Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

Learner-centered leaders unlock time for teachers and leaders [#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 40, we learned about Design Tech High School in San Mateo, CA. Joining us today is Rachel Siegman, Internship Coordinator and Educator at Design Tech; Wendy Little, Director of Intersession & Community Learning; and two learners – Vani Suresh and Hezekiah Smithstein.

Key Competency

Learner-centered leaders unlock time to create experiences where students can dive deep into core academic classes or their personal interests and explore other potential passions/interests. They also unlock time for teachers so they can be as effective as possible in this personalized, learner-centered model.

Takeaways

  • Learners reflect on their experiences at dTech. They indicate they have freedom to pursue their own paths. For example, one learner is using the design thinking process they are learning at dTech and taking that process to elementary schools. Hezekiah shared he appreciates the flexible Thursday Lab Day to pursue his interests. In a given week, he might prepare for Model UN and host a fundraiser for his animal rights club,
  • dTech employs a Thursday Lab Day where students have agency over their work. They plan their day every Thursday, and collaborate.
  • Learners reflected learning at dTech is different from learning in traditional schools. Instead of taking the classes in isolation of clubs and extracurriculars, the clubs and assignments are integrated into real world applications. For example, in environmental science, Hezekiah is working on a project to determine whether or not the school should install solar panels.
  • Vani reflects along with focusing on traditional education (core classes/content), dTech gives students the ability to see what life might be like after school or even college.  dTech encourages values that some traditional high schools might not see as important – creative confidence, self-direction, independence, and storytelling.
  • dTech employs an intersession programs. What is intersession?  During these two-week programs, students try different “electives.”  These short programs are opportunities to explore different content areas. This program is available four times per year – allowing students to go deep in four different topic areas. Some topics might include: art, coding, sports, bug science, etc. In the morning, students complete the lab time, and in the afternoon they connect with industry partners. The industry partners share learning experiences which are project-based. The purpose of these experiences is to expose learners to different potential career opportunities/industries.
  • Community partners also work with students on the Thursday lab days. Students meet with their advisors first thing on a Thursday to plan their day. Maybe they redo a lab, work on a group or club activity/project, or continue an intersession activity.  Teachers have office hours so you can get additional help.
  • What do the physical spaces look like in DTech? The entire space is designed for learners. The front entrance opens to a giant space for assemblies, club meetings, lunch, ping pong table and is referred to as the Hanger. Each classroom is part of a four classroom block, connecting via sliding white board walls. The connected design allows for ease of interdisciplinary learning and joint projects.  Each four classroom block has two breakout spaces with interactive whiteboards which students can use for group projects or independent work. (It is important to know the designers worked with the students and teachers to envision this space together.)
  • The furniture is also flexible – easily moved and transformed into different formations.
  • Tne mission of the school is to make the world a better place.  Students are making the school a better place – including developing murals and flower boxes.
  • Students are required to earn a specific number of credits to qualify for graduation. Some courses are completion-based, and others are letter-graded. Students complete pass/fail courses for personal development credit. If a student completes a dance class during an intersession, it can count towards a visual/performing arts credit.
  • Internship program is an extension from intersession. These experiences are designed to be mutually-beneficial for the learner and the industry partner. The external experiences focus on bringing design thinking to the partner. Learners work collaboratively with partners to potentially solve an authentic problem.  Internships range from forty differnt lines of businesses (including health care, libraries/non-profits, etc.). Some are group internships where 4-5 students participate in a design challenge, and other opportunities are individual. Some internships exist for 2 weeks and others are once per week for a longer period of time. There are six pillars to the student-designed internship programs (adaptability, professionalism, networking, significance, and relevance.)
  • Hezekiah reflected on an internship he completed with the San Mateo COunty Office of Education. During the internship, he put together research for the environmental literacy fellows which was later used by the Department in meetings with city officials. They also assisted in the organization of a city-wide youth summit which discussed sustainability.
  • Design thinking is a critical component. How can we get started? Check out the Design School design thinking process. Learn more about the students’ experience. Consider shadowing a student to better empathize with your learners and/or community. Once you know the process of design thinking, it can become a vehicle to shift a mindset. You need to be more open to trying something new because, “everything has an expiration date.”
  • When asked what competencies leaders in more learner-centered learning environments need, these leaders shared the need to prioritize unlocking time for what counts.  Teachers have a half-day once per week for professional learning, providing feedback to learners, or personalizing a new strand they are preparing. Leaders also need to defer judgment with staff, faculty, and learners. Educators have the freedom to fully design the curriculum, choose books, and labs.  Staff and adminstration tries to empathize and be open to new ideas. As a leader, you need to offer various opportunities for roles and new experiences. Faculty members wear many hats and allow for a breadth of experience.
  • Final thoughts… advice for leaders and learners. You need to be open to change because you never know where the greatest experience of your life is going to come from. The leaders shared – our high school students are really an underutilized resource. We need to create opportunities for youth to do real work and impact the school and our community.  Everyone needs to find their passions by trying new things because discovery doesn’t come from hesitancy. Practice is a way to embody and implement new skills/learning.

Connections to Practice

  • While we have started an internship process, we have done so on a limited pilot basis. How do we grow this program? How do we support our high school principal in this work? Are our students solving real-world problems, or are they making copies, etc.?
  • We have struggled to create some business partnerships. What strategies can we use to develop stronger mutually-beneficial relationships.

Questions Based on Our Practice

  • How do we ensure our students’ learning is connected to the “Why?”
  • If someone asked our learners what we value, what would they say?
  • How could we connect with community partners?
  • How could we get started with design thinking?
  • How do we better create learning experiences where our students are doing real work?

Next Steps for Us

  • Talk to our middle school principal  and superintendent advisory council to determine possibility of running two week-long intersessions.  What could that look like?  What resources would we need? What would learners say?
  • Investigate the D School Design Thinking K-12 network.
  • Consider creative ways to unlock time for learners and teachers. What is possible in our schedule as we plan for 2019-2020?

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

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