The Creative Agency Classroom

Justin Reich

EdTechTeacher.org

4/26/2011

ACCEPT

Do Now!

Imagine a classroom teacher.

What image do you conjure in your mind?

Go Dark

METAPHORS, ARCHETYPES, AND MENTAL MODELS

• We devour a book, try to digest raw facts and attempt to regurgitate other people's ideas, even though they might be half-baked.

• But when talking about money, we rely on liquid metaphors. We say we dip into savings, sponge off friends or skim funds off the top.

• Republicans- Stern Father• Democrats- Nanny State

Images of a “Teacher”

“Real School” (Metz 1988)

• “We dispense knowledge. Bring your own container.”

Deliver a lesson

Give a test

Present a lecture

That kid just doesn’t get it

But that kid picks it up really quickly

This doesn’t look like a classroom; this looks like a creative agency on deadline.

Why the “Creative Agency Classroom?”

• As Archetype– “Creativity” as 21st century skill– Agency as redefining students as

autonomous, semi-independent “agents”– Creative agency as source of gainful

employment in 21st century

• As Framework– Students as Knowledge Workers– Teachers as Project Managers– Administrators as Agency Executives

Structure of the Creative Agency Classroom

• Students as Knowledge Workers– Working individually or in small teams– Producing some meaningful performance of

understanding for a public audience– Responsible (having agency) for their learning

and for teaching others

Do versus Get knowledge

Structure of the Creative Agency Classroom

• Teachers as Project Managers– Creating projects and project structures for student

learning– Providing an initial overview and just-in-time instruction– Develop structures so students receive individual/small

group support– Managing students’ executive function

• Helping students develop short and long term goals and measure progress

• Identifying distracted students and refocusing them

– Developing effective collaboration/communication skills

How do we project manage?

Structure of Creative Agency Classroom

• Administrators as Agency Executives– Evaluating and developing management

talent in the creative agency context– Providing forums for teachers to share best

practices– Nurturing a culture supportive of creative

agency teaching with students, parents, and teachers

– Developing accountability structures for student and teacher learning

Cycle of Experiment and Experience

Fear - Growth+

Institutional Capacity+

Experiment

Review (Experience)Plan

Imagine a classroom teacher.

What image do you conjure in your mind?

• “It’s the hardest work I’ve ever done in my career. We’re trying to effect change at scale, and we have to ‘play on two playing fields’ at once. We’re still being judged by the criteria for AYP and state accountability, while holding ourselves to a much higher standard. We have to succeed at both. It’s hard, but it’s the right work to be doing.” –Jim Merrill, Virginia Beach (quoted in Tony Wagner’s Global Achievement Gap)

Join us for 21st Century School Leadership, Leading Change in Changing Times July 21-22

edtechteacher.org/workshops.htmljustin@edtechteacher.org

Getting to the Creative Agency Classroom

• Why change?• What does change look like and how do

you get there?• How do you assess progress towards the

changes you want?

Getting to the Creative Agency Classroom

• Vision: Re-frame archetypes and metaphors

• Practice: Develop and harness instructional leadership– Supporting Skunkworks– Teacher-to-Teacher PD

• Assessment: Identify goals and assess progress

Re-framing language• Assessments vs. Performances of

understanding• What will you do? vs. What will students

do?• Teacher evaluations vs. Class manager

evaluations• Class websites vs. Student publishing

Assessing Change in Changing Times

• Wiggins, Schooling by Design• NEASC, Schoolwide Rubrics

Logic Model

Learning GoalsPerformance Assessments

Skill Benchmarks

Learning Activities

Instructional Support

Causality

Design