An "Open Source" Framework for Innovation
Rather than cookie-cutter, one-size-all programs, we work with schools to build a customized culture of authentic, learner-centered innovation through an approach rooted in Empathy and the Open Design Process. We approach the work with an Equity Lens that is highly adapted to meet local needs & goals and is grounded in five core elements:
A Living Mission & Vision
The school's mission & vision is not just hanging on a wall collecting dust...it lives in the actions and outcomes one sees in every classroom, every lesson, every day.
Collective Leadership
Everyone is empowered to grow their skills, talents, and leadership capacity by exercising autonomy, mastery, and purpose in the work they do for & with students.
Radical Collaboration
The default mode of every interaction and decision is collaborative - between students, between peers, and between partners in the larger community.
Open Source Sharing
The school is a true learning organization that continually improves through the sharing, critique, and revision of ideas, knowledge, and resources.
Systemic Innovation
The school leverages a fluency in Open Design with a methodical approach to authentic innovation that aligns the Future of Learning with the Future of Work.
Examples of Virtual STEM & Virtual PBL
The Open Way Learning Model
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast."
The above Peter Drucker quote is the premise behind our work: That proven teaching & learning strategies will never achieve their full potential if they are simply treated as programs or fads. Such strategies must be baked into the culture of a school - one that's willing to challenge the status quo model to better meet the individual needs & goals of all students.
Case Studies
Some of the many examples of Open Way Learning's work with partners & schools...
The RISE Project (Redefining Innovative Schools through Sustained STEM Experiences)
A long-term collaboration between the NC State Science House and Open Way Learning to help partner schools create the cultural conditions for innovation by design - where high-quality, community-facing STEM and PBL are co-designed to thrive.
More details here.
Makerspaces + STEM + PBL = Deep Learning
A weeklong workshop led by Open Way Learning in partnership with the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching to help teachers be more comfortable moving to a "maker culture." The workshop modeled how teachers could develop, adapt, and implement authentic STEM projects that are rooted in the elements of Design Thinking, Makerspaces, and High Quality Project Based Learning...even in a remote setting.
More details here.
Pinch Points to Possibilities
Partnering with EdNC, Open Way Learning facilitated a series of webinars that were informed by the design process to allow education stakeholders to leverage the heightened focus on inequities in our education systems as a result of the COVID-19 crisis to highlight and scale innovations that are working for students.
More details here.
Leading through Positive Disruption
Open Way Learning is helping Coastal Leadership Academy, a public charter in Myrtle Beach, SC, through a series of workshops, coaching, and design sprints create an innovation culture rooted in the "positive disruptors" of Advisory, Experiential Learning, Collective Leadership, Student Voice, & Mastery Based Grading.
More details here.
A Student Led Design Sprint
Using technologies such as Zoom, Mural, and GAFE, Open Way Learning facilitated a virtual, multi-week, human-centered design process led by students at Myrtle Grove Middle School in Wilmington, NC. The goal was to co-design ways the school could bring more authentic and equitable student voice and choice to the school, especially in a time of remote learning caused by the pandemic.
More details here.
Gathering to Transformation
Open Way Learning was one of the sponsoring organizations (along with Transcend, Education Reimagined, HundrED, Next Generation Learning Challenges, PBLWorks, Prichard Committee Student Voice Team, and Student Voice) for a series of global conversations hosted by Fielding International. The goal was to share ideas and best practices that helped educators move from triage to transformation during the time of COVID-19.
More details here.
Competency-Based Education: The Why, What, and How
Open Way Learning co-founder, Ben Owens, leveraged his expertise as a Competency-Based Education (CBE) teacher to support the MIT Teaching Systems Lab in the development and implementation of an on-line MOOC focused on "the Why, What, & How" of CBE. He also serves as "Community TA" for the course.
More details here.
The Source Code
Open Up, Education! is the book that began the Open Way Learning movement. Backed by research and filled with case studies and examples from around the world, it provides a compelling story of how educators are leveraging open source principles of transparency, inclusivity, adaptability, community, and collaboration to disrupt the status quo and create environments of deep learning - environments that prepare students with the skills & knowledge needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Published by Rowman & Littlefield. Also available from: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Google Books, Trove, & Bokus.
The Growing OWL Team
A passionate team of education stakeholders willing to disrupt the status quo...
