Tony Wagner on Creating Innovators
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The document discusses the need to reform education to focus on skills that will help students in their careers and lives, rather than just knowledge acquisition. It argues schools need to shift from being consumption-based to creation-based, teaching skills like critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability and entrepreneurship. The author advocates redefining educational excellence by assessing these skills, improving teaching methods, and increasing teacher collaboration.
Tony Wagner on Creating Innovators
- 1. Creating Innovators Tony Wagner, Ed.D. Innovation Education Fellow Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard tony_wagner@harvard.edu www.tonywagner.com © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 1
- 2. “The formulation of the problem is often more essential than the solution.” Einstein Understanding the Impact of A Changing World on Education in the 21st Century: • Knowledge has become a free commodity – From scrolls to tablets to books to the internet • Knowledge is constantly changing – How many planets are there today? • “Digital natives” are differently motivated to learn than digital immigrants – Googling stuff for fun © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 2
- 3. So What? Now What? The World No Longer Cares About What You Know . . . The World Cares About What You Can Do With What You Know: Do you have the skill? Do you have the will? © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 3
- 4. The Seven Survival Skills for Careers, College, And Citizenship 1. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence 3. Agility and Adaptability 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism 5. Effective Oral and Written Communication 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information 7. Curiosity and Imagination © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 4
- 5. The Culture of Schooling versus The Culture of Innovation • Individual Achievement versus Collaboration • Specialization versus Problem-based, Multi- disciplinary Learning • Risk Avoidance versus Trial and Error – The resilience and self-confidence that comes from surviving “failure” • Consuming versus Creating • Extrinsic versus Intrinsic Motivation – Play, Passion, and Purpose = perseverance © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 5
- 6. What is The “Global Achievement Gap”? The Global Achievement Gap is the gap between what even our best schools are teaching and testing Versus The skills all students will need for careers, continuous learning, and citizenship in the 21st century What gets tested is what gets taught: Having the wrong metric is worse than having none at all © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 6
- 7. What Motivates The “Digital Natives”? • Accustomed to instant gratification and “always-on” connection • Use the web for 1) extending friendships, 2) interest- driven, self-directed learning, and 3) as a tool for self- expression • Constantly connected, creating, and multitasking in a multimedia world—everywhere except in school • Less fear and respect for authority—accustomed to learning from peers; want coaching, but only from adults who don’t “talk down” to them • Want to make a difference and do interesting/worthwhile work © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 7
- 8. Implications for “Reinvention”: Graduating all Students “Innovation-ready” From A Consumption-driven, Information- based Learning System (what you know) • Focus on “Timeless Learning” (academic content that has persisted over time) To A Creation-driven, Transformation-based Learning System (what you can do with what you know) • Focus on using challenging academic content to master the competencies of “Just-in-Time Learning” © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 8
- 9. Redefining Rigor: 5 “Habits of Mind” Learning to Ask The Right Questions • Weighing Evidence – How do we know what’s true and false? What is the evidence, and is it credible? • Awareness of Varying Viewpoints – What viewpoint are we hearing? Who is the author, and what are his or her intentions? How might it look to someone with a different history? • Seeing Connections/Cause & Effect – Is there a pattern? How are things connected? Where have we seen this before? • Speculating on Possibilities/Conjecture – What if? Supposing that? Can we imagine alternatives? • Assessing Value—Both Socially and Personally – What difference does it make? Who cares? So what? From www.missionhillschool.org © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 9
- 10. Questions Parents Might Want To Ask: • To your child: What do you want to explore? What are you curious about? What are you passionate about? • To your child’s teachers: What skills are you teaching, and how are you assessing them? Are students “creators” or consumers in your classes? • To the school: What are you doing to improve instruction, and how do you know it is working? • How well are your graduates prepared for college, careers, and citizenship, and how do you know? © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 10
- 11. “Evidence-driven” Continuous Improvement: Some Questions for Teachers & Administrators To Consider • What skills are you teaching, and how are you assessing them? How much time do students in your classes spend on applying what they have learned? What do they create and for whom? • Are you a better teacher than 2 years ago—if so, in what ways, and how do you know? What is the school doing to systematically improve instruction, and how do you know it’s working? • How well are your students prepared for college, careers, and citizenship, and how do you know? Is your school “adding value?” How do you know? © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 11
- 12. Redefining Educational Excellence: Accountability 1. Hold Ourselves Accountable for What Matters Most • Use The College and Work Readiness Assessment to assess analytic reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing (www.cae.org) • Videotape focus groups with recent grads & survey students (High School Survey of Student Engagement) http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse/index.htm © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 12
- 13. Redefining Educational Excellence: Academics 2. Doing the New Work: teaching & assessing the skills that matter most • Develop strategies for teaching & assessing the 3 C’s: Critical & Creative Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration—in every class and at all grade levels • Pilot interdisciplinary courses around essential questions and capstone projects for 5th, 8th, and 12th projects. • Require all students to have digital portfolios, work internships, and service learning projects © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 13
- 14. Redefining Educational Excellence: Collaboration & Transparency 3. Doing the New Work in New Ways “Isolation is the enemy of improvement” • Every teacher on teams for collaborative inquiry—looking at student and teacher work • Videotape teaching & supervision (lesson study versus evaluation) • Peer-reviewed digital portfolios for teachers & leaders © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 14
- 15. Coming April 17 to a Bookstore or E-Book near you… © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 15
- 16. And for your viewing pleasure . . . (to see the trailer and order, go to: www.2mminutes.com) © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 16
- 17. For Still More Information . . . © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 17
- 18. And More Still . . . © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 18
- 19. For more information: www.tonywagner.com © Copyright 2012, Tony Wagner, Harvard University 19