In “Every connection optimized: Unleashing the potential of the people in learning ecosystems,” I introduced our word treatment of ECOsystems to emphasize the importance of empowering system leaders to embrace adaptive management approaches in which Every Connection is Optimized. I also introduced research on organized chaos, “a situation that appears disordered on the surface but actually has an underlying structure.” In her discussion of organized chaos, study author Amendola notes four benefits for this approach: adaptability, collaboration, innovation, and trust. Trust, I think, comes first. Especially in bureaucratic systems in which compliance is valued over innovation.
Building a system-wide culture of trust
Alan Cheng, a high school superintendent who I highlighted in the column, shared after reading it that he appreciated the weaving together of “organized chaos” and our broader vision for ecosystem stewardship.
“Your framing of ECOsystems—where Every Connection is Optimized—resonates deeply with the kind of learner- and adult-centered change we’re working toward in NYC. [It inspires] me to think more expansively about how we support the people who hold our systems together.”
Cheng’s reflections got me thinking: What supports do the people who “hold our systems together” need to optimize connections between the people, places and possibilities within their classrooms, programs, schools, organizations, and communities? The problem, I assume, is not that they can’t see the potential. It’s that they can’t figure out how to tap into it given the demands and constraints of their jobs. Optimizing connections means introducing uncertainty.
Much of the success Cheng has had in his district comes from the level of trust he gave school leaders to adapt, collaborate and innovate towards the new educational vision he has for all high schools. But too few school districts have the funding levels or a leader like Cheng to inspire and implement the shifts needed to support a new paradigm.
But every district and every school have teachers who would collaborate and innovate more often and more boldly if provided minimal supports. We must continue to look for and uplift innovative examples where small investments in ecosystems stewardship are making a big difference.
A powerful example: CommunityShare
Time, training and trust (the “freedom to fail”) often top the lists of supports educators need to innovate and collaborate more. Founder and Executive Director of CommunityShare, Josh Schachter has created accessible, scalable solutions for each challenge. Schachter asks us each to imagine our community as a “human library” in which community members reveal and share their wisdom, skills and lived experiences with educators and students through real-world projects driven by students’ passions. Then he gives us the tools to make this vision real.
Time. CommunityShare developed an online platform that connects in-school and out-of-school educators and students to community members who bring valuable skills, knowledge and expertise aligned with students’ interests and educators’ goals. STEM professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, higher education faculty/students, retirees, parents, and staff in local nonprofits, government agencies, and companies create online individual profiles that reveal the professional skills and life experiences they would like to share. Educators post real-world learning projects outlining learning goals, student interests, and more. The platform automatically matches community members to projects, allowing educators to select and invite partners to collaborate. Educators can also engage community partners virtually because the local platforms are part of CommunityShare’s national network. This is a gift for rural communities where access to diverse professionals is often more limited. And the CommunityShare “human library” also has its own librarian – a “steward” that gets to know educators and community partners alike to help to ensure these connections are made and goals are met.
Founder of CommunityShare, Josh Schachter’s profile on the site.
Training. Capacity building is equally central to CommunityShare’s success. Though many educators see the value of these real-world learning experiences, many have little experience designing them. To support educators in developing the mindset, confidence and skills to co-design real-world learning experiences with community members and their students, CommunityShare developed an intensive educator fellowship and professional learning experiences. These learning spaces are essential for educators to learn to take risks and develop trust in themselves, their students and community members. In addition, CommunityShare partners with regional organizations – school districts, municipalities, nonprofit coalitions – working with regional staff who act as stewards of the learning ecosystem to co-create a vision and actionable strategy for engaging community members.
Trust. The one-stop “human library” works because it trusts educators and community partners to make their own connections on their own timelines, one project, one person at a time. According to Schachter:
“By providing educators with robust profiles that highlight not just the work, but also the life experiences, lived histories and past projects of potential partners, the platform offers a deeper understanding of the people they and their students will engage with. Through experiences with CommunityShare, community partners gain a better understanding of the daily realities of public education, educators and students.
This mutual understanding creates a more open and collaborative environment where relationship-driven trust fuels a community shift from a scarcity to an abundance mindset. Optimizing connections helps ensure more equitable access to resources.”
CommunityShare has reached 50,000 PreK-12 students and their educators across 11 states. Through surveys and focus groups, educators reflect on the impact of these real-world learning experiences on students:
98% increase in student engagement and social-emotional skills.
96% of students developed critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills.
87% showed increased college and career readiness.
The full impact, however, is best conveyed through real stories and projects made possible:
High schoolers studying the thermal properties of EV batteries and their real-world applications alongside university chemical engineers.
University faculty and grad students mentoring middle and high school students to use geospatial technology to map and analyze green infrastructure inequities in their neighborhoods.
Middle schoolers being mentored by a local cabinet maker to design and build a dining room table set for a new family in a domestic violence shelter.
High schoolers learning physics, chemistry, entrepreneurship and creativity through a three-month field experience with artists in a glassblowing studio.
CommunityShare
Students work on wall mosaic with artist.
CommunityShare
A student blows glass with help from professional glassblower.
CommunityShare
A group of students stand in park with imaging equipment taking instruction from expert.
These experiences have a deep impact on educators. Schachter shared a few quotes:
“I’ve been doing community projects throughout my career. But CommunityShare opened up a whole avenue of resources for me…. I was an island, I was doing it on my own. Now I have a whole community of people that are connected to me.”
“I used to feel anxious and overwhelmed about establishing community partnerships, but now I trust in myself more to engage in lasting, meaningful relationships with diverse stakeholders that deepen students’ understanding of unit questions.”
Educators start with one project, but as they see the impact and become more comfortable with this collaborative, adaptive approach they begin to press for system-level changes. Schachter shared an example of two educators who initiated and now co-lead district-wide CommunityShare initiatives and local educator fellowships in their respective districts, growing a culture and practice of community-engaged learning among their peers, students and throughout their communities.
CommunityShare is giving communities the tools and approach they need to strengthen their learning ecosystems. Schachter would like to give them better tools to track their progress:
“One of the biggest challenges for our work is to tell the story of learning ecosystems and develop indicators that measure not just the parts but the overall health and dynamic vitality of the system.”
Thriving youth need thriving ecosystems. Thriving ecosystems need thriving systems. CommunityShare is giving the adults in systems the tools and confidence they need to document the magic that happens when they make connections between themselves, their students and their community members and infuse these into their systems one project at a time.
Trust, time and training: Unlocking the potential of learning ECOsystems
In “Every connection optimized: Unleashing the potential of the people in learning ecosystems,” I introduced our word treatment of ECOsystems to emphasize the importance of empowering system leaders to embrace adaptive management approaches in which Every Connection is Optimized. I also introduced research on organized chaos, “a situation that appears disordered on the surface but actually has an underlying structure.” In her discussion of organized chaos, study author Amendola notes four benefits for this approach: adaptability, collaboration, innovation, and trust. Trust, I think, comes first. Especially in bureaucratic systems in which compliance is valued over innovation.
Building a system-wide culture of trust
“Your framing of ECOsystems—where Every Connection is Optimized—resonates deeply with the kind of learner- and adult-centered change we’re working toward in NYC. [It inspires] me to think more expansively about how we support the people who hold our systems together.”
Cheng’s reflections got me thinking: What supports do the people who “hold our systems together” need to optimize connections between the people, places and possibilities within their classrooms, programs, schools, organizations, and communities? The problem, I assume, is not that they can’t see the potential. It’s that they can’t figure out how to tap into it given the demands and constraints of their jobs. Optimizing connections means introducing uncertainty.
[Related: Every connection optimized: Unleashing the potential of the people in learning ecosystems]
Much of the success Cheng has had in his district comes from the level of trust he gave school leaders to adapt, collaborate and innovate towards the new educational vision he has for all high schools. But too few school districts have the funding levels or a leader like Cheng to inspire and implement the shifts needed to support a new paradigm.
But every district and every school have teachers who would collaborate and innovate more often and more boldly if provided minimal supports. We must continue to look for and uplift innovative examples where small investments in ecosystems stewardship are making a big difference.
A powerful example: CommunityShare
Time, training and trust (the “freedom to fail”) often top the lists of supports educators need to innovate and collaborate more. Founder and Executive Director of CommunityShare, Josh Schachter has created accessible, scalable solutions for each challenge. Schachter asks us each to imagine our community as a “human library” in which community members reveal and share their wisdom, skills and lived experiences with educators and students through real-world projects driven by students’ passions. Then he gives us the tools to make this vision real.
Time. CommunityShare developed an online platform that connects in-school and out-of-school educators and students to community members who bring valuable skills, knowledge and expertise aligned with students’ interests and educators’ goals. STEM professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, higher education faculty/students, retirees, parents, and staff in local nonprofits, government agencies, and companies create online individual profiles that reveal the professional skills and life experiences they would like to share. Educators post real-world learning projects outlining learning goals, student interests, and more. The platform automatically matches community members to projects, allowing educators to select and invite partners to collaborate. Educators can also engage community partners virtually because the local platforms are part of CommunityShare’s national network. This is a gift for rural communities where access to diverse professionals is often more limited. And the CommunityShare “human library” also has its own librarian – a “steward” that gets to know educators and community partners alike to help to ensure these connections are made and goals are met.
Founder of CommunityShare, Josh Schachter’s profile on the site.
Training. Capacity building is equally central to CommunityShare’s success. Though many educators see the value of these real-world learning experiences, many have little experience designing them. To support educators in developing the mindset, confidence and skills to co-design real-world learning experiences with community members and their students, CommunityShare developed an intensive educator fellowship and professional learning experiences. These learning spaces are essential for educators to learn to take risks and develop trust in themselves, their students and community members. In addition, CommunityShare partners with regional organizations – school districts, municipalities, nonprofit coalitions – working with regional staff who act as stewards of the learning ecosystem to co-create a vision and actionable strategy for engaging community members.
Trust. The one-stop “human library” works because it trusts educators and community partners to make their own connections on their own timelines, one project, one person at a time. According to Schachter:
“By providing educators with robust profiles that highlight not just the work, but also the life experiences, lived histories and past projects of potential partners, the platform offers a deeper understanding of the people they and their students will engage with. Through experiences with CommunityShare, community partners gain a better understanding of the daily realities of public education, educators and students.
This mutual understanding creates a more open and collaborative environment where relationship-driven trust fuels a community shift from a scarcity to an abundance mindset. Optimizing connections helps ensure more equitable access to resources.”
CommunityShare has reached 50,000 PreK-12 students and their educators across 11 states. Through surveys and focus groups, educators reflect on the impact of these real-world learning experiences on students:
The full impact, however, is best conveyed through real stories and projects made possible:
CommunityShare
Students work on wall mosaic with artist.
CommunityShare
A student blows glass with help from professional glassblower.
CommunityShare
A group of students stand in park with imaging equipment taking instruction from expert.
These experiences have a deep impact on educators. Schachter shared a few quotes:
“I’ve been doing community projects throughout my career. But CommunityShare opened up a whole avenue of resources for me…. I was an island, I was doing it on my own. Now I have a whole community of people that are connected to me.”
“I used to feel anxious and overwhelmed about establishing community partnerships, but now I trust in myself more to engage in lasting, meaningful relationships with diverse stakeholders that deepen students’ understanding of unit questions.”
[Related: It’s a beautiful day in the ecosystem]
Educators start with one project, but as they see the impact and become more comfortable with this collaborative, adaptive approach they begin to press for system-level changes. Schachter shared an example of two educators who initiated and now co-lead district-wide CommunityShare initiatives and local educator fellowships in their respective districts, growing a culture and practice of community-engaged learning among their peers, students and throughout their communities.
CommunityShare is giving communities the tools and approach they need to strengthen their learning ecosystems. Schachter would like to give them better tools to track their progress:
“One of the biggest challenges for our work is to tell the story of learning ecosystems and develop indicators that measure not just the parts but the overall health and dynamic vitality of the system.”
Thriving youth need thriving ecosystems. Thriving ecosystems need thriving systems. CommunityShare is giving the adults in systems the tools and confidence they need to document the magic that happens when they make connections between themselves, their students and their community members and infuse these into their systems one project at a time.
***
In her columns, Karen Pittman is exploring the research behind the statement, “When Youth Thrive, We All Thrive.”
The post Trust, time and training: Unlocking the potential of learning ECOsystems appeared first on Youth Today.
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