Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

The Technology and Learning Conversation Has Shifted: From Transactional to Transformative

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This post first appeared on EdTech Digest. In a previous article, I shared a framework we’ve engaged to guide our digital transformation over the past seven years. During that period of time, I’ve often noted that the balance of conversations between technology and learning has shifted. Conversations about learning are more prevalent now than they […]

Learner-centered leaders create risk-friendly environments [#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 17, we had a conversation with Bethlehem Elementary School’s  principal, Dr. Jessalyn Askew and teacher, Tiffany […]

Are You Ready to Shift Your Paradigm of Learning and Leadership?

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This post was co-authored with Lynn Fuini-Hetten, Assistant Superintendent, Salisbury Township School District, and first appeared on EdCircuit. What happens when school leaders understand the idea of learner agency? What happens when school leaders release student voice? What happens when leaders create an audacious vision for learning by including all community stakeholders in the design of that […]

Creating conditions for curiosity

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We know that agency is at the core of the concept of learner-centered, and to release agency we must create the conditions for that to happen. A disposition such as curiosity – the desire to know – cannot be forced or commanded. As leaders, how do we create the desire to know? How do we release […]

Learner-centered leaders understand the critical importance of learner interests [#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 15, we had a conversation about personalizing learning through internships based on learner interests; […]

The power of greater agency…

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Recently, a friend shared this story of an influential 19-year old entrepreneur in the UK: Getting around rules to start a business in my teens. In the article, we learn the story of Ben Towers. Aged 11, I was challenged by a family friend to build her a website. This was then the start of […]

Learner-centered leaders are intentional about what is being given up in the transformation [#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 14, we had an engaging conversation with Sonya Wrisley, Neel Pujar and Stacey Lamb from Design39Campus […]