Geoff Mulgan: A short intro to the Studio School

[lovelplants]

yeah i think studio can help them develop

[theokoustas]

yeah.... but how do the children know what to do with there lives at a teenage age? I mean sending your children to an "engineer studio" at the age of 15-16 is in my opinion wrong.. I mean im in university know at the age of 22 and I STILL dont know if im happy with what im doing. Obviously it depends on the person but still i dont think teenagers can choose careers for the next 40 years of there life at the age of 14..other than that great idea.. finally someone stepping forward in education.

[GabeJPere]

@theokoustas

That's why the studio schools have a small number of pupils, kids who already know and what they're motivated to do in life. By working on something hands on, it causes them to love it even more and ensure that it is what they want in life. Best of all, it's free of charge, so if in any case the child doesn't like what they're doing, no money was wasted in tuition and no one is left in debt, unlike with many graduates from colleges in America, who are drowning in debt.

[muscleski]

Not sure about the science (lies, damn lies and statistics) and know that learning environment is deeply affect the quality of teaching. That quality is perhaps represented by some of the things Geoff is talking about here. So do we need whole new schools to achieve this or just better, more animated and passionate teachers? I'm for the latter. By the way, smaller schools is something I agree with.

[b29349]

putting community colleges in schools, Germany has been doing this for decades.

[iveco555]

This is idea is old in Britain...

[mooxim]

I want to know if it bore better results than the 14-19 diplomas.

[doloppost]

TED is going the way of Flash. Flash... you know, from Skip intro?

[JeanKM1]

My daughter's technical high school was a lot like this. Students who wanted to got into the nation's top engineering universities. Those who didn't go to college got, and still have, jobs. Even in this economy. I don't know of any of her classmates who are unemployed. 

[ytxstream]

this is certainly a good idea if you want to prepare people for a job, however education isn't just about that. education, especially academic education, should be about acquiring knowledge for it's own sake.

[davidhyner]

@ytxstream acquiring knowledge for its own sake? please no !!!!!.... the world needs people who APPLY their knowledge otherwise we will all end up as academics. The world needs people who do things, make things and sell things.

[DJLesRo]

just one thing: f**k teamwork! this only encourages mediocrity, because the dumb students hold back the intelligent.

[indusdolphin]

I am a PhD student studying dizzying high theory with little to no practical application to the world outside the classroom. I will be sharing this video in my pedagogy class, thank you TED talks.

[cmajorchan]

its a very good idea i must say, but i see a problem straight away.. many students nowadays, including myself have difficulty discovering what we want to do in life. especially when we are 14 to 19.. we are still searching for ourselves. discovering ourselves in our adolescent life.. so which type category of studio school should we join? In contrast public normal schools offer a variety of subjects for us to learn and discover our interest.. . but all in all, we're moving in a good direction

[meotaku2]

But surely, children will not learn the life skill of going to a place you dislike with people you despise and doing something pointless every day !

[BrutusAlbion]

@meotaku2 lol

[toutagamon]

Will you fuckers stop commenting on the 15 seconds of the intro? Snap out of it already.

[pragette1]

two more TED-Videos, then we are at 1000!

[iverson92123]

You: What school do you go to?

Me: I don't go to school, I go to studio...you've probably never heard of it.

*puts on non-prescription glasses*

[Dixavd]

This flips the core ideas but also which students excell. Those that have problems now and find standard school as a turn off will thrive - however those that do well will do much worse.

Generalising it as completely changing attitude and saying (paraphrasing)"kids like to work in teams, they like to work on real world problems and thrive on doing than listening" is just going to swap all the problems. We need schools where they change to the childs needs, choice of how they are taught.

[Dis4ster1]

@Dixavd I agree with this. I for one never liked projects at school as i am more of an theoretical person. But the studio school is still a good idea for those who are more practical. They should create a system in which both systems (regular and studio) are implemented.

PS: TED needs more math :|

[carlitosvodka]

Hey Ted, id like to start something like this in our country. how do i get in touch with george mulgan?

[solojam]

the system is breaking down, society is waking up!

[charmander4533]

Sorry, but it just sounds like glorified trade schools. What has been the highest achievement by any of these students???

[stgnnn]

0:15 start of talk.

[austpom333]

All kids need is pigheadedness - just keep going to work, when that job finishes then get another job and keep going day in day out.

[Tito23892]

its basicly a professional schol not very much an inovation

thats alredy exist in many contrys such as portugal, but for a college education you better go regular school

[hunterbender]

or just do it at home. :] It's really fun.

But unfortunately, need to work on PS due tmr. 

[Rotorzilla]

why did this guy only get 6 minutes?

[RaffettoSpeaks]

No public entity is going to agree to fund something while giving up all control of it. Sorry.

[OCUBOX]

I was bored but still went through the traditional route [not forgetting the £30,000 or so debt too for useless education], let them go through that boredom too, it's only fair.

p.s. I do hope you thought that was a silly comment. well, some of it.

p.p.s the panacea of the eduction system is quite a faulty one. VERY!.

[cboehm24]

(cont'd) Smaller class sizes means you're housing fewer people under one roof, which means more actual buildings, which increases your infrastructure costs (not to mention staff). c) Defraying the costs through contracting sounds good, but what kind of work could inexperienced students do that would be consistently unique and educational? Do you structure your lesson plan around whatever contracts you get? Or do you structure a business plan for each "grade" based on pre-set services?

[cboehm24]

This is not a new concept. Educators for years have been eschewing so-called "traditional" (i.e., lecture-based) education in favor of smaller groups doing more interactive activities. The reason it slips back is that a)there are basic principles that must often be taught generally that are easily missed in this kind of environment (basic grammar, geography and history for instance) and b)it always sounds good to SAY smaller class size, but that costs more money.

[darth612]

@cboehm24 He said the schools would be for 14-19 year old's. I really don't think basic skills would still needed to be gone over by then. Those things can still be taught through activities anyways if needed.

[cboehm24]

@darth612 One of the consistent criticisms leveled at primary schools by secondary and pre-secondary teachers is a lack of basic reading comprehension by 7th grade. And if you're pulling your "work force" for "activities"...which, I believe, would be lecture-based instruction...the very thing he's trying to avoid...then who is completing the contract? This model sets up a dynamic where those who need instruction are actually a drag on the "real" task--doing the work of NGOs.

[cyberdems]

Great idea

[PirateLifestyleTV]

Great video. Interesting topic. Conventional Public Schools need HELP!!

[GuitarSongCoverDude]

I just recently finished my school and I am a strong supporter of this new thinking about education. Whenever I argued with my teachers or other students, most of them didn't even seek the dialog and simply said it can't be changed and that we should just get over it. I won't have any advantage from the new school system, but I hope my future children will.

[YawnGod]

All in all, this was a very condescending video.

[bhamel2000]

Its called a trade school

[fuckyeahEPIC]

US Americans have become spoiled children without any child-like virtues. They're overconfident, hedonistic, and neophobic. Their lazy decadence will hold them back as the rest of the world moves forward. The USA needs to become experimental and creative instead of being obsessed over meaningless things like the superficial media and pointless commodities. It's a nation of consumers that has gotten fat and its reflected in their government and education.

[Ploon72]

Is anyone else thinking "child labour"? and how much of this "project-based" learning, partnered with businesses, is actually a cost-saving idea?

[fuckyeahEPIC]

@Ploon72 How is it NOT already child labor? What do you think home WORK is? The difference in this is that it benefits the student more by actually being a more effective education with their effects having real, practical value, instead of the usual meaningless busy work students already do.

[Vellwander]

Fun? I always hated school, and used to fail most tests. Then I realised it's not the school's fault I'm not learning, it's me. Suddenly I actually learned tons, became an A-student and now I'm studying engineering physics. It's still not fun, but you have lots of fun the 20h of the day you don't study. Us westerners have become so childish.

[Dis4ster1]

@Vellwander I think you have chosen the wrong study if you're not liking it. I'm studying math atm and loving it.

[MrBarakta]

It is such an awesome idea! and its amazing to see that the schools are spreading across the UK, and hopefully across the world!

[gaiagale]

we do indeed learn by doing yet we are watching videos on YT ...a certain irony here ...in this moment ;-])

as i listened to the "thank-you very much" at the end ...I thought hm such a typical ending on TEDtalks but what does it mean... especially in this context...is it an expression of appreciation or is it just convention

i'm done ;-]) at least for this moment...

[Fuzzy192006]

Who's TED? Ted Bundy?

[MultiRationale]

People still don't get it. It's not about a "one best-way of teaching", it's about a variety of ways of teaching and/or learning depending on the person. If you look closely, there are patterns of personalities . these personalities prefer different ways of absorbing information.

I, for example, was one of the 'bored' ones in school, but this Studio school doesn't help. *My* way of learning is plain conversation. I prefer casually interacting with my professors.

[brightspark1977]

To take a saying from the military. We train as we fight. Or we train as we live.

[brightspark1977]

I love this school idea!

[thinksmart44]

For other watchers in Australia...what's the difference between this and a TAFE college, apart from the age bracket?

[meowmeami]

@thinksmart44 ahaha i know right, australia is once again ahead of the world

[AdemSemir]

In Finland, they kind of have a schools with a similar idea. They are called free schools, they don't traditional classes, the schools don't have fences, there are no schools hours, and the school is open 24/7.

[CommentsSurvey]

This is the only way I ever really learned ANYTHING: by DOING! Great school idea. Hope people adopt it NOW.

[GrahamTVdotNet]

What A Great Idea !

Lets get this started all over the world. My early schooling sucked, I would of loved this style of education as would my brothers.

[JuliusTio]

I do wish I attended this kind of school

[quaxk]

like we need more elitism in education, this is a bad idea

[drOffset]

This would have changed everything when I was a kid. Great idea.

[oaaserud]

i went from being the loser in school who didnt show, low grades and completely bored by this system, to a guy who got "one of the best resumes from the army ive ever seen" (my boss) and worker of the month.. i wish this was something i could have done, so that i wouldnt have to do all my classes again now.

[srgwarcock]

I go to a school of -200 students and its all project based and they teach construction and engineering as well. since i started going my sophtmore year i went from D- avarage to A avarage in my first semester and i have to say i've never been more excited to learn and go to school than i have been these last two years- Support this for a better future!

[voutasaurus]

I can appreciate the idea, but it seems as though the projects will be focusing on the specific, rather than the general. So my question is, why, in a time where we need more cross contamination between disciplines than ever before, should we abandon the idea of delivering a general education to young people?

[oaaserud]

@voutasaurus these schools are not for the A typical student, this is for those who dont fit in with normal school. i hated school since fourth grade, and having this opertunity would just be lovely.. general education is good for those who dont know what they want, or want more education.. a school friend of mine who dropped out worked with cars since the age og 10, he knew that was what he wanted to be, and nothing else..

[voutasaurus]

@oaaserud

I can appreciate that some people only want to do one thing with their lives. Personally, I think that's short sighted, but they can always do more school later if they want to change career paths. What I'm more concerned about is the education of the general public on issues that they will essentially have to vote on. If people don't understand a broad variety of things, they really can't make choices that are informed, and if anything our society needs to make MORE informed choices.

[oaaserud]

@voutasaurus i know how you think and feel, thought about this issue my self, but we cant get that much knowledge, we just have to trust other people. like i do when i put my car to service or repair. or when i go to the doctor. our world contain so much information, we cant just know it all, thats why we specialize. i completely agree that we cant make choices about things we know nothing about, but thats why politicians have experts on each field. but i disagree with your thought special educa

[ranasingh]

It sounds like a school entirely based on vocational studies like appreniticships, nvqs, gnvqs and avces however they go away from academic studies. Vocational studies are better for some people perhaps there brain works differently through cognition. This would work in the west more - america, canada and europe.

[bornakolbadi]

I would so attend this school! :D

[coolsupermario]

I have a question in my mind after watching this video, is there any need to revise the educational system in the world?

[ranasingh]

@coolsupermario I would say but not just once however constantly human knowledge is rapidly growing and we need to adapt for the future as well.

[projectbronco]

This sounds very much like a trade school or an apprenticeship program.

[TheAvianos]

this idea coupled with Salman Khans idea in the Khan Acadamy would change schools forever...i hope my kids will get this kindof education in the future

[tetranoob]

@TheAvianos I totally agree!

[TheIslammiracle]

When I was at school nothing was more off-putting to education than education itself (not the core of education, just its soul destroying and degenerative implementation).

Eventually most of us left with few qualifications, no interest in educational subjects, difficulty in minor subjects (as our schools simply ran through curriculums like water in a tap) and no actual practical skills for work.

It took years to fix the damage caused by the schooling system.

I hope ideas like this take off.

[riddler251]

I wish we would have had this in the US when I was in school.

[mohe3439]

It's a really good idea, but I wonder how it will work more conceptual subjects such as mathematics. I don't see how these schools could properly teach things that work more along the conceptual line rather than the physical.

[AmusingYeti]

@mohe3439 I feel with maths more practical applications need to be shown. This could be achieved through physical means as with the other subjects they are teaching. Engineering relies heavily on mathematics; so constructing even a basic object will require some maths. I am doing a physics phd myself; and I use mathematics on a practical basis everyday. Prior to this it was mostly conceptual learning. Perhaps a hybrid of conceptual and practical could be implemented here.

[MarkArandjus]

I can calmly say that my apprenticeship position that lasted a semester was far better than a whole year of my studies. You learn far more working than studying, of course you need people who will be patient and not assholes to work with in order to like learning like that.

[bradshawonline]

I'm not sure about the subjects. Also, he mentions how much kids grades have risen under this idea but that's because it's designed FOR those kids. I agree wholly with the hands on approach, but like he says "it's not perfect".

[jerrylittlemars]

1) 0:15 (to skip intro)

2) I'm sending this to my all my professors and even my old high school teachers too! More people need to hear about this idea! It may not be perfect now, but with more minds working together, it can be fine-tuned into something to suite ALL students (not just those in Media and Arts). Thanks TED!

[Zotov13]

@jerrylittlemars This should be the new format for any comment on TED videos:

1) 0:15 (*something about intro*)

2) *Insightful comment*

[hollium]

But when you're 14 how are you to know whether you want to go into media, or creative arts, or tourism, or healthcare etc etc? I think we filter out possibilites far too early in teenager's lives. (I'm a British a-level student)

[SicarBE]

While I like this concept of a more focused education as a young adult, I can't help but think back to that time and consider how many of my fellow students had no real/realistic idea of what they wished to become at that point.

Wouldn't a system such as this limit such a person greatly if he made a 'wrong' education choice when he was 14?

[xyODINxy]

so is wales getting any

[ElementzUK]

I've always supported this idea. Instead of taking my A levels I took a diploma course that was more focused on one particular subject. We didn't have lectures, we had workshops. When I got into university, I already knew everything that was taught and you could say I was one step ahead of everyone else.

[jtai36]

*clap* finally! people who understand what the real issues are :) within the move to reform education, there's been an inordinate amount of talk about funding, administration, organization, curriculum, standards, and more standards. but the truth is, most kids just don't like school. I don't remember the last time it was "cool" to like school :) or when masses of people were actually excited to go learn something in class. i mean, that's the problem. but it generally gets glossed over. so bravo!

[shintsu01]

i think this is a good idea. i followed only basic education just because i dint feel it had any added value. So i just started to work and now i do university level work. I am sure if executed properly this will help a specific part of students, but not all of them.

[Nashy119]

I think school is just going to be a formality for a very long time, possibly until schools are abolished. I can imagine some decent environments in the poshest schools, but usually if you want to get ahead there's better places you can be.

[defect530]

hated school. not hands on enough.

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

(4) However, if you wanted to go an almost completely different route, say from wanting to be a cosmologist at 13 to wanting to be a baseball player or actor at 14. Then, perhaps, your credits could [fully] go towards electives in your new field or [partially] go towards required credits. For instance, a History of Science course may be 4 credits towards the history requirement of an astronomy degree but only 2 credits towards a history requirement in a degree in the arts. Just some thoughts.

[ExclusiveManual]

@ABitOfTheUniverse Pro tip: you're better off spreading your awesome ideas on the web where you can post the entire theory rather than in parts which majority of the people are going to ignore.

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

(3) One of the other problems I found with the idea of that kind of system was; What if you decide at 15 you don't want to be a cosmologist, instead you want to be a biochemist? The solution would be to have equivalent credits. Much the same way that universities and colleges have equivalents. At 13 and 14 you may have taken history classes that pertain to Science throughout the history or science in Western Civ. and those credits would apply towards a 'degree' in any science field.

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

(3) One of the other problems I found with the idea of that kind of system was; What if you decide at 15 you don't want to be a cosmologist, instead you want to be a biochemist? The solution would be to have equivalent credits. Much the same way that universities and colleges have equivalents. At 13 and 14 you may have taken history classes that pertain to Science throughout the history or science in Western Civ. and those credits would apply towards a 'degree' in any science field.

[system3142]

Learning follows a logarithmic function with respect to the frequency of interaction aka Practice makes perfect. Sitting in a classroom for a couple of hours a day isn't as great for learning as homework. There's more to it, but here's something no teacher ever taught me. Kinda wish they had.

[mylene0wnt]

I'm the academic type and I would guess I'd suck at these types of schools. But I realize at the same type that I'm absolutely not prepared for a work environment.

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

(2) ...that there just weren't enough classrooms for all the different classes or enough teachers for all the subjects. Now we have the internet and computers are a part of our daily lives. So there could be programs written to teach a course in the history of astronomy, for instance, and how the major events throughout history pertain to astronomy instead of general world history, which I have found, at least in America, to be quite biased towards the U.S. and the western world.

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

(1) I had an idea similar to this while looking for an alternative to the way public schools operate. It would have been based on careers. Say you want to learn to be a cosmologist at 13, you could take courses geared towards that specifically. Instead of World History, English, Math, etc. You could take the History of Science, The use of English in Science, Math for Scientists, etc. and the courses would get more and more focused towards your career. The problem then, 20 years ago, was...

[Dudekahedron]

This is going to make it really hard to succeed in university. It will really increase the influx of students and consequently competition.

[KilluaXIII]

hot

[ion010101]

@LINKTheReaper But does it teach what you *want* to know? This is just a repeat of a reform effort that happened in the 40s. It was called progressivism, and then modern education after being widely accepted. It was this moment, in fact, that produced those hilarious film shorts we see on mystery science theater 3000 ("what to do on a date", "industrial arts"...). The problem is, if it's INSIDE OF A SCHOOL it can't be rooted in REAL LIFE.

[merkowaty1]

@ion010101 My guess is such schools will teach you stuff that industry wants (ie. needs) you to know, which makes me think of what Sir Ken Robinson said at TED about education system is preparing you for work at certain job at certain level instead of letting your talents and creativeness flourish to do great things you love (and make living out of it too).

[ion010101]

@merkowaty1 This makes sense for adults... but why are we putting children through vocational training school? Children should be growing up (learning by asking your own questions), and they don't in school. This is why there are more home schoolers every year. This is how schools like the Sudbury school or Montessori work. Sudbury is revolutionary. This is not, but this is less likely to offend conformist sensibilities and more likely to speak to "git a gud jerb" sentiments.

[merkowaty1]

@ion010101 Yes, it does makes sense for adults, however when I was battling through the current education system I often asked myself why I should be studying subjects that have no relevance to my passion (which is art). If I was lucky to get 'art' as a subject (which I didn't till I was 15!) it was very limited within itself: I couldn't do eg. fashion alongside typography. I had to pick one and stick with it for the rest of my time in school.

[ion010101]

@merkowaty1 additional: just about ANYTHING is going to be more fun than traditional school as we have them today.

[ion010101]

@LINKTheReaper But does it teach what you *want* to know? This is just a repeat of a reform effort that happened in the 40s. It was called progressivism, and then modern education after being widely accepted. It was this moment, in fact, that produced those hilarious film shorts we see on mystery science theater 3000 ("what to do on a date", "industrial arts"...). The problem is, if it's INSIDE OF A SCHOOL it can't be rooted in REAL LIFE.

[ejjefferson]

great idea