IGNITE: Where Ideas Intersect

Innovation guru Steve Jobs believed that random encounters between people were a catalyst for the production of great ideas. So resolute was his conviction, that when he designed a building for Apple, he demanded there only be a single set of staff washrooms to increase the likelyhood of people from all over the building crossing paths and having conversations. (He was eventually overruled by a pregnant woman on his staff). Jobs also believed that great innovation came from the intersection of traditionally separate areas of thinking, and commented that Apple existed at the "intersection of the streets of liberal arts and technology". Likewise, author Steven Johnson in his book "Where Good Ideas Come From" highlights the benefits of shared intellectual and creative spaces. IGNITE sessions are an example of these "creative intersections" where ideas can bump into each other, combine, and evolve.

IGNITE sessions have been happening all over the world and are being used by many school districts.  Thanks to the Network of Inquiry and Innovation conference where we heard a few examples, and to Paul Britton in the Vernon School District who gave us some help, we decided we would give it a try in SD67.  How fortunate for us that we have educators willing to take a risk and give it a try!  No one had put together an IGNITE session before, but 16 brave people have now given it a go.  Each presentation is five minutes, and is built with 20 slides, each one automatically advancing every 15 seconds. 

We have held three sessions now.  We meet in the back room at the Cannery Brewing Co. on Ellis Street in Penticton. Everyone who attends enjoys snacks, cold drinks,  and five or six presentations with an opportunity for engaged discussion between each one.  The typical session runs from 3:30-5:00 and is low key, informal and great fun.

Our theme has been the renewed curriculum – what are you trying that someone else might be interested in?  What has worked… or not worked?  How can we learn together, share ideas, and support each other?

In session one we heard about:  The Power of YET: Growth Mindsets; Teaching Applied Design Skills and Technology in Grade One with building challenges; Inquiry Projects in Law 12; How we can do better for our students of Aboriginal Ancestry; Vertical Math; and what potty training reminded one teacher about the teaching profession.

Session two included:  Inquiry in a grade one class; Cooperative Grading: Authentic assessment; Physical Literacy: being active and how it effects learning and life; Coding; and School, Work and the Power of Metaphor.  

Our latest session included:  The Joy of Co-teaching; Core competencies; Outdoor explorations; Humans of Penticton - a project with English First Peoples 10; Assessing the core competencies.

We have a lot of adult learners in our district – life long learners who are committed to making things better for ALL our students and who are willing to share ideas and help each other out.  We left the sessions so appreciative not just of the talks given but of the educators willing to take a risk and lend a hand as we learn together.

Here are a few examples from our sessions (more to come in the future). 

The Joy of Collaborative Teaching: Janice Moase and Pam Rutten

Applied Design Skills and Technology (Curricular and Core Competencies): Alicia Moura