Good practice guide - Innovation

Students experience innovation both in content and approach. This is reflected and encouraged through:

• engagement of both students and teachers in supported risk taking, reflection and learning
• inclusion of innovative approaches to curriculum and teaching practice
• attention to continual improvement which reflects innovation.

What is innovation?

During a workshop run by Inventium with leaders at Flinders, innovation was defined as “change that adds value”. So, to be innovative as curriculum is developed, it is essential to ensure the changes we make “add value”. In her exploration of pedagogical innovation, Boden (2019) discovered many academic staff think of innovation as a cycle involving risk taking and reflection on the part of both teacher and learner. The cycle relies on staff eliciting student support and feedback as they innovate the curriculum and their teaching practice while paying close attention to continual improvements which in turn reflect innovations. As the curriculum is continually developed and improved, changes that add value incorporate opportunities for both staff and students to take risks and reflect on their learning.

Supported risk taking, reflection and learning

Risk taking is an important part of learning (Koh, Yeo & Hung 2015; Clifford 1991). Drawing on Vygotsky and others Clifford (1991) argues, students need to undertake learning tasks beyond their current level so cognitive skill development can occur. Staff and students therefore need to reflect on what current levels of learning and knowledge are (and should be) so they can undertake higher level tasks and determine where learning has occurred. In addition, Clifford (1991, p 271) indicates supports to aid learning such as, “instruction, practice, examples, prompt corrective feedback, and cues signalling the expected level of performance” need to be provided. The need for these supports is highlighted by Koh et al.’s (2015, p 96) point “risk taking can be threatening.” Ensuring both staff and students are supported and feel safe and affirmed when taking risks will help students to learn and teachers to develop innovative approaches to curriculum and teaching practice. Examples of this include:

• asking students to work in groups which research understanding of important concepts then lead discussions about what has been discovered, while you gently guide them to ensure they remain on track and support the learning of others.
• developing your FLO site in ways that allow students, once they have mastered the basics of the topic and/or acquired threshold concepts (Cousins 2006), to progress through the topic, at their own pace - choosing areas of interest at their own level of understanding, so they tailor their learning according to their own circumstances.

Innovative approaches to curriculum and teaching practice

Boden (2019, p 850) suggests several pedagogical practices are used when teaching innovatively. These include, but are not limited to, “active learning, experimentation, collaboration, technology application, and authentic assessment”. In addition, Isabirye & Moloi (2013, p 106) argue “innovative teachers have the ability and skills to create a positive learning environment that supports student learning, as an environment in which the organisation of learning space reflects creativity on the part of the teacher and enables the students to be productive, active agents in individual and cooperative learning encounters.” Some examples are:

• leveraging the work of others to develop creative solutions (by crossing disciplinary, portfolio or institutional boundaries)
• engaging students and eliciting their feedback during semester then acting on that feedback. Ask students to post two or three words about a concept that remains unclear; produce a word cloud; and either on FLO or in class, respond to the most prominent concepts students identify. Repeat this process every few weeks.
• using a range of assessment approaches specific and relevant to the potential career students may enter. Examples include engaging in simulations; creating and acting out scenarios; delivering presentations or writing reports rather than essays.

Continual improvement which reflects innovation

Boden (2019) describes innovative teaching as “reciprocal engagement”, where teaching staff “build on their pedagogical strategies and practices continuously throughout their academic career and engage students both academically and socially to increase effectiveness in their teaching” (p 851). She presents innovation as cyclical where teaching staff and students “intentionally and continuously” assess and evaluate student knowledge, understanding and learning. Further opportunities to innovate may then occur as new ideas are identified, adopted, modified and adapted (p 852). The process of innovation therefore requires vigilant, continuous monitoring of student learning and progress so that teaching processes are adapted, changed and improved as required. For example:

• reflecting on practical problems students are experiencing in partnership with the students (this allows you to remain student-centred and evaluate progress)
• identifying 2-for-1 and 3-for-1 solutions to problems (e.g. addressing a retention issue, a motivational issue and an employability issue with one activity or change that will also meet a learning outcome).