Innovating Pedagogy 2016 report

Innovating Pedagogy 2016 is the fifth annual report from the Open University (this year in collaboration with the Learning Sciences Lab at the National Institute of Education, Singapore) highlighting new forms of teaching, learning and assessment with an aim to “guide educators and policy makers”.

The report proposes ten innovations that are “already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education”. In other words they are at an early phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle. Whether any will become, in the current idiom, ‘normalised’ remains to be seen and some scepticism would be advised. However, as I noted when the 2015 version was published, such reports often frame the discussion around technology in education, even if initially only at the level of “buzz-word bingo” for enthusiasts.

The current list “in an approximate order of immediacy and timescale to widespread implementation” is;

• Learning through social media – Using social media to offer long-term learning opportunities
• Productive failure – Drawing on experience to gain deeper understanding
• Teachback – Learning by explaining what we have been taught
• Design thinking – Applying design methods in order to solve problems
• Learning from the crowd – Using the public as a source of knowledge and opinion
• Learning through video games – Making learning fun, interactive and stimulating
• Formative analytics – Developing analytics that help learners to reflect and improve
• Learning for the future – Preparing students for work and life in an unpredictable future
• Translanguaging – Enriching learning through the use of multiple languages
• Blockchain for learning – Storing, validating and trading educational reputation

The usual fascinating mix of familiar ideas with novel concepts, the report gives a quick overview of why these may be important and includes handy links to further reading if you are interested