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Hey everyone, so I'm guessing you're here because you're as fascinated as I am about

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how schools are really using tech to shake things up.

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It's easy to get caught up in the hype of the latest and greatest gadget, but I always

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find myself wondering, what about the planning part, the behind the scenes work that actually

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makes innovation last?

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Well, get ready, because that's exactly what we're diving into today.

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I'm excited to dig into this.

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We often talk about how sometimes the most exciting discoveries happen when you veer

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off the beaten path a little.

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Oh, absolutely, yeah.

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That's kind of what this research paper we're looking at today did.

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It's called Leadership and the Adoption of Innovative Planning.

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Catchy ride.

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Right.

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To the point.

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But seriously, it's super interesting.

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The author...

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Dr. Hackerman.

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Yeah, thanks.

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Dr. Hackerman followed four school leaders and they were trying out this totally new

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approach to tech planning called Educational Design Research, or EDR.

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That's a great way to put it.

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It really is a completely different approach.

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You see, Dr. Hackerman didn't follow tech gurus in Silicon Valley, no.

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These were everyday principles and coordinators dealing with those real world school problems

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we all know so well.

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Okay, so before we get into their stories, can you break down EDR a bit?

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It sounds kind of jargony to me.

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What's the big idea in plain English?

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Sure.

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So imagine you're trying to solve a puzzle, right?

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Most of us, we start with that picture on the box, right?

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We have this fixed idea of what the end result should be.

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Yeah, I'm definitely guilty of that.

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But EDR is more like saying, what if we just start putting the pieces together and see

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what emerges?

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Like, what interesting picture can we make?

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So it's about being open to where the process takes you, not just fixated on that predetermined

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outcome.

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You got it.

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And here's the other key thing with EDR.

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You're constantly experimenting, getting feedback, making adjustments along the way.

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Like that saying, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

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Oh, I like that.

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You got to be able to adapt.

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Okay, that makes total sense.

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And I guess that's where the whole collaborative part of EDR comes in.

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You need all those different voices and perspectives to make sure you're on the right track.

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100%.

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In fact, one of the biggest criticisms of the traditional way of doing tech planning

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is that it often kind of pushes teachers to the sidelines.

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EDR flips that on its head.

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It says, who knows the needs of the classroom better than the people who are in it every

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single day.

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So teachers are essential collaborators, not just told what to do with whatever tech gets

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thrown their way.

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I mean, I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be handed some new tool or software.

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And I had zero say in how it's supposed to work or if it even makes my life easier.

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And that's exactly why this study is so fascinating, because we get to see how EDR plays out in

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these very different school settings with all sorts of different challenges.

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All right, well, let's meet these leaders.

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Who are we dealing with?

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We have Rachel, an elementary school principal.

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She had to get a distance learning program up and running for her algebra students.

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And I mean, like yesterday.

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Talk about pressure.

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Oh, wow.

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I can only imagine.

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Who else?

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Then there's Kevin, a high school principal.

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He was constantly butting heads with his district's super rigid top down planning model.

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Oh, I bet.

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I'm sensing a theme here.

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Yeah, there's always that tension between innovation and bureaucracy, especially in

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education.

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And it's not just high schools either.

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We've also got Mary, another elementary school principal.

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She was so inspired by how another school was using technology, but she just didn't

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have the same resources they did.

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It's like finding the perfect recipe online and then realizing you're missing like half

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the ingredients.

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Right.

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And then last but not least, we have Carol, a curriculum coordinator who desperately

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wanted to find a way to streamline how teachers share resources.

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Oh yeah, even without technology, that can be a logistical nightmare.

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It makes you wonder how many potentially amazing ideas get totally bogged down by just the

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how of it all.

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But let's get back to these leaders.

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They're all using EDR, but they're obviously coming from such different places.

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Did the researchers categorize them in any way?

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She did.

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Just the classic early adopter versus early majority framework.

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Think about those friends, the ones who camp out for the latest iPhone.

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Oh yeah.

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Okay.

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Yeah, I think I have a pretty good handle on who's who now.

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So tell me how did EDR play out for these early adopters?

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Let's start with Rachel, our elementary school principal who had to get that distance learning

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program up and running.

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What was it, yesterday?

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Yesterday, that's right.

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And remember how with EDR, it's all about identifying that core problem first?

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Right.

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Well, for Rachel, it wasn't just about finding the perfect software.

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It was about how to actually make it work for her teachers who are already completely

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swamped.

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Totally.

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That makes a lot of sense.

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It's easy to forget about that very human side of technology, especially when you're

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in a rush.

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It really is, isn't it?

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So instead of just kind of throwing this new platform at her teachers and being like,

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all right, good luck with that, Rachel used EDR to actually work with them, they co-created

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this whole rollout plan that addressed their specific concerns.

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Oh, that's interesting.

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So they actually had a say in how this new tech was going to be used.

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Exactly.

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So what did that look like?

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Like did they have brainstorming sessions where there are like prototypes involved?

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Give me the nitty gritty.

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Well, they actually started with a series of workshops.

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And this gave teachers a safe space to voice their needs, their anxieties, all of it about

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distance learning.

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Make sense.

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And then from there, they were able to test out different platforms, but in these small

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groups.

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Okay, sorry.

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And the whole time, they were providing constant feedback to Rachel and the tech team.

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It sounds like they were really treating teachers like partners in the process, not just like

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you said, those end users who are just told what to do.

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100%. And honestly, that's where that whole iterative part of EDR really shines, you know?

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Because they were constantly getting this feedback.

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They could very quickly decide to ditch the platforms that weren't working or make changes

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based on what teachers actually needed.

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So it's like they were building the plane as they were flying it?

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Kind of, yeah.

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That takes some serious guts.

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I bet our high school principal, Kevin, had like a similar experience trying to work within

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his district's, you know, bureaucracy.

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Yeah, you're right.

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There are definitely some parallels there.

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Kevin, he was really, really excited about the potential of EDR, just that idea of giving

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teachers more control, more ownership over these tech decisions.

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But you can imagine that didn't exactly line up with his district's very top-down approach.

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Oh, I bet.

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I can see how that would cause some friction.

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So how did Kevin manage to reconcile EDR with his district's very clear expectations?

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Did he have to bend the rules a little bit?

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He did, but he was, shall we say, strategic about it.

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I see, I see.

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He knew his district.

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He knew they were obsessed with SMART goals, you know, those super specific, measurable,

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achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.

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So he very cleverly framed his whole EDR pilot project in a way that checked off all those

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boxes, even though the actual process was way more fluid and iterative in reality.

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It's like he was speaking their language, but still staying true to, like, the heart

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of EDR.

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Yeah.

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That's impressive.

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Okay, so our early adopters are embracing the unknown, finding those workarounds, love

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it.

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What about our more cautious folks?

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How did EDR land with Mary and Carol?

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Were they just as gung-ho about it from the get-go?

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Not quite.

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Remember, Mary was really inspired by what that other school had done with technology.

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Right, but she didn't have the same resources, right?

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Exactly.

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That was a major concern for her.

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She was worried that EDR would require all this fancy software or, you know, God forbid,

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expensive consultants, and her school just did not have the budget for it.

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I can see why she'd be a little hesitant.

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It's like wanting to completely remodel your kitchen, but you're not even sure you can

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afford new countertops.

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A perfect analogy.

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But here's where, you know, having a strong network really makes a difference, right?

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So Mary did something really smart.

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She reached out to a principal in another district who had actually used EDR successfully,

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but on a super tight budget.

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Oh, nice.

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And as principal, he became kind of like her unofficial EDR mentor, you know?

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Guided her every step of the way, reassured her that it was totally possible to make EDR

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work in any context.

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It's amazing how, like, just having that one person in your corner can change everything.

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Totally.

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Like, you just needed someone to be like, listen, you got this.

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You can do this.

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Absolutely.

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And honestly, that's something we don't talk about enough when it comes to innovation and

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the power of mentors, you know, that peer support.

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I think it can make or break a project, especially for those who aren't super comfortable with

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taking risks.

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So true.

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So what about Carol, our curriculum coordinator?

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What were her first impressions of EDR?

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Well, remember for her, it was all about finding a system, a sustainable system for teachers

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to share those resources, right?

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But, and this is important, she also had like a very healthy dose of skepticism.

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You know what I mean?

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Okay.

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Because you'd seen it all before, right?

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All those well-intentioned tech initiatives that just completely flocked because no one

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thought to ask teachers, hey, what do you actually need?

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Or how do you actually work day to day?

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So she was looking for something that would really stick, not just another quick fix.

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Exactly.

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Carol wanted something that would become a part of the school's DNA, you know, the culture.

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And I think that's ultimately what really drew her to EDR, that idea that you're not

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just like forcing a new technology on people.

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You're fostering this environment, this mindset of continuous improvement.

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Interesting.

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So they've got these four very different leaders all dealing with their own unique challenges.

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And yet they all found something valuable in this like flexible, collaborative approach

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to planning.

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I mean, that really speaks volumes, don't you think?

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It says a lot about EDR's potential to really drive meaningful change in education.

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And maybe even beyond, right?

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What surprised you most about their experiences?

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You know, it's funny because I went into this research mostly interested in the practical

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side of EDR.

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Like how can it help schools use technology more effectively, period?

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But what really surprised me, what I was not expecting was how deeply EDR impacted, how

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these leaders thought about leadership itself.

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Oh, interesting.

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What do you mean?

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Well, they all talked about the shift that happened.

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At the beginning, they felt like they had to have every single answer.

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But EDR helped them embrace a much more like iterative, experimental approach, right?

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And the coolest part, they started to realize that by actually letting go a little by empowering

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their teams, creating space for collaboration and feedback, they were actually unintentionally

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building a way more resilient and responsive school culture.

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So it's not even really about the technology in the end, is it?

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It's about building an environment, a culture where innovation can actually like take root

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and thrive.

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Exactly.

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It's about moving away from that old school top down do as you're told mentality and

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instead moving towards shared responsibility, continuous learning, all of that.

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And honestly, I think that's something that we desperately need, not just in education,

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but everywhere.

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So true.

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It really makes you wonder, you know, how different could our workplaces be?

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Our communities, even just our own lives, really, if we could all just embrace that

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kind of flexibility, that adaptability.

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I love that.

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So as we wrap up here, what are some questions that someone is listening who's intrigued

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by all of this?

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What questions should they be asking themselves?

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That's a great question to end on.

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I think the biggest takeaway here is that EDR, it's not a magic solution, right?

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It's not a magic wand.

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It's a mindset.

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It's about looking inward and asking yourself, how can I create that culture of experimentation,

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that spirit of continuous improvement in my own little corner of the world?

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And maybe even more importantly, how can I empower the people around me to really own

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this process?

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How can we all work together to shape the future even and maybe especially when the path forward

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is a little, you know, foggy?

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Oh, I love that.

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Food for thought indeed.

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I know about you, but I'm feeling pretty inspired to ditch the old roadmap and embrace a little

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more, I don't know, a little more exploration of my own life.

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Thanks for joining us on this deep dive.

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It's been a pleasure.

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Until next time, keep those amazing questions coming.