Technological innovation is transforming every industry. It is profoundly changing the education sector as well. But innovation in education is about more than just new technologies. It is about seizing new opportunities to solve real problems and improve learning experience.
Among the exemplary leaders who have fostered innovation in education is, Patrick R. Riccards, the man who understood the gap in traditional education system. and worked for its betterment. He founded the Driving Force Institute, one of the nation’s largest producers of American history education films, that is not only improving learning outcomes but also transforming the future of education in America.
Patrick R. Riccards, the founder and CEO of Driving Force Institute is a strategic leader, communicator, engagement expert, award–winning author, and advocate, building and leading non–profits for 20 years. He started his first business 15 years ago, right after the birth of his daughter.
Five years ago, before Driving Force Institute was officially established, Patrick was serving as the chief communications and strategy officer at the Woodrow Wilson
Foundation, when he conducted a national survey of more than 40,000 Americans to find out that fewer than 4 in 10 could pass a basic American history test. This was followed by a survey of high school students, who reported that they find American history both boring and irrelevant, their second–least likely subject in school.
Patrick saw a clear need for interesting, relevant and provocative way of teaching American history. He started experimenting on new ways to find an interactive learning method that could make history learning interesting to the new generation.
“We seek to show today’s learners that history is important, interesting, and necessary. We tell the stories of the people, places, events, and artifacts that are central to understanding how our nation has become what it is, but are often left out of the textbooks.”
Fostering innovation: Adopting relevant teaching methods
Today’s learners are digital natives. Recent surveys show that an average 16–year–old spends more than two hours a day watching short videos on apps like TikTok and YouTube. Driving Force Institute is built around this reality. It produces provocative short films about the untold stories that make history relevant, but are often not taught in the classroom.
In less than four years, Driving Force Institute has produced 500 short films that are now being accessed by more than 50 million users. “We are connecting our nation’s past to our learners today, helping them think like historians, exercising the sort of critical thinking skills that are so important today,” shares Patrick.
However, Driving Force Institute is not the first educational institute that uses video for teaching, but they are doing it in unique ways. They intentionally produce short films to launch discussions and to connect with learners in ways that they are most comfortable in learning.
“If you think history is boring, our films will change your minds. If you think history is irrelevant to you and your community, our films will demonstrate relevance. If you lack the literacy skills that today’s high schoolers need, our films allow you to learn all the history you can consume. DFI and its partners are connecting history education with today’s learners, demonstrating its true value to a new generation of students.”
If you think history is boring, our films will change your minds
Films that empower today’s educators
Nothing replaces an effective, supportive teacher Nothing. DFI and its short films empower today’s educators, giving them the resources they need to connect with today’s learners.
The films produced by DFI act as an important tool that teachers can use in the classroom, to inspire conversations, to demand critical thinking, to encourage discussion and debate. “History is, in part, tradition.” Patrick asserts, “We need to give our educators whatever tools they can to connect the value of American history education with today’s learners.” DFI’s films do just that.
Supporting classroom teachers
Most American history teachers in the United States have been prepared in content and pedagogy. They know what they should be teaching. DFI is about providing them the tools to connect what should be taught with students, ensuring that it is also learned. and retained after learning.
“Teacher’s preparation is often focused on classroom management and such needs,” Patrick explains. “Rarely do educators enter the classroom with a clear understanding on how to use media in the classroom and how to explore new content to better reach students. A few years ago, DFI partners with KVEC in Kentucky to develop a professional development series for teachers on how to best use various forms of media effectively in their classes. That series, and the lessons it teaches, offers a clear blueprint on how teachers can improve the teaching and learning of history, while becoming better educators along the way.”
Future: Expanding curriculums to new fields of study
Driving Force Institute is now wrapping up 500–episode Untold History initiative, through which they focused on the moments in history that are too often ignored, particularly those moments that involve women and people of color.
Late last year, the institute embarked on a new effort – Essentials – with a goal of producing 500 new short films in advance of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.
In the coming years, DFI plans to deploy their business. model in new ways. In working with states and state departments of education, they have already developed content in academic areas such as government, geography, law, and civics. Now the team potentially looks forward to explore how this business model and distribution channels can be leveraged to improve the teaching of social studies and the humanities.
