October 2016 Bookshelf
Books 20 October 2016
Community: The Structure of Belonging
Peter Block
Education is meant to operate as a complex, invigorating network of learning opportunities for all. However, complex industries—like education—often unintentionally invite oversimplified solutions, building restrictive silos that suffocate collaboration and innovation across specialties. Peter Block, the author of Community: The Structure of Belonging, welcomes readers to explore ways to break down these fragmented segments of society and build spaces that capture the possibility of true community.
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
As pioneers from coast-to-coast know, education transformation requires us to wipe the slate clean and invite unrestricted creativity into our design thinking process within our respective learning communities. And, what better place to see that come to life than the brilliant minds of Pixar Animation Studios? Journey through the history of Pixar’s extraordinary work and discover some of the parallel experiences you share with these innovation savants as you wade through the largely undiscovered waters of learner-centered transformation
The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization
Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman
The world of innovation demands safe spaces to create without inhibitors. However, we are all too often our worst barriers to outside-the-box generation. In Kelley and Littman’s The Ten Faces of Innovation, they provide suggestions on how to keep naysayers—including yourself—in the conversation, while continuing to move innovation forward. Allowing everyone to play devil’s advocate and improve upon the idea presented, rather than simply saying “it won’t work,” your team may discover new strategies of implementation that never had the opportunity to expose themselves before.
Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Educators are used to feelings of chaos and disorder as they blaze new paths for their learners. As such, avoiding the creation of a system that buckles under pressure is paramount. Instead, how might you use these disruptions to make the system stronger? In Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb explores this question and gives examples of how it is accomplished every day. Just as a human muscle gains strength through healing micro-tears after being put under stress, we can create systems that embrace tension and uncertainty—strengthening from these circumstances. Discover how becoming antifragile might assist you in designing your learning environment.
Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools
Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker
Just ten years ago, the idea of integrating online learning and various forms of technology in a learning environment was a future on the horizon, but not quite here yet. Today, this idea is becoming the central foundation in many environments across the country. As a result, the school-centered system is beginning to see a massive disruption to its century-old model. Stemming from ideas laid out in Clayton Christensen’s previous book, Disruptive Class, Horn and Staker take the lead in Blended, providing practical tips on how to integrate online learning into your environment and increase the autonomy of your learners.
Four-Dimensional Education: The Competencies Learners Need to Succeed
Charles Fadel, Bernie Trilling, and Maya Bialik
It has nearly become cliché to say learners are preparing for careers that don’t exist yet, but it bears repeating until the system in which they learn is preparing them for such a world. And, although promoting such an idea is a good first step, we must begin identifying the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for a future we can’t predict. Flipping through Four-Dimensional Education by Fadel, Trilling, and Bialik might be a great place to start. By exploring the universal, adaptation-ready attributes fit for an ever-changing world, the authors dig into the core of what any learner needs to succeed.
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