8. What School Could Be, with guest Ted Dintersmith

What could schools be? Best-selling author and film producer Ted Dintersmith contends that the 20th-century school design does a disservice to children today. Schools should be retooled, starting by de-emphasizing testing.

“Low-level tests prepare children to be good at exactly what artificial intelligence excels at,” according to Dintersmith. “What if our measures of success actually impair children for their future?”

In this podcast, Heather Clayton Staker and Ted Dintersmith discuss whether the “will-this-be-on-the-test? mentality” embeds a values system in today’s learners that systematically erodes their larger sense of purpose.

Dintersmith believes that schools can move beyond flashcards, test prep, and learning irrelevant skills. During this interview, he questions what the purpose of school is and then points to schools around the U.S. that are replacing test prep with four “PEAK” principles:

Purpose—Students believe in the importance of their work.

Essential Skills and Mindsets—Learning experiences foster competencies that are essential to adults (e.g., creative problem solving, critical analysis, communication, collaboration, citizenship, character).

Agency—Students create their learning experiences, set their goals, manage their progress, and evaluate their work.

Knowledge: Students develop real mastery of the topics they study. They can apply it, ask thoughtful questions about it, and teach others.

To learn more from Ted Dintersmith, visit https://teddintersmith.com/. His Innovation Playlist is available for free at https://teddintersmith.com/innovation-playlist/.

Ready to Blend is sharing the link to his “Most Likely to Succeed” video at this week’s blog, What School Could Be.