Welcome

Issues of wider interest

Theme 1

Theme 2

Introduction to theme 2: What effective models do we have for bringing about innovation in schools and colleges?
Diana Laurillard

Report by Sarah Codrington

Drivers (things you can’t ignore)

To effect change in the system we have to recognise what the drivers in the current system are to which teachers and leaders are currently responding. They will make their own choices about which drivers they prioritise in their work, but we have to be aware of how these affect what they do. If they are most focused on learner needs, and cannot see how ICT helps their learners, then they will pay it no attention. In that sense, we must address each of the key drivers, to make sure they are acting as drivers for ICT as well.

For the drivers listed here, an innovation strategy would be designed as follows:

• Strategic plans – make sure leaders understand how to link different forms of ICT and e-learning to their main strategic objectives.
• Funding imperatives – make sure funding models ensure best value, and hence there is a focus on efficiency, and promoting collaboration.
• Learner needs – make sure teachers, leaders, and e-learning designers set about understanding learners’ needs – in the way software is developed and used.
• Stakeholder demands – parents and employers are key stakeholders who need to be aware of the value of e-learning and the part they can play in influencing optimal use and focus on the objectives the innovation is trying to promote, such as data processing skills.
• Career opportunities – teachers must see that innovation is rewarded, but only if it is carried out effectively – support should be evident in the staff development planned, and in their promotion criteria.
• Curriculum requirements – the curriculum has to continue to evolve in response to changes in the workplace and in society – the innovation strategy should stress the importance of a curriculum development programme that takes account of these changes in all subjects.
• Assessment requirements – assessment is the key driver in education – it must set out to test how well learners apply new skills they are developing in science and maths, and to recognise the skills and knowledge they acquire through innovative methods, such as ICT.
• Quality standards – the minimum standards for effective use must be defined, updated, and assured through quality assurance processes if we are to get the best from the innovation.

Enablers: things you can’t do without

Teachers and leaders will respond to drivers, and develop their objectives accordingly, but they have to be supported in the change that follows. The enablers are those aspects of their work without which they will not achieve those objectives – the support that has to be in place.

• Funding and resources – these are the most obvious. The innovation strategy may not provide new funding, but may be focused on using existing funding more effectively.
• Training and development – to give teachers and leaders both the skills they need to use he innovation well in their professional roles, and the understanding they need of how it improves the effectiveness and efficiency of learning.
• Information and guidance – giving teachers and leaders access to the innovative resources and tools now available, what others are doing in their field, the lessons learned from existing case studies, and how to apply this to their situation.
• Learning design toolkits – the means by which teachers engage with the innovation, enabling them to share and adapt new resources to their learners’ needs.
• Shareable resources – the means by which teachers share resources within and across subject areas, institutions, and phases of education, ensuring innovative resources can be accessed easily, and shared as widely as possible.
• Online communities of practice – enabling teachers and leaders to share ideas and experiences, especially within the same field of interest, such as subject discipline, or specialist teaching.
• Economics and R&D on pedagogies – we have so little research on pedagogy itself, as well as the special area of the innovative pedagogies being developed for STEM – the innovation strategy should promote new research, and a focus on the development of methodology.
• ICT systems and services – without robust, flexible and affordable ICT systems, innovation and sharing new ideas will be slower, so an innovation strategy would prioritise work to ensure we get the best from these systems to support teacher collaboration.
• Rights and IPR advice – if teachers and designers are to share resources they have to be clear about what they are allowed to use them for – we need rights licences that make sharing easy, and IPR advice to all practitioners to make sure they use resources appropriately. 

Discussion: Roger Porkess suggested that end user demands can be important; for instance universities are big users of maths. Diana said that the needs of learners are often bottom of the priorities list. Hugh Burkhardt said that curriculum requirements may distort the list of drivers and enablers.

Models for innovation

Management of strategy: many find this hard. Career reward can be an incentive.
Ways need to be found of enabling customers of a new curriculum to feel that they have ownership of it. Funding for adoption by schools and colleges is needed as well as for the production of resources.
In general the Government takes a top-down approach whereas we are bottom-up.

Discussion: Hugh Burkhardt reported that American foundations often provide funding for adoption. Peter Campbell said that the adoption process may take several years, especially in schools with a high turnover of staff. Angela Hall said that teachers need to be engaged with the design and process of innovation.

Engaging teachers in innovation

Learning design toolkit: we need to work to teachers’ current concerns. There should be an analysis of user needs, and of the gap between where we are now and where we want to be. A community of practice for innovation – we all need to be learners all the time.
School leadership needs to be engaged, and an analysis of their requirements is needed – this is the most important of all. They may not know very much about what is being suggested. 

Engaging teachers in design: an iterative process

The demands of interdisciplinary research and innovation are generated as a continual dialogue of challenge and counter-challenge, leading to solutions and further design ideas.