Leadership — New Tech Network Australia: Innovative Thinking in Education

New Tech School Tour - Texas April 2023

This April, we had the great pleasure of taking fourteen Australian educational leaders to Dallas, Texas to visit six New Tech schools that are at the forefront of educational reform. These leaders had the opportunity to network with educators, principals and experts from all over the USA, gaining insight into the most recent practices and developments in project-based learning, school leadership, and educational innovation.

We were welcomed into schools by students and teachers alike, had some incredible hands-on learning experiences and learnt so much from what we saw. It’s hard to narrow it down, but here are our key observations below. Why not join us on our next trip?

Getting Real About School Change

Formative feedback was the initiative at my school in 2009. We had a full day PD session with all the staff in the school canteen and I remember enjoying the day. The concept made sense to me: What Went Well… and Even Better If… My students would better understand their strengths and have something concrete to improve. The whole school would be using the same language and students would receive written formative feedback fortnightly. Wait… fortnightly? As a high school teacher of multiple classes, that meant…400 comments in books each fortnight? I was a French teacher, and the maths behind this gave me sleepless nights. Ask me to do something to improve student learning and I’ll do it. But seriously?

Are we thinking about learning in the same way?

In the course of my work, I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to consistently think with and learn from some inspiring educators in schools and districts that are tackling innovative work. And that work is hard too. Increasingly, I wonder if one thing that makes that work hard is that we are thinking about and/or acting on different understandings of “learning”?

Registration Open for NTAC Australia 2020!

We’re very excited to announce that the date has been set for the first ever New Tech Annual Conference Australia and we’d love to invite you, your School Leaders and teaching colleagues.

NTAC Australia 2020 will be held on Tuesday 14th April 2020 at St Joseph’s College, Geelong. This will be a fantastic opportunity for school leaders and teachers to come together and learn from educational experts from across Australia and the United States.

New Tech Network Australia Presenting at ACSA 2019 Curriculum Conference

The call to action of the ‘Through Growth to Achievement’ education review highlights the urgent need for educators and education systems to ensure that Australian students receive a world-class education that empowers, engages and enriches. This exciting conference will explore the key priorities…

Reflections from the USA: WHOLE SCHOOL CHANGES THE OLD SCHOOL

The U.S. education ecosystem is complex and too often the ‘change’ rhetoric is polarizing and blame-based. This article showcases our organizational beliefs and offers insights and tips based on a strong evidence-based track record of success. For nearly twenty years New Tech Network leaders have forged powerful partnerships with school districts of every size and locale to redesign how schools work so that more students experience school as empowering.

– Lydia Dobyns, CEO New Tech Network

Leadership, Network SchoolsBradley ScanlonJune 6, 2019PBL, USA, New Tech Network

Leadership Summit 2019: Designing Learning Experiences for Adults

In March, Curriculum and Subject Leaders from across Australia met at Emmanuel College to learn from each other and dive deeply into the topic of Adult Learning Experiences using NTN’s 4 Conditions of Deeper Learning. Round table discussions, chalk-talk protocols and a microlab guided participants towards designing agendas that are meaningful, active, responsive and reflective. Facilitated by NTN Development Coach, Kris Williams…

PD and Events, LeadershipEmily LiccioniMay 1, 2019PBL, Leadership SummitComment