Here's a wonderful post from Ewan McIntosh's blog.  I am a big fan of Ewan and the great work he is leading in transforming schools through design thinking.  I encourage you to click here to read the full blog post as well as check out his work transforming Brisbane schools and increasing education access in Sierra Leone.

"I don't do guest posts, but when it's your mother it's hard to say no. A year ago I wrote the Times Education Supplement's New Year editorial, If you truly want to engage pupils, relinquish the reins and give them the chance to learn by doing. At the time, my ideas were young, we had only been playing with them for six months or so, and Mrs McIntosh senior (and Mr McIntosh senior) weren't entirely sure how these "great ideas" were actually do-able. So we had many a dinner-table chat, and from these, as is the wont of the McIntosh family, my mother wrote a blog post, dry, unpublished, and asked me to push it out when I felt the time was right. She has since pushed it on her own blog, but I thought I'd ressurect this revolution again here."

Click here to read the rest of this post.

I was delighted to facilitate a breakout session this week at C.E.L.L.'s 'Transforming Education' conference in Indianapolis. 

Here's the session description:

Transforming the 19th-Century Model of Education
At its core, U.S. public education faces a systems challenge. While leaders and teachers with exceptional drive and capabilities can impact the learning of a discrete number of students over the short term, there is a fundamental, systems-level need to build and lead sustainable change for the long term. Change transforms the factory model of education to a 21st-century learning environment, with school and community collaboration, focused on individualized learning. In this interactive breakout session, explore the vast gap between what the 19th-century system was built to achieve and what it must accomplish today to prepare young people to be successful. Explore the IFL model for supporting a transformational district and community-wide sustainable process for learning.

The very talented Jocelyn Wallace provided graphic recording services and I've uploaded a PDF sample of her graphics below.

The keynotes (in particular Will Richardson's presentation) and the hallway/session conversations really underscored for me how primed the system is for transformative change.  The challenges faced by superintendents, principals, teachers, administrators and policy makers are huge, yet they are not insurmountable and I believe there is a groundswell of collective understanding that the current system, built during and for the demands of the 19th century, requires transformation, not reform. 

If you are interested to learn more, I encourage you to check out the keynote videos which are scheduled to be uploaded onto the CELL website by Tuesday, November 22.

Enjoy!

Click here to download:

CELL_2011_Julie_Wilson_GraphicCaptures.pdf (2.25 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

CELL_2011_Julie_Wilson_GraphicCaptures.pdf (2.25 MB)

In August I had the privilege of meeting a number of students at Columbus Signature Academy and submitted an article to 'The Republic' newspaper describing what I learned.

You can access the full article on the New Tech Network website at:             http://newtechnetwork.org/blog/learning-what-matters-columbus-signature-academy

Enjoy!

Click here to download:

TheRepublicArticle_10-10-11.pdf (491 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

TheRepublicArticle_10-10-11.pdf (491 KB)

In a previous blog posting, I highlighted the innovative work which Ken Kay is leading with Edleader21 - a professional learning community for district and school leaders committed to 21st century education.

I was delighted to hear that Ken is authoring an eight week series on the Edutopia blog on the strategic work necessary to become a 21st century school or district. Click here to access the first article in the series.

I encourage you to follow Ken's series and to share your comments and reactions on the Edutopia blog.

I have been following the work of NYC's iZone for some time and enjoyed this most recent update from the Innovation Unit. 

Watch this event with John White, David Albury and ARK Schools' Lucy Heller as they discuss the success of New York school district's Innovation Zone and how it is transforming the region's education system.

Do you work or study in any of the schools participating in the NYC iZone?  If so, I'd love to hear your first hand experience of this work.

I am a huge admirer of Bob Pearlman and the great work which he has led in his whole-district reform and new school development work.  In this chapter, excerpted from 21st Century Skills, Bob takes a walk through innovative school buildings designed for collaborative learning. He reminds us that the familiar box-based design of most current schools was suited for an outdated factory-model agenda and shows us another way - innovative learning environments where students take ownership of their learning through project-based, real-world work.

I was particularly interested in Bob's overview of how learning is assessed in these innovative environments:

"Effective assessment for learning provides students with just-in-time information about their own learning and links it to information on the criteria needed to do better. At New Tech schools, students access an online grade portal. Grades on projects and all learner outcomes are updated whenever new assessment information is available. The usual composite course grades are also available per subject, and across courses for the skills of the learner outcomes. Students and their parents can look at their grades anytime, from anywhere.

Self-assessment is a critical element of assessment for learning. Students look at their grades on a daily basis and check the online rubrics for a project’s criteria for basic, proficient, and advanced work. By making the assessment criteria transparent and understandable."

Enjoy this thought provoking chapter on 21st century learning in action.

Click here to download:

New_Learning_Environments_for_21st_Century_Skills.pdf (1.56 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

New_Learning_Environments_for_21st_Century_Skills.pdf (1.56 MB)

In preparation for a number of upcoming meetings with superintendents and potential funders, Tim, Stefanie and I have been working on a succinct 'Overview of the Work' document to help convey the scope of the Institute's work.  Here's our latest draft - we would love your feedback!

Click here to download:

IFL_OverviewOfTheWork.pdf (174 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

IFL_OverviewOfTheWork.pdf (174 KB)

I am incredibly proud to be an alum of the HGSE community.

Momentum is building for the official launch of the Institute for the Future of Learning!  The last few months have been a busy time making contacts, getting feedback on the strategic plan and researching 501c3 requirements.  Now we are moving into the next stage of recruiting board members, compiling a fundraising plan and filing the 501c3 application.

I am excited to let you know that Tim Lucas, co-writer of Schools that Learn with Peter Senge, has joined the Institute Board of Directors.  Tim has over 35 years’ experience in the public education system, as a teacher, principal, Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent.  He is considered one of the leading authorities on teaching and integrating systems thinking into curriculum and school leadership, sharing practical tools for building learning organizations, and helping schools co-create sustainable, data-driven initiatives.

Our Secretary for the board is the most organized person I know, Stefanie Archer.  Stefanie runs a consulting organization called Creating Space for Change and is studying full time in the MBA Non Profit Management program at Brandeis University.  I have worked with Stefanie for a number of years and have witnessed her organizational and process-oriented skills first hand.  She's one of those people who adds value continually and who brings a sense of humor and passion to the work.

As we build our board, establish the fundraising strategy and ensure we have a lean yet solid infrastructure in place, I am counting my blessings for the progress made thus far – especially with regards to the people who are partnering with me in launching the Institute.  With Tim and Stefanie as our founding board members, we are off to a great start!