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innovation
Era of the Collective Brain: When Supportive Brainstorming Encourages Great Ideas
To batter brainstorming as Pollyannaish and an ineffective way to solve problems– which is the argument author Jonah Lehrer makes in his recent New Yorker article “Groupthink,” is like saying that mixing together all the ingredients for a cake without ever baking it in the oven won’t result in an edible dessert. It takes more than mere brainstorming to come up with an innovative idea, but collaborative idea generation is an effective first step to baking a solution. This is not to say the age of the solo creator is over but that the era of the collective brain has begun.
Brainstorming allows people to contribute ideas outside of the box as well as outside of an individual’s limited knowledge and experience. When all ideas – even the most trivial and unimaginable – are encouraged within a group, successful products, services, or even movements can result.
To wit, the design firm IDEO used brainstorming as a first step that led to the creation of the Swiffer, the most popular iteration of the mop since the floor was invented. On the Internet, crowdsourcing, a digital form of massive brainstorming, has led to the creation of Wikipedia, Yelp, and Trip Advisor. And at ISKME, we use brainstorming liberally to build entirely new structures for the open exchange of data and information to teachers and learners throughout the world.
Brainstorming not only leads to solution-finding, the process itself can be used to build trust, the ability to compromise, and the kind of teamwork that helps with the next step: building and testing prototypes. There is a huge difference between saying, “You can’t critique,” versus saying, “Suspend judgment while we solve for x.” Because this is when the cake goes into the oven and also when brainstorming goes into high gear. And if groups are open to all ideas, one thought can trigger another in unexpected and productive ways.
We found that when creating new approaches to learning, for example, we need to synthesize ideas from groups by allowing open discussions and challenges, then testing potential solutions to see which ones to discard and what to keep. Even when certain views are clearly off mark, being exposed to them can actually expand the creative potential of the group.
At our annual convening of education’s innovators, we immerse participants in the collaboration and design of K-20 education tools and programs. At this event, teachers, students, administrators, policymakers, and edupreneurs work together to create solutions to an education challenge, such as achieving universal literacy and math competency. There, teams come up with unique prototypes after spending three days brainstorming and designing. In 2011, three were selected to spend the next year incubating them, and I’ll write about these later. In the process, though, all the teams benefited from their multidisciplinary makeup as well as a facilitator trained in brainstorming and design-thinking techniques.
Perhaps writers, like Lehrer, “brainstormers who are working quietly alone,” are inclined to believe that creativity can best be achieved by the individual rather than by the group that brainstorms. This might hold true for writing fiction or essays, but the 21st century will likely be known for its collaborative efforts to solve complex problems.
I say, suspend judgement, you can’t be wrong, brainstorm away! The world is likely to be a better place because of it.
Welcome to the Education Renaissance
This article originally appeared in Huffington Post, Education, March 27, 2012
Today’s disruptive changes in education – from the proliferation of digital devices to the availability of open educational resources, online universities, and badge-based certification – have the field abuzz like never before. Recently I had the opportunity to give a talk at WNET’s Celebration of Teaching and Learning on creating the conditions for innovation in education. When I began to prepare my talk, I wasn’t sure if it were just my perception that we are on the verge of something extraordinary, or if something really is afoot. In the search for a way to test my perceptions about education today, with its emergence from policy changes such as No Child Left Behind and sobering statistics such as increases in college costs and deeply disturbing high school drop-out rates, I began to play with the notion that we might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel similar to what happened after the Dark Ages.
Perhaps what we are witnessing is the 21st century’s version of the Renaissance: the education renaissance. The education renaissance that took off at the beginning of the 21st century bears a close resemblance to its 16th century counterpart, during which a blossoming in arts and the sciences swept Europe for the next 300 years and led to scientific discoveries as well as significant developments in the arts. What we are experiencing today in education has been spurred by six forces, all remarkably similar to developments that led to the Renaissance. A look at these forces might give us insights into what lies ahead, if not in the next three centuries, then at least in the next three decades.
First, is the invention of new technology. In the 15th century, the invention of the printing press allowed access to books and greater literacy, which in turn led to the establishment of universities. In the same way, the creation of the Internet and its widespread adoption through inexpensive digital devices, including mobile phones and tablets, has empowered billions of people with the ability to achieve literacy and access information, including learning resources.
Second, is the infusion of large amounts of cash into the arts and sciences. During the Renaissance, patrons in Italy who profited from trading and banking sponsored artists and scientists, from Leonardo da Vinci to Galileo. During the past 25 years, billionaire philanthropists across the U.S. and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley who have profited from business have invested vast amounts of cash into high-tech businesses, which have in turned fueled the development of inexpensive digital devices and thousands of applications, including educational programs. In addition, foundations established through the funds of successful entrepreneurs have sponsored many for-profit and non-profit breakthrough initiatives in education and learning.
Third, is the emphasis on humanism, or the unique and extraordinary ability of the human mind. For the first time, during the Renaissance, ordinary people, rather than biblical figures or wealthy patrons, became the subjects of artists. Today, educators, parents, and students place a priority on the personalization of learning, and programs are being tailored with an emphasis on the individual learner’s style of acquiring knowledge. For example, Daniel Hillis, one of the pioneers of parallel computing, is developing a learning map from the vast database of human knowledge so that individuals can access knowledge in a way that best suits their needs.
Fourth, is the emergence of a vibrant artistic culture with a focus on realism and advances in architectural design. One of the hallmarks of today’s digital culture is the emergence of a vibrant, highly interactive environment, where everyone is given the chance to participate. Digital architecture includes blogs, videos, tweets, Facebook and other social networking platforms that encourage the exchange of information and opinion about virtually everything.
Fifth, is the democratization of learning. Through the invention of the printing press, which made books affordable, and the rediscovery of ancient texts on science and mathematics, knowledge became more accessible to people living in Europe during the Renaissance. In a similar fashion, the invention of the Internet and accessibility through the affordability of digital hardware and connectivity, has allowed more people to get on the Internet, and to participate in social learning. In addition, the emphasis on freely sharing knowledge, through OER Commons and programs like Udacity, CK-12 FlexBooks, and courses by universities like MIT, has created a dramatic cultural shift in the way learning is distributed, open, and collaborative.
Last, is the creation of a process for discovery. In the Renaissance, inventors and scientists developed a process for discovery, which eventually led to the scientific method. Today, new collaborative techniques, such as crowdsourcing, collective brainstorming, and the open publication of scientific discoveries, has led to such creations as Wikipedia, PLoS, and astronomy sites in which millions of people with only a connection to the Internet can contribute to the discovery of a new star, planet, or galaxy. From Galileo to the millions of potential new scientists on our planet today, the new education renaissance holds as great a promise for the future as did its counterpart.
While some are quick to dismiss the disruptive changes in education today, I think we should welcome the highly collaborative, personalized, and affordable opportunities new digital technologies offer learners throughout the world. Although these same technologies create problems, they offer more people the chance to learn, create, and share knowledge. And like the Renaissance, the education renaissance can also lead to a more humanistic and connected world.
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