Learning from Internal Change Academy processes

A 2007/8 Research and Development Grant from SEDA under its Supporting and Leading Educational Change programme provided Sheffield Hallam University with the opportunity to undertake an extremely interesting and timely piece of work on learning from Internal Change Academy processes. A presentation to the SEDA Spring Conference 2009 focused on understanding the value of Internal Change Academies as a model for leading educational change and demonstrated how a simple benchmarking exercise may provide a rich source of data in leading change processes. This article focuses on the broader lessons learnt about change rather than on the practicalities and the different models of running an Internal Change Academy. That information is available in the project final report (Flint and Oxley, 2009)

Students, the Net Generation and Digital Natives:Accounting for Educational Change

This chapter examines a number of different terms and popularized accounts of young people who are now at the stage in their lives of engaging in university education across the world. Three of the more common terms that have been used to describe this cohort of young people are the Net generation (Tapscott 1998, 2009), Digital Natives (Prensky 2001; 2001a: 2009) and Millennials (Howe and Strauss 2000; Oblinger & Oblinger 2005). This chapter critically examines the argument, common to writers using both terms: that the existence of an environment infused with digital and networked technologies, combined with an active engagement in these new technologies, leads directly to a sharp generational break. The chapter goes on to examine the determinist nature of the argument and the way this has been related to one particular pedagogical approach; collaborative learning. It examines the wider social and technological context and in particular the ideas of networked individualism and networked sociality. Finally the chapter concludes by examining which aspects of the Digital Native and Net Generation arguments are worth taking forward and by identifying those aspects of the arguments that need to be abandoned

Teacher's guide book for primary and secondary school

There is an urgent need for collective action to mitigate the consequences of climate change and adapt to unavoidable changes. The complexity of climate change issues can pose educational challenges. Nonetheless, education has a key role to play in ensuring that younger generations have the required knowledge and skills to understand issues surrounding climate change, to avoid despair, to take action, and to be prepared to live in a changing world. The Office for Climate Education (OCE) was founded in 2018 to promote strong international cooperation between scientific organisations, educational institutions and NGOs. The overall aim of the OCE is to ensure that the younger generations of today and tomorrow are educated about climate change. Teachers have a key role to play in their climate education and it is essential that they receive sufficient support to enable them to implement effective lessons on climate change. The OCE has developed a range of educational resources and professional development modules to support them in teaching about climate change with active pedagogy

Changes in teaching and learning: what counts, who to, and how is it counted?

This paper builds on and contributes to the evidence that links teacher development programmes and educational technology programmes in low-to-middle income countries, to improvements in quality. Recent reviews, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) have examined the characteristics of teacher education programmes (Westbrook et al., 2013) and educational technology programmes (Tom Power, Gater, Grant, & Winters, 2014), that show evidence of impact on teaching practice or learning outcomes. In both cases evidential problems arise in relation to reporting change. Power & McCormick (2014) observe that where reviewed studies present outcomes, these are often based in an educational economist tradition; the teacher development theory of change is often disregarded (Tatto, 2013). This paper examines the research approaches and findings of a large-scale programme of teacher development incorporating Educational Technology in Bangladesh, that has tried to develop a more holistic or ecological understanding of educational change at the classroom level. We argue that whilst such research stands out as one of only a small number of studies that evidence change in teaching and learning holistically at large scale, further methodological development is required. How can such large-scale programmes meet the evidence requirements of donors and policy makers, typically framed in human capital terms, whilst giving voice to teachers and students, about the experience of change and the development of capabilities (Tikly & Barrett, 2011) they have reason to value

Investigating Educational Change: The Aga Khan University Institute For Educational Development Teacher Education For School Improvement Model

This article continues the analyses of the impact of an innovative teacher education programme aimed at school improvement in a developing country context (Khamis and Sammons 2004). Building on recent publications that have analysed outcomes of the teacher education programme and how the cadre of teacher educators has worked to initiate improvement in schools in Pakistan, the article considers the ‘Teacher Education for School Improvement Model’ based on findings from nine co-operating school case studies. Lessons are presented to further inform the development of teacher education programmes and the measurement of effectiveness of such programmes in developing country contexts. The article further considers relevant international research on educational change and reform to draw further lessons. These lessons include the need to pay greater attention to the cultural contexts and milieu in Pakistan, and the need to create models of school improvement and teacher education that originate within developing country contexts rather than the adaptation of European/North American models that are based on sources of data in those contexts. The article concludes by arguing for the need to develop better theoretical understandings from the current innovations underway and placing the onus on intervening agencies to better inform educational change strategies promoted in developing country contexts

Drivers for change in primary care of diabetes following a protected learning time educational event: interview study of practitioners

Background: A number of protected learning time schemes have been set up in primary care across the United Kingdom but there has been little published evidence of their impact on processes of care. We undertook a qualitative study to investigate the perceptions of practitioners involved in a specific educational intervention in diabetes as part of a protected learning time scheme for primary health care teams, relating to changing processes of diabetes care in general practice. Methods: We undertook semistructured interviews of key informants from a sample of practices stratified according to the extent they had changed behaviour in prescribing of ramipril and diabetes care more generally, following a specific educational intervention in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Interviews sought information on facilitators and barriers to change in organisational behaviour for the care of diabetes. Results: An interprofessional protected learning time scheme event was perceived by some but not all participants as bringing about changes in processes for diabetes care. Participants cited examples of change introduced partly as a result of the educational session. This included using ACE inhibitors as first line for patients with diabetes who developed hypertension, increased use of aspirin, switching patients to glitazones, and conversion to insulin either directly or by referral to secondary care. Other reported factors for change, unrelated to the educational intervention, included financially driven performance targets, research evidence and national guidance. Facilitators for change linked to the educational session were peer support and teamworking supported by audit and comparative feedback. Conclusion: This study has shown how a protected learning time scheme, using interprofessional learning, local opinion leaders and early implementers as change agents may have influenced changes in systems of diabetes care in selected practices but also how other confounding factors played an important part in changes that occurred in practice

Culture Change: The Work of C.A. Bowers in Educational Policy

C.A. Bowers has proposed a perspective on educational theory and practice involving cultural literacy and communicative competence. Bowers\u27 proposal addresses culture change through a critical examination of activities in the school curriculum. An overview of this perspective and its possible use in art education is presented

Zeitgeist: information literacy and educational change

Information literacy is a mosaic of attitudes, understandings, capabilities and knowledge about which there are three myths. The first myth is that it is about the ability to use ICTs to access a wealth of information. The second is that students entering higher education are information literate because student centred, resource based, and ICT focused learning are now pervasive in secondary education. The third myth is that information literacy development can be addressed by library-centric generic approaches. This paper addresses those myths and emphasises the need for information literacy to be recognised as the critical whole of education and societal issue, fundamental to an information-enabled and better world. In formal education, information literacy can only be developed by infusion into curriculum design, pedagogies, and assessment

EDITORIAL.TECHNOLOGY AS A SUPPORT TO TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

Assessment in education is under pressure to change. Some drivers for change result from new ways of thinking about assessment and its educational purposes. Other drivers are external and are the result of wider changes in society. Technology falls into this second category. This special issue is concerned with change at the intersection of assessment and technology in education