Ask “What will it take to help students thrive in an ever evolving world?”

Beginnings

“I work at a nonprofit that is all about asking the question, ‘How do we create and spread better models of learning for young people, so that they can truly thrive in the world?’” — Jenee Henry Wood

161: Transcend’s design process that supports schools as they consider change

162: A Case Study focusing on Transcend’s “Leaps for Equitable 21st Century Learning”

“Getting Unstuck” is a proud member of the Educational Podcast Network

Our guest

Jenee Henry Wood is the Head of Organizational Learning with Transcend, a not-for-profit organization that supports school communities to create and spread extraordinary, equitable learning environments. There, Jenee deftly juggles at least three roles:
1. As the Head of Org Learning, she helps staff assess how well they’re supporting the organization’s vision, theory of change, and mission
2. She’s an evangelist, sharing with the world the work that Transcend provides; and finally
3. As chief of staff, she supports the co-CEOs in the day-to-day management of the organization.

The river running through all of her work, as you’ll learn in this episode, is a deep love of learning and an appreciation for the power of storytelling.

Jenee on why this conversation matters

“When you walk into schools, you might be tempted to focus on what is happening around you. What's on the walls? What does the building look like? How many computers are there? Those might be important questions, but what you really want to think about is how are the children doing? And then just go focus in on what they're doing. Go sit with them. Go see how they're talking. Go see how they're responding to instruction. Focus your attention there because understanding the student experience is ultimately the effort that is going to help us make the kinds of innovations that we need to change in support of kids.”

Think about it

When Transcend works with schools on a change, it begins by asking them a series of questions:
• What do young people need to be experiencing fundamentally differently?
• What is the fundamental purpose of our learning environment?
• What do we what do we want graduates to know and be able to do with their knowledge?
• What are the fundamental values that should be driving us?

How often are you, your district or school asking those questions?

The final word

“When thinking about change, you need to start with an experience that touches one aspect of a student's existence. Then you can start to tweak other things around it. And through this iterative r&d process – this evolutionary approach – you're eventually going to get to a whole-school model that represents the kind of experiences that we want for our children.“

— Jenee Henry Wood