Catalonia is currently facing a number of major challenges related to immigration, cultural identity, transformations in economic activities and changes in social structures, especially the family.
School is seen as a key player in responding to these changes. However, a number of studies indicate that performance of the Catalonian school system in terms of exam results is insufficient and there is considerable concern amongst the general public about the efficiency of schools. Methodological changes are needed if schools are to respond to these challenges. Such innovative changes include fostering collaborative working, developing flexibility and supporting creativity.
The Catalonian issue to be worked on during the P2V seminar in February 2008 is *to create the right conditions to support and spread pedagogical and managerial innovation in schools using ICT*. Two aspects are singled out. First the need to find ways and means to encourage innovation on the part of teachers. And second, the need to foster a whole school approach to innovation, particularly in secondary schools (12 - 16 year olds).
One possible way of approaching this question is via the statement: "Such innovative changes include fostering collaborative working, developing flexibility and supporting creativity." How do we foster these? - collaborative working - flexibility - creativity It might be good to begin by trying to understand what is meant by these words.
"... a number of studies indicate that performance of the Catalonian school system in terms of exam results is insufficient ... "
The question here is: What do exams really measure? And is what they measure related to 1) collaborative working 2) flexibility 3) creativity? If exam results do not take into consideration these competences (and they often don't) it may be that improving them will not necessarily improve exam results. Some studies show, however, that developing innovation in schools does improve motivation (to learn) and that in turn has a positive impact on exam performance.
Hi Vainas You are right. Examinations can be a major brake on creativity or innovation, especially when they are centred on knowledge rather than competences. They measure performance on the basis of pre-determined knowledge. As such they close the door to innovation and change. They give credit for compliance with existing standards rather than newness. During the P2P visit to Northern Irland we studied a holistic policy approach to change in which all aspects of the situation were dealt with by one overarching policy. it is not an easy road to take. I mention this because most people stop short of changing assessment in their strategies for change. I wonder to what extent we can challenge school examinations in Catalonia. I know that in England, efforts to modify the academic "A-levels" have met with enormous resistence. Although they are largely inappropriate they are still held by many as a guarantee of quality of an elite school system. Alan.
> About which innovation in schools we are thinking?
Here are some ideas as a contribution to the begining of a possible list:
- Innovation in the way the schools is run, for example changing the architecture, the way space is divided up or in the way "presence" is controlled or not....
- innovation in the curriculum, changing the way the overall learning process is organised possibly giving more autonomy to teachers to decide on what they do...
- Innovation in the way "lessons" are taught, for example moving to project-based learning or cross curricular learning breaking out of the limits of traditional subjects,...
- Innovation in forms of assessment like eportfolios for example ... or some form of evaluation of group work ... or self evaluation, empowerment evaluation, ...
- Innovation as a subject itself, encourgaing pupils to be innovative in their work, in their learning,.. in their lives.
Many thanks for reminding us that teachers and teacher training are important. I suspect that the question of encouraging innovation in schools goes beyond the challenge of introducing ICT in education.
You mention creating "favorable conditions" especially for teachers who are afraid. Newness and innovation create anxiety for a good many people. One of the key conditions for encouraging innovation is to keep that anxiety within reasonable limits This can be done through leadership. Do you have training for school leaders? Does it inclcude such issues? An additional way to approach the problem is to help teachers handle the anxiety that change creates. This can be handled by on-going teacher training amongst other things. Does teacher training in Catalonia help teachers deal with anxiety due to change?
Catalonia is currently facing a number of major challenges related to immigration, cultural identity, transformations in economic activities and changes in social structures, especially the family.
School is seen as a key player in responding to these changes. However, a number of studies indicate that performance of the Catalonian school system in terms of exam results is insufficient and there is considerable concern amongst the general public about the efficiency of schools. Methodological changes are needed if schools are to respond to these challenges. Such innovative changes include fostering collaborative working, developing flexibility and supporting creativity.
The Catalonian issue to be worked on during the P2V seminar in February 2008 is *to create the right conditions to support and spread pedagogical and managerial innovation in schools using ICT*. Two aspects are singled out. First the need to find ways and means to encourage innovation on the part of teachers. And second, the need to foster a whole school approach to innovation, particularly in secondary schools (12 - 16 year olds).
- collaborative working
- flexibility
- creativity
It might be good to begin by trying to understand what is meant by these words.
The question here is: What do exams really measure? And is what they measure related to 1) collaborative working 2) flexibility 3) creativity? If exam results do not take into consideration these competences (and they often don't) it may be that improving them will not necessarily improve exam results. Some studies show, however, that developing innovation in schools does improve motivation (to learn) and that in turn has a positive impact on exam performance.
You are right. Examinations can be a major brake on creativity or innovation, especially when they are centred on knowledge rather than competences. They measure performance on the basis of pre-determined knowledge. As such they close the door to innovation and change. They give credit for compliance with existing standards rather than newness.
During the P2P visit to Northern Irland we studied a holistic policy approach to change in which all aspects of the situation were dealt with by one overarching policy. it is not an easy road to take. I mention this because most people stop short of changing assessment in their strategies for change. I wonder to what extent we can challenge school examinations in Catalonia. I know that in England, efforts to modify the academic "A-levels" have met with enormous resistence. Although they are largely inappropriate they are still held by many as a guarantee of quality of an elite school system.
Alan.
Here are some ideas as a contribution to the begining of a possible list:
- Innovation in the way the schools is run, for example changing the architecture, the way space is divided up or in the way "presence" is controlled or not....
- innovation in the curriculum, changing the way the overall learning process is organised possibly giving more autonomy to teachers to decide on what they do...
- Innovation in the way "lessons" are taught, for example moving to project-based learning or cross curricular learning breaking out of the limits of traditional subjects,...
- Innovation in forms of assessment like eportfolios for example ... or some form of evaluation of group work ... or self evaluation, empowerment evaluation, ...
- Innovation as a subject itself, encourgaing pupils to be innovative in their work, in their learning,.. in their lives.
You mention creating "favorable conditions" especially for teachers who are afraid. Newness and innovation create anxiety for a good many people. One of the key conditions for encouraging innovation is to keep that anxiety within reasonable limits This can be done through leadership. Do you have training for school leaders? Does it inclcude such issues? An additional way to approach the problem is to help teachers handle the anxiety that change creates. This can be handled by on-going teacher training amongst other things. Does teacher training in Catalonia help teachers deal with anxiety due to change?
Alan.