September 2, 2016

It’s time to head back to school, and this month we wrap up our two-part series exploring innovations in learning. In this series, we’ve heard from students, educators, researchers, and philanthropists, all working to advance teaching and learning in our region, particularly in the West Philadelphia Promise Zone. This area, encompassing neighborhoods adjacent to Drexel, is one that faces great challenges (a poverty rate of over 50%), but we believe there to be enormous potential for inclusive development, growth, and innovation.

Schools in the neighborhood are pursuing some truly novel integrative learning efforts. The Morton McMichael Elementary School partnered with the city’s Mural Arts program, enabling artist Ben Volta (our STEAM Education Workshop keynote speaker) to work closely with teachers to integrate art into the existing math and science curriculum. The resulting project, Micro to Macro, unveiled in Fall 2014 is a striking mural that wraps around the entire school, depicting a range of phenomena from subatomic particles and DNA to neurons and the nature of the Universe.

Also in the neighborhood, the new Science Leadership Academy (or SLA) Middle School welcomes its first incoming class of fifth grade students this month. SLA high school, founded by visionary educator Chris Lehmann, is one of the greatest successes of the School District of Philadelphia, emphasizing the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection in all aspects of the curriculum. The new school represents a partnership between SLA and Drexel, and I am truly excited to see this model applied to a neighborhood middle school, and I anticipate its impact will be transformative to the region.

I believe these efforts to be absolutely crucial, not only because they address current shortcomings in education, but because innovative approaches to learning and learning how to innovate are two sides of the same coin. Both require a fearlessness to try new things and a discomfort with the status quo when we know we can do better. And both suffer from the allure of whiz-bang technologies, claiming to be disruptive. But true transformation requires that advances through technology or science be applied in the right context with (and for) the right people. At ExCITe, we believe that by actively engaging with both innovative learning and learning about innovation provides valuable insight into making change for the better.

This Fall, the ExCITe Center will be launching a new speaker series bringing thought leaders from around the nation to talk about new research, science, technology, and practices to improve learning, particularly through transdisciplinary approaches. We look forward to sharing more with you as this initiative takes shape. Please visit the ExCITe Center website for updates in the coming months.