In his last article for this newsletter, Dr. Davis noted how the word “innovation” is being used in all kinds of ways throughout the business and educational community, drawing on a great American tradition of bold new ideas. He mentioned that many schools like Colorado Academy are “thinking about dramatically changing a paradigm of American education.” I thought it would be useful for me to follow up by offering a few examples of what exactly innovation looks like in action in the Upper School.

 

To start, a more precise definition might help: innovative practices in education take advantage of new approaches and attitudes and pull from a wide range of models. Innovative classroom practice emphasizes experimentation, flexibility, agility, student-driven projects, teacher-as-guide, collaborative teaching, and savvy use of technology, just to name a few of the most common ingredients. Design thinking, as one example, also emphasizes process and skill building as much as product and content acquisition. The usual confines of time and space are challenged, meaning we may look for different kinds of learning spaces and classroom configurations while also examining our daily and yearly schedules to see if there is greater flexibility there that might lead to increased student agency, greater time efficiency, and more authentic learning situations.

 

In reality, innovation takes many forms in the Upper School, some more obvious than others. In the Ninth Grade, the first trimester core courses (Biology, Global Perspectives and Coming of Age in the World) are offered under a different grading model that results in students earning P/F marks. The idea is that students can be freed up from the usual concerns about grades while they adjust to the multiple demands of high school. Meanwhile, teachers can construct different sorts of assessments that emphasize creative problem solving, encourage critical thinking development, and foster collaboration. Again, the process matters as much as the final products--and, not coincidentally, quite often the final products are better as a result of this more deliberate approach.

 

As another example, innovation in world language learning takes many forms. Several teachers are employing Organic World Language (OWL), a classroom strategy that emphasizes immersion and kinesthetic learning. Walk into an OWL-based classroom and you will see tables and chairs pushed to the side, with students and teacher moving around the room, and you will hear the target language exclusively.

 

Hybrid technology also enhances language learning now. I have been so impressed with the way our Spanish, French and Chinese teachers toggle back and forth between high tech e-texts and conventional pen and paper approaches.

 

You will see flash cards on iPads and within five minutes also see mini whiteboards and dry erase markers in students’ hands. Progressive teaching and learning merges the best of all technologies and methodologies into an amalgam that is a far more enriching and real world for students.

 

Our amazing Innovation Lab of course provides a fertile ground, not to mention many state-of-the-art tools, to make innovation come to life. Students design and create many amazing projects with guidance from their instructor and their peers. The hands-on skills and collaborative learning that are the cornerstones of courses like Needs-Based Design, Flight, and Tiny House will serve our students well in a variety of college options, as well as professional opportunities down the road. The authenticity of this sort of educational experience provides many students with the answer to the age-old question, “When am I ever going to use this in real life?”

 

Beyond our classrooms, faculty and administrators seek out the multitude of wisdom out there on the Internet and through professional development. The website EdSurge is one of many great sources to both encourage and reinforce innovative practice in the educational world. Often, the approach calls for the creative use of technology, but happily that is not the only answer to the innovation question. One recent article by Molly Levitt showed how entrepreneurs and teachers could learn from each other in ways that would help both sides. For example, she argues that: “Startups have more flexibility and time to really envision things outside of the box. Teachers need more opportunity to experiment beyond the current confines of the classroom in the way the startups do. However, entrepreneurs could also learn a little from teachers about being flexible and fast at recognizing when things are not working.”

 

Another concept that has gained traction is the idea of “disruptive” innovation. First made popular by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and entrepreneurial guru, the concept has inspired some educational leaders as well. Christensen argues that innovation in education only really happens when students are intrinsically motivated and allowed to navigate pathways based on their own interests, when teachers are willing to be learners alongside their students, and when technology is used in more creative ways such as the use of online learning, to name just a few ways that he suggests could shift the usual educational paradigms.

 

Not all of Christensen’s ideas have practical application in schools, but educational thinkers like him, including recent SPEAK lecturers Marc Chun and Anya Kamenetz, have helped encourage strong schools to transform and become even stronger in today’s competitive marketplace.

 

Independent schools throughout the country are examining their practices and seeking to find the best ways to embrace innovation. Every conference I have attended in the past few years, including the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), College Board Forum and INDEX (a smaller subset of PK-12 independent schools), has stressed the fact that schools like CA need to innovate to stay relevant and ahead of the curve in the educational world, especially in light of the growing competition from charter schools, public schools with specialized missions, STEM schools and even home schooling.

 

At CA we are embracing that notion — without abandoning the best methods and practices of traditional education, of course. We continue to be one of the best traditional college-prep schools at the same time that we look for ways to be truly unique, experimental, and, yes, innovative. The combination right now is very exciting and dynamic, and I eagerly anticipate diving into the goals set forth in the school’s next five-year plan.