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Reveals the importance of innovation in American global competitiveness, profiling some of today's most compelling young innovators while explaining how they have succeeded through the unconventional methods of parents, teachers, and mentors.
* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes. As you read this summary, you will learn how society can create innovators, the young people who will change the world. You will also learn that : Montessori pedagogy is apt to foster the emergence of talented innovators; The idea is the essential raw material of innovation; Intrinsic motivation is the main driver of innovation; To think differently, one must surround oneself with models who act differently; The word "reiteration" can usefully replace the word "failure"; Standing out from others is the main motivation of innovators. Tony Wagner is an expert in educational sciences, currently in residence at Harvard University. In "Creating Innovators", he argues for the creation of an economy based on innovation and asks how to train those who will have to make it work, so that they all, as far as possible, become innovators. In doing so, he asks what parents, teachers, mentors and employers need to do to encourage innovation on a permanent basis. In short, this book is a fascinating journey into the world of those who are creating the world of tomorrow. *Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!
In this groundbreaking book, education expert Tony Wagner provides a powerful rationale for developing an innovation-driven economy. He explores what parents, teachers, and employers must do to develop the capacities of young people to become innovators. In profiling compelling young American innovators such as Kirk Phelps, product manager for Apple’s first iPhone, and Jodie Wu, who founded a company that builds bicycle-powered maize shellers in Tanzania, Wagner reveals how the adults in their lives nurtured their creativity and sparked their imaginations, while teaching them to learn from failures and persevere. Wagner identifies a pattern—a childhood of creative play leads to deep-seated interests, which in adolescence and adulthood blossom into a deeper purpose for career and life goals. Play, passion, and purpose: These are the forces that drive young innovators. Wagner shows how we can apply this knowledge as educators and what parents can do to compensate for poor schooling. He takes readers into the most forward-thinking schools, colleges, and workplaces in the country, where teachers and employers are developing cultures of innovation based on collaboration, interdisciplinary problem-solving, and intrinsic motivation. The result is a timely, provocative, and inspiring manifesto that will change how we look at our schools and workplaces, and provide us with a road map for creating the change makers of tomorrow. Creating Innovators will feature its own innovative elements: more than sixty original videos that expand on key ideas in the book through interviews with young innovators, teachers, writers, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, including Thomas Friedman, Dean Kamen, and Annmarie Neal. Produced by filmmaker Robert A. Compton, the videos are embedded directly into this eBook file and may also be accessed by visiting www.creatinginnovators.com.
What happens when a Canadian principal, guided by the teachings of Fullan and Hargreaves, takes on the role of school leader in an inner-city charter school in the United States? This inside story of a principal in the DC charter school system, reveals much about the desire for educators and students to experience more than a life of multiple-choice testing that tends to be so commonplace in these schools. While such a case adds to the mound of research that supports the ‘change takes time’ findings, it nevertheless demonstrates the reality, on a day-to-day basis, of what’s worth fighting for in schools. Student and teacher engagement and empowerment matter, and to get to such ends, a school must fiercely focus on targets well beyond test scores. This book speaks about how a budget reveals school values, and by shifting resources to support staff and student development, a school, coping with regular turnover, can be filled with more confident and capable community members. A school crawling with leaders emerged as more student, teacher and non-instructional staff were supported in new roles, aimed at building an inspired culture, with the talent and capacity to move others to action. The old ways of ‘doing school’ do not address the needs of the 21st century learner, and while many forces with limited views of education were at play, this story does provide an example of what promising things can and should happen to increase engagement and learning in more charter schools across America. “Dr. Barbara Smith’s narrative of her times in public charter schools offers all of us insights into the struggle to create schools of high academic quality and compassionate care, worthy of her educational mandate and mission.” – David Booth, Professor Emeritus, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto “Dr. Smith’s message inspires me to be an advocate for education and her work will inspire you as well!” – Jalen Rose, Chair of Board of Directors, Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Detroit, Michigan, ESPN Commentator “This inside look provides an opportunity for innovation in a field that has held to aging standards for far too long!” – Diane C. Manica, Former Director, Leadership and Accreditation, University of Detroit Mercy
This collection offers innovative approaches to using popular forms of storytelling as a lens for teaching about climate change. Contributors share their classroom experiences and guidance about how to engage students in productive conversations about the future with empathy and agency.
From the founder of Harvard's Change Leadership Group comes a provocative look at why innovation is today's most essential real-world skill and what young people need to become innovators.
Unhappy in your current career? Do you lack clarity, vision, or courage when you try to imagine yourself doing work that's soul satisfying? Are you reluctant to learn new things in order to reinvent yourself? This book is designed to help you find your right livelihood. In today's marketplace, we all need to adopt a mindset of the self-employed individual and accept responsibility for being our own boss, even when we work for someone else. The old "social contract" has been broken and replaced with one that holds independence (making individual contributions) and interdependence (collaboration with others) as its core elements. This book provides answers, facts, inspirational essays, and - most importantly - an opportunity for you to explore your heart's true desires. Elaine Voci, Ph.D. brings superb writing skills, and a fascinating work history of 30 years in which she changed careers - not just jobs- more than six times, including one that meant moving to Japan. Elaine has successfully practiced in her own career what she is going to teach you about reinventing yourself. In this book you will be helped to explore: * How to use your talents, interests and values to mobilize your career * The decision to go back to school, or not - and the value and the absolute need for continual skill building through learning * The power of networking and the hidden job market * How to express your authentic self on your resume * Preparing for successful interviews - actions you need to know and master
Drawn from the classrooms of real teachers, the latest research, and over 70 years of combined teaching experience, this book offers valuable insights on being the best teacher you can be for your students. Beginning with developing your teacher identity and getting to know your students, What Is a "Good" Teacher? goes on to show you how to implement effective strategies and techniques in your classrooms, and gain a better understanding of how effective schools work. 35 compelling characteristics of "good" teachers offer inspiration and guidance, along with tangible ways of continuing to grow and develop into your own best teacher.
Transform your nonprofit’s ability to innovate for the future In Innovation for Social Change, distinguished author Leah Kral delivers a practical manual for nonprofits and charitable organizations seeking to innovate their way toward new and exciting possibilities. In the book, you’ll explore hands-on design thinking strategies and techniques you can use as a disciplined process for exploring what’s possible in your organization. You’ll learn how to identify hidden needs, deal with the knock-on effects of your ideas, and focus your efforts where they can have the most impact. You’ll also discover how to transform your ideas into action, building small experiments and learning from them before scaling them up organization-wide, and how to create an ecosystem for everyday innovation. Finally, the author explains what we can learn from social entrepreneurs as they boldly challenge the status quo. The book also includes: Six basic and mutually reinforcing principles that will help you become more innovative today Instructive and engaging case studies from nonprofits with a variety of missions, visions, and political backgrounds Strategies for applying straightforward principles from economics to supercharge nonprofit innovation A can’t-miss roadmap to creative innovation, Innovation for Social Change will earn a place in the libraries of nonprofit board members, managers, fundraisers, and other professionals in the charitable space.
To get the best answer-in business, in life-you have to ask the best possible question. Innovation expert Warren Berger shows that ability is both an art and a science. It may be the most underappreciated tool at our disposal, one we learn to use well in infancy-and then abandon as we grow older. Critical to learning, innovation, success, even to happiness-yet often discouraged in our schools and workplaces-it can unlock new business opportunities and reinvent industries, spark creative insights at many levels, and provide a transformative new outlook on life. It is the ability to question-and to do so deeply, imaginatively, and “beautifully.” In this fascinating exploration of the surprising power of questioning, innovation expert Warren Berger reveals that powerhouse businesses like Google, Nike, and Netflix, as well as hot Silicon Valley startups like Pandora and Airbnb, are fueled by the ability to ask fundamental, game-changing questions. But Berger also shares human stories of people using questioning to solve everyday problems-from “How can I adapt my career in a time of constant change?” to “How can I step back from the daily rush and figure out what really makes me happy?” By showing how to approach questioning with an open, curious mind and a willingness to work through a series of “Why,” “What if,” and “How” queries, Berger offers an inspiring framework of how we can all arrive at better solutions, fresh possibilities, and greater success in business and life.
