• Open Way Learning

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

      School Vision Example

      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.

      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

      Open Source Sharing

      The school is a true learning organization that continually improves through the sharing, critique, and revision of ideas, knowledge, and resources.

      Open Source Sharing Example

      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

    • Innovation Sprints

      Customized workshops that use the design process to help schools adapt & implement innovative strategies to meet local needs. Details here.

      Sustained Support

      Targeted coaching & support that leverages local skills and talent to build and sustain a culture of learner-centered innovation. Details here.

      Positive Disruption

      Keynotes, podcasts, panel discussions, etc. that help your organization build the case for changing the status quo. Example here.

      OWL Fellowships

      Become a certified OWL Fellow through this asynchronous course (3.0 CEUs) and help drive the culture shift to authentic innovation in your own school, district, or network. 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.

      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 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
      Ben Pendarvis - OWL Fellow and Lead Teacher at Tri-County Early College
      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)
      Kim Case - OWL Ambassador & Innovation Director, Caldwell County Schools, NC
      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 create an innovation culture for & with your students...

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