Innovation Jr. ...
is a program that began as an after-school enrichment initiative at Berwick Academy. As the name may imply, the program is a foundational experience for Berwick’s Innovation Center (a primarily Middle School through Upper School focus at Berwick.) As such, the presentation has interesting cross-divisional implications, but is especially suited for professionals at the elementary level.
Innovation Jr. has taken on several iterations in the past three years based on an evolving sense of how best to maximize Innovative Thinking in our Lower School (including both practical and philosophical considerations) and how best to maximize the organization of an Innovative program--whether within the school day curricula or as an after-school model.
Currently, the program exists as an after-school optional enrichment program, with classes led by faculty. However, with our proposed construction of a design-thinking/maker-space lab on campus, the Lower School is looking to expand the emphasis of the program, including greater student-centered and student-directed learning and connections to regular classroom experiences (such as projects and themes--with the understanding that Innovation should occur throughout the curriculum and throughout the school day...and not necessarily be limited to a specific class or program).
This presentation will...
1) begin with an overivew of Innovation at the Elementary level--connected to philosophical/practical implications; 2) describe Innovation Jr. program at the Lower School level (and its connections to the Middle/Upper School Divisions; 3) engage participants in a modified hands-on activity--to further support a working definition of Innovation and 4) conclude with sharing/discussing attendees' Innovation experiences with elementary-level (or older :) children.
--Joel Hawes, Lower School Director and Science Teacher, Berwick Academy
