If you watched the GOP education conference held in New Hampshire earlier this month with education advocate Campbell Brown, you were sure to frequently hear the word "innovation" when candidates discussed changes needed in the classroom.

Certainly, many educators and policymakers are pushing for a shift in education that moves away from teaching strictly content and instead focuses on teaching children to critically think.

According to education specialist Tony Wagner, "content should no longer be at the center of school. Instead, he says a teacher’s main job should be to help students develop key skills necessary for when they leave school," said KQUED News.

In order to create a country of innovative people, he says, there are several things that need to be focused on when teaching young minds, and is calling those in education to act after a recently troubling experience he had.

"He interviewed dozens of innovative young people and asked them about their experiences in school. One third of those he interviewed couldn’t name one teacher who had impacted them. The other two thirds named teachers, who upon further investigation, were outliers in their schools. Their teaching styles and approaches were at odds with the dominant school culture," said the article.

In order to develop what he calls play, passion, and purpose in the life-long learners we desire to create, he says students need a certain skill-set that allows them to be innovative thinkers which will then drive future job growth.

Among these skills are for students to be able to formulate good questions and taking the initiative to be entrepreneurial.

Creativity, imagination, and the ability to access and analyze information are other crucial skills Wagner highlights for future successful individuals.

Read the full article here and comment with your thoughts below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

08/27/2015