PIXEL is the pen name of composer and educator Evan Combs. This playfully academic newsletter offers a behind-the-scenes look at designing and shaping learning experiences and culture. Supported by practical insights and actionable strategies, it’s perfect for teachers, leaders, and anyone curious about the art and science of learning through the lens of music.
WHY NO ONE DOIN’ THE NEW THING?! 😵
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Hey everyone, Imagine I’m your boss. I walk up to you and say: “Next time you’re in front of learners, you’re not allowed to speak. And you need to teach the next three sessions like this.” I slap a new unit of content on your desk and walk away. You’d all be like… Except what I REALLY meant was: “You’re going to pilot a new project-based unit where learners drive the discussion and their own work. I trust your instincts as a seasoned educator, and I want your feedback to help make this successful.” But instead, I was in a hurry… I communicated poorly… I assumed you understood what I meant… You didn't, and self-combusted. Welcome to the topic for today, change management. The same things happen to your learners. But there are ways we can design the experience of change so that it has a better chance of being understood, accepted, and sustained. Change Is a Learning Problem For someone to successfully change, they may need to:
That sounds suspiciously like... LEARNING! And yet, when we introduce change, we often skip all of that and go straight to: “Here's the new thing. Please do it.” Then three weeks later: “WHY NO ONE DOIN’ THE NEW THING?!” [Enter Change Management Model, Stage Left] Businesses have been studying change management for decades. In the 90s, Jeff Hiatt shared a change management model with the best acronym and/or children’s punk band name: And before you say: “Great, Evan. Another corporate acronym I have to pretend I understand.” Stay with me, because this framework translates VERY well to learning design. It stands for: D: Desire | Why should I participate in this change? K: Knowledge | What do I need to know? A: Ability | Can I actually do it? R: Reinforcement | What helps this change stick? I'm going to explain each step through one scenario and mix in my strategy section. Sorry, not sorry. Scenario, Apply, Strategy, Whatever-you-want-to-call-it Section Every day you work on something with your learners and provide direct feedback after they demonstrate a skill. rehearsing a piece of music, daily warm up activity, etc. The change: starting next week, feedback will be driven by the learners, not you. A: Awareness You say 👨🏻🏫 : “Starting Monday, you need to diagnose your own problems.” That’s a fair question! Establishing awareness provides context, otherwise they perceive the change as:
Instead... You 👨🏻🏫: “I've noticed I'm addressing a lot of challenges that you're extremely capable of solving yourselves. I'm going to have you respond more to your own mistakes, because it'll help you become more independent. Life skills. Part of my Invisible Curriculum.” D: Desire You don’t always need them to want to do something. You’re the teacher, you said so. BAM 👑 However… compliance isn’t commitment. What gets better for them if this change works?! You 👨🏻🏫: “If we do this, you’ll get more feedback than I could ever provide individually.” You 👨🏻🏫: “You’ll get to a place where you can improve without me.” It’s not about selling every change like a used car, it’s about learners understanding why their participation matters. K: Knowledge MOST IMPORTANT (ok, maybe that’s just my opinion) You can change instruction without changing leaner behavior. Kai 😵: “I’mma start yelling at my friend when they screw up? I gotchu fam.” You 👨🏻🏫: “Not quite Kai, we’ll be providing constructive criticism.” Kai 😵: Learners often need:
If you want students to provide meaningful feedback, show them what meaningful feedback sounds like, EXPLICITLY. If you want students to lead discussions, model what good discussion leadership looks like, EXPLICITLY. If you want students to revise their work, teach them how to identify what actually needs revision, EXPLICITLY. 3D-Chess Level Change Management You incrementally influence behavior before you create awareness. Change can happen without learners noticing! Sneaky? Maybe. Effective? 95% of the time. A: Ability Knowledge ≠ Ability Learners must move from “I understand” to “I can do this!” So, please, lower the stakes before raising the expectations. You 👨🏻🏫: Pulitzer-level analysis, Kai. Kai 😵: It’s ok, change is still being learned. First attempts WILL NOT be perfect, the key is growth. Attempt → Feedback → Adjust → Retry Eerily similar to literally everything else you’ve learned in these newsletters 😉 R: Reinforcement Kai gave awesome feedback. It has been consistent for 2 weeks too! Change achieved! Then… Your concert gets moved up a week. Some kid keeps dropping the crash cymbals. You’ve got 10 minutes left in class. Blood pressure has entered the chat. And the words just slip out: “JUST FIX MEASURE 42, EVERYONE KEEPS MISSING BEAT 4!” Kai 😵: Your learners just found out that the thing they were doing is important, UNTIL things get stressful. This is where change becomes culture, but it’s hard work. Learners need to experience it repeatedly, positively, and meaningfully. It must be reinforced.
Closing Statement Maybe the problem isn’t that people are resistant to change. Maybe… We just haven’t taught the change yet. Updates from the Music Room 🗣️ MMEA In-Service Conference | Fri. Oct 16 | Frederick, MD 🗣️ I’ll be presenting on learning design theory, yours and my favorite! AND I’ll have a PIXEL exhibitor booth set up throughout the day. If you’re there, come say hello and let’s chat about learning design. 🎇 7!! New FREE Star-Spangled Banner Arrangements 🎇 Because the 1 version someone requested for Marching Band WAS NOT enough. I also made a short video on some fun little-known historical facts of the SSB. Free score and parts are linked in the video descriptions of previews: 🥁 Flex Marching Band (G2.5) 🎺 Concert Band (G3) 🎁BONUS: String Quartet (G2) (more arrangements on my site) Your Thoughts Change is inevitable, what tactics have you used to make it stick? Or, what’s one change you introduced that sunk immediately? Judgement-free zone 😂 Get Inspired, Previous Issue: Day 0: Designing Classroom Culture |
PIXEL
PIXEL is the pen name of composer and educator Evan Combs. This playfully academic newsletter offers a behind-the-scenes look at designing and shaping learning experiences and culture. Supported by practical insights and actionable strategies, it’s perfect for teachers, leaders, and anyone curious about the art and science of learning through the lens of music.
A year ago, I wrote an issue about building classroom culture from Day 1 (Start as You Mean to Go On - as a refresher). A year later... I'd change one thing. Culture doesn't start on Day 1, it starts before Day 1. It starts with: The agreements you’ve chosen to surface. The routines you’ve chosen to establish. The invisible curriculum you’ve chosen to value. Over the last year, I’ve written about: Cognitive rigor Project-based learning Learning through failure Cross-curricular thinking...
Hey everyone, Imagine every learner left your classroom with perfect scores and flawless performances. They demonstrated every objective you slapped down. BUT, they still… Struggle to collaborate. Panic when plans change. Can't communicate ideas clearly. Don't know how to learn something new without you. Did you succeed? According to "the book," yes! However, it begs a much bigger question: What the heck is education for?! (pause for your passionate response) If you answered, “To learn about...
Hey everyone, ⚠️ Warning: This issue leans heavily into music education. BUT, I promise the learning design underneath applies to any educational experience. ⚠️ Musical performances go like this: Lights dim Audience quiets Conductor steps on the podium like they’re summoning ancient magic (Fig. 1A) The learners (our performers) think: If I crack that note, civilization collapses. Figure 1A: Nézet-Séguin summoning demons conducting. All that pressure makes sense. Performances, final exams,...