connected

As Michael Fullan writes, improving education means improving the quality of relationships inside schools. How can educators build relationships and establish partnerships based on trust and professional discernment?

This week's guest is Craig Randall, a principal, consultant, and author of Trust-Based Observations. In this episode, we talk about how school leaders can improve learning and teaching by building relationships with classroom teachers based on trust rather than evaluation. He speaks about the origins of his approach to learning observations and how guided reflective conversations enable school communities to engage in collaborative work. Over time, these conversations help to form professional partnerships focused on what we value most - the quality of student learning.

A very special thank you to Craig Randall. You can read more about Craig’s work and purchase his book at trustbased.com.

What is the role of curiosity in developing leadership competence? Anna Liebel, leadership coach and entrepreneur, speaks about her work to create the space and time needed to foster curiosity in professional development. She highlights how curiosity is an essential ingredient for learning about people in the organisation, developing better decision-making skills and growing effective self-leadership habits. This conversation takes us from big ideas to practical tools -and from the world of business to the emerging needs in the world of education. A warm and genuine conversation and a lot of fun.

What is the role of curiosity in developing leadership competence? Anna Liebel, leadership coach and entrepreneur, speaks about her work to create the space and time needed to foster curiosity in professional development. She highlights how curiosity is an essential ingredient for learning about people in the organisation, developing better decision-making skills and growing effective self-leadership habits. This conversation takes us from big ideas to practical tools -and from the world of business to the emerging needs in the world of education. A warm and genuine conversation and a lot of fun. Thanks to Anna for sharing her expertise.

Find Anna Liebel at https://annaliebel.com/

The conversation this week is all about leadership and all about people. My guest, Dr. Carita Prokki, is the Director of Continuous Education at Tampere University of Applied Sciences and she speaks about her own leadership journey and experiences in leading teams. Dr. Prokki speaks about leadership not as a position or role, but as a profession in itself. She highlights the need for curiosity and a willingness to learn about what it takes to lead a team. Throughout the conversation, we speak about how leadership - both formal and informal roles -means recognising people and helping to empower them. We speak about shared visions, the role of trust and some concrete strategies for change management in the educational setting. I want to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Prokki for her time, energy and insights.

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My guest this week, Nicky Millar, joins me in a conversation about the impacts of datafication in education. Nicky highlights key considerations for educators and educational leaders facing decisions about how to incorporate online platforms and educational technology tools in the wake of the current crisis.  We talk about data leaks, privacy laws and the role of the teacher in the use of localised data. 

I also reflect on my own experiences in the previous weeks as we move toward resuming face-to-face instruction here in Norway. While I am grateful, I also wonder how the learning and insights gained during these weeks can be maintained in conventional environments - surely something has shifted, right? 

As always, please subscribe and share.

My guest this week, Nicky Millar, joins me in conversation about the impacts of datafication in education. Nicky highlights key considerations for educators and educational leaders who are faced with decisions about how to incorporate online platforms and educational technology tools in the wake of the current crisis. We talk about data leaks, privacy laws and the role of the teacher in the use of localised data.

I also reflect on my own experiences in the previous weeks as we move toward resuming face-to-face instruction here in Norway. While I am grateful, I also wonder how the learning and insights gained during these weeks can be maintained in the conventional environments - surely something has shifted, right?

As always, please subscribe and share.

How can educational organisations identify, energise and incentivise changemakers working inside the institution? My guest this week, Anna Frerker, discusses her experience as a primary school teacher currently taking on additional responsibilities and informal leadership roles. Anna identifies key motivating factors as an emerging leader and offers strategies for early-career teachers looking to build leadership capacity. Anna also discusses how senior leadership can create organisational structures to help foster new initiatives and align them with the organisation’s wider goals. We also explore how teachers often feel forced to make a choice between remaining in the classroom - often with limited influence on the wider community - or choosing roles in administration or senior leadership. The choice is a flawed one. Effective middle leadership can energise teaching practice and influence learning philosophy in a way that senior leaders don’t always have access to - critical to a learning organisation. As always, a great conversation. Please like, subscribe and share!

How can educational organisations identify, energise and incentivise changemakers working inside the institution? My guest this week, Anna Frerker, discusses her experience as a primary school teacher currently taking on additional responsibilities and informal leadership roles.

Anna identifies key motivating factors as an emerging leader and offers strategies for early-career teachers looking to build leadership capacity. Anna also discusses how senior leadership can create organisational structures to help foster new initiatives and align them with the organisation’s wider goals.

We also explore how teachers often feel forced to make a choice between remaining in the classroom - often with limited influence on the wider community - or choosing roles in administration or senior leadership. The choice is a flawed one. Effective middle leadership can energise teaching practice and influence learning philosophy in a way that senior leaders don’t always have access to - critical to a learning organisation.

As always, a great conversation. Please like, subscribe and share!

The sudden shift to virtual instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a steep learning curve for educators who are moving classes online. My guest this week, Mira Perämäki, is an e-learning professional who shares her wisdom and support for teachers and educational leaders who are wondering how to best facilitate virtual instruction. Throughout the episode, Mira also reminds us that effective teaching practices - well-articulated and well-aligned objectives, consistent feedback and authentic tasks - are cornerstones in the virtual learning environment. She highlights ways teachers can showcase personality and human connections in the virtual space and offers insight into common mistakes and strategies to overcome them. Finally, Mira offers words of encouragement. Give it a chance. Keep an open mind and take baby steps!