Innovation in Learning
What is ‘best’ practice and what truly is innovation? The word innovation suggests something new, to make changes in anything established, an idea that has never been tried.
All human beings have the capacity to generate novel, original, creative ideas. Creative people take risks and frequently push the boundaries of their perceived limits. The 21st Century needs students who are creative, innovative and can find solutions to new problems. It is no longer good enough to simply ‘fill up empty vessels’ with knowledge, facts and concepts.
The students of tomorrow need to be able to work collaboratively, communicate effectively, think creatively and find innovative solutions to new problems. This calls for a new way of teaching and learning. The sage in the stage is a concept of teaching that belongs to the past, guide of the side, or even more profoundly, learning together has to be the paradigm of the future.
To this end, St Paul’s School has developed and implemented a new Learning Management Model. This model reflects the skills students require to be successful in tomorrow’s world. The model is a collaborative one and not based on hierarchy. The central difference between traditional Heads of Department models found in most schools is the introduction of six Heads of Learning (Pre Prep – 12):
- Head of Creativity
- Head of Future Thinking
- Head of Innovation
- Head of Discovery
- Head of Communication
- Head of Human Endeavour
The primary role of these people is to mentor and coach teachers and teams of teachers across the school. They form part of the whole school strategic Teaching and Learning Team.
