A dozen reasons education can't innovate; a dozens ways that's changing (opinion)

Formal education (P-20) doesn’t change much. Compared to other sectors, there is little innovation and weak innovation diffusion. There are at least a dozen reasons for the stasis:

INCENTIVES * Weak performance incentives, * Weak scaling incentives, and even * Weaker innovation incentives. R&D * Low government R&D investment; * HigherEd research focused on the

arcane rather than important; and * Low historic venture investment (with some recent improvement). CONSTRAINTS * Strong state and federal policy constraints, and a * Gordian knot of local

contracts ensconced in board policies and state laws (i.e., you may need to change three provisions/policies to do anything differently). LOW SHARING * Insular culture and structure prevents

permeation; and * Weak sharing inside the sector (but PLCs changing that fast). CAPACITY * Weak change capacity at the school, district, and state level; and * It’s tough to balance

improvement and innovation simultaneously. Perhaps the most significant barrier to innovation is the weight of tradition--the gravity of collective an idealized memories of school (e.g.,

“Keep Your 3, I Want My A": What’s Up With Standards-Based Grading? ) Schools just weren’t designed to innovate. To the extent that they reflect intentionality, public delivery systems

support equity and continuity. But the shift to digital and competency-based learning requires a lot of innovation and change capacity. Fortunately a dozen new structures and initiatives are

surrounding and infusing the public delivery system to enable the historic shift: * OPEN & VIRAL: Teachers, parents, and students are finding, using and sharing free, open, mobile

learning applications. * ALTERNATIVES: As Michael Barber pointed out in a recent report, “There is... increasing acceptance of non-degree credentials that don’t rely on traditional

universities,” resulting in affordable alternatives. * FUNDERS: Philanthropic and venture investment in innovation is up more than 5x in five years (see list of 30 investors). * GOVERNMENT

INVESTMENT: Federal investment in RTTT and I3 resulted in early policy shifts and some promising tools and practices; Ohio’s Straight A Fund is a good example of state support for

sustainable and scalable innovations. * INCUBATORS: More than a dozen incubators (e.g., 4.0 Schools) and accelerators (ImagineK12) have sprung up in the last three years supporting new tools

and schools. * SHORT CYCLES: more iterative development and use of short cycle efficacy trials. * NEW SCHOOLS: funding for innovative new schools (e.g., NGLC and Carnegie). * TURNAROUND:

states (e.g., Michigan EAA) and districts (e.g., Houston Apollo) are using turnaround as an innovation opportunity. * NETWORKS: New and transformed schools are working together in innovative

networks (see our Deeper Learning paper for 10 examples). * CMOS: Charter management organizations are scaling quality and infusing innovation (e.g., see Summit Public Schools). *

AGGREGATION: Expanded use of prizes and pull mechanisms, including demand aggregation and shared purchasing, are boosting innovation and efficiency. * HARBORMASTERS: CEE-Trust is a network

of city-based foundations, nonprofits and mayor’s offices that work together to support education innovation and reform.