©  2013  SAIS  www.sais.org  

   

the  conversation  continues  inside  of  

SAISconnect  http://saisconnect.sais.org  

 

PEDAGOGICAL  MASTER  PLANNING  Five  questions  for  Bo  Adams  Published:  March  2013      

How  is  pedagogical  master  planning  distinct  from  strategic  planning  that  schools  regularly  undertake?  

 Pedagogical  Master  Planning  is  a  radical  rethinking  of  strategic  planning  that  mashes  up  Unboundary’s  strengths  in  transformation  design  with  master  planning’s  greatest  virtues  –  visualizing  whole  systems,  layering  complex  information,  and  phasing  strategic  renovation.  Inspired  by  campus  master  planning,  we’ve  translated  its  principles  to  what  happens  at  the  heart  of  a  school.    We  illustrate  a  school’s  teaching  and  learning  core  –  its  pedagogical  ecosystem  –  so  that  people  can  see  how  the  parts  of  the  whole  are  interrelated  and  interconnected.  Then,  school  transformation  can  be  designed  holistically,  with  blueprints,  in  a  similar  way  to  making  changes  to  a  school’s  physical  facilities.  

 So,  if  the  question  were  an  analogy  on  the  SAT,  it  might  read  –  “Pedagogical  Master  Planning  is  to  strategic  planning  as  a  blueprint  is  to  a  grocery  list.”  

   

Your  blog  is  titled  “It’s  About  Learning,”  a  three  word  understanding  that  you  consider  the  cornerstone  of  education.  Before  a  school  undertakes  pedagogical  master  planning,  must  all  of  its  stakeholders  agree  to  a  definition  of  “learning”?  

 All  of  a  school’s  stakeholders  do  not  have  to  agree  to  a  definition  of  learning  before  the  school  undertakes  Pedagogical  Master  Planning.  However,  the  methodology  and  processes  of  PMP  are  meant  to  expose  and  illuminate  a  learning  community’s  shared  understandings  and  values.  It’s  during  the  undertaking  that  Unboundary  helps  a  school  to  define  its  shared  beliefs  and  architect  a  system  that  will  be  built  on  better  alignment  of  throughout  the  community.  

       

http://itsaboutlearning.wordpress.com/bo-­‐adams/    

   

©  2013  SAIS  www.sais.org  

   

the  conversation  continues  inside  of  

SAISconnect  http://saisconnect.sais.org  

 

In  education  circles  today,  there  exists  a  philosophical  polarization  between  those  who  defend  a  knowledge-­‐based  curriculum  and  those  who  advocate  a  “21st  century  skills”  approach.    Does  pedagogical  master  planning  promote  one  over  the  other?    Must  that  disunity  be  resolved  before  any  plan  is  undertaken?  

 Well,  I  think  the  “content  vs.  skills  debate”  is  a  false  dichotomy.  It’s  not  “either/or.”  It’s  “both/and.”  People  need  to  develop  content  knowledge  and  the  skills  to  acquire  and  apply  such  knowledge.  I  think  that’s  called  wisdom.  So,  I  don’t  think  PMP  promotes  one  over  the  other.  I  think  PMP  promotes  purposefully  designed  change.  It’s  definitely  meant  to  help  schools  transform,  and  to  do  so  systemically.  I  think  so  many  schools  are  attempting  to  change  on  a  number  of  fronts  –  they  are  trying  to  discern  the  content  and  skills  and  methods  that  are  most  relevant  today  and  for  the  future.  But  instead  of  trying  to  manage  such  complexity  and  bolt  on  a  host  of  other  people’s  best  practices,  schools  should  be  embracing  the  complexity  by  clarifying  their  purpose  and  character,  refined  by  external  perspective,  and  approaching  change  with  more  of  a  systems  view.  As  PMP  unfolds  for  a  school,  I  think  disunity  is  addressed,  and  on  a  number  of  levels.  

   

           You  regularly  refer  to  a  school  as  an  ecosystem,  a  word  that  suggests  a  network  of  connectivity  and  mutual  dependency.  Yet,  some  might  argue  that  school  in  general  is  more  regularly  characterized  by  the  isolation  and  independence  of  its  parts:  its  divisions,  disciplines,  grades,  and  periods.    Why  is  the  understanding  of  a  school  as  an  ecosystem  central  to  pedagogical  master  planning?  

 At  its  core,  a  school  is  a  pedagogical  ecosystem  composed  of  seven  interrelated  and  interconnected  parts:  purpose,  leadership,  professional  learning,  curricula,  instruction,  assessment,  and  learning  environments.  Changes  in  one  of  those  parts  have  consequences  in  the  other  parts  of  the  system.  Unfortunately,  schools  have  not  tended  to  approach  transformation  with  such  a  systems  view.  For  example,  a  school  might  try  to  adopt  a  new  instructional  method  such  as  PBL  (project-­‐based  learning  or  problem-­‐based  learning)  without  fully  considering  the  ripples  that  such  a  change  will  have  in  assessment,  learning  environments,  curricula,  etc.  Pedagogical  Master  Planning  is  designed  so  that  the  ecosystem  is  made  more  visible,  just  like  master  plans  make  the  whole  system  of  a  school’s  campus  more  visible.  Then,  remodeling  and  renovation  can  happen  more  holistically,  taking  into  account  how  the  parts  of  the  system  are  connected  and  mutually  dependent  on  each  other.  

April  19,  2013  |  11:30  AM  –  1:00  PM  Bo  Adams,  educational  blogger  and  thinker,  will  discuss  the  need    for  Pedagogical  Master  Planning,  and  the  processes,  tools,  and  facilitation  schools  need  to  develop  shared  understanding,  unified  direction,  and  adaptive  progress.      www.sais.org/lunchandlearn  

   

©  2013  SAIS  www.sais.org  

   

the  conversation  continues  inside  of  

SAISconnect  http://saisconnect.sais.org  

 

   

Design  thinking,  the  flipped  classroom,  brain  based  teaching,  global  competence,  problem  based  learning,  shared  inquiry.    There  are  so  many  innovative  methodologies  promoted  in  education  today.    Is  pedagogical  master  planning  another  tool  for  our  kit?  

 PMP  is  not  another  tool  for  the  kit,  if  the  kit  is  full  of  the  methodologies  that  you  named.  PMP  is  more  of  a  meta-­‐tool  or  a  meta-­‐strategy.  It’s  a  transformation  design  framework  meant  to  promote  a  systems  perspective  of  zooming  out  and  zooming  in,  so  that  a  school  community  can  better  see,  understand,  and  develop  its  particular  tool  kit  in  a  more  comprehensive  and  collaborative  manner.    Going  back  to  the  architectural  metaphor,  PMP  is  not  another  kind  of  saw  or  hammer.  Rather,  it’s  the  blueprints  for  the  entire  house  –  the  home  that  will  be  built  with  the  saws,  hammers,  nails,  etc.    

   

             

Bo  serves  as  the  Director  of  Educational  Innovation  at  Unboundary,  a  strategic  design  studio  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  specializing  in  transformational  change  processes,  communications,  and  brand  significance.  Bo  remains  active  as  an  edu-­‐blogger  at  It’s  About  Learning  (http://itsaboutlearning.wordpress.com)  and  @boadams1  on  Twitter.  Additionally,  Bo  regularly  pursues  deeper  understanding  in  the  area  of  “schools  of  the  future  and  the  future  of  schools.”