district.
• We will have to work together differently.
• We will make mistakes, hopefully some
interesting ones that will teach us a great deal!
• We must take the long view, the standard being
improvement and not perfection!
• We will need each other in this work.
Bugs from Nebraska
Where Did the Bugs Go?
Designing Our Future
• The waves of change
we are encountering
are enormous!
Designing Our Future
The Seven Da Vincian Principles
• Curiosità
• Dimostrazione
• Sensazione
• Sfumato
• Arte/Scienza
• Corporalita
• Connessione
– Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Curiosità
An insatiably curious approach to life and an
unrelenting quest for continuous learning.
Dimostrazione
A commitment to test knowledge through
experience, persistence, and a willingness to
learn from mistakes.
Sensazione
The continual refinement of the senses,
especially sight, as the means to enliven
experience.
Sfumato
Literal meaning = “Going up in smoke.”
A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox,
and uncertainty.
Arte/Scienza
The development of the balance between
science and art, logic and imagination.
Thinking with your whole brain.
Corporalita
The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness,
and poise.
Connessione
A recognition of and appreciation for the
interconnectedness of all things and
phenomena.
Thinking in terms of systems.
Designing Our Future
• Things that we must
do:
– Create the professional
culture that permits us
to improve and
transform classroom
practice in safety
– Agree that growing as
professionals is our
job!
Designing Our Future
Ongoing Expectations
•Systematically improve instruction for all students K-12 by implementing the
components of powerful teaching and learning, which include active inquiry, indepth learning, and performance assessment.
•Integrate the use of digital resources into the daily learning experience of all
learners.
•Create small personalized learning environments for all students, especially
secondary students, where every student is known well by other students and
adults.
•Create the necessary supports within the district and community that will
result in a system of schools where each school successfully meets these
expectations.
Technology Integration Efforts
21st Century Classrooms for Every Learner
Instructional Improvement Efforts
Designing Our Future
What do we know about improving teaching and learning?
[Improving student motivation: Personalization]
•Students are growing up more alone and coming to school more “emotionally needy.”
When asked, they say that most of their teachers don’t respect them and “having
teachers who know and respect me” is what makes the greatest difference in their
learning.
•Many are also less motivated by traditional incentives (fear and respect for authority)
to learn than in the past.
•Schools where all students achieve at high levels have addressed this problem in a
number of ways. The common thread, however, is that they have ensured that all
students have powerful relationships with caring adults who are concerned and
knowledgeable about their learning.
Designing Our Future
Student Engagement
“If you show me how to cling to that which is real
to me, while teaching me a way into the larger
society; then and only then will I drop my
defenses and my hostilities, and sing your
praises and help you to make the desert bear
fruit.”
Ralph Ellison
Designing Our Future
You do, I watch
I do, you watch
Active teaching/learning continuum
Designing Our Future
Why do we need to do this work?
Honest Assessment of Our Reality
Vision for the Future of Schools
Setting the Course (for 4 years)
Providing the Resources
Sustaining the Effort
Accounting for Results
Designing Our Future
The purpose of the day is to work together to
create a technology plan that anticipates the
future.
– The innovation dance in our context.
• Do not filter your thinking initially
• We will aggregate multiple visions
• We will then make sense of the patterns we see in
those visions
• Finally, we will develop the fiscal dimension and its
ramifications for practical planning and design steps
Designing Our Future
• Integrating digital
technology tools into the
everyday learning
program of our schools is
simultaneously a primary
component and then an
indicator of a ‘disruptive
strategy’ to support
instructional
improvement efforts.
Designing Our Future
Shared Commitments
We believe in treating all members of the North Platte community with dignity and respect.
We will demonstrate this belief by:
Valuing all individuals and celebrating diversity.
Taking a stand in favor of respectful conduct.
Being positive and appropriate in what we say and do.
Helping people see how individual actions impact the entire community.
Creating supportive relationships that foster a sense of belonging.
We believe in taking care of our great school.
We will demonstrate this belief by:
Taking care of the buildings and grounds.
Promoting a safe atmosphere that is conducive to thinking, sharing, and learning.
Celebrating the accomplishments of students and staff.
We believe in producing quality work.
We will demonstrate this belief by:
Thoughtfully participating by showing up physically and mentally and engaging in the work at hand.
Coming prepared, working hard, and using class time well.
Challenging ourselves by stretching beyond where we are.
Improving by being reflective, seeking feedback and revising our work.
Collaborating with others to improve our work and understanding, while maintaining personal integrity.
Designing Our Future
Respect and Responsibility
In high achieving schools, the environment is
authoritative, safe, ethical, and studious. The staff
teaches, models, and expects responsible behavior
and relationships are based on mutual respect.
Designing Our Future
Personalized
In high achieving schools, the school is designed to
promote powerful, sustained student relationships with
adults where every student has an adult advocate and a
personal plan for progress. It is vital that schools are
small, intimate units of no more than 600 students (less
than 400 strongly recommended) so that staff and
students can work closely together.
Designing Our Future
High Expectations
In high achieving schools, all staff members are
dedicated to helping every student achieve state
and local standards; all students are engaged in an
ambitious and rigorous course of study; and all
students leave school prepared for success in work,
further education and responsible citizenship.
Designing Our Future
Common Focus
In high achieving schools, the staff and students
are focused on a few important goals. The school
has adopted a consistent research-based
instructional approach based on shared beliefs
about teaching and learning. The use of time,
tools, materials, and professional development
activities are aligned with instruction.
Designing Our Future
High Expectations
In high achieving schools, all staff members are
dedicated to helping every student achieve state
and local standards; all students are engaged in an
ambitious and rigorous course of study; and all
students leave school prepared for success in work,
further education and responsible citizenship.
Designing Our Future
Personalized
In high achieving schools, the school is designed to
promote powerful, sustained student relationships with
adults where every student has an adult advocate and a
personal plan for progress. It is vital that schools are
small, intimate units of no more than 600 students (less
than 400 strongly recommended) so that staff and
students can work closely together.
Designing Our Future
Performance Based
In high achieving schools, students are promoted to
the next instructional level only when they have
achieved competency. Students receive additional
time and assistance when needed to achieve this
competency. Data-driven decisions shape a dynamic
structure and schedule.
Designing Our Future
Technology as a Tool
In high achieving schools, teachers, students,
families and administrators have access to well
supported technology resources. These tools are
ubiquitous throughout the school and are essential
to the learning opportunities delivered in the
school and beyond.
Designing Our Future
Time to Collaborate
In high achieving schools, staff has time to
collaborate and develop skills and plans to meet the
needs of all students. Parents are recognized as
partners in education. Partnerships are developed
with businesses in order to create relevance and
work-based opportunities and with institutions of
higher education to improve teacher preparation
and induction.
Designing Our Future
Respect and Responsibility
In high achieving schools, the environment is
authoritative, safe, ethical, and studious. The staff
teaches, models, and expects responsible behavior
and relationships are based on mutual respect.
Designing Our Future
Active Inquiry: Students are engaged in active participation,
exploration, and research; activities draw out perceptions and
develop understanding; students are encouraged to make decision
about their learning; and teachers utilize the diverse experiences of
students to build effective learning experiences.
Designing Our Future
In-depth Learning: The focus is competence, not
coverage. Students struggle with complex problems,
explore core concepts to develop deep understanding,
and apply knowledge in real world contexts.
Designing Our Future
Performance Assessment: Clear expectations define what students
should know and be able to do; students produce quality work
products and present to real audiences; student work shows
evidence of understanding, not just recall; assessment tasks allow
students to exhibit higher-order thinking; and teachers and students
set learning goals and monitor progress.
Essential Principles
1.
The individual learner is at the center of the learning environment
2.
Learning tasks define the use of technology.
3.
Learners have immediate access to relevant digital resources
4.
Individual and group learning plans are supported by formative and
summary data
5.
Inquiry, simulation, modeling and experimentation are supported by
appropriate technologies
6.
Learners are supported in their development as media literate critical
thinkers
7.
Organizational structures are aligned to support the first six principles.
Success Criteria
1.
Challenging and relevant learning projects are universally evident in
classrooms.
2.
A spectrum of learning strategies, materials and practices are visible
determinants of technology use.
3.
Learning is multi-level (learner to learner, across all communities) and
global in reach as demonstrated by the nature of the learning projects in
process.
4.
Learners will have dedicated mobile computing devices and the resources
to support their learning.
5.
Powerful uses of digital technologies will be evidenced through improved
academic outcomes, expressive and productive student and school
projects; including community development activities.
Designing Our Future
What are the challenges of this work?
Context of Current Reality
Personal Limitations
Professional Limitations
School Design Limitations
Uncertainties:
Community Knowledge and Support
Economic Reality/School Funding
Our Ability to Imagine, Change and Grow
Designing Our Future
Designing Our Future
What is the problem we are hoping to solve?
– How do we actually integrate digital tools into our
current school design in a way that transforms
learning opportunities for our students and
supports us in the redesign of our schools for the
future?
– What do we need to know and be able to do in
order to solve this problem?
Designing Our Future
“A prerequisite for
getting agreement is
having a common
language and a shared
framing of the problem.”
-from Disrupting Class by
Clayton Christensen
Designing Our Future
How will we problem
solve???
Designing Our future
What we choose to do or not to do with our
students is consequential!
(This is a good news/bad news thing)
How we organize learning in our schools
matters. This is where technology integration
becomes essential to our design work.
Designing Our Future
We will build on our existing assets as we
work our way forward.
Developmental, sustainable change
Some what ifs….???!!
WiMax and 1-1 learning appliances
(computers)
Designing Our Future
Acknowledgement
Da Vincian Principles were from Michael J.
Gelb’s book:
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
(Dell Trade Paperbacks, 1998)
Essential Text
The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our
Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival
Skills Our Children Need and What We Can Do
About It
-by Tony Wagner
Essential Text
Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation
Will Change the Way the World Learns
-by Clayton M. Christensen
My Impressions
• All schools and programs
visited
– This presentation is based
on observations from our
classrooms, conversations
with classroom teachers,
support staff, central
administrators, principals,
community members,
Board members, students
and parents over the past
4 months.
Now, Go Invent the Future!
End