Learning Innovation

Leading the Way

Valerie Hannon, Innovation Unit, UK

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Drivers of innovation in education:

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Technological change is accelerating.

To reach 50,000,000 users, it took…

38 years

13 years

4 years@3 years

Eric Qualman, Socialnomics, 2009

To reach 100,000,000 users, it took Facebook…

Eric Qualman, Socialnomics, 2009

9 months

“In medical education we’re still a very memory-based curriculum... Watson-like tools will cause us to reconsiderwhat students do.”

Dr Herbert ChaseColumbia University

New York Times Feb 17 2011

World Recession

Profound long-lasting consequences for all public services

Swingeing cuts in services either underway or in prospect

The search for ‘more for less’

In many countries, deep problems with public sector borrowing, spending and debt

Globalisation, so what?

Understanding identity, core values and cultural practices is more important than ever

Jobs can be quickly transferred from one side of the world to another

Consumers/researchers look across the world for the best

Higher order skills are at a premium

Integrated world markets (IT & containerisation mean new lower-cost producers in the world market)

Education itself is globalising: mobile students, distance/online learning, competition between providers

Worldwide demand for learning

DEVELOPED WORLDDEVELOPING WORLD

Career Paths are changing.

20TH CENTURY1-2 jobs, mastery of one field

21ST CENTURY10-15 jobs, breadth, depth in several fields

A distressed environment…

“The dream of wellbeing dreamt until now by a few is not sustainable for all. We have to change. We have to learn how to live better, consuming fewer environmental resources and regeneratingthe contexts of life.”

Ezio Manizini, Politecnico of Milan

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Taken to together, these drivers point to transformation, not just improvement

Pedagogy Place

Time Partnership

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it’s not either/or

it’s both, and….

S-Curve: raised goals or different goals?

Architecting the future

Scaling for growth

Operationalizing the results

Extracting Efficiencies

Closing / Transitioning

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Jumping and Transforming

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The innovator’s (and the evaluator’s) dilemma

Adapted from Ready or Not? Taking Innovation in the public sector seriously (NESTA 2007)

So what?…

• ‘school improvement’ is a continuing non-negotiable

• we can’t know to what degree transformation can be planned – or will disrupt and overtake

• planning it will entail a range of skills and approaches: social, political, educational

• In addition to school improvement, we need disciplined radical experimentation around some of the key architecture of ‘schooling’ – to reinvent it for 21st conditions and learning.

Some international approaches

New York City•School improvement focusing on better assessment and core standards•Establishment of NYC iZone; design partners; new models

Finland•Continuing push with high-quality teacher education and curriculum reform•Developing ‘eco-system’ of partnership projects pushing the boundaries of ‘school’