Innovation in a school context is the process of thoughtfully implementing new practices that enhance teaching and learning. This may not sound like a very controversial idea, yet, if you sit in any staff room for a period of time and listen to the conversations, you are bound to hear stories about programs that came and went, leaving little impact on the school. These ill-fated programs, which end up being just another periodic interruption, were probably seen as innovations by their proponents. There is a fine line between innovation and chasing trends, and if we look closely, we can see that authenticity is the ink of that fine line.
Innovation is not merely about introducing something new but about making purposeful, context-driven changes that improve the learning environment while staying true to the unique identity and goals of the school. From the perspective of appreciative inquiry, innovation becomes a process of building on existing strengths to achieve meaningful and sustainable change. In a school environment where inquiry-based pedagogy drives teaching and learning, this approach mirrors what we do in classrooms every day: building on what students already know, understand, and can do. To build on their strengths, we must know our students well, and the same logic applies to the school. Innovation in a school is a form of organizational learning. We need to know our strengths as a school, understand our specific needs, and ensure that new practices align closely with our mission and vision. Building on existing strengths provides the authenticity that distinguishes innovation from chasing trends. In this sense, authentic innovation in education is not about replacement but about building on a school’s existing strengths to create meaningful and sustainable change.
The irony of many ill-fated, trend-driven, periodic interruptions is that they are often based on ideas with great potential. Consider examples such as open-classroom designs (1970s); the whole-language approach to literacy (1980s–1990s); learning styles (1990s–2000s); multiple intelligences in curriculum design (1990s–2000s); Brain Gym (2000s); flipped classrooms (2010s); flexible seating (2010s); genius hour (2010s); one-to-one technology (2010s); and no-zero grading policies (2000s–2010s). Each of movements have contained valuable perspectives which have contributed positively to the educational landscape. Their impacts linger, but when disconnected school-level implementations focus on novelty rather than sustainability, they often fail to create lasting change. Without thoughtful consideration of how a new practice builds on a school’s existing strengths or reflects its core values, even well-intentioned initiatives may feel disjointed, creating skepticism and undermining the very change they seek to promote.
The essence of innovation lies in identifying and amplifying what a school already does well—a principle at the heart of appreciative inquiry. Instead of replacing existing practices wholesale, innovation should adapt them to meet evolving needs. This approach ensures continuity and roots new initiatives in the familiar, making them more likely to succeed. With this in mind, schools must first ensure that their current practices align with their mission and vision. If this alignment is absent, even the most innovative intentions are likely to be ineffectual at best.
Aoba-Japan International School, is taking part in the IB's online Diploma Program pilot program where online students join on-campus classes remotely. This innovation can be traced back several years to a time when the school was delivering the IB Diploma Program, but felt that some students needed a more flexible high school option. The school developed an alternative program that would respond to the needs of students who had a clear vision of what they wanted to do with their lives and needed to pursue their passion in a specific area. For example, a student who was extremely passionate about visual arts and needed to spend more time exploring visual arts during their high school years than the structured of the Diploma Program could accomodate.
Inquiry-based learning was at the heart of the school's mission, and something the school did very well, so a new pathway was developed called the the Global Leadership Program. In this new pathway that ran parallel to the IB Diploma Program, students determine their focus of study and designed their own units of inquiry, guided by a teacher acting as a Leadership Coach. The act of supporting a student to write their own unit based on an area that they were passionate about pushed the boundaries of inquiry and independent learning further than anyone could have imagined at the time. It was a successful innovation because it built on an area of strength of the school, pushing inquiry into new areas and responded to an identified need that resonated with the school community. The foundation was already there.
From this point, having pushed the boundaries of inquiry, the school asked if the Global Leadership Program could have even more flexible structures and be even more responsive to student needs. Emerging from some successful COVID-based online learning experiences, the opportunity to launch a Global Leadership Program fully online option presented itself. Again, this was building on a strength of the school, pushing existing practices in new directions. After the Global Leadership Program was being successfully delivered, joining the IB's online Diploma Program pilot was a logical next step to improve access to the programs.
It was all about increasing flexibility and responsiveness. This was not a program or an event, it was a sustained process of examining strengths and needs in light of the essence of the school's evolving identity. Each step built on the last in line with the school's vision and mission and the shifts in practice have felt authentic and have stood the test of time.
The most successful innovations are not only grounded in a school’s strengths but also deeply aligned with its mission and vision. A clear alignment ensures that new initiatives are understood and embraced by the school community. When a school’s mission and culture anchor innovation, the resulting changes feel authentic and meaningful. They foster engagement from teachers, students, and families alike because they represent a shared purpose, not just a top-down directive.
The key to avoiding the trap of chasing fleeting educational trends lies in adopting a reflective approach that considers the school’s unique identity. My upcoming book, Communicating Your IB School's Unique Story (due for publication in January 2025, if all goes well!), explores ways to articulate a school’s unique identity by drawing from day-to-day conversations. If these conversations are not already happening, shifting those routines may be the first step.
To ensure that innovation reflects a school’s identity and strengths, you may like to consider the following questions:
How will the practice fit within our existing school culture?
Is it already a part of our conversations?
Does the practice address a broadly perceived need within the school?
Who is talking about it?
How does the proposed practice build on what the school already does well?
How do we know?
What evidence supports its potential to benefit the school community?
Did the evidence come from within the school?
How does the practice align with the school’s mission, vision, and long-term goals?
How clear is the connection?
Without this reflective process, schools risk implementing initiatives that may be short-lived or ineffective. In a dynamic school context, where countless areas vie for attention, we must choose changes that are close to our hearts and deeply meaningful to our community.
For innovation to thrive, it must become part of the school culture—not a periodic disruption. Innovation in education is about careful, thoughtful evolution: taking what a school already does well and building on it in ways that align with its mission, vision, and culture. In this way, we can innovate for authenticity and impact.
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