Learning to lead innovation and changeEnhancing students’ capacities to lead collaborative learning and innovation through systems thinking, design practice and responsive action
Faculty of Education and Social Work, CoCo Research Centre, 2015
Masters of the Learning Sciences and Technology program
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What is your view of the world?
‘Am I apart from the universe?’ Meaning whenever I look, I’m looking as if through a peephole upon an
unfolding universe;
or,
‘Am I part of the universe?’ Meaning whenever I act, I’m changing myself and the universe as well.
von Foerster, 2003
von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag.
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What is a second-order systems view?
Whenever I reflect on these two alternatives, I’m surprised by the depth of the abyss that separates the two fundamentally different
worlds that can be created by such a choice.
That is to see myself as a citizen of an independent universe, whose regulations,
rules and customs I may eventually discover; or
to see myself as a participant in a conspiracy, whose customs, rules, and
regulations we are now inventing.
von Foerster, 2003
von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Developing the capacity to lead change...
Three modes of inquiry
Systems thinking
Design practice
Responsive action
...through collective learning and innovation
Students leading learning and innovation projects
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Key course components
Using ideas and methods to inform knowledgeable action
and create principled-practical knowledge products
Making ideas actionable by
grounding them in past experiences
Understanding and improving
individual and group learning
Joint innovation Analysis and design
Teamwork
Ideas and methods
Weekly readings
Online discussions Analytical
reflection
...of teamwork
...of past experiences
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I. Learning to inquire into change in complex social systems
What characterises second-order pedagogy?
The dynamic relationship between learning and doing
II. Learning to organise teamwork
Students as creators of their own learning and environmentsStudents as learners and innovators
Pedagogical principle I
I. Seeing everyday and professional experiences trough theory
II.Constructing principled-practical knowledge products
Making knowledge actionable and action knowledgeable
“I am really enjoying this course - you are making me think and reflect upon a lot of past learning situations in the organisations I have worked for.” (MLS&T Student, 2015)
Students create Guides for Change and Innovation Managers
iPad Journey (MLS&T, 2011)
Pedagogical principle II
Modern knowledge work is characterised by joint work creating material and digital knowledge objects or “epistemic artefacts”:
› models,
› blueprints,
› prototypes,
› principles,
› etc
Learning and innovation through creating epistemic artefacts
Individual learning:Domain of personal
change
Skills and capabilities
Attitudes and beliefs
Awareness and sensibilities
Pedagogical principle III
Image based on: Senge, P. et al. (2000). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday.
Linking organisational, team and individual learning
Organisational learning:
Domain of action
Guiding ideas
Infrastructures and environments
Methods and tools
Integrating perspectives of the learning sciences and organisational sciences
Pedagogical principle IV
1. Face-to-face meetings
2. Synchronous web conferencing
3. Online collaborative writing
4. Knowledge mapping and idea generation
5. Online project management
6. Asynchronous discussions
7. Shared document management
8. Etc
Learning to assemble productive learning and innovation environments
Students learn to manage distributed teamwork by learning to choose and use appropriate methods and tools
Second-order principles in action…
Discussion: Choose an innovation challenge
Initial teamwork: Explore the problem space
Design workshop: Analyse the situation and model change
Online teamwork: Develop the Change and Innovation Guide
Presentation: Final product and peer feedback
Reflection: Teamworkand process
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Innovation using a “soft systems” approach
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Second-order principles driving change…
› Multiple perspectives of real world complex challenges
› Intercultural and multi-professional experiences
› User-oriented design products
› Students’ agency: teachers and students as co-designers
Authentic innovation and teamwork experiences“During this challenge I personally experienced frustration, panic and joy. I found my collaborators to be highly innovative both subjectively and objectively. They are worthy adversaries! I say adversaries because a culture of blind agreement (in my opinion) would not stimulate innovation.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“I think our group is motivated by the potential relevance of our guide” (MLS&T, 2015)
“I think I'm more focussing on being a good group member at the moment. I'm enjoying trying to focus on that process” (MLS&T, 2015)
“it's invigorating working with people from diverse backgrounds and interests in education, multiple perspectives and expertise on the discussion and solution” (MLS&T, 2015)
“Learning how to collaborate is the most interesting part of it” (MLS&T, 2015)
“We can explore and have ideas without pressure” (MLS&T, 2015)
Learning analytics for deep learning
What the students did
The types of challenges the students chose to address
Ipad journey: Introducing iPads in a Secondary School
Overcoming isolation in online learning
Learning on-the-go: Mobile learning in higher education
E-type guide: Moving from print to online in higher education
Redesigning learning spaces: Learning through making
Developing students’ creative potential
Google brain: Utilising power of digital knowledge tools for learning
Creating an engaging school
What the students said
› Novelty of pedagogical approach
› Motivation and engagement
› Teamwork experience
› Autonomy and agency
› Relevancy of theoretical knowledge
› Assessment of “soft” skills
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Students value...
“Really enjoyed the group work challenge, the assessment piece was appropriate and the reflection was a good way to consolidate the learning.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“I learnt far more doing the teamwork than I'd expected to. There was a great exchange of ideas and knowledge. Overall, a different but very rewarding course for me.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“[The best aspect of the course is] the innovative ways that the course is designed to encourage, or actually demand, autonomous learning.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“This unit was a challenge for me, a completely new and different way to learn, but very effective!!” (MLS&T, 2013)
100%› General course evaluation results have been very high: 100%
agreement for 9 items out of 12
› All students agreed or strongly agreed that “Overall I was satisfied with the quality of this unit of study” (2013 evaluation)
Main sources of inspiration
› Blackmore, C., & Ison, R. (2012). Designing and developing learning systems for managing systemic change in a climate change world. In A. E. J. Wals & P. B. Corcoran (Eds.), Learning for sustainability in times of accelerating change (pp. 347-364). Wageningen, NL: Wageningen Academic Publisher.
› Bereiter, C. (2013). Principled practical knowledge: Not a bridge but a ladder. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 23(1), 4-17.
› Checkland, P., & Poulter, J. (2006). Learning for action: a short definitive account of soft systems methodology and its use for practitioner, teachers, and students. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
› Checkland, P., & Scholes, J. (1999). Soft systems methodology: a 30-year retrospective. Soft systems methodology in action (New ed.). New York: Wiley.
› Ison, R., Blackmore, C., Collins, K., & Furniss, P. ( 2007). Systemic environmental decision making: designing learning systems. Kybernetes, 36(9/10), 1340-1361.
› Goodyear, P. (2015) Teaching as design. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 2, 27-50
› Li, M. (2002). Fostering design culture through cultivating the user-designers' design thinking and systems thinking. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 15(5), 385-410.
› Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1992). The tree of knowledge: the biological roots of human understanding (Revised ed.). Boston, MA: Shambhala.
› Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2012). The design way: intentional change in an unpredictable world. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
› Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: theory, pedagogy and technology. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (2nd ed., pp. 397-417). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
› Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization (Revised ed.). Milsons Point, NSW: Random House Business Books.
› von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag
› Markauskaite, L., & Goodyear, P. (in press). Epistemic fluency and professional education: innovation, knowledgeable action and actionable knowledge. Dordrecht: Springer.
Contacting us
Course title: Systems, Change and Learning
Course coordinator: Dr Lina Markauskaite
E-mail: [email protected]
Contributors: Professor Peter Reimann
Professor Peter Goodyear
Participating students
Acknowledgements: Illustrations from students’ projects 2010-15