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EDUCATORS Should Innovation Be a Standard? By: Thom Markham Several years ago, at the height of the testing mania, I heard a comment that still resonates with me. In response to a call to reinvent learning and make it more creative, a tall teacher stood up and shook his head. “There’s no way to do that,” he said in a resigned tone, “It’s a standards-based world.” Among all the commentary about standards, this statement always stands out to me as the least true. The world appears to be a dynamic scene of constantly shifting problems, creative response, idea generation, and haphazard events that yield a million different opinions on how to proceed. The new standard is no standard. The underlying question is more challenging: What do we do about standards in a world where, increasingly, people live a highly personalized existence built on lifestyle preferences and a set of information sources tailored to their needs? And when the chief skills center on the ability to adapt, collaborate, solve, be flexible and resilient, and move on successfully? What standards unify us in that world? The standardized test, in short answer or multiple choice formats, will not survive the 21st century. The new standards need to be about process, not content. Most core content can be downloaded these days; it’s the how that is crucial. So it will be necessary to design standards for thinking, feeling, and invention. And think about grit, perseverance, and resiliency. How would you assess them? Let’s start by naming the process. I’ll use the term innovation, and suggest that innovation be instituted as the new standard for education. That means what it says: no one graduates unless they can demonstrate basic proficiency in innovation. So how might we begin to hold innovation in our minds? Innovation is not about tech. This is a necessary first step. Innovation refers to thinking and seeing the world differently in the global age, not more gadgets and apps. It’s about reinventing deep assumptions about national borders, equality, opportunity, religious division, and the host of issues that need resolution. Innovation can’t be the exclusive domain of STEM programs. Innovation implies creativity and knowledge. Creativity is the topic du jour, mostly because it is a healthy and natural response to the stifling orderliness of the educational landscape, which looks like a formal English garden set in the middle of the Amazon. But a deeper vision of creativity is necessary that values knowledge as well as artistic impulse. Personalized paths Innovation should be instituted as the new standard for education. That means what it says: no one graduates unless they can demonstrate basic proficiency in innovation. to learning, with varied outcomes depending on personal goals and inclinations, are inevitable. But not having to read 12 plays of Shakespeare or take Algebra 2 will result in knowledge gaps, so eventually a necessary body of knowledge, appropriate for the 21st century, will need to be identified. Innovation begins with openness. ‘Openness to experience’ is one of the big five personality traits. Openness is associated with creativity, curiosity, humility, empathy, and collaborative skills. An open mind friendly to divergent thinking is a prerequisite for innovation. In practical terms, that means asking questions, failure, and persistence become key traits to be nurtured in early grades and rewarded in upper grades. That implies a radical realignment of elementary outcomes, Thom Markham, founder and CEO of PBL Global, is a speaker, writer, psychologist, and internationally respected consultant in the critical areas of inquiry based education, 21st century skills, project based learning, and innovation. He is the author of the best-selling Project Based Learning Design and Coaching Guide: Expert tools for innovation and inquiry for K-12 educators and the forthcoming Redefining Smart: Awakening Student’s Power to Reimagine Their World. away from stringent requirements for testbased knowledge and far more emphasis on developing healthy psyches. Innovation becomes visible through design thinking. Inquiry-based classrooms and project based learning have suddenly established themselves in mainstream education. These are extremely promising trends. Given the times, there is absolutely no reason, other than lack of will or imagination, that every student should not have been engaged in deep, reflective, extended problem solving many times during his or her school career. But there is not yet a system for teaching and honoring innovation as a core outcome. That outcome is captured by the term design thinking, in which students engage in creative problem solving through design challenges, whether the challenges are technical, scientific, or social policy issues. Through the process of design, every student can learn the new basics: How to brainstorm ideas, create and prototype solutions, share ideas, take and offer constructive feedback, and critique and reflect. Again, this need not be confined, as it now is, to engineering and science. Design thinking is a way of reinventing the world and making visible the results of a very deep process of creation. 14 www.KidsStandard.org Publication INC.
PARENT’S CORNER CREATE AN INNOVATOR: EDUCATION WITH PURPOSE By: Tom Neal iTEAM Instructor, Technical Campus - NW Oakland Schools It is both a complex and exciting time in education. As a parent and educator, I understand that it is easy to get confused by all the learning opportunities that exist for kids today: traditional schooling, online courses, hybrid learning, specialized programs, dual enrollment and early college. Is this really necessary? The truth is that there is an entirely new level of demands placed on education. No longer can a student work through the traditional process, choose one path - either of industry or post-secondary learning - and then find success. Demands from industry are rigorous, and the costs of post-secondary schooling are higher than ever. Combine all of these factors with our kids - a generation of Millennials - who learn, function and react differently than we do, and we end up with a complex set of challenges. I believe in education with purpose and that experience is everything, especially for our children’s generation. Fortunately, teens in Oakland County have great opportunities to experience education with purpose. There has been a substantial investment in Career and Technical education (CTE) through the four Oakland County Technical Campuses, and through 27 of the county’s 28 districts that directly offer CTE programs. Students who attend the multi-million dollar campuses are thoroughly trained using high-quality, industry-standard equipment with the latest technology. Each program at the campus is taught by professional instructors who have years of industry experience and extensive knowledge in their profession. Why consider CTE? Kids are different; many of them often don’t know which direction to take. Career and Technical education is designed to help them explore and experience a variety of different paths, as well as excel in the real world after graduation. CTE programs greatly expand their opportunities, preparing them for additional training, college, and a career. Programs include Engineering and Health/ Medical to BioScience, Visual Imaging, Culinary, Construction Technology, Automotive and Business/Marketing/ Information Technology. There is something for everyone. Another reason to consider CTE is related to something near and dear to all of us, finances! The campuses offer high school and college credit for free, helping students get a great head start on foundational college classes while developing their professional skills to give them the edge. The campuses also offer challenging student leadership opportunities, numerous national industry certifications, paid internships, and scholarships, all through a no cost/convenient block schedule with district-provided transportation. At this point, I would like to take a minute to highlight my program. I teach in iTEAM - Information Technology, Entrepreneurship, Advanced Marketing. When students join iTEAM , they are transformed into professional employees. This program is managed as a business, where students are recruited by their instructors (the CEO and CIO), develop resumes, and interview for a VP, Management or Associate position. Students work in one of four departments based on their interests (Tech Support, Sales & Marketing, Web/Multimedia, or Employee Relations) completing projects for real industry clients. This is an incredible opportunity to learn in a business setting, immediately apply knowledge to real projects, and earn national certifications, college credit, and meet academic credit/ graduation requirements for Senior Math, Algebra I & II, ELA 12, Economics, and Civics. Does CTE work? Statistics show that nationwide, 9 out of 10 high school students enrolled in a CTE program graduated on time (compared to 7 of 10 non- CTE students). According to a study by the research group MDRC, students who graduated from career academies are earning, on average, 16% more than their traditional high school peers eight years out of high school. If we want our kids to be innovators, we have to give them an experience! October 2015 15 Publication INC.
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Page 3 and 4: EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2015-2016 Editor
Page 5 and 6: CREATIVITY By: Olivia Sanders, 9 ye
Page 7 and 8: INTERVIEW What made you decide to j
Page 9 and 10: ART On top of creating Advertising,
Page 11 and 12: Connect With Us! Sloan Museum, Long
Page 13: ARTS AND SCIENCE Power of Classical
Page 17 and 18: We have activities for all ages, sk
Page 19 and 20: COLLEGE VOICES Interview of Kids’
Page 21 and 22: Continued from P20 operations. They
Page 23 and 24: PARENT’S CORNER THE LAST WORD: IN

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