2011 Lesson #4 Mixed Mode learning – the way ahead

The title for this particular blog had its origin as I listened to a number of presentations on ‘blended learning’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning) at the Virtual School Symposium. I have for some years liked the notion of blended learning and it seemed a generally suitable term describing a learning environment where students could transition from the offline to online worlds and back, whenever applicable, during any given task or lesson. At the VSS 2009 I especially liked the fact that it was being promoted as the ‘goal’ for many institutions. Jump forward two years and it has suddenly become a term that I would now choose not to use.

The cause of my angst? It would seem that a number of educational commentators have started to try and lock down a sequence of definitions for blended learning. In doing that, the notion that it now predominantly describes a course delivery option is rapidly becoming synonymous with the term (http://www.innosightinstitute.org/media-room/publications/education-publications/the-rise-of-k-12-blended-learning/). I am completely for the use of diverse media in learning – however, I do not feel comfortable with anything that starts to look at blended learning, especially in the so-called ‘rotational’ variations, as something that is linked to cost savings (staffing), space savings and “improved results” in associated dialogue.

Why be ‘picky’ on this topic?
Read this: “Blended Learning Model description: fifty-five-minute periods, rotating from online for concept introduction and instruction to face-to-face for reinforcement and application. Two to three rotations per day, four days of school per week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.” “This rotational model occurs in an environment of multiple cubicles, housed in a central learning center, which is similar in layout to a call center. Students attend class four days a week, although the days are longer (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Students attend 145 school days per year and receive a total of 1,007 hours of instruction. Typically there is little or no outside homework. Students rotate throughout the day between online activities in the learning center and face-to-face classroom instruction, where a “coach,” or teacher, re-teaches, enhances, or applies the material introduced online.” Therein lies my concern. Blended learning should not be reduced to an efficiency drive to deliver education via rotated methods, even if it allows for teachers to move to a preferred coach or mentor mode. It could be so much more. I have decided that I am not about to waste energy challenging the writers of multiple ‘blended learning’ articles – rather, I think it would be far more effective to create a new definition for what I think should be the descriptor of a learning environment that uses the ‘best practice’ or ‘next practice’ as the general framework.

Reclaiming the turf: Mixed Mode Learning
So what do I mean when I talk of ‘mixed mode’ learning? Learning that occurs within an environment where technology is a pervasive tool for student or teacher use, but not the specific driver of any course structure. What it is not, is a title for a course delivery mode. At its optimum definition, it would include the capacity for kinesthetic, auditory, visual and technological modes to be interwoven and for learners to have the ability, tools and capacity to drift from mode to mode as suitable.

We have tried to establish the capacity for this in all our recent learning space designs – whether new buildings or renovated spaces. Learning environments are supported by diverse technologies, within a Wi-Fi environment. It is also a goal for learners to experience consistency in mixed mode learning environments, regardless of which teacher may be responsible for or have oversight their learning.

What have we observed in 2011?
NBCS/SCIL (www.nbcs.nsw.edu.au; www.scil.com.au) introduced a BYOD (bring your own device) program for target grades – Years 5, 8 & 11 (optional). This replaced the previous model where we had multiple fixed PCs in different locations, supplemented by banks of laptops in a few areas. We gave no specific recommendation for a model of mobile device, rather provided the Wi-Fi and internet connectivity throughout the campus – indoors and outdoors. We have introduced a concurrent strategy to reduce family costs for textbooks and other savings to help offset the costs of the family-funded BYOD program. It was our original intention to introduce this over three years. The program has been so widely accepted and adopted that we have accelerated and broadened it for 2012. Our goal is to move rapidly to a Grades 4 – 12 BYOD environment. We can then also concentrate the use of existing PCs and laptops to K – 3.

Some observations
We have observed a far higher level of individual ‘ownership’ of, care for and consistent use of personally owned mobile devices – and the use in far more flexible environments has enabled an acceleration of more global pedagogic transformation. We have also experienced relatively few issues to do with perceived ‘risks’ of such an open environment. Students are introduced early to being responsible when it comes to using the internet, as well as continually growing student understanding of cyber safety and plagiarism. It’s all a growth process! A number of students choose to continue working on their mobile devices over lunch breaks – and there is total consensus that it is so much better enabling students to organize their own folders and documents on a device that is for their use alone. Far less issues related to finding files or programs.

ADHD Asperger’s Case Study
Some other casual observations – many students who were previously more high maintenance ‘ADHD’ students, have in 2011 very effectively used a combination of technology-enabled focus, mobile devices, together with more flexible furniture arrangements, to in many cases entirely self-manage their distractibility issues. That has to be an enormous win/win!

Interestingly, a few senior students are bringing 3 devices to school – typically a laptop, mobile phone and iPad, in order to optimize their learning and attendant self-organization: laptop for recurrent work, iPad for quick reference to the internet (Google, Wikipedia etc) and iPhone for social media connectivity, camera (to capture collaboratively created mind maps) and quick reference to routine information. In one specific instance this is a deliberate and planned strategy to help overcome a crossover of Asperger’s and ADHD challenges and enables the lad involved to set up multiple documents ready for the different learning sessions of the day. It has been extremely successful in enabling self-management of these challenges. I might also add that this boy also works outside of school in order to self-fund and chooses sports with high levels of physical activity before and after school. Quite inspirational! He is also an extremely good host for visiting educators and very confidently talks about the impact on his learning working within a mixed mode environment.

My best mixed mode experiences?
For me the optimal learning environment would mix the capacity to access information from anywhere via an iPad. I’d have my laptop handy for those times when I prefer to use it. I’d work within Wi-Fi environments with seamless free access. I’d have learning spaces that looked more like cafés, hotel foyers or airport lounges. I would undertake some of my learning via intense collaboration and shared experiences. I’d do some online. I’d be able to drive at my own pace. I’d elect to do some assessments, where and when it suited – for my advantage. I’d be free to take a break and walk around. I’d have access to good fresh water and cross ventilation. I’d be able to mind map, read, write, share ideas, create ideas, listen and learn in multiple ways – and with the choice of multiple mentors. I’d probably include using lots of improvised drama because for me, the combination of kinesthetic, intellectual and interpersonal rigour that comes from drama experiences really appeals to my learning style. I’d focus my learning around deep passionate engagement with the context and content, fun, challenge with the capacity to grow, create, apply and serve.

What’s your optimum learning environment?

I’d love to hear! Describe it for others …

Taking risks? … how might just a few of us change the education experience and therefore the life options for thousands of children in northern Rwanda? By taking the first steps to do something, however tentative - that’s only a small ‘risk’! Come join us in late May in Musanze, northern Rwanda for Innovate Rwanda: scil.com.au/rwanda

What are the risks of changing our learning spaces? The greatest risk would have to be increased engagement …

2011 Lesson #3 - “Do then think”: take risks

Okay … this lesson probably commenced in my early childhood if I count the number of hospital visits from bumping into (stupidly designed) concrete telegraph poles in Auckland, slipping off high chairs to raid the top kitchen cupboards or eating poisonous plants because they looked nice. But the notion of learning by doing really took ground in 2005 when I visited the Icelandic Ministry of Education. Their motto: ‘do then think’. Why, because if you wish to see transformation occur in education, then you haven’t got the luxury of small scale carefully monitored and measured experiments – you have to run with passion, intuition and confidence instead. I must admit, that innately appeals to me.

Peter Pan

This video about wingsuit flying (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cs-zZ0Qu5Y&feature=related) is a great example of ‘do then think’ in action. I am not advocating that we all rush off and try this – but it is a great example of the power of collaborative thinking and experimentation – even though they don’t appear to have yet worked out how to land without old parachute technology. But that hasn’t stopped the more intrepid applying lessons easily observed in the animal kingdom (think flying foxes or bats) and mixing that with modern textile technology and aerodynamics. When I was small and dreamed of flying like Peter Pan over Auckland (imagining far more efficient ways of getting to school), little did I imagine that within four decades, people would have started to have worked out how it might be possible to fly without mechanical assistance. 

Megachange

Why is this such an important lesson now? Back in 1995 Seymour Papert made the comment that “Some sectors of human activity such as medicine, transportation and communications were transformed beyond recognition during the twentieth century. Compared with such megachange the practices of school have been virtually static …” We are now getting close to two decades since these comments and regrettably there is still great truth to his observations. That will only change if we as educators and leaders are prepared to embrace innovation and transformation based on intuition. We know what works and what doesn’t. Our colleagues have good ideas about this too.

I am now very much drawn to some of the more innovative workplace environments where companies are designing ideas / collaboration spaces as the key feature of their workplace arrangements. IDEO is a fantastic example of this (http://www.ideo.com/) and their videos about design ideas are inspirational. The Coolhunter website has great examples of highly creative workplace environments (http://www.thecoolhunter.com.au/offices). I have absolutely no doubts that if designed schools to naturally encourage conversations in a variety of settings (campfires, watering holes and caves), we would release a new generation of far more passionate and energized learners. I remember seeing a US based design competition last year looking for student input into new furniture designs for the classroom. Regrettably it was limited to desks, chairs and lockers. How crazy? How many of us would choose to spend time in gridlocked furniture patterns in endless repetitive classrooms?

Inspirational Spaces

I have had the opportunity to speak at many conferences during 2011 and a question I love raising (and then hearing the responses) is related to what spaces inspire us as adults. Rarely, if ever have I had a teacher, educator or architect suggest any school, university or institution. The spaces that inspire us to talk, think, learn and relate are the cafés, atriums, large public foyers with casual seating and perhaps outdoor spaces that we all naturally gravitate toward. I can recall countless passionate conversations this year conducted in cafés or small group contexts. Why don’t we build schools like this?   

Back to topic

‘Do then think’ – we will not transform education at a speed that keeps pace with a rapidly changing global context if we stumble toward change in a half-hearted, hesitant way. We must make transitions more deliberately and with more calculated risks. I have watched people observe our work at SCIL (the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning – www.scil.com.au) and I know they are thinking ‘but what about your results?’, ‘what about your parents?’, ‘what about the noise?’. If we limit our actions because of these ‘what abouts?’, then we run the extreme risk of producing non-engaged students, kids continuing to drop out of school early. We will also watch the school system step closer each day to the Borders scenario of being suddenly the wrong model and unviable.

We’re not alone

I have been impressed this year with the growing pockets of passionate enthusiasm for transformation in learning. People that seemed to have embraced the necessary ‘risk taking’ to not only advance our collective thinking about learning – but enable deeper engagement in the process. That list would have to include Dr Becky Parker and her unbelievably (off the scale) work at the Langton Star Centre in Canterbury, UK (http://www.thelangtonstarcentre.org/), Bea Beste with playDUcation in Berlin (www.playducation.org), Kelly Tenkely and Matthew Anderson at Anastasis Academy Colorado (http://www.anastasisacademy.com/), Brian Bennett (www.brianbennett.org) and Aaron Sams (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc) with their flipped classroom journeys.

SCIL – a constant playground for new ideas

Final note – I love the team with whom I work at NBCS / SCIL. They have caught the ‘do then think’ bug well and truly. And it now flows through to students who willingly engage in far deeper learning than we might have imagined when we started to make some changes around the place. I see innovation taking centre stage every day (http://vimeo.com/28448313) and (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohnC3sURgKU).

And the outcomes?

Innovation does not have to come at the expense of high outcomes – and I was very much encouraged at the Simon Langton Grammar School this year to hear them talk of not tracking their students – because they were so ultra-confident that learning arising from deep, passionate conversations, would inevitably easily outstrip conventional results. It is very clear that is the case there. It is also quite clear for us at NBCS. (Okay, I’ll admit to a smile when learning that our top student this year was 99.85 - only 0.1 from the highest possible rank in the state-wide ranking process – and that two of her courses were undertaken in online mode.) We have also been amazed at the depth and quality of the work coming from the self-devised projects undertaken by a group of Year 9 & 10 students electing to join a DIY course.  

However, I suspect that the real measure of a school’s impact on a student’s learning journey would be to track them five or so years after completing school – not the short term memory recall of final year examinations. How have they gone at university? How have they fared with employment? How are they managing their relationships? How are they changing their worlds?

 Stay tuned …

Lesson #4

MIXed mode learning – “way to go”

Lesson #5

Make teamwork, collaboration, and relationship building a habit

Lesson #6

Invent new creative structures to enable deep and passionate learning

Lesson #7

Educators can learn from entrepreneurs

Lesson #8

Knowing and growing the tribe – some amazing educators I have met this year

Leadership Framework NBCS / SCIL 2012

The image of a ball bearing with cogs is particularly apt as a new paradigm leadership framework: each ball fulfilling a key role in keeping the movement of the bearing fluid and the combined structure creating the energy to initiate movement – and subsequent engagement. A great metaphor.

This picture illustrates a new paradigm framework for a dynamic leadership model.

Having been frequently asked about the leadership model of Northern Beaches Christian School (NBCS) this year, I took the challenge of seeking to better capture the effective leadership framework of NBCS and the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning (SCIL). The answer came to me once I worked out a metaphor that kept me as a member of the team and placed the vision and values of the organisation at the centre of focus – rather than any person. We are united by these values and the vision, so of course it should be at the heart of the dynamics. Surrounding that core I have positioned three key elements of our organizational DNA – innovation, leadership and resourcing (of people, ideas, spaces, tools).

2011 Lesson #2 - Leadership is IMPORTANT

I find leadership a fascinating topic. If something typifies our 21^st century world for me, it is the lack of leadership where and when it is needed.  This is evident in micro and macro contexts – in countries, communities and schools. The issue is possibly that the media focuses way too much on political leadership and political leaders seem way too concerned with media image and re-election processes, than creating good forward thinking policy. And too often communities operate through reaction, rather than inspired leadership. Or there is a failure to act or lead. What are we modelling to our kids?

Reflect

Can you name the four or five leaders whom you most admire? What makes them stand out? How do they lead? If they are known to you personally, do you trust them? Why do you trust them? Do you discuss such questions with your leadership team?  If I answer that question, the list would definitely include world changers like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and probably Mikael Gorbachev. It would also include some kids. In November this year I visited the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, after the VSS Conference. I really liked the ‘Power of Children’ exhibition. It told the story of three children who faced seemingly impossible trials, but finished as heroes of the 20th century. The stories of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White exemplify how every individual has the capacity to lead and can make an incredible difference (http://www.childrensmuseum.org/themuseum/powerofchildren/html/index.html). But I also really liked the fact that it didn’t stop there. There was encouragement for children visiting the exhibition to make a difference themselves - and so was equally inspired by the efforts of the teenagers receiving awards for their projects, especially the 2011 Award winners for instigating the Little Wish Foundation, Ken-Ya Help Us, Educate Jamaica and VETSupport projects. Positive proactive leadership in action. As adults we can learn from that – so often we pull back from taking the leading step and enthusing change.

Working out what new paradigm leadership models might look like

I have struggled for the last few years to find leadership frameworks that are non-hierarchical and dynamic. As a school leader, I have learnt that my leadership style is extremely important – but that leadership itself must change to suit the context. I am probably most comfortable in servant leadership mode. In fact I love nothing better than to shift furniture around the school and in so doing, get among the community at every level. But there are times when I need to be visible - in active out-the-front leadership. Especially in times of community crisis or stress, a community needs active visible and compassionate leadership. But I can also be visible every day by talking to the children as we walk past each other, or take the chance to chat casually with the teacher who I know has imagined me to be far more significant than I am. And the very best way to start the day is to greet children and parents as they walk or drive into the school, or spend the first couple of hours informally visiting the different learning spaces across the campus or spend half an hour with the team looking after the grounds and buildings.

Above all, I know that my leadership will be stronger if I constantly think about leadership and challenge my own thinking, concepts and practice daily. A few years ago I drew leadership models that were a series of blocks; inevitably though, I was positioned at the top – definitely old paradigm thinking. I was never comfortable with that because it suggested the operation of the school depended on me. The ‘flying geese’ metaphor was helpful in my thinking (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4w7FWIMNW4&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImbalBnzW24&feature=endscreen&NR=1), emphasizing the role of teams very clearly. I have also liked the notion of high performance leadership and unfaltering teamwork as exemplified in the Red Arrows flying teams (http://vimeo.com/28502034). The idea of years of individual training and experience coming together for high performance purposes appeals.

But this year, I have been captivated by the practice of flocking starlings as a collaborative leadership metaphor. The murmuration of starlings can provide multiple worthwhile analogies to fluid, dynamic teamwork (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLLz5Cdrjo8). It would be a worthwhile activity to simply watch the video with colleagues or students and then allow a free discussion as to what we can learn from this. Another great leadership development strategy is to share journeys visiting other schools known for fresh ideas, or to observe innovative institutions and inspiring spaces – and then to collectively debrief and imagine new futures. What a fantastic way to sharpen collective vision and grow others!

Key role

Experience has taught me that my key organisational function as Principal, apart from speaking vision, is to empower others and distribute leadership in real terms. Nothing should ultimately hinge on me. Empowerment should then be modelled in every context. I also need to view every challenging person as someone with untapped potential – whether they be student, staff or parent.

I know that I need to recurrently place myself in learning journeys with my team – where I can bounce off their thoughts and let them enhance the vision in new and unexpected ways. And let them make mistakes – that’s how I learnt.

“What is the leadership model of NBCS/SCIL?”

Having been frequently asked about the leadership model of Northern Beaches Christian School (NBCS) this year, I took the challenge of seeking to better capture the effective leadership framework of NBCS and the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning (SCIL). The answer came to me once I worked out a metaphor that kept me as a member of the team and placed the vision and values of the organisation at the centre of focus – rather than any person. We are united by these values and the vision, so of course it should be at the heart of the dynamics. Surrounding that core I have positioned three key elements of our organizational DNA – innovation, leadership and resourcing (of people, ideas, spaces, tools). The image of a ball bearing with cogs is particularly apt: each ball fulfilling a key role in keeping the movement of the bearing fluid and the combined structure creating the energy to initiate movement – and subsequent engagement. A great metaphor.

Leadership is important

Leadership is vital – and if as school leaders we do not constantly focus on growing leadership, sharing leadership, demonstrating active leadership and at the same time empowering others, our schools will not move with the dynamism necessary to transform schooling into multimodal learning communities that will be the key to solving 21^st century challenges. And we should not be backward in taking the clear lead from time to time – in order to unite our communities around a common forward thinking vision - one that knows that it is possible to engage every learner and together, we might just finally see all the children in the world gain access to education. Now there is a worthy goal!