Since retiring from Seattle Academy at the end of June 2009, Jean Orvis, Seattle Academy’s founding Head of School and Honorary Trustee, has continued her commitment to research of and advocacy for “Schools of the Future.” The National Association of Independent Schools recently published Jean’s findings in, A 21st-Century Imperative: A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future, which reflects the Commission on Accreditation’s charge to “help schools navigate significant change” and outlines recommendations for today’s students to achieve their potential in this complex, global world.
Why did the NAIS Commission on Accreditation create a Committee on Schools of the Future?
Jean: Few would argue that we are experiencing a frenetic pace of change and high levels of uncertainty about what tomorrow will bring, let alone what the future holds. Yet, despite all these changes, schools largely have remained static, clinging to the life preserver of a 19th-century model of education in the face of a tsunami of changing circumstance, including complaints from colleges that the majority of high school graduates can’t think critically, create, or communicate effectively. Many educators have ignored both these warnings and those from potential employers about the disconnect between what college graduates know and can do compared to the knowledge and skills necessary to survive and thrive in the job market. Finally, a growing body of research on how children learn and what factors drive achievement indicate that pursuing a “business as usual” approach to the classroom will undermine the competitiveness of our children and our nation in a complex, global world.
The NAIS Commission on Accreditation has a dual mission. The primary responsibility of the Commission is to oversee the standards and practices governing the accreditation programs of independent school accrediting associations in the United States, Canada, and the Council of International Schools.
But beyond promoting accountability and providing quality assurance, the Commission believes it has an opportunity and responsibility to act as a catalyst with associations in helping schools navigate significant change and develop innovative practices that will promote school improvement and sustainability. It is this latter focus that drove the formation of the Committee on Schools of the Future.
In December of 2006, when we were mulling over how the Commission might better help independent school associations and schools navigate the seas of changes, the Commission leadership met at Seattle Academy. During breaks, individuals wandered around the school. They commented on the level of student engagement, the academic challenge, the intrepid and creative use of technology, the quality of relationships between students and teachers, and, after watching an Onions vocal rehearsal, the level of artistic achievement. At that point the Chair of the Commission, Robert Witt, commented, “This is a school of the future,” and asked me to chair the Committee.
The Committee began its work in February of 2007. At the outset, we decided that rather than rely on our own opinions and questionable brilliance, our conclusions would be based in research. NAIS published our findings in A 21st-Century Imperative: A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future. You can access the document on the NAIS website; it is free of charge and open to everyone, regardless of NAIS membership.
What are the fundamental differences in the way students learn today versus “back in the day?”
Jean: Our students are growing up in a rapidly changing digital age. They communicate and interact differently, they are motivated differently, and they are not inclined to respond enthusiastically to “boring stuff.” Our students can instantly navigate across time and space to access and share information and ideas. Rather than be consumers of old knowledge, they prefer to be creators of new knowledge and ideas. People of my generation like to do things step-by-step in a linear, sequential fashion; students now prefer random access and multi-tasking. Individuals of my generation studied texts, alone, in study carrels or dorm rooms; our students today prefer collaboration, visuals, sound, and multimedia.
We don’t need to go to business leaders to hear what we need to do; kids themselves tell us what works. They want to learn in groups, using technology, and with opportunities for choice and creativity. Most of all, they want relevance.
This is not to say that we should ignore traditional fundamentals; not at all. Students must have high-level competencies in the core disciplines—languages, math, science, history, arts—if they are to achieve at the highest levels. The difference is that we must not stop at the dissemination of knowledge; students must have opportunities to apply and use what they learn by tackling challenging problems and issues for which there are no easy answers. And rather than studying core knowledge in separate, discrete disciplines, kids need opportunities to work in interdisciplinary, integrated environments that more closely resemble that of “the real world.”
In short, Seattle Academy’s Culture of Performance captures approaches to teaching and learning that work as evidenced by the objective research, by what kids themselves tell us, and by the jaw-dropping projects and achievements of the school’s current students and graduates. >>
What are the essential skills today’s students will need to succeed in the future and how are they significantly different from what has traditionally been taught?
Jean: During the course of our research, the Committee on Schools of the Future collated the perspectives of experts across many fields and seven “Essential Capacities” emerged:
- Analytical and Creative Thinking and
- Problem-Solving
- Complex Communication—Oral and Written
- Leadership and Teamwork
- Digital and Quantitative Literacy
- Global Perspective
- Adaptability, Initiative, and Risk-Taking
- Integrity and Ethical Decision-Making
To paraphrase Elena Silva, senior policy analyst at Education Sector, these capacities are not new, but they are newly important. In light of the explosion of knowledge and information, many analysts predict that students entering college today to study math, science, engineering, or technology will find fully one-third of their knowledge obsolete by the time they reach their junior year. Richard Riley, Secretary of Education under President Clinton, captured the dilemma facing schools when he said, “We are preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”
The Essential Capacities are intended to provide students with an enduring toolkit that can be applied effectively to changing circumstances, in short what Joe Puggelli calls “a Plan B World.” What changes is a focus on depth over breadth in terms of content knowledge, thus providing time for the kinds of activities and projects that promote development of the capacities, as well as a more in-depth understanding of content and, over time, the capacity to recognize patterns and understand systems. Through the process, students are continuously faced with new, challenging problems that don’t necessarily resolve neatly into a ready formula.
As part of my current research, I interviewed a number of innovative teachers who are successful in delivering these capacities. Gabe Cronin, Seattle Academy’s intrepid chemistry teacher and robotics team coach, said, “To be a 21st-century teacher, you have to become a 21st-century learner.” I think that statement captures the dual challenge facing teachers. First they must be intentional about what they teach, eschewing quantity in favor of quality. They must be prepared to keep learning and relearning, staying abreast of developments in their fields and figuring out how to incorporate those developments into the curriculum. Next, they must design activities and projects that incorporate these essential skills, extend knowledge, and engage students in real and relevant issues. It’s a far greater challenge than the old lecture-then-test paradigm, but the learning that results is profound.
Given our online world, how do you see schools delivering their missions in the future?
Jean: I think Seattle Academy is perhaps an example of how schools will deliver their missions. Guided by a mission ”to prepare students for college and Life,” the school has always had an eye on the future and future needs of students, a fact that has driven successful innovation over many years. For example, SAAS was one of the first schools to adopt a laptop program and has incessantly but responsibly explored the cutting edge of technological applications to deliver an outstanding education.
I remember once when Joe Puggelli and I were trying to explain to a highly regarded teacher recruiting firm the kinds of teachers we were seeking. Clearly, the firm and its representatives didn’t “get it” and kept sending us individuals with outstanding academic credentials but no experience in applying that education outside of the classroom. Worse, many of those candidates, although they were nice people, were far more interested in being the “star” of the classroom than making students the “stars” of the classroom, a fundamental difference in perspective.
Schools seeking to adapt successfully to our brave new world will recruit and retain a superior faculty with high levels of “real world experience, a practice Seattle Academy adopted many years ago.
Harvard professor Clayton Christiansen calls technology “a disruptive innovation,” and I think we are seeing how the concept can play out in schools. For example, more than 80% of college students express a clear preference for “lecture capture,” meaning they would much rather watch the lecture online in their own time in the comfort of their dorm rooms rather than in a lecture room. The good news is that colleges have discovered they can now use class time far more productively for in-depth discussion and projects. Fred Strong was an early discoverer of the benefits of the “flipped classroom,” when he began holding online discussions in the evening about poetry for his senior honors English class. Schools across the country are exploring the potential of online classes, whether to share curriculum with other schools, maintain the academic pace during emergency closures, or offer a fully online experience for students. These “disruptive innovations” will force us to redefine our concept of “school,” and that is not necessarily a bad thing!
This article originally appeared in the 2011-2012 issue of Best of SAAS, Seattle Academy’s annual magazine.
