Can School's Foster Innovation?

Originally posted 
Mar 7, 2014 3:01:00 PM
by Laurie Bottiger

How top universities and high schools - along with The Country School - are inspiring students to "make something from nothing" while collaborating across disciplines

Recently a parent of four Country School alumni emailed us to share an article she had seen in Phillips Academy Andover's winter 2014 magazine (one of her children, TCS Class of 2005, is also an Andover graduate). The article, The Andover Institute: Cultivating Innovation, Activating Ideas, described the newly created Andover Institute, designed to foster what the renowned boarding school calls "connected learning." Here is Andover Head of School John Palfrey as quoted in the article:

Everyone involved in the Andover Institute will learn how to make something from nothing, how to scale something for greater impact as it succeeds, and how to fail gracefully and learn from our mistakes.

Or, as Caroline Nolan, the newly appointed Andover Institute director, says in the article, the institute is about "having a collaborative, participatory space where community members can come together to work on projects across a broad range of disciplines."

"Sound familiar?" the parent wrote in her email. 

Indeed, it does. If you had visited The Country School this winter, you would have seen students routinely collaborating across disciplines, making something from nothing, and learning from their mistakes. The major difference, of course, is that some of the people you would have encountered at The Country School were no older than 3 or 4. (At right, a 1st Grader shows off the model of a geodesic dome he and his classmates built as part of their study of winter and weather. Students learned about the importance of the strength of the triangle in creating the dome and about Buckminster Fuller. Learn more about the weather study here.)

As we look at major universities and leading secondary schools, we see that they are all paying homage to the notion of innovation. How, as educators, do we foster innovation? How can we create students capable of being successful, innovative leaders in the 21st Century?

We are asking the same questions at The Country School, and we firmly believe there is no better time to start cultivating those skillsets than during the earliest years, the most formative time in human development. Which is why I find it so thrilling to walk across campus and watch our students and teachers in action. What I see are students of all ages deeply engaged in the creative process, collaborating across disciplines, problem solving, and finding new ways to approach hurdles—essentially finding opportunities in challenges. Here are a few recent examples:

The PreK Dinosaur Study. This week, the TCS community was invited to a Celebration of Learning in Clark House, where PreK students and teachers had immersed themselves— for months—in an exploration of dinosaurs. The integrated STEAM study provided opportunities to explore multiple themes related to dinosaurs (from what “extinction” means to what a paleontologist does; from measuring a Tyrannosaurus Rex footprint to creating the giant Pterodactyl sculpture now hanging from the Clark House ceiling). 

Eric Carle Explosion. Last week Kindergartners shared their learning through a similar in-depth exploration—a deep and absorbing journey into the work of children’s author Eric Carle and the community. The exploration took students into literature, art, science, math, technology, engineering, and even geography, as Kindergartners created Eric Carle-inspired ducks and then mailed them to friends across the globe—from Syria to South Carolina. Learn more here. 

Ancient Egypt in 5th Grade. As they do each year, 5th Graders are immersed in a study of ancient Egypt. The exploration will continue for months, but we happened to stop by the other day and found students poring through books and maps as they attempted to construct their own maps of ancient Egypt. When one parent shared some of our photos on Facebook, we were struck by a comment one of her friends, a college professor, posted: "Wish my undergrads knew this much about Egypt. Or anything else."

Designing Houses of the Future. The 8th Grade’s Integrated Algebra and Geometry Class recently spent six weeks researching and then designing houses of the future. This week, in TED-style talks, they presented their learning and designs, including to-scale models of their houses, circa 2075, to their classmates, teacher, and an outside adjudicator. In explaining the project, math teacher Louise Jackson said, "I was looking for a STEAM project in which my Integrated Algebra/Geometry students could apply the concepts they were learning in real world applications, and where they could be creative/innovative with design work."

She went on to say that she wanted her students "to experience working in a group where they would learn how to deal with opposing opinions—and sometimes controversy—and how to negotiate and compromise in those situations. In 21st century jobs, many of the students will be in environments similar to this, where they are working collaboratively on a project." 

Everett Barber, a sustainable energy expert who watched the presentations, said he was deeply impressed with the students and their House of the Future designs. As a former teacher at Yale School of Architecture, he said he found it particularly remarkable that these young students were able to dig so deeply into the subject, engage in sophisticated research and design (to which they also applied complex mathematical formulas), and then make their presentations, all while juggling a full course load in an array of other subjects (not to mention a school musical, athletics, the MacLane Poetry Recitation, and more).

For their part, students report that they found the project fun and meaningful. One said he would use the experience when it comes time for him to purchase his own house; another said she really enjoyed being able to apply her math learning to a real-world arena.

Where Else Do We See This Kind of In-Depth, Integrated Exploration? 

Brown and RISD. As 8th Graders delved into their House of the Future project, we stumbled across an article from Brown University about a similar project students at Brown  are engaging in, along with students from RISD and the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt. Read about their Techstyle Haus adventure.

Stanford. In a previous blog, I referenced Stanford’s Design School, where students are using design to solve real world problems, gaining the kinds of skillsets our students absorb when they work collaboratively to build a giant pterodactyl or design a house of the future. Read the blog here.

Harvard. The November/December issue of Harvard Magazine was filled with articles and ads about how the university is focusing on discovery and shaping the future. One ad, “The Future is a Game Changer,” had a photo of Harvard stadium and the land surrounding it, along with the following copy:

The pace of innovation is accelerating as never before, and an explosion of knowledge and new technology has indelibly transformed society. At Harvard, we are devising solutions to the world’s most challenging problems using an unparalleled blend of innovation, science, business—interdisciplinary in nature and across boundaries.

This is why we are expanding a campus for Harvard’s next century that combines academics, business, athletics, arts and humanities, residential, social, and retail in one vibrant community…. We will meet the challenges of our time in inspired and creative ways—a place where bold ideas and imaginative ventures have the potential to change lives.

Choate Rosemary Hall. Last year, Dr. Alex Curtis, Choate's Headmaster, visited The Country School to speak about Choate’s effort to engage students in cross-curricular learning integrating math, science, technology, engineering, the arts, and humanities. Read about their major construction project designed to facilitate that effort in a recent Choate News article. (TCS alumna Liz Walbridge ’03, a current Choate English teacher, is on the committee tasked with writing a curriculum for Choate's new interdisciplinary center, which they are calling the i.d. Lab.)

Groton. At the Groton School, students have had the opportunity to engage in integrated STEM activities for some time, but, like Choate, the school recently launched a major building campaign to enhance facilities and allow for more cross-curricular activities in science, technology, engineering, and math.

The Country School. As Head of School at The Country School, it feels terrific to be in such good company. What these top universities and high schools are describing are exactly the kinds of activities our students have been engaged in for several years now. To some extent, these activities are what we have always done; the beauty of an independent school like The Country School is that—rather than stick to a rigid, pre-ordained format or have to focus on preparing our students to take a certain test—we are able to engage in exciting, integrated, hands-on learning.

The difference with our program today, though, is that like all of those excellent schools listed above, we have made this cross-curricular activity—which at TCS we call STEAM—a priority. We have purposefully set aside the time in students' and teachers' schedules, the space (two STEAM Labs), and the personnel (a STEAM coordinator and a team of remarkably creative, flexible, inspired teachers) to do so. We have engaged in professional development toward that end, and we are becoming a resource for other schools interested in advancing STEAM through our summer 21st Century Innovation Teacher Institute and periodic teacher workshops. 

As we head to spring break, I leave you with an image. As we all know, Mother Nature threw us some curveballs this winter, but Country School students showed they could turn those challenges into opportunities in true 21st century fashion. 

The other day, after our campus was buried in yet another foot of snow, we looked out the Farmhouse window and saw Reading Buddy teams working together to build a giant snow structure. Together, they figured out how to make the base of the structure wider so that it wouldn’t topple over, and then pairs of students, often one bigger and one smaller, ported chunks of snow to add to the structure. The result was a true feat of engineering and an example of collaboration, communication, and trial and error at its best. (It was also priceless to see the smiles on our students’ faces, even though by that time even the most playful among us had seen enough snow to last a winter, and then some.) The scene made me think of the 15 month old who is given a fancy toy for a present but finds much more joy and opportunity in the empty box.

Click here for more photos

When we return from spring break, I fervently hope that we return to warmer weather and no more snow. But I also know that if winter does choose to linger, we will find some remarkable, innovative things to do with that curveball. In the words of John Palfrey at Andover, I know our students will be able to "learn how to make something from nothing, how to scale something for greater impact as it succeeds, and how to fail gracefully and learn from our mistakes.”

Learn more at www.thecountryschool.org