Innovation is a Mind-set not a Department (first published Tempus Issue One 2016)

Six girls crowd around a table tinkering with robotics. They aren’t saying a lot to each other, but the looks on their faces show they are thinking about its mechanics - pondering the whys and fascinated with the hows. At the next table, four girls are learning to code a website and, not far from them, teachers are discussing how the girls will develop an app this year.

There are two words that sum up the activities happening in this room: Forward Thinking.

Forward Thinking is one of Woodford House’s four strategic priorities, set to take the school through to 2020. The other three are Learner Centred, Family Focused and Securing our Future. The Forward Thinking priority, which focuses on leading the way in everything we do, provides us with a mandate to nurture the innovative culture at school.

Innovation at Woodford House is not a new story, but it is an exciting one that evolves alongside, if not in front of, educational research and industry trends. 

Woodford House was established on innovation 122 years ago. Founding Principal, Mabel Annie Hodge, was described by Rae Webster in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography as a gifted and innovative educator who had the vision to establish Woodford House for girls. Miss Mary Holland, the second Principal, continued to develop the School while steering its community through a World War, depression and the 1931 Napier earthquake. Her foresight to recycle the bricks from a demolished boarding house to build courtyards and swimming pool surroundings can still be seen today. Miss Holland also ensured there were two women, Mrs Winifred Beetham Nelson and Miss Elsie Beetham Williams, as part of the Woodford House Trust, which showed her ability to look beyond their current operations and identify the needs of the future.

This innovative culture was carried on by all of the subsequent school leaders. Each leader continued to introduce new ideas, improve the existing framework and challenge the thinking of staff, students, parents and the wider school community.

In recent times, former Principal Jackie Barron spearheaded our journey to become a leading school in e-Learning with the introduction of digital platforms. We were the first school in New Zealand to use the learning management system Schoology, which forms the basis of our teaching and learning hub. From this launching pad we have been able to integrate Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and online portfolios, which allow our girls to learn anytime, anywhere.

So what will innovation look like at Woodford House this year and beyond? Some may ask, is it even important to focus on innovation in education? There is no doubt that the current world is evolving far quicker than the capacity of the existing New Zealand and global education systems. Harvard Innovation Education Fellow Tony Wagner says, “Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially. Today knowledge is free. It is like air, it is like water. It has become a commodity.

There is no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world does not care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know.” We need to create a better system than the one we grew up with.

We need to develop students with creative and innovative minds that can adapt and manage unpredictable challenges in the future.

Forward Thinking will be at the core of what we do and how we think at Woodford House. We are committed to developing girls who will continue to be flexible, creative and agile learners, and well prepared for their lives beyond school.

Yes, innovation will involve tangible initiatives such as coding websites, discovering mechanics, project-based learning and working with 3D printers. But it is more than that, it is a mind-set, one which will be reflected across all areas of school life whether that is in the classroom, on the sports field, or on a stage.

We will look beyond where we are currently successful, identify what skills our students need for tomorrow and put them into practice today.

Are Skills more valuable than Knowledge (Article first published Tempus-Issue one-2017)

We all know about IQ, most people have heard of EQ, but what about AQ? The Partners in Leadership website defines them as:

• IQ or Intelligence Quotient: The intelligence, knowledge, facts, and trivia that one possesses.
• EQ or Emotional Quotient: The emotional understanding and capability of oneself and others that helps with differing situations and people.
• AQ or Adaptability Quotient: The ability to adapt to and thrive in an environment of change.

Research shows that more and more employers are looking for high levels of emotional intelligence and adaptability in their job candidates.

So, what does this mean for our students?

The bottom line is that skills are now more valuable than knowledge. And not just any skills, but skills such as creativity, collaboration, curiosity, empathy, critical thinking, connectedness and effective communication. Our students will be moving into a world where knowledge is not a commodity - it is freely available to anyone with a smart phone in their pocket. Routine jobs will become increasingly automated - the Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Australia has conservatively estimated that all vehicles in Australia will be self-driven by 2030 because of the ability to now retro fit the technology. The ability to learn, unlearn and relearn in order to keep pace with this fast changing workforce will be the new currency.

So what is the role of education in this fast changing world?

Frances Valentine, the Founder of The Mind Lab and Tec Futures, says we need to open students’ eyes even wider than before. The relevance and context of what we choose to do in class is everything. Frances has challenged educators to “stop valuing only what we can measure” and celebrate divergent thinking. The purpose is to produce students who are design thinkers, social crusaders, politically mobilised and educative disruptors. All of which demonstrate high levels of EQ and AQ.

Woodford House has leaned into the discomfort to adapt and, more importantly, thrive in this changing environment. Eight staff have completed, or are part way through, The Mind Lab Postgraduate Certificate in Digital and Collaborative Learning. This is an impressive achievement considering we only have a total of 28 fulltime teachers. More so when you consider that integrated and independent schools have the lowest participation rates of any education sector in The Mind Lab courses nationwide.

The Mind Lab were so impressed by our commitment to professional development that they created a video of our school to examine why we had the highest uptake of any school in Hawke’s Bay in the first two intakes of their course. The spread of teachers across the curriculum at Woodford House is outstanding. Staff from English, Biology, Physics, Drama, Business Studies and the Intermediate Department have been involved in The Mind Lab. These teachers have committed to a demanding schedule, including four hour-long hands-on sessions once a week for the first 16 weeks followed by another 16 weeks of independent online study, while working fulltime. Juggling postgraduate study with fulltime work is always a challenge, but the unique nature of The Mind Lab course is that all research is based on the teachers’ actual classroom practice.

Staff are able to put the latest educational theory around digital and collaborative learning into practice so their students can experience and benefit from it immediately. The benefits of The Mind Lab have extended beyond those involved. Each Friday, we spend 40 minutes on professional learning. During Term 1, the teachers on The Mind Lab course shared what they had learnt only a few days prior. The reach of the new learning was magnified. The most exciting aspect was that if all staff were exposed to the latest research and developments in digital and collaborative learning, so too were our students, and we owe it to them to ensure they are prepared for their future.

Are we there yet? Not even close, but we are making giant strides, which are based on sound educational principles that are future focused and supported by current research. With support from our Boards, Woodford House staff are ensuring our students (and our own) AQ is on the rise.