Iterate

Justin Reich started his career as a high school history teacher and is now an associate professor at MIT and the director of the Teaching Systems Lab. He is the author of Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education. He earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

• Introduction: The Secret to School Improvement               7My Best Teaching Ever: Wilderness Medicine      7Creating Time and Space for Iteration     9Iterative Improvement at MIT     10Three Cycles for Iterative Improvement 11The Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning          13Design Thinking for Leading and Learning              15Collaborative Innovation Cycle   17Three Principles for Iteration      18Think In Cycles and Spirals            19Act in Short Design Cycles             19Improve in Community  19Chapter 1: What is the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning?   21Changing the Complex, Fine-Grained Work of Teaching   24Teachers Primarily Change Their Pedagogy in Response to Other Teachers             26Three Phases to the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning          27Experiment        28Experience         29Plan       32What’s missing from the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 33Evaluation and Measurement    34Loss       35Power, Difference, and Design Justice     37Leadership and the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning            40Chapter 2: Spinning the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning   44Creating More Opportunities for Experimentation            46Pointing a Light: Targets of Difficulty        47Making Time: Summer Innovation Funding           47Finding the Resources All Around You: Students as Designers       49Innovation Staffing: Department Heads, Coaches, and Teachers on Special Assignment    50Using the Bully Pulpit      51Making Team Learning Richer: Looking at Student Work and Instructional Rounds              53The Proof of the Pudding: Looking at Student Work          53Getting into Classrooms: Instructional Rounds    54Institutional Learning: Ramping up Planning through Peer-to-Peer Learning           56Meeting Times are Instructional Sharing Times   58Teacher Led Peer-to-Peer Learning          59Seeing Outside Expertise as the Catalyst Teacher to Peer-to-Peer Learning             61Rowing in the Same Direction: Creating Common Instructional Language and a Shared Vision        62Preparing to Communicate Together: Creating a Common Instructional Language               62Developing a Shared Vision: Right-Sized Goals     64Iterating Forward with The Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning             66Chapter 3: What is Design Thinking?        68From Waterfalls to Sprints: A Brief History of Design         71From Dewey to Design Thinking 74The Design Justice Critiques of Design Thinking   76Getting Started with Design Thinking for Leading and Learning    78Key Principles to Design Thinking for Leading and Learning            81Six Phases for Design Thinking for Leading and Learning  84Discover               84Focus    88Imagine 91Prototype           93Try          97Reflect & Share 99Reflection and Inclusion 101Conclusion          102Chapter 4: Getting Started with Design   104Discover               104Research to Discover: Surveys, Interviews, and Observations       104Iterating on Discovery    106Combining Local Knowledge with Education Research     108Focus    109Going from Observable Data to Underlying Challenges    109Finalizing a Focus Area   112Imagine 113User Personas (or Community Personas)               114Imagine by Analogy         115Imagining from Flare to Focus     117Prototype           118Sketching and Storyboarding      119Paper Prototyping and Wireframing         121Physical Prototyping and Rehearsals        123Try          124When to Try Out Your Prototypes             125How to Try Out Your Prototypes 126Who Should Try Out Your Prototypes      130Reflect & Share 132Design Crits         132Conclusion          134Chapter 5: The Collaborative Innovation Cycle     136Four Phases of the Collaborative Innovation Cycle             139Developing the Collaborative Innovation Cycle with Peter Senge 142Looking Inwards and Outwards, Setting the Frame for the Collaborative Innovation Cycle 143Systems Thinking in Schools        143Who Leads? Distributed Leadership in Schools    145Key Principles for the Collaborative Innovation Cycle        146Bringing People Together Around Ideas They Care About               147Four Questions for Innovation    150Refining a Vision and Getting to Work     154Building from Personal Visions to Shared Vision  155Managing Difference in a Shared Vision  159The Someday-Monday Dilemma 161Getting to Work: The Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning, and Design Thinking for Leading and Learning           164Working Together Through Ups and Downs          165Four Fields of Listening  171Tools for Better Listening: The Ladder of Inference           176Addressing Disagreement Through a Bias to Action           180Measuring Progress and Adjusting            183Key Principles for Measuring Progress and Adjusting        184Distinguishing Assessment from Evaluation          186Gathering Evidence from Artifacts of Learning     188Gathering Evidence from People               193Using Assessment to Revitalize Initiatives and to Get Unstuck      198Conclusion          199Chapter 6: Tools and Strategies for the Collaborative Innovation Cycle     201Activities for Bringing People Together Around Ideas They Care About     201Visions for a Powerful Learning Environment       202Four Questions for Innovation    204Asset Mapping  208Activities for Refining a Vision and Getting to Work           211Exploring Possible Visions: Rightboro Scenarios  211Refining a Vision: The Someday/Monday Starter Kit          218Part 1 - Someday: What Does Awesome Look Like?           218Part 2 - Monday: Concrete Steps               220Activities for Working Together Through Ups and Downs                221Activity: Left-Hand Column Case 222Activities for Measuring Progress and Adjusting 225Assessment Planning Scenarios 225Assessment Plan              230From Launching Innovation in Schools to Sustaining Innovation in Schools              232Conclusion: Cycles, Endings, and Beginnings         234Balancing Coherence and Innovation      234When Cycles End              235Final Thoughts: Inclusion and Joy              237Appendix 1: Design Thinking Starter Project Walkthrough: Helping a Friend with a Routine or Event           239Step 1: Discover: Prepare for & Conduct an Initial Interview          239Prepare & Conduct Interview Template 241Example Interview          243Step 2: Focus: Identify a Specific Design Problem               246Key Takeaways Template             247Key Takeaways Example 248Step 3a: Imagine new Solutions 250Brainstorm Template     251Brainstorm Template     253Step 3b: Choosing a Solution for Prototyping       254Step 4: Prototype Your Solution 255Step 5: Try out your Prototype, Get User Feedback, and Iterate  258Design Hypothesis Tryout Template         259Feedback Template        261Feedback Example          263Step 7: Reflect and Share              266Appendix 2:  Design Thinking for Leading and Learning in Practice Walkthrough   268Discover               269Discover 1a: Find Your Team       269Discover 1b: Review The School Change Status Quo          269Discover 1c: Identify a Problem of Practice            270Discover 1d: Identify Stakeholders           272Discover 1e: Gather Stakeholder Perspectives on Your Problem of Practice through Interviews, Observations, Student Work, or Surveys             272Discover 1f: Research and Comparison schools    275Focus    276Focus 2a: Thinking About Needs (Focus) 276Step 3: Brainstorm Solutions (Imagine)   278Step 3b: Evaluate Ideas (Imagine)             279Step 4: Plan Initial Steps (Prototype)       280Step 5: Take a Step and Iterate (Try)        284Step 7: Reflect & Share  286