Tony+Wagner

“The formulation of the problem is often more essential than the solution”-Albert Einstein
 * Opening Keynote: Tony Wagner**

Wagner talked to a wide range of senior executives to create this list. In addition to the qualities of the heart (i.e. empathy, trust, respect), the following skills are on his list:
 * Two Major Challenges**
 * ALL students need NEW skills
 * This generation is differently motivated to learn and to work
 * Seven Survival Skills for the Future**

1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence 3. Agility and Adaptability 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism 5. Effective Written/ Oral Communication 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information 7. Curiosity and Imagination
 * Sector leaders are able to improve product, process, solution
 * Good critical thinkers are always asking: How do we do this better?
 * Ex. US Army is now writing field manuals via wikis rather than in isolation
 * Being able to appreciate differences is essential to this
 * Educators are, in general, extremely isolated…how are we to teach collaboration?
 * Contrast the rapidly changing world with the predictability of school
 * What kind of culture promotes innovation? A culture that allows for failure: Fail early and fail often
 * If you don’t know how to think, you cannot write
 * Lack of voice
 * Knowledge growing exponentially
 * Learning is a free commodity (Kahn Academy)
 * The engine of our economy moving forward in the future (Innovation)
 * We have to be the country that out-innovates other countries


 * What is the global achievement gap?**
 * Test Prep Curriculum drives almost all HS curricula—either AP or AYP (But these are multiple choice style, computer-assessed tests)
 * Low PISA Results
 * College Completion: 1 out of 2 students who starts college does not complete
 * What motivates the Net Generation?**
 * Self-expression
 * Constantly connected, creating, and multitasking
 * Less fear and respect for positional authority—accustomed to learning from peers
 * Excited about making a difference in the world


 * Culture of Learning vs. Culture of Innovation**


 * Wagner interviewed a lot of innovative, successful 20-somethings. What did they have in common?**
 * A mentor who was an outlier in the field of education (did things a bit differently than the culture of schooling)
 * Parents who gave them unstructured time
 * Montessori schooling was a common component for early ed. of these successful innovators


 * **Culture of Schooling** || **Culture of Innovation** ||
 * Individual Achievement VS. || Collaboration ||
 * Specialization VS. || Multi-Disciplinary Learning ||
 * Risk Avoidance VS. || Trial-and-Error ||
 * Consuming || Creating ||
 * Driven by Extrinsic Incentives (grades, test scores) || Driven by Intrinsic Motivation ||


 * Implications for Reinvention**
 * From an Information-Based Learning System to a Transformation Based Learning System
 * Focus on Timeless Learning (academic content that has persisted over time)
 * Focus on using content to master the competencies of “Just in Time” Learning


 * Steps to Think Critically**
 * Weighing Evidence
 * Awareness of Varying Viewpoints
 * Seeing Connections/ Cause and Effect
 * Speculating on Possibilities
 * Assessing Value –Both Socially and Personally


 * Action Points**
 * Ask: What are we assessing and why? Ask this constantly!
 * Establish digital portfolios—these are the way of the future
 * College and Work Readiness Assessment—an open-ended assessment of reasoning & communication
 * Make focus groups with recent grads to ask them where they excelled and struggled in college and in life—share results with teachers
 * Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity—__every day in class. Is this an expectation for teachers?__
 * Capstone Projects at many grade level—not just as seniors
 * What research are we doing at our school? What are we trying to find out about what our students know?