21st Century Learning is a topic that still makes my head spin. The more I read, the more I discuss, the more I debate, the more I listen, and the more I watch, the wider the spinning circle grows. I chose a topic for this blog that I thought would fill all the needs of my Educational Assessment Course, I looked for the digital connections and tried to lay out a connected, intelligent sounding blog. What a disaster. So this is me, just going back to having a conversation about the journey I am on.
I went back to the reference graphic of Alberta's 21st Century Learner and found that collaboration and leadership are grouped together. The combination fascinates me, and it allows me to see a future for my students -- their love of debate and ownership is undeniable.
Alberta Ministry of Education
Why collaborative leadership?
How else are we going to model authentic situations for our students? They need to see us working together, not behind closed doors and in formal meetings, but in hallway conversations, shared teaching, shared learning, and shared curriculum development. I am becoming more and more comfortable with the realization that our students need to be a part of this collaboration and that our schools need to be communities that thrive on the collaborative efforts of their citizens.
Our world has always been changing but the current rate of change is not manageable if a person is isolated and problem solving in solitude. The very nature of the technological advances are rooted in social networking and in making collaboration across distances seamless and effortless. There is no doubt that the future of leadership lies in the understanding of collaborative efforts and in the relationships forged through mutual respect and acceptance.
Now the question becomes, what is collaborative leadership?
At first glance, they seem to be polar opposites. Collaborative paints a picture of people working together for a common goal, and leadership conjures pictures of sole heroes or dictators telling others what to do. I think the following videos give a good grounding in what collaborative leadership is and what it is not.
Creative Places + Spaces
The video would not embed, please take the time to connect to the link.
Creating Collaborative Leaders
This is my new goal. Our students need to understand that collaboration is not just an agreement on a goal or putting together different parts to make a whole. It is a philosophy and a way of thinking and doing. Although everyone has a stake in the outcome, there still need to be leaders within. These are people who are willing to ask the difficult questions and pose and the seemingly unsolvable problems. They are people who recognize the strengths and needs of others and work with them to accomplish group and individual goals. A collaborative leader respects others and values the ideas and work they bring to the group. Most importantly, a collaborative leader needs to be able to step aside while others take the lead. (Petersen, retrieved 05/21) Collaborative Cultures
This is not accomplished by hoping students are watching. It needs precision of thought, planning, implementation and dedication. Again, the students need to see it in action. They need to see their teachers working, talking, planning, teaching in collaboration with each other, their students, school administrators, parents and students. It also requires a purpose for leadership. I see that purpose (for my current school) in the building of community through citizenship.
Citizenship and Collaborative Leadership
Community connections are part of our school mandate. Our fundraising goes beyond our own school community and includes the wider area and nation. However, we are becoming steeped in negative, uncaring attitudes and a sense of "why bother". It is not just in our students and staff, but in the community as a whole.
Creating a community of connected and caring individuals needs to be our first step towards looking outward to the world. It is added to my growing list of summer goals -- developing a program outline that can be used by teachers and students to construct a deeper understanding of what it means to be a community together and how we can foster relationships that allow for collaborative relationships and leadership.
Below are a few articles worth taking a look at. They all connect to collaborative leadership and the need to have inclusive, dynamic communities that reach out to each other and beyond.
Work,Learn, and Citizenship in the 21st Century
Which way to the Good Life
Building Community Vitality
Inclusion in Education
My manners want me to apologize for the messy thinking that makes up this blog -- but, that is 21st century learning. It is messy, filled with mistakes that need to be worked through and constructed understandings that need to be torn down and rebuilt brick by brick. Please feel free to send me in the direction of further learning on collaborative leadership and developing citizenship. I appreciate any suggestions you may have.
Thank you for sharing my journey.
Judy
References
I went back to the reference graphic of Alberta's 21st Century Learner and found that collaboration and leadership are grouped together. The combination fascinates me, and it allows me to see a future for my students -- their love of debate and ownership is undeniable.
Alberta Ministry of EducationWhy collaborative leadership?
How else are we going to model authentic situations for our students? They need to see us working together, not behind closed doors and in formal meetings, but in hallway conversations, shared teaching, shared learning, and shared curriculum development. I am becoming more and more comfortable with the realization that our students need to be a part of this collaboration and that our schools need to be communities that thrive on the collaborative efforts of their citizens.
Our world has always been changing but the current rate of change is not manageable if a person is isolated and problem solving in solitude. The very nature of the technological advances are rooted in social networking and in making collaboration across distances seamless and effortless. There is no doubt that the future of leadership lies in the understanding of collaborative efforts and in the relationships forged through mutual respect and acceptance.
Now the question becomes, what is collaborative leadership?
At first glance, they seem to be polar opposites. Collaborative paints a picture of people working together for a common goal, and leadership conjures pictures of sole heroes or dictators telling others what to do. I think the following videos give a good grounding in what collaborative leadership is and what it is not.
Creative Places + Spaces
The video would not embed, please take the time to connect to the link.
Creating Collaborative Leaders
This is my new goal. Our students need to understand that collaboration is not just an agreement on a goal or putting together different parts to make a whole. It is a philosophy and a way of thinking and doing. Although everyone has a stake in the outcome, there still need to be leaders within. These are people who are willing to ask the difficult questions and pose and the seemingly unsolvable problems. They are people who recognize the strengths and needs of others and work with them to accomplish group and individual goals. A collaborative leader respects others and values the ideas and work they bring to the group. Most importantly, a collaborative leader needs to be able to step aside while others take the lead. (Petersen, retrieved 05/21) Collaborative Cultures
This is not accomplished by hoping students are watching. It needs precision of thought, planning, implementation and dedication. Again, the students need to see it in action. They need to see their teachers working, talking, planning, teaching in collaboration with each other, their students, school administrators, parents and students. It also requires a purpose for leadership. I see that purpose (for my current school) in the building of community through citizenship.
Citizenship and Collaborative Leadership
Community connections are part of our school mandate. Our fundraising goes beyond our own school community and includes the wider area and nation. However, we are becoming steeped in negative, uncaring attitudes and a sense of "why bother". It is not just in our students and staff, but in the community as a whole.
Creating a community of connected and caring individuals needs to be our first step towards looking outward to the world. It is added to my growing list of summer goals -- developing a program outline that can be used by teachers and students to construct a deeper understanding of what it means to be a community together and how we can foster relationships that allow for collaborative relationships and leadership.
Below are a few articles worth taking a look at. They all connect to collaborative leadership and the need to have inclusive, dynamic communities that reach out to each other and beyond.
Work,Learn, and Citizenship in the 21st Century
Which way to the Good Life
Building Community Vitality
Inclusion in Education
My manners want me to apologize for the messy thinking that makes up this blog -- but, that is 21st century learning. It is messy, filled with mistakes that need to be worked through and constructed understandings that need to be torn down and rebuilt brick by brick. Please feel free to send me in the direction of further learning on collaborative leadership and developing citizenship. I appreciate any suggestions you may have.
Thank you for sharing my journey.
Judy
References
Alberta Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 2013, from
http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/aisi/themes/21-century.aspx
Collaborative Leadership (n.d.). [Motion Picture]. Youtube. Retrieved May 21,
2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VE3Tdc3gPY
Collaborative Leadership: John Kuypers talking with
Amanda Silliker (n.d.). [Motion
Picture]. Retrieved May 21, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r
Ric0FQcl
Green, I., & Cote, A. (2007). Leading By
Example: 50 prominent Canadians talk to us about the federal public service and
why leadership matters. Ottawa: Public Policy Forum. Retrieved May 2013,
from http://www.ppforum.ca/sites/default/files/Leading e.pdf
Peterson, K. (n.d.). NCREL Monograph: Building
Collaborative Cultures. Retrieved from NCREL:
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/education/leadership
Youth Uprising: Overview (n.d.). [Motion Picture]. Youtube. Retrieved May 20,
2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpYWfwLleU
There is a wealth of new information about 21st Century education is is somewhat tough to grasp all the time, I agree with you 100% here Judy. I liked the diagram you provided because it adds a visual aid of what students need to know and be assessed on. Something I never understood during my adolescent years was who am I as a learner, and what exactly do I believe in. These are important issues for students because this is what triggers motivation to learn and comprehend what is happening.
ReplyDeleteCreating community is something that has always been important for me. Knowing others care, is a positive reassurance. The whole notion of "why bother" is definitely something that is an issue. Something I recognize is friends and family asking me why I bother going through all this schooling when there are minimal jobs put there. Possibly as a younger individual this may decrease my motivation to learn, and give up on taking advantage of learning. I am in school because I want to continue to learn and become more knowledgable in a wide variety of areas within education. I can understand how others may take away from goals and aspirations one may have.
Well put, and great article,
Travis Gibbons
Travis,
DeleteThank you for your honesty and also for giving a grounding to the group. Your ability to look at the current situation of teaching and apply you life and sport experience to it. I have found a new appreciation for the philosophers within the athletes in my classroom.
Judy
Judy -
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your viewpoints here and again, I value your honesty in your blogs. I am on board with you when it comes to creating collaborative, critical thinkers in our classrooms. You are right to say that collaboration goes beyond group work. Collaboration should not be an assignment, it should be a lifestyle. Our students should feel collaboration happening around them all the time, but how can we, as educators, make that happen? We can create open forum classrooms, where we allow our students to explore the depths of each other's knowledge through question and answer periods instead of teacher-lead discussion. We can allow our students to sit in a circle on the floor instead of at their seats where they tend to get distracted. We can let them be. So much of today's teaching still revolves around containing the child- making sure the child is sitting still, making sure the child is not talking, making sure the child is doing their work, making sure the child is just like the one right next to them. Educators need to fight against this in order to create more inclusive environments where student's feel apt to share their feelings and thoughts and feel their classroom is a safe space to build collaboration and report with their classmates. Good, effective learning will begin happening when teacher's loosen their grip and allow their students to explore their own depths.
Carla
Carla,
DeleteI have enjoyed reading your comments and learning about your views. It has been a short journey, but an emotional one. Thank you for sharing your passion and vision. They have both helped to stretch my own and force me to examine even closer the vision I still hold from my early days of teaching.
Judy
Hi Judy,
ReplyDeleteYou’re right. This class has been eye opening, and this 21st Century Learner that the Government of Alberta has created really makes you think about our future students.
Your question of why collaborative leadership? Your initial thought of them being completely opposite was not my first impression. To me, a leader isn’t a dictator (yes, sure in leadership theory you have an authoritarian type of leader) but in fact someone who serves. Collaborative (to me) is working together). Working together to serve. What you defined as a collaborative leader, is what I see as a transformative leader. Someone who can transform his or her leadership style given the situation. The best kind of leader you can have!
I also see collaborative leadership in the umbrealla section of the Entrepreneurial Spirit, which makes me think of encouraging students to work together and be leaders of our future as a collective, not as one.
Ps. Your blog looks amazing! You have improved so much in your tech skills – you should be proud!
Rox
Rox,
DeleteThank you for the comment about the blog. I appreciate it. I also appreciate the very different views you and I have. You force me to look at things from different angles. I would like to say I always love it, but in truth, it can be scary. However, scary is good and necessary when you want change.
Judy
Hey - messy is what is all about. Real, deep learning has to be messy. Who would have thought that a course in Innovative Curriculum and Assessment would end up being about collaborative leadership? But that is the essence of 21st Century learning. It is about what you need it to be about as well as about the collective. Onward :-) S.
ReplyDelete