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Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation

in our Schools

Global Education ConferenceNovember 19, 2010

Milton Chen, PhDSenior Fellow

George Lucas Educational Foundationmilton.chen@edutopia.org

Imagine an Education Nation: A learning society where education of children is the highest priority, equal to a strong economy, high employment, and national security, which rely on education.

A “ladder of learning” from pre-K through “gray” blending formal and informal learning through schools, technology, museums, libraries, churches, youth groups, and parks. 2

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The U. S. an Education Nation?

• Of 50 1st-grade students behind in reading, 44 still behind in 4th-grade

• A HS student drops out every 26 seconds, 6,000 each day (Tough Choices or Tough

Times, 2006)

• CA students 1 year behind U. S. average, 2- 3 years behind best states (NAEP 2007, 8th-gr. math)

• Closing the gap could contribute $2 trillion per year in GDP (McKinsey & Co., 2010)

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Innovation: The Key to Creating an Education Nation

A “Must Do” Rather than “Nice to Know”

Internet Time: Google 12 Years, YouTube 5 Years

Every Minute, 24 Hours of New Video on YouTube

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What is the Key to Educational Innovation?It’s Simple: School Life = Real Life

“From the standpoint of the child, the great waste in the school comes from his inability to utilize the experiences he gets outside the school…within the school itself while, on the other hand, he is unable to apply in daily life what he is learning at school.”

John Dewey, The School and Society lecture, University of Chicago, 1899

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6 Leading Edges of K-12 Innovation

1. Thinking2. Curriculum & Assessment 3. Technology4. Time/Place5. Co-Teaching6. Youth

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1.The Edge of Our Thinking: Ending the Education Wars

From Either/Or to Both/And Hybrids

• Phonics + Whole Language• Arts + Core Curriculum Opening Minds Through Arts (OMA),

Tucson www.edutopia.org/arts-opening-minds-integration

• Learning in Nature + Technology

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2. The Curriculum Edge

• Social/Emotional Learning• Globalizing the Curriculum• Bilingual Education for All

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3. The Technology Edge

• Weapons of Mass Instruction, 1:1

www.edutopia.org/maine-project-learning-schools-that-work

• iPod, iListen, iReadsites.google.com/a/eusd.org/eusd-iread/

• Online Learninghttp://www.edutopia.org/stw-online-learning-new-breakthroughs

• Wiki-Based 8th-Gr. US History• Intelligent Text• Assistive Tech/Universal Design• Serious Games

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4. The Time/Place Edge

• Schools as “Prisoners of Time”www2.ed.gov/pubs/PrisonersOfTime/Prisoners.html

• A New Day for Learning, Beyond the Bellwww.newdayforlearning.orgwww.edutopia.org/new-day-for-learning

• School Gardens• Place-Based Learning: Museums, Parks

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5. The Teaching Edge: Co-Teaching

• Parents as Co-Educators• Linking Home & School• Experts as Co-EducatorsAviation HS, Seattle, Boeing

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6. The Greatest Edge: Today’s Youth

• 95% of Stakeholders• Digital Learners Carrying Change in their Pockets

• Generation YES: Students as Teaching Assistants (genyes.org)

• Edutopia’s Digital Generationwww.edutopia.org/digital-generation

edutopia.org/digital-generation

edutopia.org/digital-generation

edutopia.org/digital-generation