The Getting Smart team has learned a lot about opening successful, new schools in communities that need them but they’re still learning about transforming inherited factory-model schools into design studios — and it definitely provides many challenges.

 

To make things better, it’s necessary to name and frame the problems faced — that’s the first step in design thinking. The next step is empathy research; it’s time to make the problems real by talking to kids and teachers about what’s really going on. Then comes the fun stuff — ideating and prototyping updated goals.

 

In this week’s episode, Tom is flying solo as he enumerates some of the problems that school systems are facing. He digs into some of the problems with his list of top 10 — from reworking goals and basic requirements for addressing the complexity of transformation and the lack of research and development.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:16] About today’s episode.

[1:21] Tom kicks off this week’s episode by talking more about today’s topic.

[2:12] The first problem at hand: transforming an inherited factory-model school into a design studio.

[2:57] Problem #2: the rules at these factory-model schools and moving beyond basic requirements.

[3:56] Problem #3: the gravity of the factory-model system inherited.

[5:48] Problem #4: the business model.

[7:54] Problem #5: the complexity of transformation.

[9:06] Problem #6: the technology/invention problem; the need for new measures of learning and better ways to capture and communicate expanded human capabilities.

[11:31] Problem #7: the serious lack of research and development (R&D).

[12:53] Problem #8: the speed problem — work is progressing too slow!

[14:36] Problem #9: the flaws of well-intentioned efforts.

[15:46] Problem #10: the challenges of poverty and inequality.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace, by Gordon MacKenzie

The Promise and Practice of Next Generation Assessment, by David T. Conley

Mastery Transcript Consortium

Virginia School Consortium for Learning

 

If You’d Like to Learn More About Great Schools and Lesson Learned from Visit, Check Out:

“What 100 School Visits Taught Us This Year” — where Tom and Emily talk all about their last year of school visits!

 

Get Involved:

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Find the Getting Smart Podcast on iTunes, leave a review and subscribe.

 

Is There Somebody You’ve Been Wanting to Learn From or a Topic You’d Like Covered?

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