This new title by Michael Fullan and Mark Edwards highlights essential, immediate changes to K-12 Education.
Solution Tree, an educational publisher and professional development provider, has announced the release of The Power of Unstoppable Momentum: Key Drivers to Revolutionize Your District by Michael Fullan and Mark A. Edwards.
Fullan and Edwards detail a simple but powerful process for integrating technology, pedagogy, and deep learning that leads to lasting change in schools and districts. “There is a huge upheaval occurring in the world, particularly in the United States, with regard to how federal education policy is changing following the 2016 presidential election,” said the authors. “Never has it been more critical that students immerse themselves in the values and global competencies essential for living in an ever-complex universe.”
The resource identifies four themes underway in education that are unstoppable:
- Traditional schooling is outdated, and students will no longer tolerate the status quo.
- Ubiquitous digital innovation, coupled with social media and other networks, no longer aligns with the hierarchy of existing governance models.
- New pedagogies and digital resources are unleashing motivational forces across the spectrum of students.
- New forms of leadership are bringing about positive change.
Fullan and Edwards explain, “Because these unstoppable forces can create chaos and harm, our book is about how to corral and shape these forces for the common good — to help make unstoppably good things happen.”
Included are real examples of districts, including Mooresville Graded School District (MGSD) — a lowly funded, 50 percent poverty school district in North Carolina — that attained pedagogically driven, digitally accelerated success. “MGSD is a very hard case,” the authors revealed. “They don’t get much harder, unless you go to the giant urban districts. If they can do it, anyone can do it.”
Educators as well as experts in the educational field have enthusiastically embraced The Power of Unstoppable Momentum. “Educational leaders looking for inspiration and proof that success at scale is possible will find this book to be a tremendous resource,” said Susan Enfield, superintendent of Highline Public Schools in Washington State. “Fullan and Edwards demonstrate that unstoppable momentum is possible, and needed, in school systems everywhere.”
Steven Webb, superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools in Washington State, raved,
“Fullan and Edwards nail it — culture trumps strategy every time. They understand that transformational change requires new ways of thinking and doing that leverages ubiquitous leadership around a shared vision focused on personalized learning.”
“The Power of Unstoppable Momentum” is now available to order at SolutionTree.com.
About the Authors
Michael Fullan, PhD, is former dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He is recognized as an international authority on educational reform.
Mark A. Edwards, EdD, serves as senior vice president of digital learning for Discovery Education. He previously served as superintendent of the Mooresville Graded District from 2007 to 2016 and is considered a pioneer of one-to-one computing.
Love this idea of keeping up with the needs of our students and engaging them in meaningful lessons. As we design the learning and integrate technology, we have to remember that teaching the basic skills is equally important in order for the students to apply these learnings to the real world.