This weekend, I watched the first TED talk below, which comes from Lucy McRae. McRae worked at Philips Electronics in the Far Future Design Research Lab. Some time ago, I watched the second TED talk below, which comes from Homaru Cantu and Ben Roche. Cantu and Roche utilize a research lab to design dining innovations for their Chicago restaurants Moto and ING.
If the future of schooling is as important as electronics and restaurant-ing, why aren’t more schools operating research and innovation labs or partnering together to do so? Sure, there are pockets of innovation in many schools – usually particular teachers who are innovating practice. But are there many systemic approaches to building and operating “school laboratories” within existing schools?! There should be! Transforming existing schools may depend on such R&D efforts.
Lucy McRae: How can technology transform the human body?
Homaro Cantu + Ben Roche: Cooking as alchemy
[NOTE: After I scheduled this post to auto-publish, John Burk left a great, related comment on 60-60-60 #32, so I am linking to it here. Also, @jbrettjacobsen and I talk quite a bit about this “school-within-a-school” idea – that existing schools seem to innovate by leveraging the non-monolithic nature of schools and amplifying the innovative practices, formal or informal institutes, etc. – essentially creating competition with oneself…two versions of one’s school. Interesting how this also relates to creative destruction concept.]
[NOTE #2: Sorry for length of this “60-word” post!]
CHANGEd: What if…60-60-60 Project Explained
As a child, I LOVED school. I still love school. Interestingly, though, I can remember often telling others that my favorite things about school were lunch, recess, and P.E. I still hear students repeat this refrain. My own first-grade son retells events from lunch, recess, and PE far more often than other details. Is it the freedom to move around, choose, and explore? Is it the time to talk more freely and process one’s tales and experiences? What makes lunch, recess, and PE so popular? What if we amplified the bright spots of lunch, recess, and PE? How might we copy success and sprinkle the magic of these moments across a curriculum and schedule?
it's about learning 