What's Your I(nnovator) Q(uotient)?

Thanks to Brett Jacobsen, head of school at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, for inviting me to join him in a conversation about bringing innovation to school. Our chat is featured as a podcast on his new site, Design Movement: 21st Century Learning and Leadership.
We'll be continuing this conversation in person next week at the National Association of Independent Schools Conference in Philadelphia. Joining us for a session on Thursday, February 28, will be Jonathan Martin, former head of St. Gregory School in Tucson. I visited St. Greg's and its Design/Build studio as part of my research for the book. It's a great example of how to make room for thinking and creative problem solving within the school setting.
Please join us if you're headed to NAIS, and let's grow the conversation about creating a new generation of innovators. Here's the podcast:

Links from Learning & the Brain

Thanks to all who attended my presentation on Bringing Innovation to School at the Learning and the Brain Conference in San Francisco. Not only was I honored to take part, but came away with fresh insights from researchers investigating what makes us humans so creative. Hard to beat sunny SF as a place to ponder big ideas--whether it was jazz as a metaphor for collaboration, simple but powerful ways to activate positive emotions, or the importance of rest and relaxation to fire up the imagination.
Here are links to the various sites and resources I mentioned:
Gallup HOPE Index for 2012
The Henry Ford Museum 
Maker Faire
Mt. Elliott Makerspace
HeroRat (a project of Apopo)
KaBOOM!
Fixes column in the NY Times
NY Times Learning Network, where I've been writing a series related to Fixes
Henry Ford Learning Institute, which offers a summer design thinking institute for teachers
Studio H 
MakerSpaces for Education 
Design for Extreme Affordability, cross-disciplinary, design thinking, PBL course at Stanford
Fail Faire
What are your action steps for bringing innovation to school? Would love to continue this conversation!

Time for a Make-Over

We're getting ready to revise Reinventing Project-Based Learning and invite your feedback about what needs updating for the second edition. Since we wrote Reinventing PBL in 2007, we've witnessed an explosion of Web 2.0 tools and new opportunities for colleagues to advance their professional learning by connecting online. Good example: Twitter and #edchats not nary a mention in our first edition.
Plenty of other changes are afoot, as well (anyone thinking about PBL and the Common Core?). But we think the reasons for doing project-based learning have only gotten stronger over the past six years. And for students and teachers alike, PBL continues to get better with practice. We'll include plenty of compelling project examples in the new edition.
Please share your requests for updates or additions, and tell us about projects that deserve a broader audience.

See YOU at K-12 Online?

I've enjoyed K-12 Online, a virtual conference, in the past but never presented before. That changes this year! I'm excited to join Wes, Kevin, and other great educators midmonth. Please join us!

Second Wind for PBL?

Will the Common Core State Standards create new opportunities for the authentic assessment that goes along with project-based learning? That's the hopeful conclusion of several administrators I interviewed for an article in this month's District Administration magazine. Check out "The Challenge of Assessing Project-Based Learning" to hear why school leaders think we're heading in a smarter direction when it comes to assessment. As one principal told me, "We pay attention to what we measure. If we can shift the measurement so that students are better prepared and more engaged learners, then let’s do it.”
Of course, there are many challenges ahead when it comes to developing the next generation of assessments. Breaking out of the bubble-test mentality isn't going to be easy. That's where the advance scouts for PBL can help lead the way, by sharing evidence of the deeper learning that comes with quality projects.

Daily Edventures: Global Conversation

 

I'm honored to be featured this week in Daily Edventures, a 365-day conversation about global education hosted by Anthony Salcito,vice president for Microsoft Corp.’s Worldwide Public Sector organization. Join the conversation by adding to the comments.