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Theme for this Newsletter: Schools as Centres of Educational Transformation
This newsletter has been written by Bruce.
Feedback appreciated bhammonds@leading-learning.co.nz

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Main points:

1. Past reforms have not transformed our system to ensure all students succeed
2. A new era requires new thinking - we need 'new minds for a new millennium'
3. Innovation only really happens at the school level and is best shared by local networks
4. Passionate creative teachers are the main source of ideas
5. Some idea to develop exciting programmes - 'New Basics' and 'Fertile Questions'
6. A model Vision, Values and Teaching Beliefs to customize for your school

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1. Our point of View at Leading and learning

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The past two or three decades has seen ministries of education worldwide imposing 'top down' ideas in an attempt to change schools. For all these reform efforts the basic structures of the school system remains the same. Little has really changed - if anything the situation for creative teachers has worsened.

'Our education system is thinly disguised conspiracy to quash creativity'
Tom Peters latest book 'Re-Imagine'2003 www.tompeters.com

'The main crisis in schools today is irrelevance'.
Tom Peters in 'Re-Imagine '2003

'Our educational thinking is concerned with 'what is'. It is not good at designing: 'What can be'.
Tom Peter in 'Re -Imagine '2003

'We must reject all notions of 'reform' that merely serve up more of the same: more testing, more 'standards', more uniformity, more conformity, more bureaucracy.
Tom Peters from his book 'Re -Imagine' 2003

'I imagine a school that recognizes that learning is natural, that a love of learning is normal, and that real learning is passionate learning'.
Tom Peters in 'Re -Imagine 2003

'Talent is everything. And talent is significantly dependent upon…schools. As I see it the school system is getting it wrong... Mustn't some form of 'new education' by definition be the epicenter of this new world?'
Tom Peters in 'Re -Imagine 2003

'I am so mad I can't see straight. The school system stinks. It is a conspiracy. An anti education conspiracy. At exactly the wrong moment'. I am furious that we do know how to educate kids. And that we don't do it.'
Tom Peters in Re-Imagine.

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2. Complexity theory will require 'new minds for new millennium'.

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Michael Fullan (in 'Change Forces with a Vengeance') believes we can't get into the future without grasping the essence of complexity theory. Complexity theory is aligned to chaos theory (but doesn't sound so scary) and more or less says that things are happening so unpredictably that to try and plan and control the future is futile. This linear planning mindset belongs to the past industrial era. Making the best decision, based on what you know, and learning from mistakes, is the only way. Having a clear shared philosophy or vision however makes it less arbitrary by providing a shared basis for decision making. Creativity occurs at the border or edge between order and chaos; between old ideas and new ones. The same creative growth occurs in every learner's head as they come to terms with new knowledge (constructivist learning). We need to see our schools as learning organisms or living systems continually adapting to new situations. It is the ability to see through the 'mess' to the bigger picture provided by your vision.'

'Stability is dead. Education must therefore prepare young people for an unknowable ambiguous rapidly changing future. This means learning to learn is far more important than mastering a body of facts.'
Tom Peters in Re-Imagine'.

Trying to plan in advance has led to overload and confusion. A new creative mindset is required. Learners need to live life like artists and be alert for ideas and improve continually. School leaders need to create cultures based on shared values and communities of practices guided by shared purpose and always open to ideas to help them improve.

This is not to say there is not a role for 'top down' assistance but what is required is a new balance between the 'centre' and 'the edge'. We are talking about developing a system to encourage continual innovation within agreed purposes at all levels. We see the central governments role as one defining a shared vision for the country and then of creating the conditions to develop capacity and opportunity so as to release and share the creativity of all involved. Fullan reminds us that schools will have to face complex problems for which there are no simple solutions. This requires re-culturing rather than re-structuring. Leadership will be needed at all levels to encourage all to become future learners and not defenders of the past as many currently are.

Read a summary of Fullan's book 'New Meaning of Educational Change'

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3. Hargreaves idea of Creating an Educational Epidemic

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Andy Hargreaves believes that education will only be transformed when small scale improvements and school based innovations are shared between schools without direct interference by central government. Rather than central government driving changes schools and teachers should be trusted to develop their own improvements. By linking schools into networks small scale improvements can travel quickly through the system. Hargreaves believes if this is done we would create an 'educational epidemic' where viable ideas would spread quickly.

'Top down' model never worked out as planned. Teachers have always been good at tinkering and making small changes - colonizing the changes to suit themselves. More importantly teachers are always making small innovations that are not known outside their own school. What will be needed are 'innovation networks' to transfer ideas. Central government should not see itself as the lead innovator but instead develop strategies that allow schools to share their ideas. Hargreaves wants to develop a system where schools could learn from themselves; ideal organizations for complex times.

This approach would suit us fine. It would require governments to recognize that creative teachers and schools are the key to real change. Their role would be to empower teachers by valuing their creativity and by assisting them in sharing their ideas.

Creative teachers have always happily imported ideas seen in other schools ('creative swiping') but how well they are used depends on the capacity of each school to take advantage of such ideas. The most important resource any school has is the intellectual and social capital - the talents and knowledge and relationship skills, of every individual teacher

To share and increase this 'capital' requires the development of teacher networks. To use a living metaphor, the knowledge would then spread and grow naturally. A climate of sharing and collaboration would be required within and between schools. All this requires a new balance between the centre and the schools. Teachers in turn must feel ownership of the process and equally feel trusted to be able to take the learning risks involved in new learning. Central government role must be to provide the climate to encourage such innovation and risk taking; trust will be required at all levels.

Schools would need to develop priorities and focus on what they feel they can do to avoid overload. To avoid a repeat of the unfocused innovation of the 60s it is absolutely vital for it be undertaken in a disciplined way.

Schools involved in networks would need to do a professional audit of what teachers know and what they do not know. All schools need to pose the questions of what is most important for them and to consider what is 'good practice', and ideas they think they could introduce easily. Some schools, in our current competitive isolated environment, will find this difficult. Information from groups of schools could be collated to provide a picture of the overall needs of the group of schools and each individual school. Some 'leading edge' schools would contribute more than others. Groups might need to employ the services of a coordinator

Hargreaves believes teachers will adapt ideas that they see as making their lives easier. The best way might be for teachers to choose, on a peer by peer basis, as what ideas to action. Ideas would spread, or be caught through personal contact like a 'virus'. Some schools or teachers would become identified 'champions' of 'good/best practices'. Helping others who are at different learning stages will require skill and a co-creative trusting relationships.

This 'cluster' networking is already happening throughout New Zealand now but it needs to be recognized, and built on as the best way to spread ideas. As with a true virus powerful ideas readily turn into an epidemic! The central governments role would be to create the conditions for ideas to spread on their own merit. Information technology networks could be developed to spread and magnify ideas.

We believe at 'Leading and Learning' that this idea provides a wonderful opportunity for groups of geographical schools to work together to create such networks. We would be a happy to assist.

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4. The future: 'tapping into passionate teachers'.

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Our NZ Minster of education has recently discovered that it is the teacher and the teacher's high expectations that are the most important element in a students learning. After 15 years of imposed Ministry curricula and associated assessment nightmares, plus endless compliance requirements, this new understanding is an amazing revelation. If the ideas outlined above were to be implemented then it would be wonderful but we fear that what we will be getting will be more along the lines of the, 'experts' have found out what works so you will all now do it this way!' As well current 'best practice' seems to be focused on literacy and numeracy. As important as these are, they are but the 'foundation skills' required for real passionate learning based on relevant learning challenges.

In the words of Robert Fried, in his wonderful book 'The Passionate Teacher', teaching is a passionate vocation. Creative teachers create classroom relationships that feature interest, inquiry, excitement, discovery, risk taking and fun. Most 'creative' teachers don't 'plan' their teaching but rather start with what they think will excite and engage students and then negotiate with the student's ideas and activities to express their learning. Only through authentic performances or demonstrations can teachers really see what students can do.

It is to these passionate teachers that we need to recognize and look towards for real educational change. Who are they? How do you know? How can you access their ideas? How can you attract them to your school? Robert Fried's book will help you in your quest to become a passionate teacher. It will help you value your own 'voice', to break through current restraints and to do fewer things well. Passionate teaching, Fried believes, is do-able. It moves well beyond the current over emphasis on literacy and numeracy to engaging students in powerful learning situations so as to develop whatever talents the students have.

'The Passionate Teacher - a Practical Guide'
by Robert Fried Beacon Press Boston

Also newsletter Magic of Creative Teachers
And Reclaiming the Teachers Voice

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5. 'Rich Topics', 'New Basics' and 'Fertile Questions'.

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The Queensland Ministry of Education is currently trialing a programme called Queensland 'New Basics'. Many innovative NZ schools have adapting the ideas to suit themselves. It would seem an excellent example of an educational epidemic or virus!

The New Basics has much in common with the progressive leaning centred ideas of the 60 and 70s. Queensland started by considering what 'future attributes' students would need to thrive in a complex future, a process that all schools should go through. Queensland have come up with a set of 'New Basics' which are: literacy and numeracy in the broadest sense; learning 'how to learn'; personal skills; and ICT competence.

To achieve these 'new basics' sets of 'Rich Topics' have been developed to engage students. These 'Rich Topics' do not have to relate directly to current Learning Areas and call on traditional disciplines as required. This nothing really new to creative teachers but the model extends up through to the secondary level where it would be revolutionary!

For each topic teachers and students negotiate a focused set of outcomes which are also seen as 'imbedded' assessment tasks. As in Fried's book, the idea is to work in depth and to do fewer things well as a means to solve the 'overcrowded curriculum'. Students are also encouraged to develop criteria to self assess their own work.

Many New Zealand schools have adapted the Queensland 'New Basics' ideas and teachers who are interested in adapted idea can find further information at Curriculum Delivery for the New Millennium

The final aspect of the 'New Basic's is to place a focus on 'productive pedagogy' through professional development to develop 'powerful teachers' who have a wide repertoire of teaching strategies to call upon.

Fertile Questions.

At a recent ICT Navcon Conference members learnt about the concept of 'fertile questions' presented by Yoram Harper, an Israeli educator. This is another idea 'virus' we are happy to align ourselves with. Harper believes that powerful pedagogy places the question at the centre of teaching and learning.

The first stage of a learning challenge is a 'Fertile Question'. Fertile questions (and consequent sub questions) are: interesting, open, rich and have practical implications for research.

'Questions, questions, questions. They disturb. They provoke. They exhilarate. They intimidate. They make you feel, like you have temporarily lost your marbles... It's about learning forever'.
From Tom Peters 'Re -Imagine'.

Both 'Rich Topics' and 'Fertile Questions' are aligned to a number of higher order thinking programmes, and action learning processes that many schools currently use. They also have much in common with 'complexity theory' (making sense of experiences and comtinully learning) and would contribute to the 'learning epidemics' approach of Hargreaves.

Education is at its best... is ecstatic. At its best, at it's most unfettered, the moment of learning is a moment of delight'.
From Tom Peters 'Re -Imagine' 2003

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6. A model vision Values and Teaching Beliefs to adapt.

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If you would like to access a vision, values and teaching beliefs that you can adapt to your school (or groups of schools) there is a generic model on our site which has already been adapted by scores of schools. It is not original but we believe there is no point in reinventing the wheel. Select only what fits your circumstances. It will give you are start. It is based on the school as a learning community model able to adapt to changing circumstances and is aligned to the ideas covered in this newsletter.

I am 60. I love learning... Everyone loves learning...Learning it is dam simple. We learn like hell when we want to... there are thousands of inspired teachers…working like hell.. with little appreciation…There are hundreds of fabulous schools... There is some very cool stuff going on in education. The problem is ...the Educational Establishment which focuses on ...Uniformity...Testing...Standardization.. and thence schooling kids into submission.
Tom Peters from Re -Imagine 2003

School Vision, Values and Core Teaching Beliefs

'Freaks change the world! Freaky principals! Freaky teachers! We need more freaks! Desperately!'
Tom Peters from 'Re-Imagine'.

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Bruce and Wayne

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