Category: School transformation
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This Time Last Year…
This time last year, I had just returned from my induction into the the Rowland fellowship. It was the first time that someone had given me full autonomy for my professional learning and it felt amazing. I was so grateful. I set out to inquire about how Enosburg Falls High School could implement ACT 77…
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Personal or Personalized Learning?
When I wrote my Rowland fellowship proposal a little over a year ago, my main concern was to make sure that mandated personal learning plans didn’t become another superficial piece of paper that had little meaning for students. Over the past year, I have made a lot of discoveries and confirmations. I think the number…
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What can we learn from Finland?
The Finnish culture and economic system may be central to the success of Finnish schools and the achievement of their children but there are many aspects of their culture that can be replicated despite our different culture and economic system. Concrete Take-Aways The food in Finnish schools is a priority. Every child gets free lunch…
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Creating a Culture of Failure
Vermont’s move toward more personal and proficiency based learning in public education is an enormous shift from the traditional model that we have been using for many years. While Vermont is extremely innovative inside the classroom and offers its teachers quite a bit of autonomy compared to many other states, the overall structures and…
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“When Am I Ever Going To Use This in Real Life?”
In Tony Wagner’s book Creating Innovators, he argues that play, passion and purpose are at the center of developing innovators. His research identified that when young people are allowed to play, are given opportunities to pursue their passions and are given work that has a purpose bigger than themselves, they find meaning, experience success and…
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Traditions That Squelch Learning
Feeling guilty about having a good time? I get this pang of guilt when I learn something and it is actually fun. When I try to plan a learning activity, whether it is for kids or adults, and find myself trying to make it fun, I question its value. Why? Why do we do this?…
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The Power of Probing Questions
Probing Questions Even when I ask for advice sometimes, I don’t always really want it. I find myself sabotaging every idea that gets thrown my way right after I asked for help. I guess this happens because I already have some idea of what I want in my head and I just haven’t quite articulated…
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Embracing Resistance to Change
Resistance to change I have been thinking a lot about resistance lately after a rather lengthy conversation with several colleagues. I may have dragged this conversation on longer than necessary because I was trying to avoid the resistance that is inevitable in this change process. There is a natural inclination to try and change people.…
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Creating a Climate for School Transformation
Social Emotional Learning Concepts Foster Change Over the last few weeks, our school has been grappling with the issue of grades as Vermont moves to a proficiency based system. I’ll save that blog post for down the road but during these conversations one thing has become abundantly clear to me. Any teacher who has been…