Leadership for Deeper Learning, Class 05

[I am teaching a Leadership for Deeper Learning elective for one of our doctoral cohorts this summer and thought that I would share what is happening each week.] After weeks of discussing schools that focus on project-based learning, ‘no excuses’ learning, and the International Baccalaureate, in Class 05 we finally stepped into more-familiar territory: the […]

[I am teaching a Leadership for Deeper Learning elective for one of our doctoral cohorts this summer and thought that I would share what is happening each week.]

After weeks of discussing schools that focus on project-based learning, ‘no excuses’ learning, and the International Baccalaureate, in Class 05 we finally stepped into more-familiar territory: the hallways of the traditional, comprehensive high school. Chapter 5 of In Search of Deeper Learning featured Attainment High, which was instantly recognizable to everyone in the room. As you can imagine, my doctoral students had a lot to say because they had been saving up a bunch of questions about ‘that’s great, but what about OUR settings?‘

We were fortunate to start with Mike Riley as a guest speaker. Mike is the Executive Director of Secondary Instruction for the Roanoke County Public Schools in Virginia. I have worked on and off with schools and educators from Roanoke County for a few years now, including both instructional redesign work and leadership coaching. They have been extremely strategic about translating their Portrait of a Graduate into practice, including major efforts this past year to scale up student Portrait defenses across all five of their high schools. Roanoke County also has been working with the Carnegie Foundation and was featured in its recent publication, Reimagining Learning in the Classroom. Mike shared the school district’s historical journey, explained some things that worked (or didn’t) along the way, and answered a bevy of questions from my class. Thanks, Mike!

As we do for each of the schools that we discuss, we then talked about the learning theories that seem to drive Attainment High. We also put both Attainment High and Roanoke County on our Continuum Wall, complete with theories of action and some competing ones.

Attainment High

Our main act for the evening was talking about how to get beyond pockets of innovation. We had read some (hopefully) provocative pieces from both myself and Alfie Kohn to set the stage. Other main readings for the evening pertained to Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovation research, including the importance of educators’ perceived characteristics of the innovation, and Gaver’s research regarding a new innovation’s affordances. I also introduced them to Geoffrey Moore’s ideas around ‘crossing the chasm’ between the early adopters and the early majority.

The last third of our class was spent in small group conversations. In addition to the questions that they posted on our pre-class Padlet, this time was also when we resurfaced the pre-assignment that I had given them earlier in the spring to add five slides to a collective online slide deck. They shared examples of deeper learning in their own settings, and talked about how these pockets of innovation play out within the larger, more traditional school context.

Some of the questions that my students posted beforehand on the Class 05 Padlet included:

We know from Kohn and McLeod that kids cram for tests and then instantly forget the material, meaning as educators we’re wasting huge amounts of time on empty compliance. Mehta and Fine discuss how difficult it is to break free of this performative cycle at the secondary level. So how can elementary leaders pivot away from “busywork” and test prep toward authentic learning projects kids will actually remember?
If students are achieving at high levels but are not consistently experiencing curiosity, intellectual risk-taking, or meaningful engagement with content, should educational leaders consider the school successful?
If the incoming Superintendent and School Board don’t actively protect this vision, how do they justify the massive investments of professional development hours, community resources, and tax dollars? Are they simply looking at another cycle where years of work and millions of dollars go down the gutter to satisfy a change in leadership?
Is there a way to transform AP courses into deeper learning, PBL-style formats? If so, what would the process look like? Would the “breadth over depth” concept be sacrificed with a total reconfiguration?
Kohn (2011) pointed out that a lot of bad practices in lower levels are justified by his notion of BGUTI (Better Get Used To It). That is, preparing students for future bad experiences by giving them the same ones in the present. While this is awful pedagogy, and definitely is holding schools back, the outside world and life after school are no more utopias than the schooling system. Might there be some value in teaching kids how to navigate the difficulties of life, such as going through bureaucratic processes and finding critical (sometimes life-altering) information from mind-numbingly boring texts? What are some ways schools might be able to prepare students for some of the bad experiences they will face in the outside world while still engaging them in deeper learning?
Mehta & Fine (2019) say that deeper learning develops students’ identities, creativity, and mastery. In Failing Our Students, McLeod (2019) argues that schools fail when students have good marks/grades/scores/etc. but leave school without curiosity or passions of the disciplines. If these outcomes for students matter (matter most?), how should we redefine what counts as evidence of success in our schools? What could we use as indicators beyond grades and scores?
Rogers’ framework reminds us that teachers won’t buy into a new initiative if it feels too complex or conflicts with their current teaching strategies. What practical things can elementary leaders do to create an environment in which teachers can take risks without the fear of failure, so that deeper learning doesn’t wind up feeling like just another stressful directive passed down from leadership?
How do we get competitive families who care only about the accolades of their individual child on board with systemic changes that would create greater learning for all students, including their’s, but would not “look” as fancy?
If schools claim to value curiosity, engagement, and lifelong learning, but continue to reward grades, test scores, and performance outcomes, how can leaders redesign structures, incentives, and accountability systems so that deep learning becomes an opportunity for all students rather than a privilege for a select few?
What have school districts learned since the pandemic about wasted time in the classroom? Nothing that mattered enough to change the teaching/learning models?

Our readings / viewings for Class 05 are listed below. The theme for the evening was Crossing the Chasm. End-of-class evaluations were once again very positive.