Future Learning Design Podcast

“Perhaps the secret of living well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in good company.” This is a quote from the paediatrician, Rachel Naomi Remen, that my guest this week quotes in her fantastic new book The Impossible Question of Living Well: How do we hold on to what matters, while also knowing how to let go? Dr Helen Street has been banging the drum that living well should be a priority of educational institutions for years, but more importantly, that this is not a question of individual ‘hacks to happiness’ as she talks about in this episode, but a fundamental rethinking of how much context plays a role in enabling or preventing possibilities for living well. It’s Helen’s second time on the podcast and I was so happy to be able to chat to her again about her . She is a social psychologist and educator and has worked extensively with schools around the world since 1999. She holds a position as Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Graduate School of Education as well as adjunct research consultant for the health department of Western Australia’s Centre for Clinical Interventions. Helen is the Founder and Co-Chair of the ⁠Positive Schools Initiative⁠ (PSI). Since it s launch in 2008, the Positive Schools Initiative has worked with over 26,000 educators from over 6000 schools and colleges; from around Australia and 15 other countries. Positive Schools Initiative is focused takes an evidence-based systems approach to building Contextual Wellbeing, positive mental health and resilience in school staff, parents and young people. Helen is a bestselling author and speaker and her most recent book is The Impossible Question of Living Well: How do we hold on to what matters, while also knowing how to let go? She is also the author of the bestselling ⁠Contextual Wellbeing: Creating Positive Schools from the Inside Out⁠ (2018). Her work has been met with international acclaim and has been endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama among many others. Social Links LinkedIn: ⁠@helen-street⁠ X: ⁠@drhelenstreet Instagram: drhelenstreet Web: https://www.helenstreet.com/

Something we often forget is how powerfully language shapes how we view each other and the world and how we interact as part of it. For that reason, it is a key part of how we help young people to understand their experiences, Both as a means of relating and communicating and as a set of skills that they acquire. This week it is a huge privilege to be able to welcome Kevin Belin onto the podcast who is the Director of the Diné Bizaad Institute and Navajo Language teacher at Navajo Preparatory School, in Navajo Nation in what is now known as the United States. Kevin is also owner of Hashké – Hozhó Design and Collaborative.  Tódích’íinii nilį́įgo, Tł’ógí yashchíín, Ta’neeszhahnii dah bicheii, Chishí dah binálí. He is currently serving as Board member for Saad Kidilyé Language nest in Albuquerque. He also served as Adjunct Instructor with Diné College Navajo Cultural Arts Program.  Kevin has been in the education field for over decade working with fellow teachers, consultants, and language instructors to perpetuate the Navajo Language and Culture through curriculum building, trainings, and presentations. Throughout the year, Kevin is consulted to work with youth and demonstrate hands on workshops in historical and cultural knowledge. “I don’t consider myself an expert, but I am the bridge that connects the knowledge banks that come from our elders, to the young and discouraged learners, using modern approaches to language learning and scaffolded instruction, to understanding the complex concepts of Sa’ah Naaghei Bik’eh Hozho.”  Kevin has been featured on Native America Calling, American Indian Republic, 21st Century Native leaders podcast and Indian Country Today as a cultural representative and is a Billy Mill’s Running Strong Dreamstarter.  “Teaching the Navajo Language to our young leaders and helping them understand the complexity that is the Diné way of life is a lifelong endeavor” (Kevin Belin).

As you will have heard in previous episodes for example with Ray Ison, Mette Böll and others, there is a lot of interest currently in systems thinking approaches in education as a key competency for our young people. But what systems thinking means once you scratch the surface is a question that we need to ask. And if we’re supporting our young people (as well as teachers and leaders) to navigate complexity, Dave - from his background in Anthro-Complexity (https://cynefin.io/wiki/Anthro-complexity) - will definitely have something to say about that!  Dave is the creator of the Cynefin Framework (https://thecynefin.co/about-us/about-cynefin-framework/) and originated the design of SenseMaker®, the world’s first distributed ethnography tool. He is the lead author of Managing complexity (and chaos) in times of crisis: A field guide for decision-makers, a shared effort between the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, and the Cynefin Centre. He divides his time between two roles: founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Cynefin Company and the founder and Director of the Cynefin Centre. His work is international in nature and covers government and industry looking at complex issues relating to strategy and organisational decision-making.  He has pioneered a science-based approach to organisations drawing on anthropology, neuroscience, and complex adaptive systems theory. Using natural science as a constraint on the understanding of social systems avoids many of the issues associated with inductive or case-based approaches to research.  Dave holds positions as an extraordinary Professor at the Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch as well as visiting Professor at the University of Hull. He has held similar positions at Bangor University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Canberra University, the University of Warwick and The University of Surrey. He held the position of senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang University and the Civil Service College in Singapore during a sabbatical period in Nanyang. A few additional resources that might be of interest: An article Brad Carter and Tim wrote about Cynefin in education: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leading-educating-complexity-overview-cynefin-framework-tim-logan/?trackingId=X8hDDv8ITCaDeafLUlcUHg%3D%3D A reflection Tim wrote after attending a Triopticon facilitation at a Cynefin Centre retreat: https://thecynefin.co/education-is-entangled-retreat-reflections/?srsltid=AfmBOoq8tOFBrNmTHkhYA3bxUsoM9BKjFlMwLjMxWj5b2Ae7fxz-dQuD A great article Dave wrote about getting over our obsession with 'mindsets': https://thecynefin.co/a-melange-of-potential-not-a-mindset/?srsltid=AfmBOor3ecAlfbHUmbN47NtJ8g6KaRfhi80JfZf5unAxLDueX22QB1Kj Dave and the team's work on Estuarine Mapping framework: https://cynefin.io/wiki/Estuarine_framework Social Links Great thinking on the Cynefin blog: https://thecynefin.co/our-thinking/ LinkedIn: @dave-snowden - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-snowden-2a93b/ X: https://twitter.com/snowded

Keeping educational experiences alive, responsive and moving with our young people is a key piece of what the best educators do, even more impressive as it is often in stark contrast to the rigid, static institutions in which they live, work and learn. This week it’s such a pleasure to be talking with Dr Gholdy Muhammad whose amazing work on Historically Responsive Literacies supports teachers in creating spaces for mutual empowerment, confidence, and self-reliance in students. Her elaboration of the five pursuits of curriculum is a fantastic framework for enabling young people to both critically and joyfully read the world and connect with who they are and where they’ve come from. Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at University of Illinois Chicago College of Education. She studies Black historical excellence within educational communities with goals of reframing curriculum and instruction today. Gholdy’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. She has also received numerous national awards and is the author of the best-selling book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. She is also the co-author of Black girls’ literacies: An Edited Volume. Gholdy has previously served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, school district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president. Her Culturally and Historically Responsive Education Model has been adopted across thousands of U.S. schools and districts across Canada. In 2022 and 2023 she was named among the top 1% Edu-Scholar Public Influencers due to her impact on policy and practice. She was named the American Educational Research Association Division K Early Career Award and the 2021 NCTE Outstanding Elementary Educator in the English Language Arts. She has led a federal grant with the United States Department of Education to study culturally and historically responsive literacy in STEM classrooms. Her latest book, Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Teaching and Learning, is the sequel to Cultivating Genius and provides a practical guide for putting culturally and historically responsive education into curricular practice.  More information about Gholdy’s work go to https://hillpedagogies.com/  You can also find her on social media at: LinkedIn: @dr-gholdy-muhammad - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad/ Instagram: @gholdym - https://www.instagram.com/gholdym/