Key points:
Today's students must develop a broad and well-rounded body of knowledge. But if these are broken down into different specialties, we may not be able to develop the tools to integrate information and skills from different disciplines as we embark on careers we can't even imagine today. If we can engage in place-based education that goes beyond the industrial model and connects with communities beyond the school, teachers can still be experts, but they can also become facilitators who open doors to the world of their field and that of potential partners. of professionalism.
The industrial model has also put us out of touch with the human side of education. The increased focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) has led to efforts to bring back human touch, but educators must place this work at the core of what they do.
The Ulster Cooperative Education Services Board (BOCES) is addressing these issues by adopting the competency, or learning disposition, of deep learning. The original Deeper Learning Network was founded in 2010 by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation to serve as a source of innovation. The network of 10 schools serves more than 200,000 students through a mix of charter and traditional public schools across 41 states. Each network of schools has a unique approach to delivering deep learning with the common purpose of promoting better educational outcomes for young people. Deep learning leverages the uniqueness of each learner and creates profound experiences rooted in connections, relationships, and creativity.
Here's some advice on how this approach can transform our teaching and learning, and finding an entry point to this kind of work in your area.
Overcoming the challenges of school change
Embracing deeper learning poses the same challenges inherent in any school transformation. How will we prepare students for state assessments? Where can we find the time to reach out and collaborate with community partners? What happens if I don’t perform certain activities related to the assessment?
A school or district's values are most clearly expressed in its schedule and budget. If we have 8 periods per day and we decide that students need 6 subjects, lunch, and PE, what is the value statement here? So does that mean you need a shorter period to add an hour to your day? Does this mean training teachers to provide relationships and person-centered instruction one day a week, or does it mean asking subject matter teachers to spend a specific amount of time each week? Each of these solutions costs money, but if your relationships are important to us, we will find a way to build them on time and within budget.
After COVID-19 struck, district leaders realized students needed SEL more than ever and found creative ways to squeeze it into existing schedules. Schedule and budget.
The same goes for deeper learning. Something as important as school change cannot happen overnight. But every school and district has an entry point to do this in a way that students, teachers, and the community can understand.
Moving toward deeper learning in our district
Ulster BOCES began working on deeper learning 10 years ago with its partners at High Tech High. We focused on learning how to create an environment that supports the relationships that can be built between teachers and students. That's where the magic happens. In a school environment, teachers have the greatest and most direct influence on students.
The role of leadership is also important, and over time we began to think about the conditions under which excitement, experimentation, failure, and modification can occur. These conditions and the tendencies hidden behind them are the same for high school students and adult learners. Our leadership team began asking our members:
- What are the leadership moves we need to make to ensure teachers feel good about taking on this role and are prepared to design these kinds of experiences?
- Are we leading the way by modeling for teachers how students learn?
- Are we asking teachers to engage in the same process that we want to create in our classrooms?
In the fall of 2023, we held our first Superintendent's Conference, inviting all staff at Ulster BOCES, including management, food services, and clerical staff, to begin thinking together about protocols, structure, and equity. A foundational tendency toward deeper learning. The main theme of the day was Connection – revitalizing old connections and building new ones. It was an opportunity to think about who we are as an organization and where we want to go next. This involved acknowledging that we want to do things differently, while also highlighting all the amazing work we want to continue to do on our planet.
As we committed to deep learning, micro-moments of change began to occur across the district as individual teachers learned and took the plunge. In the case of institutional innovation, change often occurs in small pockets. Innovation can be a lonely place. It is our role as district leaders to sew those pockets into a quilt that we can all share.
Identifying Earth's Entry Points
Sometimes the starting point for change is as simple as shifting professional development opportunities to help teachers learn the way they want their students to learn.
In the specific case of deep learning, it's a good idea to get hands-on experience. This summer, Ulster BOCES will host Deeper Learning New York 2024 (#DLNY24), a conference designed to help school and district administrators explore entry points to this work and begin planning the next steps. Participants will have the opportunity to experience deeper learning from a student's perspective as they engage in interactive workshops, immerse themselves in deep dives, and attend dynamic den talks.
Student voices should also inform the form change takes. Before you begin, gather them together to talk about what they want to see and continue the conversation about their experiences as you begin to make changes. Ask how their experiences have changed, how their opportunities have changed, and what new possibilities they envision for the future.
Along the way, take a peek beyond the traditional industrial training system. High Tech High (HTH) has many resources and examples that demonstrate how powerful deep learning can be. No two school districts are exactly the same, and our entry point into this work, and consequently the new model we come up with, will vary accordingly. HTH is a leader in this work, but there are many other districts and schools across the country undergoing similar changes. If the HTH approach to deep learning does not fit the context of your district, find administrators who are interested in innovation in districts more similar to yours.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The point is continuous improvement towards more engaging, personal and equitable means of teaching and learning. Don't be afraid to explore along the way. Some regions are more advanced in certain areas than others, but we are all trying to solve the same problems. Together, we will build a borderless network to have these conversations. If you have a desire for change, let’s find out together what is possible.