Reflections fromBUILDING LEARNING

COMMUNITIES Boston 2007

School 2.0

We are moving on…No longer the INFORMATION AGEWe are in the CONCEPTUAL AGE

Why is this IMPORTANT?

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

• CREATIVE WORKERS• INNOVATIVE THINKERS• PROBLEM SOLVERS

Business Leaders Looking for:

• Competition is a global conversation• Leadership and vision matters• Re-thinking pedagogy is essential• Other countries are making significant investments in learning objectives

Major Conclusions:

Keith Krueger: Reinventing K-12 Education to Make a Difference

• Design• Story• Symphony• Empathy• Play•Meaning• Multiple Personalities

Let's Get Back to the Kids:ESSENTIAL APTITUDES

Dr. Yong Zhoa: Digital Citizenship & Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

It’s About the BRAIN…Left hemisphere controls right side of the

body; right hemisphere controls left side of the body

Left side is sequential; right side is simultaneous

Left side specializes in text; right side specializes in context

Left side analyzes detail; right side synthesizes the big picture

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

DESIGN• Classic whole-minded aptitude• A combination of utility and significance• Create something beautiful, whimsical or emotionally engaging• Ford: Not big V-8’s – but harmony and balance• Butterfly Ballots in Palm Beach County FL: Bad design but won election• Georgetown Univ. Study: If teachers, students and approach remained the same, improving a school’s physical environment increased scores by 11%

The NEW 6 SENSES:Essential Aptitudes

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

STORY• Stories are easier to remember because stories are how we remember.• Narrative imagining is the fundamental instrument of thought• Facts are available “Free”• What matters is the ability to place to place in context and to deliver them with emotional impact

The NEW 6 SENSES:Essential Aptitudes

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

SYMPHONY• The ability to put together the pieces• See relationships between seemly unrelated fields• Invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair• Positive negative space• Velcro: burrs on dog

The NEW 6 SENSES:Essential Aptitudes

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

EMPATHY• The ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position and to intuit what someone else is feeling• Not sympathy – but feeling with someone• Anthrax – 2 cases

The NEW 6 SENSES:Essential Aptitudes

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

PLAY• Southwest Airline’s Mission: “People rarely succeed at anything unless they are having fun doing it!”• In US video game business is larger than the motion picture industry• Percentage of college students that have played a video game = 100%• Aspects of video gaming resemble aptitude of Symphony: spotting trends, drawing connections, discerning the big picture

The NEW 6 SENSES:Essential Aptitudes

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

Meaning• Shift from “Materialist” values toward “Postmaterialist” priorities – self-expression and the quality of life.• Growing recognition that spirituality – not religion necessarily – is a fundamental part of the human condition• Spirituality in the workplace didn’t hinder organization – it helped it reach their goals.• Meaning. Purpose. Deep Life Experience.

The NEW 6 SENSES:Essential Aptitudes

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

• Communicate Differently: IM, chat• Share Differently: Blogs, webcams, camera phones• Buy and Sell Differently: eBay, Craigslist• Exchange Differently: music, movies, P2P• Meet Differently: chat rooms• Coordinate Differently: workgroups

KIDS:

Marc Prensky: Don’t Bother Me, I’m Learning

• Evaluate Differently: Epinions, Amazon• Learn Differently: interests them• Report Differently: Moblogs, Flickr• Socialize Differently: MySpace, Friendster• Grow Up Differently: explore and transgress – test the limits

KIDS:

Marc Prensky: Don’t Bother Me, I’m Learning

• Do we have a Problem-Solving Framework?• Do we TEACH Problem-Solving?• Everywhere!

Do we teachPROBLEM-SOLVING

(Creativity) ?

• Can someone overseas do it cheaper?• Can a computer do it faster?• Am I offering something different that satisfies the non-material, transcendent desires of an abundant age?

If Not…Future will Depend on YOUR Answer to

These Three Questions:

• “What’s On Your Mind?”• “What Story Would You Tell?”• “What Do You Want the World To Know?”• “What Contribution Did You Make Today?”• “Who is Doing the THINKING WORK?

Ask Our StudentsAND Ourselves:

• Authentically Engaged• Self-Directed Learning• Project-Driven Instruction• Independent Problem-Solving• Collaborative Learning Community• Relevant Content• Making Contributions: Connected & Global

What is SCHOOL 2.0?What is our challenge?

To Infinity…and Beyond.

All Children Will Learn!

This Year…