Lyn Sharratt

Why aspirational targets miss the mark

July 4, 2019

Bluyonder voices podcast #9 – owning the faces

May 2, 2018

You could say teaching has been a life-long passion for Lyn Sharratt that began with an inspirational teacher in Grade 3. In addition to her numerous publications and her role as Associate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto, Lyn travels to jurisdictions around the world to support, inspire and … More Bluyonder voices podcast #9 – owning the faces

Choice and the new generation

March 21, 2017

You may be old enough to remember when Pepsi launched a campaign in the 1980s claiming that its cola was ‘the choice of a new generation’. In the context of education, it seems obvious that ‘choice’ should be synonymous with a new generation of schooling. Choice marks a shift in the ownership of learning. In the … More Choice and the new generation

Renew and Adapt

February 2, 2015

Our system and school leaders gathered last week to reflect on past achievements and to focus on the work ahead. Over the next two years our system’s strategic focus will be to ‘renew and adapt’. It is not about changing course or increasing the workload but reflecting on our practice; renewing our skills and … More Renew and Adapt

Big data buzz

June 21, 2013

A few months ago I came across an ad for IBM in the Harvard Business Review. The title was “The more we know, the more we want to change everything.” Ads don’t normally capture my attention but this one did. As I’ve written before, there are many things that schools can learn from business. We … More Big data buzz

Know your learners

February 25, 2013

Here’s a question – do you believe all students can learn? If you said yes and you’re a teacher or leader, are there examples at your school of students who aren’t achieving gains in their learning? How do you reconcile the two? Here’s another question – if you were asked to list ten things that … More Know your learners

Good practice is good theory

July 11, 2012

Too often, educators fall into the theory-practice trap. How many times have you heard a teacher say, ‘All that theory’s fine, but it doesn’t work in my classroom,’ or the theoretician say, ‘It’s a shame teachers don’t use the theory to inform their work.’ So it was refreshing to meet with a school leader who … More Good practice is good theory

Putting a face to data

April 30, 2012

I believe data is critical to the work of improving schooling and how well we use data to improve student outcomes and teacher learning is a challenge that some of the best performing systems have had to address. I sometimes think the fear we have in using data stems from the fact that we aren’t … More Putting a face to data