RunningHead:INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

InstillingInnovationasaLearningEthic
AugustMatrisch,RachelMatz,LisaPiane,andRachaelRassel
CEP812Summer2015
MichiganStateUniversity

INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

Introduction
The21stcenturyhasbroughtincreasedglobalcompetitioninallsectorsoftheeconomy.
Inordertoremainviable,Americanfirmsareextensivelydemandingandvaluinginnovation
fromboththeirleadersandworkers(Tewari,2011,p.89).Thisisforgoodreason,asbusinesses
thatconsistentlyinnovateearnhigherprofitsthanthosethatdonot(CefisandCiccarelli,2005,p.
47).
Inordertopreparestudentsforthiskindoffuture,schoolsmustinstillinnovationasa
learningethichowever,thecurrentemphasisonstandardizedtestinghindersthis,asthetests(1)
mostlyrequiresimplerecallanswerswithnodeviationand(2)onlyrewardsuperficially
engagedstudentswhoskimforanswers(Maranto,2015,p.5Petress,2006,p.81).
Furthermore,sinceschoolfundingistiedtotestscores,teachershavebeengivenlittleautonomy
toinnovateandencourageinnovationamongtheirstudents(i.e.teachingtothetest).
Inthispaper,weproposeapolicybasedsolutioninwhichschoolscanreceivefull
fundingandbeexemptfromstandardizedtestingrequirementsiftheycandemonstrate
innovativepractices.
WhyInnovation
Thestandardizedteststhatarecurrentlymandatedarelimitedanddonotassesstheskills
thatemployersarelookingfornordotheysupport21stcenturyskills.Inherbook,
TheTest
,
Kamenetz(2015)describes,

INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

Theworldreallyneedspeoplewhocomeupwithnewsolutionstoproblems,whoknow
howtobehavewithothers,whoareinternallymotivatedandwhoareequippedtoadapt
tonewsituationsandtoacteffectively(Chapter5,section4,para.2).

LazloBock,seniorvicepresidentofpeopleoperationsatGoogle,explainedthat
transcripts,testscores,andG.P.A.sdontpredictanything(Bryant,2013),andthatthe
numberonethingwelookforisgeneralcognitiveability,anditsnotI.Q.Itslearningability.
Itstheabilitytoprocessonthefly.Itstheabilitytopulltogetherdisparatebitsofinformation
(Friedman,2014).Googlealsolooksforemergentleadershiportheabilitytoassessaproblem
andstepinorrelinquishpowerwhennecessarycollaborationskillshumilityandownership.As
Friedmandescribes,It'sfeelingthesenseofresponsibility,thesenseofownership,tostepin,to
trytosolveanyproblemandthehumilitytostepbackandembracethebetterideasofothers.
Withallofthiscomesanabilitytoembracemistakesandfailures.
KamenetzmakesaconnectionbetweentheseskillsandthetaxonomiesthatPatrick
Kyllonen(2012),aseniorresearchdirectoratEducationalTestingService(ETS),reviewedand
summarizedhispaper,titled
Measurementof21stCenturySkillsWithintheCommonCoreState
Standards
.Kyllonenidentifies21stcenturyskillsas:
Cognitiveskillscriticalthinking,problemsolving,creativity
Interpersonalskillscommunicationskills,socialskills,teamwork,culturalsensitivity,
dealingwithadversity
Intrapersonalskillsselfmanagement,selfregulation,timemanagement,self
development(lifelonglearning),adaptability,executivefunctioning(p.8)

INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

ProposedSolution
Sevenbroadprincipleshavebeenidentifiedforsuccessfulinnovation.Theseare(1)
learnershavetobeatthecenterofwhatisgoingonintheclassroom(2)learningisasocial
practiceandcannothappenalone(3)emotionsandmotivationareanintegralpartoflearning
(4)learnersaredifferent(5)studentsneedtobestretchedbutnottoomuch(6)assessmentsare
forlearningnotoflearningand(7)learningneedstobeintegratedacrossdisciplines
(Schwartz,2013).Inourproposal,schoolsthatdonotwishtoadministerstandardizedtestsmust
meetoneorbothofthespecificrequirementsbasedontheseprinciples.Ourrecommended
requirementsareasfollows:
SchoolwideStudentParticipationinOnlineorHybridAffinitySpaces
ScholarJamesPaulGee(2013)describesaffinityspacesaslocations(realorvirtual)
wheregroupsofpeoplemeettolearn,collaborate,shareideas,andsolveproblemsrelatedtoa
sharedinterest.Affinityspacesalso:(1)containparticipantsofdiverseages,backgrounds,and
skilllevels(2)placeemphasisonapplyingknowledgeasopposedtohavingknowledge(i.e.
doing/producing)(3)expectallparticipantstocontributetothelearningofothers(4)offer
flexibilityinleadershipandstatusand(5)offerlittledistinctionbetweenworkandplaydueto
participantspassionforthesubjectathand(pp.175177).
Formsofonlineorhybridaffinityspacesinaschoolenvironmentmayincludebutarenot
limitedto:(1)groupsofstudentswhopostandsharetheirworkandideasonline(2)online
forums(3)makerspacesthatpostandretrieveideasonlineand(4)anytechnologythatallows
collaborationfromparticipantsindifferentareas(i.e.distancelearning).Theuseoftheseaffinity

INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

spaceswillnotonlyaidsuccessfulinnovationbutwillallowstudentstousetechnologiesinways
thatconstructmeaningforconcepts(Koehler&Mishra,2009).
ClassroomInstructionthatImplementsProjectBasedLearning
Projectbasedlearningisaninstructionalstrategythatfocusesonanopenendedproblem
orquestionrequiringauthenticapplicationofcontentorskills(Larmer,2014).Studentsworkin
collaborativegroupstosolveagivenproblemwhiledeveloping21stcenturyskills.Theauthentic
applicationandopenendedfeatureoftheproblempushesstudentstothinkoutsidetheboxwhile
challengingthemtouseknowledgefromalldisciplinestodevelopinnovativesolutions.In
addition,inquirybasedteachingmethodsengagestudentsincreating,questioning,andrevising
knowledge,whiledevelopingtheirskillsincriticalthinking,collaboration,communication,
reasoning,synthesis,andresilience(Vega,2012).Problembasedlearningalsorequiresa
creativerepresentationofthedecidedsolution.Thiscreativeprocessisalearningmethod
allowingstudentstouseinnovationtofurtherexploretheirproblemandtheviabilityoftheir
solution.
Projectbasedlessonscantakemanyformsincludingbutnotlimitedto:(1)Developinga
gamingprogramtodemonstratevarioussolutions(2)creatinganorganizationtoadvocatefor
theproblemgivenor(3)simulatingasocietywithrealissuesfacingtheworld.Thestructureof
anopenendedproblemcreatesanendlessamountofinnovativepossibilitiesencouraging
studentstoexplore,imagineandcreate.
Conclusion
Now,morethanever,ourstudentsneedtobecomeinnovatorstosucceedinthe21st
centuryworld.Asevidencedabove,theuseofstandardizedtestsintheAmericaneducation

INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

systemrepresentsoneofthemostsignificantroadblockstotheinnovationofstudentsand
teachersalike.However,itdoesnothavetobethisway.Byofferingschoolstheoptionof
increasingteacherautonomyalongsidethesmartuseoftechnology,allthewhileeliminatingthe
problemsthatstandardizedtestscreate,wecanensureoureducationsystemwillvalue
innovationasalearningethicandthatourstudentswillbebetterpreparedforwhateverthe
futuremayhold.

INSTILLINGINNOVATIONASALEARNINGETHIC

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