Thinking about Scale

I had a chance to visit George Hall Elementary school in Mobile, Alabama. Microsoft was filming the 21st Century Learners project I co-direct to highlight the ability of a nonprofit to scale. We decided to feature the work the teachers at George Hall were doing as part of the documentary. The 21st Century Learners work has been implemented through the Alabama Best Practices Center over a three year period and has spread throughout the state.

I was particularly moved when I listened to the teachers answer questions during a self-assessment with the Center's president, Cathy Gassenheimer. I heard confidence, growth, risk-taking, and motivation in their answers. They described how they left the first face to face meeting thinking they had gotten in way over their head. And yet two short years later, here they were leading some of Alabama's most high- risk students into the 21st Century.

The focus of this project is to integrate the skills and tools used in 21st Century Learning in ways that deepen a school's understanding of results-driven professional development and its use in addressing the specific learning needs of every student in the school. The project is supported by 10 Alabama educators who have been selected and trained to be ABPC's "21st Century Teacher Fellows." Our two year project plan was intentional about scaling  to teachers throughout the state of Alabama.

One activity we did while there was to film a collaborative lesson plan done in Elluminate between 5th grade students at Carol Morgan School (thanks Jeff Dungan) in the Dominican Republic and 5th graders from George Hall elementary. They took to the tools immediately chatting back and forth and asking each other questions. When we finished, I asked one student what was the most surprising thing you learned about the kids in the Dominican? Nicholas responded, "How much alike we were. These kids so far away like the same things we do-video games, sports etc. It was cool." It is during times of international collaboration that evidence of a flat world comes alive.

If you would like to know more about scale Microsoft has a great flash tutorial. http://www.microsoft.com/education/demos/scale/index.html

As you develop projects in your schools do you plan for scale?

Dimensions on scale

• Deep and consequential changes in practice (depth)
  Transformation change requires you to think deeply and base your design on research in order to understand what causes effectiveness and the change in practice to take hold.
• Maintaining these changes in practice over substantial periods of time (sustainability)
  Ongoing assessment and retooling based on need and adapting to negative shifts in context.
• Diffusion of the innovation to large numbers of users (spread)
  Deciding how you will modify to retain effectiveness while reducing resources and expertise required is the hardest part of shift for me. I simply do not want to create "light" versions in the name of helping more and more folks "get it". I want to keep optimality even though it jeopardizes spread.
• Ownership of the innovation assumed by users, who deepen and sustain via adaptation (shift)
  This is the most exciting aspect of scale. Watching as the community becomes  co-evaluators, co-designers, and co-learners. It is exciting to see how users remix your design into powerful aspects you never thought of during the design phase.
• The innovation as revised by its adapters is influential in reshaping the thinking of its designers (evolution) This phase involves relearning from users’ adaptations about how to rethink the  model.

George Hall's incredible media center!

Comments

[Charlie A. Roy]

Sounds like a great project. Very exciting! If one wants to pair their class up with another class somewhere in the world how would you start? Are there sites to find a matching class?

[LaQuida Shedrick]

Your blog was very interesting. I agree and disagree with what was said. I agree with the fact that we as teachers should be open to learn from our students, especially when it come to technology. Times have changed and there are so many things we can learn from them. It is my belief that when you a child is will versed in a subject and is able to share his/her knowledge with us we should be receptive in hearing what they have to say not giving off an aura of knowing more than them, but of openness to receive the knowledge they have obtained.

Now I must take my hat off to you in how you made the trip of Jenny and Dan a teachable moment for your children. I personal know that could not happen where I am from because I may have woken up to no children. But I loved reading about how you raised your children around adults not thinking about their age but about the fact that "you are raising adults". Growing up we were never allowed to be in adult conversations, if we were around a group of adults talking and made a comment we would be told to go to another room, because "we were getting beside ourselves", lol.

Although my family kept me from being around adults, the majority of my friends are 15-20 years older then me. I have very few friends who are my age. It's interesting to hear about the approach you took on educating your children, when it comes to social interaction with others people that I know who have been home schooled don't seem to have good communication skills, and skills working with teams. But it seems your children are very well-rounded, what's your secret?

[Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach]

Charlie,

Best way to find classrooms to collaborate with is by learning how to build your own personal learning network. As educators in the 21st Century it is an important skill for us to master so that we can then model it for our students.

I found Jeff through my Twitter network.

If you are interested in knowing more please email me.

[Katie]

I enjoyed the lesson discussed about the students in Alabama and Dominican. I have participated in a similar experiment with students in the Bahamas and it was great. The students had so many questions and wanted to know so much. And I didn't know how much I didn't know until I started to ask them questions. They loved to share their stories. It was extra rewarding what I got to travel to the Bahamas and meet the students that I had chatted with through the internet for so long. I believe this method of teaching student makes it a little more personal then a pen pal for example. This way, because of technology, the students could look at each other while they talk. It is that much more personal and real to the kids.

[Katie]

I enjoyed the lesson discussed about the students in Alabama and Dominican. I have participated in a similar experiment with students in the Bahamas and it was great. The students had so many questions and wanted to know so much. And I didn't know how much I didn't know until I started to ask them questions. They loved to share their stories. It was extra rewarding what I got to travel to the Bahamas and meet the students that I had chatted with through the internet for so long. I believe this method of teaching student makes it a little more personal then a pen pal for example. This way, because of technology, the students could look at each other while they talk. It is that much more personal and real to the kids.

[Rachel]

This sounds like a great experience! I love the fact that Fifth graders from Alabama and Fifth graders from the Dominican Republic. When I was in fourth grade, we did this with students from the City I live near (I am in the suburbs) and we eventually got to go on a Field Trip to meet. I think it'd be great to do penpals and use email to communicate! Thank you for sharing!

[Rachel]

This sounds like a great experience! I love the fact that Fifth graders from Alabama and Fifth graders from the Dominican Republic. When I was in fourth grade, we did this with students from the City I live near (I am in the suburbs) and we eventually got to go on a Field Trip to meet. I think it'd be great to do penpals and use email to communicate! Thank you for sharing!