Helping youth and adults navigate the world of creativity and entrepreneurship, encouraging them to explore and connect with their passions, interests, and skill sets.
Become part of your local Dream Team today to encourage youth to keep dreaming and creating!
I cried all the way home from a Professional Development Conference. Yep, that's right - cried. I was frustrated with an activity we did to think of dreams - 100 dreams to be exact. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t think of things I was dreaming of doing. I was 47 at the time and was so busy with my life as a mother, wife and Extension Educator I had forgotten about some of my dreams. I also didn’t realize that day a seed was planted in my head that would grow into this curriculum today.
Meet the Author, Tiffany Macke
Tiffany Macke specializes in community & economic development (CED) education for local government, business and community organizations in Clark, Crawford and Edgar counties.
Macke joined the University of Illinois Extension staff in August 2006. She has a bachelor's degree in telecommunications from Indiana University and a master's degree in leadership development from Saint Mary's of the Woods College. She has more than 20 years of experience in public relations, marketing, strategic quality improvement and rural downtown economic development.
Macke works with local government, community organizations and businesses to help enhance their community leadership development, participatory community planning, organizational development as well as economic development. Programming examples include: Certified County Officials, Tele-Institutes & leadership academies, Community Matters, broadband education & regional eTeams, eLearning modules, Data for Decision Makers and Creating Entrepreneurial Communities.
A message from Dr. Debra Korte and Dr. Kari Keating
CONSTRUCTIVISM
A foundational educational theory championed by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, is
woven throughout the iDream iCreate curriculum. Students are engaged in active, self-directed learning that encourages them to construct knowledge through hands-on experiences, solve problems, and exercise critical thinking.
SELF-EFFICACY
The belief in one's ability to succeed, is at the core of the iDream iCreate curriculum.
Students are inspired to dream and challenged to create throughout their engagement with the curriculum. Students set goals, track their progress, and celebrate their achievements. By participating in this curriculum, students enhance their sense of self-efficacy, gain confidence to tackle challenges head-on, and develop a social support network among their fellow learners and community mentors who are involved in the facilitation of the curriculum.
SELF-AWARENESS
The key to emotional intelligence, is an essential element of the iDream iCreate curriculum. Students are encouraged to reflect on their personal strengths, weaknesses, and values, challenge their assumptions, and generate a list of dreams. Through learning activities of journaling and guided discussions, students are inspired to explore self-discovery, thus building a strong foundation for lifelong learning and personal development.
MOTIVATION
The driving force behind our behaviors, is assumed to be comprised of the factors in Self
Determination Theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In this curriculum, students are
offered a variety of ways to make their own decisions, build toward mastery, and do so in the
company of supportive others including peers and community/career mentors who share their real world experiences.
SOCIAL COGNITIVE LEARNING
Woven throughout the lessons in the K-12 curriculum, allowing students to engage in conversation, collaborate with a larger community, and foster the development of empathy and teamwork. Through group projects, community mentoring, and learning activities, students practice the skills of cooperation, discussion, and social responsibility that are essential for academic success and essential for building strong, inclusive communities.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The desire to create and innovate serves as the theoretical foundation for the initial spark and the culminating capstone experience for students. The instructional components emphasize the importance of value creation in the entrepreneurial process (iCreate) and inspire students to apply their abilities to innovate and ideate their own entrepreneurial ventures (iDream).
In addition to the educational and human development theories that underpin the iDream iCreate curriculum, it is imperative that we also mention the implicit inclusion of career choice theory. Decisions toward a career path are shaped over time (from childhood through adolescence) through emotional connections with people and careers, direct and indirect social influence, and application of behaviors that align with a career that instill motivation, familiarity, and construction of a social identity toward a particular career path. The iDream iCreate curriculum integrates career exploration throughout the lessons, thus helping students develop some mental models toward potential career paths.
In endorsing this curriculum, we do so with the utmost confidence in its potential to enrich the lives of K-12 students, uplift school districts, and strengthen communities. We believe that education is not just about imparting knowledge but about nurturing individuals who are naturally imaginative,
compassionate, and equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
