When you come in please :

1. When you come in please: • Form small groups with peers who have read the same reading/author (ideally in groups of 3-5), rearrange the desk as needed, and introduce yourselves! • Complete your profile (and upload a picture!) if you have not already done so. • Complete the survey (if you have not already done so). • Start a Google Doc in which you list: • the author/title you read • A few key issues/concepts/ideas from the readings that you think are particularly important for school designers to keep in mind • Any ideas/concepts etc. that you think need further clarification • One or two questions related to the readings or our recent discussions that you would like to discuss further (these do not have to be new questions, they can be questions that have already been listed)

2. Goals (weeks 2-6) • Develop a deeper understanding of why some things change and some things stay the same (and of some key concepts from the initial readings) • Begin to develop skills in analyzing policies, programs and improvement efforts • Gain some familiarity with the history of school reform Agenda • Introductions • Goals & Norms (“core” knowledge and “constructing” knowledge) • Reading discussions • Next week • Reflections

3. Norms/Expectations • Respect for people and diverse ideas, • Responsibility for preparing for class and for contributing regularly and constructively to activities and discussions (in class, outside of class, and online) • Willingness to share the responsibility for group work and to support and facilitate the participation of others • Regular and prompt attendance for class and for group meetings (in person and electronically) outside of class • Use of electronic devices in class and in meetings outside of class primarily for class-related work

4. Discussions, Core Knowledge & “Constructed” Knowledge The Goal: Enable students to develop some: • “core knowledge” – knowledge of the key terms, ideas, and perspectives of leading thinkers in educational change and improvement • “constructed knowledge” – deeper understanding of how to apply these terms and ideas in students’ own lives and work

5. Discussions, Core Knowledge & “Constructed” Knowledge A Problem: Independent reading usually isn’t sufficient to achieve these goals, but there is too much to read, too much to do, too little time for feedback/discussion & difficulty accessing relevant expertise of peers and instructors etc….

6. Discussions, Core Knowledge & “Constructed” Knowledge The Experiment/Design: Approach discussion groups as “working groups”, each responsible for exploring and then reporting back on key questions/issues of particular interest to participants and the group as a whole To support focus/progress and to help develop collective knowledge ask each group to produce and maintain a google doc with key quotes/ideas, questions for clarification, questions for further discussion, and brief discussion summaries.

7. Discussions, Core Knowledge & “Constructed” Knowledge The (Predictable) Problems: Still not enough time, too complicated, differences in opinion about what to discuss, differences in participation/interest levels; lack of support for facilitation…

8. Reading “working groups” 1. Please create a Google Doc in which you list: • the author/title you read • A few key issues/concepts/ideas from the readings that you think are particularly important for school designers to keep in mind • Any ideas/concepts etc. that you think need further clarification • One or two questions related to the readings or our recent discussions that you would like to discuss further (these do not have to be new questions, they can be questions that have already been listed) 2. Find one or two questions that you have in common (you can split your time between two questions , vote for which ones to address, or, if necessary, split into smaller groups to address them) 3. Produce a brief (2-3 sentence) summary of their discussion that addresses one (or more) of the questions they explored.

9. Sharing Ideal School Descriptions Find 2 people that you do not yet know well, introduce yourselves Read one another’s descriptions Note ideas that two or three of you have in common as well as those that only one person mentioned. Discuss why you thought these elements should be part of an “ideal” school? What sources/experiences did you draw on that led each of you to highlight these elements?

10. What is Change? When is Change Improvement? • Change, reform and improvement are not the same things • Change is subjective: Changes and “reforms” that one person sees as improvements can be seen as unwanted and unwelcome by others. • The readings reflects a dramatic shift from a classical, mechanistic understanding of change as something that people initiate and carry out – something we “implement” -- to something that is always happening around us – the economy is changing, people are changing, technology is changing, the world is changing – to which we have to adapt • Therefore, the change process is not just something you lead, it’s something you manage • Reform efforts often fail because we fail to understand the complexity of the change process and fail to recognize the difficulty of controlling the change process

11. “When we travel, when we allow ourselves to be taken somewhere, we can enter a frame of mind not dissimilar to the state of surrender that characterisesart, love, and religion. I remember speaking to an air-stewardess about this once. She told me that the more control people are used to exerting in their daily lives the less able they were to relax on take off: ‘The whitest knuckles are in business class’ was how she put it. Brian Eno

12. But If we can’t control the change process – and can’t control the development or transformation of a school – how can we design a school to increase the chances that the school develops in a positive direction? How can we increase the chances that changes lead to at least some improvements? READY, FIRE, AIM?