CHANGEd: What if we connected students with city design projects? 60-60-60 #52

One dynamic way to help schools move into “21st century” education – full of project-based learning, design thinking, and integrated studies – would be to partner secondary-school students with local architects, city planners and developers, new urbanists, sustainability scientists, etc. In this 52nd post, what if we moved from a scholastic house of cards…to education [...]

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CHANGEd: What if I were designing one more faculty meeting? 60-60-60 #50

[Disclaimer: This is my biggest failure on the "60-word target!"] For the past nine years, this last week of April has marked the moment when I would begin framing next year’s opening-of-school faculty meetings. New student registrations have just occurred, so I have made a habit of starting faculty meta-planning the morning after those student [...]

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CHANGEd: What if instead of filling their heads, we grabbed their hearts? 60-60-60 #17

Enhanced information technology and advanced understanding of human learning make it strange that schools retain many methodologies geared for “filling heads.” Additionally, society faces challenges demanding “grabbed hearts.” At yesterday’s MVPS Design Thinking Summit (#dtsummit12), we immersed ourselves in “Design = Utility + Significance.” At design’s core beats EMPATHY. Through design, doing-learners engage human experience [...]

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CHANGEd: What if we offered courses in News and Studio Hall? 60-60-60 #15

Most schools offer “History,” and many provide “Study Hall.” What if we offered “News?” Various points of entry for current events and modern journalism could be explored. By nature, the topic is transdisciplinary and PBL-rich. I can imagine weaving in every discipline. In “Studio Hall,” learners of all ages could use time to create, not [...]

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CHANGEd: What if we rethink time and curriculum for grand challenges? 60-60-60 #7

At TEDxAtlanta: Community on Tuesday, I heard many amazing thinkers and doers. Among them, Rhonda Lowry shared the idea that networked literacy is essential – that we must value relational connections over industrial-age containers (like…bell schedules?!). At virtually all the TED and TEDx events, we hear from amazing folks that are making positive differences in [...]

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