Leveraging Innovation and Technology to empower Communities in Need

Introduction

Leveraging innovation and technology with effective communication and learning strategies can empower marginalized populations by providing them with tools and opportunities to bridge educational gaps and achieve their full potential.  The MIT Media Lab and the MIT Center for Constructive Communication are two powerful starting points to begin the exploration and implementation of such critical educational approaches.  As the leader of  Nebraska Methodist College CREATE! (Center for Research, Education, and Teaching Excellence) team of Educational Innovation Designers, I have started down that path.  How can we implement these learning and communication strategies to improve the world, specifically for health and healthcare education in marginalized societies? The two videos contained in this blog address educational approaches for both k-12 and adult learners.  Combining these approaches with the latest innovations and technologies may provide a robust environment for all learners and a critical hand-up for our most at-risk populations.

Lifelong Kindergarten

Do you remember your first year of school?  You probably still remember your kindergarten teacher's name.  For most of us it was a magical new experience, full of exploring, building, and learning. In his video Lifelong Kindergarten, Mitch Resnick states, "I think we need to take that kindergarten approach of learning through designing, creating, experimenting, exploring, and extending it throughout all of school, in fact throughout all of life" (Resnick, 2014, 1:55).  Many educational concepts are woven throughout this video.  Three prevalent concepts include 1) Curiosity, 2) Play, Creativity & Confidence, and 3) Relevance.

Curiosity

Our collective responsibility is to expand the digital world beyond consumption, browsing, or using social media to use critical thinking skills to create, design, and invent in the digital realm.  "Motivation to learn is promoted when a learner's curiosity is aroused due to a perceived gap in current knowledge" (Keller & Deimann, 2018). Curiosity-based motivation will help us develop critical thinkers and problem solvers in our increasingly complex world demands.  These powerful new skills will help the students in marginalized communities catch up and provide a larger pool of more diverse thinkers necessary as we move forward.  We need them, and they need to know that. Encouraging and supporting their curiosity will be critical in developing a belief in success and the confidence to motivate and propel them forward. They will be the curious innovators that move their societies ahead.  They will be the individuals who provide the best healthcare and healthcare educational options for their own community.

Play, Creativity & Confidence

The kindergarten year is a testament to the power of play.  It is a time filled with creativity, exploration, and confidence-building. In play, there is no concept of 'wrong '.  As Sir Ken Robinson beautifully puts it, 'kids will take a chance. If they don't know, they'll have a go.  Am I right? They're not frightened of being wrong. I don't mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative.  What we do know is, if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original' (Robinson, 2021). As adults, we often choose the 'safe' route, stay in our comfort zones, and avoid risk.  But if we stop playing and stop taking risks, we stop learning. As Resnick states in the video,' When I say play, I don't just mean playing games, I mean a type of attitude towards your interactions. When someone is playful in their interactions, that they're doing things where they take risks, they test the boundaries, they try new things' (Resnick, 2014 7:46). How can we create opportunities for older learners and adults to play, create, and build confidence, in other words, learn?

Relevance

Keller's ARCS model indicates four tenants of Motivation: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction.  He states that "Motivation to learn is promoted when the knowledge to be learned is perceived to be meaningfully related to one's goals" (Keller & Deimann, 2018). There have been several attempts to define Relevance as the most critical attribute of the ARCS Theory.  Keller defers, stating it depends on the situation.  However, if an instructor can not create a sense of Relevance for the student, it won't be easy to convey meaning or engage the student in the topic.  Resnick shares in the video, "We want people to learn by working on projects, not just responding and filling out a worksheet… We want people to work on things they're passionate about" (Resnick,2014 7:26). Passion is directly related to what an individual considers relevant and meaningful.  Near the end of the video, Resnick shares the 4 P's: Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play.  This approach creates a robust, collaborative environment in which we can approach challenges in an engaging and motivating way.

Empowered Communication

Robust communication methodologies will also be critical resources in empowering our marginalized communities. When speaking of the needs of tribal youth, Gerald Eagle Bear states young tribal leaders need, "To be proud of their culture and learn different ways and gain tools for dealing with things that they face back at home.’ (Eagle Bear, 2006). The MIT Constructive Communication lab combines ancient wisdom with innovation and technology to create a more hospitable communication environment.  Deb Roy from the center shares, "to give you a sense of the ancient wisdoms, it is when a large group is having trouble getting along, when there's distrust and toxic polarization, start by creating small circles of trust where there are some existing sense of shared connection,…Design conversation prompts, that we've been working with facilitation experts, encourage people to share experiences rather than opinions." (Roy, Video)These strategies, combined with the latest technological tools, will help us to address cultural engagement across many societies.

Conclusion

It is my goal to leverage the lessons from Lifelong Kindergarten, Curiosity, Play, Creativity, Confidence, and Relevance with Constructive Communication, to build an empowering collaboration and learning environment to drive healthcare education in Nebraska forward.  As we enhance and perfect this approach I would like to see some of the strategies developed implemented on the world wide stage.

References

Eagle Bear, G., (2006) Growing Leaders in Native American Communities: An Interview with Gerald Eagle Bear. Afterschool Matters, 5(1), 20-22. Retrieved from https://web-p-ebscohost-com.oclc.fullsail.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=90e4a68a-86b8-46cf-b086-6eaaa02cf3d6@redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==#AN=EJ1069328&db=eric

Keller, J.M. & Deimann, M. (2018). Motivation, volition, and performance. In R.A. Reiser, & J.V Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed.) (pp. 78-86). [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9780134237039/pageid/88

MIT CCC (Center for Constructive Communication), (May 2024). Introduction | MIT Center for Constructive Communication [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved May 24,2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU-mm6tHpl8

Resnick, M., (Nov 11, 2014). MIT Media Lab: Lifelong Kindergarten. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved May 25, 2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRxD-pe3PN0

Robinson, K., (Jun 21, 2021). Why schools need to embrace kids' creativity. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved May, 24,2024 from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4IAa8wZlqU

Roy, D., (Dec 18, 2023). Generative AI Ethics and Society: Deb Roy [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved May 24, 2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaOaiQY1nHo&t=318s