Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

Learner-centered leaders place learner passions at the center of learning in core academics and social-emotional learning [#ShiftYourParadigm]

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This post is part of a series connected to the podcast Shift Your Paradigm: from school-centered to learner-centered. Lynn and I will be sharing our learning and thinking along the way and cross-posting to the Shift Your Paradigm site.

In Episode 27 we spoke with Jon Hanover, Founder and Executive Director of Roots Elementary School in Colorado. We discussed the history and GROW values of Roots Elementary, their transformation to a learner-centered environment, barriers they have overcome, and advice for learners and leaders as they move towards a more learner-centered environment.

Key Competency 

Learner-centered leaders place learner passions at the center of learning in core academics and social-emotional learning.

Takeaways

The work at Roots Elementary looks through the learner-centered lens at each learner and then designs and builds the work around learner needs. The work falls in three buckets: core academics, social-emotional learning, and learner passions.

Sometimes learners need to move across grade levels in order to get the instruction they need. Roots is keenly aware of individual learner strengths and needs, examining data and designing a core academic program for each learner.

Core academics is not enough for learners to thrive. Learners at Roots have experienced a wide array of situations prior to coming into the learning environment, including trauma. Roots works to understand how trauma impacts the brain, understanding the gaps in social-emotional development and competencies. This requires building deep relationships between teachers and learners.

Project Wonder focuses on uncovering each learner’s passions and personalizing for core academics. Learners are asked questions such as, “What lights your fire? What are you passionate about? What is it that you want to learn more about?” Once these questions are answered, deep learning projects are designed to support each learner to achieve their goals and interests. Customized, small group work as well as external speakers are common facets of the deep learning work of Project Wonder.

Jon shared how the GROW values (developed during the initial design of the school) are the heart of the Roots learning community.

  • Grit – How do learners manage learning and the failure and frustrations that often accompany it?
  • Relationships – How do learners develop the self-competency for success in core academics?
  • Ownership – How do learners own their progress and growth? How do learners understand themselves as learners and where they are on their learning pathway?
  • Wonder – How are learners encouraged to be curious about the world? How does this work foster connection to individual passions?

The Roots model represents a break from the traditional school-centered model. In core academics, one-size-fits-all instruction, by age cohort, along with whole group instruction do not fit with the way learners learn. School cannot be only about core academics, but must be supported by the effective social-emotional development of learners. Learners are more than just their reading and math skills. Project Wonder helps learners build the entrepreneurial skills to apply what they’ve learned in core academics to the real world.

Transformation is not easy work. Jon shared a number of barriers that Roots has overcome to make it the school it is today. One of the barriers included underestimating the importance of social-emotional skills for the adults in the school. Since teaching is being radically transformed, educators need to develop the skill to intensely collaborate and communicate with others. Nothing happens without the complete work of the full team. Roots has spent a lot of time investing in developing the social-emotional skills of the team.

Jon also talked about the inherent dissonance between personalization/individualization and community/relationships. Leaders need to realize that when you optimize for one over the other there are trade-offs and affordances and constraints that come with that optimization. For example, optimizing for personalization can lead to incredibly dynamic scheduling. Learners are seeing many adults during the day. Groups are fluid and change easily. This optimization impacts the depth of community and relationships you can build as time is a finite resource. In the early days, Jon reflected, Roots may have optimized too much for personalization. Some kids thrived, but others felt lost, struggling to build relationships with teachers. The challenge is finding the point that’s right for the organization – balancing personalization with community/relationships.

Leading change and leading the innovation process is the most important skill leaders need to bring about an impactful learner-centered environment. To really innovate, leaders need to feel comfortable taking risks and changing course when necessary. This can be hard on teachers, learners and families. Leaders cultivate an understanding that the “old way” isn’t working and decide to lead the charge for change. Meaningful innovation happens through developing an interesting hypothesis for change, testing the hypothesis, reflecting on what is working and what is not, pivoting when necessary and designing the next iteration. Leaders help their team get comfortable with this process, involving “a ton of teacher voice.”

Jon’s final piece of advice for leaders shifting to learner-centered? “You just have to do it.” The system isn’t working for all of our learners. It’s scary and hard, but continuing to do what we’ve always done will lead to certain failure. Moving to learner-centered, while it may lead to failure, could lead to success. When given the choice between certain failure and possible success, we have to choose possible success.

Connections to Practice

  • We are struggling with the “why” in our district. Many of our students (over 88%) graduate and attend further education in a two-year, four-year, or trade school. Our school community values this and views it as a success. Based on our learners’ success in achieving this next step, our urgency for change is reduced.
  • This year, with our Leading #YourSalisbury professional learning cohort, we are working to build the way. Through inquiry and discovery of future work place skills and careers, this small pocket of teachers is understanding the urgency of change.
  • We are having more conversation about leading change with our leadership team.  We are currently engaging in a Lunch and Learn series using Cale Birk and Charity Allen’s exceptional and fun book, Changing Change Using Learner-Centered Design: From Failed Initiatives to a Change Process that Connects, Empowers and Actually Works.   Learn more about their book at this TLTalkRadio podcast.

Questions Based on Our Practice

  • Do our teachers view themselves as a member of the “tennis” team or the “soccer” team?
  • Would they see the benefits/differences between the two?
  • Do we as leaders have the sub-skills required to lead change?
  • Do we have the will to reflect critically on our practice?  Have we cultivated an understanding that the old way isn’t working for all of our students? Are we willing to just do it?
  • Do we need to invest more time developing our own social/emotional skills?

Next Steps for Us

  • Have a reflective conversation about these questions with learners at an upcoming superintendent advisory council.  How do you as learners manage learning and the failure and frustrations that often accompany it? How do you as learners develop the self-competency for success in core academics?  How do you as learners own your progress and growth? How do you get to know yourselves as learners? How are you encouraged to be curious about the world? How does this work foster connection to your individual passions?
  • As a result of our Changing Change book study, each of us as leaders will take a risk and redesign a learning opportunity.
  • We will also seek additional ways to incorporate teacher voice.  How can we learn more from our teachers’ perspectives?

Connect with Randy on Twitter, the TLTalkRadio podcast, and the Shift Your Paradigm podcast!

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