Formal education (P-20) doesn’t change much. Compared to other sectors, there is little innovation and weak innovation diffusion. There are at least a
dozen reasons for the stasis:
Incentives
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Weak performance incentives,
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Weak scaling incentives, and even
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Weaker innovation incentives.
R&D
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Low government R&D investment;
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HigherEd research focused on the arcane rather than important; and
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Low historic venture investment (with some recent improvement).
Constraints
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Strong state and federal policy constraints, and a
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Gordian knot of local contracts ensconced in board policies and state laws (i.e., you may need to change three provisions/policies to do anything
differently).
Low Sharing
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Insular culture and structure prevents permeation; and
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Weak sharing inside the sector (but PLCs changing that fast).
Capacity
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Weak change capacity at the school, district, and state level; and
It’s tough to balance improvement and innovation simultaneously.
Perhaps the most significant barrier to innovation is the weight of tradition--the gravity of collective an idealized memories of school (e.g.,
“Keep Your 3, I Want My A": What’s Up With Standards-Based Grading?
)
Schools just weren’t designed to innovate. To the extent that they reflect intentionality, public delivery systems support equity and continuity. But the shift to
digital and competency-based learning requires a lot of innovation and change capacity.
Fortunately a dozen new structures and initiatives are surrounding and infusing the public delivery system to enable the historic shift:
Open & Viral:
Teachers, parents, and students
are finding, using and sharing free, open, mobile learning applications.
Alternatives:
As Michael Barber pointed out
in a recent report, “There is... increasing acceptance of non-degree credentials that don’t rely on traditional universities,” resulting in affordable
alternatives.
Funders:
Philanthropic and venture investment in innovation is up more than 5x in five years (see list of 30 investors).
Government investment:
Federal investment in RTTT and I3
resulted in early policy shifts and some promising tools and practices; Ohio’s Straight A Fund is a good example of state support for
sustainable and scalable innovations.
Incubators:
More than a dozen incubators (e.g., 4.0 Schools) and accelerators (ImagineK12)
have sprung up in the last three years supporting new tools and schools.
Short cycles:
more iterative development and use of short cycle efficacy trials.
New Schools:
funding for innovative new schools (e.g., NGLC
and Carnegie).
Turnaround:
states (e.g., Michigan EAA) and districts (e.g., Houston Apollo) are using turnaround as an innovation
opportunity.
Networks:
New and transformed schools are working together in innovative networks
(see our Deeper Learning paper for
10 examples).
CMOs:
Charter management organizations are scaling quality and infusing innovation (e.g., see Summit Public Schools).
Aggregation:
Expanded use of prizes and pull mechanisms, including demand aggregation and shared purchasing, are boosting innovation and efficiency.
Harbormasters:
CEE-Trust
is a network of city-based foundations, nonprofits and mayor’s offices that work together to support education innovation and reform.