Do our systems support our goals?

In their book Innovation, Curtis Carlson and William Wilmot talk about the difficulty many organizations have with adapting to change. They point out, “A fundamental reason for this failure…to keep up is that they are, by definition, built to fight the last war. . . . They have well-defined organizations and processes designed to achieve those earlier objectives, but these very organizations and processes now resist the changes needed to exploit the new opportunities.” (p. 36) One of the important components for innovation that they define is the […]

Keeping it real

Quite a bit of conversation has been circulating around the blogosphere lately about personal learning networks and how to move them into the professional practice of teachers. Scott Schwister pushed at that idea in a “must read” recent post, asking “How do we show the learning that happens through personal learning networks?”   He concludes by asking, “What is it going to take to bring professional learning networks in from the cold? Can the learning that occurs in a PLN be shown in a way that […]

Staff development that makes a difference

I’ve had staff development on the mind lately. In his post “Why Staff Meetings Matter”, Chris Lehmann writes that “a faculty is greater than the sum of its parts.” He goes on to say: “That’s why it’s important to read articles together, build wikis together, agree on school policies together. That’s why it’s important to take the time to set goals together. “ I’m been watching Mr. Holland’s Opus for the first time while I write this, and listening to Richard Dreyfus sing the John […]

Beginning anew. . . again

In keeping with the theme of staff development,  I thought it’d be a good time to look back at Ken Pruitt’s three questions for school districts, which Scott McLeod highlighted on his blog in July. I’ll take the liberty of re-posting his questions here: What are the 21st century skills we want our teachers to model? How can we provide consistent and relevant training to 200 teachers? Will adequate resources encourage teachers to integrate technology into their curriculum? At our campus we are grappling with […]

What motivates you?

School started in earnest for me on Friday, and I’ve felt a little dispirited.  On the one hand, I have learned so much this summer that I am enthused and eager about implementing.  But the tasks at hand right now aren’t necessarily those that will even get me there, but things I have to get done.  It’s reminded me of feelings reflected in a post that Chris Lehmann wrote about his own sense of disconnection as he started inservice.) I’ve been aware that I’ve felt somewhat muddled the […]

Uncharted territory

School ended on Saturday(a makeup ice day)though I am working for a couple more weeks, teaching workshops, etc.    So I’ve been a bit quiet due to the rush of end of school, library, and family events, but also just needing some time to back off and reflect. There’s a lot to process about the last year, and about my own exploration and sharing of web 2.0 tools.  As Christian Long depicts it, (thanks for the image!) we’ve gotten on the School 2.0 flight.  Only thing is, […]

Learning connections

Our technology and staff development committees are moving toward some good synergy and I’m excited about how the ideas from the two committees are coming together.  Next year we’ll have some extra time during the week for teachers to work together, be in a study group, take technology classes, etc. so this planning will hopefully make those experiences more worthwhile. I was reading an article tonight that struck an interest in me.  Wouldn’t it be a great experience as a component of our staff development if we could partner with a […]