Innovation
On this 10 week course we challenge students to think in new ways, develop new behaviours and to work in teams to improve their employability, rather than teaching them to design a new mousetrap. Co-designed and co-delivered by an academic and a businessman, the inspiration for the course comes from our shared knowledge and experience of co-authoring a book on innovation. The mutual benefits of dialogue between business and academia inform the decisions we make on course design, objectives and delivery and the curriculum sets innovation theory against its practical applications.
Students explore how many innovations involve crossing boundaries; why some innovations fail; the evolution of innovation; what forces lead to diffusion of innovation; the role and impact of collaboration on innovation, the challenges and opportunities of product and process innovation. Our aim is to inspire an enthusiasm for and an understanding of innovation and encourage the practice of tracking and evaluating the impact of innovations, so vital to anyone in business.
While teaching students about the innovation process, we encourage personal boundary crossing - intellectually, socially, culturally and through developing new behaviours. The intensity of the course is exceptional and would often be covered in twenty, rather than ten weeks. To achieve the level of sustained reflection needed for students to benefit from our approach, we confronted a number of common learning and teaching challenges that became embedded in our course design. These included building motivation, developing a critical and active approach to learning, ensuring sustained, rather than spasmodic effort throughout the course as well as developing an ability to link understanding of contemporary innovation to theory.
Our students are taking degrees in Management and Entrepreneurship, Business Studies and Economics and so do not have a technology background. In our course they develop an appreciation of innovation and the habit of tracking and evaluating the potential impact of contemporary innovation. This is a vital skill in business both for those pursuing management careers or those intending to start their own businesses. This course has been running since 2004 and was originally launched using the Lancaster University VLE (LUVLE). Our move to Sakai took the course to new levels. Its tools facilitated high levels of collaboration and interactivity inside and outside the workshops.
* Professor Mary Rose, Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development,(IEED) Lancaster University Management School, (LUMS) Course convenor
* Mike Parsons, Entrepreneurial Fellow, IEED, Director of Innovation Original Mountain Marathon Ltd Course Convenor
* Adrian Fish, Software engineer, Sakai developer, Centre for E-Science (LUMS)
The course adopts innovative teaching and learning methods, which encourage boundary crossing through developing team working and individual reflection. A blended learning approach is used based on a Sakai collaborative software platform, the use of which was pioneered at Lancaster University Management School, on our two innovation courses, ENTR 313 and EBIN 504.
We identified a number of key learning and teaching challenges and these were embedded and resolved through the course design. These include:
1. Setting current innovation and management practice alongside theory.
2. Developing critical analytical skills to aid the understanding and evaluation of the business press
3.Motivation
4. 80/20 rule- moving towards sustained effort throughout the course from the norm where students put 80% of their time and effort around deadlines and examinations.
5. Active learning
6. Plagiarism
Our core curriculum hinges round the weekly analysis of innovation theory and of articles on innovation reported in the serious business press and other on-line media during the 10 weeks of the course. Innovation search and Innovation theory are the key components of every week of the course. Their discussion forms the foci of : group preparation and workshop interaction. This work is assessed (40% of marks for course) and the assignment is completed using the SAKAI wiki. The immediacy and contemporary nature of the innovations discussed, make plagiarism very difficult.
This course uses lectures sparingly. 'Inspirational' keynote lectures surprise and challenge at the start of the course and draw theory and contemporary practice together at the end while visiting,innovative entrepreneurs are invited to speak during the term. The emphasis is, however, on active participation by students. The blended learning approach, with its combination of VLE, online materials, group work and interactive face-to face workshops encourages active participation and sustained rather than spasmodic effort. From confining their effort to the week or two before deadlines, students have to work consistently through the term.
Individual motivation is fuelled by peer pressure derived from team working and the visibility of work within the SAKAI VLE -within and between workshops. An informal weekly recognition system of cookies or chocolate (or other low value token) for the best group performance has a remarkable motivating effect.
Individual learning is enhanced by peer to peer learning but is underpinned by an on-line personal learning log (accessible only to individual student and tutors). This is supported by course tutors, who use comments to coach students and help them with their personal learning journey. This non-edit log is assessed (60% of marks) and is kept on a week by week basis.
Our course represents a profound change in student behaviour and attitudes and indeed the prevailing 'dominant design' of conventional teaching and learning.
Our combined past experience informed our design choices and helped us support and manage the students' need to change. As Mike observed "Mary agreed to my proposal that I treat the students as I would employees during an extensive period of management change."
Through their experience of this course students develop personal, critical and collaborative skills which build their academic abilities alongside enhancing their employability and potential for developing their own businesses.
Groups of students learn how to form teams through negotiation, discussion, and observing other groups' success. The challenges of this course would be too daunting, and the work demands too high, for students to work entirely individually. Learning to work together to prepare for each workshop can be quite daunting and not without conflict. But learning to negotiate, to listen and to draw on individual strengths are vital to team success.
In embedding team working within the course we drew heavily on Mike's experience of introducing cell manufacturing in his old company Karrimor, in the 1990s. The change from passive, spasmodic individual lecture based education to active team based education is as much of a paradigm shift for students as shifting from batch to lean production is in manufacturing. The gains of the shift to team working, in terms of work quality, time and flexibility are very similar.
To succeed we provide a demanding, but informal work environment. Team working builds confidence and this is especially important for more diffident students. It continues throughout the term leading to a community of shared practice as the group of peers becomes a team.
Entrepreneurs are often guest speakers on courses in LUMS, but we are the only example where an academic and a businessman are joint course convenors, designers and deliverers. Throughout, students see us as a combination of experience. In course delivery this begins with our opening 'inspirational' lecture which we jointly deliver, using an approach which can be best be described as 'managed spontaneity' and takes the form of a dialogue. We use our differing backgrounds in industry and business history to illustrate the importance of collaboration to innovation and to show that 'to design for the future you need to leaf through the past' (quoted BMW) and so begin with surprise and the unexpected. The unusual opening poses more questions than it resolves and engages curiosity before the first workshop which introduces the practice of the course.
Innovation Search focuses on innovation articles appearing during the 10 weeks of the course and this brings an extraordinary freshness to the course each year. With common theory themes running through the course, the innovations discussed change from year to year. The development of an innovation search record through the Sakai wiki makes it possible for us to draw comparisons and illustrate diffusion patterns and changes.
Understanding of theory comes from use and from discussion and, in this course, the regularity of discussion between peers and with us, as groups prepare for workshops, post on the forum and analyse our responses in the workshops reinforces learning. By the end of the course students are able to link theories together and apply them with far greater facility than when they see each theme in an isolated weekly silo.
Peer to peer learning is one of the fundamental foundations of this course and it is embedded within the face to face workshops, preparation for workshops, and assessment.
Workshops
Students are taught in intensive two hour workshops of 25-30 (supported by the Sakai VLE) and are subdivided into groups of 6-8 students. Our aim is for these often disparate groups to evolve, through the processes of the course, into effective teams who function well on line and face to face. Students must form effective teams to achieve good grades, manage the workload and develop their performance as future employees.
They work together to :
1. Prepare weekly innovation theory (using materials posted weekly by the tutors)
2. To carry out innovation search, identifying an article on innovation, which is then discussed in the workshops.
3. Handle discussion with tutors and other teams during the workshops
4. Feedback overviews from workshop discussions during sessions.
Each group is assessed on a group Innovation Search assignment which counts for 40% of the overall mark of the course. An element of this grade (10%) links to overall group performance.
As a guard against free-riding, (often the major criticism of group work), the group mark is adjusted by individual peer assessment to produce an individual mark for each student.
If (as often happens) the individual peer assessment marks are the same for all students in a group then they are all awarded the group mark. Where there are variations the group mark is individually adjusted by the deviation from the group average.
Building collaboration and peer to peer learning
1. Choice of a distinctive group name is the first step to building group identity. Over the years the most memorable have been Sexy Porridge, Innovative Jugglers, Frog and Goat to mention just a few! Negotiation of a group contract helps develop mutual understanding, respect and practices. It is suggested that each group member draw up a list of 6 characteristics of effective group work, these are discussed within group to build understanding of meanings, commitments and expectations. The combined list becomes a group contract, which can be revisited and tweaked from experience.
2. Weekly group preparation for workshops builds habit and mutual understanding among students. Adapting practice to meet the workload leads to discussions around roles and knowledge sharing. The best groups adjust their work practice and share skills so that within a few weeks what seemed challenging has become manageable and enjoyable.
3. Collaborative software is not naturally collaborative - it is the way that it is used. The Sakai platform lies at the heart of this course. The workspace is the point of all communication and the tools are actively used throughout, with the Sakai Forum and Wiki tools being the basis of all group work.
All students have access to course space for all resources and a forum. Group work is facilitated by the use of the Sakai wiki where they work collaboratively in small groups to analyze current innovations. Each student also keeps an online academic learning log, which is private to the individual and to tutors. This allows the development a personal learning journey through the course, building understanding and crossing academic boundaries. Interactivity in workshops is often hard with multicultural groups, but is achieved through the confidence building that comes with peer and tutor support .
All background materials for the course are available at the start of the course on SAKAI, in resources. Weekly materials are made date specific in announcements and appear on the home page a week before the work is due. All lecture, workshop times and assignment dates appear on the calendar and are summarised along with contact information on the home page.
We introduce the students to the site and its resources on their laptops during the first workshop and invite each group to feedback their understanding of what is expected in an unusual and unorthodox course. This helps promote knowledge sharing across the course, allows us to reinforce their understanding and ensures the course gathers momentum quickly.
What do they get to get started on ENTR 313 when they go to the SAKAI site?
1 Course outline and annotated bibliography covering all themes on course
2 Overview of the key features of course
3 Guidance notes and grading criteria for Innovation Search and Learning Log
4 Short Powerpoint introductions to using Sakai tools. Currently these are visual only but we plan to embed Slideshare presentations with voice-overs for 2009.
5 Video made by previous year's students on their experiences and advice for new students.
All these are available in resources but, for ease of access, are included as permanent links on the home page.
What materials are available to support learning?
The materials are variable in form and approach and combine conventional written materials with videos, images, podcasts and Animoto video clips (vodcasts) all either stored or embedded on the course site.
Lectures
The few lectures are supported by Powerpoint. The lecture is recorded and after the session made available in podcast form. This gives students the opportunity to revisit them at their leisure.
Weekly Innovation Theory
The greatest variety in form comes with the weekly innovation theory materials, used by the student for their preparation. The core materials are summaries of key academic debates around theories addressed on the course.
Vodcasts are used as introductions, capturing the key themes, pointing to links between topics. By combining images and sound, they are atmospheric, inspirational, aid retention and provide a memorable impression before students start work on a topic.
The materials themselves provide syntheses of key academic literatures and are supplemented by podcasts and video clips. The students discuss them in their groups before handling a set of questions for their weekly pre-workshop forum posting.
The course has been developed around the idea of a learning journey based upon a combination of peer to peer learning, dialogue with tutors while the learning log is based on a coaching approach, where comments normally take the form of questions and suggestions for further thought. Interactivity, between individual students, between groups, between students and tutors, between the tutors and between tutors and Adrian Fish, the Lancaster University Sakai developer, is one of this course's core objectives and it is achieved in a number of ways.
The use of weekly group work embeds peer to peer learning in the regular practice of the course while leaving the students free to choose how and when they communicate. The weekly posting provides a regular prompt for interaction with tutors who comment on the findings and base the workshops around the comments.
The workshops, although carefully structured around Innovation Search and Innovation Theory, are informal and lack formal presentations which can kill discussion through 'death by PowerPoint'. Innovation Search is handled by groups introducing their chosen article and responding to questions by the tutors around the type of innovations and potential barriers to diffusion. Students are encouraged to conduct supplementary internet searches as needed. Similarly the theory session involves a resume of the findings, based on the posting followed by in session group work and feedback.
The weekly innovation theory postings on the Sakai Forum becomes a resource for the whole course. Students refer back to their weekly work in developing innovation search and their learning log.
Interaction with tutors is also facilitated between individual students and the tutors through the learning log and personalised by the photo profiles which accompany each posting. The balance between team and individual working is achieved through assessment. Innovation Search is a group assignment designed around the Sakai Wiki and the learning log an individual assignment.
One of the biggest challenges facing the Google generation is developing an ability to interpret and evaluate materials they find on the Web. The accessibility of information does not convert it into knowledge. On Innovation Search we help students develop their critical research skills by getting them to analyse articles that appear on the web during the course and set these against theory.
The individual learning logs give students the opportunity to design their own learning route through the course. The guidelines lay out a set of clear pointers and gives examples of good practice, but the shape of logs is up to the individual students. Outstanding logs have included one student who had set up his own business and analysed his business experience using the course theory.
This is an exceptionally demanding course for final year undergraduate students. Success requires change in working practice thinking, to move away from compartmentalising knowledge. By showing a student film we demonstrate the high expectations of participation in the first week of the course. The workload is high, but manageable with good team working.
We have tailored the home page of the site with a course logo and basic information to welcome students to the course, introduce them to the approach and navigate around the site.
Tools have been renamed to suit the needs of the course. Our use of the Sakai announcement tool to deliver date specific materials at a pre-determined time through the term is especially appreciated by students.
We are conscious of ways that we might simplify the home page further by use of the web content took for guidelines and course outline. We plan also to embed short 2 minute Slideshare 'how to' presentations to help students get started.
The guidance notes for this course are extensive to provide a reference point for students starting out and refer back to. Merely reading materials relating to an unfamiliar set of processes is not enough however. In our first workshop each year the students discuss the guidelines for the different elements of the course- Innovation Search, Learning Log, weekly theory, preparation and interpret and feedback to the whole group. Innovation Search is a staged assignment.
We introduce the students first to the idea of a weekly search for innovation articles. This gets them used to both the search and research process and also to simple use of the Sakai Wiki. Mid term, we get them planning the main assignment and support this by both a face to face session and by putting a sample wiki on the site, reminding them of the criteria and showing an example of what their assignment might look like.
Since part of the credit is for their originality of design and interpretation we do not give them a template. We use the very last workshop session of the term to get each group to feedback to us their choice of article and analyse with them the potential strengths and weaknesses. This means we and they are confident to proceed to develop their assignment, it also gives groups further opportunity to learn from each other.
Tutors have access to the student's group spaces as a support mechanism but only intervene when it is clear that a problem is arising.
The Sakai Wiki became the vehicle for transforming innovation search into a group assignment. Our original course design involved group work but all assessment was individual. We were cautious of introducing group assessment without a transparent rationale, good incentives, a suitable platform and mechanisms for dealing with free-riding. Testing out the wiki tool provided the inspiration for the shift. A paper based weekly activity and an individual essay became an imaginative and creative group project based on the Wiki tool. Innovation Search is entirely marked on line and we give external examiners access to all workspaces.
The adaptation of a blogging tool reinforced the existing pedagogy.Our course development and design has depended upon collaboration and this has been enhanced as we moved to Sakai by an ongoing dialogue with Adrian Fish. A provisional Sakai tool, the Blogger was adapted for us as personal learning log. Our use and student/tutor feedback has fed back into the tool design process creating a virtuous development circle bringing improved functionality for students and tutors. Combined with a 'People' tool including images of posters, the learning log provides personal learning space which can be easily supported by tutors. The tool was discussed by Adrian in 2008 http://www.cpm.jussieu.fr/CPM/activites/visioconf/sakai_conf.htm
We also print from the 'people' tool to help us quickly learn names during workshops, something especially appreciated by students unused to being recognised by name.
Unpredicted benefits
Motivation from peer pressure came from the visibility of group work during workshops. The Sakai platform was actively used throughout and created an atmosphere of healthy competition in the workshops, that was quite simply infectious.
For students working in a second language, the combination of peer support from team-working and the Sakai wiki and forum tool built confidence and led to much greater levels of interactivity than is normal in multicultural groups.
Finally the Sakai platform was liberating for us as non-technical users. With good technical support and advice we felt empowered to develop and adapt the platform for our needs.We continue to use student feedback as a means of improving the course.
This year short 'vodcasts' using images and MP3 voice files were used to provide brief introductions to each workshop to help the students focus before their preparatory work. We developed one for each week of the course. The following example was Introduction to course. This is an example linked to a workshop on Mass Collaboration. That these can be embedded within Sakai tools greatly increases their impact.
The following video, developed by a group of 2007-8 ENTR 313 students for their peers this year has been invaluable in helping students adapt to the course processes. Mike's comment to them when he saw it was that as an employer, if he saw this film he would employ any one of them.
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