Justin Reich started his career as a high school history teacher and is now an associate professor at MIT and the director of the Teaching Systems Lab. He is the author of Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can't Transform Education. He earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Introduction: The Secret to School Improvement 7

My Best Teaching Ever: Wilderness Medicine 7

Creating Time and Space for Iteration 9

Iterative Improvement at MIT 10

Three Cycles for Iterative Improvement 11

The Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 13

Design Thinking for Leading and Learning 15

Collaborative Innovation Cycle 17

Three Principles for Iteration 18

Think In Cycles and Spirals 19

Act in Short Design Cycles 19

Improve in Community 19

Chapter 1: What is the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning? 21

Changing the Complex, Fine-Grained Work of Teaching 24

Teachers Primarily Change Their Pedagogy in Response to Other Teachers 26

Three Phases to the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 27

Experiment 28

Experience 29

Plan 32

What's missing from the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 33

Evaluation and Measurement 34

Loss 35

Power, Difference, and Design Justice 37

Leadership and the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 40

Chapter 2: Spinning the Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 44

Creating More Opportunities for Experimentation 46

Pointing a Light: Targets of Difficulty 47

Making Time: Summer Innovation Funding 47

Finding the Resources All Around You: Students as Designers 49

Innovation Staffing: Department Heads, Coaches, and Teachers on Special Assignment 50

Using the Bully Pulpit 51

Making Team Learning Richer: Looking at Student Work and Instructional Rounds 53

The Proof of the Pudding: Looking at Student Work 53

Getting into Classrooms: Instructional Rounds 54

Institutional Learning: Ramping up Planning through Peer-to-Peer Learning 56

Meeting Times are Instructional Sharing Times 58

Teacher Led Peer-to-Peer Learning 59

Seeing Outside Expertise as the Catalyst Teacher to Peer-to-Peer Learning 61

Rowing in the Same Direction: Creating Common Instructional Language and a Shared Vision 62

Preparing to Communicate Together: Creating a Common Instructional Language 62

Developing a Shared Vision: Right-Sized Goals 64

Iterating Forward with The Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning 66

Chapter 3: What is Design Thinking? 68

From Waterfalls to Sprints: A Brief History of Design 71

From Dewey to Design Thinking 74

The Design Justice Critiques of Design Thinking 76

Getting Started with Design Thinking for Leading and Learning 78

Key Principles to Design Thinking for Leading and Learning 81

Six Phases for Design Thinking for Leading and Learning 84

Discover 84

Focus 88

Imagine 91

Prototype 93

Try 97

Reflect & Share 99

Reflection and Inclusion 101

Conclusion 102

Chapter 4: Getting Started with Design 104

Discover 104

Research to Discover: Surveys, Interviews, and Observations 104

Iterating on Discovery 106

Combining Local Knowledge with Education Research 108

Focus 109

Going from Observable Data to Underlying Challenges 109

Finalizing a Focus Area 112

Imagine 113

User Personas (or Community Personas) 114

Imagine by Analogy 115

Imagining from Flare to Focus 117

Prototype 118

Sketching and Storyboarding 119

Paper Prototyping and Wireframing 121

Physical Prototyping and Rehearsals 123

Try 124

When to Try Out Your Prototypes 125

How to Try Out Your Prototypes 126

Who Should Try Out Your Prototypes 130

Reflect & Share 132

Design Crits 132

Conclusion 134

Chapter 5: The Collaborative Innovation Cycle 136

Four Phases of the Collaborative Innovation Cycle 139

Developing the Collaborative Innovation Cycle with Peter Senge 142

Looking Inwards and Outwards, Setting the Frame for the Collaborative Innovation Cycle 143

Systems Thinking in Schools 143

Who Leads? Distributed Leadership in Schools 145

Key Principles for the Collaborative Innovation Cycle 146

Bringing People Together Around Ideas They Care About 147

Four Questions for Innovation 150

Refining a Vision and Getting to Work 154

Building from Personal Visions to Shared Vision 155

Managing Difference in a Shared Vision 159

The Someday-Monday Dilemma 161

Getting to Work: The Cycle of Experiment and Peer Learning, and Design Thinking for Leading and Learning 164

Working Together Through Ups and Downs 165

Four Fields of Listening 171

Tools for Better Listening: The Ladder of Inference 176

Addressing Disagreement Through a Bias to Action 180

Measuring Progress and Adjusting 183

Key Principles for Measuring Progress and Adjusting 184

Distinguishing Assessment from Evaluation 186

Gathering Evidence from Artifacts of Learning 188

Gathering Evidence from People 193

Using Assessment to Revitalize Initiatives and to Get Unstuck 198

Conclusion 199

Chapter 6: Tools and Strategies for the Collaborative Innovation Cycle 201

Activities for Bringing People Together Around Ideas They Care About 201

Visions for a Powerful Learning Environment 202

Four Questions for Innovation 204

Asset Mapping 208

Activities for Refining a Vision and Getting to Work 211

Exploring Possible Visions: Rightboro Scenarios 211

Refining a Vision: The Someday/Monday Starter Kit 218

Part 1 - Someday: What Does Awesome Look Like? 218

Part 2 - Monday: Concrete Steps 220

Activities for Working Together Through Ups and Downs 221

Activity: Left-Hand Column Case 222

Activities for Measuring Progress and Adjusting 225

Assessment Planning Scenarios 225

Assessment Plan 230

From Launching Innovation in Schools to Sustaining Innovation in Schools 232

Conclusion: Cycles, Endings, and Beginnings 234

Balancing Coherence and Innovation 234

When Cycles End 235

Final Thoughts: Inclusion and Joy 237

Appendix 1: Design Thinking Starter Project Walkthrough: Helping a Friend with a Routine or Event 239

Step 1: Discover: Prepare for & Conduct an Initial Interview 239

Prepare & Conduct Interview Template 241

Example Interview 243

Step 2: Focus: Identify a Specific Design Problem 246

Key Takeaways Template 247

Key Takeaways Example 248

Step 3a: Imagine new Solutions 250

Brainstorm Template 251

Brainstorm Template 253

Step 3b: Choosing a Solution for Prototyping 254

Step 4: Prototype Your Solution 255

Step 5: Try out your Prototype, Get User Feedback, and Iterate 258

Design Hypothesis Tryout Template 259

Feedback Template 261

Feedback Example 263

Step 7: Reflect and Share 266

Appendix 2: Design Thinking for Leading and Learning in Practice Walkthrough 268

Discover 269

Discover 1a: Find Your Team 269

Discover 1b: Review The School Change Status Quo 269

Discover 1c: Identify a Problem of Practice 270

Discover 1d: Identify Stakeholders 272

Discover 1e: Gather Stakeholder Perspectives on Your Problem of Practice through Interviews, Observations, Student Work, or Surveys 272

Discover 1f: Research and Comparison schools 275

Focus 276

Focus 2a: Thinking About Needs (Focus) 276

Step 3: Brainstorm Solutions (Imagine) 278

Step 3b: Evaluate Ideas (Imagine) 279

Step 4: Plan Initial Steps (Prototype) 280

Step 5: Take a Step and Iterate (Try) 284

Step 7: Reflect & Share 286