06/08/2018 -
Dr. Todd Rose, Director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, delivered an inspiring keynote address at ieSonoma 2018 on Friday, June 8.
Dr. Rose spoke about how we can make schools more flexible to meet the needs of ALL students by remembering there is no such thing as an "average" student in his presentation, "The Myth of Average." He argued that students aren't one-dimensional, and that a letter grade isn't representative of what a student knows or can do. He advocated for allowing more individuality and personalized learning in the classroom as a way to improve schools.
At Harvard, Dr. Rose leads the Laboratory for the Science of the Individual. He is also the co-founder of Populace, a non-profit organization that promotes the principles of individuality in work, school, and society. A strong advocate of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to accommodate individual learning differences, his talks have been featured at SXSWedu, TedX, Google, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and Apple.
ieSonoma 2018 was the sixth annual collaboration between the Sonoma County Office of Education, Sonoma State University, and Sonoma Country Day School. The event is meant to foster innovation in Sonoma County schools.
In addition to Dr. Rose’s presentation, ieSonoma featured three local young innovators, who shared their stories of innovation in education.
Raquel Guevara-Bolaños, a student at Sonoma State University, spoke about her work advocating for environmental justice and marginalized groups.
Emerald (Emmy) O’Brien, a rising freshman at George Washington University, spoke about her work as Associate Program Director of Girls Gone Global: a start-up nonprofit that empowers girls to lead projects to improve the world around them.
America Osorio Diaz from Windsor High School talked about struggling her first couple years of high school and being placed in a remedial program in 10th grade (the same year her father passed away unexpectedly). The teachers in that program helped her overcome challenges, improve her grades, and go on to other successful ventures.
The program also featured a presentation highlighting the 2017-18 ieSonoma Innovation Fund recipients and their innovative projects.
About ieSonoma
ieSonoma: innovate | educate is a partnership between the Sonoma County Office of Education, Sonoma Country Day School, and Sonoma State University. ieSonoma events are intended to provoke attendees thinking and challenge previously held beliefs about teaching and learning in the 21st century. It is our hope that these events spark important community conversations, foster radical collaboration, and encourage deeper learning by all who attend.
