Spiral of Inquiry

A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral <strong>of</strong> inquiry 3IntroductionWe know that education systems designed inthe last century no longer meet the needs <strong>of</strong>our learners or our societies. We know thatschools must be transformed to engage today’syoung people. We need a sea change in learningsettings for young people. Accepting this viewis relatively easy. The trickier questions involveknowing what this transformation will look likeand how we can achieve it.In a truly transformational learning system, thefocus is on high quality and high equity for everylearner, regardless <strong>of</strong> their starting point. In ourtransformed schools, every learner will crossthe stage with dignity, purpose and options. Inaddition, learners will leave our schools andother learning settings more curious than whenthey arrived. Their experiences will have createda passion for learning and a curiosity thatwill last them a lifetime. Finally, our schoolswill develop active and engaged citizens whodemonstrate a strong sense <strong>of</strong> personal andsocial responsibility. Dignity, purpose, options,curiosity and social responsibility for eachyoung person – for us, these are the hallmarks<strong>of</strong> a transformed school.The answer to the question about how wecan transform our schools is less succinct.That is what this paper is about. We knowthat educators across the world are beingbombarded with seemingly incompatible ideasabout system direction and desirable models<strong>of</strong> reform. The call for disruptive innovation<strong>of</strong> education systems – where schools, as wehave known them, cease to exist – has a certainappeal for those frustrated with the seeminglysnail’s pace <strong>of</strong> system change (Christensen,Johnson, and Horn, 2008).Others urge schools to focus intensely andconsistently on improving the quality <strong>of</strong>teaching and learning with a few strong andcarefully constructed goals 1 . A third approach,usually advocated by politicians, is to makesystems more strongly accountable for learnerperformance, guided by a belief that somehowsomeone will know how to do this well andwill make the accountability – this time – reallycount.