Creativity and Innovation in Education

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Creativity and Innovationin Education

• Moving beyond best practice

Andrew Fraser ACEL Conference Sydney
2007 integral4_at_ozemail.com.au www.andrewjfraser.bl
ogspot.com
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Creativity and Innovation in Education

• The need for innovation
• Views of teachers and teaching
• Teaching The learning profession
• The rise of creativity, developing innovation
• Innovation in education
• Developing Next Practice

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The need for innovation

• Schooling in the early 21st Century

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• International
• National
• Prescription
• Reform
• Review
• Improvement

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Resulting in

• Improved outcomes
• Plateauing of standards
• Deprofessionalising teachers
• Culture of Dependency
• Pragmatism
• Best Practice Prescribed Practice
• Isomorphism

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Educational Imaginary

• Public assurance from obsolescence
• Feudal system agrarian
• Industrial system factory
• Traditionalist measures

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Developing Practice

• Effective Practice for today
• Best Practice prescribed practice
• Best Practice indicative practice
• Next Practice

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Views of teachers and teaching
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Views of Teachersand Teaching

• How do teachers see themselves and their work?
• How do others view teachers and teaching?

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Views of Teachersand Teaching

• Teachers are implementers of policy reforms and
  initiatives determined beyond the classroom
• Teachers are in need of tighter standards and
  greater accountability
• Teachers have been demoralised (Canada)
• Teachers have been deprofessionalised (England)

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Views of Teachersand Teaching

• Teachers can play a significant role in providing
  solutions to the problems facing education.
• Teachers are the masters of their own fate. The
  profession has to get it into its mind that it is
  its own job to solve the problems of the
  education system.
• Sir Michael Barber, The Risk Takers, Guardian
  Education (23/05/2006)

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Views of Teachersand Teaching

• (T)eachers are not just here to do this job in
  the classroom to do a job that is prescribed
  for them. Theyre here to be professionals in
  which they participate in the business of trying
  to work out what is best for the school, what is
  best for the kids and how education should be
  practiced.
• Dr David Frost, Cambridge University (8/05/2006)

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TeachingThe Learning Profession
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Tri Level Structure
Does this model constrain learning opportunities?
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• How can teachers be engaged in improving practice
  in authentic ways?

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New ProfessionalismNew Leadership
Informed Professional Judgement Create a Culture
of Learning Connect Ideas, People and
Practice Transform from within
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Interconnectedness

• Me and my school
• We and our schools
• Leadership that crosses
• site boundaries

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Networking Learning
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The rise of creativity,developing innovation

• Beyond the download

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Creativity

• Solve problems
• Seek New perspective
• Necessary for innovation

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Creativity

• Combinatory play synthesise
• Self-assurance
• Risk

From Richard Florida, Rise of the Creative Class
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What do we mean by innovation?
the successful exploitation of new ideas

• at least two types of innovation
• Entirely new ideas
• Re-working of an old idea or the transferring and
  embedding of existing ideas in to a new setting

From presentation by Valerie Hannon, Innovations
Unit
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the nature of innovation .?

• Incremental Innovation
• Minor modifications to existing product
• Swims with the tide
• Starts with the present and works forward
• School improvement ?

• Radical Innovation
• Significant breakthrough representing major
  shift in design
• Swims against the tide
• Starts with the future and works backwards
• Transformation ?

From presentation by Valerie Hannon, Innovations
Unit
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The Nature of Innovation
Far from existing practices
Radical Innovation
Near to existing practices
Incremental Innovation
LEVEL of INNOVATION
David Hargreaves (2003)
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Innovation in Education

• A disciplined undertaking

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The imperative to innovate

• Should the profession engage in innovation?
• Does the profession want to engage in innovation?
• Can the profession be trusted with innovation?
• The answer lies with the profession

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• Innovation and creativity doesnt have to be a
  lessening of standards.
• Need to bring together a range of professional
  knowledges in partnerships where all are seen to
  be equal.

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• Innovation requires a risk-analysis and
  discipline.
• Schools need to be at an acceptable level
  before the freedom to innovate.
• Test things out not just pilot, and learn
  from trying things out on behalf of the
  profession.

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Disciplined Innovation

• Management of scope of innovation
• Prioritising areas needing attention
• Network ideas
• Network people
• Quality assurance of ideas

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Disciplined Innovation

• Careful planning
• Trying things out on behalf of the profession
• Close monitoring and evaluation
• Risk analysis
• Processes to capture knowledge

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Principles of Teacher-led innovation

• Strong moral purpose
• Focused on students
• Undertaken on behalf of the profession
• Oriented towards learning
• Clarity of purpose and goals
• Builds on and develops professional knowledge

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Principles of Teacher-led innovation

• Integral to the professional life and work of
  teachers
• Context-based developing teachers knowledge and
  skills (New professionals)
• Takes a What next? approach
• Networked learning to build professional
  knowledge (innovation, creativity, quality)
• Closely monitored, evidence-based

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Developing Next Practice

• Generating new realities for the future

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From Innovations Unit
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Next Practice Innovation Model
STIMULATING
INCUBATING
ACCELERATING
Utilise knowledge management techniques Synthesise
evaluation research Accelerate diffusion with
system agendas
Analyse need Scan the horizon Seek
innovators Generate creative options
Support the leadership of change Broker
relationships and alliances Create communities of
practice
Ideas for Next Practice Field Trials
Models of Next Practice in Action
System learning
System-level reflection intervention
Local level action
Modified from Innovation Unit (UK)
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Next Practice
Stage 1 Needs analysis
Stage 4 Generating creative options
Stage 3 Mobilisation
Stage 5 Field Trial
Stage 2 Horizon Scanning
http//www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/innovation-unit/i
nvestigation/nextpractice_main/nextpractice_fivest
ages/
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• To what extent can teaching, as a profession,
  solve the problems facing the education system?
• What new ways of thinking required?

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Focus on

• Developing a learning orientation within teaching
  as a profession and across education systems
• Building teacher capacity to problem identify,
  problem solve, analyse and research from within
  the context of their classrooms
• Engaging teachers in school improvement through a
  focus on developing and innovating on good
  practice

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Focus on

• Building professional knowledge
• Developing next practice
• Laterally transferring new professional knowledge
  to other sites and teachers so that it becomes
  new professional practice and
• Identifying and developing the most creative,
  innovative and ingenious teachers.

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Just Suppose...
...the virtual school became a reality?
...students created digital learning resources?
...students worked from home or elsewhere?
...students led their own learning?
...timetables were flexible?
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• How can you use your expertise to contribute to
  the outcomes desired for students and the
  teaching profession?