Above are the 49 slides from my keynote presentation to the NCAIS Innovate (North Carolina Association of Independent Schools) and the VAIS Tech (Virginia Association of Independent Schools) conferences.
After an introduction on the topic of why innovate, and an argument that independent schools are not innovative enough, the presentation shares seven conceptual approaches by which schools can better facilitate innovative mindsets among educators and students both. Although the presentation draws on many sources, Steven B. Johnson’s recent book, Where Good Ideas Come From: A Natural History of Innovation is especially influential.
Time limitations made it impossible to spend as much time as I would have liked to discuss specific, concrete as it were, applications of each of the seven concepts, but the slides below offer suggestions for each. I’d be delighted, of course, if readers were to offer their own suggested specific applications of these concepts to school cultures.
Click more to view the three videos shared in the presentation.
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21k12 
April 9, 2011 at 11:48 am
Jonathan,
Seeing a lot of growth in the use of images in your slides. I remember you saying it was a goal, and I think you are well on the way to achieving it.
Fred
April 10, 2011 at 7:53 am
Thanks for posting the slides. I listened, watched, and twittered from afar, but the slides were hard to view in the stream. So glad to now see them up close.
Marti Weston
April 10, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Jonathan, Thanks for organizing some powerful ideas into something that people can reflect on and discuss. We are trying to wrap our heads around changes in these same areas as we strive to provide a more relevant education for our students. I look forward to sharing your presentation with members of our school community. Thanks again, Blair
April 11, 2011 at 5:30 pm
I enjoyed your talk at the VAIS Tech Conference. It was very thought provoking. Although I agree with much that you said, I think it will take a major shift in mindset for teachers to move toward the conceptual approaches you shared. It is exciting to think what might be accomplished if we can make that shift.
April 20, 2011 at 5:30 am
Jonathan, thank you for your innovative work and for inspiring and facilitating such work at St. Gregory. This is a tremendously thought-propelling post that I will need a great deal of processing time to contemplate and integrate fairly. Look forward to continuing the conversation.
April 20, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Thanks for posting these slides with great ideas, and pushing independent schools forward. Johnson, Pink, Dweck were all huge influences on my teaching. Putting oneself out there and inspiring change is great model of great leadership. Thanks again.