2017 World Educational Leaders Summit - Bold moves - creating remarkable modern learning environments - Dr Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Bold moves - creating remarkable modern learning environments - By Dr Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs is founder and president of the Curriculum Designers Group, providing professional services to schools and organizations internationally to upgrade curriculum and support teaching strategies to meet the needs of 21st century learners.  Dr. Jacobs’s models on curriculum mapping and curriculum design have been featured in her eleven books and are the basis for software solutions used throughout the world.   Working with a range of organizations, Jacobs has online courses with PBS Teacherline and PD360 and has consulted to groups ranging from international, national, state and provincial education departments, professional organizations such as ASCD, NAESP, Learning Forward, the European Council of International Schools, the Near East School Association, the College Board, ADK International Sino-Canadian Schools in China,  New Zealand’s Learning NetworK, the Kennedy Center, the Peace Corps World Wise Schools, Carnegie Hall, Australia’s EduTech,, and the United Nations Council on Teaching about the UN, the Near East School Association, the International Baccalaureate, the NY State Higher Education Commission, the CCSSO workgroup on Global Competencies, and AASA’s Collaborative Project focused on innovation. In 2014 she received the MAIS International Educator Award.

The basis for her presentations will come from her newest book is to be released in January 2017 through ASCD, co-authored with Marie Alock, Bold Moves for Schools: How We Create Remarkable Learning Environments.  Her recent four book series on Leading the New Literacies, Mastering Digital Literacy, Mastering Media Literacy, Mastering Global Literacy, were released in 2014 by Solution-Tree.  Her best selling, Curriculum Mapping: Tools and Templates and Curriculum 21 both with ASCD have been the basis for a wide range of professional services provided by a talented faculty and a robust clearinghouse giving educators resources to upgrade classroom life. Her education career began as a high school, junior high, and elementary teacher in Utah, Massachusetts, and New York.

What are possibilities for creating new learning environments for teaching and learning? How can we replace inhibiting 19th century school formats?  How can we upgrade program structures necessary to modernize? What if educators were held accountable for innovation in their choices for learners?

In this exciting and interactive keynote, Dr. Jacobs will look at practical visioning to develop new versions of school that will match the needs of 21st century learners. The transition will require bold moves, practical steps, and rebooted missions. We don’t need “re-form” but rather NEW FORMS for now and to move into the future.

Dr. Jacobs will provoke our consideration of the four most basic program structures: schedules, student grouping patterns, faculty organization, and space (both physical and virtual) and challenge us to reinvent them and reunite them to move into dynamic learning environment. Inspired by a global wave of innovative new school architecture, attendees will examine how leaders in a range of settings are well into creating new designs to support our students as we prepare them for their future.

Given the possibilities for virtual learning and access 24/7 she will suggest nuanced approaches to employ and model. New roles and possibilities for principals, teachers, learners, and community will be explored. The presentation will be based on her new ASCD book to be released in January, 2017- Bold Moves for Schools: How We Create Remarkable Learning Environments co-authored with Marie Hubley Alcock.

Participants will:

• Identify how learning has shifted and requires a commensurate shift in school design and teaching pedagogy and methodology.
• Examine concrete new options for transforming physical spaces, schedules, student grouping patterns, and personnel configurations to become a modern learning environment.

Learners create and share knowledge differently from previous generations

The new literacies - Digital, media, ….

Global movement to standards

Schools are shaping meaningful mission statements to focus right now learning.

What pedagogy best serves engagement?

# Types

Antiquated “What do we cut? From our programme etc. The student is the receptacle

Classical “What to keep?” Want to keep all the classical learning knowledge, ideas etc

Contemporary “What to create?”

Four programme structures

1. Space - physical and virtual
2. Grouping learners
3. Personnel configuration
4. Time

Organisations tend to change one of these structures and expect greater change to happen.

Current forms we have restrict possibilities. - timetables, spaces, groupings, faculties, time

Tasks determine time but we put it the other way round.

We group teachers by subjects not by expertise - math teachers know more than numbers.

Teacher role by talent and interest.

Space - modern learning environments foster a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging.

• Imaginative settings spark the imagination.
• Interactive spaces and lounging spaces.
• Seminar spaces
• Spaces for designed interaction.
• Book matters: print and digital transition
• Synchronous and asynchronous schedules
• Variation in height of furniture
• Schedules have both open time to relax and structured learning activities
• Coaching students to manage time
• Age based and multi aged spaces
• Flow between alcoves spaces and balconies
• A tree house concept - elevated spaces
• Makerspace - construction foreman
• Outdoor spaces
• Outdoor music making sculpture
• Changing classes by using light
• From cells and bells to a learning community