Innovation Institute- we’ve all heard about it, we’ve all seen it, and we’ve all been inconvenienced by its awkwardly stationed doors, but what exactly is it? Innovation institute, according to Ms. Young, one of the teachers and coordinators of this program is “an interdisciplinary style of teaching and learning, and a collaborative environment.” Students who choose to do innovation institute are signing up for a two year course where they will be versed in subjects such as Asian History, Science, and English. The other courses such as Math, Language, PE, and an elective, are taken on A days. The courses that students do take in innovation are brought about by untraditional means. Instead of the usual way of assessing students on their understanding of the topics through means such as testing or written works, students are posed with a question at the beginning of each unit. The current question being “What do you think influences our life decisions? Hope, fear, or something else?” Students then have to create a final group project that involves Asian History, Science, and Writing content that manifests in the form of anything ranging from a podcast, to a comic strip to a live performance. This format of learning certainly does provide a higher degree of autonomy and freedom while honing a student’s collaboration and critical thinking skills, but may not be optimal for students who enjoy order and traditional formats of classes. So, what do past and current students say about their thoughts and experiences toward this program?

Students’ perspectives

Emilie Guan, a current senior at SAS px who participated in Innovation in her freshman and sophomore year, says that if given the chance, she would 100% choose to do the program again. Some main points Guan made about her experience include the fact that innovation was very team-driven. She stressed the importance of working together, and said that despite the time intensive projects, it’s “ultimately a more rewarding learning experience.” She also states that, compared to the regular curriculum, innovation seemed to put less “stress on summatives and grades.” and found the standard curriculum less engaging than Innovation. The standard curriculum can easily lead to less motivation, (Guan also noted that the stress may have been just due to the rigor of Junior year).

Katelyn Hu and Chloe Zhang of SAS Pudong, current freshman taking part in the innovation program had pretty similar feelings toward this program as Guan. Traits these two students have in common is that they all enjoy collaborative efforts which led them to decide to do this program. 

All positive aspects aside, it is important to note that Innovation isn’t for everyone. Guan, along with Hu and Zhang, agree that one has to possess an inclination for working in groups, as group work is the core of this program. Another senior, Maggie Lu at SAS Puxi, who participated in the program during the same time as Guan, highlights this glaring issue. Since projects in the Innovation Institute are group based, every single person in the group must pull their weight in order to execute a successful project. Realistically speaking, one or two people will be doing much more work than others in a group. As Lu says, “it was really really stressful at times during those few weeks before (a project) is due because I ended up being a team carr(ier) and end(ed) up doing a lot of things by myself.” She stated that especially with herself being a “non confrontational person” and a “people pleaser,” it was difficult to force her teammates to do work. This aspect of Innovation could be especially disheartening at times, and lead to a significant decrease in motivation. Yet despite these hardships, Lu ended the interview by noting that if given the chance, she would absolutely choose to participate in Innovation once again. She notes that despite the challenge and turmoil she encountered in her journey, the end of projects were always very gratifying.