schools in 16 states; Olin College in
Needham, Massachusetts; the Institute
of Design at Stanford University; and
the Media Lab at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. The culture
of learning in these highly successful
and popular programs is radically at
odds with the culture of schooling in
most classrooms. Here are five essential
differences.
teams must then present their plans to
a panel of business leaders whom the
school invites to assess students’ projects. All seniors must also complete a
service learning project in teams as a
condition of graduation.
Collaboration Versus
Individual Achievement
Conventional schooling in the United
States celebrates and rewards individual achievement while offering few
meaningful opportunities for genuine
collaboration. Students are ranked
and sorted according to their levels of
Multidisciplinary Learning
Versus Specialization
Expertise and specialization will always
have an important role, and learning
for its own sake has enormous value.
However, innovation requires knowing
how to apply an interdisciplinary
approach to solve a problem or create
something new. Judy Gilbert, the
director of talent at Google, told me that
learning to solve problems across dis-
ciplinary boundaries is one of the most
important things that schools can teach
students to prepare them to work at
companies like Google.
Educators must be
far more intentional
in designing cultures
of innovation that
foster the skills
that matter most.
achievement as measured by tests and
grades. Serious and sustained collaboration is not a real expectation, either for
students or for faculty.
Not so at the programs mentioned
above, which understand that collaboration is essential for innovation. Every
class requires teamwork and collaboration, and learning to collaborate is one
of the most highly valued outcomes.
For example, at High Tech High, a
9th grade requirement is for teams of
students to develop a new business
concept—imagining a new product or
service, writing a business and marketing plan, and developing a budget. The
