Conclusion: Redefining the Metaphor

The focus on a narrowly defined set of right/wrong questions is also reflective of the industrial age, assembly-line approach to public education. Peter Senge asserts that “few of us today appreciate how deeply assembly-line concepts are embedded in the modern school.” Essentially, students have moved through the system much the same way as a Model-T was assembled almost a century ago. In schools, expert teachers along the assembly line each contribute a small piece to the final product, efficiently ensuring that all students have gone through the appropriate procedures with regard to their area of specialty. If each teacher does his or her task well, the student will exit the “assembly line” as well-rounded individual.

In the assembly lines of the industrial era, the ideal outcome was the production of a consistent product that would be indistinguishable from others. Henry Ford went so far as to have each car painted the same color while he made claims that customers could have it painted “any color they want so long as it’s black” (Zaccai, 2005).

In many ways, American schools have approached the monumental task of educating children with a similar sentiment. One could rephrase Ford’s statement to “the students can have any experiences they want so long as they score proficient or advance on the multiple-choice exams administered once a year.” This line of thinking is increasingly at odds with the increasingly complex, globalized, information-rich society of the 21st century. The modern assembly lines of the information age don’t operate like traditional assembly lines. Even industrial manufacturing companies have abandoned Ford’s approach: “The assembly line was the epitome of work in the old economy. It was both a tool and an expression of the relationship between the worker and the work, the product and the customer. In the old economy, every converter for every customer flowed along the same assembly line and was worked on by the same set of hands, doing the same tasks, over and over again. In an economy based on customization, “speed, quality, and flexibility, the mechanical assembly line has given way to the biological cell” (Dorsey, 2000. p. 210). Multi-tasking employees are organized into “cells,” each of which takes the product from beginning to end. These cells allow for fluidity, versatility, and customization made impossible using the old assembly line model. Workstations are built in modular components. “Nothing is bolted to the floor permanently, and everything can be broken down and reassembled in the event of sudden surprise order or an unanticipated problem” (Dorsey, p. 210).

The modern, cellular manufacturing approach that emphasizes integration, speed, fluidity, and customization is directly at odds with the standards-based, forced-choice exam experience of a typical school day. While students are accustomed to an on-demand, wired, customized, networked world outside of school, they are often asked to power down, sit down, and complete discrete tasks independently in class. It should thus come as no surprise that we now find higher rates of disengagement and disenchantment.

It is now time to revisit the fundamental concepts that underlie the constructs of our educational system. Revising content standards to reflect the information-rich, turbulent, global, and digital society is a necessary step. Aligning the assessment and accountability with the updated standards which provide integrity and increase relevance and utility of the feedback systems. Expanding instructional materials to include the use of mobile platforms and online information resources is also an important move in helping to transition out of the industrial-age approach to schooling.

These systemic changes must be facilitated at all levels of the complex network of the educational system. District leaders must be open to new approaches to student grouping, promoting web 2.0 interactive platforms, and building from meaningful, challenge-based learning experiences into their local assessment systems.

Site leaders must also promote technology integration, coupled with challenge-based learning experiences and be advocates for optimal balance of difficulty and ability to improve student engagement and flow experiences in their learning. Site leaders must also organize, support, and nurture ongoing learning from staff to adjust teaching strategies that promote collaborative and meaningful student learning. These learning experiences must go beyond right and wrong answers, printed textbooks, and confinement to a conventional classroom environment.

Armed with anytime, anywhere access to the abundant interactive world-wide web, students should spend their time working with one another to master the updated standards and demonstrate their capacity through application of problem-solving on authentic projects. Their experience must be fluid, dynamic, and evolving based on their progress, interests, and passions. With more engaged students that are developing meaningful knowledge and skills that are better aligned with the information age, we can realize the ambitious vision of building capacity for our nation to thrive in this new age.