A New Culture of Learning

What this book is NOT about

• “broken” schools

• finger pointing

• criticizing No Child Left Behind

• blaming students, teacher, or unions

The problem is we are preparing students for jobs of the 20th (and in many ways 19th) century

A New Culture of Learning

Three Key Questions:

1. What is causing the crisis?

2. Why is the current system a losing game?

3. What can be done?

A New Culture of Learning

A World of Constant Change

Technological infrastructure + network technology creates a state of constant flux

Change is part of the online/digital world

Must move from resisting and adapting to change to embracing change

A New Culture of Learning

Our schools aren’t broken, our theory of learning is

Basing learning on a model of transfer fails as change outpaces our ability to teach

Both content and context are constantly shifting

Metaskills can solve the content problem, but not the context problem

What we advocate is a theory of inquiry which:• recognizes the importance of questions• uses answers to ask better questions• cultivates the imagination

A New Culture of Learning

Cultivating Imagination

• Not about memorization, but “world building”

• Essence of innovation (different from creativity)

• Relies on play as a modality of learning

• Simple shift in thinking with profound implications

• Prioritizing imagination, passion, inquiry and questioning