Thanks to an ITForum nomination, I introduce to some and present to others this month's post by
Dr. Anissa Likey-Vega. As faculty
at Kennesaw State University, Anissa serves as the coordinator for the Online
Teaching Endorsement and Certificate programs for the Department of
Instructional Technology. She is also founder
and lead consultant at Curriculum Research and Development (CR&D), an
educational technology program evaluation firm that specializes in serving the
K12 sector. She has her Ph.D. in Instructional Design and Technology from
Georgia State University. Curriculum
Research & Development: http://www.curriculumrd.com/
Department
of Instructional Technology at Kennesaw State University http://bagwell.kennesaw.edu/departments/itec
How do we
recognize innovation in teaching and learning with technology?
I’m sure
you’ve heard this before: If you look for a problem, you will find one;
however, near that problem you will also likely find innovation. Whether K12,
higher education, or industry training, the teaching and learning process is in
itself an ill-structured problem complicated by unique contexts, limited
resources, and (those pesky) humans. People will be innovating to solve the
problems that serve as the biggest barriers to them in their context. This
doesn’t mean innovation will always work or will always be adopted to
saturation, but each innovation will stir debate and nay-sayers. This tension
occurs because once an innovation has proven itself effective enough to be
widely adopted in the environment, it is no longer innovative. It becomes the
new status quo.
What
challenges might practitioners and researchers face when evaluating innovation?
Do you have ideas for how to overcome these challenges?
Each
evaluation is unique. The combination of context, time, problem, and innovation
is unique every single time. Yes, there are general principles and models that
can guide an evaluation plan; however, flexibility is critically important to
the process and knowing when it is appropriate to change course can be
challenging. Evaluation expertise is not always valued as much as it should be
and this can result in evaluation outcomes that offer little direction to
organizational managers. Practitioners should read up on evaluation practices
in their fields and knowledgably look for evaluation expertise within their
organization. If such expertise is not readily available, then it is wise to
consider outsourcing the process. While it is not always possible, the best
evaluations are pursued early in the innovation process, or maybe even before.
This allows for the data to drive the change process and optimize the outcomes.
Can you
point to some promising innovations in teaching and learning?
I’m probably
a bit biased on this one since I coordinate the online teaching certificate at
Kennesaw State, but I think blended and online learning practices and tools
have the most potential to disrupt teaching and learning in a positive and meaningful
way. Of course, if you teach at a
fully-online school, these tools and practices are now the status quo; however,
many settings particularly in the K12 sector are not there, yet. Online
instruction grants the learner more power in the differentiation of instruction
and it puts a teacher’s instructional design on display for self-reflection.
This self-review is not as easily achieved in a real-time unrecorded class
session. Also, their best designs are more easily replicated when stored in a
digital format rather than gone with the passing of time. This allows for
teachers to put their best foot forward even on an off day.
Are there
some effective research initiatives or studies our readers should examine? If
not, why do you think that is the case?
Well, this
is a bit challenging given that evaluation is context and problem-type
specific. This means it would be
difficult to curate a research journal on the topic of innovation evaluation
alone. The audience would likely be
scattered in context and problem-type, resulting in few articles to warrant
devoted readership for each individual. I read about evaluation in journals
that cross all disciplines. In fact, when I wrote my dissertation there was no
published method to evaluate one or more intended curricula. I had to develop
that process on my own. That said, my evaluation-related books that are resting
closest to me right now are also the ones that show the most wear. These are
the works of Thomas Guskey and Joellen Killion. I have to modify their designs
as expected for each situation, but they both promote excellent planning and
structure in the evaluation process.
Each time I start to wrap my brain around a new program or innovation that
I need to evaluate, their works serve as my evaluation muses.
Previous posts in the series:
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