Week 2 Group Task --- What are the main reasons for innovation failures and success in education?

The factors that affect the success or failure of innovation in education varies in ways. The following aspects were discussed under the principle of student-centered pedagogical environment with innovations.

1. Preliminary analysis

    Most innovation projects was focused on the design of the innovative pedagogy and process. The fundamental analysis about the learners, the learning and teaching environment and other indirect parts are easily ignored, which may result in the misjudgment of the students and resources and later leads to the failure.

2. A long-term plan

    A long-term plan is significant for innovation in education, which should be durable and detailed. The long-term plan designs the strategic implementation, solutions to possible or predicted problems and a back-up plan.


3. Ideological recognition

    This ideological recognition lies in the very bases of the whole innovation process, which includes acceptance of the innovation uses, the gap between ideal and reality. Only by cultivating the ideological recognition can people start to apply the innovation in education.


4. Visible senior management involvement or a team with effective leadership

    A strong and visible senior management involvement plays a key role for the operation of the innovation. What this involvement could provide is the maintenance, which involves a lot, for instance, financial and technical support for the innovation, intellectual resources like teachers or professors, supervising the operation of the whole etc.. For some organisations, the senior management could give feedbacks to the upper management or even ask for policy benefits.

5. Culture

    “Culture” is a word that irritates people a lot, because it’s such an abstract word that everyone likes to use it as one single point.

    Culture here is not just the organisation culture, but also one that drives students and teachers to explore more in an innovative way on learning; one that constantly innovates people relate to and interact with other people and the world.

    This culture could be created from the managerial level, but the permeation of this ideology need to spread through the whole process.

6. Adjustment of the process

    Even with the rigorous mapping of the process, there will be unexpected occurring, e.g. problems or gusty situations with equipments or environment settings. To the process itself, it’s better to be more adaptive.  If the emergency happens, what is the best immediate solution or alternative.

7. Alignment with goals and missions

    No matter what kind of media or model we use, the settings should be aligned with goals and missions. Otherwise, the education with innovations would be meaningless as the showing of latest hi-technology.

    When aligned with goals and missions, teachers could learn how to use the innovations in education more easily, which would make the understanding and acceptance more precise and easy-to-follow.

8. A creatively resourced, multi-functional delicate team

    Differs from the team of leadership, this team could be expanded to three parts: 

1. Project champions, who will be responsible of all the project settings to ensure the operation.
2. Relevant capabilities and expertise, which were given by certain group of people.
3. Naive newcomers, whom will give fresh ideas to diverse the group view.

There are many aspects and factors influencing whether the innovation in education a failure or success. As a group, everyone devotes their own ideas respectively.

This is not exactly a summary, but a conclusion of the sparkling points raised by our group.