Building Innovation Ecosystems in Education to Reinvent School A study of innovation & system change in the USA Rosie Clayton, 2016 Fellow: Education Futures

‘[e]ducation either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity, or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.’ (Paulo Freire, 2000, p.34)

*Picture above from New Village Girls Academy, Los Angeles

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Contents —————————————————————————————————————

Executive Summary P. 3 Abstract Key themes & findings Summary of Recommendations

About the Author P. 5 Acknowledgements P. 6 Introduction P. 7

Research Overview P. 9 Scope & Scale Duration & Methods Limitations Report Structure

An Education Adventure P. 11 Education Reform in the USA, Defining the Challenge P. 14

Reinventing School P. 17 Emerging concepts in school design Calumet New Tech High School Big Picture Learning Schools Bergen Tech Nola Micro School Brooklyn Lab School

Innovation Ecosystems & Tools for Scale P. 31 Design principles of innovation ecosystems in education School based ecosystems Locality based ecosystems Network based ecosystems Catalysts & Intermediaries: building innovation pathways The journey of an idea

Technology - a disrupting force? P. 46 Blended learning models Platform Networks Digital Badges & Portfolios Community & movement building Disrupting post secondary pathways

Conclusion P. 53 Recommendations & Ideas for Exploration P. 55 Further Reading P. 59 Dissemination & Implementation P. 60

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Executive Summary —————————————————————————————————————

Abstract: In October and November 2016 I travelled to the USA on a Fellowship with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to explore new models of school which are transforming outcomes for young people, and the emergence of innovation ecosystems in education which are enabling the development of new school models, building capacity across the system and scaling practice.

This study aims to enhance understanding of school design, network design and emerging concepts in education which are shaping innovation and change in the USA, and also of the catalysts and drivers of innovation and wider system change.

It is hoped that this report will provide a knowledge base of insights and ideas for practitioners and policy makers, contributing to current thinking and sparking new areas of exploration, in looking at how we might learn from best practice in the USA. In response to the experience and knowledge gained I hope to develop new projects and ideas for activities to seed and scale innovative practice in school design, and across networks and localities in the UK.

Key themes & findings: As we look to the future, education leaders and policy makers around the globe are questioning the effectiveness of traditional school models - subject centric, mass market, didactic approaches - in delivering the right outcomes for the next generation who will live in and lead our rapidly changing world.

Across the USA a sea change in opinion and practice is currently underway, in moving away from a sole focus on knowledge based and standardised one size fits all curricula, where students are taught in single subject silos, towards interdisciplinary and collaborative learning models and the cultivation of wider core life skills and competencies, where learning is connected to real world and lived experiences.

In re-orientating the design of school towards a focus on a broader range of outcomes, a number of important concepts and values are now being prioritised which place young people as owners and agents of their own learning, and which place schools at the centre of porous communities of learners within a locality. With this reframing there has been an enhanced focus on accountability and impact - with the development of new and more authentic methods of assessment and accreditation, new tools and metrics to evaluate organisational success, the exploration of new technologies, and of collective impact.

The spread and scale of this change, and of the evolution of numerous new school models, has in many places been supported and supercharged by innovation ecosystems in education, which bring together a range of actors and organisations around a common vision and mission for change, and in addressing areas of systemic inequality. Their emergence tends to rely on a number of key ingredients, first and foremost, people - those innovators and system leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset, and the enmeshing of diverse skill sets around a shared endeavour, in focussing activity and resource including strategic investment. In addition, the creation of places and spaces for innovation, for facilitating interactions, developing narratives, and building communities of practice and strong networks of schools through partnership and collaboration.

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Summary of Recommendations: 10 areas for future thinking and exploration

Through this study, in building on best practice and key learnings from system development in the USA, I’ve aimed to highlight a number of areas where there are opportunities for innovation and new practice development in the UK, and key pre-requisites. Whilst the findings are most relevant for the English education system, a number of points are generally applicable across education jurisdictions.

• Building new education narratives, a movement towards new approaches, and a community of innovative practitioners who are already pushing at the boundaries of what is possible

• Developing a new collaborative network or practice sharing model across different school settings - mainstream, AP, SEND, home school community, private sector

• Exploring new programmes for system leadership and professional development, learning from best practice in innovative and entrepreneurial settings such as industry, the third or civic sector

• Enabling Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) and school networks to become ecosystems for innovation, and a platform for system leadership and practice development around new approaches

• Exploring the reframing of the aims and objectives of school improvement towards innovation and transformation rather than replication of the traditional

• Experimenting at the margins of mainstream education, where there are stronger incentives and fewer system constraints

• Exploring how catalyst or incubator type organisations could enable the development of locality based innovation ecosystems

• Exploring the role of elected Regional Mayors and devolved administrations as powerful voices in education change and advocacy for new solutions

• Diversifying progression pathways so that all young people have strong post secondary opportunities which are skilled and future focussed - and which could pressure change in the secondary education sector

• Addressing regulation, or perceptions about regulation, to enable schools to be more outward facing, and employers to be less risk averse - so that young people are able to more easily access external learning opportunities and work experiences in the community

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About the Author —————————————————————————————————————

I am currently a freelance consultant working across a range of fields related to education and school innovation in the UK - including school (curriculum) design, networks design, digital skills and entrepreneurship, and edtech.

Current and recent projects include:

Royal Society of Arts: piloting Cities of Learning in the UK

The White Room & Digital Advantage: pioneering a digital skills+entrepreneurship curriculum for 14-25 year olds through setting up pop up digital agencies in schools and youth organisations, where young people build their own digital enterprises

Innovation Unit & School Design Lab: working on establishing the Extraordinary Learning MAT

Gaia Technologies: developing methodologies for cross curricular project based learning using creative tools and digital technologies e.g. app development, video production, animation, AR

Oldham Education & Skills Commission: research and recommendations for the development of a strong school led education system in Oldham

Board Member of The Politics Project: developing teenagers political and civic literacy through innovative democratic education programmes in secondary schools and youth organisations

M4: building a citizen led civic space and platform across Greater Manchester

Also see LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rosie-clayton-5594586b Twitter: @RosieClayton Medium: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton

I’ve been working in education for the past six years, originally through the establishment of new types of school in England called Studio Schools. Prior to this I worked in Government and for a think tank, and have been involved in a number of community led campaigns and ventures.

The broad scope of this study reflects my varying professional interests and expertise, and this Fellowship has proved an important lens for the development of my consultancy work over the last 18 months. My time conducting the research for this study, and the trip itself, has had a profound effect on my work and practice, in challenging my thinking in so many different ways, expanding my intellectual horizon, providing reference points and new connections and ideas, and will continue to have a deep impact in the coming months and years as my work evolves.

Whilst travelling across the USA I wrote on a range of topics for Getting Smart and the Buck Institute for Education about my experiences, and was invited to join a group of international education leaders - convened by Getting Smart and the Buck Institute - to develop a set of standards and metrics for high quality project and challenge based learning.

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Acknowledgements —————————————————————————————————————

So many people in both the USA and UK have contributed to this study and I would like to express my huge and heartfelt thanks for all the support that I have received, both in preparing for and during the trip.

Firstly, to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in making this study possible, for the advice and guidance from the team over the last year, and for giving me this opportunity for intellectual space and focus in the development of my practice.

During my time in the USA I received generous support and warm hospitality from so many people, and particularly school leaders and teachers who gave precious time to host, guide and advise. I was able to meet with many wonderful visionaries who have sparked and inspired my thinking, providing valuable insights and challenging perspectives, and who have promoted my work to a US audience. Many of whom have continued to engage with my emerging thinking post trip, improving my knowledge and understanding. I’m hugely grateful to all, and for making the experience incredibly enriching and informative.

Particular thanks go to:

Al Bertani, LEAP Innovations - coincidentally the first and last person that I met with on this journey! In addition colleagues at LEAP Innovations Chris Liang Vergara and Jean Garrity Jeff Petty and Elliot Washor, Big Picture Learning Tom Vander Ark and Bonnie Lathram, Getting Smart Ted Fujimoto, New Tech Network & USA Dream Schools Rody Boonchouy, Buck Institute for Education Steve Regur, Educators Coop Alex Fallon, Firstline Schools

For a full overview of all those in the USA who I spent time with, and who have contributed to the development of this study, see P. 11-13.

I also want to thank a number of colleagues in the UK who supported my preparation for the trip, especially previous WCMT Fellows who were an invaluable source of guidance and advice, and those many people who engaged with my project, thinkings and writing along the way, and promoted my findings to a UK audience.

In particular:

Phil Avery, Bohunt Education Trust James Perkins, St Paul’s School Richard Donnelly, UCL Academy Tom Beresford & David Jackson, Innovation Unit Hugh Miller, furniture designer & maker Phil Arnold, social entrepreneur Clare Devaney, RSA & Citizen-i Doug Belshaw, weareopencoop

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Introduction —————————————————————————————————————

Embarking on this research Fellowship in the Autumn of 2016 proved to be apt timing for exploring education reform, innovation and system change across the USA.

For UK educationalists and policy makers the USA has always been an important beacon for seeking out new and innovative practices, both in terms of school system design, given the similarities in political cultures and policy structures, and also school design, given similarities in pedagogy and teaching practices, a common language and cultural norms, and parallel (but in the UK’s case less extreme) socio-economic challenges which schools now play an increasingly central role in mediating.

The USA has a strong recent history of innovation across and within its school system, in part due to the vast scale of its public education system encompassing approximately 100,000 schools, across 50 States spanning hugely disparate populations and geographic localities. The diverse nature of the system, and of the school models which have emerged over time, is an inherent reflection of multiple undercurrent cultures, social structures and creative influences - which on the one hand has led to the development of some of the most interesting and radical ideas for how schools can be designed, and the purpose that they should serve within communities. On the other hand however, in many parts of the Country, the poverty, inequality and segregation that blights many communities is exacerbated by low school standards and poor educational outcomes. One becomes a symptom of the other, and in comparison to the UK, it certainly felt like a country of extremes.

Innovation and new thinking therefore becomes a deep moral imperative, and in the USA is driven by a recognition that schools need to be intentionally designed differently - culturally, pedagogically, structurally, physically - to produce more equitable outcomes for all young people.

Through my inquiries and myriad of conversations it also became apparent that there are a number of unique features of the political system in the USA compared to the UK, and of civic and philanthropic cultures, which enable and actively promote innovation and creative design in education.

For example their Federal political system, with a dynamic tension between the Federal and State Governments around balances of power, particularly over education. States fiercely protect their autonomy, individual authority and identity, and in 2015 a new piece of legislation was passed at the Federal level shifting significant power and authority back to States enabling the creation of locally flexible education systems, but with a higher degree of accountability for outcomes expected. In the UK we have a highly centralised political system, with education policy in England controlled by Whitehall. Even though in theory power and autonomy over areas like curriculum and organisational design have been devolved to school leaders through academy freedoms, the national accountability system remains, in comparison to the USA, significantly more rigid and prescriptive.

In addition, education design and delivery in the USA is seen in many communities as a co-constructed effort, not simply the role of Government. The involvement of community stakeholders, business, philanthropy, and parents as active partners and co-designers is ingrained,

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particularly when it comes to raising additional funds for activities or school operations e.g. new buildings, or providing learning experiences beyond the classroom. Parental choice especially has become a core accountability tool in driving system improvement, and parents expect to be well informed and to be involved in decision making.

This speaks to both an activist and innovation psyche - and also practical necessity - which is needed to get things done, perhaps reflective of the more capitalist nature of US society compared to say European Countries which have stronger social and welfare systems. In the USA the State can’t be expected to meet all needs, therefore people have to get things done themselves (for better or worse), and everyone, especially those who have been most successful, is expected to contribute and give back. As a result, business and philanthropy plays a central and strategic role in school innovation, both at a policy level and in funding a wide array of new projects and programmes, seeing it as part of their role and contribution to society - creating a systemic bias to action and helping to shape education narratives.

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Research Overview —————————————————————————————————————

My Fellowship sought to investigate the process and enabling conditions for change and innovation in education, looking specifically at the  design, development and scaling of new school models which are radically transforming outcomes for young people, tackling entrenched educational  inequalities, and challenging traditional conceptions of the purpose, function and design of schools as communities of learners.

The study focussed on:

1. Powerful concepts in education and new school models that are being developed and scaled - with a particular interest in deeper and more student-driven learning models, those which enhance agency and the ownership of learning, and which enable the development of a broad range of skills, capabilities and competencies in addition to the acquisition of academic knowledge.

2. The systems, communities and networks which are powering innovation and enabling change - described in this study as innovation ecosystems, which I’ve loosely defined as  the intersection between a wide array of innovation actors such as teachers, education and school leaders, students, parents,  technologists and civic entrepreneurs, designers, research institutes, philanthropists and policy makers, and the factors which enable then to come together to disrupt existing practice, design new learning models, and build new learning communities beyond the traditional notion of a school. 

3. And linked to this, a brief exploration of the role and emerging impact of new technologies in disrupting traditional educational practices, particularly in the context of personalised and student driven learning, scaling new school models, and building new communities of practice in fuelling innovation.

Scope: The study was intentionally broad in scope and scale, and in seeking out best practice across many different educational environments - to challenge and enhance my own thinking and practice as an educationalist working across multiple fields, and to identify important areas of learning for UK and US based education and policy leaders, and entrepreneurs working in education/school and tech innovation.

Project aims:

• to provide insight, analysis and thinking around new models of school, their design principles and cultural practices, and the outcomes that they seek to achieve and wider impacts

• to enhance understanding of innovation, system change and movement building in education towards new approaches, and underlying drivers and enablers

• to challenge prevailing thinking and provoke discussion and debate, especially amongst education and policy communities in the UK, in drawing together a number of compelling arguments and themes

• to develop ideas for new programmes, partnerships, activities and school designs in the UK, providing a knowledge base and springboard for future work, and inviting exploration and thinking amongst colleagues

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Duration & Methods: The study took place over seven weeks in October and November 2016, covering seven major US Cities, and included meetings, site visits, observations, Skype conversations, and attendance at events and public discussions. I deliberately aimed to connect with as wide array of organisations and individuals as possible working across the education landscape within the permitted time frame - which included leading education thinkers, school and network leaders, teachers, research institutes and think tanks, catalysts and incubators, Universities, innovation and maker spaces, technology companies, as well as schools at elementary, middle and high school level. A variety of research methods were employed including structured and unstructured interviews, direct immersion and observation, and informal discussion with groups of teachers, students and organisational leaders.

Limitations: Due to time and travel constraints the scope of the study is limited to best practice examples of those organisations seen to be pioneering new thinking and at the forefront of innovation across this field, and is therefore not reflective of the education system in the USA as a whole. Even in this regard the study only scratches the surface of the numerous organisations within the innovation space. However, across the many discussions, conversations and observations that took place over the duration of the study, there was certainly a prevailing sense of direction in common - and from which I have drawn perspectives, reflections and insights. It’s also important to note that the study was confined to exploring innovation ecosystems across Cities, and predominantly urban school models - often areas which face the greatest degree of challenge, but also often which are able to leverage significant resource and human capital in effecting change.

Report Structure: The study is set out in five sections: • the first provides an overview of the political and policy context in the USA, and drivers of

change across the education system • the second explores important themes and concepts which are framing the education debate,

and the design of new school models, including in depth case studies from a number of schools visited and common characteristics/key learnings for UK practitioners

• the third provides insight into the emergence, nature and role of innovation ecosystems in education - in enabling the development of new school models and pedagogical approaches, and also scaling practice and building system wide capacity

• the fourth looks at the role of a number of new technologies and tech tools as a disruptive force, and in transforming approaches to learning and education delivery

• and the fifth draws together conclusions, recommendations and areas for future thinking

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An Education Adventure —————————————————————————————————————

SEATTLE

Getting Smart Tom Vander Ark, Bonnie Lathram, Catherine Wedgwood

Highline Big Picture & Gibson EK High Schools Jeff Petty, Elliot Washor & colleagues

Impact Hub Seattle Alex Soskin

SAN FRANCISCO

Buck Institute for Education Rody Boonchouy

Stanford d.school Ariel Raz

Nueva School & Innovation Lab Kim Saxe

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Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab Tobin Asher

Christensen Institute  Tom Arnett

Make School Ashu Desai & Mike Kane

New Schools Venture Fund Alex Caram Brown

Digital Promise Chelsea Waite, Patti Constantakis, Vic Vuchic Noisebridge Hackerspace Mitch Altman & team

Institute for the Future Sara Skvirsky & Sean Ness

LOS ANGELES

Educators Coop Steve Regur & Amy McCammon

Asia Society International Studies Learning Centre Scott Houston & colleagues

New Village Girls Academy Andrea Purcell & colleagues

New Tech Network+USA Dream Schools Ted Fujimoto

NEW ORLEANS

Firstline Schools & Phillis Wheatley School Jay Altman, Alex Fallon, Taylor Smith Amy Bauer

True School Studio Amy Vreeland & Gabrielle Alicino

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Rooted School Adrien Maught & Jonathan Johnson

Nola Micro School Kim Gibson & colleagues

4.0 Schools Matt Candler & Alli Dunn (New York)

NEW YORK

Games for Change Susannah Pollack

Bergen County Academies - Bergen Tech Scott Lang & Mark Tronicke

Brooklyn Lab School Jonathan McIntosh

Institute of Play Ross Flatt & Jeremy Engle

BOSTON

MIT Education Arcade Prof Eric Klopfer & colleagues

MIT Media Lab Jennifer Groff

CHICAGO

Calumet New Tech High School Cynthia Trevino & Charlie Wierzbicki

LEAP Innovations Al Bertani, Jean Garrity, Chris Liang Vergara

UC Charter School Donohue Campus Errika Baker

Fullstack Academy David Yang

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Education Reform in the USA, Defining the Challenge —————————————————————————————————————

The education system in the USA is driven by a primary focus on improving educational outcomes and life chances for all young people - outcomes being the attainment of qualifications and skills which enable progression onto further or higher education or into employment - and the narrowing of achievement gaps between different groups of young people, particularly those from the most disadvantaged communities - economically, socially and culturally.

My visit coincided with the confluence of a number of tensions which have been shaping the education debate since the introduction of the No Child Left Behind education act in 2001, which ushered in an era of increasing standardisation and uniformity across the education system, including of the curriculum which is taught in schools, and the nature of assessment towards an increased emphasis on high stakes testing across subjects as the means of assessing capability and competence - known as the Common Core, and similar to the National Curriculum in England and Wales.

NCLB was designed to improve and raise the standards of education across the whole system, and improve accountability at a school level for educational outcomes, and through my discussions with educationalists it was generally agreed that the approach had been important for setting benchmarks and expectations for both teachers and students, defining the standard and the quality of teaching expected. And most vitally in shining a stark spotlight on achievement gaps, endemic underachievement and entrenched inequalities across the system, and galvanising education leaders and policy makers into recognising and addressing these.

However, there has been a growing concern that a system solely focussed around standardised curriculum and assessment is having a number of perverse and unintended consequences.

For example:

• In limiting and narrowing the curriculum that is taught in schools, particularly to a focus on the acquisition of academic subject knowledge above and beyond the development of other important skills and competencies, for example technical skills, or music and the arts.

• In constricting the way that curricula is able to be constructed and delivered to a sequential and didactic methodology, necessitating conformity and compliance, and leading to high levels of disengagement.

• In limiting achievement and perceptions of success to performance in a narrow range of subject based tests, which often favours those able to access additional resource e.g. tutoring and parental support. Large numbers of young people fail under the current system, which is fundamentally designed to create winners and losers.

• In only valuing certain types of knowledge and abilities, which can often prove an inaccurate predictor of success in later life for example in the workplace, and also leads to large numbers of young people seeing themselves as ‘not able’, ‘not academic’ and unintelligent.

• In creating a drive towards the average by setting a prescriptive minimum/maximum standard, which schools are held accountable for performance against, limiting potential. Known as the proficiency v growth debate - see Todd Rose, End of Average.

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These concerns have also manifested practically in a number of ways, which are prompting reformers to think again. For example:

• College readiness, and increasing College entry rates of those from the lowest income families has been a key strategy for addressing inequality and improving social mobility. Whilst many schools have been successful in improving test performance enabling College entry across this cohort, there has also been high drop out rates with many young people struggling and not completing their degree. This is particularly problematic as having a degree is now a requirement and barrier to entry for many occupations, particularly those well paid and high skill and status. As a result, schools are now starting to focus on cultivating the broader skills and mindsets needed for life success.

• Linked to this, many Colleges and Universities are now wanting better evidence of ability and potential, for example around a broader range of metrics, with many asking for portfolios of work and evidence of a wider range of skills and competencies, rather than or in addition to academic grades.

• Employers across all sectors are continuing to voice concerns about enduring skills shortages across the economy - around both technical skills and also generic employability skills - and the ever increasing disconnect between the education system and the real world. This is not only an issue for school leavers, but also for graduates, many of whom have acquired huge debt and are unable to get a job in a profession or field related to their degree, instead taking entry level roles that they are overqualified for and often living back at home with their parents. In the USA around 50% of those with a Bachelors degree under the age of 25 are unemployed or underemployed. In the UK this figure is around 30%.

• Poor education provision and high failure and dropout rates in many parts of the USA is creating huge strains, tensions and costs across other systems, for example social security and welfare. The cost of failure of the education system in many places is becoming too high - both literally, as it is economically unsustainable, and critically, in terms of the huge waste of human life and potential. And it is an issue of equity - in the USA, as in the UK, those young people from the lowest income families continue to perform most poorly under the current system, leading to the cementing of inequalities across all stages of life.

There are also important technological and economic forces at play which are influencing and shaping the emerging education agenda, and discussion about the kind of futures the system is now educating young people for.

Automation, artificial intelligence, global connectivity and the gig economy for example are already transforming the ways in which we live, learn and work, and the notion of the linear life path is now obsolete with multiple career paths in a single lifetime increasingly the norm for young people today. New skills and mindsets are therefore needed, and new ways of learning and re-skilling. Success in life is becoming increasingly dependent on combining a breadth and depth of knowledge with skills, for example the ability to problem solve and create new knowledge, networks and connections.

In recognising these broad challenges, and building on a number of successful ‘proof points’ within the system - those schools already transforming outcomes through radically different learning models - the debate and direction of policy travel is now shifting towards the notion of both college and career readiness. And real world connectedness, collaboration and partnership

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are becoming increasingly central tenets of school design in building capabilities and delivering a broader range of educational outcomes for young people.

This can be summarised as the move towards deeper learning: http://www.air.org/resource/spotlight-deeper-learning

Defined as: The combination of (1) a deeper understanding of core academic content, (2) the ability to apply that understanding to novel problems and situations, and (3) the development of a range of competencies, including people skills and self control, is called deeper learning. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation—a leader in the national initiative to promote deeper learning in schools—has defined deeper learning as “a set of competencies students must master in order to develop a keen understanding of academic content and apply their knowledge to problems in the classroom and on the job.”

There has also been a renewed interest in career and technical education, and new forms of apprenticeship and skills based learning models, providing new progression routes and pathways for young people.

This change in focus has been cemented through the Every Student Succeeds Act, introduced in 2015, which rebalances powers over education design towards States - enabling and incentivising a move away from a sole focus on the Common Core and standardised testing towards the development of new accountability metrics, new measures of success, and more authentic performance assessment methodologies. And the cultivation of broader skills and outcomes, for example the inclusion of social, emotional and global competencies as important elements of curriculum design.

(At a Global level, interestingly, OECD/PISA is also re-orientating its approach, in emphasising creativity, civic literacies and cross cultural skills, understandings and perspectives: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/aboutpisa/Global-competency-for-an-inclusive-world.pdf)

This article outlines some of the key changes in the policy framework: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/the-difference-between-the-every-student-succeeds-act-and-no-child-left-behind

As a result, this legislative framework provides greater freedoms and incentives for new school models to emerge, to meet the needs of diverse communities and student populations and in improving outcomes for all. Building on much of the ground work that has already taken place, linking proof points within the system, and in starting to spread and scale transformative new learning models.

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Reinventing School —————————————————————————————————————

Big Picture Learning Schools are only radical in the sense of how we define the traditional - Andrew Frishman

The diversity of school models across the USA provides a rich fabric for thinking about what the future of school could and should look like, and the sort of outcomes and pathways that new models of learning are be designed around.

But what do we mean when we talk about the traditional model of school?

These two images from LEAP Innovations provide one illustration, and also of the kind of society and economy that the schooling system at the time was designed for - and which is still the prevailing paradigm today in terms of the physical design of space, the organisation of time and instruction, and to a degree the relationship between adults and students.

This is of course a highly simplistic representation, but one that many people would still recognise from their own experience of school - sat individually in rows, with the teacher stood at the front, working through subject based curriculum material during a day carved up into 50-60 minute slots, moving regularly between different classrooms, then assessed through their ability to regurgitate memorised knowledge via an exam.

The shift towards deeper learning approaches questions many of our assumptions about the nature of school, and the role of teachers, school leaders, parents and the wider community in the design and delivery of education. A number of core concepts became defining themes throughout my conversations and observations.

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Emerging concepts in school design

• Learner centered design - of schools, school systems, and approaches to learning - envisioning everyone within the school community - adults, young people and partners - as continuous and evolving lifelong learners.

• Agency and growth - enabling all learners to own and take control of their learning and development. Linked to a reframing of responsibility and collective accountability for learning - students and teachers are trusted and responsible, and co-designers.

• Prioritisation of Engagement - beyond just turning up and completing set work on time - engagement which sparks further and deeper interests and curiosity, and a love of learning.

• Deeper learning - content mastery alongside the development of social and emotional capabilities and other vital life skills, mindsets and habits of success. Enabled by project based and personalised learning methodologies.

• Engine v the theatre - schools as powerful engines of knowledge creation, production and creative ideas, where success and achievement is defined by how information is applied and its real world relevance, and the quality of what has been produced, rather than what can be memorised.

• Relationships - where every learner is known as an individual with unique needs, interests and passions, and capable of extraordinary things. Also ‘fit-ability’ - see below - and the wellbeing, confidence and self belief of students and adults is prized.

• Place based and real world connected - schools as porous communities of learners, where learning happens everywhere and all the time, and across different communities. Through collaborative projects and investigations students, teachers and community members jointly solve local challenges and develop a sense of place and belonging. Schools as wider learning assets for communities.

Fit I explored the concept of Fit in some depth with Elliot Washor, co founder of the Big Picture Learning network - where the educational philosophy is one child at a time in a community. It’s an intriguing concept from an educational perspective and something that we often take for granted in other walks of life, also equally applicable to work places, friendship groups and family structures. The degree to which we fit into a group or organisation, and how group structures and cultures flex to fit around us as human beings, recognising our traits, personalities and characteristics, is key to determining our ability to deeply engage and thrive.

From a school perspective, Elliot highlighted four things that need to change systemically for young people to be more deeply engaged and motivated in their work and learning, improving outcomes and reducing disengagement and drop out rates. (known as the Deeper Four — Washor, Elliot and Mojkowski, Charles 2013. Leaving To Learn: How Out-of-School Learning Increases Student Engagement: Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinmann)

1. That schools need to be designed around the real interests and talents of young people — passions should not be seen as a secondary thing, or an out of school or extracurricular activity. Students talents and potentials have been ignored, often because those talents reside just outside the traditional subject-matter bins of a cognitive-abstract curriculum.

2. What matters to young people needs to start mattering to schools. Young people feel that who they are and what they want to become doesn’t matter to teachers and schools.

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3. While students are required to fit into a restrictive school structure, culture, and curriculum, schools do little to fit themselves to their students. Schools need to fit each and every young person’s character, passions and interests in order for learning to be productive and engaging.

4. School policy regulations and restrictions, on both students and staff, include schedules and scope and sequence curriculums. They inhibit student and staff autonomy and mobility and therefore the learning of students in and out of school. These policies need to be rethought, so young people can more easily access a wide range of learning experiences and interact with multiple adults and mentors during their school life.

Within a compliance and sanctions driven education culture, boredom, disengagement and mis-behaviour are seen as personal failings - rather than recognising that often they are a direct result of institutional design, cultures, and the relationships between individuals, and between individuals and structures.

In looking towards a future vision for school, the table below from the New Schools Venture Fund provides a powerful representation - and particularly in thinking about the humanising of institutions and systems.

From: http://www.newschools.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/Dissatisfied-Yet-Optimistic-final.pdf

The historical model: Fit the individual to the system

The future model: Fit the system to the individual

FOCUS OF SCHOOL Academics in core disciplines Preparing students to leave school and gain entrance into a stable, predictable job or higher education. Heaviest focus in subjects that are measured by standardised tests. Subjects typically separated to manage instruction.

Learning goals that are broad, deep, and interdisciplinary Preparing students to thrive in and transform the fast changing 21st century, which requires rigorous cross-disciplinary academics; as well as skills, habits, and mindsets necessary for personal success.

EXPECTATIONS OF CHILDREN Set early, kept modest Modest expectations for many, high expectations for a few, and low expectations disproportionately biased towards low-income and minority students. Expectations set early on and unlikely to change over a students’ time in school.

High for all High expectations – and strong support – for ALL STUDENTS to fulfil their potential through attainment of knowledge, skills and continuous personal learning growth. Keep as many doors open, for as long as possible, for every student.

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ROLE OF STUDENTS Obedient, passive recipients Obedient, passive recipients of knowledge who are directed to move in fixed groups through the same content at the same pace and in the same way. Students progress forward based on year-end assessments and seat time.

Active owners Active owners of their own learning/future, who move through different content at their own pace and modality building habits and pursuing skills that open doors to their own goals and dreams. Students progress forward by demonstrating competency based on ongoing assessments of mastery and readiness, whenever they are ready to do so.

DELIVERY OF INSTRUCTION Fixed and classroom-based Schools buy instructional materials and staff deliver all instruction. Students assigned to fixed classrooms, with instruction provided by that classroom’s teacher, who almost always inherits student with a wide range of capabilities and interests, but has limited flexibility or tools to customise.

Flexible and personalized Schools and teachers coordinate and curate curriculum and instruction based on student needs. Students have ongoing access to whatever instruction best matches their learning needs - from peers, from various educators in their own school and surrounding community, from local or remote experts, from nearby or virtual educators, and from educational software and games. Varied and ongoing assessments to measure achievement and growth and to inform future instruction and learning.

ROLE OF EDUCATORS One person, many hats Classroom teacher responsible for everything that happens in a single subject or classroom, often isolated from collaborators. Roles often hard to sustain, but teachers are rewarded for sticking around.

Many people, many hats Educators collaborate, with specialised roles that could split along different strengths or subject or skill expertise, and combine in different ways according to school and community needs. Roles more sustainable, with educators prized for adding value.

ROLE OF PARENTS Passive customers Passive customers often inadvertently kept ata distance by school structures or policies.

Active partners Active partners and essential assets with the school and with their children in students’ choices and progress.

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Across the USA these ideas, philosophies and concepts are providing a frame for the design of new learning models, and in expanding thinking about what schools are capable of being as vibrant and vital learning spaces and communities of wider learning, of personal and professional development, skill building and co-creation and co-production  —  for all those who work and interact within the school space.

Below I’ve drawn out some examples of how they are being exemplified in practice, and a number of key learning points from the schools that I visited.

Calumet New Tech High School - Redefining Success & Building Skills

Calumet New Tech High School is part of the New Tech Network of schools, founded in the early 90s in California by Ted Fujimoto and other tech and business leaders, with the aim bridging the gap between school and the workplace by bringing elements of business DNA - particularly around project development and management - into school design. It proved to be one of the first iterations of a project based learning methodology, which has since evolved as the network of schools has grown.

Success at Calumet New Tech is defined and measured through growth across five learning outcomes, moving beyond a sole focus on academic achievement - these being knowledge and thinking, written communication, oral communication, agency, and collaboration -  and students set expectations for their learning across these five areas with peers and staff, and at both an individual and collective level. High level but clear, simple and flexible rubrics provide the framework for growth and mastery across these learning outcomes, which are weighted for assessment towards grades: knowledge & thinking (which includes subject content standards) 50%, agency 20%, oral communication 10%, written communication 10%, collaboration 10%.

Calumet New Tech’s project based learning (PBL) model is a highly collaborative and sophisticated instructional model, weaving together Common Core State standards so content

NATUREOF SCHOOL COMMUNITY

Separation Separate classrooms, desks and lockers to keep order. Many schools have homogenous socio-economic populations.

Togetherness and connectivity Focus on collaboration and community – sharing/working together. Greater diversity – whether inside school or across school boundaries with other communities.

TECHNOLOGY Peripheral Technology as peripheral; used for limited tasks that don’t require a human touch.

Embedded Technology as backbone that accelerates learning, enhances human interactions, and strengthens community by facilitating student/teacher collaboration and engaging parents.

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rich, and competencies across the five learning outcomes, providing multiple opportunities for critique, iteration, presentation and reflection. Students present potentially up to fifteen times a year on their learning, and projects are cross curricular and subject paired, and designed in short and tight project cycles across four week blocks and around six stages, covering skills practice, learning practice, application, evaluation and reflection, and relating to real world challenges and problem solving.

At the heart of the school model and learning culture is a clear shift in power and agency to students, where they are empowered to take responsibility for and control over their own learning, and constantly held accountable for personal and group defined goals and expectations. Charlie Wierzbicki, one of the PBL trainers and coaches who I spent time with, described this as especially important for the cohort of young people that this school serves, who not only often experience little agency or freedom in their personal or family lives, but have in the main become totally disheartened and disillusioned with learning and life. 90% of students are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch (similar to free schools meals/pupil premium), yet the school achieves a 96% graduation rate (attainment of a high school diploma enabling College entry, against a national backdrop of approx 40% for this cohort), which really illustrates the transformative potential and impact of this approach.

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Big Picture Learning Schools - Internships & Culture of Unschool

I visited three different Big Picture Learning schools during the trip (in Seattle and Los Angeles) all operating in very different socio-economic contexts, and with highly diverse student populations. Similar to other project based learning models, Big Picture focuses on the whole child with each having a highly personalised and individualised curriculum built around their interests and passions, and covering academic learning, social and emotional skill development, and technical and employability skill development related to interests and future career aspirations and ambitions.

Out of school authentic learning experiences, and across a broad range of communities - business, industry, third and civic sector - are core to the learning model, and students spend close to 50% of their time during the week off-site, undertaking interest based internships in a range of roles and on a number of different projects. Learning is not perceptually or literally confined within a specific school building, rather ongoing, varied and relational, allowing students to learn from a wide range of adults and highly skilled professionals who mentor, coach and guide. School and community felt symbiotic, and Elliot described this to me as enabling meshwork - where students are well known across numerous learning communities, and where a community of practice is developed around them that they can engage with, sparking interactions, conversations, ideas.

Internships allow young people to gain industry and employability skills and competencies, engage in meaningful and deeper learning activities with specific outputs or products expected (and linked to academic study), and develop vital networks and relationships to support and enable progression. Internships are seen very much as an academic rather than ‘vocational’ experience, challenging value notions around ‘work based learning’, and assessment rubrics are co-constructed with educator, community and industry mentors so professional standards and expectations become a foundational part of the school operating system and culture. Success and achievement is defined through personal growth and the relevance and quality of work to the wider community, as well as progression, and personal and professional achievements 5-10 years down the line.

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Of the many schools that I visited across the USA, Big Picture Learning felt to have most radically redefined the ‘operating system’ of a school, culturally and pedagogically - driven through Elliot Washor’s philosophy of Fit. And their outcomes for students are impressive - in almost all of the localities in which they operate Big Picture schools outperform surrounding districts on State indicators such as graduation and College progression rates, whilst also serving a higher proportion of students with additional learning needs, which is quite an achievement.

Bergen Tech - School as a Maker and Hacker Space

Bergen Tech is part of a campus of career and technical academies - Bergen County Academies in New Jersey - which deliver a specialised industry led curriculum integrating academic and technical knowledge and skills around six core disciplines: business and finance, medical science technology, engineering and design technology, technology and computer science, culinary arts, and visual and performing arts. The campus is designed around these six faculties, and employs subject specialists and experts to teach alongside traditionally trained teachers, and includes an onsite makerspace - Bergen Makerspace - which allows for collaborative project development and delivery across the six technical disciplines.

At Bergen Tech, students work on advanced projects linked to their academic qualifications and chosen career pathways, and with external partners across industry and the third sector, developing products and outputs which may eventually be taken to market, or research work which may be published. Students work both independently and collaboratively and have significant freedom to explore their passions and interests leading to high motivation and engagement. The learning environment is modelled very much on R&D labs in industry, with a high level of professional language and dialogue. I spent time exploring a VR project that teams of students have been working and collaborating on for a number of years with Ellis Island, building a high quality virtual interactive simulation where the user is able to interact with recent arrivals and learn about their culture, history, and experience of arriving in the US as an immigrant.

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Once complete it will be installed as a visitor experience on Ellis Island, and was extremely powerful in heightening connectivity including empathy to the subject - the technical and artistic skills of the students working on the project were incredible, and industry level.

Staff are also able to introduce and work on projects that they are passionate about, with teams of students, and Scott Lang, one of the video and animation instructors, described particular excitement in bringing engineers and artists together to develop projects, ideas and solutions. The level and quality of work being produced was astonishing, and success is seen through the lens of student destinations, what they go on to do post school, how they are making a difference in the world, and how they are giving back, reinforced through a strong alumni network.

Through this model what would traditionally be seen as ‘vocational’ education is seen as extremely high value, high skill and high status. Bergen County Academies receive around 1600 applications each year for 280 places, shifting perceptions about who this type of education is for and challenging stereotypes. And across the USA career and technical education is currently experiencing something of a revival, in part driven by an increased national focus on STEM and STEAM education, and the evolution and proliferation of makerspaces and hackerspaces, creating and making, and interest in learning by doing.

Maker Philosophy

As well as providing a core collaborative tool across the campus, Bergen Makerspace is also accessible to the wider local community, with students and staff working with local residents and community members on projects and challenges, sharing and developing skills and building a culture around making, tinkering, collaborating and experimenting, and entrepreneurship.

Bergen Tech is leading the development of school-community based makerspaces across the USA and globally, and Scott described their core design themes as:

• STEM focussed • STEAM integration • People before content • Empowering students through cutting edge tech, tech as an

enabler of learning • Individual creativity and freedom

Linking to the renewed focus on apprenticeships and technical education in the UK, it feels like maker philosophy, and the notion of school as a powerful engine of knowledge creation and co-production, could provide an interesting dimension to school design - and in helping to break down the pervasive and outdated perceptual divide between academic and vocational learning, and between knowledge and skills.

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My interest in makerspaces also ties to their links to wider civic activism, and as kindle for movement and network building. In San Francisco I visited Noisebridge Hackerspace, one of the world leading makerspaces and a centre for best practice in maker culture and space design, combining crafts, arts, digital and technical making, with a strong philosophy of skills sharing and fixing. This new paradigm of community learning and living is seeding a movement and cultural shift in challenging our prevailing consumerist mindset of constant consumption and waste, of both products and stuff, and also around the attrition and loss of skills e.g. technical crafts.

Nola Micro School - School as a Learning Ecosystem

Nola Micro School in New Orleans is part of a new movement of micro schools, which similar to Big Picture Learning takes a highly personalised and student led approach to curriculum design, and with learning experiences designed around a wide range of community and public assets across the City. The school opened last September and currently has 28 students across two year groups, and will eventually be an all through school across four ‘learning studios’, with a strong culture of student driven and enabled learning, collaboration, play and deep inquiry.

Curriculum design is based around projects and playlists covering subject content and skill development. Goals, targets and assessment criteria are set by peers through a ‘running buddy’ approach and around the frame of a challenge wheel, where students are constantly pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone, leading to high levels of ownership of and engagement in learning. Again, personal and collective growth is a defining measure of success and strength of relationships are a core component of the culture, with everyone well known as individuals and as part of a collaborative community. Shout outs at the end of the school day reinforced the importance of interpersonal relationships and mutual support as intrinsic to the value system.

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As a new start up school, the mobilisation of resource from a wide range of stakeholders is particularly imperative - from developing multiple learning spaces and opportunities for learning across the City (for example in libraries, museums, art galleries, dance studios), to drawing on the personal resource of parents and other community members. It really brought my thinking back to the notion that it takes a village or community to raise a child, and that education should be systemically recognised as the collective responsibility of a range of stakeholders, not just the teacher in a school building. A challenge to our current perceptions of accountability, and where schools are held responsible for both creating and solving so many of societies ills. Drawing on the assets and knowledge of the wider community also recognises and values the importance of life learning across home, family, and friendship settings and cultures, and in valuing difference.

The future of school is human, not institutional - Matt Candler

More widely, micro schools are becoming an important system innovation for trialling, testing out and prototyping new learning models in a low cost low risk way, building on emerging business development (lean start up) methodologies. Often starting out at class level or with small groups of students, they are set up as pop up schools either within or outside of traditional school hours for a specific duration of time, reducing any potential negative impacts on any one group of students.

Regular reflection and evaluation allows approaches to be refined and adapted over time, and once the learning model has been proven then the school is grown, either by expanding the new model whole school, or through the establishment of a new school via the charter school route or private sector. Micro schools are small in scale, with an economic operating model designed around an intake of approximately 150 students at full capacity, and highly agile in promoting the innovative and flexible use of wider community resource, drawing together multiple learning experiences. Small schools have also been shown to improve inclusivity, engagement and outcomes - through a strong relational culture and often ‘family feel’ - and establishing these schools through the charter route will provide an interesting test bed for the economic sustainability of small school models.

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This image below, from Matt Candler, one of the co-founders of Nola Micro School, sets out an interesting vision for the future of micro style learning - human scale, modular, diverse and utilising technologies as a tool for more equitable education:

Brooklyn Lab School - Combining the Physical with the Digital

Brooklyn Lab School in New York is also a recently opened micro school, and one of the winners of the XQ Super Schools competition, which serves a highly diverse and mainly low income student population which have a complex array of additional learning needs.

Their highly personalised school model utilises a blended learning approach via a digital platform, combining self directed learning based around a range of digital tools and 1-1 virtual tutoring, with small group tutoring and larger class based instruction with teacher teams comprising an experienced content master and fellow/coach, typically a specialist or someone new to the profession. Sophisticated data analytics and rapid feedback and prototyping leads to a dynamic, fast paced and varied learning environment, where all students make accelerated progress. Initial results from the first cohort of students indicate that in Maths and English students have made approximately three years of progress - against expected achievement rates within a traditional model for this cohort - in one year.

This instructional model is understandably drawing significant attention, and I discussed their approach with Jonathan McIntosh, one of the Directors who described the importance of co-teaching - combining different expertise and skill sets, and also bringing in virtual teaching tools to help personalise learning through a range of methodologies which suit each individual and at their particular stage of development.

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The school has a residency programme whereby new recruits, known as Fellows, who may just be starting out in their teacher training or already be specialists in other fields, for example speech therapy, are paired with more experienced master teachers. Together they manage instruction across both large and small groups, also drawing in additional expertise or support where needed. Fellows learn on the job, and attend graduate school once a week and complete online learning modules, and are also given time to undertake public service as part of their training, allowing them to gain additional skills in other professional contexts which are then brought back into the school environment. Together with virtual tutoring and digital learning platforms, multiple methodologies are utilised and tested.

This continuous learning culture and approach leads to a strong emphasis on development across the whole school, and an open and mutually supportive professional learning environment - with staff feeling part of building the model, utilising their skills and expertise in designing cutting edge new approaches. Staff are regularly given feedback on their practice and areas for improvement and development - for example Jonathan undertakes regular learning walks filming classroom practice and then discussing with staff what he has seen. In most traditional schools this level of openness, transparency and also accountability would be seen as intrusive or threatening, rather than developmental. Culture building and strong professional relationships are therefore key.

These five schools really demonstrated to me the power and potential of models which prioritise real engagement, connectedness, ownership, and personalisation in appreciating every learner as an individual with a wide spectrum of social, emotional and intellectual capabilities. And most importantly, as a result of this, each model is dramatically improving outcomes for the young people that they serve, and across a broad set of achievement metrics - leading to accelerated progress and attainment, high levels of attendance and retention, graduation and progression, in comparison to national standards and benchmarks and comparator schools.

All these models also share a number of common characteristics, in thinking about key learnings for the UK:

• Success in school is defined, measured and assessed through multiple frames. • Assessment is multi-dimensional and holistic, measuring both breadth and depth of capability

across a number of metrics. Learning is evidenced in multiple forms - for example presentations of learning, report writing, exhibition, projects and portfolios - and including validation from external and professional audiences.

• Learning is authentic, cross curricular, engaging and clearly process driven towards significant and meaningful outputs and products. Students understand the purpose of learning, and educational experiences relate to real world and lived experiences.

• Knowledge acquisition and skill development have parity of esteem and blur the lines between academic and vocational learning. Learning by doing is core, and the creation of new knowledge, ideas and expertise is highly valued.

• Learning is student driven and co-constructed with a range of adults and professionals - relationships and power dynamics are based on professional expectations, and include mentoring and coaching.

• Accountability shifts towards the learner, enabling ownership of learning and the building of agency.

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• Teachers are recognised as learning designers, rather than solely content deliverers, and continuous learners themselves. Each school had a strong and mutually supportive professional learning and developmental culture.

• School activity is intentionally and proactively outward facing, and there is a strong focus on partnerships and collaboration, and leveraging external expertise and resources, utilising the wider learning assets across communities.

And all prioritise the building and embedding of an organisational culture built on deep and mutually supportive relationships, most importantly between student and teacher. I spent time with Jeff Petty, the founding Principal of Highline Big Picture in Seattle, who described the dynamic between student and adult in Big Picture schools as being one of mutual respect and care - in all conversations the most important question being ‘what would you do as a caring human being’, not as an authority figure or powerful adult. Something that requires a wholescale reassessment and realignment of the behaviours of adults particularly with the school environment, and of the professional adult learning culture and norms - away from traditional practices driven by conformity, compliance, control, often antagonism and hierarchical power dynamics.

In addition, whilst I was not intending to look at project based learning schools specifically during the Fellowship, project and challenge based learning became common features across all schools I visited in some form or another. Whilst PBL methodologies inherently promote deeper learning, engagement and skill development, it is important to note that success is predicated on a content rich curriculum, which is well structured, scaffolded and fast paced, with a high degree of challenge and rigour in assessment. For further reading about the practical implementation of PBL from a UK schools perspective, see Tom Stephens WCMT study: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/fellows/reports/creating-conditions-engagement-project-based-learning-and-related-instructional

I also found myself drawn to the ways that PBL creates connections  - within and across the school community as well as external communities - in bringing people and ideas together, creating and developing new knowledge, and connecting ideas and knowledge to action.

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Innovation Ecosystems and Tools for Scale —————————————————————————————————————

The five school models described in the previous section have all emerged as a result of a strong innovation mindset, the identification of an opportunity, and a desire to push the boundaries of what’s possible in creating new conceptual norms and operational models of school. And through demonstration of success as proof points within the system, two of the more established models - Big Picture Learning and New Tech Network - are now rapidly scaling across the Country and internationally.

Two of the schools, Nola Micro School and Brooklyn Lab School, have originated as part of a recent proliferation of new school models, and as a result of innovation tools and ecosystems which have developed in education to promote new school designs. This section will explore the principles and conditions which enable innovation ecosystems to emerge, and their role in scaling innovations and wider system change.

Innovation ecosystems are a relatively new frame for understanding the process, conditions and situation of change in education - but their development, especially across numerous US Cities which have strong innovation cultures, and/or where there is a deep need for a change in approach, has become pivotal in enabling innovation in school design, and also in replicating and scaling promising new models and approaches.

At the start of my Fellowship I interviewed Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart and co-author of Smart Cities, probably the most in depth exploration of innovation ecosystems in education in the USA to date. Smart Cities conceptually situates innovation ecosystems around geographic localities for example Cities and Regions, similar to how we might understand innovation districts from a economic development perspective (e.g. see Brookings Institute: https://www.brookings.edu/research/one-year-after-observations-on-the-rise-of-innovation-districts/)

I hope to build on this and around a slightly broader notion of place - linked to the starting definition of an innovation ecosystem as the intersection of interactions and enabler of action - in thinking about three different types of ecosystem which build spaces for innovation, and the role of intermediaries which bridge each ecosystem building innovation pathways through spaces and networks, with people as the core agents of innovation and change.

These being:

• school based (e.g. that facilitate the development and iteration of pedagogy, and learning models that are constantly evolving and reactive)

• place and locality based (e.g. similar to the innovation district concept rooted in a particular City or geographic place)

• network based (that span geographic localities, both scaling promising models and facilitating innovation diffusion and practice development. Digital communities, platforms and tools are an important fuel for this ecosystem)

And bridging: intermediaries and ‘incubators’ which provide connectivity and resource (intellectual, physical, economic - e.g. through mentoring, coaching, platforms, space, investment and support for prototyping) across and between ecosystems

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Design principles of innovation ecosystems in education

Innovation ecosystems have emerged around a number of important design principles, which shape the way they operate and the processes around which resource is allocated, as well as their enabling conditions.

• Similar to ‘teacher as learning designer’, innovation ecosystems reorientate power and energy to communities in recognising the capacity and capability of people and citizens as agents of change, with innate expertise and insight in solving problems closest to their source.

• Linked to this, the importance of partnership - between public, private, third and civic sector organisations - bringing together different skill sets, perspectives and expertise to generate collective problem solving.

• System leadership and collective impact - and the more sophisticated use and targeting of resource, with focussed investment, in achieving change around a shared mission and vision.

• Prototyping, testing and iteration - of new ideas/approaches/school models. • Designing for scale - including an emphasis on systems and processes, connectivity and

networks. • Technology as an enabler of collaboration, connectivity, knowledge creation and idea diffusion.

Tom and I discussed the increasing significance of ecosystems in the USA as catalysts for innovation and system change, in both providing new solutions to enduring problems and challenges within the education system - for example linked to generational poverty and systemic inequality, or ethnic representation - and in ensuring that the education and school system remains future focused and reactive to wider societal and economic changes - for example automation and the gig economy, in moving learning models from one paradigm to another.

As Tom noted, the development of regional innovation ecosystems in education is becoming an acute priority for State Mayors, especially in areas with poor attainment and low progression, and high disconnect to the economy/changing skills needs, therefore likely high future demands on social service and welfare systems if changes to curriculum design in schools and progression pathways are not made.

From a UK practitioner perspective it felt especially important to understand the workings of these ecosystems given the lack of innovation within our education system, despite similar contextual challenges - with the reduction of the teacher as learning expert to content deliver, the lack of system coherence, and collective leadership/vision within localities, the level of risk and organisational and institutional inertia which currently prevents and stifles innovation. Innovation ecosystems at their core build cultures of innovation, and also de-risk the process by bringing multiple actors together and focussing resource and activity.

Through the examples below I’ve aimed to illustrate how innovation occurs within the three ecosystems - in thinking about how each can be a locus for innovation in school design, curriculum development and programme delivery - as well as collective problem solving, and system development.

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School Based: iLab at Nueva School & Stanford d.school

The Nueva School is based in San Mateo California and delivers a project based curriculum pioneering design thinking methodologies. At the heart of the school is the iLab, a large physical space, bringing together a mix of physical and digital tools for project development, and also delivering a number of programmes linked to the development of design thinking across the school, for example Quest and Internship.

The iLab is managed and overseen by Director Kim Saxe, who plays a seminal role as both the ‘Culture Keeper’ within Nueva, as she described to me, and in evolving practice between Nueva and other schools and organisations. The iLab provides a core space for innovation - the design, evolution, iteration and diffusion of pedagogy - and has a number of important functions, for example:

• as a holder and driver for the school pedagogy around design thinking - a place for curriculum design and iteration, and specific application, where time is structured to enable collaboration

• as a space for cross curricular project development around STEM and STEAM, with teachers and students able to use the space to work on projects collaboratively at any time. Teachers from other faculties are encouraged to work with iLAB staff, enabling innovation diffusion across the school.

• as a space for developing an innovation ecosystem around design thinking, and iterating practice both horizontally and vertically, within Nueva and across other schools. For example through external visits to the iLAB and tours, annual events e.g. the Summer Institute attended by around 150 educators each year.

• and linked to this - as a space for developing links and relationships with other institutions such as the Stanford d.school, where Kim is also a lecturer

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The d.school at Stanford University is a more low tech space, though serving a similar function in bringing students from across academic disciplines at the University together to work on design thinking projects, acting as a catalyst for spreading and diffusing design thinking practice across the University. And through their K12 Lab programme and School Retool, the d.school works with school leaders, educators and school districts across the USA to develop design thinking practice in schools - therefore having a a cross campus and cross community role - and the d.school is also cross disciplinary in terms of its staffing team.

Both the iLab and the d.school play important roles in cultivating innovation cultures and mindsets within their respective organisations, and also providing education and system leadership around a new type of pedagogy, time and space for innovation, and partnership facilitation towards collective practice development, and knowledge diffusion.

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Locality Based: San Francisco & New Orleans

Both San Francisco and New Orleans are becoming hotbeds for innovation in school design, for very different reasons - one, proximity to the tech industry and tech investors, and a strong innovation culture, and the other, chronic system underperformance brought into sharp focus following a natural disaster and the resulting urgency of change.

Innovation within and across localities is dependent on a number of factors, including: • proximity of innovation actors and anchor organisations which provide knowledge, capacity and

system leadership (a phrase which came up regularly was a clustering of capability, and the talent magnetism of a place)

• a high density of ideas across sectors • connectivity (physical and digital), assets and resource which can be drawn upon • strategic and focussed investment • and a common language and mindset which builds a culture and belief system around

innovation

Tech is an intrinsic part of the psyche in San Francisco, in part driven by the sheer number of people who live in the Bay Area and work in the sector, and there is a much higher rate of adoption of tech products and tools across the general population compared to other US Cities, and by extension, within schools. It was interesting to see how the tech industry and mindsets are influencing school design, cultures and practices - design thinking for example, as discussed above, is closely linked to the wider systems and processes in the start up and tech sector - UX, prototyping, product development, user testing, evaluation, scaling - hence its origin and potency in this part of the USA.

There are also a multitude of tech fuelled education tools emerging from the Bay Area, some of the most interesting linked to the shift towards personalised and deeper learning - for example blended learning, where digital and online learning platforms are used to customise curriculum around students passions, interests and learning pace. Enabled by proximity factors, intermediaries play an core role in connecting industry, entrepreneurs and funders with educators and schools, often around a common mission or core set of challenges. In addition, knowledge platforms and convenors, for example EdSurge, play a role in building communities of practice and opportunities for skills sharing and collaboration, and collective entrepreneurship, e.g. though events and meet ups.

Hurricane Katrina was a defining moment in the recent history of New Orleans, leading to manifest changes on all levels including across and within the City’s education system. Pre-Katrina, education provision in New Orleans was deemed to be failing and outcomes for young people were close to being the worst in the USA. System reform had already begun, however change was accelerated post Katrina, driven significantly by the vast numbers of people and organisations from across the USA who gravitated to New Orleans (talent magnetism), as well as high levels of capital investment and strategic vision.

New Orleans now has probably one of the most well developed and strategic place based education innovation ecosystems in the USA, supported by a range of incubators and

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intermediaries working across all areas of social innovation, which provide spaces, places and the tools for innovation and the development of ideas.

One example of this is Pitch NOLA - a pitching and start up investment competition jointly run by the Propeller social innovation accelerator and 4.0 Schools - which provides a platform for anyone in the community to present their ideas for solving challenges or addressing inequalities in education, and receive investment and support through an array of next stage programmes in bringing them to fruition. The medium of competition+platform (and in a similar vein to the XQ Super Schools competition) is an important ecosystem building tool in firstly recognising that there is a vast untapped collective knowledge and skills base amongst citizens which is rarely recognised or utilised by the wider system, and secondly, in mobilising, energising and movement building around a challenge or common mission, and generating new perspectives and solutions through bringing broad cross sections of the community together, often bridging differences and divides.

In both of these Cities there have been obvious stimulants in the emergence of innovation ecosystems, and I discussed with Ted Fujimoto the development of innovation clusters and the adoption of new school models in other US Cities and school districts where no prior indicators existed. Were there any commonalities, what was the tipping point. He described the ‘readiness of a community’ as a critical mass of approximately 25-50 people, influential decision makers and opinion formers from across civic society - politics, business, education, community, parents - who are committed to reform and change. Their alignment around a common mission and vision for education in their local area results in a bias to action - a useful insight as education systems move towards increasingly devolved autonomy, a theoretical enabler of change, but in reality autonomy in and of itself is likely to have little effect without impetus around a common cause. In the USA catalysts and incubators play a key role in identifying this critical mass of individuals, bringing them to the fore, and bringing them together. And in providing ideas and inspiration around a future direction of travel.

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Network Based: Big Picture Learning & New Tech Network

School networks in the USA are becoming powerful tools for innovation and the scaling of new approaches and practices, particularly across geographic areas and Regions/States. At community, District and at State level, school networks are pioneering new modes of partnership and leveraging a wide range of resource and expertise to improve practice and impact, and much of the investment going into new school design is predicated on the importance of scalability and growing networks of practice. No school is an island - and there is an expectation of wider knowledge sharing, iteration and collaboration.

In addition, through the creation of digital learning and management platforms, which define the ‘operating system’ of the school model and network (in embedding learning practices), and combined with a strong professional learning culture and continuous practice development, school networks are achieving higher fidelity growth and improved scalability.

Within the Big Picture Learning network, which encompasses 54 schools across 22 US States, Jeff Petty has led the development of the Puget Sound Consortium for School Innovation, a regional innovation consortium and ecosystem looking to develop and scale new approaches to curriculum design and educational leadership. His most recent project, the Principal Leadership Incubator, provides an accredited programme for aspiring Principals and leaders looking to establish their own new schools, or provide leadership in existing innovative new schools, addressing one of the key constraints in education innovation - leadership capacity and capability in running and managing schools which are pioneering new approaches within traditional systems.

From the initial cohort of five people, three will be people of colour, addressing another inequality within the education system, and the programme will include placements across multiple sectors including in industry, as well as mentoring and coaching from system leaders from social innovation, education, tech, and entrepreneurship - through collaboration with Impact Hub Seattle. Rethinking practice development around system leadership, the role and skill sets of leaders in the emerging landscape, and leveraging partnerships and resource.

Big Picture Learning also aims to have a significant impact at system level, in inspiring and embedding change towards new and innovative approaches, which is being pursued through a number of pro-active initiatives - for example the setting up of new schools, developing the leadership incubator, expansion of the Big Picture network with low barriers to entry, a Fellows programme, open national events, and regionally establishing the PSCSI as the first model for building capacity and sharing practice across a geographic area. Providing spaces and places for education innovation to happen, and also facilitating collaboration and practice sharing across school models and networks through events and consultancy. In seeing networks as powerful knowledge and practice creators.

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New Tech Network is one of a number of emerging platform networks - a platform centric school network designed around a common learning model, supported by a learning platform and a set of professional development services  - and where the platform enables the embedding of culture, systems and pedagogy.

In thinking about networks as core ecosystems for developing, sharing and scaling practice, New Tech provides an important case study as the fastest growing school network in the USA, opening approximately 20-40 schools per year - many of these being school transformations from traditional approaches - and achieving pretty high fidelity and impact in comparison to other school models which have struggled to scale. In addition, a number of school districts are choosing to adopt the New Tech model wall to wall across all of their schools, given its success in improving outcomes in many different local contexts.

I discussed network scaling and high fidelity replication with Ted Fujimoto, one of the co-founders of the New Tech Network, and the components needed for success in growing and scaling new school models - which he described as:

1. Defining and achieving buy in around the non negotiable design principles of the school. And giving significant thought to exactly how this is going to be done, for example how the first few weeks of term will be used, and inset days, to culture build. What activities will help develop and embed the culture you are aiming to achieve. How will time across the school week be used, how often will teams meet. At scale, ‘calibration’ processes across the network are needed - how and when/where does this happen.

2. Ensuring that everyone participates in calibration activities and rituals, on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis, and across the network e.g. through events and other collective experiences. At scale everyone needs to know what is seen as good practice, what excellence looks like. Across the New Tech Network, culture calibration is facilitated through regular videoconferencing for example - this being the communication infrastructure which helps embed school operating system DNA. We discussed how technologies can support the embedding of design principles and culture calibration across networks, and as always it depends on how they are used and applied. Tech is going to have little impact in isolation, it depends on how individuals and organisations utilise it.

3. Once the design elements and core principles are aligned, and a calibration system in place at a school level, at a network level values, principles and behaviours need to be constantly reinforced e.g. through coaching, peer mentoring, site visits, peer review and observing good practice. Which requires effective time allocation and the prioritisation of these activities, and showcasing network wide exemplars of good practice e.g. through regular newsletters, films, open days etc.

4. We discussed the importance of an individual within the network (teacher or school leader) having links and strong relationships with a number of other people within and across the network to also help with practice development and calibration. Mentoring and coaching is critical. As an organisation therefore, how will opportunities for connections and the development of relationships be built in, e.g. network conferences focussed on project development and team work, modelling the school environment.

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Catalysts & Intermediaries: building innovation pathways

Whist these three ecosystems - school, locality and network based - build spaces and protocols for innovation and the scaling of practice, wider system transformation is dependent on intermediaries and catalysts. Those organisations which connect the various players within the system, provide focussed resource, and build capacity, knowledge and energy.

Intermediaries also build innovation pathways for individual entrepreneurs or teams with great ideas and products, both within their own programmes, and in intentionally designing in connectivity with other organisations, drawing upon resource and support from wider networks. They enable numerous entry points into the different ecosystems, reducing barriers, burdens and risk, and sequentially building up capacity and knowledge diffusion over time.

Here are three examples:

4.0 Schools Purpose and mission: 4.0 Schools works at the micro level within communities to find education entrepreneurs with promising ideas for solving challenges in education, then supports them through a number of programmes and a wider innovation community to realise their ambition, either through setting up new schools, education programmes, education related social ventures, or building innovation clusters. Their programmes take a community development approach, drawing in and targeting resource and building connections across a wide range of networks and organisations in the Cities where they work.

What they do: 4.0 Schools run four main programmes which craft pathways from identifying and testing new ideas at the grassroots to building sustainable organisations. This includes pitching

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competitions such as PitchNola, Essentials, which is a three day prototyping workshop to develop ideas into a blueprint for a pilot (usually framed around a specific theme e.g. new school designs), and Community Catalyst, which is a year long programme to train entrepreneurs to build innovation communities in their local areas through coaching, peer mentoring, and support from the wider 4.0 community. Their latest programme is the Tiny Fellowship which provides a range of support, coaching and start up capital for individuals with a great idea for a new school design, education programme or tech tool. The programme is designed to enable those who may have full time jobs to take part, reducing the barriers to entry for many people. All their programme models significantly de-risk the process of innovation, starting small with rapid prototyping and testing, and structured to suit those who would struggle to access other programmes due to time and financial constraints.

Who & how they connect: The 4.0 community is almost an innovation ecosystem in its own right, drawing and linking entrepreneurial individuals, resource, mentors and networks together. And open to anyone who may have a great idea for educational change or addressing education inequalities, especially those in communities who might not ever have thought of themselves as entrepreneurial or capable of building a new tool or organisation.

New Schools Venture Fund Purpose and mission: New Schools Venture Fund (NSVF) is one of the more established catalysts, set up in 1998 by three social entrepreneurs and VCs to find and support education entrepreneurs working in underserved communities. They have a strong interest in defining and shaping the concept of the education entrepreneur, and in supporting new schools to open, scale and become strong networks, through investment in people, tech tools and leadership capacity building.

What they do: They currently run three main programmes: New Schools, which is a two year school design and establishment programme for new charter schools, with the first year focussed on R&D and planning/gaining charter approval, as well as matching ideas to areas of need, and the second year designed around supporting schools to open once approved. Sometimes a team applies to the programme with an already tested idea, and sometimes NSVF creates teams to explore ideas linking a range of skill sets. New Tools is a one year product accelerator for promising new tech tools and products, which are iterated and refined through an evaluative process, and teams receive business development advice, mentoring and coaching from experts. The New Schools and New Tools programmes are built around finding solutions to specific educational challenges which are co-designed across NSVF’s wider network of educators through a three month market research programme. They also have a Diverse Leaders programme where they invest in organisations looking to address racial and ethnic inequalities in education.

Who & how they connect: NSVF see themselves as playing an important role in building innovation communities through bringing charter entrepreneurs together, to spark new ideas and innovations. They tend to work with either existing or potential school leaders, and most participants on the New Schools programme have some form of teaching or leadership experience. Tech companies which have established proof of concept and are able to demonstrate early adoption are accepted onto the New Tools programme, and all individuals/teams that they work with have to be growth focussed and thinking about scale and wider impacts.

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True School Studio Purpose and Mission: True School Studio focusses on the transformation of existing open schools towards more student centred approaches to learning, through empowering educators to lead change within their schools and across Districts, and building teams, innovation capacity and learning communities. Their methodology combines a lean start up and design thinking approach with asset based community development, providing a highly dynamic and energising professional development programme, with the aim of changing mindsets and behaviours.

What they do: Working through partnerships with school districts and at regional level True School run three programmes which build and grow ideas. Spark:  which is an introductory programme to student centred design practices where participants get to test out ideas and identify opportunities within their settings. Sprint: where school based teacher teams prototype and pilot new ideas either at classroom level or across a grade level. And Solution:  where teams further refine ideas within their setting and scale across the whole school. Programmes are run across a locality and school teams apply to participate, with 10–40 schools usually accepted - they have to demonstrate depth of thinking around a clear problem or challenge that they want to solve within their setting. Sometimes school teams may work on highly individualised challenges, and sometimes the programme may be designed around a focus on a specific challenge across the locality which all teams work on e.g. around STEM education, or transitions. Developing education leaders is an important part of the process, and there is an expectation that those who participate in the programme will then take a role in mentoring and coaching future participants and supporting other schools across their locality in moving towards more innovative approaches.

Who and how they connect: The programme builds teams at school level, often including individuals who bring different skills and expertise to the team (e.g. leaders, subject specialists, administrators), and also across schools, bringing all teams on the programme together regularly for activities and events to develop links and capacity across a locality. For Districts this is really important, as in many of the areas that True School works there are high staff turnover rates in schools so seeding knowledge and changing mindsets on a broad scale is a key outcome.

These are just three examples in a wide array of innovation intermediaries across the US education landscape, and each plays an important role in enabling system change. From the introduction of new schools, enabling school transformation, connecting systems, creating new systems and networks, community building, tech innovations, scaling and nurturing ideas, R&D, knowledge development - and ultimately human capacity and capability building, and bringing new skills, ideas and expertise into the system.

With this in mind, there are a number of common characteristics that they all share, for example:

• As connectors and convenors, linking entrepreneurial individuals, organisations and other actors and creating and building pathways for innovation. Activating, inspiring and empowering people, and crafting innovation communities.

• Building narratives and giving communities and movements an identity, as well as places to come together and coalesce. Building collective experiences to create new knowledge.

• Having a strong focus on talent development and building capacity at all levels of education design - pedagogy, systems, leadership, community engagement etc - bringing new skills and voices/expertise/practice into the education system.

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• Connecting and translating knowledge and ideas into actions - bridging grassroots needs and sentiment with systems thinking and mobilising and targeting resources (resource being financial plus skills and other community assets).

• H a v i n g a n o rg a n i s a t i o n a l f u n c t i o n w h i c h i s s o m e t h i n g l i k e i n n o v a t i o n strategy+funding+skills+opportunity+platform+space & time (space and time being the space and freedom for people to meet, think, network, spark and generate ideas, have interesting conversations. And funding to free up their time to do this).

• Significantly de-risking the process of innovation and barriers to entry through micro actions, rapid prototyping and testing. They are agile and responsive organisations, creative and flexible to respond to grassroots and school based needs. And providing multiple entry points into the system for individuals, teams or organisations, creating momentum and capacity for change.

• Shifting and evolving the power dynamics across the system, reducing barriers and burdens, and enabling autonomy, agency and creativity at the grassroots including within schools. Building innovation cultures and mindsets at school level.

For teachers and school leaders especially these intermediaries provide unique opportunities for professional learning and development, and a huge variety of opportunities to build and develop new areas of practice and collective expertise, including interacting with unfamiliar sectors and becoming leaders in new and different ways. Catalysts draw in and mash up skills, ideas, expertise, shaping powerful conversations and setting directions of travel, and as Gabrielle Alicino from True School Studio said to me, the process and experience can be a totally energising and invigorating for educators both in identifying new areas of potential, using their expertise to problem solve, and most importantly being entrusted with the authority and power to affect change.

Building Innovation Pathways: the journey of an idea

In New Orleans I met Jonathan Johnson, Founder of Rooted School - a new micro High School opening in September 2017 and designed to provide high level pathways for young people into the tech and digital sector without the need for a degree. Jonathan grew up in a low income neighbourhood in Southern California, and having watched the Hurricane Katrina disaster and response unfold in his late teens he was compelled by a desire to do something, and to be part of the rebuilding effort. He went to College and got onto the Teach for America programme, then moved to New Orleans to teach at one of the first KIPP charter schools in the City.

Whilst working at KIPP he became acutely aware of the numerous challenges and barriers faced by so many young people - due to poverty, racism, systemic inequality, and gang violence - including in achieving well at school, and well enough to meet the requirements to gain entry to College and therefore many professional careers. He also saw a disconnect between the curriculum delivered in school and the knowledge, skills and mindsets required across key and growing employment sectors in the City - whilst at the same time large numbers of young people were ‘failing’ and subsequently falling into cycles of poverty and criminal activity.

In response he developed the idea for Rooted School - a highly engaging and immersive curriculum model designed around rapid skill development, and with the aim of providing students, particularly those from the lowest income communities, with the opportunity to access graduate level jobs without the need for a degree. He applied and got onto one of 4.0 Schools early programmes, receiving support in developing a blueprint and charter application for Rooted

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School, and meeting other entrepreneurs to build his team. He and his COO, Adrien Maught, had also accessed investment through New Schools Venture Fund in developing their plans, and at the point at which we met, the team were working on developing and prototyping their curriculum through a series of pop up schools and collaborations with other schools, and recruiting students for September. They were also making early plans to establish a second Rooted School in a neighbouring State, and looking at platform network models.

What will happen next..?

Assuming all goes to plan Rooted School will successfully open in September, and the team will then start working on expanding and growing the model in other localities, potentially accessing support and investment from 2nd or 3rd stage intermediaries and more established business and education entrepreneurs. Through scaling they hope to develop a strong network of practice, and a professional learning and development ecosystem - in leveraging economies of scale across the network, enabling practice evolution and diffusion, and demonstrating evidence of success in providing ‘proof points’ for the wider education system.

Rooted School as a concept will therefore have moved through each ecosystem - from school based/teacher led, to place based (trialling and iterating across NOLA), to network based - and via a web of incubators and intermediaries which support and nurture its development.

The main points in the journey, in thinking about what it takes to succeed, could look something like:

• Entrepreneur sees an opportunity and develops an idea for a new school concept or learning model

• Attains initial support through an intermediary in developing a blueprint - including rapid prototyping and testing - plus support from other entrepreneurs who have already been through the process, tapping into wider innovation communities, business mentors and coaches who assist with the development process and provide investment

• Applies to a second stage catalyst - more intensive and strategic support - wider skills development

• Gains approval to open - further curriculum development and marketing etc • School opens - hopefully successful, and in evidencing success and building pedagogy and a

community of practice • A digital platform is developed to enable practice sharing, embedding of the operating system

and cultural practices - building shared systems and processes for network growth and establishing a research base

• Model expands to other localities, developing a network to scale practice, and starting to evidence success in different contexts. Supported again by intermediaries and innovation clusters

• Developing proof points and evidence of outcomes through R&D and data tracking/analysis • Developing broader buy in and a regional/national profile - ideas move from the margin to the

mainstream • State/national policy advocacy - potentially influencing frameworks and systems

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All of this felt to be hugely important and relevant learning for UK practitioners, in a number of different respects.

Firstly, in the context of the move towards a school led system in England, and the evolution and growth of Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) - highly systematised school networks (and similar to charter management organisations) - as the main vehicles for education design and delivery. And where the current impetus around MAT growth is school improvement and the turnaround of failing schools, which in the main involves replicating traditional approaches, and through a methodology reinforced by Regional Schools Commissioners.

Could a reconceptualisation of MATs, and school networks generally e.g. teaching school alliances, as agents of innovation rather than standardisation, enable the bringing together and connecting of diverse skill sets, ideas and expertise across localities and Regions. In addressing areas of educational need and providing new and more joined up approaches, especially where previous ‘innovation’ (often new ways of doing the same things) has consistently failed. How can the design and behaviour of MATs potentially evolve to reprioritise and value other activity, and a new type of operating culture, including thinking about economic design and resource allocation.

And linked to this, thinking about school level innovation around culture and pedagogy, how could a refocussing of the objectives and aims of school improvement, for example towards organisational development, innovation and collective inquiry, provide real opportunities for new practice development and educational leadership. And a move away from the traditional school improvement frame which tends to be around isolated practice development (e.g. subject based), and systematising processes and ensuring compliance rather than innovation. It is also often a disempowering rather than dynamic and growth oriented process for teachers.

The school leaders that I met with in the USA saw themselves as pioneers and entrepreneurs, and there was a high degree of professional confidence. The innovation narrative also places schools as vital shapers of practice, and schools see themselves as powerful agents in system change. Intermediaries within the system reinforce this status, and as mentioned above, play an important role in empowering and enabling the profession. Given current levels of disempowerment within the teaching profession in England - resulting in teacher recruitment and retention challenges, and ever growing concerns about wellbeing - combined with the uniformity of teacher training and wider approaches to professional learning, could intermediary type organisations provide an avenue and space for change here. Particularly in drawing together disparate resource and focussing on areas of most need, providing spaces and opportunities for collective problem solving and entrepreneurship, and in starting to build new education narratives and school designs. The work of True School Studio for example is particularly powerful in thinking about the wider systemic challenge of how you can change schools from the inside out in a low risk way - ‘school improvement’ towards more transformative rather than traditional approaches, allowing innovation within the existing system.

Secondly, with the emergence of City Mayors in England as policy agenda setters and national advocates for Regions, and the devolution of powers to combined regional authorities - plus deep systemic challenges around poverty, inequality and related educational outcomes in many parts of the Country - it seems that locality based innovation ecosystems could provide a vital tool in tackling some of the core challenges and current disconnects in education. Particularly in areas where strong educational, political, and business leadership can potentially be mobilised to create

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coherence around a common vision and mission, and in activating other place based learning assets and anchor organisations. The RSA’s Cities of Learning pilot for example, based on the success of LRNG in the USA, could provide an opportunity and focal point for ecosystem building, and in networking learning assets across a City to provide connected learning and skill development opportunities, and strong progression pathways for young people.

Skills priorities could also provide a frame and stimulus in thinking about the cost of system failure across many localities, and Tom Vander Ark and I discussed the emergence of regional innovation ecosystems in the USA as an increasing priority in breaking welfare cycles. In practice many of these are being developed around a triangular approach where schools work with employers and higher education institutions to improve connectivity and increasingly skilled progression routes, including through the development of proficiency based qualifications and new types of credentials which unlock opportunities. These regional partnerships and approaches are changing the system dynamics creating a virtuous circle - in shifting what Colleges and HEIs ask for in admissions, broadening assessment and education outcomes, and smoothing transitions. Almost creating a shadow system which embeds a new cross sector language and approach to education and skills, transcending and challenging existing institutional norms and expectations.

And thirdly, in thinking about the journey of an idea and developing proof points within our education system around new learning models. The free schools programme, in its early stages, provided a route for innovation around new school models, and injecting new ideas and solutions into the system. However due to poor early implementation, a lack of oversight and checks and balances, limited financial investment and strategic support, and high politicisation, the programme has failed to have any significant system impact, and has now moved away from its original aims towards providing a route to capital in meeting the need for new school places.

Having been involved in setting up new schools in the UK it was interesting to see the level of support and investment charter schools and charter management networks are able to tap into at each stage of development. A system really geared around supporting and promoting innovation and enabling new ideas to thrive. This includes a concerted effort to build educational leadership and capacity for new school models, and develop national proof points within the system.

In England there has not been a conscious effort to embed and scale new approaches, or develop an evidence base for what works in evaluating new methodologies. And many new schools which have so far been successful are now finding themselves forced into MATs, which are systematising processes and potentially designing out innovative practice. The journey of a new school idea in the English education system just about survives to the point of opening, then faces a gauntlet of systemic and economic challenges to its existence, and in staying true to its mission and vision. Its an incredibly fragile and exhausting process.

With this in mind, how could a new model for developing and evidencing proof points within our system be designed and developed. Including testing new methods of assessment and evaluation of success and (breadth and depth of) impact. One solution could be through micro schools or schools within schools, as ‘pop ups’ for a specific duration, in looking to low cost low risk opportunities for experimentation. Potentially within MATs or across collaborative networks of schools. Also working with home school community networks and possibly the AP sector, where there are greater incentives to do things differently and a less constrained accountability climate, or across informal learning settings for example in the voluntary or community sector.

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Technology - a disrupting force? —————————————————————————————————————

Across all areas of exploration during my Fellowship technological innovations were a recurring theme, and prompting the inevitable discussion about whether technology is poised to revolutionise the design and delivery of education. When it comes to school design, and the development of new school models, without a fundamental shift in culture, learning norms, and operational structures, technology is likely to only serve to perpetuate and sustain the traditional, in finding more efficient and effective ways to improve the productivity and success of the existing model.

There were a number of technologies and tools however which I saw in classroom practice, and discussed with educators and practitioners, which have the potential to support the shift in school design towards deeper learning, and boost a number of emerging core concepts, for example:

• Learner centered design, agency and growth - through enabling the greater personalisation of learning and increased student ownership through choice and pace.

• Improving engagement and enjoyment of learning - through enhanced learning experiences and connectivity to external communities.

• Schools as powerful engines of knowledge creation and co-production - using technology (software and hardware) to develop digital literacies and promote STEAM, digital content creation, making etc.

• Deeper learning - facilitating connectivity and the application of knowledge, and core skill development around broader outcomes.

• Real world connected - drawing together and accessing wide knowledge bases and learning platforms through the world wide web, and challenging/expanding notions of success and achievement through new types of credentials and assessment.

• And additionally - enabling the evolution and scaling of new pedagogies across networks and systems.

In this section I’ve highlighted a number of interesting tools, approaches and areas where tech is starting to have an impact.

Blended learning models: which enable learner centered design, and support deeper learning

Technology platforms are becoming increasingly central components of new school design in the USA, and have the potential to reorientate ownership of learning towards students, allowing personalisation through choice, pace and diversity of learning tools, and improved engagement through a greater degree of interactivity and enhanced learning experiences - accelerating and improving learning outcomes.

The focus of a number of blended or hybrid learning approaches which I observed seemed to be around changing the dynamics of the classroom, in enabling small group and one to one activity, as well as student led activity through curriculum content platforms, essentially moving away from a one size fits all approach, allowing students to work at their own pace and receive different types of support from the classroom teacher. Also freeing up teacher time to focus on a number of different activities. These technologies are also digitising some of the tasks that teachers and school administrators previously have had to do, for example around marking and data analysis,

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making their work more targeted, and again freeing up their time for other things for example professional learning.

I saw this most effectively at one of the Firstline Schools in New Orleans, which have a station rotation approach to classroom design. It was very effective in accelerating student progress towards improved academic attainment, which is their objective as a school, and the English and Maths platforms that they use allow students to move quickly through tasks mastering content at their own pace. The way the school timetable is structured around this allows staff to have a day every week for cross subject professional learning and collaborative planning. In addition, the school employs coders and technologists to trial new tools and develop sophisticated data analytics, with a strong emphasis on evaluation and impact assessment.

The most potentially transformative approaches however utilise tech platforms and tools as part of a fundamental reconceptualisation of school - culture, relationships, pedagogy - with platforms embedding and scaling a different ‘operating system’ across a wider network. New Tech Network for example, as discussed earlier, have developed a platform around a project based learning model and the development of skills across five learning outcomes, which focus success and achievement beyond traditional academic outcomes. This focus and the KPIs of school success is reinforced and embedded through their technology platform, with staff also using the platform to collaborate around project development and receive personalised and collective CPD reinforcing the culture.

Platform Networks: which embed pedagogy across a school network and support network growth

Summit Public Schools are developing probably the most sophisticated example of a blended learning model designed for rapid scaling with engineers from Facebook, having radically redesigned the curriculum across their network of schools towards a set of learning goals orientated around the development of skills, habits and mindsets, and delivered through a combination of projects and learning playlists. Via the Summit personalised learning platform students move through content (which is personalised and choice based drawing together numerous open source resources) at their own pace, and work on projects collaboratively which promotes interdisciplinary inquiry and skill building. The platform facilitates modular, multiple and

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individualised learning experiences which develop mastery and application, and similar to other blended learning methodologies, allows teachers to flex their approach to classroom design, e.g. small group work as well as one to one support and instruction.

The Summit PLP is currently available free of charge to any school in the USA and has already been adopted by over 100 schools. Its flexibility allows customisation across State standards, and most importantly Summit offers significant professional development and training for schools and educators, also currently free of change, and access to implementation resource. As with New Tech Network, technology platforms are likely to only prove transformative where cultural and professional norms have been reconfigured first, enabling change in teacher and educator mindsets and practices, and curriculum design towards deeper learning models. This change in approach is then supported and embedded by the technology platform, alongside ongoing training and the building of a strong professional learning culture. Application within different contexts will drive its effectiveness, and the flexibility of the Summit PLP enabling wide applicability across localities shows promise, with technology systematising and embedding approaches and principles across networks.

Alt School is another interesting example, in simultaneously designing and co-constructing a technology platform and learning model from scratch: https://www.fastcompany.com/3066750/altschool-wants-schools-to-be-more-like-a-social-network

The involvement of technology companies in education is not without controversy however, for example around data tracking, data ownership and privacy, and the desirability of one tech company determining pedagogical approaches in schools. It was interesting to discuss with Tom Vander Ark the differences in approach between Facebook, Google and Microsoft in education, with the latter two developing a diverse range of learning tools with no pedagogical bias or specific educational outcomes in mind, whereas the Summit/Facebook platform and tools support one very specific learning model.

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Digital badges and Portfolios: supporting place based education, new methods of assessment and accreditation, and expanded understandings of capability and achievement

Digital badges are proving an important innovation in supporting the conceptual shift around how success and ability is defined and assessed in schools, and in developing new methods of accreditation and the evidencing of skills and abilities - beyond performance on standardised tests.

Open badges are dynamic and multi dimensional modes of accreditation which require evidence of the application of learning - often taking a triangular approach combining self directed learning e.g. via an online platform, plus participation in a collective learning experience, plus evidence of application e.g. the production of something, or a resulting activity. They are especially effective in the context of evidencing skill development particularly when linked to technical or core skills e.g. coding, or around communication and collaboration through project based learning. Most powerfully, validation often extends beyond the classroom teacher to peer assessment and to external professional communities, for example business and the third sector, in linking learning expectations to real world and lived experiences.

They also enable schools to develop new methods of assessment across the curriculum and move beyond standardised testing as the sole way that knowledge, ability and capability is assessed and celebrated. And in promoting a vision for learning that is hands on, active, social and evolutionary - more than narrow categorisation based on test performance and better reflective of potential, reframing the value systems within a school. Digital badges and micro credentials are also supporting new professional development models for teachers, and in helping to build professional learning cultures based on peer assessment and professional agency, and the evidencing of learning through improved classroom practice, not just attendance at a particular training event. Professional development becomes competency and application based for teachers as well, and supported by organisations like Digital Promise and Educators Coop, school Districts are developing their own badging programmes and systems for enhanced and improved professional development.

For students, teachers and the wider community, digital badges allow competency in a particular skill area, or around an area of learning, to be built up and built on over time. With the technology platform through which badges are issued holding in depth evidence of learning and authentic assessment of capability. Learning becomes life long and life wide.

Open badges and skills based credentials may also have the potential to reframe wider societal conceptions of learning and achievement, in linking together and giving value to many different educational contexts within which learning happens. For example the LRNG Cities of Learning project, now working across 12 US Cities, provides multiple opportunities for citizens to develop skills and new areas of professional and personal interest through a variety of City based learning experiences, for example in museums, art galleries, libraries and in business. Learning is based around real world experiences and learning pathways are created across localities, with the evidencing of skill development through the acquisition of badges, and links to further learning opportunities. Also challenging the notion that education and learning is only about school, and confined within a specific school building. Which is especially potent for those who have been failed by the school system, and have negative associations with school and consequently learning, and don’t see themselves as capable learners or talented individuals.

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Technology as a tool for community and movement building, and powering ecosystems

Digital connectivity has become an essential fuel for ecosystem and network building, bringing people together around sets of ideas, sparking connections and sharing knowledge and practice. For example through platforms, webinars, social media discussion, online learning and skill development opportunities, newsletters and publications.

Knowledge networks such as Getting Smart and EdSurge in the USA are vital in the digital space for practice sharing and enabling the connectivity of ideas, and the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. And together with other content platforms, framing and shifting public discourse, and providing a focal point in the development of new narratives in education. A tool for disruption, collaboration and action in creating communities of practice and common interest.

Disrupting post secondary pathways and Higher Education: could a shift in the dynamics of this sector change the behaviour and focus of schools?

In looking at the disruptive potential of new technologies, one of the areas most striking was around the re-design of post secondary pathways, and the potential for reconfiguration of the higher education sector given the proliferation of online learning courses e.g. Moocs, and the emergence of skills ‘bootcamp’ style programmes, both of which which provide opportunities for intensive learning and training and rapid skill development, combined with new methods of assessment and accreditation.

Make School for example, based in San Francisco, is a school for those who want to build digital start ups, offering an immersive computer science and entrepreneurship curriculum built around three areas of competence - core, technical and character - and includes extensive networking and industry mentoring from top tech entrepreneurs. The ‘school’, which was set up in 2012, is growing rapidly and now expanding globally, attracting many highly talented young people who would otherwise have undertaken traditional computer science or related degrees at University.

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Founder Ashu Desai and I discussed how many school leavers are now questioning the traditional HE degree pathway as the route to success and making a difference. Whilst at Make School young people are learning through doing and from professionals in real world contexts, and will have built a company by the end of the two year course. Tuition costs are related to job opportunities post programme, a payment on results methodology, similar to many skills bootcamp and particularly coding programmes which guarantee a job at the end and where retrospective tuition fees are based on salary. Few Universities can guarantee this, or provide this level of return on investment.

These new pathways have most potential where linked to emerging high tech high skills sectors, and their success may be driven by a number of factors:

• the spiralling costs of higher education and fear about debt • graduate underemployment • technology and connectivity enabling learning anywhere anytime, and especially from peers and

other professionals. Peer critique and real time evaluation • start up culture and the millennial entrepreneurship mentality and strong social conscience -

wanting to do work that makes a difference and adds value to society • the rise in self employment and the gig economy, and the need to re-skill in a low cost, flexible

and speedy way

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These types of programmes are also challenging educators to think differently about skills and success, and the traditional degree being the best and safest bet. There is certainly a need for much more rich and diverse progression pathways, and it got me thinking about the design of multiple and flexible post school learning options, attaining higher levels of education and skill including degree level qualifications through different means, and moving away from the notion of a linear life path where education precedes work. How can working and learning be enmeshed throughout life, particularly in the context of the need for rapid and flexible re-skilling between different areas of work as the gig economy takes hold. Badges and portfolios may come in here, as well as the importance of professional connectivity e.g. through social networks such as LinkedIn.

And as a result, could a shift in the shape of the post secondary sector, and of employment pathways and patterns, prompt schools to think and behave differently (and Government in defining policy). In some contexts this is already happening - as mentioned in the introduction, the desire of Colleges to see evidence of broader skills and competencies, and portfolios of work, is forcing schools to prioritise this as well. And in the UK a number of employers are now moving towards school/university/degree blind applications, favouring a variety of competency based assessments instead for recruitment.

There is also an important equity issue in challenging traditional degree based pathways as the route to success. This was reinforced to me during two conversations - one with Jonathan Johnson at Rooted School, in the context of his work providing pathways into high skilled and well paid employment for those that are unlikely or unable to go to College, and with Cynthia Trevino at Calumet New Tech High School in Gary Indiana.

As discussed earlier Calumet New Tech achieves fantastic academic outcomes for students enabling College access, however within this community only 50% of the graduating cohort each year are likely to go on to College, with the other 50% needing to find some kind of immediate employment to support their families due to poverty. These roles are likely to be in trades or the steel industry, with limited access to other opportunities due to poor and expensive transport networks, and we discussed the paradox of system drivers around College readiness, which are totally disconnected from the requirements of many employment sectors, and the kinds of life skills that young people in this community will need to thrive (and survive).

Post secondary pathways seem one of the most important, and most lacking, areas for imagination and attention in current education reform debates. And in disrupting the linear educational process and expectations around progression which currently limits opportunity and life outcomes for many.

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Conclusion —————————————————————————————————————

Reflecting on a truly wonderful seven weeks of investigations, observations, conversations and discussion, it’s been an awesome challenge in bringing this report together and synthesising so many areas of learning into a set of thoughts and ideas, particularly in thinking about points of learning for UK practitioners.

At the time of my Fellowship in Autumn 2016 the education system in the USA seemed to be at a pivotal juncture following the introduction of the Every Student Succeeds Act in moving towards greater creativity and experimentation at State level around the design and delivery of education. And within an overarching drive away from standardisation towards a focus on broader aims (e.g. social and emotional learning, skills and mindsets, as well as academic development), and achieving more equitable outcomes for all young people. Defined by more authentic performance standards and metrics, and combined with a cultural shift in how achievement and success in school is understood and valued. A shift enabled by many years of movement, advocacy and evidence building around the effectiveness and impact of radically different learning models.

During a number of conversations I asked leading education thinkers and practitioners what schools in the USA would look like in 15-20 years time, and the general feeling was that, assuming the current direction of travel continues, most likely around half of all young people will be experiencing deeper learning school environments - which is quite something in the context of a system of 100,000 schools. One of those who shared this opinion was Ted Fujimoto, who felt the system needed to get to around 6,000 proof points (demonstrator sites of new learning models) to really tip the balance towards lasting change. There are currently around 700-800 proof points across the system so clearly a long way to go.

System reorientation on a mass scale will require the cultural and pedagogical restructuring of schools, and through huge capacity and capability building, and training/retraining, across the teaching profession, including new models of leadership, an epic challenge. Innovation ecosystems are likely to play a vital role in powering this shift, and in building system wide capacity - through strong school networks and partnerships, and particularly across Cities, Districts and States where clusters of individuals, entrepreneurs and organisations, across sectors and fields, are activated and brought together around a collective vision and mission. An example of mission oriented innovation, which is a new and emerging paradigm for understanding the role of the State and public sector in market shaping and transformational change - see Mariana Mazzucato, Entrepreneurial State.

In this study I set out to meet, interview, and learn from those who are leading thinking in their respective fields, and at the forefront of the education innovation agenda. It’s important to note here, and as mentioned in the research overview, that my conclusions and perspectives are drawn from a very particular vision for the future of education in the USA, and the prevailing narrative amongst those setting the current agenda. There are many competing opinions, and also significant hostility towards the direction of change and vision described, particularly when it comes to those structural aspects of reform that are being pursued (e.g. charter schools), the eminence of choice, and the use of technology as a means of achieving certain ends. In this respect there will continue to be challenge and compromise on many levels to innovation diffusion and systemic change, not to mention political uncertainties.

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This study has significantly enhanced my understanding of the journey of system change, and core factors which build a virtuous circle in changing paradigms - such as the development and scaling of proof points as demonstrators of success and impact, R&D, strategic and aligned investment, the linking of actors towards collective impact particularly in localities, system leadership and mashing up skill sets, and changing national conversations and narratives around new approaches - hearts and minds. And of policy and accountability frameworks which provide both flex and challenge.

It was incredible to immerse myself in a system that thinks differently, particularly at school level seeing radically different learning models in action, and speaking with young people about the effect of deeper learning and project based approaches on them, their enjoyment of learning and achievement in school, and future aspirations and ambitions. As my investigations evolved it was fascinating to see that many of the factors, issues and motivators prompting reform in the USA - for example around skills gaps, ingrained inequalities, graduate underemployment, as outlined in the introduction - are also pressing societal challenges in the UK. Yet the current direction of travel in education in the UK is almost diametrically opposed to what is happening in the USA - as a result of the centralisation of policy, the dominance of a particular political ideology, and the narrow range of actors currently involved in policy design and agenda setting.

Their education lexicon also includes concepts that are utterly alien to our national debate - school design for example as a thing, the notion of proof points within a system and an innovation mindset around new approaches, the idea of the education entrepreneur, and of teachers and school leaders as powerful agitators and pedagogy designers. Instead we have a system currently paralysed by a lack of imagination and chaotic structural realignment. However things may be starting to change - as teachers become more organised and vocal, and in recognising the areas in which they do now have significant power and freedom to effect change. In addition, political changes particularly at a regional level may force previously ignored issues onto the agenda.

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Recommendations & Ideas for Exploration —————————————————————————————————————

Rather than making definitive recommendations it feels more appropriate to set out a number of ideas and questions for how UK practitioners could start to think about opportunities for innovation within our current system, in developing new learning models that could serve as proof points for system change, and in building new narratives towards a positive, inspirational and compelling vision for the future of education.

Here are ten areas for discussion and further thinking, based on my learnings from the USA:

1. Building new education narratives, a movement towards new approaches, and a community of innovative practitioners who are already pushing at the boundaries of what is possible. There is currently no cohesive or aligned education and school innovation community in the UK, despite many schools doing incredibly pioneering and impressive work. How could we link and give voice to all those at the grassroots already providing the seeds for change, to enable them to support each other in taking risk, and to provide a platform and space for ideas and knowledge sharing in demonstrating how things can be done differently, evidencing the success of new approaches. (and for example through publications, debate and events, competitions, social media campaigns, think pieces) The failure of new school models dominates the current narrative, but how do we learn from those that are doing well and succeeding, what are the conditions which enable their success. And linked to movement building, how could we develop an appropriate language and lexicon around school design and innovation which resonates with and unites multiple communities. The prevailing opposition narrative drives very much a crisis and reactionary mindset, which both underserves the teaching profession and also induces fear of change and reinforces conservatism and traditionalism. This needs to be recognised as a starting point.

2. Related to this - developing a new collaborative network or practice sharing model across school settings - SEND, AP, private sector, home school, mainstream. How could innovators across all areas of education delivery all learn from each other, and particularly as some of the most radical practice is developed in the SEND and private sector. Could we better utilise existing networks to support this kind of work, or create new ones, and also link to global best practice exemplars, enabling those system leaders at the top of the profession in the UK to further develop their own knowledge, skills and ideas, and challenge their thinking.

3. New programmes for system leadership and professional development, learning from best practice in innovative and entrepreneurial settings such as industry or the third or civic sector. We have a unique opportunity as MATs and teaching schools become leaders in practice development, the design of new professional development pathways, and of new types of roles within schools especially at middle and senior leadership level. The Principal Leadership Incubator model for example, drawing in cross sector expertise, and enabling secondments in other sectors, could be a powerful approach to leadership development, and in developing innovation and entrepreneurial mindsets. Also at teacher level looking to team or co-teaching type methodologies bringing different skill sets together, and particularly in bringing external expertise into the classroom e.g. subject specialists from industry. Including more dynamic opportunities for industry and community partner engagement in schools, beyond career talks or one off workshops which have been shown to have limited impact. Employers also have a role here in promoting/enabling employee engagement and voluntary work in schools as part of their role.

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4. Could MATs as networks provide ecosystems for innovation, and a platform for system leadership and practice development around new approaches. MAT leaders are likely to have a strong voice in the emerging education landscape, and as MATs increasingly start to span geographic localities they could play a key role as partnership brokers, as connectors and practice developers, in providing system focus around a common vision and mission, and drawing together expertise across sectors. Could MATs become facilitators of innovation and collective problem solving, rather than replicators of traditional practice. Particularly thinking about low risk experimentation e.g. through micro schools or pop up schools around specific contextual challenges within localities. A reconfiguration as dynamic R&D networks for the wider system in developing an evidence base around new approaches, and in trialling and testing new ideas through collaboration with partners e.g. around pedagogy and curriculum design, assessment, leadership development, skills programmes, new teacher training models through Schools Direct.

5. And linked to this - could school improvement become framed towards innovation and transformation rather than replication of the traditional. LEAP Innovations in Chicago for example (which I discuss in this post: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton/system-connectors-and-shapers-in-education-transformations-ea332f8a720b#.76gaounct) works on whole school transformation towards personalised learning methodologies, which is teacher and teacher team led, and incorporates new tech tools and innovations. The model includes extensive R&D around short cycle trials with continuous iteration, firstly at classroom level, then scaling to school wide over three years, and evidence so far has demonstrated rapid improvement in student attainment. It’s effectively a change management and professional development process, in bringing in new skill sets and focussing on organisational design and the building of new cultures and pedagogy, which could potentially be achievable within the constraints of the Ofsted cycle.

6. Experimenting at the margins - how could innovation and experimentation be de-risked by tinkering and iterating at the margins of mainstream education, or within those communities most willing to experiment (for a number of motivations). How could the AP or prison education sector for example be used to test new models and approaches, both sectors which receive significant per pupil investment and which consistently fail to improve outcomes for young people. The home school community could be another avenue, especially in looking at flexi school designs. How could success and achievement metrics be shaped, and evaluation processes, to enable lessons to be learnt across the profession. Could tech and digital tools have a positive impact here too, especially around engagement e.g. through games based learning and digital skill development.

7. Exploring how a catalyst or incubator type organisation could enable the development of locality based innovation ecosystems. In bringing teachers, technologists, social entrepreneurs and other stakeholders together to address educational challenges and find new solutions - particularly in identifying and supporting those entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in education in their local area. Providing a network, space and platform for practice sharing, collective entrepreneurship and impact, and in drawing in key local players across sectors, and importantly creating an entity for strategic and focussed investment and resource direction. MAT growth and development could link in here too, in thinking about professional development and leadership pathways - and general capacity building across the profession, empowering teachers, giving them confidence and building wider social capital.

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8. In the emerging political landscape in England, could Cities and Regions become powerful voices in education change. And could a catalyst type organisation support this, in bringing core actors across a locality together to shape a common mission and coherent voice. The devolution agenda and the advent of elected regional Mayors could and should provide an opportunity and platform for powerful regional advocacy around education issues, despite the centralisation of policy. Particularly in recognition of the need for better localised solutions, and progression pathways, whilst avoiding historical traps around poor standards. Combined authorities and Mayors will have powers around skills policy, but as discussed throughout this report it’s a false choice to divorce education and skills debates, despite policy silos and incoherence. Could Regional leadership set a new frame for the skills agenda, through promoting connectivity between education providers, employers and other partners, and presenting a more dynamic vision for education+skills within and across localities. And in using the power of their office to mobilise and convene different actors around a collective ambition.

9. Diversifying progression pathways - particularly thinking beyond the rigidity of the current binary approach to progression, which tracks young people into academic or vocational pathways, often reinforcing gender stereotypes and perceptions of ability, societal and cultural status. The Governments plan for vocational education sets a strong ambition to improve the quality and status of vocational pathways, and access to opportunity for the majority of young people who don’t go to University, however risks being yet another iteration in the reform of this sector which perpetuates inequality and social divides, without corresponding changes in pedagogy and assessment approaches in schools. It feels imperative to think more creatively and imaginatively around this, for example towards more flexible, intensive and modular learning pathways e.g. skills bootcamp type programmes, which could be seen as competitive as traditional University routes. And particularly in thinking about the new Higher Education Bill which makes it possible for new organisations to enter the sector and award degree level qualifications, and for Universities to offer new types of programmes and qualifications. A number of organisations including employers are also setting up their own ‘schools’ to provide learning opportunities and skills based credentials, e.g. Proversity, and the digital revolution will continue to enable access to vast knowledge and skills bases, and improve learning options, with the potential for programmes to be better customised around personal circumstances.

10. Addressing regulation, or perceptions about regulation, to enable schools to be more outward facing. Which would make it easier for young people to access diverse learning experiences outside of the school building across different communities, and including in the work place. Careers advice and guidance in schools is consistently criticised as poor quality and ineffective, and combined with the decline of the Saturday job, and the fact that it’s very difficult to get part time work if you’re under the age of 16, young people are often likely to leave school without having had any experience of the world of work, of earning a wage, and interacting with professional communities which are vital learning and skill building experiences. Schools also find it difficult to engage with employers and external organisations for a number of reasons, e.g. timetabling, resource and time constraints, and often misperceptions (including in the business community) about health and safety, safeguarding and risk. Much of this is due to risk perception rather than actual legislation, although bureaucracy and paperwork are also disincentives. Employers need to step up here too, in offering learning experiences in their settings and meaningful work placement opportunities for young people, learning from best practice in employer engagement models, for example UTCs and Studio Schools.

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And a final thought on technology. As discussed earlier, technology in and of itself will never be a panacea for innovation or system disruption, yet there are many areas of education design where tech tools and infrastructure could support new approaches, and address current challenges. For example curriculum enhancement, pedagogy development e.g. projects and making, digital literacies, assessment tools, and the reshaping of classroom practice, including dealing with workload and other organisational infrastructure issues. On a larger scale, enabling connectivity across communities including globally, and the potential for experiential CPD, knowledge development and practice sharing where it’s difficult geographically.

Tech experimentation within schools is currently tricky for a number of reasons, including educator capacity, access to tech and specific expertise, and general connectivity and digital infrastructure. How could the barriers to innovation and experimentation be reduced - and for example through programmes like the Young Academy and Dotforge which support the development of tech for good startups in education. Linked to this there is also a question around whether the funding regimes of VCs and Foundations could be a barrier to innovation - for example the desire to see a rapid return on investment within a short timescale leads companies/entrepreneurs to often just design better and more efficient ways to do traditional things, rather than radically transforming anything, where results and impact may take years to be evidenced.

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Further Reading —————————————————————————————————————

From my WCMT Fellowship blog:

Discussing education innovation with Tom Vander Ark: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton/two-hours-with-tom-vander-ark-10e4d114495a#.tgo038ruc

Six things I loved about Big Picture Learning: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton/6-things-i-l o v e d - a b o u t - b i g - p i c t u r e - l e a r n i n g - a n d - s o m e - t h o u g h t s - o n - h i g h - t e c h -high-25bf2f7fa9a7#.b6mq2qwh5

Scaling Awesome Schools, a discussion with Ted Fujimoto: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton/scaling-awesome-schools-a-discussion-with-ted-fujimoto-423e9d6c112b#.wp0rj65wz

R e t h i n k i n g S c h o o l : h t t p s : / / m e d i u m . c o m / @ R o s i e C l a y t o n / re t h i n k i n g - s c h o o l -d722652cf663#.edzq1dark

VR School: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton/vr-school-254a03b461cb#.focg6jywe

Calment New Tech High School & the power of PBL: https://medium.com/@RosieClayton/calumet-new-tech-high-school-the-power-of-pbl-9ed67fab0424#.18tuqxzg4

Useful links from other sites:

On Blended Learning: http://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Is-K-12-blended-learning-disruptive.pdf

On Personalised Learning: http://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/mean-what-you-say-1.pdf

ESSA and redefining metrics of success in schools: http://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/11/6-ways-states-can-redefine-student-success-and-transform-education-under-essa/

On open badges: http://dmlhub.net/wp-content/uploads/files/WhatCountsAsLearning_Grant.pdf

On educator micro credentials: https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2017/02/15/can-micro-credentials-create-meaningful-professional-development-for-teachers/

On intermediaries: http://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/02/inspiration-incubation-intermediation-keys-to-next-gen-learning-at-scale/

On regional ecosystems: http://gettingsmart.com/2013/12/consortium-points-way-proficiency-based-learning/

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Dissemination & Implementation —————————————————————————————————————

As mentioned in the Research Overview, I hope that this report will provide a knowledge base of insights and ideas for UK and US educationalists - enhancing understanding (conceptually and practically) of school design and new approaches to learning, as well as the necessary conditions for innovation in education and the mechanics of system change - in questioning prevailing assumptions and provoking discussion and debate about the future of education.

Once published I plan to widely distribute my report through a number of education, skills and policy communities and networks (including social networks) which I’m linked into and involved with to invite further discussion and dissemination. Both during and since my Fellowship I’ve been actively publicising my findings through my blog which has to date had approximately 1,800 views. US based education innovation website Getting Smart has also republished a number of my posts, which have so far been shared, combined, over 700 times.

In addition, many of the ideas discussed throughout this report, and in the conclusion and recommendations, I intend to proactively pursue during the next stage of my work.

Since returning from the USA I have:

• Met with a number of senior school and MAT leaders to discuss my learning and thoughts/ideas, particularly around the design of new school models and learning networks.

• Started exploring a new school design based on maker and hackerspaces, with an award winning crafts and wood specialist, and VR artist.

• Contributed to the development of the Extraordinary Learning MAT with the Innovation Unit. • Started working with the RSA on piloting Cities of Learning in the UK. • Discussed ideas for developing a prototype design for a catalyst/intermediary type organisation

with colleagues. • Contributed to thinking around the development and design of a new network of innovative

schools in Scotland. • Met with members of the Digital Skills Network and community in Greater Manchester to

discuss findings. • I’m also currently exploring options for establishing Make School UK, around a cooperative start

up and accelerator model, linked to my work with Digital Advantage. • I presented at the National Conference of the Greater Manchester Family of Schools Alliance at

the beginning of March on my Fellowship findings and creating the conditions for innovation.

Furthermore: • I will be speaking at an RSA supported Fellows event on Reimagining Education in April,

following a screening of the film Most Likely To Succeed. • I will also be speaking at the Tech North Digital Jobs Action Summit in Leeds at the end of April,

looking at international solutions to the digital skills gap.

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