#1 The Future of School

Seven stories to know about the k-12 lab
(because Edison would say that you won't remember more)

Can You Teach Innovation?

The mantra of the Henry Ford Learning Institute is "public schools in public spaces." In fact, on our first visit to the Henry Ford Academy, we observed a math class held inside a depression-era dining car!

Based in Dearborn, Michigan, HLFI is a charter management organization that has embraced the core challenges of a changing american economy. Working with children in low SES communities, HLFI believes that developing students' capacity for creativity and innovation is the cornerstone of urban renewal. Because of our shared missions, HLFI and the K-12 Lab are ideal partners. In the fall of 2008, HFLI opened Power House High, a new school in Chicago that features design thinking at its core. Every 9th grade student at Power House takes "Foundations of Innovation," a ten-week course in design thinking that was codeveloped by HLFI and the K-12 Lab.

The goals of "Foundations of Innovation" is to help each student develop the mindsets that lead to innovation and to enhance their creative confidence through design thinking.

Stop, Drop, and Design

To ensure that the students continue to grow as innovators throughout their high school years, each quarter is based around ambitious design challenges. Some examples include: creating a new, appealing, and healthy cafeteria menu item, or ensuring that their community has access to clean and ample water sources. Teachers help students advance their projects during subject area classes and through "Stop, Drop, and Design Days" (days designated for students to advance their design projects).

"Both the d.school and HFLI are committed to the success of a diverse student body through the development and implementation of innovative teaching strategies, tools and methods that promote active learning and meaningful engagement with real world design challenges. We believe that our shared approach, involving crafting authentic learning opportunities centered on ambitious and engaging design challenges, real time professional development directly tied to using those design challenges with students and searching for ways to measure that emerging student mastery of a scaffolded design process have the potential for real impact on long-term student achievement."

-Debi Parizek, Executive Director of the Henry Ford Learning Institute.

With the success of "Foundations of Innovation," the K-12 Lab and HLFI are now developing a ten-week sixth grade course. We are thrilled to grow with HLFI: they will open two new schools (one in Detroit, one in San Antonio) in the fall of 2009, two more in 2010, and even more the future. The K-12 Lab is excited to help HFLI advance and spread their great work.