Using participant actions to fuel change

The purpose of this slide presentation is to engender interest from others: General folks anywhere in the world

concerned with the future of education

People expert in “viral” ideas People with open source experience Students Educators Sponsors

What we know works:

Small groups of people using this process to build local actions to solve complex problems

Participatory Action Research demonstrates success in helping individuals address complex adaptive issues.

Where have we seen PAR work: During the Web Based Professional

Development Project from 2003 – 2008 Over 150 individual participants across

15 states in the U.S. studied and developed local solutions to issues related to homelessness and high mobility in schools.

Conservatively affecting the educational environment for 23,000 students over the course of the beginning of the project until now

Results

For the schools: We received community support for our toughest issues

For the educators: This project has changed the way I teach, the way I look at education, forever

For the students: Compared to a standard curricular growth (measured in lexiles) of 75 for the school year, students with stable housing improved 200, students experiencing homelessness averaged 300

The Future(s) of Education Project’s Goals Seed and connect participatory groups

all over the world Bring a world voice (teacher,

administrator, student and parent voices) to the question of what form should education take in the world

Facilitate participants’ ability to put action to their ideas and as both smaller and larger groups measure the results

Broadcast and replicate results

The Future(s) of Education project is based on the idea that no one alive today knows much about how education will develop over the next two decades. Systems as we know them are weakening if not

essentially defunct Emerging new models for education are hampered

by the control of institutions by professionals who grew up under old paradigms

The roles of virtual worlds, social networks, and proprietary free content, and the role of the classroom is changing education

How these technologies and ideas will play out in different parts of the international community is as yet only imagined

Local people paired with researchers and experts in technology, education, anthropology, etc. working as equals to take this issue to the next level and beyond.“Never doubt that a small group of

thoughtful,committed people can change the world.Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”~ Margaret Mead ~

This project believes in today's ‘ world those groups networked and communicating can change the future.

What the WBPD project did not do

It didn’t take off, spread, or “go viral” It never received interest or support

from higher than a state level authority

It didn’t find a way to sustain itself

Your interest can give this project a different result If you like the idea pass it on to

everyone you know who may be interested

Email ideas, comments , suggestions and offers for participation or resources to:

E. Alana James, Ed.D.alana@reinventinglife.orgKinsale, Co Cork, Ireland