CREATING INNOVATORS
(by Tony Wagner)
Over the summer (2012) I had the opportunity to read
Creating Innovators, by Tony Wagner. I recommend his book. Although Wagner is a
Harvard professor he writes in such a way that the reader is engaged and wants
to learn more about his subjects through their stories.
Essentially, Wagner presents several individuals from a
variety of socio-economic backgrounds who have “succeeded” through innovative
ideas. He provides the common themes, such as allowing time to play, along with
supportive parents and school leaders. With regards to playing I especially
appreciate his position that children need time for creative play, learning to
solve the “boredom” problem without television and video games. (he isn’t
against video games, but that creative play opportunity allows the creative
part of he mind to develop) Below is from p.42.
Childhood Play
ê
Childhood Passion
ê
Adult Purpose
Motivating learners of all ages demands empowering them. (p.52)
Giving people the freedom to explore and make errors will ultimately lead to a
culture of innovation, teamwork, and interdisciplinary problem solving. (p.57) This
last idea strikes a chord with me. It requires that we as educators give
learners the opportunity to apply knowledge in a variety of real world
contexts. We need to guide them through solving problems on their own, in
contexts outside of the classroom and textbook. I’m envisioning a simulation
activity I gave to Grade 9 East Asia Studies students. We turned our school’s
main field into a Silk Road map. They worked in pairs to trade along the route.
There was a set of rules they had to play by, but by trading along the route
while still protecting your home-base business, they acquired new knowledge
about the nature of the Silk Route – by actually trading! This was a game, and
the information I could elicit from students was rich and thoughtful.
Collaboration is another theme. Providing opportunities to
collaborate with peers, adults in the school, and people in the community.
Project-based collaboration gives students a goal to achieve together and
requires discussion, debate, compromise, and skills such as active listening. Working
together to identify problems (p.105) and challenges helps us flesh out
solutions and develop new ideas. The yearbook class I lead is a great example.
(I say “lead” because the students make the truly important decisions) One of
the challenges is to compromise on content, style/ layout, and even on what
roles each person takes. My approach to this is to allow students to explore
new ideas. Wagner notes how some students fell they “need permission to try new
ideas”. (p.110) I think this is more common in schools than we think. Another
problem I see isn’t really with lessons that lack creativity, but learners not
intrinsically motivated – learners who don’t want to innovate, but rather want
to study and regurgitate facts and methods in order to “get an A”. (and into
university) Thus our challenge as educators is to have students develop a
desire to create and innovate.
Another interesting idea from Wagner suggests that rather
than develop lessons plans, we “design learning experiences”. (p.162-163) This makes
me think of the flipped classroom, a more recent approach to teaching and
learning. How recent I’m not really certain – many of us were challenging
students to do the digging and ask the questions before the catch phrase
“flipped classroom” caught on. Social networking and online collaboration being
so easy, as well as access to information (in the “have” countries and
schools), has paved the way for the “flipped classroom” to spear it’s reach.
I should probably study some of what the experts say on the
FC.
I do find I’m using some of Wagner’s vocabulary. One phrases
is learners “developing competencies”, not simply skills. (p.175) The idea is
that we may have basic computer skills, but are we competent using a computer
in a variety of contexts. (let alone troubleshooting)
One thing I had trouble with Creating Innovators was the
limited dialogue on how to assist teachers in this task of “creating
innovator”. Wagner does acknowledge the problem with universities and colleges
changing at glacial speed, as well as the problem of resource limitations.
Educators need more professional development time, guidance, and have to be
taken to task to innovate and develop as professionals. We also need more free-flowing
time with students; not constrained by time and external examinations.
I think when it comes to creativity, student and teacher,
demands perseverance. Giving up early on in the process can’t be a factor, and
we should appreciate finding out why we failed and how we can improve.
