IN THE CLASSROOM

Table of Contents

- Curriculum

- Professional Development for Teachers

- ImagineIt! Day

- Pricing

- Financial Support

In January 2010, ImagineIt! partnered with Intel and the Arizona Science and Technology

Foundation to better understand how our content could be used in the classroom to inspire young

learners. A high school engineering teacher offered to have his students produce a video called “Why

Algebra?” incorporating some of our video content. The students interviewed recent graduates of

the high school, asking them how they now use algebra in their work and hobbies. As we watched

the video something looked all too familiar. These were people telling us about their interests, not

ours.

Now shift to the US Science and Technology Expo in October 2010 in Washington, DC. ImagineIt!

was invited to present its media content to an audience of students, parents and educators at the

Baird Auditorium in the Smithsonian Natural Science Museum. After the screening, ImagineIt! CEO

Joseph Kayne conducted an interactive session with the attendees. He asked the students in the

audience. “How many of you would like to have been the first person to set foot on the moon?”

Every young hand went up. He continued, “I’m sorry but that job is taken. But how many of you

would like to be the person who throws the switch on the first nuclear fusion reactor providing the

world with an unlimited, safe and affordable source of energy?” Again, every hand went up. “Well

you’re in luck. No one has done that yet. What do you think you need to do be become that person?”

Responses ranged from the generic “work hard in school” to the more specific “learn everything I can

about energy.”

It is not about why OTHER people want to learn about science, business or the arts. It is about why

WE want to learn. What is important to US? What are OUR dreams and goals? In his book The

Element, Sir Ken Robinson defines “the element” as the intersection between our passions and our

abilities. And when we are in our element, we are motivated and happy. (To see an excerpt of the

ImagineIt! interview with Sir Ken Robinson CLICK HERE.)

This “aha” moment led us to a new understanding of how ImagineIt! could better serve the

education community and the development of our current offering in this market. First, we had to

create ways educators could help their students identify their individual passions. Second, we had to

provide grade appropriate content through which students would creatively explore those passions

within the context of required teaching standards. In some sense we think of ImagineIt! as the

BASF of education. We do not teach or write curriculum, we make the art of teaching and the

existing curriculum better.

Curriculum

The following is a brief description of ImagineIt!’s education package. For more information, please

The ImagineIt! In The Classroom package consists of two elements.

• Professional Development for Teachers

• "ImagineIt!" Day" (optional)

Professional Development for Teachers

The goal of the ImagineIt! education offering is to build in-house capacity to help teachers identify

and execute new and innovative opportunities for engaged student learning.

The “In the Classroom” workshop consists of 15 hours of instruction during which teachers get an

opportunity to experience ImagineIt! from the students’ perspective and explore ways of integrating

creative heuristics and techniques within each teacher’s individual subject specialties and teaching

style.

The workshop covers the following eight modules. For each module, the pedagogy consists of three

elements: exposure to module content, an opportunity to practice the content through individual

and/or group exercises and finally reflection on application of the module content. During the

reflective debrief, participants will discuss both their experience and potential opportunities to use

the content/exercises in their respective course settings.

It IS All About Me!: Understanding You and Your Passions. Creativity results from

collisions between unique individuals and their environment. These collisions are most

fruitful when individuals are confident in who they are and what is important to them.

Are You Sure? How do judgment and assumptions inhibit curiosity and exploration of new

Stop and Smell the Details! In this module, students increase their powers of

observation and consider the relevance of their observations to an issue or opportunity on

which they are working.

Stop Asking So FEW Questions! When it comes to creativity, it is often more important

to ask the right question than to know the right answer. The art of questioning will be used

to challenge assumptions and to open doors to new possibilities.

What if…? This module focuses on looking at the world from multiple perspectives.

If Only the World Were Made of LEGOs! Introduces students to the concept of lateral

thinking in a way they can understand. Exercises revolve around breaking down familiar

objects or situations into their smallest parts and reassembling those pieces to create

something new and different.

NOT a …! An exercise to help students understand there is more than one right answer to

every question. Using a common everyday object (e.g., a paper plate) students are asked to

consider how many other things that object might become (e.g., Frisbee, steering wheel).

Who Would Have Guessed? This module explains the power of analogies and how totally

unrelated observations can trigger a new approach or suggested ways to address an issue the

student may be addressing.

A central principle of the workshop is counter-intuitive thinking. In each module, the trainer will challenge participants to view their environment from new perspectives and challenge the status quo with the desired outcome of helping teachers identify more and better opportunities to engage their students.

ImagineIt! has identified the following options for delivering the 15 hours of course content. The timeframes are examples to match the school day in a generic school districts. Times may be adjusted consistent with the client school or district's regular work day.

Thursday/Friday: This option appears to be more viable at the beginning the school year

as part of teacher preparation. Sessions would begin at 7:30am and end at 3:30pm with a

30 minute lunch break.

Friday/Saturday In-Service Workshop: This option does require participants to commit a

full weekend day to training. The timeframe for each day would be the same as option #1,

Thursday Evening/Friday/Saturday Morning: Under this option, the first session would

run from 6:00 to 9:00pm on Thursday. Friday would consist of a full eight hours starting

at 7:30am with a 30 minute break for lunch. The Saturday session would run from 7:30 to

Friday/Friday or Saturday/Saturday: Under this option the training would be scheduled

over two or more weeks. Sessions each day would run from 7:30am to 3:30pm with a 30

minute break for lunch.

“ImagineIt! Day”

This optional event, at the end of the school term, gives students a chance to use everything they

have learned about creativity. Students will be asked to identify a personal goal. It might be a

career or solving one of society’s grand challenges. On “ImagineIt! Day” students will share their

goal and present a creative plan for achieving these goals. The plan will include:

· What questions do I need to ask to really understand this goal?

· What assumptions/judgments have I made about my achieving this goal?

· What do I need to observe?

· What unrelated topics might help me better understand how to achieve this goal?

· And finally, how many possible ways could I approach this goal?

“ImagineIt! Day” will also include an engaging creativity challenge and interactive presentation from

a creativity thought leader in the education arena.

Pricing

The cost of the ImagineIt! education package is dependent on the number of schools, grades,

teachers and students to be included in the program. Upon request, ImagineIt! will prepare a

detailed cost proposal for your school or school district. Contact us at info@imagineitproject.com and

provide a contact person with whom we can discuss the parameters associated with program

delivery.

Financial Support

At ImagineIt!, we understand financial resources for education are limited more than ever before.

To help cover the costs of bringing ImagineIt! to your school district or a specific campus, the

ImagineIt! team will work with administrators to approach potential sponsors (e.g., a business, the

Chamber of Commerce or a local foundation) to raise the necessary funding.

Tap into your creative inner-child and see the difference at work, in school or in your life!

1.	Thursday/Friday: This option appears to be more viable at the beginning the school year as part of teacher preparation. Sessions would begin at 7:30am and end at 3:30pm with a 30 minute lunch break.
2.	Friday/Saturday In-Service Workshop: This option does require participants to commit a full weekend day to training. The timeframe for each day would be the same as option #1, above.
3.	Thursday Evening/Friday/Saturday Morning: Under this option, the first session would run from 6:00 to 9:00pm on Thursday. Friday would consist of a full eight hours starting at 7:30am with a 30 minute break for lunch. The Saturday session would run from 7:30 to 11:30am.
4.	Friday/Friday or Saturday/Saturday: Under this option the training would be scheduled over two or more weeks. Sessions each day would run from 7:30am to 3:30pm with a 30 minute break for lunch.