Spurring Collaborations through Conversations on Education
by Jennifer Corriero, Executive Director, TakingITGlobal
It was a whimsical Wednesday evening on the fifth floor at the Centre for Social Innovation in a room lit with the warm glow of the sunset and a view overlooking the cityscape in Toronto.
The four tables were set and ready for our delicious three course meal including prompts for juicy discussions about the ways we can foster social innovation and wellbeing in K-12 education across Canada.
“What would happen if we shared?” Tonya Surman asks as she kicks off the event with reflections about what sparked her initial idea back when she founded the Centre for Social Innovation. The CSI Conversations that Matter series have been holding space for leaders across sectors to come together and focus on different topics of focus to help strengthen the social innovation ecosystem.
TakingITGlobal is proud to be the convening partner for the discussion on education. Our organization has been working across Canada and around the world for 25 years to enrich educational opportunities for teacher professional learning and student engagement.
During my opening remarks, I highlighted the importance of project-based learning and offering funding for youth-led community projects with the example of our Sprout Ideas Fellowship. I also emphasized the value of virtual field trips and enrichment learning opportunities and introduced our event co-host Maika Harper who is a Content Provider with the Connected North program. Maika is a children’s book author and actor with a lead role in the recent Netflix series North of North. Her inputs to the discussion focused on the perspective of students in the Arctic and how vital it is to consider their needs and strengths as learners.
Our various table discussions were enriching and invited guests from various organizations and educational institutions to share their insights and inputs on the topic. Some of the themes involved discussion on the need to strengthen a sense of community among educators, increasing access to professional learning for teachers, supporting a culture of volunteerism among teachers and students, increasing access to extracurricular activities, fostering empathy and spaces for learners to see different perspectives, and emphasis on the importance of experiential learning and land-based learning.
Call to Actions from emergent themes
- For Educators & School Leaders: Expand community partnerships that support student flourishing. Advocate for and implement school-based programs that foster creativity, well-being, and innovation.
- For Policymakers: Prioritize policies that support innovation and wellbeing in education and fund programs that strengthen community partnerships and student motivation in their learning.
- For Funders & Partners: Invest in social innovation projects that center on student well-being, equity and increased access to enrichment learning experiences. Support third spaces for convening & collaboration as well as ecosystem networks of education service organizations.
- For Students: Participate actively in shaping your learning experience. In order for education systems to meet your needs, it is important for each learner to have a sense of agency. Take initiative on issues that you care about.
- For Social Innovators & Educational Institutions: Build partnerships with educational institutions to scale impactful programs and social impact communities in Innovation. Strengthen knowledge sharing networks across local, regional and national jurisdictions.
