An honest start. Week 8 is missing... Why? Well nothing resonated with me, I was feeling let down and overwhelmed. 8 Forces for Leaders of Change again stated the what, but did not discuss the how. I am feeling like some of the information being presented is missing its mark with me. I am looking at things a bit pessimistically at the moment and that is something I have to work through. However, I really do want to gain the most benefit from this course.
Moving on...
I am looking forward to the school visits this coming week and also hearing from Wayne Craig (MCREL).
Moving on further...
Thinking outside the box. This is something I resonate with. In fact an area I enjoy pushing others into. I know I am a big thinker and do have a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo, so the week 9 viewings did help cheer me up a bit. :-)
I did gain a few personal messages which support me and what I am doing in my own classrooms from the videos presented. I won't go into them here, however the growth I can obtain from those messages will then follow on to help others at my school. I just need a better version of the current model I am toying with first before many of my colleagues will see it's true value. Try, fail and iterate often!!
Sir Ken Robinson's How to escape education's death valley is a great start for inspiration on the areas which we as educators can begin to question the status quo and ensure that we personally are not leading our classes into 'death valley'.
However, Emily Pilloton's Teaching design for change was the real re-enforcement for me. I have been involved in design thinking sessions before and stated at the time that this is how we should be designing curriculum and learning tasks. Even more so, maybe this is a critical skill we should be teaching our students. It provides them with the big idea-creativity skills they need to "think outside the box".
Maybe this is also the way leaders should be thinking about change? Why shouldn't we? The question asked shouldn't be "what if this were possible?" but "why shouldn't this be possible?". Then a design thinking approach could be used to make it possible. The great thing I love about design thinking is it removes all barriers to a problem, it forces you to think big, to trial and review, then iterate. You can always make a big idea smaller and add the constraints back on. But you will never get anywhere if you start small and are mentally held back by factors outside your control.
Hi Adam, sorry to hear that Week 8 was a downer for you and that you felt let down and overwhelmed - how let down? We try very hard to ensure that the course is relevant to all participants so any feedback you can give in this respect would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI understand that you are looking for the 'HOW' answers but we do need to go through the 'WHAT' first. The range of expertise, understanding and experience of course participants is extremely varied, as you can imagine and the course has been carefully structured in such a way as to build understanding over time. Of course, there will be weeks when you will feel that your knowledge is not being challenged, and others when you feel more stretched.
What did the 2014 Horizon Report highlight for you - or have you already read it? The reason we highlighted it is the shift from tools to pedagogy which was exemplified there (and which has also been hinted at in the 2015 edition which focuses on building "better pedagogies, empower students to take an active part in their learning.." etc). As soon as the 2015 report is released (aim for June), we will also share this with course participants.
For example, I share in your interest in design thinking - how might you apply this to your School ICT Change Planning?
Hoping the next few weeks are better for you.
As we discussed at the workshop Adam (prompted by this post), Wayne Craig's comment speaks to your feelings. Leadership teams can determine the what and they why. They need to have these, as applied to their school community, firmly in their thinking. The HOW, as Wayne said, must come from within. No one knows your school community like your own school leadership does. The HOW has to be personalised for your teachers, your students and your parents. Of course, this is where networking becomes important as other educators ideas and experiences will be invaluable in helping your leadership teams to address the HOW.
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