Tony Wagner’s: Creating Innovators

1. Influence “Yesterday’s answers won’t solve today’s problems.” Knowledge Workers Undefined Work LEADERSHIP Real Voice “Even in our best schools, we are teaching kids to memorize much more than to think, and in the 21st century, mere memorization won’t get you very far.” Would you Hire Your Own Kids? Problem Solver Flexibility Tony Wagner’s:Creating Innovators 7 Soft Skills Students Desperately Need

2. What is It? • Asking Good Questions • Figure out what’s important and what’s not • Self-learning and inquiry “The idea that a company’s senior leaders have all the answers and can solve problems by themselves has gone completely by the wayside…The person who’s close to the work has to have strong analytic skills. You have to be rigorous: test your assumptions, don’t take things at face value, don’t go in with preconceived ideas that you’re trying to prove.” -Ellen Kumata, consultant • What It’s NOT? • Teaching to a test • Only occurs at secondary levels • Using textbooks as sole resource • IDEAs • Open ended questions • Essential Questions • Big Ideas Critical Thinking and Problem SolvingSoft Skill #1

3. MATH PRACTICE 1 • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

4. What is It? • Team Work • Collaboration • Relational skills • Reaching across boundaries • Teacher as facilitator “The biggest problem we have in the company as a whole is finding people capable of exerting leadership across the board….Our mantra is that you lead by influence, rather than authority.” -Mark Chandler, Sr. VP at Cisco • What It’s NOT? • Whole Class instruction • Step by Step instructions • Teacher-centered • IDEAs • Wikis • Sharepoint • Cooperative Learning • Discussions Collaboration Across Networks and Leading By Influence Soft Skill #2

5. MATH PRACTICE 3 • Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

6. What It’s NOT? • Only one right answer • Answer more important than process • Lecture and rote memorization • What is It? • Reflect and Revise • Experimentation • Risk taking • Opportunities to fail • Learning process “I’ve been here four years, and we’ve done fundamental reorganization every year because of changes in the business…I can guarantee the job I hire someone to do will change or may not exist in the future, so this is why adaptability and learning skills are more important than technical skills.” -Clay Parker, President of Chemical Management • IDEAs • Debates • Presentations • Inquiry Based Problems • Problem Based Learning Agility and AdaptabilitySoft Skill #3

7. MATH PRACTICE 1 • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. • MATH PRACTICE 5 • Use appropriate tools strategically

8. What is It? • Proactive, self-starters • Creativity • STRETCH goals • Out of the box thinkers “For our production and crafts’ staff, the hourly workers, we need self-directed people…who can find creative solutions to some very tough, challenging, problems.” -Mark Maddox, Human Resources Manager – Unilever Foods • What It’s NOT? • Status Quo • Teacher Dominated • Boring, dull, non-engaging lessons • IDEAs • Teams • Project Based Learning • Students monitoring growth Initiative and EntrepreneurialismSoft Skill #4

9. MATH PRACTICE 4 • Model with mathematics

10. What is It? • Clear and concise • Focus, energy and passion • Reason and persuade • Write with voice “The biggest skill people are missing is the ability to communicate: both written and oral presentations. It’s a huge problem for us.” -Annmarie Neal, VP of Talent Management at Cisco Systems • What It’s NOT? • Focus on grammar, punctuation, and spelling • Worksheets • IDEAs • Reporting • Newspapers • Blogging • Websites • Presentations Effective Oral and Written CommunicationSoft Skill #5

11. MATH PRACTICE 6 • Attend to precision

12. What is It? • Evaluating information from a variety of sources • Synthesize findings • Always changing “There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren’t prepared to process the information effectively, it almost freezes them in their steps.” —Mike Summers, Vice President for Global Talent Management at Dell • What It’s NOT? • Definitions • Sole Sources (textbook) • One answer • IDEAs • Research • Use of varied sources • Technology infusion • Multiple approaches Accessing and Analyzing InformationSoft Skill #6

13. MATH PRACTICE 7 • Look for and make use of structure • MATH PRACTICE 8 • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

14. What is It? • Inquisitive Thinkers • Problem Solving • Unique and meaningful tasks • Innovation “Our old idea is that work is defined by employers and that employees have to do whatever the employer wants…but actually, you would like him to come up with an interpretation that you like—he’s adding something personal—a creative element.” —Michael Jung, Senior Consultant at McKinsey and Company • What It’s NOT? • Rigid Structure • Close-minded • Fear of failure • IDEAs • Make Learning Fun • Real world problems Curiosity and ImaginationSoft Skill #7

15. MATH PRACTICE 2 • Reason abstractly and quantitatively

16. Resources: • www.tonywagner.com • http://quizlet.com/5556999/tony-wagners-7-survival-skills-flash-cards/ • http://www.edutechmag.org/2009/06/28/reviewing-tony-wagners-seven-skills-students-desperately-need/ • http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/would-you-hire-your-own-kids-7-skills-schools-should-be-teaching-them-291.php • http://wiki.bath.ac.uk/display/charlescornelius/Tony+Wagner%27s+Seven+Survival+Skills • Wagner, T., & Compton, R. A. (2012). Creating innovators: The making of young people who will change the world. New York: Scribner.