Schools That Foster Innovation

Last night over dinner, a friend asked me what I thought schools would look like that do a good job fostering innovation.

Five innovator attributes come to mind:

Skilled: Innovators almost universally have strong analytical reasoning and communication skills. They can dissect a problem and help others see it more clearly. They understand the value of quality work products--that means a number of people have told them, "No, that's not good enough.

Curious: more difficult to capture is the sense of curiosity--the kind that causes a deep dive on a subject that others might consider obscure. There's a forward leaning aspect to this attribute; a wondering about what's around the corner. There's joy derived from what Expeditionary Learning would call "the having of wonderful ideas."

Self directed: innovators have learned to take responsibility for their own learning. Intrinsic rewards are more important than extrinsic (or at least short-term extrinsic rewards).

Persistent: related to the last three, innovators simply work harder than other people. They learn from failure. When bounded by limited time or resources, they find a way to achieve a goal.

I've probably missed a few. What would you add? It's easier to build a list than figure out what set of experiences would foster these attributes. Schools like www.HighTechHigh.org are the best current answer to the question. Students work on real world projects, get told, "No, it's not good enough," and go on to produce high quality work product. Art and calculus are smashed together (e.g., Calculious), science emerges through applied Humanities, robotics competitions focus team energy, and internships introduce adult world constraints and resources.

Perhaps we could add Outward Bound, business plan competitions, international travel, and online learning games. But it still sounds like a good school with some add-ons.

What if students innovate themselves out of school, would we count that as success? The opportunities for independent study are growing exponentially -- two million students will be learning online this fall. Even bound by the old credit accumulation system, it's now possible to construct a very different learning experience. Now that we're all locking in on 'all kids college ready,' will we allow flexible (and innovative) ways for young people to demonstrate that? This is just one of the questions policy makers will be answering as they're asked to reauthorize No Child Left Behind and update state accountability systems.

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Comments

[HarmonyAlexandria]

One word answer - NO

Instead of "reformers" demanding that students work harder so that said reformers and "the world" can reap the benefits, why don't you try learning to live within your means? To be content with the lot that life has dealt you, to admit that humanity has overstept its bounds and hard decisions need to be made about who's going to make it and who does not, instead of pushing all of the uglyness onto the younger/future generations as the elders have been doing .

Such an approach is referred to as sanity, which beats the stuffing out of thinly veiled scams and bizarre machinations.

The last thing this world needs are more cheerleaders of faith and hope, it bad enough that we have to endure fleeting glances at the occasion Olsten infomerical/prayer service.