EduCon 2.6

It is our belief that the concept of “school” as most of us know it arose out of century-old needs; our world has changed and so must the notion of “school.” Many existing and even new schools continue to focus on tinkering to make the old way better; what is needed is a whole new way. In contrast to traditional schools that often focus on the needs of adults and rely on “the way we’ve always done it,” 21st century schools must focus on students’ needs as the primary driver. By focusing clearly on each school’s vision and instructional goals, and building all structures and designing all processes in support of those goals, we believe schools can begin to transform their schools into the 21st century learning environments our students need.

While many educators understand WHY schools need to change, few existing tools and resources actually show educators HOW to engage in the school transformation process. Our book (on track for publication by Teachers College Press in March 2014) was written to provide a framework for how educators can begin to rethink school practices, with examples to demonstrate and inspire innovation, and step-by-step exercises that will guide school leaders/designers and their teams through the process of making it happen. This session will provide participants with an overview of this process and the opportunity to engage in several of the activities; it is our goal to help participants clearly define and articulate their visions and to begin rethinking how practices align.