Teach Middle East Magazine Sep - Dec 2020 Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 17

Sharing Good Practice
WHAT DOES INNOVATION LOOK LIKE
IN YOUR SCHOOL?
BY FRANCESSCA AFFLECK
A
s educators, we are all in
agreement that in order to
be prepared for the future,
we need to innovate our
schools. Yet, innovation seems elusive
to many as they struggle to understand
what it really means.
From a study about innovation in
private schools in Dubai, it appears
a common misconception, that
innovation is inextricably linked to
technology. Leaders and teachers
who are not technologically minded
believe that innovation is out of their
reach because it is about computing,
robotics or scientific inventions.
During interviews with ten leaders of
innovation in private schools in Dubai,
most said their own perceptions of
innovation have changed over time,
mostly because their role as leaders of
innovation, was to dig deep to find out
what it really was and then share that
with their school community.
Some participants in the study felt
that because innovation is high on
the agenda in UAE schools and has a
raised profile of innovation in schools,
it was becoming better understood.
They felt that it was a positive aspect,
working and studying in an innovative
nation, with innovative ideas and
projects surrounding them.
Couros (2015) argues that in order to
have innovative learners, we need
innovative educators and in order to
have innovative educators, we need
innovative leaders.
Innovative leaders
According to Baumgartner (2018), an
innovative leader does not need to be
the person who creates the idea, but
needs to enable it. Where innovation
was successful, in the schools related
to the study, it was because school
leaders were brave enough to open
it up to the students or where leaders
modelled innovative practice and
encouraged and trusted teachers to
innovate their practice.
It takes an innovative leader to create
a culture where innovation can thrive,
by allowing staff and students to take
risks but managing these well. In fact,
managing risk is seen as the top skill
of innovative leaders in a study of over
5000 leaders in different organisations
(XBInsight 2017).
Innovative teachers
When asked to describe innovative
teachers in their schools, the most
common skills attributed to innovative
teachers were risk-taking, followed
by being open-minded, confident,
adaptable, curious and resilient.
Having a growth mindset, being
creative, communicative and a good
collaborator also featured in the list of
skills. Only one participant described
innovative teachers in their school as
being technologically savvy. That is
not to say they were not, it just did
not feature when asked to describe an
innovative teacher in their school.
An unexpected emotion linked to
innovation by some interviewees
was that of fear. They said teachers
feared the word because a) they didn’t
know what it meant, b) thought that
it had to be linked to technology or
a big invention or that c) they were
frightened of taking a risk. Sutch et all
(2008, p17), discusses similar factors
that prevent teachers from engaging
in educational innovation, which
included risk of failure, risk of wasting
time, risk of expenditure that couldn’t
be justified and risk of criticism from
parents, inspectors, governors or
students. Hargreaves (2003) stresses
the importance of the level of trust
between school leaders and teachers
and teachers and students.
Innovative learners
Innovative students were described
by interviewees as being creative
problem-solvers who were resilient
and communicated well. Participants
felt that although students were often
more innovative than adults because
they were not constrained by the word,
they often thought that innovation is
for later in life. Leadership roles and
other opportunities provided by the
school helped students embrace
innovation. However, there were also
views that parental support at home,
gave students a suitable ethic of
commitment towards innovation.
A study by Teachthought (2018),
shows that growth mindset is the most
popular trend in education. This is just
as well because it is a growth mindset
that allows innovative cultures to exist
in schools, a growth mindset that lets
leaders take, encourage and manage
risks, a growth mindset that helps
teachers recognise that innovation is
part of what they do, not something
in addition to it and a growth mindset
that helps turn young learners into
innovators.
Francesca Affleck is the Author of Discovering the United Arab Emirates, a School
Evaluator and an Education Consultant. In between consultancy projects, she
is often found in schools offering author talks and workshops, writing lesson
plans. She has recently completed an MBA – Educational Leadership through a
University in Finland.
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