The theoretical and practical implications of student-centered learning apply as much outside the classroom environment as inside. The previous posts, and discussion, in this blog have focused around the applications of student-centered learning for teachers with students. Using Wagner and Simpson's work Ethical Decision Making in School Administration (2009) as the primary resource, this post is intended to describe the many ways the basic theories of student-centered learning can be used for administrators and in policy.
“Successful administrators know how to bring it all together for the benefit of stake-holders and institution alike" (Wagner and Simpson, 2009, p. 70). Referencing the work of Gneezy & Rustichini (2000) this statement implies the savvy nature of educational leaders to consider multiple dimensions in the decision making process, much like how teachers should be sensitive to students' abilities in teaching and lesson planning.
Wagner and Simpson (2009) believe that continuous improvement, at the administrative leadership level, is the backbone to moral architecture. In order to promote continual progress they cite the work of W.E. Deming and Israel Scheffler. Deming's Managerial and Social Idealism (2000) promotes the elimination of fear, barriers, and quotas, as well as the development of pride and maximizing leadership. Excessive data collection and the over-quantifying of results, as in the efforts of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), can overwhelm leaders and skew leadership objectives. Sheffler’s Pragmatism (1986) concerns the idea that "universal human betterment can be achieved through appropriate education and organizational structures and the accompanying processes" (Wagner & Simpson, 2009, p. 72). He championed the idea that moral concerns start with an examination of local problems because of their uniqueness (Wagner & Simpson, 2009); in working through individual problems, issue by issue, the strung-together final product is an overall improvement for the collective whole through a pragmatic idealism lens.
There are several parallels one can draw from the aforementioned ideas between student-centered learning and administrative leadership. The first is focusing on the numbers that matter. Questioning the relevance of high stakes exams is critical to understanding how students learn. NCLB pitted standardized test scores as the sources of education proficiency. However it is known that students learn in multiple ways (Gardner, 1993) and therefore assessing them must be varied. Just as there should be multiple perspectives to consider to instruction, there are also multiple dynamics to administrative competency: student retention, introducing new technologies, developing new curriculum standards, etc. No one role or function defines an administrator.
Another parallel of the student-centered experience and administrative duties can be derived from the purpose of education, which is to engage learners in the Great Conversation (Wagner & Simpson, 2009, p. 4), or sense-making activities of how to manage the world. Administrators help create and maintain a shared vision that promotes the Four Corners of Educational Purpose (Wagner & Simpson, 2009, p. 52) for truth seeking: information sharing, learning and perfecting skills, developing collaborative attitudes and dispositions. Seeking the truth through these four parameters, matters as much to school leaders as it does to learners because it is the leader's role to encourage a life of thinking and learning.
Modeling and collaboration are essential tools used in student-centered learning, and useful for educational leaders as well. Wagner and Simpson (2009) describe practical ways in which school leaders can use these tools in practice. Planning daily/weekly library hours for modeling of effective study and reading habits can inspire colleagues and the school community. Creating "teacher circles" (p. 79) programs can spark conversations with other teachers concerning case studies, classroom management, and best practices in teaching. Principals could provide opportunities for schools and communities to see how they "live a life of thinking and learning" (p. 79), via seminars and learning forums. Administration can help to make every day connections to the outside world in their schools, with timely announcements about world trends, and news.
For more information on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory and the Great Conversation, see the Online Resources section of this blog, or click on the highlighted texts within this post. Additionally, I have included another research article which can be found in the Articles and Research Section of this blog, which continues to flesh out the defining factors of ethical leadership in education as it concerns student-centered themes. Also, another case study, discussing how learning-centered collaboration can improve leadership, was added and can be viewed in the Case Studies section of this blog.
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