November 2009 Vol. 1, Issue 10 (PDF - 16.2Mb) - Department of ...

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Shine 69
Innovation
UK expert shares
ideas on innovation
Leading innovation expert Charles Leadbeater shared his vision for the future
at a recent forum for teachers.
If you’d like to join
discussions about
innovation in education,
or read what the forum
participants had to say,
join the Educators’ Guide
to Innovation professional
networking site at http://
guidetoinnovation.ning.com
Charles Leadbeater has completed extensive
research on education, innovation and change
in the UK and in developing countries
including India and Brazil. He shared some
of his findings with an appreciative group of
principals, teachers and other Department staff
at a forum recently.
Mr Leadbeater, a leader in social innovation
and creative thinking, has advised business
and governments on strategies for innovation
and change. He recently produced a report on
innovative schools for the Innovation Unit’s
Next Practice in Education Program in the UK.
During the forum Mr Leadbeater spoke about
findings from research involving observation
of a range of UK schools. His research
included the experiences of individual students
and teachers on how innovative schools are
creating new approaches to learning.
His key messages focused on students learning
through relationships, the importance of the
small school feel – even in a large school
environment – and student participation in
learning. Crucially, he sees learning as “a set
of relationships rather than as a system, stages
and strategies.”
Mr Leadbeater challenged the group to
consider education as not just a system of
schools but as places where people learn,
including schools, homes and in the broader
community. He talked about successful
innovation where learning relationships
extended beyond teachers and commented that
most students spend more time in the broader
community than in school, providing access to
alternatives to traditional classrooms.
Mr Leadbeater also spoke about the
importance of redesigning learning not only
in schools, but in families and the community,
comparing his knowledge of education in some
of the more troubled parts of the UK with
his observations of social entrepreneurship
in developing countries. He then encouraged
the group to think about how resources are
currently allocated in education and, in an ideal
world, how they should be allocated. What
percentage should be devoted to improvement,
reform, supplementing current models or
providing alternative models of schooling?
The discussion raised a range of issues and
ideas from within the group. “This framework
forced me to think about the power of the
alternative,” said Sue Mills from Ballarat
Secondary College. “We need alternatives,
whether that means alternative settings or
alternative approaches in current settings.”
The forum raised some interesting insights
into the possibilities available to schools
and educators willing to look for and find
innovative options to motivate and engage
students in their learning. Mr Leadbeater
believes that innovation comes from the
edges and the margins rather than from the
mainstream and that a pull system rather
than a push system of education needs to
be developed.
Maths resources at your fingertips
Maths Developmental Continuum – Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years – Common
Misunderstandings – Maths Online Interview – Fractions and Decimals Online Interview
Visit the new and updated
Maths Domain Page
• New layout and design
• Easy to navigate
• Huge range of research-based
resources
• Specifically designed for
Victorian teachers
Maths Continuum Extension
• 15 new P-4 indicators of progress
• Links to the Maths Online Interview
• Professional readings
www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/maths