This is the twelfth in a series of posts explaining the Acton Academy Principles of Education.

Education Principle #12: Collaborative engagement is critical

In 2005, Thomas Friedman proclaimed The World is Flat.

That was 14 years ago. It's old news. Are our kids better prepared for a flat world than we were? How so? Are they multi-lingual? Are we helping them develop skills to collaborate and work together with others around the world? Are they developing their emotional intelligence? How about their project management and critical & innovative thinking skills?

We don't live in an industrial age now. The skills needed to be successful tomorrow are way different than when the modern education system was set up in the early 1900s. It's way different than even 30 years ago. And it keeps evolving extremely fast with the advent of ever-evolving and adaptive technology.

Today, we often work with colleagues around the world. Much of the work that multi-national companies do is done through cross-collaboration of teams across various realms and in different locations. It's common for a project manager at a multi-national bank to be working with a marketing team in New York, a technology team with members in Columbus and Mumbai, and an operations team in Manila. Coordinating and collaborating with people of different skills and backgrounds requires much more than knowledge that can be accessed through a textbook. These scenarios happen across all industries around the world.

Unfortunately, our schools and education system have evolved at the same speed as other industries. Our children need to build project management skills. They need to learn to collaborate, organize, lead and work with other students. They need to go beyond textbooks.

In a purely academic sense, studies have consistently shown that student engagement and collaboration leads to higher achievement. It builds a lifelong skill that leads to enhanced critical thinking and has a positive effect on their ability to learn.

At Acton, developing project and collaboration skills through experience of project work will be a primary focus.

Further Recommended Reading: The Effects of Collaborative Grouping on Student Engagement in Middle School Students by Jeanine Backer, Jaymeson Miller, and Shannon Timmer