Friday, January 31, 2014

Establishing a culture of learning



If there is a silver bullet in education I believe it is establishing a culture of learning throughout the school.  Easier said than done.  This year we've been making strides towards it, but it is something that takes time. We have added structural changes this year like late starts, and placed a strong focus on collaboration. We have added book studies as a requirement for all staff and district provided credit opportunities focused on our initiatives.

The question I have is, can we as leaders truly force a school or organization into a culture of learning?  Much of what we have done this year has been a structural fix. We have mandated readings and learning.  I am very concerned with creating a contrived culture of learning. However, I d believe that once we change behaviors we change attitudes.

Yesterday, I spent time with about 20 of our teachers discussing our latest read for credit Embedded Formative Assessment.  I really appreciate the discussion we have once a month.  One teacher brought up that she shares her learning with students.  The students were amazed that she is still learning as a teacher.  I think for us to truly establish a culture of learning students must know that we aren't done learning.  They need to hear and see us learning as a collective group. Our learning needs to be visible to others, and not hidden behind a door.  I am very pleased with the progress we are making.

How do you share your learning with others?

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