Integrative Thinkers seek to build new ideas without having to make costly trade-offs

I have an interest in learning about multimedia applications as they relate to Jane’s Walks and to my website.

Because I know that much of what I can learn about such topics can be acquired by speaking to people fifty years younger than I am, I’ve been reading about media arts resources in my local community.

Lakeshore Collegiate Institute

The first place I visited online was Lakeshore Collegiate Institute, where I learned about Integrative Thinking, which a PDF link at the LCI site describes as follows:

What is Integrative Thinking?

Integrative Thinking is an approach to creative problem solving developed at the Rotman School of Management. At core, it is about making better choices more of the time.

Many of us, when faced with a difficult choice and no good answers, default to choosing the least miserable option. Integrative Thinking is about choosing to create new and better answers instead.

Integrative Thinkers seek to build new ideas by rethinking and combining apparently divergent choices – without having to make costly trade-offs. They dig into and leverage the tension between conflicting ideas to generate new ways of doing things.

[End of excerpt from PDF file]

Humber College

My online search also led me to the Humber College School of Media Studies and Information Technology.

The home page at the above-noted website shares the following information:

Welcome

The School of Media Studies & Information Technology offers the largest college-level combination of media-sector programs in Canada. We love what we do and we are very proud of our students’ success and achievements. Faculty, support staff, administrators and industry partners are focused on creating a learning environment where our students can develop to their full potential.

Our students are exposed to a broad variety of teaching methods and learning experiences designed to develop multifaceted professionals ready to succeed in their chosen field. From traditional classroom spaces and delivery, to leading-edge technology studios for highly experiential learning, the opportunities to experiment, learn and grow are endless.

Award-winning students, countless success stories, and graduates developing fantastic careers in all aspects of media and information technology, are the best testimonies to the work we do.

[End of excerpt from Humber College School of Media Studies and Information Technology home page]

Excellence without rote learning and standardized testing

The information about Integrative Thinkers reminds me of the successful Finish approach to public education.

A May 9, 2012 Globe and Mail article on this topic is entitled “How do Finnish kids excel without rote learning and standardized testing?”