Table of Contents

Foreword by Arthur Levine
Acknowledgments
About the Author
INTRODUCTION
Becoming Agents of Our Own Learning
Schools That Support Human Development
The Core of Change Is Learning
Change Is a Developmental Task
Chapter 1. WHAT’S WORTH LEARNING? YOUR NORTH STAR
A Rising Tide of Consensus
Worthy Skill 1: Self-Directed Learning
Worthy Skill 2: Creativity and Innovation
Worthy Skill 3: Planning, Adaptability, and Agility
Worthy Skill 4: Strengths Awareness and Application
Worthy Skill 5: Self-Efficacy
Worthy Skill 6: Global Citizenship
Worthy Skill 7: Relationship Building
Worthy Skill 8: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Key Points
Questions for Reflection and Action
Chapter 2. HOW DO WE REDESIGN AN EXISTING SYSTEM?
The Pedagogy Needs to Reflect the Outcomes We Seek
Changing Pedagogy Changes Your Culture
Moving From the Industrial Educational Model to a Postindustrial Model
What Kind of Change Is It?
Differentiating Your Approach
Key Points
Questions for Reflection and Action
Chapter 3. FIVE SUCCESS FACTORS FOR CHANGE
Success Factor 1: Sustained Leadership and a Visionary School Board
Success Factor 2: A Shared Vision of the Change
Success Factor 3: Unleashing Talent and Building Teams
Success Factor 4: Rethinking the Use of Time and Space
Success Factor 5: Overhauling the Assessment Structure of Learning and School Performance
Leading Transformative Change Requires Adult Development
From Socialized Minds to Self-Authoring Minds
Moving Away From the Patriarchal Model of Education
Key Points
Questions for Reflection and Action
Chapter 4. LEADING YOUR ORGANIZATION THROUGH CHANGE: STRATEGIES
Success Factors in Action
Strategy 1: Your Learning History
Strategy 2: The Future: Where Would You Like to Go?
Strategy 3: Building Organizational Change Capacity
Strategy 4: Helping Others Through Change—The Power of Development
Strategy 5: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint—Leading Through the Uncertainty of Change
Strategy 6: Building Effective Teams
Strategy 7: It Could Be a Library or . . .
Strategy 8: Measuring What We Value
Key Points
Questions for Reflection and Action
Chapter 5. LEADING YOURSELF THROUGH CHANGE
When You Are or Are Not in Charge
The Hero’s Journey
Stages of the Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey of Real People Like You
Key Points
Questions for Reflection and Action
CONCLUSION
Getting Clear on Your “Why” and Taking Action
Summary Questions for Reflection and Action
Appendix
Organizational Change Capacity Questionnaire
Individual Development Plan
The Strengths-Based Conversation
References
Index

About the Author

Julie M. Wilson is a coach and advisor to school leaders, educational institutions, and foundations whose mission is to shape the future of K-12 education. She has over 15 years experience building effective learning environments that unlock human potential and enable organizational culture to adapt and grow during times of change.

 

She is the Founder and Executive Director of Institute for the Future of Learning, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping transform the factory model of education. Projects include working with school leadership and teacher teams to reimagine curriculum and pedagogy, researching the current state of the K-12 transformational landscape, and coaching school and district leaders. Julie has worked with a diverse range of clients including public schools, independent schools, public charter schools, and educational philanthropic organizations.

 

In addition to helping schools and communities lead sustainable change, Julie highlights great practice and shares reflections on curriculum, pedagogy, and change at www.the-IFL.org.  Speaking engagements include TEDx, fuse, the Center for Transformational Leadership, and the Ideas in Education Festival. Julie graduated from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education with a Master’s degree in Technology, Innovation, and Education, and a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration and French from Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During her time as a staff member at Harvard, Julie was the recipient of the ‘Harvard Hero’ award for outstanding contributions to the University.

 

Connect with Julie via twitter @juliemargretta or via email: jwilson@the-IFL.org

Reviews

Julie Wilson dares to turn common sense into an action plan. This is an urgent, important book for all educators and parents.
*Seth Godin, Author*

A refreshing and hopeful perspective on transforming the education system to prepare students for the demands of an unpredictable, unknown, and complex future. Wilson offers tools for educators to develop the necessary habits of mind to conquer wide-scale change. 
*Elise Foster, Founder and President; Co-Author*

Julie Wilson is both a visionary and a pragmatist. Her book is a wonderfully clear and concise guide for leaders who seek to navigate the road to educational transformation.
*Tony Wagner, Author*

If you want to understand what it takes to create innovative and lasting change, then forge ahead with The Human Side of Changing Education, and bravely create your own hero′s journey. This is a valuable guide, with practical advice and real-life examples to support you in this very complicated and challenging work.
*Ann Koufman-Frederick, Chief Academic Officer*

Julie Wilson’s advice is spot on: Find your north star, embrace the process of change, and focus on the adults in your system. Every educator needs to not only read this book, but also commit to the journey of change that Wilson has thoughtfully implored us to take.  
*Ken Kay, CEO; Founding President*

If everyone working in U.S. K-12 education were to read this book and put even half of its thinking into practice, we would be well on our way to a far better society. It is timely, visionary, and relentlessly practical – a rare combination. Discover what our future could look like if enough of us dare to make it happen.
*Andy Calkins, Director*

Julie Wilson has emerged as an important thought-leader among those seeking to transform America’s outdated, industrial model of education. With this important book, she has produced an invaluable resource designed to make sense of the myriad initiatives crowding the educational landscape. Concise, thoughtful, and based on a comprehensive review of the field, this book will serve as a catalyst for your own thinking, and for your school’s transformation.
*Andy Willemsen, Director*

This book is a call to action. Drawing on proven wisdom, Julie Wilson sets out a path for championing change within the education system
*Michael Bungay Stanier, Author; Senior Partner*

At long last, Julie Wilson′s thinking about how to transform school culture and teacher mindsets is now in print for the global education community to consider within their individual school innovation plans. The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning has greatly benefited from Julie′s on-site workshops and we are grateful to now have Julie′s wisdom for immediate reference when she is not available in-person.
*Glenn Whitman, Director; Co-Author*

The desire for an evolution in education has reached a fevered pitch over the last few years. Amidst this forward momentum, Julie Wilson’s book serves as a useful pause button; a reminder that education, at its core, has been and always should be a human-centered enterprise. It is worth noting how useful it is to have someone point out something that, once a light is shone, seems so obvious. I thank Julie – and this book – for being that beacon.
*Chris Jackson, Chief Communications Officer*

Where other books focus on the what and why of school change, Julie Wilson’s book empowers leaders to deal with the human side of school change. Julie shares examples, tools, strategies, and resources to schools who are striving to change the paradigm to build schools of the future.
*Bo Adams, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer; Executive Director*

I have seen Julie Wilson teach school leaders using the principles she captures here so clearly. This book will offer system-shifting school leaders the practical strategies, skills, dispositions, and tools they need to navigate successfully their journey to modernizing our schools.
*David Monaco, Allen Meyer Family Head of School; Founding Partner*

Transforming schools is truly a human endeavor. It requires a community commitment to a new set of student learning outcomes, as well as teachers and leaders willing to give students voice and choice over their own learning. Julie Wilson’s book is an essential guide to teachers and leaders ready to take on this challenge.
*Tim Presiado, Chief Operating Officer*

Huge gratitude to Julie Wilson for illuminating such important dimensions of school transformation. The human side of change – leadership, culture, emotions, and process – can make or break any effort to build models of design that better prepare students to thrive in the 21st century. This book provides practical tools and inspiring stories from real practitioners who are leading change. A key read for anyone seeking to build the future of learning.
*Jeff Wetzler, Co-Founder*

Every now and then, a book comes out that has the power to not only inspire but to also instill change. Julie Wilson′s, The Human Side of Changing Education is this book. If you are passionate about improving education (and yourself), read this as soon as you can. Weaving commentary from a variety of sources, Wilson masterfully merges research with practice and engages the reader in thoughtful reflections on the changing needs of education. This exceptional book not only asks why but gives the reader tools for how they can enact change on a personal and organizational level.
*Susan Reinecke, Societal Advancement K-12 Faculty*

Julie Wilson’s practical insights for bringing the human element into school transformation face major obstacles in a school culture obsessed with data. Nonetheless, her insights deserve attentive reflection and action by every person looking for our children to be seen as flesh and blood learners instead of measurable numbers.
*Jim Bellanca, Executive Director; Co-Editor Rethinking How Students Learn, 21st Century Skills; Senior Fellow*

With clarity and grace, Julie Wilson guides educators through the difficult task of unlearning the old habits and lessons of the past to create schools that cultivate the post-industrial skills our students need.  She models the innovative thinking and processes required to create the schools our students and society deserve.
*Ethan R. Cancell, Executive Director*

For educators to facilitate and sustain meaningful school change, they must first embody the change they envision for their students. Julie Wilson’s book provides a solid explanation of the change process and practical tools for individuals who seek to not only transform the world of education but transform themselves as well.
*Amy Timmins, Teacher*

"A call to arms. This book not only provides a great platform for schools or districts to intimate conversations about change, but lays out an easy to follow scaffold on which an action plan can be developed."
*Ray Boyd, Principal*

"Very engaging. Offers practical advice to educators who want to be change leaders. I felt enthused and motivated after reading it. Julie Wilson conveys there are no quick fixes."
*Louis Lim, Vice-Principal*

"A vital subject that is fresh and timely. It will be very helpful to many school leaders."
*Holly Leach, Superintendent*

"This book is right on target with the needs of today to create an efficient, engaging, exciting, learning situation in schools. Julie Wilson left me ready to continue what we are doing in our school.  The book is probably one of the most relevant ones I have seen in quite a while."
*Sister Camille Anne Campbell, President*