Over at MindShift, I recently posted an excerpt from
Bringing Innovation to School, highlighting eight strategies to turn your classroom into an idea factory.
My basic argument: PBL offers an excellent framework for teaching innovation:
Across disparate fields, from engineering and technology to the
social and environmental sectors, innovators use a common
problem-solving process. They frame problems carefully, looking at
issues from all sides to find opportunity gaps. They may generate many
possible solutions before focusing their efforts. They refine solutions
through iterative cycles, learning from failure along with success. When
they hit on worthy ideas, innovators network with others and share
results widely.
In the classroom, this same process corresponds neatly with the
stages of project-based learning. In PBL, students investigate
intriguing questions that lead them to learn important academic content.
They apply their learning to create something new, demonstrate their
understanding, or teach others about the issue they have explored. By
emphasizing key thinking skills throughout the PBL process, teachers can
guide students to operate the same way that innovators do in all kinds
of settings.
Read the MindShift post to learn more about these eight strategies:
1. Welcome authentic questions
2. Encourage effective teamwork
3. Be ready to go big
4. Build empathy
5. Uncover passion
6. Amplify worthy ideas
7. Know when to say no
8. Encourage breakthroughs
With the new school year just getting underway, now's the perfect time to introduce innovative thinking to your classroom. What are your strategies to help students become better thinkers and doers?
Photo credit: (CC) Johannes H. Jensen
