What are the essential characteristics of highly functional, creative workplaces?

Where should we go to see some, whom should we talk to there, and what should we ask about?

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An analogy
Ecosystems,
not pipelines or models.
Novel pedagogies
novel people
novel tools
novel materials
But, school is nothing if not
a tightly coupled system
in equilibrium.
How can we loosen those couplings and create pockets of research, design, and development?

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The future of learning [should] more like the future of work than the future of school.

Hands-on work around

projects of your own design in a

small, intimate environment

grounded in computation, narrative, and design

What makes work good?

  • Is it hard for them?
  • Does it matter to them?
  • Does it have a real audience?
  • Does it engage powerful ideas?
  • Does it exhibit and reward taste?

What makes good work possible?

  • (Time) Large blocks of contiguous time
  • (People) Staff by function,not discipline
  • (Money) Flexible, individualized project budgets
  • (Evaluation) Deep interdisciplinarity and a lack of comparability across projects

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What are the essential characteristics of highly functional, creative workplaces?

Where should we go to see some, whom should we talk to there, and what should we ask about?