Entrepreneurial thinking is synonymous with being Innovageous. In the height of COVID, our team recognized the need to support schools, educators and families in understanding how best to transition and learn in the virtual and hybrid settings. Through a simple idea of hosting a series of free online panels to discuss how to approach virtual learning from various perspectives, Innovageous was created. From aligning and allocating human and financial resources to working together to creatively collaborate and productively push each other to making innovative and courageous decisions in our every move, we have deeply embraced an entrepreneurial mindset. Innovageous School Design is evidence of this mindset as we continue to grow, introducing our thoughts and frameworks to the educational community.
Innovageous Schools stand on the principle of embedded entrepreneurial learning across all aspects of the school - culture, instruction, talent, facilities, operations and technology. Innovageous Schools recognize evolving technology in the world and the considerations that need to be made for teaching, learning, and creating balanced workloads for educators. Our School Design embeds entrepreneurial mindsets to launch young people into opportunities that open doors for their future, and maximize efficiency across school operations.
What do we mean by entrepreneurial learning? What does entrepreneurial learning look like in our partner schools and future schools that adopt Innovageous School Design? Read further to explore these questions, and dig deeper into our newly aligned resources that highlight the essential elements of this principle!
The idea of entrepreneurial learning does not mean that stakeholders within the community all become entrepreneurs in the typical sense - growing businesses and focusing on profits - but that students and staff alike build entrepreneurial mindsets that include creativity, compassion, growth, service, literacy, problem solving, and resiliency. Entrepreneurial learning instills a sense of ownership and self-reliance, nurturing a mindset that transcends mere employment and allows for students to envision and create their own paths. In today's rapidly evolving global landscape, these skills are not just advantageous, but crucial for success, enabling young people to thrive in an ever-changing economy, while making meaningful contributions to society. By fostering an entrepreneurial mindset, individuals learn to embrace innovation, take calculated risks, and adapt to change with resilience.
In Innovageous Schools, students engage in cross-classroom efforts, such as working with peers, problem based service-learning, and promoting productive struggle. Targeted programming to foster specific entrepreneurial skills is incorporated through elective courses, school-based enterprises, after school clubs and special events. Through this integrated and intentional programming, students have their voices heard, gain access to resources around them, build their social awareness and capital, embody a solutions oriented approach and learn to be flexible. With this principle, we put specific effort on ensuring students are lifelong knowledge seekers, intrinsically motivated and view failure as part of the learning cycle.
Entrepreneurial learning is not just important for students, but also for educators and leaders to ensure strong resources and operations across the school. In the same way Innovageous Schools ensure students have entrepreneurial mindsets, leaders ensure that these mindsets are embodied by educators. Teachers work together to implement innovative strategies that address the root cause of issues. Leaders seek to be at the forefront of new technologies, and how Artificial Intelligence can be a tool to support educator workloads, instructional supports and streamlined communication. Operations across the school tap into the power of creativity and stakeholder engagement, understanding that each plays a key role in ensuring smooth and successful actions across the school. Throughout the school, the actions and words of adults and young people demonstrate their ability to think like an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurial learning, focused on both students and educators, is happening in many of our Innovageous partnerships. Here are a few examples:
At Middle Years Alternative (MYA), a 5th through 8th grade public school, educators are focusing on embodying future-focused mindsets into their classrooms and across the school. Through professional development with our team of educators, aligned instructional and visual resources and integrating specific school-wide activities, the school is increasing educator’s understanding of how to prepare young people for the future, and creating new experiences for students to embrace their creativity and problem solving. In partnership with Junior Achievement they have integrated new after school programs focused on entrepreneurship, are hosting a comprehensive career day based on student interests, and are empowering teachers to share a skill or hobby through school-wide monthly electives.
Our partners at International Teacher’s Project recognized the need to think creatively about quality education and teachers here in the US, and also the opportunity to provide international educators an opportunity to come work and learn in the US. Innovageous worked alongside ITP leaders to identify a multi-pathway approach to orientation and professional learning for all stakeholders - international teachers, host community educators, and US host community students and families.
At Lincoln High School, all 9th graders are engaging in a Career Exposure Seminar in an effort to expose students and allow them to explore all of the possible career pathways available at the school. This required course partners teachers from various departments and CTE programs with groups of students for a semester-long course. Through our partnership with LHS, 9th grade seminar teachers engage in professional development and intellectual preparation of instructional strategies. While teachers are provided with key content and instructional materials, they are empowered to be creative and embrace their knowledge of student interests and skills to create a more authentic learning experience that students are engaged in, leading to more informed decisions about their future.
Belmont Charter Schools is implementing choice-based professional learning for educators across their network. Recognizing that educators can benefit from focusing on their own personal development, in addition to skills they can use right away in their classrooms, the network has embedded both personal and professional choices. Educators across the network make choices based on their own needs, and even have opportunities to not only lead professional learning, but share their own outside of school hobbies through personal development workshops. Our Innovageous team has collaborated with BCS to implement sessions focused such as empathetic listening, understanding student behaviors, and strengths-based communication.
Through our partnership with Philadelphia Works, facilitating the Pathways to Career Success program, 20 educators from 11 Philadelphia high schools are deepening their understanding of workforce opportunities and how best to prepare their students for the future. As part of this paid professional development program, educators are taking a front seat in advocating for young people to join their school community. Through collaboration with high school student leaders, educators are teaching key advocacy skills to students, and building reciprocal partnerships with middle schools to expose students to various high school options. Educators are tapping into their own creativity, and the entrepreneurial mindsets of their students to develop a campaign that highlights their school’s unique qualities and is tailored to Philadelphia's middle school students.
The possibilities for entrepreneurial learning and its impact on the various aspects of our schools - how we hire, educate, and operate - are endless. With the developing technologies and opportunities for support using Artificial Intelligence, there will always be learning to do. To initiate your learning on this Innovageous School Design principle, we are offering two asynchronous learning opportunities at no cost!
Join us to learn more about Ethical and Intentional Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education. This session was created in collaboration with MaryBeth Hertz, a technology educator and author, and William Mills, a data scientist, and highlights both the educational and professional aspects of AI. It’s a great starting point to get you thinking!
Since we’ve mentioned mindsets as part of entrepreneurial learning several times in this blog, we thought it would be a good idea to dig into what this means through our Developing Entrepreneurship Mindsets session. Learn from business professor, Dr. Jocelyn Russell Wallace, as she shares definitions, examples, and ideas related to entrepreneurial mindsets.
Want to be a part of this acceleration and growth? Here are some ways that you can join our ecosystem of partners:
Funding - Support the development of free resources and tools to broaden our reach and access to anyone who wants to make their school community more innovageous!
Focus Groups & Committees - We are seeking industry partners in education and/or professional workspaces who want to provide input to the development of resources and tools.
Partnership - Work in partnership with us to help increase equitable access to Innovageous tools and resources. Your support through ongoing collaboration and partnership helps sustain our work, and expand our reach.
To learn even more about Innovageous School Design or to get involved, schedule a time to chat with us at calendly.com/innovageous.