Education in the Knowledge Economy

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Education in the Knowledge Economy

• Mike Schmidt
• Director, Education and Community Development
• Ford Motor Company Fund

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How Can Business Engage The Education Pipeline
More Effectively?

• Talk About the Flat World and How it Will
  Impact Education
• Help To Re-assess Longstanding Notions
• Standards
• Curriculum

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Three Ways to Talk About The Flat World
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I. Talk About What Is Happening

• The Knowledge Economy is Here to Stay and Moving
  at a Faster Pace Than Ever Imagined
• In This New Economy, It is Not Enough to Focus
  Only on Core Academic Subjects
• High Schools Must Prepare Students With 21st
  Century Knowledge and Skills
• Somehow, We Need to Foster Innovation and
  Creativity That is Our Economic Edge

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Three Trends That are Shaping and are Shaped by
The Flat World

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THE SINGULAR IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATIONInnovation
is now recognized as the single most important
ingredient in any modern economyThe Economist

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SEEING WHAT CUSTOMERS HAVE NOT YET IMAGINED BUT
WILL INSTANTLY DESIREIf I had asked my
customers what they wanted, theyd have said a
faster horse.Henry Ford

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FLATTENING THE INNOVATION HIRARCHYCompanies
that want to succeed in todays competitive
environment need innovation at every point of the
compass, in all aspects of the business, and
among every team member.Tom Kelley, IDEO

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Moving From Riding the Innovation Waveto
Continuous Improvementto Continuous Innovation
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II. Talk About Fostering Innovation Creativity

• Relies on the Connection Between
• WHAT We Teach
• HOW We Teach It
• WHAT High School Looks Like
• Increasing Academic Requirements for All Students
  is Critical
• HOWEVER . . .
• Focusing Only On Core Academics Side of Equation
  Is Sure to Drive Innovation and Creativity Out.

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III. Talk About The Quiet Consensus

• When Business People Talk About Needs Need to
  focus on teaching students to apply academic
  leaning to real world problems. Applied
  Learning. Relevance in the Gates world. - HUGE
  GAP (Surveys)
• Without this ability to apply learning in new
  ways, to real world issues and problems,
  creativity, innovation, reaction cannot occur

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This Is Becoming a Global Consensus

• In Asia, our competitors are ahead of us on the
  Academic Rigor side
• Now focused on the higher order thinking and
  learning skills, innovation, creativity, applied
  learning, etc.
• Doing so because this is where the economic
  competition is won in a knowledge economy. (NY
  Times Friedman)

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HELP RE-ASSESS SOME LONGSTANDING BELIEFS AND
ASSUMPTIONS
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HELP RE-ASSESS SOME LONGSTANDING BELIEFS AND
ASSUMPTIONS

• Standards What Should Students Know and Be Able
  to Do?
• Content and Pedagogy What Should Teaching and
  Learning Look Like?

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Standards Moving From Traditional Academic
Content to 21st Century Skills
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Partnership for 21st Century Skills
www.21stcenturyskills.org

• Ford Motor Company Fund
• Intel
• JA Worldwide
• Microsoft Corporation
• National Education
• Association
• Oracle Corporation
• SAP
• Texas Instruments
• Incorporated
• Time Warner, Inc.
• Verizon

• Agilent Technologies
• American Association
• of School Libraries
• American Federation
• of Teachers
• Apple
• Bell South Foundation
• Cable in the Classroom
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Corporation for
• Public Broadcasting
• Dell Inc.
• ETS

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21st Century Skills P-21 Definition

• Emphasis on Academically Rigorous Core Subjects
  for All Students
• Higher-Order Thinking and Learning Skills
• Critical Thinking, Communications, Problem
  Solving, Self-Direction, Teamwork, Personal
  Management, Systems Thinking
• 21st Century Tools
• ICT Literacy
• 21st Century Context and Content (Relevance)
• Global Literacy, Civic Literacy, Financial,
  Economic, Entrepreneurial Literacy

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Content and PedagogyTransforming Teaching and
Learning
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The Ford PAS Curriculum
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The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Academic Challenge
• Rigorous Content
• Addresses National Standards
• Connects Important Ideas Within and Across
  Disciplines
• Develops Reasoning Processes and Ways of Thinking
  Particular to Disciplines

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The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Skills for Success
• Critical Thinking
• Problem-Solving
• Communication
• Teamwork

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The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Real-World Learning
• Introduction to business concepts
• Experiences that show how studies lead to college
  and rewarding careers
• Use of powerful technology tools
• Interactions with business, higher education, and
  community organizations
• Access to information about college

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The Ford PAS Curriculum

• Consists of
• 2 ½ year series of electives beginning in 9th or
  10th grade
• 5 semester-long courses, 3 modules each
• 15 modules, each 6 weeks long
• Flexibleschool, after-school, or summer program
  using full curriculum or individual courses or
  modules

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The Ford PAS CurriculumTeaching/Learning
Philosophy

• Inquiry-Based
• Pose issues and problems.
• Enable students to acquire information and
  develop skills in the context of investigating
  issues and problems, often through hands-on
  experiences.
• Performance-Driven
• Assesses students learning in multiple ways

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Ford PAS Course 1 Building Foundations

• From Concept to ConsumerBuilding a Foundation
  in Problem-Solving
• Media and Messages Building a Foundation of
  Communication Skills
• People at Work Building a Foundation of
  Research Skills

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Ford PAS Courses 25

• Course 2 Adapting to Change
• Careers, Companies, and Communities
• Closing the Environmental Loop
• Planning for Efficiency
• Course 3 Managing and Marketing with Data
• Planning for Business Success
• Ensuring Quality
• From Data to Knowledge
• Course 4 Designing for Tomorrow
• Reverse Engineering
• Different by Design
• Energy for the Future
• Course 5 Understanding a Global Economy
• The Wealth of Nations
• Markets Without Borders
• Global Citizens

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