Group+One

=** 21st Century Leadership from the Perspective of Jaquetta, Ben, and Beth. **=

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= = =** Session 1: Understanding 21 C Learning Overview **=


 * As a group we created the following diagram in a word document to depict our understanding of 21st Century learning. **



[|Summary 1.31.12] = Session 2: Technology Tools for Instruction =

One of the main highlights of session 2 emphasized embracing technology to stimulate creativity and different ways of creating a stimulating educational experience. This video portrays the importance of making change within education and moving forward from past models:

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**Embrace the cloud!!!!**


= = =Do not fear cellphones = = = = = =//Great sites for encouraging positive use of cellphones: //= = = =// Cel.ly - Connect safely with your students //= = = =//Polleverywhere.com - Turn student cellphones into interactive learning devices - alternative to iclickers //=

=//Collages made from cutup magazines and posterboard have their place..// =

//but try the tech version with glogster.com.//
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= Session 3: Systems Thinking =

//** What the education leaders are saying: **//
Douglas Reeves stresses the importance for the leader to identify the //Antecedents of Excellence//.





The learning leader must travel the //Resilience Continuum,// where the "central lesson of the connection between these two quadrants is not the false hope of avoiding mistakes, but the probable reward of learning from them" (//The Daily Disciplines of Leadership//, 52). "This continuum is the heart of data-driven decision making and every effective leadership strategy in this book" (55).

Robert Marzano, Timothy Waters, and Brian McNulty break down the essential responsibilities of a school leader to positively effect student learning...


 * # Monitoring/Evaluating
 * 1) Culture
 * 2) Ideals/Beliefs
 * 3) Knowledge of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction
 * 4) Involvement in Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction
 * 5) Focus
 * 6) Order
 * 7) Affirmation
 * 8) Intellectual Stimulation (tied with #8)
 * 9) Communication
 * 10) Input
 * 11) Relationships
 * 12) Optimizer
 * 13) Flexibility
 * 14) Resources
 * 15) Contingent Rewards
 * 16) Situational Awareness
 * 17) Outreach
 * 18) Visibility
 * 19) Discipline
 * 20) Change Agent ||< **1st-order change** requires all 21 responsibilities, ranked in the order listed to the left.


 * 2nd-order change** is related to seven of the 21...


 * 1) Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
 * 2) Optimizer
 * 3) Intellectual Stimulation
 * 4) Change Agent
 * 5) Monitoring/Evaluating
 * 6) Flexibility
 * 7) Ideals/Beliefs

...and negatively affects four of them.


 * 1) Culture
 * 2) Communication
 * 3) Order
 * 4) Input ||

...and discovered 2 types of change that affect a school system. "//First-order change// is incremental. . . . Incremental change fine-tunes the system through a series of small steps that do not depart radically from the past" (//School Leadership that Works,// 66, emphasis added//)//. "//Second-order change...//involves dramatic departures from the expected, both in defining a problem and in finding a solution. . . . Deep change alters the system in fundamental ways, offering a dramatic shift in direction and requiring new ways of thinking and acting" (66, emphasis added).

//What systems thinkers are saying://
Paradigms for life, society, and education are shifting due to unprecedented levels of population, information, technology, and global connections.

¹ Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel describe our society's "Learning Past and Future" (//21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times,// 2009).

A society's **//Goals for Education//** are:

Contribute to work and society Exercise and develop personal talents Fulfill civic responsibilities Carry traditions and values forward

which has been evolving from the **//Agrarian Age → Industrial Age → Knowledge Age//** where "in our newly flat world of connected knowledge work, global markets, tele-linked citizens, and blended cultural traditions, the 21st century demands a fresh set of responses" (15) : //work//
 * //Contribute to global information and knowledge//

//Innovate new services to meet needs and solve problems//

//Participate in the global economy// || //Enhance personal development with technology-powered// //knowledge and productivity tools//

//Take advantage of expanded global opportunities// //for knowledge work and entrepreneurship as middle// //class grows//

//Use knowledge tools and technology to continue learning// //and developing talents throughout life// || //Participate in community decision making and political// //activity online and in person//

//Engage globally in issues through online communities// //and social networks//

//Use communication and social networking tools// //to contribute time and resources to both local and// //global causes// || //Quickly learn traditional knowledge in a field and apply// //its principles across other fields to create new// //knowledge and innovations//

//Build identity from and compassion for a wide range of// //cultures and traditions//

//Participate in a wide diversity of traditions and multi-// //cultural experiences//

//Blend traditions and global citizenship into new traditions// //and values to pass on// ||

² The Partnership for 21st Century Skills provides the //Framework for 21st Century Learning//, "a vision for student success in the new global economy."



//What School Leaders are doing://

 * Peter Senge** approaches schools as interdependent systems...



...and believes we need to build learning organizations that can be innovative in working together and creating new solutions to evolving issues. In //Schools that Learn//, Senge assesses the out-dated model of schooling and describes what schools need today to provide the "conditions for innovation." — **(//taken from Catie's discussion of a chapter from Senge's book)//**

//Industrial Age assumptions://
 * 1) Schools are run by specialists who maintain control. Teachers, administrators, etc. fragment the school and take away the feeling of community. When teachers are specialists, students become aware of their power/control and focus on pleasing the teacher, and draw attention away from developing a sense of self-assessment and learning.
 * 2) Knowledge is inherently fragmented. Literature is separate from mathematics, which is separate from history and science...but the real world will not separate the knowledge. From a fragmented perspective (that we are giving students) they will have trouble answering interdependent questions.
 * 3) Schools communicate "the truth." Teachers pose information as what happened or what is, rather than participating in learning. Student's tolerance for ambiguity and conflict is diminished, and critical thinking skills fail to develop.
 * 4) Learning is primarily individualistic and competition accelerates learning. Schools need to recognize that learning is social. While competition for grades, etc. is effective and can enhance learning, we are producing students that believe //knowing// is the ultimate goal. Students start to avoid being seen as "not knowing" and stop asking questions. Collaboration and Competition must coexist!

//Conditions for Innovation://
 * 1) Learner-centered-learning--not teacher-centered
 * 2) Encouraging variety, not homogeneity--diverse learning styles
 * 3) Understanding interdependency and change--not striving for correct answers and memorization
 * 4) Exploring theories in-use of //all involved in the education process// (stakeholders)
 * 5) Reintegrating education within webs of social relationships, linking family, friends, and communities

He delineates the "Core Concepts of Learning in Organizations" → "Every Organization Is A Product Of How Its Members Think And Interact" → "Learning is Connection" → "Learning is Driven By Vision" //**— (taken from Shayla's discussion of a chapter from Senge's book)**//

He shows us the "Process of Systems Thinking": **//— (taken from Justin's discussion of a chapter from Senge's book)//**
 * 1) Determining events and what has happened in the situation.
 * 2) Identify patterns and trends that tell us whether we have been in this place before, and can help us evaluate if patterns or trends are emerging through this current situation. We have to start to ask ourselves if there are other variables that are coming into play and affecting the situation.
 * 3) Start to examine the systemic structure. What are the forces that are causing the issue, and how do all these factors play off of each other?
 * 4) At this point, we move into the mental models. We have to ask what the models are that bring us into this thinking which allows these issues to arise and be dealt with? It is identified that systems are shaped by the values and beliefs of those who are in them, so it naturally follows that we can change those systems if we change the beliefs that help them to exist.

And he provides a practical example of how to align strategic priorities with a common vision in a school setting: — //**(taken from Ben's discussion of a chapter from Senge's book)**//

//1st day/session// Break into small groups around concerns and issues of the current reality/environment. Report ideas from each group, add new ones not addressed, and begin organizing common themes or ideas into particular topics.

//2nd day/session// Bring written synthesis from last session, break out into different small groups, and each team focuses on their ideal version of the school, using checklist of topics: what takes place in a typical day? what are the range of subjects taught and how are they taught? what should children know at different grade levels? what should teachers know? what do school relationships look like (student-teacher, teacher-teacher, teacher-admin, school-community)? what does the building look like? how do you assess student achievement? how do you raise money? etc. Prioritize these as a team, then report to whole group. Leader will share these answers with school staff and committees while organizing a "central vision team" to process objectives and goals throughout the year.

//Central Vision Team// Made up of similar stakeholder representation and uses checklists within each topic, what is the current reality? what do we all ideally want? and what strategies will connect the two? For current reality, look at student data/demographics, consider assessments/instruction/teacher training/student performance over time, school climate (perceptions, observations, etc) For ideal vision, create descriptions of shared visions, goals, and curricula, and the effects that they might have if implemented. For strategic priorities, consider what might improve staff/curriculum development, school environment, community relationships, facilities, student/staff/community needs, and the available resources.

//Accountable Teams// With strategies in mind, create teams to focus on one aspect, identify objectives and goals for addressing issues, and experiment with ways to achieve them. Each team should pick 2 measurable objectives each year, create pilot projects, evaluate results, and share results at end of year with another large group reflection session (80-100 folks)


 * Douglas Reeves** outlines in //The Daily Disciplines of Leadership// the steps that contribute to "strategic leadership: the simultaneous acts of executing, evaluating, and reformulating strategies, and focusing organizational energy and resources on the most effective strategies," which are "a description of decisions linked to the mission, information, and results" (103):


 * 1) //Define objectives on the basis of the mission.//
 * 2) //Create standards of action.// What must the organization do?
 * 3) //Develop an assessment tool.// How do you know if you are successful? How do you know if you are exemplary? How do you know if you have not yet achieved success?
 * 4) //Implement an accountability system.// Measure organizational results and the specific actions of individuals and of the organization that are intended to cause those results.
 * 5) //Provide continuous feedback.// Analyze the relationship (or lack of relationship) between action and results, and refocus organizational energy and resources on the strategies that are most closely related to desired results. (119)

//What others are saying://

 * How can we ensure children will be motivated to participate in 21st century learning? Dan Pink explains the science of motivation behind successful business and education practices:**

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 * What are some of the specific unprecedented changes that are occurring these days? Sir Ken Robinson talks about changing paradigms and what they mean for education:**

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 * How are schools reconfiguring the education system to work differently for students? The Minnesota New Country School uses projects:**

media type="custom" key="13521922" Minnesota New Country School website with more info