EDU 638 Module 6- Option 4

Option 4

Sheninger discusses the need to transform learning spaces, and references Clark Hall as an example. How does this newly designed space contribute to student learning? Describe your ideal school, and discuss how you would work with community stakeholders to secure funding for a new building.

It is no surprise that many schools are getting to a place where they are running out of room in their schools for their own students. It is an epidemic all over the country in many school districts. Instead of creating a second high school some schools are just getting more creative with the space that they already have to make this possible instead of burdening the citizens of a district with another high school. This latter statement had to do with Sheninger’s Shifts in this thinking. Shift one is establishing a better vision for the school. This shift is rethinking the vision of the school with a team. Shift two is strengthening and opening up the wireless network. Along with a BYOD environment brings its challenges for sure, for example limited bandwidth, or old equipment. This also brought much frustration to the school’s staff as all of this equipment took forever to logon and so on. So the first step to transforming the learning space is to create a very fast stable Internet network for your school. Shift 3 is a choice to teach and learn a different way. This example included Clark Hall, this was a part of the school that was going to push integration of the technology into teacher’s lessons and be at the forefront of this new push in the school. As a result the teachers had a three day training session at Ohio State University where they learned to use web tools like: Diigo, Edmodo, Schoology, Twitter and Google search to learn how to engage learners better. The team also had to read Teaching Today’s Digital Generation: No More Cookie Cutter High Schools. In this book they learned how to manage student’s time, how to collaborate, how to integrate technology, and how to deliver content effectively. On top of this book reading, four teachers were sent to PBL (Project based learning) conference and were to teach the other teachers what they had learned when they came back to school.

Clark Hall opened in 2010-2011 and it is a 51,000 square feet, three-story work of art. It looks more like an innovative office building than a traditional school. The objectives of Clark Hall are to: Provide an open, bright, and flexible space for learning. Provide student choice, and integrate technology with time to focus on learning. Also, provide students with the opportunities to express their natural creativity, while utilizing teachers as facilitators. Finally, to promote interdisciplinary and interconnected projects, and make learning fun! Some of the things I liked about the school is that the teachers had more one on one access with their students, and the students felt more relaxed in this environment. There were bright colors instead of beige. Instead of chairs, the classrooms had sofas.

My ideal school would be just like Clark Hall, I currently teach at a college prep high school and the kids want to be treated as such. An environment like Clark Hall would be ideal, as it would meet the needs of students in this day and age. I would work with stakeholders to do lease partnerships like Clark Hall did to pay for it, that was a great idea. As a result of that the students could also work at the businesses and it would be a great deal all the way around.

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks: Corwin

DB 3 Mod 4 EDU 638 Nykamp

Option 2 Sheninger and Constructivism

Option 2

Describe the relationship between constructivism and the Breaking Ranks Framework. Think about your school. As a leader in educational technology for your district, what recommendations would you make to school leaders based on the core areas of Breaking Ranks? Provide a rationale for each suggested change.

Blaydes quotes Albert Einstein saying this, "It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." To me this is the root of Social Constructivism in educational theory and practice as well as Sheninger’s Breaking Ranks Framework. Students have been lulled to sleep in classes and with the advent of so many new ways to teach the material other than lecture it is time to awaken the joy of learning with our students again. Within the constructivist approach I believe that this possible.

Sheninger talks about the Breaking ranks framework as a way to lead school districts into this new digital age responsibly and efficiently. He says there are three main categories: CL (Collaborative Leadership), PER (Personalizing your school environment), and CIA (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment) which is aimed to improve student performance. This ties them both together because one of the most important tenants of constructivism is the student taking responsibility of their learning, and the teacher becoming more of a facilitator (Deulen, 2013). The foundational concepts that Sheninger mentions are: leadership, professional development, culture, organization, curriculum, instruction, assessment, relationships, and equity. Out of these, I would recommend changing the culture of the school first. In an article I read Allen points out that in 2005 the UK started looking at ways to integrate talking or discussion as a constructivist approach to the online learning model. That this was a culture change for the school since it was usually always lecture based before. I also would recommend making sure leadership is savvy and that there is plenty of professional development opportunities for the students as well. In my opinion, you need to have buy in from your teachers and staff. They need to be fired up about this change to insure that the curriculum and instruction is being delivered in a tech savvy, responsible, and exciting way. He also talks about the six stages of systematic school improvement that will greatly assist school leaders. They are meant to integrate the Pillars of Digital Leadership. Sheninger says that it is imperative that school leaders have a vision to move from vision to action in the area of the digital age and the use of technology and how it will be implemented in their respective school districts. The pillars provide points of reference to improve leadership behaviors, practices, and strategies with the assistance of technology. They will also lay the foundation for rethinking how learning spaces and time are structured in order to provide more personalized experiences for all stakeholders by institutionalized autonomy, mastery and purpose. I could not agree with Sheninger more here when he talks about mastery, purpose and autonomy. We need to as schools rethink the way we do everything in education and start becoming autonomous technology learners ourselves first. It is hard to become a facilitator as a teacher and relinquishing some of the control in the classroom. One of the changes I would make here is to provide an inservice where a couple of teachers actually teach a live lesson in front of the staff to show them and model to them what this process could look like. Thanks for listening!

Allen, K. (2005). Online learning: Constructivism and conversation as

an approach to learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 42(3), 247-256. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210667865?accountid=12085

Blaydes, J. (2003). The educator's book of quotes. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Deulen, A. A. (2013). Social constructivism and online learning environments: toward a

theological model for Christian educators. Christian Education Journal, 10(1),

90+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA326851740&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=ff63639d4dcc0b07b045a336a3661294

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing

times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press