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Day 1 lesson plan for the Roosevelt Innovation Academy.
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What comes to mind when you think about money?
Don’t start with the money!
Remember him?
If you don’t TAKE NOTES over what you learn--if you don’t
write it down, review it, think about it, Tweet it, or talk about
it--you’re not going to DEEPLY LEARN it.
Why do people love sports, arts,
service, & starting businesses?
At their best, they are done WITH people...
FOR people.
How does this compare & contrastwith the way schools are operated?
Schools are sometimes about working WITH people, but only rarely FOR people.
Current model = a selfish pursuit of learning
Schools are also at their best, when students get to learn WITH people FOR people.
Innovation Partner
Domenico Bobby
Stephano Gisella
Augusto Daniela
Gonzalo Karen
Pedro Andrea
Carolina Sara
Paolo Kathy
Schools are also at their best, when students get to learn WITH people FOR people.
Why School?
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why
you do it.”
Image credit: iStockPhoto
Imagine being Ryan Hreljac's first grade teacher. After telling your class of six- and seven-year-olds thatchildren in Africa are dying because of lack of clean water, one of your students is so moved that he has to dosomething. What starts as Ryan taking on extra vacuuming at home to earn money for wells eventually turnsinto Ryan's Well Foundation (1), a non-profit that, to date, has brought safe water and sanitation services toover 789,900 people.
As Ryan's teacher, you helped him start on the path to a life purpose, which, according to research, may beone of the greatest services you ever render to your students.
Seeking MeaningfulnessWilliam Damon, leading expert in human development and author of The Path to Purpose (2), states thatstudents today may be high achievers but they have no idea what for. He believes that this sense ofmeaninglessness is one of the main contributors to the skyrocketing suicide and depression rates among ouryouth. One sample statistic: the American College Health Association reported in 2011 that 30 percent ofundergraduates were so depressed they could hardly function.
To combat this meaninglessness, Damon argues that students need to find a purpose in life -- somethingmeaningful to themselves that also serves the greater good. In a series of studies of over 1,200 youth ages 12to 26, Damon found that those who were actively pursuing a clear purpose reaped tremendous benefits thatwere both immediate and that could also last a lifetime.
More immediate benefits included extra positive energy that not only kept students motivated, but also helpedthem acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue their purpose, making them very strong learners.Youth with a strong sense of purpose also benefited from positive emotions such as gratitude, self-confidence, optimism and a deep sense of fulfillment -- all of which scientists have found help preventdepression and anxiety.
Students who carry this sense of purpose into adulthood may also benefit in the long run. Research showsthat adults who feel their lives have meaning and purpose are happier, more successful at work, and maintainstronger relationships.
Pivotal MomentsSo what does this mean for educators? In-depth interviews of 12 purpose-driven youth from Damon's studies
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Put the Awe Back in "Awesome" -- Helping StudentsDevelop Purpose
JUNE 10, 2013
revealed that all of them came to their purpose through people outside their immediate families -- people thatincluded their teachers.
In his book, Damon suggests several ways that teachers can help their students discover a sense of purpose,such as asking about what's most important to those students and talking about their own sense of purposeas a teacher.
But new research suggests another way: awe.
While the research on awe is still fairly new, several studies conducted by the Greater Good Science Center(3)'s Dacher Keltner have shown that the experience of awe has the potential to turn students' lives in a newdirection.
Here's how awe works: when we experience an inspiring work of art or a grand vista in nature, or when welearn a new mind-expanding theory, we often feel a sense of vastness that gives us a new perspective on theworld and our place in it. These two steps make up the emotion of awe.
Keltner has found that awe makes us feel connected to something larger than ourselves -- a crucial andnecessary aspect of purpose. According to Damon, without this larger connection, students are less likely tomaintain their inspiration, motivation and resilience in the face of challenges.
Imagine how life-changing this emotion could be for students who are struggling to find meaning in their livesand schoolwork! An awe experience has the potential to open their minds to new ways of thinking, includingwhat their place in the world might be.
For teachers who would like to use awe in the classroom to help students find purpose, here is one research-based suggestion that might spark even more creative suggestions from readers.
Introduce an Awe-Inspiring Unit of StudyWhen planning your next unit, think about how you might open the topic in a way that places it in the "granderscheme of things," and about how students might relate to both the topic and this grander scheme.
For example, the video below was used in Keltner’s research lab to induce awe. Teachers could use it at thebeginning of units on astronomy, geometry, perspective or measurement:
Zoom IN Star Size 2
This next video was also used to induce awe in the lab and could be used for units on sustainability, naturephoto/videography, geology, zoology or ecosystems:
After showing the video, help students process what they just saw. Awe involves changing our mental modelsto incorporate the experience. Thus, to help students understand and process the experience at a deeperlevel, have them first write about what they felt or thought while watching the video. Then discuss with themhow both the video content and the topic they're about to study relates to them personally and to the world ingeneral.
Setting the StageIt's important to note that your efforts to induce awe in students will fall on some deaf ears. Keltner found thatnot everyone is prone to awe -- particularly those who are not comfortable changing their outlook on theworld. But that shouldn't keep teachers from trying to induce awe in students. UC Berkeley socialpsychologist Paul Piff speculates, "There's good reason to think that students who don't experience awecould benefit from those who do. For example, through the contagious effects of positive emotion, increasedsolidarity and cooperation, social facilitation, and benefiting from others' egalitarianism." And even if none ofthe students experience awe, the follow-up discussion still has the potential to generate a rich exploration
Planet Earth Footage
EDUTOPIA WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION © 2013 The George Lucas Educational Foundation All rights reserved.
about purpose.
Helping students find a path to purpose is one of the noblest aspects of teaching. As Damon writes, "This ishow all young people should feel about life when they are starting out. Idealism, high hopes, enthusiasm, anda sense of awe and wonder in exploring the world around them."
Source: www.edutopia.org/blog/awe-helping-students-develop-purpose-vicki-zakrzewski
Links
1 www.ryanswell.ca/
2 www.williamdamon.com/pathtopurpose.html
3 greatergood.berkeley.edu/about
Reprint Policy: www.edutopia.org/terms-of-use
Privacy Policy: www.edutopia.org/privacy-policy
Why Learn?
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why
you do it.”
Why Innovation Academy?
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why
you do it.”
7/31/13 30 Example Vision Statements - Top Nonprofits
topnonprofits.com/examples/vision-statements/ 1/3
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30 EXAMPLE VISION STATEMENTS
Vision Statement: (Desired End-State) A one-sentence statement describing the clearand inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization or program’s work.
The following vision statements were selected from the top 100 nonprofits (based on a series of web,social, and financial metrics).
Be sure to check out our Guide to Creating Vision and Mission Statements for more helpful tips.
Details on how this list was compiled can be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
GENERAL FINDINGSThe best visions are inspirational, clear, memorable, and concise.Avg length for the full 30 organizations listed here is only 14.56 words (excludingbrand references)Avg length for the first 15 organizations is only 10.5 words (excluding brand references).The shortest contains only three words (Human Rights Campaign)The longest contains 31 words (Amnesty International)
30 EXAMPLE VISION STATEMENTSOxfam: A just world without poverty (5 words)
Feeding America: A hunger-free America (4 words)
Human Rights Campaign: Equality for everyone (3)
National Multiple Sclerosis Society: A World Free of MS (5)
Alzheimer’s Association: Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s (7)
Habitat for Humanity: A world where everyone has a decent place to live. (10)
Oceana seeks to make our oceans as rich, healthy and abundant as they once were. (14)
Make-A-Wish: Our vision is that people everywhere. will share the power of a wish (13)
San Diego Zoo: To become a world leader at connecting people to wildlife and conservation. (12)
The Nature Conservancy: Our vision is to leave a sustainable world for future generations. (11)
Ducks Unlimited is wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.(13)
In Touch Ministries: proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people in every country of the world.(14)
NPR, with its network of independent member stations, is America’s pre-eminent news institution (12)
World Vision: For every child, life in all its fullness;; Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so(19)
Teach for America: One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellenteducation. (16)
ASPCA: That the United States is a humane community in which all animals are treated with respectand kindness. (18)
Cleveland Clinic: Striving to be the world’s leader in patient experience, clinical outcomes, research
50 Example Mission Statements
30 Example Vision Statements
7/31/13 30 Example Vision Statements - Top Nonprofits
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and education. (14)
Goodwill: Every person has the opportunity to achieve his/her fullest potential and participate in andcontribute to all aspects of life. (21)
Smithsonian: Shaping the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharingour resources with the world (17)
WWF: We seek to save a planet, a world of life. Reconciling the needs of human beings and theneeds of others that share the Earth… (25)
Save the Children: Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection,development and participation. (18)
Kiva: We envision a world where all people – even in the most remote areas of the globe – hold thepower to create opportunity for themselves and others. (26)
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, andimprove the quality of life of patients and their families. (18)
Boy Scouts of America: To prepare every eligible youth in America to become a responsible,participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Law. (24)
charity: water believes that we can end the water crisis in our lifetime by ensuring that every personon the planet has access to life’s most basic need — clean drinking water. (28)
Clinton Foundation: To implement sustainable programs that improve access worldwide toinvestment, opportunity, and lifesaving services now and for future generations. (19)
VFW: Ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements,and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of this greatcountry. (32)
Special Olympics: To transform communities by inspiring people throughout the world to open theirminds, accept and include people with intellectual disabilities and thereby anyone who is perceived asdifferent. (28)
Creative Commons: Our vision is nothing less than realizing the full potential of the Internet —universal access to research and education, full participation in culture — to drive a new era ofdevelopment, growth, and productivity. (33)
Amnesty International: Amnesty International’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys allof the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other internationalhuman rights instruments. (31)
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?Is your vision statement longer than 20 words? Can you get it below 15? Below 10? Design youvision statement to clearly communicate what you are working to achieve in a way that people canremember it and communicate this to others. If you can’t get your full vision below 15 words, consideralso creating a vision tagline (2-6 words) which people can more easily remember.
HOW THE LIST WAS COMPILEDVisions statements were gathered for each of the top 100 nonprofits that had published versionand then evaluated for content and length.30 were then selected for this list based on length and organized roughly from shortest tolongest (based on number of characters).The number in parenthesis at the end of each line depicts the number of non-branded wordsincluded in their vision statement.In order to standardize the list, we removed things like “[Brand's] vision is” or “The visionstatement of [Brand]” when it created redundancy in the beginning of a vision statement.
Related Articles:50 Example Mission Statements
Possible Mission Statements:
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why
you do it.”
We learn & work with people for people.
We recognize the power of language, media, business and education, and we strive to use all of these to create a positive impact in our
community and around the world.
CULTURE OF A BUSINESS
7/31/13 Strong Company Culture Predicts Long-Term Success | Fox Small Business Center
smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/legal-hr/2013/06/03/strong-company-culture-predicts-long-term-success/ 1/3
Companies that focus on company culture may create not only a
positive work environment;; new data has also found that those
companies are also setting themselves up for long-term success.
That’s because 91 percent of respondents to a new survey say
companies with a strong sense of purpose and culture also have
strong financial performance. Additionally, the same number of
respondents at companies with a strong culture says their company
has a strong brand that differed and stood out from their competition.
Ninety-four percent of respondents also say they have strong
satisfaction among customers, while 79 percent say they have
strong employee satisfaction.
On the other hand, respondents from companies without a strong
culture say they are less likely to perform well financially and have a
distinct brand. Additionally, customers and employees at those
companies were far less likely to be satisfied, the research found.
"Organizations that have a culture of purpose focus on delivering
meaningful impact for all their stakeholders — customers,
employees and communities," said Punit Renjen, chairman of the
board at Deloitte, the company that conducted the research. "Many
businesses have made great strides to strengthen their role as
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Strong Company Culture Predicts Long-Term SuccessBy David Mielach, BusinessNewsDaily staff writer / Published June 03, 2013 / FOXBusiness
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corporate citizens. However, our survey suggests that there is still
so much more work to do, and that could have a positive long-term
impact for companies that do so."
Despite those benefits, many companies are not focused on
instilling or creating a strong culture. Sixty-eight percent of
employees and 66 percent of executives say they their business is
not doing enough to create a positive culture at work.
"As leaders, we need to change the conversation — to focus more
on the impact our organization creates rather than the profit we
make," Renjen said. "Measurements such as revenue and profit fail
to capture the full picture."
Part of the problem behind implementing a strong culture is the
disconnect that exists between employees and executives.
Executives were more likely to say a company has a strong sense
of purpose that could be easily explained than employees.
Additionally, employees were also less likely than executives to say
that cultural development programs were integrated into a
company's strategy.
"Many companies are missing an opportunity to more
comprehensively integrate purpose-building activities into their core
business strategies and operations," Renjen said. "What companies
do for clients, people, communities and society are all
interconnected. A culture of purpose ensures that management and
employees alike see each as a reason to go to work every day."
The research was based on the responses of 1,310 employees and
executives for the Core Beliefs and Culture Survey for Deloitte.
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CULTURE OF INNOVATION
CULTURE OF THE INNOVATION ACADEMY
What type of culture do we want to create?
7/31/13 Six Components of a Great Corporate Culture - John Coleman - Harvard Business Review
blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/05/six_components_of_culture.html 1/3
HBR Blog Network
Six Components of a Great Corporate Cultureby John Coleman | 3:00 PM May 6, 2013
The benefits of a strong corporate culture are both intuitive and supported by social science. According to James L.Heskett (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/what_great_companies_know_abou.html) , culture "can account for 20-30% ofthe differential in corporate performance when compared with 'culturally unremarkable' competitors." And HBR writershave offered advice on navigating different geographic cultures(http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/03/when_crossing_cultures_use_glo.html) , selecting jobs based on culture(http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/when_choosing_a_job_culture_ma.html) , changing cultures(http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/12/to_change_the_culture_stop_try.html) , and offering feedback across cultures(http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/giving_feedback_across_cultures.html) , among other topics.
But what makes a culture? Each culture is unique and myriad factors go into creating one, but I've observed at least sixcommon components of great cultures. Isolating those elements can be the first step to building a differentiated cultureand a lasting organization.
1. Vision: A great culture starts with a vision or mission statement. These simple turns of phrase guide a company'svalues and provide it with purpose (http://bigthink.com/experts-corner/purpose-as-a-compass) . That purpose, in turn,orients every decision employees make. When they are deeply authentic and prominently displayed, good visionstatements can even help orient customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Nonprofits often excel at havingcompelling, simple vision statements (http://topnonprofits.com/examples/vision-statements/) . The Alzheimer'sAssociation, for example, is dedicated to "a world without Alzheimer's." (http://www.alz.org/about_us_about_us_.asp)And Oxfam envisions "a just world without poverty." (http://www.oxfam.org/en/about/what/purpose-and-beliefs) A visionstatement is a simple but foundational element of culture.
2. Values: A company's values are the core of its culture. While a vision articulates a company's purpose, values offer aset of guidelines on the behaviors and mindsets needed to achieve that vision. McKinsey & Company, for example, hasa clearly articulated set of values (http://www.mckinsey.com.ar/our_work_belive.asp) that are prominentlycommunicated to all employees and involve the way that firm vows to serve clients, treat colleagues, and upholdprofessional standards. Google's values might be best articulated by their famous phrase, "Don't be evil."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_be_evil) But they are also enshrined in their "ten things we know to be true."(http://www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/) And while many companies find their values revolve around a few
7/31/13 Six Components of a Great Corporate Culture - John Coleman - Harvard Business Review
blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/05/six_components_of_culture.html 2/3
simple topics (employees, clients, professionalism, etc.), the originality of those values is less important than theirauthenticity.
3. Practices: Of course, values are of little importance unless they are enshrined in a company's practices. If anorganization professes, "people are our greatest asset," it should also be ready to invest in people in visible ways.Wegman's, for example, heralds values like "caring" and "respect,"(http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10052&identifier=CATEGORY_1341)promising prospects "a job [they'll] love." (http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&identifier=CATEGORY_533) And it follows through in its companypractices, ranked by Fortune as the fifth best company to work for (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/snapshots/5.html?iid=bc_sp_list) . Similarly, if an organization values "flat" hierarchy, it mustencourage more junior team members to dissent in discussions without fear or negative repercussions. And whateveran organization's values, they must be reinforced in review criteria and promotion policies, and baked into the operatingprinciples of daily life in the firm.
4. People: No company can build a coherent culture without people who either share its core values or possess thewillingness and ability to embrace those values. That's why the greatest firms in the world also have some of the moststringent recruiting policies. According to Charles Ellis, as noted in a recent review(http://www.economist.com/news/business-books-quarterly/21576071-lessons-leaders-simply-best) of his book What itTakes: Seven Secrets of Success from the World's Greatest Professional Firms (http://www.amazon.com/What-It-Takes-Greatest-Professional/dp/1118517725) , the best firms are "fanatical about recruiting new employees who are not justthe most talented but also the best suited to a particular corporate culture." Ellis highlights that those firms often have 8-20 people interview each candidate. And as an added benefit, Steven Hunt notes (http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/strategic-workforce-planning/hire-for-the-organization.aspx) at Monster.com that onestudy found applicants who were a cultural fit would accept a 7% lower salary, and departments with cultural alignmenthad 30% less turnover. People stick with cultures they like, and bringing on the right "culture carriers" reinforces theculture an organization already has.
5. Narrative: Marshall Ganz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Ganz) was once a key part of Caesar Chavez'sUnited Farm Workers movement and helped structure the organizing platform for Barack Obama's 2008 presidentialcampaign. Now a professor at Harvard (http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/marshall-ganz) , one ofGanz's core areas of research and teaching is the power (http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/teaching-courses/course-listing/mld-355m) of narrative (http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/teaching-courses/course-listing/mld-356m) . Anyorganization has a unique history — a unique story. And the ability to unearth that history and craft it into a narrative is acore element of culture creation. The elements of that narrative can be formal — like Coca-Cola, which dedicated anenormous resource to celebrating its heritage (http://www.coca-colacompany.com/?topic=heritage) and even has aWorld of Coke museum (http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/) in Atlanta — or informal, like those stories about how SteveJobs' early fascination with calligraphy (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steve-jobs-death-apple-calligraphy-248900) shaped the aesthetically oriented culture at Apple. But they are more powerful when identified, shaped, andretold as a part of a firm's ongoing culture.
6. Place: Why does Pixar have a huge open atrium (http://officesnapshots.com/2012/07/16/pixar-headquarters-and-the-legacy-of-steve-jobs/) engineering an environment where firm members run into each other throughout the day andinteract in informal, unplanned ways? Why does Mayor Michael Bloomberg prefer his staff sit in a "bullpen"(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/nyregion/bloombergs-bullpen-candidates-debate-its-future.html?pagewanted=all)environment, rather than one of separate offices with soundproof doors? And why do tech firms cluster in Silicon Valleyand financial firms cluster in London and New York? There are obviously numerous answers to each of thesequestions, but one clear answer is that place shapes culture. Open architecture(http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2011/02/designing-an-office-space-that-encourages-great-design.php) is moreconducive to certain office behaviors, like collaboration. Certain cities and countries have local cultures that mayreinforce or contradict the culture a firm is trying to create. Place — whether geography, architecture, or aesthetic design— impacts the values and behaviors of people in a workplace.
7/31/13 Six Components of a Great Corporate Culture - John Coleman - Harvard Business Review
blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/05/six_components_of_culture.html 3/3
There are other factors that influence culture. But these six components can provide a firm foundation for shaping a neworganization's culture. And identifying and understanding them more fully in an existing organization can be the firststep to revitalizing or reshaping culture in a company looking for change.
When should you work to change a culture,
and when should you respect a culture?
Positive & negative
consequences for behavior?
Focused
7/31/13 College teaches one class at a time - USATODAY.com
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Videos you may be interested inCollege teaches one class at a timePosted 10/28/2007 4:44 PM | Comment | Recommend E-mail | Print |
By Justin Pope, AP Education Writer
LAKE GEORGE, Colo. — It's a silly old expression, but Professor Eric Leonard says it's true: The best geologist isthe one who's seen the most rocks.
Which is why, on a crisp fall morning, Leonard was driving a van full of sleeping bags and sleepy-eyed ColoradoCollege freshmen into the mountains around Pikes Peak, where the history of the Earth is writ large in giant slabsof igneous rock jutting up from the ground.
The overnight trip, and another lasting four nights a week later in Rocky Mountain National Park, offer the kind ofintense, hands-on learning that the typical college lecture course rarely has.
But at Colorado College it is common because of an unusual, 35-year-old system of teaching.
Typically, full-time college students take four or five courses simultaneously, over two or three terms per year.Colorado College is one of just a handful of places where students take one course at a time, giving it their fullattention for 3 1/2 weeks. They'll spend most of the day in class or on extended field trips like this one. Then, aftera long weekend, they move on to the next course.
On the Colorado Springs campus of about 2,000 undergraduates, you won't see the typical college scene ofstudents walking across the quad between classes. There's no "between."
The challenge, the private college readily admits, is to make sure students get the broad introductory knowledgethey need, particularly in subjects like math and science. But the payoff is an intense learning experience that theschool insists is well worth it.
"Most kids are taking courses and it's all theoretical. They don't see how it's actually occurring in theenvironment," said Brendan Boepple, from Wilton, Conn., perched on a sharp rock face above the South PlatteRiver, about an hour west of campus. "We get to go out and see how it's affecting different ecosystems." He alsolikes having the long "block weekend" between courses when he can indulge his passion for fly fishing.
The idea of the block plan dates to the late 1960s, when Colorado College was preparing for its centennialcelebration with a general re-examination of academic and campus life. Nothing radical was on the table. But asmall group of professors got to talking at Murphy's Bar near campus, and one asked, "Why can't the college giveme 15 students and let me work just with them?"
Across higher education, there was lots of talk at that time about shaking up how colleges operated, and somemade big changes. But the basic rhythm of academic life remained largely untouched. Lee Shulman, president ofthe Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, says the reason is college faculty are inherentlyconservative when it comes to control over their time.
"There are some utterly irrational ways in which particular ways of configuring time are considered sacred," hesaid. "It's almost liturgical."
At Colorado College, the proposal prompted much debate but won faculty approval. What happened next issomewhat surprising in hindsight. The idea -- new in American higher education -- neither failed nor caught onmore broadly. Rather, Colorado College nurtured and tweaked it, and it has survived as a nearly uniqueexperiment.
"Modular learning" -- as experts call block courses -- is increasingly common in high schools, and some collegeshave experimented with more intensive, full-time block courses for at least part of the year, usually betweenterms. A few schools have created intensive courses, like St. Lawrence University in New York, which takessome students into the Adirondack Mountains for a full-semester comprehensive course covering everythingfrom ecology to philosophy.
But only a handful besides Colorado College -- including Cornell College in Iowa, the University of Montana-Western and Quest University, a new college in Canada -- have gone to a full block system.
"Why don't more people do it? It's expensive," said Colorado College President Richard Celeste, a formergovernor of Ohio who also served as U.S. ambassador to India. The average class size is 16, and the largercourses are required to have two instructors.
"We have to run 122 classes at the same time, so I need 122 classrooms," Celeste said.
But he says a growing number of students discover in high school that modular learning works better for themand are looking for a similar college experience. Colorado College attracted a record 4,854 applicants last year.The acceptance rate has fallen below one-third, and the percentage of admitted students who decide to enroll isat its highest in more than 15 years. The schedule attracts lots of competitive skiers because they can take blocksoff in the winter and make them up during summer term.
Both the rewards and challenges are obvious in Leonard's class of first-year geology students. They are on theroad by 8 a.m. -- the crack of dawn for college students -- and lobby Leonard for a stop at a popular doughnutshop en route. By midmorning they have pulled off a dirt road in the Pike National Forest, where they beginmaking drawings of an exposed cliff side. Leonard prods them to look at the formations through the eyes of ageologist. It's only the third day of class, but after two full days of study they already know the basic terminology.
"Even when we're inside it allows us to do other things," Leonard says. Students cover fewer topics than theircounterparts elsewhere, he admits, but they study them more deeply and, he believes, ultimately become bettergeologists. "It takes away the constraint of the 50-minute lecture or the three-hour lab. You can continue onthings until you're finished."
The college says it can't really say for sure whether students learn better this way. There's no parallel collegewith the same curriculum and students against which to compare it. But Leonard says his students do fineapplying to graduate programs. Celeste says he measures the success in the feedback from students, and fromparents, who report they are pleased with how engaged students are in their subjects.
For students in this geology class, at least, one of the benefits is an affirmative answer to a question students arealways peppering their teachers with: "Can we have class outside today?"
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7/31/13 Cornell College
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Cornell CollegeLocation: Mount Vernon, IAEnrollment: 1150Phone: 1-800-747-1112www.cornellcollege.edu
Set on a wooded hilltop overlooking scenic Mount Vernon, Iowa,Cornell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college offeringstudents an extraordinary array of opportunities— in the classroom,on campus, and around the world.
At Cornell, you'll focus intensely on one course for three and a halfweeks, then move on to a new subject. Known as One-Course-At-A-Time (OCAAT), our academic structure enables you to spend amonth creating a theatrical production, conducting high-levelscientific research, or immersing yourself in a new language—giving each your full attention and best effort. It's an innovativeapproach that attracts a diverse group of students from across thecountry and around the world, and it's practically unique: Cornell isone of only two national liberal arts colleges on the block plan.
Opportunities are not restricted by the borders of a traditionalclassroom. You might spend a month in Spain exploring the originsof Spanish civilization, or work as a full-time intern on a presidentialcampaign. With just one course at a time, off-campus study is bothmanageable and meaningful.
As a student, you'll enjoy our active campus life and welcomingcommunity. More than 100 clubs and activities invite you to honeyour leadership skills, showcase your talents, and explore yourinterests. In our residence halls, you'll meet new friends who sharea love of learning and campus involvement.
"Cornell is one of two colleges on the block system –one course at a time. Faculty as well as studentslove both the system and the school, and so wouldyou. It is the only entire campus to be included inthe National Register of Historic Places. In my bookthere is no better college, and it produces muchmore than its share of writers, scholars, andexecutives."
~Loren Pope, Author of Looking Beyond the IvyLeague and Colleges that Change Lives
Austin NevermanCedar Rapids, IowaClass of 2012Majors: French, Spanish
I chose Cornell because of the One Course At A Time (OCAAT) academic calendar. Not only do
7/31/13 Cornell College
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I get the close relationships with my professors, but I also get to focus all of my energies on one particular classas well and really dig into that subject. I believe this also allows for a more enhanced learning environment. Cornell (and Iowa) is the most ideal location for me because I am a native and thus am living in a comfortable,familiar environment;; but also, I've come to appreciate the friendliness and neighborly attitudes Cornellianspossess. Cornell is a great school because it really does fulfill its motto in that we do have one extraordinaryopportunity after another, and I am thrilled to be a part of that.
Visit Cornell College at Iowa Private College Week
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