I-Think: How to Build Learning Communities
The Innovation Hub and the I-Think Initiative share a goal: to inspire and educate students using an integrative approach that helps them tackle real-world problems. To this end, I-Think— which works primarily with K–12 students, teachers, and school leaders—trained the Innovation Hub’s teams to conduct design research from 2016–2019. In this project, we propose a different way for our organizations to work together: fusing our experience at the K–12 and post-secondary levels to prototype an “experience” that connects and supports educators at all levels and institutions.
Fall/Winter 2020-2021
How do we build effective learning communities?
In this collaboration, the Innovation Hub and I-Think Initiative learned about the challenges and successes faced by educators as they build professional communities and improve education. We conclude that social enterprises should foster genuine connections based upon shared values. Both formal and informal communities can support educators and help them experiment with new teaching methods. To further connect educators across K–12 and post-secondary, a creative and inclusive network would help them learn from each other and better plan for students’ futures.
KEY FINDINGS
Educators believe that students need more than a one-size-fits-all approach, calling for the need to balance equality and equity.
Through our methods insights were organized under two key themes:
- Challenges to Changing Education
- Education as an Ecosystem
From K–12 to post-secondary, educators face barriers to experimenting with their pedagogies:
These are especially strong for K–12 educators, who have less control over their own syllabi, course material, and evaluation criteria. Though many educators do enjoy support from peers and school-board leaders, their frustrations raise important questions. How can educators feel included in decisions about the material they teach and how they teach it? And how can they feel supported when they try innovative ways of connecting with students and measuring progress?
No teacher is an island. Educators need to connect with both similar-minded and diverse groups of peers to find inspiration and solutions to day-to-day teaching struggles:
Peers act as sounding boards and mentors for each other. Even educators who are confident researching and innovating on their own admit to benefitting from peer-to-peer connections. Educators are already forming learning communities in their day-to-day interactions. They bond over shared values, including equity, honesty, adaptability, and accountability. Rather than waiting for top-down policy changes, they are leading by example in exploring new educational approaches.