Derek’s Blog, launched in 2003, serves as a platform for sharing thoughts and reflections related to his work. It offers over 20 years of searchable posts, categorized by the tags below. Feel free to comment, as your feedback contributes to ongoing reflection and future posts.
The Virtual Learning Network in New Zealand: History and Future Thoughts The Virtual Learning Network has operated in New Zealand for over thirty years as a collaboration among clusters of schools seeking to provide access to quality learning opportunities for all of their students.
The first part of this paper provides a background to the development of the VLN in New Zealand, providing insights to how it came into being and why.
The second part of the document explores some ideas about how the use of online learning might become more embedded as a part of our education system, regularly used by students and teachers to provide access to learning content and experiences that aren’t available to them in their local setting.
The video below tells the story of the Canterbury Area Schools technology project (CASAtech) which later became CANTAtech, a fore-runner to the Virtual Learning Network in NZ. This clip made in 1997, three years after the programme began.
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Self directed learning
Image: Whites Bay, Derek Wenmoth
“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.”
John Dewey
Earlier this week I was camping at White’s Bay, a magical spot on the coast less than 30 minutes from Blenheim. Although the peak of the holiday period was over, there were still a number of families camping there with the beach providing a safe place for the kids to swim, play, explore and interact under the watchful eyes of their parents.
After a morning swim I took the time to stroll along the beach and take in what some of these kids were doing. In the image above you can see what the beach looks like – before the kids arrived. If you’re observant enough you’ll also notice the tell-tale signs in the sand of water from a small creek winding its way across the sand into the ocean.
It was around that spot that I stood and watched a fascinating learning experience unfold before me. Two groups of children, mostly boys, aged (I’m estimating) between 7-12, were busy digging in the sand, some with shovels and others with pieces of driftwood or their hands. Observing for a while I saw what was happening. At two different spots after the creek emerged from the reeds behind the beach groups of children were hard at work trying to alter the course of the water. One group appeared intent on creating a small dam and creating a pond behind it, and another creating a deeper channel to expedite the flow of water directly to the sea.
I paused and chatted with each group, hearing their stories of how they got started on the idea, what they’d tried already, what had worked and what hadn’t and what they were planning to do next. All the time the groups continued to work on their projects, aware that the water they were trying to ‘tame’ wasn’t going to wait while they held a conversation with a passing member of the public.
After some time there I continued my walk to the other end of the beach, then returned the way I’d come. On my way back I paused again to observe the progress being made. By now the labyrinth of channels had become quite sophisticated. Aided by the addition of small rocks and large pieces of driftwood the dam was doing its thing, while the deeper channel was being worked on to address the issue of the collapsing walls where the faster flowing water now caused erosion of the sides.
What was even more interesting was that these two groups were now working together to address an entirely new challenge – how to create a channel that would re-route the water from the pond behind the dam into the large channel that the others had created some 10 metres away and so create a continuous flow. I hadn’t seen what had precipitated that collaboration, but by the time I had arrived the teams were working seamlessly on this new task, with ideas being contributed by young and old, and everyone getting on with the task they felt was theirs.
I sat at the beach for some time after, watching the experience evolve as if guided by some ‘invisible’ agreement among all of these young people – with no sign of adult intervention at all (apart from this elderly gentleman stopping to ask a lot of questions 🙂 … which got me thinking again about the experience of learning that we provide for our students at school. Right before my eyes I was seeing the manifestation of the characteristics of learners and learning that so many schools aspire to in their graduate profiles, but so often are neglected or ignored when the pressure goes on to address fundamental issues of literacy and numeracy, or to focus on specific details of ‘content knowledge’ to provide a focus for narrowly defined assessments. Not that theres merit in considering these things – but not at the expense of taking the joy out of learning in such authentic and motivational ways.
Here are just some of the things I observed and reflected on while watching these children:
They were working to a plan – and they owned that plan. The plan wasn’t particularly detailed, nor was it aligned with a specific area of the curriculum. Their plan emerged from their inbuilt curiosity and the desire to discover what might happen if…? As such their plan was constantly being modified and re-focused. Further, they were all capable of articulating what the plan was when a casual observer such as myself took the opportunity to ask them!
There was a culture of experimentation. While the plan was agreed on in a basic sense, the detail of how they’d execute it was left to a process of experimentation, where risk taking, learning from failure and trailing multiple approaches were simply a part of how the activity rolled. Nothing was a ‘failure’ – everything was something that helped inform the next step that was taken.
The participants knew what success would look like. Each of these children had a clear idea of what they were striving to achieve, and therefore what success would look like. In their conversation with me they were able to articulate why some approaches had worked and others hadn’t, how they’d modified their approach at times and some of the ‘big ideas’ about the movement of water they’d learned along the way. They didn’t need an external person or assessment task to tell them if they’d been successful or not.
They weren’t about to give up! In fact, one of these groups had been working on their ideas the previous day and had come back with a refreshed view of how to tackle things as they thought about it overnight. Without the constraints of time they were able to take the time required to work on their challenge – demonstrating high levels of perseverance and tenacity in the process.
The activity was highly collaborative. No-one was excluded in this task. If you turned up and were prepared to assist you quickly found a way you could contribute. Those who’d been working on it a little longer emerged as leaders in small ways, helping guide what others should do through direct instruction or through suggestion as the need determined. Many of the ideas that were put forward were quickly discussed and decided on – often with the addition of new ideas that emerged through this process of negotiation. Overall, there was a role for everyone and anyone who wanted to participate.
There was a lot of reflection going on. Throughout the entire process the thing that intrigued me the most was the level of conversation going on among the kids. It was a sort of articulated reflection in a very real sense. When someone saw an opportunity to do something differently, there would be comments made about what had worked in the past and why this might or might not work in the future. As new ideas were being trialed there was an explicit articulation of the thought processes – often with questions being asked among members of the group, seeking affirmation or confirmation of whether something was a good idea. The reflection wasn’t being left as something to do once the task was over – it was an authentic and highly integrated part of the task itself.
Now I’m not so naive as to think that every aspect of what we do in schools could be designed and constructed in this way. There is, arguably, always going to be a need for developing some of the foundational skills that these children were calling upon quite naturally in this environment. Plus there’s loads of scope for an excellent teacher, through crafted questioning, to promote event deeper levels of learning to be realised from such a task.
My pondering here is simply this. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, as we start a new school year, we could do so with a renewed sense of commitment to ensuring all of our learners are able to experience the kinds of delight and joy in learning that these kids on the beach were? Before we become ensnared by the imposed requirements to address the basics more rigorously and of ensuring we address specific areas of content knowledge, let’s ensure we leave room in our design of learning for our learners to experience joy in what they do, and delight in the achievements they make – however big or small.
Oh that more of what happens in our classrooms and schools could resemble what I observed on the beach this week.
If the ideas in this blog post resonate with you and you are looking for ways to incorporate more of this type of learning into your classroom you may find it useful to read Agency By Design: An Educator’s Playbook that I’ve written with Marsha Jones, with the help of George Edwards and Annette Thompson from the USA. It is full of ideas and practical examples to guide your how you might create more agentic learning and learners in your school or classroom, together with ways of measuring progress.
“There’s no definite roadmap for a successful moonshot; the path is littered with obstacles and failure. It takes passion, grit, luck and sometimes a decade or more of hard work to see a moonshot materialise, much less succeed.”
Peter Diamandis, entrepreneur, futurist, technologist, New York Times Bestselling Author
I was at secondary school when the Apollo 11 mission made a successful moon landing. I was one of those completely caught up in the wonder of that event – I still have the scrapbook I kept of every newspaper clipping I could lay my hands on at the time! 1300 of us gathered in the school assembly hall and sat in silence for almost three hours, listening to the broadcast on a single speaker that had been set up on the stage. (Yes, no live-stream TV in those days – in fact, no colour TV even, we watched the fuzzy, black and white images a day or two later!)
That was 1969! Just a few years earlier, in 1962, US President, John F. Kennedy, planted the seeds of a dream when he declared “We choose to go to the moon this decade.” At the time this must have seemed near impossible to many, yet it inspired a nation to believe – and to act. The president didn’t say precisely how it was going to happen – he simply set a timeframe for something ambitious, something incredible to happen. It was his ‘moonshot’ moment.
Decades later this concept has become known as ‘moonshot thinking’, when you choose a huge problem, such as climate change, and propose to create a radical solution to the problem using a disruptive technology.
I reckon we could do with some ‘moonshot thinking’ in education at present. There’s no shortage of huge challenges facing us, but there is a distinct lack of any ambition in the solutions being proposed. Mostly we see the same old ideas being re-cycled like the re-runs of Home Alone movies at Christmas. It all seems so tired, unambitious and focused narrowly on short-term wins that pander to the populist vote. It’s been like that for many years now, and there appear to be no changes on the horizon despite a change in government. The table below illustrates just a few examples of the challenges schools face currently and the responses we are seeing…
Consider our current approach…
Problem
Solution
Concerns
Students not attending school, truancy.
Employ people to track students down and bring them back to school. Punish parents for not sending them to school.
Why are they choosing not to attend in the first place? How might we make schools and learning more engaging and meaningful for all learners?
Digital Distraction.
Ban mobile devices at school.
How do we prepare young people (and teachers!) to function effectively in an increasingly digital world – including understanding the safety and moral issues of being a digital citizen?
Declining literacy and numeracy achievement.
Spend more time on structured approaches to reading, writing and maths, focusing primarily on the mechanics.
How do we inspire writers, authors and mathematicians for the future? How to sustain an interest in literature, story-telling and mathematics in the world around us?
Bullying.
More supervision, more punitive measures for those responsible.
How to address the social influences and generational patterns of behaviour that are behind this sort of behaviour?
Recruitment and retention of high quality teachers.
Introduce teaching standards, recognition of excellent teachers and punitive measures for those not performing.
How to make teaching a profession that attracts the very best candidates. How best to design initial teacher education programmes and professional learning programmes that sustains a dynamic profession?
Low level of participation in STEM subjects to meet demand for employment in the tech sector.
Privilege resourcing of STEM programmes and STEM teachers.
What about the arts subjects where creativity (a key element in innovation) is cultivated?
Increasing numbers of learners with special learning needs (incl. ADHD, autism etc.)
Limited funding for special needs teachers and support people. Teachers expected to become skilled in dealing with these demands.
What are the conditions that are most suitable for these learners, and what support is most helpful? How can we personalise/individualise programmes within the traditional one-class, one-teacher structures?
Short term mitigations, targeted resourcing to bridge the gap until things ‘return to normal’.
What if ongoing disruption of this nature is the ‘new normal?’. How might we structure schooling to take account of the ongoing challenge to sustain an approach that is historically dependent on attendance at a single site?
As the table above attempts to illustrate, it’s not that the solutions being suggested or implemented are inherently wrong – indeed, many have sound research supporting their use in defined contexts. The issue is that while they may provide an effective solution for particular learners in particular contexts, they are unlikely to address some of the wider (and more complex) concerns that are a part of the problem they are attempting to address. It’s not a binary argument – it’s about understanding the broader, richer and more complicated tapestry of interactions among and between these areas that create the current form and function of schools and schooling.
I believe we need to see more ambition our efforts to identify (and courage to follow through on) solutions that matter. Of course, there’s plenty of ambition around at a personal level, with individuals seeking to ‘climb the ladder’ of personal success, or schools seeking to outdo their rivals down the road – but this sort of ambition is counter-productive in terms of achieving the solutions required to some of our ‘wicked problems’ in education.
I’m talking about the sort of ambition that is linked with taking risks (something that is frowned upon in our current bureaucratic structures), to ‘stretch’ beyond the current limits and push the boundaries of educational possibility. This sort of ambition sets aside personal interest for the corporate good. It involves releasing dreams and capturing the interest and trust of others to pursue those dreams. It’s about letting go of conventional thinking and ways of working, and experimenting with new forms of teaching, schooling and learning to find what works and what will help us achieve our ‘moonshot’ ambitions.
In the table below I’ve shared just a handful of ideas that could form the basis of the sort of ambitious ‘moonshot’ thinking that we’re talking about here. There will, of course, be others you can think of (hopefully!), so regard these as they are intended – something to stimulate your thinking. It might be helpful to consider taking one or more of these and using them as a starter for a conversation with colleagues, or at a start of year staff meeting – anything to help stimulate conversation and lift the level of thinking beyond ‘the ordinary’ as we seek to find ways of resolving the increasingly challenging problems we face in education.
Could these be your moonshot…?
Moonshot 1: Agency and Joy!
Imagine if…
…we were to create schools where learners come curious and leave inspired? Where learners were eager to attend because they found what happens there, day by day, exciting, engaging and relevant to their needs and interests. Where learners ( and teachers) experience JOY each day, where their physical, mental, social and academic health and wellbeing were all being addressed as a matter of course. Where there is a definite ‘shift in ownership’ of learning, and learners (and teachers) experience agency in all aspects of their learning.
Moonshot2: Learning Laboratories
Imagine if…
…we were to design our schools as learning laboratories, and our learning programmes around a culture of experimentation, where teachers and learners are open to risk and learn from failure? What if our approach to learning across the curriculum left space for teachers and students to experiment with new ideas and pursue the questions that are important to them. What if, instead of following prescribed methodologies we encouraged innovative approaches to solving problems, including how to address individual learning challenges or needs (e.g. as those in the medical profession do when making a diagnosis).
Moonshot 3: Boundary-less Schools
Imagine if…
…we conceived of schools as ‘boundary-less’ entities, as nodes in a network or learning ecosystem. Where physical attendance to participate in social, sporting, cultural and collaborative activities, is valued alongside access specialist teachers in other contexts, including community settings and virtually. And what if that learning was all recorded and tracked in a single ‘record of learning’ that recognises the value of what is learned in all of these contexts? What if we recognised the roles of those providing support for learners differently – as specialist teachers, as pastoral support, as virtual teachers etc. as opposed to assigning all tasks to a ‘generic’ teacher. How might we include the link with home and partnership with parents as an essential aspect of this ‘boundary-less-ness’?
Moonshot 4: AI Enhanced Personalisation
Imagine if…
…we could harness the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create truly personalised programmes of learning for both individuals and for groups based on an analysis of their needs and preferences? What if the AI platform could then provide personalised support and feedback as the learner/group worked on the learning task, scaffolding and shaping the learning activity based on the learner response and evidence provided. What if the platform could also maintain a record of learning for each learner with dynamic links to the evidence provided by the learner to illustrate achievement against the criteria set.
Moonshot 5: New Structures
Imagine if…
…we were to completely suspend all of the structures around which our current school system is designed – learning spaces, timetables, curriculum, staffing allocations, assessments/exams etc. How would we design things differently? How would the school day work? What would the curriculum look like? What if we were to create the opportunity for learners to be immersed in learning for as long as it takes for them to become accomplished in what they are doing? How might we keep track of what is being learned, how it is being learned and when it has been learned? What would be the role(s) of educators in all of this? How would they be supported?
Moonshot 6: New Measures of Success
Imagine if…
…we adopted completely different ways of measuring success? Where exams and summative assessments were replaced by more dynamic and ‘real-time’ provision of evidence to match against the progression indicators linked to criteria established at the beginning of the learning activity? What if learners were actively involved in the decisions around the criteria and the indicators? Instead of designing learning to match the assessment criteria, what if learners were able to immerse themselves in meaningful learning activity, and then select the criteria that they have evidence for – from across different ‘subjects’ and different levels?
None of the scenarios above are particularly original. In fact, examples of each of these innovative approaches already exist in various jurisdictions and contexts around the world. As William Gibson once said, “the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed yet‘. Also, while the scenarios have been separated out here to emphasise a specific idea, there are many overlaps between them and in most cases, a ‘moonshot’ idea will likely include elements from two or more of the scenarios above (and others not mentioned here).
Create your own moonshot:
Being ambitious in our thinking like this doesn’t come naturally. For many of you reading the list of ‘imagine if’ statements above you may find yourself thinking immediately of all the reasons why this couldn’t happen. That’s quite normal. It’s how we’ve been programmed – a consequence of the education we’ve received and the structures and systems we conform to. But you can break the habit – all it takes is some courage to allow yourself a little space to dream and ponder.
The important thing is that, like JFK, you don’t have to have it all sorted from the beginning. You simply have to imagine, put the idea(s) out there, and be relentless in seeking to find ways of making it happen.
5-Year Goal: Briefly describe your 5-year Moonshot goal in a clear, objective fashion using specific dates and numbers.
1-Year Goal: What concrete, measurable milestones can you achieve in 12 months that will put you on track? Remember, your progress is exponential. You just need to hit 6.25% of the target.
30-Day Goal: What can you do in the next 30 days to test and ‘de-risk’ your 1-year and 5-year objectives?
PROOF: What evidence can you provide to your team that this Moonshot is possible?
ACTION: What single action can you take right now to make immediate progress? (Do it in the next hour).
Why not use this framework to create your own moonshot and consider the ambitious approach you want to take in 2024? You don’t have to do this alone. In fact, it’s best if you do it in collaboration with others. Build the dream collectively. Get the buy-in of those who need to be involved and for whom it matters.
Imagine if, across the country, school leaders and teachers found time in these last few weeks before the next school year begins to work through the five steps outlined above, so that as you return to school for 2024 it isn’t simply to repeat what you did in 2023 with a few minor tweaks and improvements, but is something more revolutionary, more purposeful and more life-changing!
Instead of planning to get ‘back to normal’, let’s make 2024 a year of being extra-ordinary, of being ambitious in what we seek to achieve for our learners and our schools!
The headline in a paper this week, quotes a new report from MFAT that says the ‘Future looks grim“. The report details what MFAT believes Kiwis should know about risks to NZ’s security, and that conflict in our region ‘could occur’. According to the report the globe is experiencing “heightened strategic tensions and considerable levels of disruption and risk“, with New Zealand just as affected as others due to its interconnectedness, the changing nature of the Pacific and the evolution of new threats. Grim reading indeed!
All of this on top of the disruptions we have faced through pandemics, weather events, political unrest and the impact of rising interest rates and housing (un)affordability! It really is a bit overwhelming.
As if that’s not enough, in education there’s yet another avalanche of disruption and change being experienced as a result of declining achievement in key areas, the introduction of a new curriculum, changes in assessment practices, changes in PLD allocations plus ongoing issues with truancy and low levels of learner engagement – just to name a few.
No wonder educators are feeling overwhelmed and looking to other career options. According to NZ’s Newshub teachers are leaving in droves currently. And not just in New Zealand. The USA Today reports that the number of teachers quitting has hit a new high, with one teacher quoted as saying ‘I just found myself struggling to keep up’.
Understanding the perceptions teachers have about all of this was the focus of a recent FutureMakers report titled Roadblocks and Drivers, which provides an analysis of the responses received through submissions to an online survey posted on the FutureMakers website in early 2023. The analysis reveals a comprehensive list of perceived drivers and roadblocks in our system, highlighting a range of complex and interconnected issues. The most prevalent challenges reported include:
initiative overload leading to fatigue and lack of follow-through
inadequate resources in terms of staffing and funding,
resistance to change driven by a focus on tradition, and
difficulties related to leadership, such as vision deficits and poor communication.
One word that sums up the feeling across all of the responses received is overwhelm. While it’s true to say that the notion of overwhelm has been impacting many for a number. of years now, the evidence in the survey analysis reinforces the view of may others that the level of change and disruption being faced in our profession (and society) is escalating rapidly, and is also becoming increasing diverse – impacting us on many fronts.
The survey responses paint a picture of teachers who are facing an increasingly challenging and overwhelming environment in schools. They are bombarded with a multitude of new initiatives and requirements, not giving them time to reflect or renew their energies. They are also overwhelmed by the constantly changing demands from parents and communities, and the evolving behaviours and learning needs of their students. This overwhelming situation can lead to a sense of paralysis within the education system.
This sense of overwhelm is captured in the following from one respondent:
“It’s just too busy. There never seems to be enough time to do the day to day job as well as learn new and better ways. When under pressure, we often revert to old ways. Teachers don’t fully adopt new ways because they don’t really understand the why and how….and they don’t get a chance to spend time on these. Usually they do want to do things better, but get caught up in their day to day work and have no capacity for more.”
Some respondents referred to the notion of ‘burden’ – the sense that everything is being added to what they are already doing, and that there really needs to be a ’letting go’ of things that they are already doing in order to create space and have the freedom to change. Others raised concerns over change initiatives occurring on multiple fronts of activity, often overlapping or causing conflict.
Addressing this level of ‘overwhelm’ must surely have to be a key focus of our system leaders you would think. But what we see at present appears to be even more layers of disruption and change being imposed – most of it appearing as a re-hash of previously tried (and failed) approaches. As Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!” My concern is that Continuing to do what we’ve always done and expecting better results is not only a sign of insanity, it is depriving our young people of their future!
Continuing to do what we’ve always done and expecting better results is not only a sign of insanity, it is depriving our young people of their future.
Fortunately the survey responses weren’t all negative. There were some useful suggestions provided in the responses, offering some ways to address the issue of ‘overwhelm’ including:
Streamline initiatives and requirements: Rather than overwhelming teachers with a constant influx of changes, focus on implementing a few well-thought-out initiatives that have a proven track record of effectiveness.
Provide targeted professional development and support: This may include mentoring, coaching and wellbeing programmes to provide guidance and help teachers cope with the demands they face.
Foster more collaboration: This reduces the burden on individual teachers and allows them to leverage collective knowledge and support.
Prioritise well-being and work-life balance: Provide resources and support for managing stress and burnout. Encourage schools to adopt policies that promote reasonable workloads and create opportunities for self-care and rejuvenation.
Engage stakeholders in decision-making: When stakeholders feel heard and valued, it can reduce the sense of overwhelm and foster a sense of ownership and collective responsibility.
Research and evidence-based practices: Ensure that initiatives, requirements, and interventions are based on sound research and evidence. Avoid adopting trends or fads without a solid foundation.
Advocate for systemic change: We must recognise that the sense of ‘overwhelm’ experienced by teachers may be indicative of broader systemic issues within the education system.
None of the things on this list will come as a surprise. In fact, I’d recognise most as being the things I observe in the practice of some of our more effective school leaders as they provide leadership for their staff and communities through these times of change.
In times of crisis and overwhelm one would look to the leadership at a system level and in our schools for a strong and robust response, but it would seem that this sort of practice is not uniformly experienced. This may have something to do with the quality and experience (or lack of) of our current school leadership.
Sure, there’s always the exception to the rule, the outstanding individual who has been well mentored and understands intuitively what to do when faced with complex issues or a crisis event, but they are a small minority. Good leadership becomes great on the basis of experience – in the same way a good athlete becomes great through putting in the ‘hard yards’ of training in all circumstances.
One thing is for certain – there is no returning to the (imagined) stable state of what we experienced in the past. Research suggests that this is a sign of an inexperienced leader – that when the chips are down they resort to using strategies they remember having experienced, and not the sorts of things that evidence is suggesting need to be employed in a VUCA world. We see evidence of this on a daily basis it seems, particularly right at the moment as the political parties are putting forth their ‘solutions’ for what they see as a failing system. These are yet more examples of what I wrote about in a previous post listing signs of system and organisational distress.
What can leaders do?
Two thoughts as suggestions occur to me. There’s no silver bullet here, but we can take responsibility for the things that fall within our locus of control, so here they are:
Start by acknowledging that the sense of ‘overwhelm’ that your staff and community may be feeling is a natural response to the pressures they may be feeling from the continual barrage of change initiatives and demands that come with that. It isn’t their fault or a sign of weakness. But it can be addressed.
Next, make time for your own personal reflection and become self-aware as a leader. The minute you find yourself falling back into the ‘old ways’ or defending actions that are indefensible, stop! Seek support, seek guidance and seek the assistance from those who can help you work through what you need to do with a fresh set of eyes.
Then, determine to do something to address this. The list of actions above provide a pretty useful starting point. Read each carefully and consider how you could take some positive steps to make this a reality in your context. Don’t waste valuable time trying to create a comprehensive plan that has everything covered before you start – just do it, reflect often and change as required. If you can’t think of anything, don’t give up – seek the counsel of a wise colleague, listen to what they have to say. And make time for some professional reading as a way of understanding what successful leaders are doing in other contexts.
Finally, understand that the pace of change that we’re currently experiencing isn’t likely to ease, and that our traditional ways of managing change are simply not fast enough or effective enough to keep up, let alone get ahead of the situation. We have to do things differently – starting with letting go of some of our sacred cows of management (e.g. complex bureaucracies, top-down management, positional authority, organisational silos, KPI-driven performance etc.) and be prepared to embrace experimentation, risk taking and learn from failures. Look to release staff to pursue short-cycle experiments that empower them to discover new ways of working where the old ones aren’t. But make sure as you’re doing this, you have a clear eye on the horizon, and are mission-led in your leadership style, and not tangled down in the weeds.
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This paper provides an analysis of the responses received through submissions to an online survey posted on the FutureMakers website in early 2023. An initial attempt to design a survey featuring questions with multi-choice responses was abandoned in preference of a simple survey asking two open ended questions about change in education:
What’s driving change? – list or describe the things you can think of that are currently driving change in education? Be specific, think of things in your own context that are impacting the way you and your organisation are working.
What are the roadblocks? – list or describe the things you consider are roadblocks to change – e.g. the things that inhibit or slow change down, the things that make change difficult, that cause change efforts to deviate or stop altogether.
The dataset reveals a comprehensive list of perceived drivers and roadblocks in the New Zealand education system, indicating complex and interconnected issues. The most prevalent challenges include initiative overload leading to fatigue and lack of follow-through, inadequate resources in terms of staffing and funding, resistance to change driven by a focus on tradition, and difficulties related to leadership, such as vision deficits and poor communication.
All of the work that is done to develop these resources and to maintain the information on the FutureMakers website (including Derek’s Blog) is my contribution to support fellow educators.
If you have found this resource or others in the series valuable in the work you do I invite you to help this work to continue and reach more people.
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The article quotes NZEI Te Riu Roa president Mark Potter who says; “… it’s clear that New Zealand has an imminent problem with a shortage of school leadership. Even new leaders in the profession are facing burn out and ultimately, it’s the children who will suffer if we can’t attract people to the role and retain them.“
I was particularly captured by the use of the word ‘crisis’, not so much in the headline as that’s the sort of thing you expect from a media release – but in the title of the summit itself. From my experience the government, MoE and education agencies generally avoid using the term ‘crisis’ because of the inevitable door it opens for criticism, blame and fear mongering among those who have an axe to grind or who are seeking to promote their own agendas. Given the Miriam Dictionary definition at the head of this post however, I think that the word may perhaps be appropriately used here.
Which brings me then to the purpose of the gathering held in Wellington that is referred to in the newspaper article. In my Twitter feed I noted the following from a principal travelling to attend the event:
The principal appears optimistic about what may be achieved at the event. He notes that “we have admired the problem, talked the problem, worked around the problem...” before calling for concrete solutions – not surprising in a crisis situation.
I think a large number of people would agree. We have spent a lot of time debating, future-gazing, analysing etc., but all too frequently, fail to identify any actions of a significant or strategic nature that are actually actionable or followed through (another sign of failing leadership).
So what are the chances of this event achieving anything different? I guess I’m not as optimistic as my principal colleague. I’m not saying this simply to be cynical, rather, it’s my observation borne out of a number of years of experience both in participating in problem-solving and strategic fore-sight events and in facilitating them.
To clarify, here’s what I’m thinking…
There is indeed an education leadership crisis – and it exists across all levels of the system, from the offices of the Ministry of Education down to the principals in schools and even further, to the teachers-as-leaders in classrooms. Successive decades of a neo-liberal approach to how our system operates has seen significant emphasis on accountability based on assumptions about the intrinsic leadership capability of those appointed to leadership roles.
This has created a climate of competition, blame and punishment for underperformance, when what is desirable is a positive focus on building, nurturing and sustaining the qualities of good leadership in our leaders. In other words, if we want good leadership we must be focused on what that looks like and invest in what’s required to achieve that.
The problem is ill-defined. – One of the things that makes me wonder how effective this event will be over others that have been held in the past is the impression gained from reading through everything available to me (and remember, I didn’t attend or receive and invitation to attend which may have had further information available). All of the material I see, including on the NZEI website, focuses on the identification of solutions to be put in place. According the survey of principals quoted, these involve the provision of more teaching staff, more management staffing, and increased access to specialists for children with additional needs. What I don’t see is a deep analysis of the issues, concerns and problems that can then be approached in a more strategic and disciplined way.
This sort of approach is exactly what leads to inaction. We’ve all experienced it. It can feel great, at the time, to be able to give voice to the frustrations we are feeling, and even better when in an environment where we hear others saying similar things to us, and better still, when someone with positional leadership (in this case the Minister of Education) is there to share in the conversation. But as valuable as that may be, it is a classic case of the ‘externalisation‘ of the problem. By that I mean we project onto ‘them’ the things we feel need to happen, and, having voiced our concerns, leave the meeting feeling it’s now ‘their’ responsibility to get on and use what we’ve told ‘them’ to fix it.
The answers lie within – always. – in a recent blog post I referred to the concept of ‘clarity’ as a foundational attribute for an effective, transformative leader. I referenced the work of Shawn Ginwright who I met earlier this year in the US, and whose work has significantly impacted my perspective on the personal qualities required of each of us as leaders. Dr Ginwright coined the term ‘mirror work’ to describe a commitment to self-reflection and truth telling (to ourselves) about ourselves and our performance.
Clarity comes when we shed all of the barriers, confusion, distractions, indulgences and excuses that get in the way of what we really want. Without this clarity we struggle in a cloud of confusion, distraction and ambiguity. We end up feeling overwhelmed and delay important decisions and procrastinate on tasks. We fail to recognise that we, and the systems, traditions and expectations we hold so tightly to, may actually be a key part of the problem that we are busy externalising for others to take responsibility for.
My point here is that no matter how well intentioned the gathering of affected people might be, it can only really serve as a forum for expressing concerns and sharing grievances. Without the mirror work and personal clarity described by Ginwright, it’s unlikely there’ll be any ownership of the fact that a part of the problem exists in the room.
It’s difficult to lead if you don’t know why! – Clarity is tied also to our sense of purpose. When we are unclear and vague, we can simply cannot practice transformative leadership because we lose sight of our destination. This is compounded when that sense of purpose is something that is missing from our corporate understanding. I see this as a particular issue in our education system today. After years of reform efforts and the introduction of different regimes or point solutions, I’d argue that we’ve lost sight of the purpose we have for our education system.
If you asked any group of educators to explain what the purpose (i.e. our ‘why’, our aspiration) of the NZ education system is I’d wager you’d get as many different answers as there are people you asked. This could be difficult if they were all from one school. There are many schools that have done an excellent job of defining their ‘why’ and regularly referencing this with staff and the community – but there’s no real evidence of a common sense of purpose for the whole of our system.
I realise now that there’ll be a number of people who will defensively point me to statements that exist on different websites – but of that’s the case, why do so many educators struggle to recall these, and why don’t we see our system leaders more regularly in the media inspiring us to work together towards these aspirational goals?
We lack change literacy – Simply put, we don’t understand how to lead change, or even how to lead in a time of change. in a conversation with a colleague this afternoon we were discussing the qualities of principalship, and what is required to operate effectively as an education leader in today’s world. My response was change literacy (to add yet another term to our lexicon of educational jargon). My reason for this is that we live in a VUCA world, where change is the constant and the idea of achieving again the ‘stable state‘ is simply not possible.
In education we’re constantly bombarded with change, usually imposed change, change that we’re expected to implement or take responsibility for – be it change in curriculum, health and safety demands, roll growth, change in pedagogical practices for literacy etc. We all assume that those who are mandating the have a valid reason for it, and that it will produce the anticipated results – eventually in terms of outcomes for learners as they are or should be at the peak of our education value chain.
Too often we end up implementing point solutions in response to the problems we face (such as those identified by the NZEI principals above) and while not arguing the merit of these as possible solutions, we fail to understand or align these things with a theory of change that has been developed to demonstrate the causal links (or intervention logic) between the particular intervention (or ‘solution’) and our overall goals for our education system.
Not sure. if this is helpful or clarifying, but it’s certainly been a useful exercise teasing out what I’m thinking. It’s not meant to disrespect any of those who are putting in tireless hours to support their colleagues, or to those who have given up a day to address the concerns they share – I only hope that somewhere in the mix there is the will, the expertise and the commitment to address some (all?) of the things I’ve reflected on here to help us move from a position of suggesting solutions to a where we might achieve a truly transformative set of actions that will genuinely change how we work as a system, how we serve those learners in our schools and classrooms and ultimately, how all of this will contribute to a equitable and thriving future for Aotearoa/New Zealand. You can count me in on that!
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It’s not everyone who gets the opportunity to be part of a ‘start-up’ that grows to employing more than 250 inspiring people located across the country, then stand aside to watch it being led into an exciting new future by a new team of leaders. I feel very privileged that I have had that experience!
This week marks 20 years since the official launch of CORE Education in Christchurch and I’ve been privileged to receive emails from a number of educators who have worked for or with CORE over those years, reminding me of this fact!
A couple of years prior to March, 2003, Nick Billowes and I had been in conversation with Stephen Heppell from Ultralab in the UK, together dreaming of what we could achieve by setting up a ‘sister’ organisation to Ultralab UK here in NZ. We were joined soon after those initial conversations by our colleague, Dr Vince Ham, and these dreams began to take shape as we then worked with the Canterbury Development Corporation to establish what was originally UltralabNZ, then to become CORE Education. Ali Hughes joined us soon after we’d started and became the perfect complement to our spread of skills and background in education.
Reflecting back I came across the proposal we submitted to the CDC and UltralabUK – here are some extracts:
The development of Ultralab NZ will be through the formation of a Trust where the interested parties (Ultralab UK and Canterbury Development Council, CDC) will act as trustees as set out below and will move to set in place a management structure as described to ensure the running of Ultralab NZ conforms to the proposed management plan.
The development of the Lab will take account of the fundamental mission to act regionally to facilitate “learning with, by and through technology and through research opportunities to assist in developing educational pedagogy and practice.
Ultralab NZ will actively develop programmes in professional development (UltraPD), research and development (UltraResearch), resource and programme development in new media (UltraResource), enterprise and innovation development (UltraInnovate) and establish a Fellowship programme that will reach regionally into both education and industry for a wide range of research and development projects (UltraFellowship)
Through collaborative and collegial development of the potential of learners internationally, we will assist in the creation of a wider understanding between and within nations and provide for the needs and desires of all learners to have their learning needs met in individualized and effective ways that engage a desire for life long learning and understanding. The key words that define the operation of the Lab will be “Learning, Technology, and Research”. These will form the litmus test for the development of all programmes within Ultralab NZ
From Proposal submitted to CDC, 17 April, 2002
Reflecting back, this was a pretty lofty ambition, and I would venture to suggest, at that time none of us were entirely sure of just how we would achieve it, but time has demonstrated that, to a fairly large extent, we have done so, and, with the support of a great number of people, managed to drive towards our goals, having a positive impact on teachers, schools and the education system here in NZ along the way.
As I think back to what it was that made this organisation such a joy to work for and with, experiencing lots of successes along the way (along with a few failures :-), there are two things that stand out for me. These weren’t just things that happened accidentally – we identified them as foundational to what we wanted to achieve and how we wanted to achieve it right from the start – as recorded in that early proposal document and others. Those two things are:
1. Being clear about our purpose
It should be no surprise to see this one here – we worked hard on this for over a year, gradually re-shaping and refining what we thought to be important and how we’d articulate this to the world 🙂 What started as a 3-4 page document was eventually whittled down into a simple phrase that stood the test of time for at least the first 15 years of CORE’s existence:
“Pushing the Boundaries of Educational Possibility”
This mission statement focused our minds on our purpose as it encapsulated everything we agreed would be our business moving forward:
Pushing – we didn’t want to be just another organisation doing what everyone else did. We wanted to become known for being future focused, and for acting in a way that took ourselves and the educators we work with out of their comfort zone, to become used to working in the unfamiliar, and for being risk takers rather than risk averse.
Boundaries – meant that we had to have a really good grasp of what those boundaries are/were – which is why our emphasis on research-informed practice was so important. Involved understanding the past in order to challenge the future, and being aware of the interconnectedness of the education ecosystem to be understand the impact of actions at one point on another.
Education – this was our domain. It’s what we understood and were familiar with. It is where our passion lay – for transforming things so that the experience of everyone was ‘fit for purpose’ in our rapidly changing and evolving world. A relentless focus on learning – for teachers and students – lay at the heart of this, not as vessels to be filled, but as fires to be lit!
Possibilities – we were motivated by wanting to explore the new and emerging horizons for education – leading us to publish the annual ten trends, and to engage in the complex issues of becoming Te Tiriti honouring in the way we worked (and ultimately, how we were structured) and with becoming more inclusive, leading in areas of Universal Design for Learning, and in working alongside numerous cultural and other groups in society.
This mission statement is something of a personal mission for me – which is why, when I stood aside from CORE, I established FutureMakers, which is committed to supporting and promoting a future-focused view of education. I acknowledge, though, that for CORE, the journey is now taking a slightly different tack – championing the goal of equity across all areas of our education system. This, for me, is an exciting development for an organisation led now by those with a passion for this area, and a clear vision for what needs to be achieved.
2. Being intentional about building an inclusive culture
The second thing I believe we managed to get fairly right was an unrelenting focus on developing the internal culture of the organisation. Without the support of a highly skilled and knowledgeable staff who were as passionate as we were about our mission, we knew we wouldn’t succeed.
In those early years in particular we were very focused on ensuring we created a culture where everyone felt they could participate in the decision making, and where they could bring new ideas to the table to be considered. We had regular ‘whole staff meetings’ online, with people from all over NZ, experimenting with all sorts of emerging software to get us there long before we had skype, zoom or Teams to help us.
Our conferences were another key part of this intentionality. The Learning@School and ULearn conferences became places that not only teachers would want to come, but we made sure we could get as many of our staff there as well – not just because we needed their help to run the event, but because it was an opportunity to gather physically together and to experience in person the relationships we tried so hard to establish among our staff, with our schools and with the many businesses that supported a lot of what schools were doing.
We held whole staff ‘retreats’ on a semi-regular basis, and made sure these were times where we could enjoy being the ‘people of CORE’, but where there was a huge emphasis on participating in developing innovative ideas for taking us into the future. We endeavoured to operate a ‘flat’ as possible when it came to leadership and management, providing teams with permission to manage their own projects, and doing what we could to support and develop those who showed a particular flair for leading in areas of innovative thought and action.
For some years, as we grew, we saw very few people leave the organisation to take up roles elsewhere. After time, the experience at CORE became a stepping stone for a number of people, with their future employers recognising the value of the experience they’d had in our organisation. For a while it became commonly said that ‘you never leave CORE, they just stop paying you!”
Of course, 20 years is a pretty long time – half of a working career – and in that time lots has changed. I write here with rose-coloured spectacles, I know, but I’m pretty confident that for so many of those I’ve worked alongside at CORE, the things I’ve written about here would resonate.
The privilege of contributing to the establishment of this wonderful organisation will remain one of the high points of my career. Having stepped aside four years ago to allow a new team of (younger!) leaders to take the organisation forward, I can now only watch with pride as the organisation sets a new course to address the things that are topical and demanding attention as we progress further into the 21st Century. I wish Hana O’Regan and her team all the best as they do so – and wish CORE a very happy 20th birthday!
I’m looking forward to catching up with lots of those old friends (and new) at ULearn23 in Manukau, Tāmaki Makaurau from 4-6 October this year! Why not come and join the celebration.
[This post is dedicated to all of those who have worked for or been connected with CORE over the past 20 years. Your passion, focus and commitment has helped serve teachers, schools, kura and EY centres in inspiring and future-focused ways.]
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“Just as genetic recombination increases diversity by producing new forms of DNA, so too education recombination promises to bolster the learning ecosystem’s resilience, helping it withstand threats and make use of possibilities”
These workshops provided a refreshingly different perspective on how we might address the challenges we are facing – by applying research-based design principles to enable schools to evolve into the future. More than ever we need to be looking out to the sign-posts that might guide us towards a future state that will ensure our young people can thrive in the future.
In my view the ‘back to basics’ political debates about the future of education in New Zealand are sadly lacking in thinking at a transformational level. So much is simply a re-hash of failed strategies of the past, or focusing narrowly on the ‘micro’ aspects of teaching and learning to ‘fix’ key problem areas such as lowering literacy and numeracy achievement, while side-stepping the ‘macro’ issues and to look at the bigger questions around what we’re trying to achieve in our education system in the first place, and whether our current approach remains fit for purpose?
The need to focus on our purpose was central to everything Valerie shared during these days. In her previous book, Thrive, Hannon advocates a new purpose for education in a rapidly changing world, and analyses the reasons why change is urgently needed in our education systems. In her paper with Tony McKay, she argues that that a new form of leadership is urgently needed to reshape our educational systems in a post-Covid environment. Hannon and McKay argue it is clear that leadership in education is entering a new phase. They say..
Leadership is more important than ever, but is faced with profound challenges: the legacy of health-related disruption; unacceptable and unsustainable growth in inequality; mental health problems amongst learners and teachers; leadership burnout; and difficulties in recruitment. At the same time, the rapid development of convergent technologies and the awakening of new sensibilities, taken together with new sources of power, offer the most astounding opportunities for humankind – if only we can grasp them.
Reflecting on the conversations that were had at the EPIT event reminds me that the future is not a fixed point – it is ours to create! But this doesn’t happen by simply sitting by and hoping. As Valerie encouraged us, we need to be actively scanning the environment for the trends and disruptions that are likely to influence that future, and then act accordingly – something I’ve addressed elsewhere with my Empty Seats and Environment Scan publications.
I’ve been very drawn to the notion of an ‘ecosystem’ design for education for many years now – something that Valerie has also provided strong thought leadership about through her work as co-chair of the Global Education Leaders Partnership (GELP) of which I’m a member. For me, this sort of thinking – that maps and values all of the players and influences on our education system – is where we must start if we’re to succeed with transforming it. We can no longer be satisfied with simply looking at things in silos, and attempting to provide point solutions for the things we observe to be needing support.
Over a decade ago, KnowledgeWorks his relatively short publication from KnowledgeWorks titled Recombinant Education, providing a really useful breakdown and forecast of five disruptions that the authors predicted would reshape learning over the next decade. Like the work of Hannon and McKay, it summarises the challenge (emphasis mine):
An explosion of innovation has been transforming how we think about learning and how we organize talent and resources for learning experiences and has effectively unbundled “school” as we knew it. The tightly bound relationships and resource flows that used to deliver instruction, develop curriculum, perform assessment, grant credentials, and provide professional development are dissolving. Teaching and learning have become uncoupled from traditional educational institutions and are now available through and enhanced by a vibrant learning ecosystem.
What captured my attention here was the word in the title – Recombinant. If teaching and learning has truly become ‘uncoupled’ in the way they suggest, then the idea of somehow re-combining this myriad of new education innovations, organizations, resources and relationships in new sequences to create a diverse and evolving learning ecosystem.
This piece from the paper’s introduction puts it well:
At its best, recombinant education will discover diverse organizational forms and learning formats that find many ways to integrate talent, community assets, and global resources in support of student-centered learning. New ways of reassembling what seem like disparate pieces — and of incorporating new kinds of inputs — have the potential to usher in a world of learning that provides rich personalization for every learner throughout a lifetime.
The paper outlines five disruptions that the authors predict will impact our education system over the following decade – and considering this paper was published a decade ago, it’s worth reading today with the benefit of hindsight and consider the extent to which these disruptions have in fact occurred, and, how important it is that we continue to press forward to the a ‘regenerated ecosystem’.
I recommend you read the paper and consider in particular, the opportunities and challenges that are highlighted on the pages that detail each of the disruptions identified. Each resonates powerfully with what’s impacting our system right now, and the imperative to act hasn’t diminished.
The impact of COVID and the extreme weather events here in New Zealand and in other parts of the world (neither of which were a ‘thing’ when this paper was written) are examples of disruptions that have caused major disruption to our education system. They have exposed the vulnerability of schools as isolated entities, and an education system that operates in its own silo of activity. To achieve a ‘future state’ that is resilient and capable of responding to future disruptions, we have to do better at implementing an ecosystem response as suggested by Knowledgeworks, Hannon & McKay and others.
Bottom line is this – we have a choice to make. As disruption continues to impact our education system, are we prepared to make the tough calls and make the significant and bold steps required to operate as an ecosystem? Or will we continue to shift the deck-chairs on the titanic and put our faith in yet more cycles of ‘back to basics’ campaigns that will continue to fail our kids and their future?
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REVISED VERSION AVAILABLE – after several requests from and conversations with educators following the release of the original paper in January 2023, I have revised the document to include the topic of extreme weather events and natural disasters as another area to be considered as we plan strategically to make our schools more resilient in the face of disruption.
What if the disruption we experienced in 2022 continues into 2023? What if there are more of those empty seats? Will we cope?
This paper identifies six key areas of strategic focus for schools striving for resilience in their day to day operation. These ‘signals’ provide an opportunity to consider the scenarios that may play out if one or more of them were to eventuate.
A basic risk assessment framework is used to assist educators to consider the challenges they may face in 2023, and provides some practical steps to plan for how these might be addressed. Whether it is none, one or even all of these things that eventuate, it is our responsibility as educational leaders is to ensure our learners can continue with their learning with the least amount of disruption or disadvantage – not just for our students, but for our teachers as well.
This paper provides a toolbox approach with practical activities designed to guide whole staff and/or community gatherings through the process of determining the appropriate steps to take in your context.
The video below provides a brief introduction and a download link for the full document follows that.
All of the work that is done to develop these resources and to maintain the information on the FutureMakers website (including Derek’s Blog) is my contribution to support fellow educators.
If you have found this resource or others in the series valuable in the work you do I invite you to help this work to continue and reach more people.
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Your feedback is invaluable – firstly, as encouragement that there is actually someone reading and using this material, and second, it helps inform the development and refinement of further work. I always welcome feedback on how you’ve used this material in your context, or suggestions about what could be developed in the future. Simply send an email to derek@futuremakers.nz
FutureMakers is working collaboratively with the Transcend Educational Network to facilitate an online community for those involved in or keen to learn about building resilient schools. The purpose of this community is to foster and develop global conversations, engage in professional conversations and share futures thinking within Aotearoa NZ as well as International communities in the conversations. Join the community here: https://futuremakers.nz/building-resilient-schools-community/
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What if 2023 is more disrupted than 2022? What if there are more of these empty desks? Would we be prepared?
Most who know me regard me as an optimist, someone who looks on the ‘bright side’ of things. Certainly, throughout my career I have had the privilege of being involved in a wide range of innovative and ‘hope-bringing’ initiatives. Some may say it’s a result of how I’m wired, and there’s bound to be truth in that. But another reason is that I’ve always had a fascination with emerging ideas and innovations, and have always been scanning the environment to keep abreast of trends and new thinking. – so my actions have generally been inspired or motivated by the things I see coming.
Right now, however, my sense of optimism is feeling ‘dented’. This time last year I wrote a blog post in which I outlined my concerns about the difficulties I foresaw in the coming year (2022), and introduced a paper titled Resilience Planning for Schools which outlined a series of things I believed schools could and should be considering in order to cope with the disruption that I believed we’d experience in 2022. At that time I was becoming agitated by what I perceived as a lack of real engagement with what so many ‘signals’ were saying, and a lack of forward planning based on the sort future they foretold.
Fast forward to February 2022 and suddenly these things began to impact schools and classroom teachers. My resources on resilience planning and hybrid learning were downloaded hundreds of times, the MoE began providing 25 hours of PLD for schools to prepare themselves for hybrid learning, various webinars and forums were established to share ideas and the MoE also added a section with advice on hybrid learning on their learning from home website.
Then, just as quickly as the interest in hybrid learning ramped up, by the second half of the year it waned, to the point that, by the end of the year it’s now hardly mentioned. In fact, in speaking to many of my friends who are parents and grandparents of tamariki in schools, the end of year messaging appears to have focused on the expectation that things will be able to ‘return to normal’ next year.
But what if that’s not the case? What if we’re failing to look up (again) and some of these signals actually manifest in more disruption in 2023? How prepared are we as educators, as schools and as a system to avoid this taking us by surprise? What strategies and approaches have we developed during 2022 that will ensure our resilience under such circumstances?
In the table below I’ve selected just a few of the things I’ve been reading about and pondering their possible impact on schools in the 2023 school year…
Now, I’m not wanting to paint a ‘doom and gloom’ picture at all here. We can be certain of none of these things, and the optimist in me hopes for the best. However, it’s a bit like making plans for the Summer camping trip. I always consult the weather forecast – both short term and long term, and consider the options that are presented from the forecasting modelling that is carried out. On that basis I go prepared for the conditions that I may encounter.
That’s what my plea is here. It may be that only some, none – or all, of these signals manifest themselves in 2023. But our responsibility as educational leaders is to ensure our learners can continue with their learning with the least amount of disruption or disadvantage. And the same applies to our teachers.
So there it is, my reflection here is; “have we fully taken advantage of the opportunity we had in 2022 to develop the levels of resilience in our schools and system to be able to withstand another year of disruption in 2023?” I fear not.
Of course, there have been many initiatives taken by schools around the motu, some of which have been documented on the MoE’s Learning From Home website, as well as the schools such as those in the Manaiakalani network which have been using digital technologies to enable seamless home-school learning for some years now. More recently I’ve had the privilege of working alongside a fabulous group of teachers who have explored a range of innovative ways to connect learners with their learning regardless of location which have just been published on the Tai Tokerau Hybrid learning Project website.
Despite all of this, I remain concerned about the lack of any real movement forward as a system to engage with the level of transformed thinking required to ensure the degree of resilience required. Sadly, with an election year coming up, it’s likely that many of these concerns, as legitimate as they are, will become weaponised as individuals and political parties appeal for support for their particular ideologies.
Rather than succumb to this, let’s build on the great work already done and the success stories we have access to – in NZ and internationally. There’s so much that individual schools can do to build a resilient approach and I encourage school leaders to embrace this challenge as they head away to a well-deserved break. Otherwise it’ll be my grandkids who again are left to ‘catch up’ as if it’s their fault there’s been such a lack of continuity in their learning.
For holiday reading I’ve listed below the resources that many schools found helpful in the early part of 2022 – perhaps they’ll be found useful again. In particular I’d recommend the one titled Being Resilient: Characteristics of Resilient Schools as a useful start point for conversations with your staff at the beginning of the 2023 school year, to evaluate how well your school, your systems and processes etc, are designed to meet this challenge.
Simply click on the image below to access the resource, or visit my Hybrid Learning page where these and other resources are linked.
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The Learning Environments Australasia Executive Committee has received a lot of positive feedback, which is greatly due to your wealth of knowledge and information you imparted on our large audience, your presentation has inspired a range of educators, architects and facility planners and for this we are grateful.
Daniel SmithChair Learning Environments Australasia
Derek and Maurie complement each other well and have the same drive and passion for a future education system that is so worthwhile being part of. Their presentation and facilitation is at the same time friendly and personal while still incredibly professional. I am truly grateful to have had this experience alongside amazing passionate educators and am inspired to re visit all aspects of my leadership. I have a renewed passion for our work as educational leaders.
Karyn GrayPrincipal, Raphael House Rudolf Steiner
I was in desperate need of a programme like this. This gave me the opportunity to participate in a transformative journey of professional learning and wellbeing, where I rediscovered my passion, reignited my purpose, and reconnected with my vision for leading in education. Together, we got to nurture not just academic excellence, but also the holistic wellbeing of our school communities. Because when we thrive, so does the entire educational ecosystem.
Tara QuinneyPrincipal, St Peter's College, Gore
Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus is the perfect title for this professional development. It does just that. A fantastic retreat, space to think, relax and start to reconnect. Derek and Maurie deliver a balance of knowledge and questioning that gives you time to think about your leadership and where to next. Both facilitators have the experience, understanding, connection and passion for education, this has inspired me to really look at the why for me!
Jan McDonaldPrincipal, Birkdale North School
Engaged, passionate, well informed facilitators who seamlessly worked together to deliver and outstanding programme of thought provoking leadership learning.
Dyane StokesPrincipal, Paparoa Street School
A useful and timely call to action. A great chance to slow down, reflect on what really drives you, and refocus on how to get there. Wonderful conversations, great connections, positive pathways forward.
Ursula CunninghamPrincipal, Amesbury School
RRR is a standout for quality professional learning for Principals. Having been an education PLD junkie for 40 years I have never before attended a programme that has challenged me as much because of its rigor, has satisfied me as much because of its depth or excited me as much because of realising my capacity to lead change. Derek and Maurie are truly inspiring pedagogical, authentic leadership experts who generously and expertly share their passion, wisdom and skills to help Principal's to focus on what is important in schools and be the best leader they can be.
Cindy SullivanPrincipal, Kaipara College
Derek Wenmoth is brilliant. Derek connects powerful ideas forecasting the future of learning to re-imagine education and create resources for future-focused practices and policies to drive change. His work provides guidance and tools for shifting to new learning ecosystems through innovations with a focus on purpose, equity, learner agency, and lifelong learning. His work is comprehensive and brings together research and best practices to advance the future of teaching and learning. His passion, commitment to innovation for equity and the range of practical, policy and strategic advice are exceptional.
Susan Patrick, CEO, Aurora Institute
I asked Derek to work with our teachers to reenergise our team back into our journey towards our vision after the two years of being in and out of 'Covid-ness'. Teachers reported positively about the day with Derek, commenting on how affirmed they felt that our vision is future focused. Teachers expressed excitement with their new learning towards the vision, and I've noticed a palpable energy since the day. Derek also started preparing our thinking for hybrid learning, helping us all to feel a sense of creativity rather than uncertainty. The leadership team is keen to see him return!
Kate Christie | Principal | Cashmere Ave School
Derek has supported, informed and inspired a core group of our teachers to be effective leads in our college for NPDL. Derek’s PLD is expertly targeted to our needs.
Marion Lumley | Deputy Principal |Ōtaki College
What a task we set Derek - to facilitate a shared vision and strategy with our Board and the professional and admin teams (14 of us), during a Covid lockdown, using online technology. Derek’s expertise, skilled questioning, strategic facilitation and humour enabled us to work with creative energy for 6 hours using a range of well-timed online activities. He kept us focussed on creating and achieving a shared understanding of our future strategic plan. Derek’s future focussed skills combined with an understanding of strategy and the education sector made our follow up conversations invaluable. Furthermore, we will definitely look to engage Derek for future strategic planning work.
Sue Vaealiki, Chair of Stonefields Collaborative Trust
Our Principal PLG has worked with Derek several times now, and will continue to do so. Derek is essentially a master facilitator/mentor...bringing the right level of challenge, new ideas & research to deepen your thinking, but it comes with the level of support needed to feel engaged, enriched and empowered after working with him.
Gareth Sinton, Principal, Douglas Park School
Derek is a highly knowledgeable and inspirational professional learning provider that has been guiding our staff in the development of New Pedagogies’ for Deep Learning. His ability to gauge where staff are at and use this to guide next steps has been critical in seeing staff buy into this processes and have a strong desire to build in their professional practice.
