Real-World Impact: Guest Post @TylerThigpen #MVPSchool #MVIFI #MVImpact

Posted on January 16, 2014 by boadams1

Today, the Upper School parents at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School (where I work, learn, serve, and play) received a letter from Head of Upper School Tyler Thigpen, and I am quoting a significant section of the letter below, with his permission, as something like a guest blog post.

To give just a bit of context, the Upper School students at Mount Vernon experience (and share voice in the iterative implementation of) a very purposefully researched, designed and orchestrated transdisciplinary program. Using MVPS’s developed model of design thinking – DEEP (Discover, Empathize, Experiment, and Produce) – faculty and students focused on discovery and empathy phases in September, October, and November. Then, in the first week of school in January, students engaged in a mixture of content/context workshopping, vigorous presentation production, and iterative pitching to convince expert panels to approve further work on the projects into the experiment and produce phases. Pitches were evaluated on ten comprehensive criteria, and projects were also rated by degree of difficulty.

Okay, now onto the guest-blogging-by-way-of-parent-letter…

Dear Upper School Family,

Happy New Year!

I have been itching to share with you the deep learning, college preparation, and marketplace training that have already occurred this year.

Last week, thanks to an innovative plan crafted collaboratively by both students and teachers, Upper School students positioned themselves to leverage content and skills from their classes to design and pitch capstone projects aimed at real-world impact.

They developed creative solutions, honed their presentation abilities, and used constructive criticism to correct previous knowledge and improve ideas. Examples of diving deep in search of learning outcomes in some of their classes included: students writing algorithms, researching flora and fauna, learning profit maximization, understanding search engine optimization, and performing comparative analyses.

Students received pointers from visiting professionals such as the SVP of Business Operations at Turner Broadcasting, SVP of Communications & Investor Relations at First Data, VP of Marketing at Popeye’s, VP of Financial Planning & Analysis at Manheim, Chief Development Officer at Metro Atlanta YMCA, Councilman at City of Sandy Springs, and numerous others.

The learning that is taking place is truly remarkable.

Colleges appreciate when students come equipped to learn how disciplines overlap and how humanistic and scientific approaches can be applied to real-world issues and challenges. Both emphases were front and center last week. About this approach, a Wake Forest University faculty leader writes:

“Mount Vernon’s innovative move, allowing students and curriculum to cohabit in a learning environment, should serve as a model for all schools. The difference between knowing about and knowing is profound. When students engage the realities of their study–the good, bad, and the ugly– the result is ownership; students become actors who come to believe they can act. The point of education is to sanction agency for students to win their future. Hats off to Mount Vernon.”

– Dr. Allan Louden, Communication Studies Department Chair, Wake Forest University, and Director of United States Grant for the Ben Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Institute

From the private sector, another professional comments,

“Mount Vernon’s transdisciplinary approach focuses on building strong critical thinking and problem solving skills that will better prepare students to compete in a global marketplace.”

– Joanne Burke, Banker, Goldman Sachs; and Member of Board of Overseers, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Lastly, one of last week’s panelists remarks,

“Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of such an exciting experience! Not only was it meaningful to me because I witnessed tremendous growth in the students…but it was also incredible to see students tackling problems that exist in the world outside MVPS, offering significant and relevant solutions. I am impressed with the level of thoughtfulness and detail students put into their projects. Thank you again for allowing me to join!”

In my career I cannot remember seniors, during their final semester of high school, spontaneously celebrating success by running down a hallway and high-fiving classmates because of a school project. But that is what happened.

Levels of engagement, relevance, and challenge are high, and I look forward to sharing more updates as the process evolves.

…

Tyler S Thigpen

Head of Upper School

Mount Vernon Presbyterian School

“If you would like to help us design school…” #MVPSchool #MVIFI

Posted on November 11, 2013 by boadams1

I love my school for so many reasons. Just this morning, I received an email that provided me with yet another reason. The email was sent to the entire Upper School student body, and I was copied. It was an email rich in design thinking. It was an email full of trust that honors the wisdom of the “student.” It was an email full of promise for the depths of design – at the intersection of creativity and functionality.

Design thinking is people-centered problem solving. It is fundamentally concerned with and connected to the users of the things being designed. It is full of empathy and creative, critical thinking applied to real-world issues and challenges.

The most ambitious school leaders are serious about the design of “school.” How could one not be in our current era – to continuously think, design, and act for the best learning experiences for our learners. To give anything less than such critical attention would be unthinkable. Even if one determined to leave school “as is,” it would be superb if such decision making stemmed from thoughtful research and design, rather than status quo or de facto operations.

So, here’s the email. What a glorious invitation. How grateful I am that such is commonplace where I work and learn!

All,

I hope you all had a great weekend.

If you would like to help us design school for the “Experiment” and “Produce” phases of the projects, we need your ideas and help.

I invite you to join me either for lunch Wednesday or for breakfast Friday (on me) to discuss how we might best design the school day to position you for success.

Click here to sign up. [active link in original email]

There are only 50 available slots this week, and there will [be] more opportunities in the near future.

Enjoy your day,

—

Tyler S. Thigpen

@tylerthigpen

Head of Upper School

Mount Vernon Presbyterian School

The Cardboard Challenge @K4MVPSchool #MVPSchool

Posted on October 4, 2013 by boadams1

mvcitybox

Today, Lower School students at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School participated in the Cardboard Challenge, inspired by Caine’s Arcade.

People from 41 countries took part – more than 78,900 participants. Only two organizations in the state of Georgia (U.S.A.) flexed their scissors, spread their tape, and exercised their design muscles for the Cardboard Challenge. Thanks to collaboration among the faculty at Mount Vernon, and thanks to the creative confidence of our students, the Mustangs were in that number!

Mary Cantwell (@scitechyedu) set up a time-elapse camera to record the coordinated, staged efforts of five grade levels working in 45-minute shifts. So, we should be able to see the action from start to finish before too long.

Here’s the message Mary sent to invite the architects and engineers:

The DEETS:

Challenge: Students will be challenged to imagine and create the metropolises of the world! (decided we needed more than just ATL)

Time: 45 min blocks of building/play time; Sign Up Here [link removed] if you want to participate

Do B4 Arriving: Partner/Trio groups – have them research famous/interesting buildings/structures from around the world, plan out what they want to build, sketch it (with boxes in mind), and arrive on the CityBox party with a Plan of Action

AND/OR The HR selects a city together – plans out what they will build to represent different aspects of the city.

AND/OR The HR decides to create and build a fictional city/town and plans out all they want and need in this city (could be connected to a novel study, a story being studied, a SS moment in history)

Show Up. Respect what has already been created. Stake out your space. Get your boxes, imagine, create, play.

Mary Cantwell

People, Needs, Empathy

Center for Design Thinking

What an amazing sight to see the buildings take shape and form! At carpool this afternoon, I asked my typical question to a bunch of the students: What was the most incredible thing you did and learned today?

Usually I get a myriad of responses. Today, though, they ALL talked about their buildings – the Coliseum, Hancock Building, Notre Dame, Hippodrome, and the Taj Mahal, just to name a few. Zach even explained to me how he built the Burj Khalifa – the tallest skyscraper in the world!

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My next chapter – joining @MVPSchool, a school of inquiry, innovation, and impact #MVPSchool

Posted on May 14, 2013 by boadams1

Beginning June 1, 2013, I will become a full-time member of the incredible team and family of people at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School! Today, on his Design Movement blog, Head of School Dr. Brett Jacobsen announced my appointment as Chief Learning and Innovation Officer.

To say that I am excited to join MVPS would be an enormous understatement. For a number of years, I have been following the transformative and innovative work of the MVPS faculty and leadership team. The number of educators there that I follow via Twitter and long-form blogs has continued to grow and grow as time has gone on. And the face-to-face time with MVPS folks always proves inspiring. In my research and practice, I yearn to find organizations that live on the frontier of engaging education and meaningful learning.

MVPS lives on that frontier.

On so many occasions, I have written about MVPS here on It’s About Learning, and I have tweeted and retweeted about their practices, because I think the school stands out as an exemplar in our current national landscape of educational transformation and innovation. During his cross-country #EdJourney tour of “schools of the future,” my friend Grant Lichtman published this post about Mount Vernon; clearly he sensed and observed the same energy that I have perceived emanating from the school.

At Unboundary, we talk of and partner with organizations that strive for significance – a strong indicator of alignment among identity, character, purpose, and impact. A truly significant organization has all kinds of people cheering for its success because it is making a positive difference in the world, and to a considerable degree.

For quite some time, I’ve been cheering for MVPS and the significant impact it makes in the lives of children, learners, educators, education, and the local-global spectrum of communities. I am deeply grateful that MVPS has invited me and welcomed me to their team and family. And I’m honored and invigorated to join in the work that MVPS forwards through inquiry, innovation, and impact.

= = =

In my most recent chapter, being a part of Unboundary has been – and will continue to be – a life-changing experience. This studio of transformation designers and strategists engages the world with optimistic curiosity and profound wisdom about what it takes to purposefully design and successfully implement organizational change. Unboundary, its people, and its transformation-design work are in my blood, and I am thrilled to weave together this chapter with my next chapter at MVPS. How thrilling that design connects Unboundary and MVPS in such significant ways. I am eternally grateful to both places and teams of people. Thank you.