WHY?
I believe we need to help establish an environment where our students can learn how to learn and grow as individuals driving forward their own education.
HOW?
Learners will be met at their level and to take ownership of their education via tailored learning activities.
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WHAT?
We help learners to grow into confident critical and analytical problem solvers who are able to communicate their ideas moving forward.
COVID-19 shuffled the education system as we knew it essentially overnight and despite some reluctance here and there, we adapted. This change that we are striving towards cannot be surface level, but must appeal to the heart of the viewers, as John Kotter has touched on so eloquently over the years. My school district is finishing up a challenging year, one where we have had countless meetings and discussions based around change. However, before making any rash decisions regarding schedule changes and start times, we must have a goal in place. When establishing this goal, it is natural to go to what we are trying to achieve, but the why is where the real value lies. Why do we believe change needs to occur? Why is there a need to change in the first place?
Within my organization, there is a sense of urgency as some of the behaviors that occurred this year cannot and will not be tolerated again. This is a belief of teachers, administrators, and frankly at this point, taxpayers and even students. The infrastructure and technology is in place, now it is just acting for the benefit of the learners. If there is one common belief in a schooling system, it is that we must do whatever we can to put our learners in the best position to succeed. By simply returning to our old, dated ways, we are forgetting what has be stressed to us for many years, that no to learners learn the same. The why targets the heart, it sees the value in what we are striving towards while the how executes.
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The blended learning model will take advantage of the tax dollars that have been spent within our district to optimize the technology that we have present in addition to the skilled teachers and countless other resources to produce more complete students achieving to the best of their ability, regardless of their backgrounds.
References
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Kotter, J. (2011, March 23). The heart of change. YouTube. Retrieved January 17, 2022, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NKti9MyAAw&ab_channel=Dr.JohnKotter
Kotter, J. (2013, August 15). Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency. YouTube. Retrieved January
17, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI&ab_channel=Dr.JohnKotter
Sinek, S. (2009, September). How great leaders inspire action. TED. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en#t-4815