The challenge is tied to 21st Century student outcomes

Teachers and others who work with young people have a great opportunity to engage their students in a real life challenge.

The Reinventing School challenge is hands on, encourages discussion of the issues facing learners today and empowers young people, teachers and other members of the community to come up with solutions and share them for all to benefit.

In recent times there has been a renewed focus globally on the 3 R’s - reading, writing, and arithmetic, however if our young people are to fully participate in today’s global community, students must also master the 4 C’s – creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.

The Reinventing School Challenge enables students to explore all 4 C’s  from the P21 framework while learning by doing. Below are the key areas that the challenge addresses. The following excerpt is taken from the definitions on the 4 C's.

LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS

Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as those that separate students who are prepared for a more and more complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Think Creatively

• Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming)
• Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)
• Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts

Work Creatively with Others

• Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively
• Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work
• Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas
• View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes

Implement Innovations

• Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur

CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

Reason Effectively

• Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation

Use Systems Thinking

• Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems

Make Judgments and Decisions

• Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs
• Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view
• Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments
• Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
• Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes

Solve Problems

• Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways
• Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions

COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION

Communicate Clearly

• Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts
• Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions
• Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade)
• Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact
• Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)

Collaborate with Others

• Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
• Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal
• Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member

Learning happens everywhere

We also want to promote alternative learning environments, life-long learning and want you to also think beyond the classroom when coming up with ideas. How do you learn outside of the classroom? What technologies do you use? Where and when do you learn best? In his best selling book Drive, Dan Pink talks of the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose. The challenge is designed to give you all of the key elements needed to drive you to success.

Teachers facilitating change

Teachers can be and many are already changemakers. The school year can be daunting to say the very least. The tasks of setting up a classroom, establishing policies and all the endless amount of tasks that have to be done to support students learning objectives can be very overwhelming. We want you to experience Design Thinking as a tool to effect change in the way you teach, learn and design your school experience. That’s why the way forward starts with this toolkit for educators. Enjoy.

The design process is what puts Design Thinking into action. It’s a structured approach to generating and developing ideas.

Design Thinking is a mindset. Design Thinking is the confidence that everyone can be part of creating a more desirable future. The Design Thinking Toolkit for Educators contains the process and methods of design, adapted specifically for the context of education. http://vimeo.com/22570825 Teachers please visit Design Thinking for Educators to learn more. The toolkit offers a variety of instructional methods to choose from, including concise explanations, useful suggestions and tips. For more information on this new project to bring together all the people who believe in an education revolution please do get in touch. Teachers. I'm available for Skype chats with you or your class, and happy to Skype in for your professional development events.

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