Test Scores and Educational Reform

In the book, Counting What Counts:  Reframing Education Outcomes, there is an interesting comparison between the statues of Easter Island and the goal of high test scores in education.  Just as the Easter Islanders based their success and progress by the statues, many in education have become obsessed with competing globally for the best test scores.  The emphasis on these test scores has caused less emphasis on other areas of education which can be detrimental to the fostering of creativity and the acquisition of soft skills necessary to compete in a modern ecomony.  Ironically, this movement, GERM (Global educational reform movement) is described as "infecting" education.

While certainly test scores have some worth in quantitative measurement of student progress, it cannot be the only measure, and alternatives must be considered.  One of the book's authors, Dr. Yong Zhao, equates the measurement provided by test scores to the concept of one taking medicine to treat an ailment.  While the medication can make a positive difference in the prognosis and progress of the health of the individual, there could be side effects of that medicine that hurt something else in the body along the way.

We must find a way to alternatively teach students and to evaluate progress to create more well-rounded, global citizens whose educational experience has been one to foster an entrepreneurial spirit so necessary in our existing and future society.

Welcoming a New Crowd!

In a few weeks, I will be welcoming some returning students to our CAPS Teacher Education program along with many students who are just now starting this journey with us.  I am excited for this new adventure and am anxious to see what opportunities the year brings to us, but I am always wanting to make sure that I can provide the best insight, opportunity, and knowledge to pass along the passion of pursuing a career in the field of education. With the help of my returning students, I hope that we can do just that and have some fun along the way.

One new venture this year will be our partnership with Real World Scholars.  This organization will be providing us with the resources and support to create our own in-house educational start up.  Under the leadership of co-CEO's Makenna Peterson and Kate Stalcup, (both CAPS Teacher Ed returning students), we hope to start our own business with future education in mind and with an entrepreneurial flair that will create an authentic learning opportunity for them and their CAPS Teacher Education colleagues.

Other planned activities:

*Collaborative co-planning with Mid-America Nazarene University's Department of Education to host a regional Educators Rising Conference

*Presentations at the Regional Educators Rising Conference and the Greenbush Technology Conferences for Teachers

*STEM virtual teaching alliance with Manhattan, Spring Hill, and other school districts

*Preparations for competing and presenting at the National Educators Rising Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida in June 2018

Please watch our twitter feed this fall  www.twitter.com/wevegotclass  to follow our progress as we embark on these and other exciting adventures!

The Competitive Advantage

When trying to get ahead in the entrepreneurial world, attention needs to be given to two factors:

COMPARATIVE advantage:  I need to make sure I can offer my product or services at a lesser price but uphold the quality of what I am offering.
(image: https://tinobusiness.com/what-is-a-competitive-advantage-benefits-tips-tricks-definition/)
                                                                                       DIFFERENTIAL advantage:  I need to make sure that the quality of what I am providing outweighs that of the competition.

Primary to both of these factors, I would think, would be sustainability.  I would have to find a way to uphold quality while remaining affordable in a changing economy.  Even if I would interchange parts or find other manufacturing shortcuts, I could not sacrifice the integrity of my work!

WE WORK

In thinking more about the effectual thinking model of entrepreneurship, what came to mind was the podcast on "We Work," discussing the start up of Mighel McKelvey's communal workspace concept.  He discussed creating the community aspect as the model for replacing typical work place environments.  He started something with not a lot of capital, but with what he was passionate about and that with which he already had to work.  His life environment played a part in the start up.  He was raised in a commune by his mother and a group of other women, so from the start, he realized the importance of community as a support system.  It also brought to mind a place here in Lenexa with whom we have done some work...Plexpod.  It sounds like a similar system.  Great things are done together, and creativity is certainly not fostered in isolation.

Winning the Lottery

One of my pet peeves is listening to teachers say, "I'm just a teacher," and listening to others say, "you are so lucky that you get 3 months off."  To the former, I say that you are of much more value than that.  You are a professional who can steer the future, make students dream, and change the world.  To the latter, I say, "It's July 18, and I am sitting here at my computer working on opening activities for my classroom in August."  And, that is an almost daily occurrence.  As a learning engineer...there...I said it...I am always looking for, reading about, focusing on new ways to help my students become life-long learners.  Even when I might sit
(Image: https://pixabay.com/en/lotto-lottery-ticket-bill-profit-484801/)    for the proverbial time on the couch to catch a movie, I see themes and actions that I can bring into my classroom of life in some way.

I was recently in conversation with other professionals who were in fields other than teaching, and the subject of winning the lottery came up.  A couple of them said that they would not show up for work the next day.  One said that he would be able to retire early.  Then, they turned to me and asked what I would do, and my comments were the same that I said to my students when they once asked me the same question.  My students had asked me if I would even show up for work if I won the lottery.  I responded, "You know what?  I would still be here with all of you, but there would not be a KIA in the parking lot."  You see, I'm in a profession that I love.  I have already won the lottery.

Effectual Thinking & Entrepreneurism

Effectual logic is people-dependent and causal logic is effect-dependent.
That, in a nutshell, describes effectual thinking for me.  I found it interesting to read Sara Sarasvathy's views on decision making:

• Type 1-Causal-choosing means to create an effect
• Type 2-Effectual-having a set of means and looking toward all of the possibilities

In education, there seems to be a gap between what we teach students about being entrepreneurs and how entrepreneurs actually behave.  In most instances, we use a causal approach for students...have a goal in sight and then collect all of the resources necessary to work toward that goal.  This is based on preconceived notions, and all of    (Image: https://pixabay.com/en/truck-lorry-transportation-293979/)
the resources collected are determined by the aspects of the goal as envisioned.  Effectual thinking looks more at what students already have and what they know about themselves in order to guide them to thinking of possibilities.  This is a very iterative approach to decision making, and it is very difficult for many of us who have forever found ourselves trying to prepare for a goal in the future...we feel safer that way...we know where we are going...but do we really?
Effectual thinking, as one entrepreneur in Sarasvathy's writings put it, is like selling a product before it is actually built.  In this new era of entrepreneurship, this type of thinking seems to focus on a more random approach to solving a problem and depends heavily on creating networks around the entrepreneur that end up giving direction...possibly in a different way than originally thought.  It is highly dependent on a more empathetic approach to problem solving, and it considers "affordable loss" or using minimal resources to develop something to market.  The "sell before you make" reminded me once again of the story of Jim Poss who sold solar-powered trash bins even before production just by appealing to the needs of those he thought might need it most.

Instead of traditional market research that we usually emphasize with students, the marketing research would be more of a hands-on approach to development.  Also, getting buy in early would eliminate some of the uncertainty of going further with an idea.

The founder of U-Haul developed the company from basically nothing.  Even with limited resources, the founder was able to gradually build from within, taking successes and pitfalls along the way as clues for further direction and building.

In my own world, I have been looking at entrepreneurship as a causal form of creation:  create a product that I would want and see if others like it...with an effectual approach, I could use the people around me to help me develop my ideas and dreams.  I always thought I had to have capital ready to go if I ever wanted to create something...now I know that entrepreneurial thinking does not really follow that pattern.  I need to work on my network and listen to those around me!

Tim Brown, IDEO, and "Design Thinking"

Tim Brown is the current CEO of IDEO (www.ideo.org), an organizational design firm.  In this role, he focuses on empathy and the needs of the end user in design.  Design thinking is less of a sequential form of steps in design but more of an overlapping of thought and creativity.  Design thinking is considered a tool for tackling problems by looking at the needs of people, utilizing technology in a constructive way, and using these attributes for business development success.  A strong emphasis is placed on emotional meaning and solving problems in a collaborative environment with a focus on constructive and effective teamwork.

I can see the concept of design thinking working well in an educational environment as well...most teachers are in the profession because they are passionate about helping others achieve their goals.  The empathy factor is already there, and the craft would be to take what is learned about student needs and focusing on the technologies available and finding ways to help them to be successful.  I think it is fascinating to find how these principles applied to the business world have a place in developing authenticity in curriculum for students.

A Case Study in Modern Entrepreneurship

An entrepreneurial example that follows the Timmons Framework of entrepreneur--opportuntiy--resources--is that of the experiences of Jim Poss.  As a person, Jim Poss was creative, inquisitive, and passionate about causes even from a young age.  He was a true entrepreneur in the modern sense of the word...looking at what he could create from what already exists in his repertoire.

When searching for ways to revise or change his ideas, he was constantly considering the culture around him as the basis for what he would do next.  When he had the idea of creating a solar-powered trash compactor, he knew that in order to make it               (image: allthingsweb.co.uk)
a go, he had to find a way to make it profitable for the businesses
to use.  Although he traveled through a series of experiences and business ventures over the years, he kept coming back to the idea of helping the environment about which he was passionate.  Through many iterations, he managed to bring his idea to fruition by using his entrepreneurial skills:

Passion
Risk-Taking
Solving a Problem
Seeing failure as a step toward progress
Keeping his ideas, products, and supporters flexible for change

Before he even had a product created, he sold the "concept," of what he wanted to do.  He found a way to develop to the customer's needs in every way possible.  He kept his idea alive for a solar-powered trash compactor and put himself into many situations in order to make his idea work, not allowing the doubts of others to interfere with his goals:

• He found a way to afford a patent 
• He went back to past colleagues as investors once he had established himself to earn their trust and their respect, 
• He found the necessary niche by reaching out to ski resorts in Vail amid protests against environmental destruction in terms of building and expansion
• He rebuilt his product based on the suggestions of his initial customers (working in a 2-bag removal process instead of a 1-bag removal process 
• He watched the market to make sure that components pricing would not weigh heavy on profits (when steel costs increased, lessening the number of steel components) 
• He worked out a leasing agreement to alleviate high initial costs allowing more customers
• He proved his product before he worked toward heavy-hitter investors

I enjoyed reading about Jim Poss.  I'm afraid that at this point in my life, it would be difficult for me to go through many of the steps that he did and keep true to my goal and not allow the doubts of others affect me decision making.  

When working with my students and guiding them through the design process on projects, this story will provide some great modeling for them as an example of how to truly be an entrepreneur.  At every stage, he managed to turn what could have been a roadblock into an opportunity to go another direction but still work toward his goal.  

I respect the bulleted items listed above as models of a true iterative process.  Jim Poss was truly an entrepreneur when compared to the characteristics state previously.  As he saw opportunity, he used it to assess what he had to complete the next step and truly allowed himself to look at the big picture in tackling a problem to solve pertaining to something about which he was very passionate.

New Venture Creation

The modern entrepreneurial concept of New Venture Creation can be broken down into 3 main components:  Discover, Ideation, Launch.  This framework follows the design process in the steps necessary for a successful project launch.  The most important of the three, I believe, is the Discover stage.

Recently, I was talking to the creators of a product to be used in classrooms with students.  After
(image:  www.linkedin.com)                                   reading some on the New Venture Creation model, I surprised myself when I questioned them about their discovery process...asking about how they did their market research and to what extent.  I was surprised to find that they had created their product and then took it to others to see if it would be something usable.  This seemed backwards to me after studying the modern concepts of entrepreneurism.

This Fall, I will be working with Real World Scholars (www.realworldscholars.org) to help my students build a business that will offer a service or product for those in the field of education.  What I have learned about the entrepreneurial process thus far should help me in working with my students as they go through the very important discovery phase of developing their business.  I am excited for sure!

AGILE Manufacturing and Design

The AGILE manufacturing design can be applied to the design and building of products and software that demand iteration and constant reflection on progress.

Design is considered as a sort of flow chart of steps in development and creation.  The process is flexible and is very interactive.

(image:  leanproduction.com)                                     This process calls for certain parts of the
process:  1) a design that allows for fast and easy variations and changes during and after development, 2) a method of disseminating information, using technology, to all parties involved in the iteration, 3) partners in the process who also support the rapid iterations along the way after reflection and testing, and 4) a culture or team of other developers or team members who also buy in to the iterative process for design.

As one of the initial teachers and curriculum developers for CAPS, we used such a rapid prototyping method for developing the authentic and flexible curriculum in our programs.  The design of our curriculum, while established within the confines of objectives and standards, remains flexible and follows the trends of business practices surrounding us.  By incorporating our website and other services and through our virtual network, we are able to communicate with others to coordinate concepts that truly reflect the culture of productivity and entrepreneurship which we promote with our students.

In seeking out partners to assist with our curriculum development, we looked to industry leaders and higher education programs which support our goal of creating programs that change with industry and push our students' limits to catapult them into an environment much like those modeled by local and national businesses and higher education preparatory concepts.

The exciting part of all of this is that my curriculum changes every year.  By working with those outside entities, we are able, while keeping with our basic curriculum objectives and goals, to re-fashion our activities, assignments, and experiences for our students into real-world opportunities.

Real World Scholars Project

Two nights ago, I had the opportunity to attend an event put on by Real World Scholars (https://www.realworldscholars.org).  Michael Crawford and Elyse Burden were tremendous hosts of the event at which I was able to network with many who share my passions for changing education to make it more entrepreneurial and authentic for students.  I have to say that hanging with others of the same mindset actually inspires me to try new and better ways to form my classroom into an authentic and innovative platform for students who want to explore and become more entrepreneurial in their lives and in their careers.

As I discussed topics with my colleagues at the event, I realized how lucky I have been to be placed before the opportunities presented to me to learn, to innovate, to create, and I had to think about how effective professional development could truly be if more teachers had the chance to congregate and percolate ideas for change.

In the Fall, I am hoping to partner with the Real World Scholars organization in order to start a business in my classroom with my students.  I am looking forward to the guidance of RWS to teach my students the skills of being entrepreneurial decision makers for themselves and for their future students and colleagues.