Springpoint

Student engagement isn’t always about attention. Or compliance. Or even enjoyment. Imagine a math class where students are sitting quietly, diligently taking notes as a teacher speaks. Is this engagement? It might feel that way to the teacher, who is doing a lot of the work there. Picture a history class where students are working in groups to make posters, laughing and chatting as they do. Is this engagement? A lively classroom is encouraging, but not necessarily indicative of engagement. When we talk about engagement, what we’re really talking about is cognitive engagement. In other words: ❓ Who’s doing the thinking in a classroom?  ❓ Who’s getting the intellectual workout?  ❓ Are students engaging with what they are learning deeply and thoughtfully? High school students are at a developmental stage where their motivating interest is identity development. Adolescents have an intrinsic motivation to learn that deepens as they find purpose in what they’re learning. They’re hungry to pursue passions, question the world around them, and challenge the status quo as they attempt to identify their own values and beliefs. So we as educators can cognitively engage them by: 1) having high expectations of them, 2) providing learning opportunities that require them to meaningfully grapple with relevant topics (do the cognitive lift), and, 3) recognizing their need to be active participants in their own learning. This isn't easy. It requires a paradigm shift around curriculum, teaching, and classroom dynamics. And yet, if we don’t talk about cognitive engagement, we’re missing a huge opportunity to leverage purpose to get to rigor and truly prepare kids academically. That’s why we emphasize rigor and purpose being necessary for deeper learning—and that focusing on both is what’s missing from many PBL efforts. #pbl #education

So many great efforts to rethink high school exist. That’s exciting, and yet we’re still missing the mark. Here’s why: School transformation - high school transformation in particular - is HARD. CMOs and districts that have figured out how to reimagine and excel in the k-8 space struggle to do so in high school. At Springpoint, we believe in the need for radical transformation of the American high school. But we also believe in going slow to go fast: narrowing and prioritizing as part of that transformation journey. We know this because we’ve done the soup-to-nuts school design work. Yes, it’s appealing to strip everything away and create something new. But here’s what we found: Given the opportunity to redesign a school, or redesign high school generally, the LAST thing adults wanted to focus on is the student learning experience. The how of that experience matters, of course. The how is sexy; it’s partnerships and internships and teacher teams and cool modular spaces. Those plans are exciting and energizing. But what we put in front of students every day, what we ask of them, how we ask them to spend the bulk of their day—that’s not what folks typically focus on. They assume it’ll be up to teachers or some off-the-shelf curriculum. This isn’t viable. Student learning—and instruction—can’t be relegated to an afterthought. So our organization has decided to do exactly what we ask leaders to do: Get really clear on the most essential parts of school that need reimagining and identify the key lever for transformation. For us, it’s the student learning experience. And so that’s where we start. All of our design work, coaching, PD, continuous improvement, and inquiry work with schools is focused on the learning experience. Once we get that right, we can work with schools to reimagine the rest.

Barr’s Education program believes that all young people are worthy of a high school experience that supports them during their adolescent years and prepares them to pursue their dreams. This holistic framework developed by Springpoint helps foster high-quality, equitable, student-centered experiences.

I’m presenting at #DL24! Who else will be in sunny San Diego where we will engage in joyful transformative adult learning that empowers us to create more student-centered schools? I’m presenting a session entitled "Transparency and Transformation: Daily Competency Implementation" with the incredible Jessica Waters and I hope to see you there!

“We don’t do anything that’s meaningful.” (A teen you know may have said this.) Yes, high school is broken. But it can be fixed. It starts by shifting away from offering teachers and students Band-Aids that doubles down on a failing formula. At Springpoint, we know just how critical this work is—that young people’s cognitive growth, social-emotional development, and emerging awareness of their roles and responsibilities as citizens are at stake. More in my op-ed for The Hechinger Report: