• Open Way Learning

      We help schools innovate - not by chasing fads, but by catalyzing local skills & talent.

    • About Us

      Open Way Learning is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a singular mission

      to help schools develop, sustain, and scale cultures of innovation that

      better prepare students for the realities of the 4th Industrial Revolution,

      especially students historically furthest from opportunity.

    • A Framework for Innovation

       

      "Culture eats strategy for breakfast."

       

      The above Peter Drucker quote is a key premise behind our work: That proven teaching & learning strategies will never achieve their potential results if they are simply treated as programs or fads. Innovative strategies such as PBL, Makerspaces, Mastery Learning, etc. can be true game changers, but only when they are implemented with fidelity and then woven into the culture of a school - one that is willing to challenge an industrial model of education that is resistant to change. We can help your school build this culture of authentic innovation through an "open source" framework that 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 day, every lesson.

      School Vision Example

      Collective Leadership

      Everyone is empowered to lead through the skills & talent they bring to the school's team, exercising autonomy, mastery, and purpose in the work they do for and with students.

      Teacher Leadership Example

      Radical Collaboration

      The default mode of every interaction and decision is collaborative - between students, between peers, and between partners in the larger community.

      Open Professional Learning Example

      Free Exchange of Ideas & Resources

      The school is a true learning organization, where every member of the team knows that the work they do improves through open sharing, critique, and revision.

      Open Source Sharing Example

      Systemic Innovation!

      The school leverages the other core elements with a methodical approach to true innovation. It is constantly growing, improving, and modeling positive disruption that exemplifies what school can be.

      Examples of Virtual STEM & Virtual PBL

    • Innovation Kickstarts

      Customized workshops to help schools adapt & implement proven teaching & learning strategies with quality and fidelity. Details here.

      Sustained Support

      Targeted coaching and design support to help schools leverage local skills and talent to grow a culture of true innovation. Details here.

      Innovation Advocacy

      Keynotes, inspiration, panel discussions, & book studies that build the case for why positive disruption is vital for the future of work and learning. Example here.

      Spark of Innovation Certificate

      Igniting Innovation In Education is a self-paced course that allows you to develop a customized Plan for Innovation for your own school (3.0 CEUs). Details here.

    • 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.

      Virtual Workshop: Catalyzing Student Engagement & Mastery through Project Based Learning

       

      A virtual workshop led by Open Way Learning in partnership with the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. This 3-day session modeled how teachers could develop, adapt, and implement authentic STEM projects that are rooted in the elements of Design Thinking 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 OWL Team

      A growing team of education stakeholders willing to disrupt the status quo...

      Ben Owens - Co-Founder & Chief Engineer
      Adam Haigler - Co-Founder - Director of Innovation & Outreach
      Dr. Connie Kennedy - Board Chair & School Counselor (ret)
      Dominique Stone - Board Member & CEO at Elevate540
      Nathan Strenge - Board Member & Senior Learning Designer at Fielding International & USA Country Lead at HundrED
      Samuel Neisen - OWL Fellow & Innovative School Designer
      John Hughes - Board Member & Investment Manager (ret)
      Mary Jo Deck - Board Member & Early Childhood Expert
      Mike Dunn - OWL Fellow & Director of College Counseling, AIM Academy, Conshohocken, PA
      Dr. Aria Chernik - OWL Fellow & Associate Professor at Duke University
      Michelle Benigno - OWL Fellow & Director of The Mountain Office of The Science House of NC State
      Charlie Lyons - OWL Ambassador & Director of DRIVE powered by Ed Direction
      Anna Baldwin - OWL Ambassador & Founder at Spark Teaching Group
      Sam Reed III - OWL Ambassador & Founding Teacher, The U School, Philadelphia, PA
      Kimberly Mawhiney - OWL Ambassador & Science Dept Head, Currituck County, NC
      Joe Greenberg - Principal of Coastal Leadership Academy, an OWL Academy (Myrtle Beach, SC)
      Andrea Quintana - OWL Ambassador & Teacher, Albuquerque Public Schools, NM
      Shannon Hardy - OWL Ambassador & Teacher at The Exploris School, Raleigh, NC
      Michael Kaechele - OWL Ambassador & PBL Teacher and Trainer, Grand Rapids, MI
      Aaron Kaswell - OWL Ambassador & STEM Teacher, Brooklyn, NY
      Channing Bennett - Principal of Glenwood STEAM2 Academy, an OWL Academy (Chapel Hill, NC)
      Ryan Bender - Head of School at The Learning Center, an OWL Academy (Murphy, NC)

    • Connect With Us!

      Let us know how we can help you innovate for and with your students...

      41 Fairhope Way, Brasstown, NC 28902
      +17068788946
      +17068788946
      adam@openwaylearning.org
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