Learning to Change Melissa Emler

I’m in a group chat with several of my favorite fellow educational leaders where we help each other work through issues stemming from a variety of topics. But one recent question posed to the group really got to the heart of so much of what is facing educators in the United States: Fear.

Fear has a profound impact on public education, often holding back progress and innovation.

From curriculum choices, to developing a supportive school culture, to the fear instilled by standardized testing for both students and teachers, fear in educational environments limits critical thinking, disengages students, and keeps teachers stuck with outdated methods and practices.

Overcoming these fears involves fostering a supportive environment that encourages risk taking, values diverse viewpoints, and prioritizes the well being of both students and teachers.

But it is possible to create change in our educational systems and there are three essential Ps that can help us do it.















LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE TO HEAR:









* Why Permission is crucial to cultivating an environment where students and teachers can innovate







* Why teachers need Protection from punitive consequences in order to take risks and create opportunities for growth







* How Policy Reduction helps educators be more agile and responsive in implementing new ideas







* Questions for educators and leaders to help identify where and how to bring more of the 3 Ps into schools









LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA EMLER AND MODERN LEARNERS:









* Modern Learners







* Modern Learners Community

Navigating the complexities of organizational change and personal growth can be challenging. Often we find ourselves stuck, unable to move forward because we haven't truly embraced the power of learning. But by fostering a culture of learning in our organization, by prioritizing the personal and professional growth of the people in our organizations, we can overcome the obstacles that hold us back. 

As Modern Learners embarks on our project with the New York State Department of Education, we know that working with educators and administrators to reimagine assessment is asking for a lot of growth and change. 

One of the first exercises we’ll do with the seventeen schools participating in the PLAN Pilot Program will be to lead them through the Immunity to Change map, developed by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey.

Today, I am revisiting the Immunity to Change framework and outlining this process that helps people and organizations find the clarity that they need to make real change happen.

And feel free to grab a pen and a piece of paper and follow along with me as you listen!















LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE TO HEAR:









* Why a commitment is not the same thing as a goal or an outcome







* How the Immunity to Change map helps parse out behaviors from the emotions that drive them







* How to identify and test the assumptions underlying your competing commitments









RESOURCES:









* Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization, Lisa Lahey, Robert Kegan









LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA EMLER AND MODERN LEARNERS:









* Modern Learners







* Modern Learners Community

I want to share an exciting project that Modern Learners will be doing. We’ve been selected by the New York State Education Department to be the Technical Assistance Center for the PLAN Pilot work.

This is a big deal.

PLAN stands for Performance-Based Learning and Assessment Networks. The work of the PLAN Pilot is to create a network of schools that will explore assessment strategies that foster high quality instructional opportunities where the learner is at the center of the learning experience.

I believe this work has the potential to be the most impactful work that my team will do in our entire careers. Supporting a state that has standardized tests in place as a graduation requirement with the work of reimagining their assessment system is wildly exciting. And a little bit scary. 

The idea of the Regents Exams going away is unimaginable to some. However, New York’s Blue Ribbon Commission has been planting the seeds for that work, and in a call last week, it was mentioned that the Blue Ribbon Commission would be beginning discussions as early as June 2024.

Though our project is separate from the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission, it is intended to help New York plan and prepare to support the schools in the event that the Blue Ribbon Commission charts an alternative path to graduation.

The primary objectives of the PLAN Pilot are three-fold.



To build capacity and knowledge. The pilot seeks to build a strong, shared knowledge base of performance-based learning and assessment among students, educators, families, and communities. There is a lot of information that needs to be elevated in relation to this work, because shifting our brains from thinking about the Regents Exam as a graduation requirement to more of a performance-based assessment will raise a lot of questions and uncertainties. So we will build capacity and knowledge to help calm fears and build more certainty. This involves developing assessment literacy so that stakeholders understand and can effectively use performance data to enhance teaching and learning.

Professional learning and support. I’m really excited about this because educators will engage in high-quality professional learning experiences. I believe that in all systems, everyone is a learner. We have to stop being teachers first and become learners first in order to experience the shifts in the field that we’re hoping for. These include school-based and network-wide trainings, professional developments, and participation in a community of practice. The collaborative environment will be designed to increase and continuously improve the capacity to develop and use high-quality, performance-based approaches to learning and assessment.

Systemic change and sustainability. The pilot aims to establish a sustainable and systemic change in educational assessment by supporting schools in creating transition plans and budgets that ensure the longevity of performance-based learning and assessment practices. This involves working with technical assistance centers like the ones we at Modern Learners will be hosting and building to provide ongoing support and resources. We want to support schools and districts with operationalizing the systems that will need to be implemented in schools. 



By having a Technical Assistance Center, you can build out supports that can help multiple schools at one time and do so in a way that is strategic, predictable, and consistent. That is our goal.

The PLAN Pilot imagines that we will have enhanced learning opportunities where the focus is on creating authentic learning experiences that engage students more deeply and meaningfully. Performance-based assessments allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills through real world tasks and projects, which are more reflective of their learning and their abilities.

Documenting our processes and outcomes when we’re doing change work is vital.

I recently encountered a philosophical concept that perfectly helps illustrate this, and today, as part of our ongoing series of explainers, I want to talk through the ideas of studium and punctum and how they can be applied to our work in and out of the classroom.















LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE TO HEAR:









* Philosopher Roland Barthe’s definition of studium and punctum







* What we can learn about the use of studium and punctum from Taylor Swift







* How employing studium and punctum will impact how we at Modern Learners document our process of reimagining assessments in New York state









RESOURCES:









* The Writing Teacher's Guide to Pedagogical Documentation: Rethinking How We Assess Learners and Learning, Angela Stockman







* Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, Roland Barthes









LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA EMLER AND MODERN LEARNERS:









* Modern Learners







* Modern Learners Community

Learning design and lesson planning might sound interchangeable, but they have distinct uses and purposes in education.

So what’s the difference?

In today’s episode, I’m responding to a listener question and parsing out these two concepts. I’ll talk about why, how, and when both of them apply to our learning environments, along with key questions and practical considerations for each phase.















LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE TO HEAR:









* How the end user is the key differentiator between learning design and lesson planning







* How learning design addresses questions of goals, access, and strategies to foster effective and engaging learning experiences







* How learning design helps us think through the how and why of teaching particular content, for both teachers and students







* The difference between assessment of learning and assessment as learning







* Why learning design needs to happen well in advance of lesson planning







* How lesson plans put learning design into action in the classroom









LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA EMLER AND MODERN LEARNERS:









* Modern Learners







* Modern Learners Community

All change is linguistic.

It’s something that I frequently remind people of, but what do I really mean when I say that?

The words we use have meanings. Changes in our language reflect the deeper cultural shifts at play and help us dismantle barriers and promote understanding.

In this episode, I want to take a moment to dig into how linguistic changes bring us closer to our goal of more equitable, accessible, and supportive learning environments.















LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE TO HEAR:









* How the language we use embodies our values and commitments to change







* How seemingly simple shifts in language help us create more supportive, inclusive learning environments







* How language drives change in narratives and pedagogical approaches to our students









RESOURCES:









* Community: The Structure of Belonging, Peter Block









LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA EMLER AND MODERN LEARNERS:









* Modern Learners







* Modern Learners Community