Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

Is there a clear path?

By

I’m listening to Brene Brown‘s latest, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. In the front half of the book she references a Joesph Campbell quote that reminded me just how challenging and lonesome the work of transforming our schools can be. It also reminded me that we […]

Learner-centered leaders exhibit a start-up, entrepreneurial mindset [#ShiftYourParadigm]

By

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. It seems with each episode of the Shift Your Paradigm podcast, we have the opportunity to see […]

Which are the #learnercentered #edtech companies?

By

An article in the New York times re-surfaced some thoughts and questions I’ve written about in connection with a 2016 trip to Silicon Valley – #PennSV16. While the focus of the article is on the ethics of Silicon Valley courting “brand-name” teachers to promote their wares, I wonder if it’s more about “what’s missing” from the […]

Learner-centered leaders effectively engage community [#ShiftYourParadigm]

By

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. Lynn Fuini-Hetten & Randy Ziegenfuss In Episode 10, we had a conversation with Mesa County School District […]

Exercising Agency in Leadership

By

One of the things I’ve come to believe over the past year is that agency is at the heart of powerful learning. It is the defining element of what we describe as learner-centered. Agency distinguishes learner-centered environments from school-centered. Out of this belief has developed a natural curiosity about agency and formal leadership. If we […]

Learner-centered leaders have an audacious, future-focused vision [#ShiftYourParadigm]

By

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. Lynn Fuini-Hetten & Randy Ziegenfuss In Episode 9, we had a conversation about developing a positive student-centered […]

Enrolling Others in the Learner-Centered Paradigm Shift

By

The past month has been a time filled with lots of opportunities to learn and reflect on the work we are doing in Salisbury Township School District. I’ve not only been kindling my curiosity through reading, but have attended Education Reimagined’s Pioneer Lab Training, the AASA Legislative Advocacy Conference, the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program, […]

Learner-centered leaders create culture grounded in the community’s vision, mission and beliefs about learning [#ShiftYourParadigm]

By

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. Lynn Fuini-Hetten & Randy Ziegenfuss In Episode 8, we had a conversation with Dr. Suzanne Freeman, Superintendent […]

Transforming with an Eye to the Future

By

As we think about transformation of the education system, it’s important that we scan the current landscape but also “patrol the border between now and next” to best understand the changes that will ultimately disrupt our world as we know it, including the way we educate and learn. While I’ve previously written (and even put […]

Learner-centered leaders create conditions for learner agency in all stakeholders [#ShiftYourParadigm]

By

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. Lynn Fuini-Hetten & Randy Ziegenfuss In Episode 7, we had a conversation with Carrie Bakkan, Program Coordinator […]