May 13, 2018
Matt Shea is the Matt portion of Personalized Learning with Matt and Courtney, a podcast about, well, personalized learning. It is one of my favorite new podcasts and you can find it at plearnmc.com or in your favorite podcast player of choice!
- Matt is a district administrator in Maine
- Courtney is an instructional coach in Maine
- Worked in Maine for his whole career
- 10 schools in five communities
- Goal: set up same systems in schools - it didn’t work
- tenets of learning: applied learning
- How do we design that culture so that there’s a balance between kids taking advantage of their own learning and teachers providing a range of options?
- What teachers can provide in their place
- What works for you?
- District administrator as more of a support role
- Talk about the tenets a lot.
- “Cultivating hope in all learners”
- Culture is a number 1 thing for all of us.
- Designing a culture that involves the learners in their learning
- Progression of learning
- Social grade levels not academic grade levels
- Place students on an academic progression where they are, and help them move forward.
- Continuous flexible grouping - School building and schedules create a challenge for them.
- Tried to do schedules in all the same way.
- 15:16 We are the problem. We are the ones that have all the issues!
- How do we get adults to be more like kids?
- What’s our ultimate goal?
- Guiding principles: They’ll find that information when they need it!
- Interview with Seth Godin
- You don’t really fail, you just are where you are.
- It’s not just about the 80% of our kids that will do well no matter what, but about all the students
- When she’s ready to take the next step, she’ll be ready for it.
- End College Career Readiness
- Many teachers have been teachers only.
- The “real world“ is something different to everyone.
- Provide kids with the skills and attitudes.
- How to be a transformative leader? Design a culture in your building where it is ok to fail in a positive way. Failing upward. Failing forward. Take away some of the negative aspects of what school is.
Are you feeling like you are always behind at school? Do you feel like you need about 2 more hours each day to accomplish everything? Here’s how I help principals work manageable hours: Create your ideal week, so that you can leave work at work and enjoy your life!
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Show notes on TransformativePrincipal.com
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