>>George Lucas: Most people look at education and say it's impossible.
>>Kristin Devivo: The research suggests that as early
as first grade students are checking out.
>>Salman Khan: If they aren't excited or if they don't see how it is relevant
to their life, kids are either bored or lost.
>>George Lucas: We need a different way of looking at what we learn,
why we learn, and how do we use what we learn.
We need to teach people how to think.
>>Girl: I'm going to take a trip Venus.
>>Steve Arnold: Early on in the life of the foundation George said a lot
of people know education ought to be different,
but they don't know in what way.
>>George Lucas: Saying that it needs to be better is very, very easy.
The how is very, very hard.
So the idea of making an archive of what works
in education seemed like a great idea.
>>Steve Arnold: We started focusing on technology, but very quickly moved
to the broader notion how can we help make education better for kids.
>>Man: Okay, so we'll start with your first sample now.
>>George Lucas: We started with making movies of classrooms and processes
that work and putting them on videotapes.
And then the Internet became viable and we were able to take all the ideas
and put them in one place so people had access to them.
We decided we needed to define what education is.
What are we educating question kids? How do people actually learn?
>>Steve Arnold: The George Lucas Educational Foundation has the mission
to tell the stories of what works in education.
>>Boys: Yes!
>>Salman Khan: Edutopia has spent a quarter-century creating materials,
documenting great teachers.
Talking about how you can make those classrooms more in tune
with what actually interest students.
>>Girl: Sweet it works.
>>Cindy Johanson: I look at Edutopia as an experience for teachers, parents,
administrators, even for students to see what's possible.
>> Girl: Who here have dreams
and goals they want to achieve in their life?
>>Laura Bradley: Edutopia is like the best staff room we could ever have.
One of the most powerful aspects of Edutopia is being able
to see other teachers working in their classrooms.
>>Teacher: What was the problem we're trying to solve?
>>George Lucas: Here's people doing it in Texas.
Here's people doing it in North Dakota.
Here's people doing it in New York City.
You just see it and it works.
>>Kristin Devivo: Schools that work is a series of excellent schools
across the K-12 spectrum that have evidence that what they're doing works.
>>Boy: I really like to read.
I would read 50 books a day if I had the time.
>>Steve Arnold: Our most significant impact is
when we can make successful practices accessible to more and more educators
so that they can try it out.
>>Teacher: Let's do it.
>>George Lucas: A lot of what we do now focuses on methodology.
We're trying to introduce people to social emotional learning,
to multi-disciplinary studies, to project-based learning.
Things that have been taken for granted for so long.
>>Kristin Devivo: Our mission at Lucas education research is
to build that evidence-base.
And to think about progressive practices that we know
in our hearts engage and inform learning.
But to really subject them to more rigorous research trials.
>>Teacher: Does it feel cold?
Does it feel hot?
>>Salman Khan: You know, there's a lot of talk these days
about project-based learning or inquiry.
And these aren't just nice to haves.
The key for every learner is as soon as they get excited
about something they're off to the races.
Then it's hard to keep the knowledge from them.
>>Teacher: We're looking to see if the bubble is between the lines.
>>Girl: It is. >>Boy: It is.
>>Teacher: Nice work people.
>>Steve Arnold: The skills kids need to come out of high school and college
with are the skills of a problem solver, of a creative thinker,
of a collaborator, of a lifetime learner.
That's what our goal is is to help people see what's possible.
And then implement it in a way that changes what kids learn.
>>George Lucas: I don't think the work of the foundation will ever run
out of things to do because as we progress
and the world changes the educational system is going have to change with it.
>>George Lucas: And so we have to try to help it along.