Complementing innovation in general and vocational education

Russian version

Talking about innovation in education has become fashionable – particularly amongst policy makers, journalists and academics.  Teachers are perhaps not so enthusiastic.  Checking Google, I found that innovation + curriculum, + education management or + education are the popular searches and education innovation reaches in average 30-40% of the peak popularity worldwide as seen from the chart below.  

Where is all this interest in innovation coming from? And where is it going?

Technological progress has significantly changed our economic and social life.  The impact of the 4^th industrial revolution, according to the experts, is transforming business and leading to profound changes in our environment and habits.  By contrast, the introduction of innovation, and especially digital technologies, in education is often reactive, poorly planned and sometimes resisted.  So perhaps this is why there is so much talk about innovation in education – just because the take-up of technologies lags behind the rapid integration that is going on in the workplace and in our social lives.

Some, according a recent OECD report, would say that formal education systems are naturally conservative and resistant to reform. Whether or not technologies are introduced into education, and which technologies thrive, is likely to depend upon wider political agendas and the state of education budgets. Other key factors appear to be the existence of long term vision for education, the influence of particular visionary leaders at policy level or in schools and the influence and spending power of international development organizations.  Experts and researchers can be influential, particularly when they champion particular technologies and link them to educational thinking (e.g. directly linking Blooms taxonomy to the brain areas).  And, of course, the marketing power of educational technology giants, such as Google and Microsoft, should not be underestimated.

However, it is not just that the education sector is slow to take-up digital innovation – there are also differences between different educational sectors.  In the case of general or academic education, technological innovation has been extensively adopted in management and administration systems but also, during CoVid19, to keep education services going – what can be called Emergency Online Teaching. As a result, general schools have frequently adopted standard commercial systems, suitable for rapid, large-scale operationalization.  At the level of teaching and learning, this has meant a focus on standard modules, basic digital skills and traditional (but remote) whole class teaching.  By contrast, in the VET sector, the influence of particular industries is stronger so there has been, in some branches, an extensive take-up of specific technologies, over a number of years, but in other branches very little digitilisation at all. 

But why should we worry if the manner and rate of technological innovation differ between general education and VET? After all, the decentralization of the education in developed countries is considered an important achievement.  Surely it is a good thing if the decision making regarding acceptance of the innovation is shifted on to educational institutions, boards and teachers. It is not clear that technologies should be adopted at the same rate and in the same manner by different parts of society, different industries and different education sectors.  

However, I believe that sharing and evaluating knowledge about innovation is an essential part of democratic culture and that it is the basis for creating and multiplying good practice. Theoretical knowledge, training and professional experience are not sufficient to permit educators to be aware of potential innovations, let only to encourage them to experiment and to create.  Educators should have the chance to learn about innovations that are going on elsewhere, they should be able to discuss them critically with their peers and, if they choose, to come together to create and adapt innovations to make them suitable for their own teaching and their own students.

This of course is what this platform, the Community for Innovative Educators, is intended to support.  I believe that our Community should particularly support a conversation between vocational and academic educators so that they can learn from innovations across the two sectors. Let me give some examples. 

One of the fields where there is scope for learning and exchanging innovation between the two education sectors is entrepreneurship education. The competencies defined in the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) go hand in hand with those defined in the European Digital Competences Framework (DigComp). Entrepreneurship and Digital Competence come together in learning how to identify the opportunities and master the methods of digital innovation in organisations and markets. Entrepreneurial programmes and modules are well established in vocational and business schools, but it is clear that they can also be relevant to learners following general academic programmes as a way of developing their digital and key skills as well as their competence for entrepreneurship.  

Another technology that is enjoying some take up in vocational education but little interest in general education is 3D prototyping and printing (For example, many VET schools in Georgia are equipped with Fabrication Laboratories (FabLabs) containing 3D printers, but it is still a rarity in the general education schools).  This technology has made it much easier and cheaper to create models and artefacts as part of a creative educational project. The price of the devices has been dropped, it is easy to find software  and enthusiast networks that count thousands. Designing and creating objects is a great way of helping student to develop key competences and to increase their engagement in learning. Making and 3D modelling support ‘constructivist’ approaches and encourages creativity, innovation, collaboration, problem-solving and discovery.  3D prototyping and printing are also obtaining growing support from prestigious organisations such as MIT Media Lab and is supported by the Arduino microprocessor. But as always, the real test is: does it work with real learners?

You can find the resources, research, tools, examples and guidance on the Maker Ed platform. Useful materials, lesson plans and guides are also available on the popular Makerbot education section.

The third topic that I wanted to touch is digital simulations. Simulations build in interactivity which has been demonstrated to engage learners but they also offer a way of connecting learning to real-world problems and extending the experience of learners.  Simulations can reduce the cost of equipment and consumables, mitigate health and safety issues, support differentiation and personalization and permit formative assessment.  Development and use of simulations is well established in vocational and technical education – in many cases schools and universities are simply following industry training practice. Vocational trainers and teachers have experiences of how best to teach with simulations, whilst developers have knowledge of how to design and programme simulations. In short, there are great opportunities to share experience and learning – so long as there are innovative teachers and developers that are ready to listen to one another.  Along with plenty of commercial products there are already some great free websites consisting of hundreds of simulations:  e.g. Phet interactive simulations in Physics, Chemistry, Math, Earth Science and Biology, GeoGebra – for teaching and learning Math, Molecular Workbench for teaching science.   However, a good website is never as good as entering into dialogue!

But maybe entrepreneurship education does not worth the time spent? It’s not for all, and everyone would not become an entrepreneur. Please, share your thoughts in the comments.

Or maybe you think that modeling and 3D printing shall become dull soon, and it would be difficult to sustain the interest to the topic among the students? Please, comment.

And  maybe the simulations could become outdated soon with the rapid technological progress? What can be done to keep them adequate? Please, comment.

What other potential spheres are out there that contain the potential for mutual complementation of innovation between the general education and vocational education? Your thoughts are very welcome.