While students get a day off on Nov. 14, faculty will participate in a conference with Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, to explore teaching and learning styles of the 21st century.
“We are preparing the next generation of students for a world that will look different than the world we grew up in,” said Laura Hotchkiss, director of the upper school.
The idea of having Daniel Pink speak was in consideration as early as last spring, said Robert Bryan, director of the middle school. There were some deterrent factors, namely cost and the fact that the conference requires missing a day of the rotation schedule.
At the conference at the Center for Early Education, Pink will discuss how creative “right brain” thinking has become more important in the 20th and 21st century, Bryan said. The teachers will form groups to talk about how teaching and learning methods should be affected by this.
Bryan said the timing of the conference makes it especially beneficial, because the school is building facilities more suited for the needs of students.
“It’s a great time to take a fresh look at how to approach the learning model,” he said. “It’s one thing to change buildings and computers, but it’s another to change minds.”
English instructor Justin Suran said that he is interested in hearing Pink’s thoughts on interdisciplinary learning.
“We teachers tend to think of our individual classrooms and discipline-specific departments as autonomous islands, and we organize the curriculum accordingly,” Suran said.
Some teachers, like math instructor John Frank, are upset about missing a day of the rotation.
“When I found out, I was not happy,” Frank said. “I have to give a take home test…it [missing a day of school] is impacting students’ ability to learn.”
