Thinking BIG

Iowa BIG, as these guest columnists will attest, is not a typical high school learning environment.

This project-based, interdisciplinary program is a major milestone in redefining what school can become.

We've long known different people take different amounts of time, and often use different methods, to learn the same information.

Learning is not necessarily a linear path, yet public schools are, fundamentally, just that. It is a system designed in and for the Industrial Age, when most graduates went on to work in assembly-line factories or agriculture.

As we transition to a global, networked digital information age, our institutions also must evolve.

This is why we are excited to showcase a few Iowa BIG students. They are taking a leap of faith with their instructors and community partners to identify and solve community problems. And, they want your help.

Their projects span the range of human curiosity: recording live music, strengthening outdoor recreation opportunities, addressing urban runoff, prototyping solar and aeroponic systems and more. Project synopsis and volunteer opportunities can be found at IowaBIG.org.

To be clear, celebrating an innovative educational collaboration does not imply that traditional schools are inherently bad or should be abandoned. Our times demand that we support traditional systems even while exploring alternatives to those systems. Just as Henry Ford could not have imagined the Tesla, Volt or Corvette, we cannot know what the full expression of this new age will bring.

Supporting programs like Iowa BIG, which explore new ways to connect students with learning opportunities, is a necessary step to creating the future we want for generations to come.

Disclosure: The Gazette Company is a donor to the Iowa BIG partnership.

More on Iowa BIG

REQUIREMENTS

Iowa BIG projects must:

' Be chosen by the student based on a personal passion.

' Be interdisciplinary

' Have a participatory third-party audience (someone else in the world must also care).

BY THE NUMBERS

' The Iowa BIG program includes 60 students working on 33 active projects.

SAMPLE PROJECTS

' 415 Holiday Giving Project: Iowa BIG hopes to help people in the immediate sense, and raise awareness and promote a healthy community spirit all year long.

' Bever Park Zoo: Students are looking to help the zoo improve marketing and branding, expand program offerings and redesign the facility and spaces.

' Cedar Rapids sports rivalry documentary: The documentary will look into the community through the lens of high school sports - the historical, the sociological and the growth.

' Full STEAM Ahead: Upgrading Johnson Elementary: This project involves discovering what the faculty, parents and students want as the school undergoes a redesign.

' Lace Em Up! Reopen Ellis Ice Rink: Work with the city to reopen the Ellis Ice Rink in Cedar Rapids.

' Solar Bricks: This project will be used to help groups develop solar power throughout the Corridor.

' Vertical Farming: Students will work in conjunction with the Ecoponics Group in North Africa to help design and test a prototype aquaponics system. Data will be collected on the efficiency and production of the system in the different climates experienced in Iowa and Saharan Africa.

' Comments: (319) 398-8262 or editorial@thegazette.com

Guest columns available from:

' Aren Buresh, Kennedy High School junior

' Keegan Moore, Washington High School senior

' Jayde Wilson, Prairie High School junior

' Alphonce O'Bannon, LBA Foundation executive director

' Allison Antes, Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance workforce strategist