Upcoming events
How to Build a Learning Ecosystem: Lessons from Practitioners
April 27, 2021 – 2:00pm (GMT+3)
Building on our recently released Special focus, join us and four leading Learning Ecosystems experts and practitioners to discuss what it takes to design and launch impactful ecosystems.
ABOUT LIVING LAB
Learning Ecosystems Living Lab (LELL) is a new initiative anchored in a place-based and collective design approach to mobilize practitioners, experts, policymakers & innovators as a global community of practice and thought-leadership that will support the design of key components of Learning Ecosystems in different regional contexts. This initiative seeks to disrupt and spearhead the sharing of innovative ideas and support the design of Learning Ecosystems globally.
The global community of practice aims to:
- Identify shared challenges and contextualized solutions in designing and implementing Learning Ecosystems
- Serve as a springboard for content and research that captures and designs high-impact practices and policies in the community and beyond
- Serve as a knowledge hub of design principles and best practices
- Positively impact place-based learning and societal objectives in various contexts
As highlighted by the WISE Local Learning Ecosystems: Emerging Models report, there is a clear growing interest in the concept of Learning Ecosystems. Theoretical foundations of Learning Ecosystems are steadily growing stronger, but education stakeholders still lack access to knowledge, a community of practice and practical guidelines on how to build and manage Learning Ecosystems. The goal of LELL is to bridge this gap and to develop innovative and robust models of Learning Ecosystems to be applied in various global contexts.
WISE Celebrates the Educational Leadership Community
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2020 WISE AWARDS
Stawisha Instructional Leadership Institute
2018 WISE AWARDS
Partners for Possibility
More on Educational Leadership
ARTICLE
Love in a Time of COVID-19 Snapshots from the Frontline: Interventions, Practices, and Rapid Responses
Playbook – Designing Learning Ecosystems
Designing and building new ecosystems can seem intimidating at first glance; even more so when considering this more recent model of Learning Ecosystems as there is no clear-cut journey. Where should one start? What and how does one learn? What needs to be considered? Who and where to turn to? Who should be included? How do we engage them? All of these questions are the ‘raison d’etre’ of the Learning Ecosystems Living Lab set up by WISE in 2019.
The Designing Learning Ecosystems playbook is set to be released within the coming weeks.
Receive early access to the summary of the playbook today by clicking the link below!
Special Focus: Series of Articles by Global Experts
Designing Vibrant and Purposeful Learning Communities
How do learning ecosystems emerge and evolve? What enables or prevents their development? How do they impact a community and to what extent can we measure that?
Bringing Learning Ecosystems to Life: What does it take?
For this Special focus, we have asked four leading Learning Ecosystems experts and practitioners to hone in on key elements of a successful Learning Ecosystem design process.
Learning Ecosystems: A New Paradigm in the Learning Experience
In this special focus, we go beyond the design of learning ecosystems. Insights shared in this edition shed light on different aspects linked to a learner’s experience.
Learning Ecosystems, Equity, and Underserved Communities
For this WISE Learning Ecosystems Living Lab Special focus, we have invited four pioneers of learning ecosystems to share their thoughts and to make the case that learning ecosystems are the answer for supporting learners in underserved communities.
Living Lab Past Events
Panel #3 – How to Build a Learning Ecosystem: Lessons from Practitioners
April 27, 2021
Building on our recently released Special focus, four leading Learning Ecosystems experts and practitioners discussed what it takes to design and launch impactful ecosystems.
Panel #2 – How can Cities Nurture Learning?
February 16, 2021
Discussions and debates around designing learning ecosystems often focus on stakeholders pedagogies and assessments of these ecosystems but equally important is how learners relate and engage with the physical and digital space that surrounds them.
Panel #1 – Designing Vibrant and Purposeful Learning Communities
December 10, 2020
How do learning ecosystems emerge and evolve? What enables or prevents their development? How do they impact a community and to what extent can we measure that? This first Living Lab digital panel convened academics, practitioners and community leaders to discuss principles, goals and engagement strategies of learning ecosystems; and explored successful examples from various contexts.
Education Disrupted, Education Reimagined
15-16 April, 2020: Education Disrupted, Education Reimagined
Part II, 23-25 June 2020: Education Disrupted, Education Reimagined
Part III, 14 September, 2020: Education Disrupted, Education Reimagined
The fourth ALL-IN meeting in Doha had over 35 participants, many of them previous participants, as well as education experts and school leaders local to Qatar. The program discussed the vision for WISE in the area of school leadership development and the state of the school leadership development globally. Participants carried out two design challenges, the first was how to scale with quality and the second was how to better formulate and evaluate the impact of leadership programs on knowledge, skills and dispositions. The meeting concluded with a discussion on a blueprint for ALL-IN in 2020 it’s mission to build a collective movement.
The meeting concluded with the following next steps:
-
Objectives for the networking:
-
Sharing leadership practices around the network; and
-
Scaling up models and impact evaluations.
-
-
Five cases and the work and observations that have come out of the studies
-
Making connections between each other
-
ICSEI working group in January 2020 in Marrakech
-
WISE@Bogotá and Medellín, 2020; regional networking with Vicky Colbert
-
WISE’s new strategy – Educational Leadership Track is one of the areas of primary focus
WISE held the third working session for the Agile Leaders of Learning Innovation Network (ALL-IN) in Paris on February 20, 2019. The ALL-IN workshop in Paris was the largest gathering, with 42 people mainly comprising of leaders of school associations, leadership program providers, researchers and policy makers from 14 countries. The meeting included high profiles in the field such as Beatriz Pont, Senior Policy Analyst in the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. Darleen V. Opfer, Vice President and Director of RAND Education, whom shared a recent school leadership intervention evaluation toolkit by RAND. As well as Anthony Mackay, CEO of the National Centre on Education and the Economy, and members of the International Education Leadership Centres Network.
As with the Accra and New York workshops, the meeting in Paris provided an opportunity for participants to share their insights, exchange knowledge and to network. The ALL-IN meeting was facilitated by Dr. Asmaa Al-Fadala, Director of Research at WISE and Dr. Simon Breakspear, CEO of Learn Labs Global. The Paris meeting consisted of four agendas:
- State of the field: Cross Country Learning
- Innovative Case Studies of Leadership Development
- Progressing the Agenda: Collaborative Working Groups
- Case Study Group Meeting
The ‘Innovative Case Studies of Leadership Development’ session included insightful presentations from academics and program providers in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. The last session of the meeting was the case study group meeting, this gave an opportunity for five researchers to coordinate with five leadership program providers whom were paired prior to the meeting. The researchers will conduct fieldwork by studying the programs, see what works and how others can learn from the successes of these programs. The Paris meeting allowed for the researchers to take suggestions from participants on what to consider and identify when studying the leadership programs. The five reports will be presented and discussed further at WISE 2019.
WISE held the second working session for the Agile Leaders of Learning Innovation Network (ALL-IN) in New York City on September 22, 2018. The ALL-IN workshop gathered 25 people from five continents, comprising of academics, experts, school association leaders and program providers who specialize in school leadership development.
The workshop provided an opportunity for the participants to share their unique experiences, exchange knowledge about their programs and discuss ways to address current challenges through innovative policies and practices to empower successful school leadership.
Some of the key takeaways of the New York session:
- The need to understand multiple perspectives of school leadership and explore best practices taking place around the world.
- Develop a better definition of leadership and consider competencies or standards for leadership quality.
- The need for a knowledge base of updated research on school leadership and making this accessible to a wide audience. Alternatively, an interactive reference of leadership models, examples and solutions.
- The importance of measuring impact and gaining data to develop a strong evidence base for effective policy implementation and change, particularly at the school and district level.
The ALL-IN Working Session aims to gather school leadership development organizations and school leader associations, especially from African countries, who are creating sustainable school leadership development programs in support of their school leaders.
Participants were able to share their key building blocks of leadership development, innovative practices, impact and current challenges. Through spirals of inquiry, they had the opportunity to evaluate their programs and co-design solutions, features and improved high-quality, high-scale models.
For more information please contact us at research@wise.org.qa
The fourth ALL-IN meeting in Doha had over 35 participants, many of them previous participants, as well as education experts and school leaders local to Qatar. The program discussed the vision for WISE in the area of school leadership development and the state of the school leadership development globally. Participants carried out two design challenges, the first was how to scale with quality and the second was how to better formulate and evaluate the impact of leadership programs on knowledge, skills and dispositions. The meeting concluded with a discussion on a blueprint for ALL-IN in 2020 it’s mission to build a collective movement.
The meeting concluded with the following next steps:
-
Objectives for the networking:
-
Sharing leadership practices around the network; and
-
Scaling up models and impact evaluations.
-
-
Five cases and the work and observations that have come out of the studies
-
Making connections between each other
-
ICSEI working group in January 2020 in Marrakech
-
WISE@Bogotá and Medellín, 2020; regional networking with Vicky Colbert
-
WISE’s new strategy – Educational Leadership Track is one of the areas of primary focus
WISE held the third working session for the Agile Leaders of Learning Innovation Network (ALL-IN) in Paris on February 20, 2019. The ALL-IN workshop in Paris was the largest gathering, with 42 people mainly comprising of leaders of school associations, leadership program providers, researchers and policy makers from 14 countries. The meeting included high profiles in the field such as Beatriz Pont, Senior Policy Analyst in the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills. Darleen V. Opfer, Vice President and Director of RAND Education, whom shared a recent school leadership intervention evaluation toolkit by RAND. As well as Anthony Mackay, CEO of the National Centre on Education and the Economy, and members of the International Education Leadership Centres Network.
As with the Accra and New York workshops, the meeting in Paris provided an opportunity for participants to share their insights, exchange knowledge and to network. The ALL-IN meeting was facilitated by Dr. Asmaa Al-Fadala, Director of Research at WISE and Dr. Simon Breakspear, CEO of Learn Labs Global. The Paris meeting consisted of four agendas:
- State of the field: Cross Country Learning
- Innovative Case Studies of Leadership Development
- Progressing the Agenda: Collaborative Working Groups
- Case Study Group Meeting
The ‘Innovative Case Studies of Leadership Development’ session included insightful presentations from academics and program providers in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. The last session of the meeting was the case study group meeting, this gave an opportunity for five researchers to coordinate with five leadership program providers whom were paired prior to the meeting. The researchers will conduct fieldwork by studying the programs, see what works and how others can learn from the successes of these programs. The Paris meeting allowed for the researchers to take suggestions from participants on what to consider and identify when studying the leadership programs. The five reports will be presented and discussed further at WISE 2019.
WISE held the second working session for the Agile Leaders of Learning Innovation Network (ALL-IN) in New York City on September 22, 2018. The ALL-IN workshop gathered 25 people from five continents, comprising of academics, experts, school association leaders and program providers who specialize in school leadership development.
The workshop provided an opportunity for the participants to share their unique experiences, exchange knowledge about their programs and discuss ways to address current challenges through innovative policies and practices to empower successful school leadership.
Some of the key takeaways of the New York session:
- The need to understand multiple perspectives of school leadership and explore best practices taking place around the world.
- Develop a better definition of leadership and consider competencies or standards for leadership quality.
- The need for a knowledge base of updated research on school leadership and making this accessible to a wide audience. Alternatively, an interactive reference of leadership models, examples and solutions.
- The importance of measuring impact and gaining data to develop a strong evidence base for effective policy implementation and change, particularly at the school and district level.
The ALL-IN Working Session aims to gather school leadership development organizations and school leader associations, especially from African countries, who are creating sustainable school leadership development programs in support of their school leaders.
Participants were able to share their key building blocks of leadership development, innovative practices, impact and current challenges. Through spirals of inquiry, they had the opportunity to evaluate their programs and co-design solutions, features and improved high-quality, high-scale models.
For more information please contact us at research@wise.org.qa
The WISE Agile Leaders of Learning Innovation Network (ALL-IN) is a global network of educational leadership experts and organizations that research, design, and advocate for high quality school leadership policies that prepare and support school systems in educating the learners of today and the future.
Through ALL-IN, WISE is: creating a community of practice of future-ready and future-oriented school leadership practitioners, researchers and program providers; serving as a springboard for research that captures and designs coherent and future-oriented school leadership policies and high-impact practices; and impacting student achievement and well-being outcomes. This group serves as a space for discussions, exchanges and sharing on topics related to school leadership and policy-making.
Community Resources
What do we know about effective leadership during COVID-19 and beyond? Read the new blog from EWI and EdDevTrust
Global School Leaders Report – A Review of Empirical Research on School Leadership in the Global South
UNESCO 2016 Report – Leading better learning: School leadership and quality in the Education 2030 agenda
