Pedagogic innovation in Higher Education.

From theory to practice

Jean-François Denef

Honorary Vice-rector for medical affairs “Université Catholique de Louvain”

Belgium

President of the SIFEM

2

SIFEM : Société Internationale Francophone pour l’Education Médicale

International French Speaking society for medical education • The only French speaking journal in pedagogy

– www.pedagogie-medicale.net • Special prioritary action groups

– Social responsability of medical schools– Communication– Research

• Work groups – Portfolio– Simulation in medical education

• Meetings • Cooperation with AMEE (Association for medical education in Europe)

3

Overview

• Take home message• Introduction : some basic definitions• Three phases of innovation

• Conception / appropriation• Implementation

• Evaluation and transfer to routine

• Conclusion and comments

(« Take home message »)

A strategy based on projects management is useful to cover all the aspects of the innovation

Three major steps in introducing pedagogic innovation: Conception/appropriation, implementation, evaluation.

A systemic approach is needed (needs, objectives, methods, evaluation, communication)

Consider all possible partners(teachers, students, administrations, …)

RAMSDEN, P. (1998).

Learning to lead in higher education

Routledge / Falmer.London & New York

288p.

2009

A few definitions…• Novation : invention, true novelty• Innovation : implementation of a novation in

a defined environment • Renovation : revision of a situation, of a

program, in order to improve or to adapt it to a changing environment

• Reform : Any change to respond to external changes

Bédard et Béchard, 2009

7

A basic innovation From the teacher centered approach

To the learner centered approach

What should I teach ?

What should they learn ?

What should they know ?

What should they do ?

Who should they be ?

Competences Learning outcomes

Educational objectives

Teaching Objectives

Societal needs

Learning outcomes

Course or program

evaluation

Student assessment Teaching methods

Students

Conception /Appropriation

Implementation

Evaluation

9

Why to develop pedagogic innovations ? Contextual elements

• The world is rapidly changing– Students change

• The numeric student• Increase of the number of students in higher education

– Science is advancing : new concepts old statements turn out to be wrong

– Increased social accountability– Increased and more specific demands of the society – New technologies– Turbulent changes of the environment – …

The numeric students

• Spend more than 4 hours a day with a monitor (PC, TV, Mobile, electronic games)

• Manipulate more than 3.300 Mobile messages/a month

• use « meta – meta – information's »Information’s « about information »

• Prefer pictograms to words

• is doing « zapping »Le monde de l’éducation, 2008

Change of the relations between teachers and students

Plantu

I want my diploma !

Just a little

question

OUT !

Obesity of the curriculum

We expect to much from our students et we teach them too many things.Let’s give them good methodologies ans a critical senses. Everything will come as their experience will develop

Sir W. OSLER 1849 – 1919.

Abrahamson S., Diseases of the Curriculum. Journal of Medical Education. 1978 : 53 : 951-957. Guilbert J.- J., Les maladies du curriculum. Revue française d’Education médicale, 1981 : IV, 6.Denef-JF, Pédagogie médicale, 3 : 123-124, 2002 12

Change in the expectations of the societytowards medical schools

Development of IT in the Professional practice

Tecfa, Genève

Let’s stop doing similar things

with different tools M Lebrun 2002

16

Motivation of the different actors involved in pedagogical innovation

StudentDiplomaTo pass exams

Teachers Professional succesSucess in various aspectsProgram

managers Institutional succesQuality of the program (conception, process)

17

Student

Teachers

Manager

Convergence of motivations

Convergence Of

Actions

18

Convergence of motivations

Divergence of actions

19

A basic innovation From the teacher centered approach

To the learner centered approach

What should I teach ?

What should they learn ?

What should they know ?

What should they do ?

Who should they be ?

Competences Learning outcomes

Educational objectives

Teaching Objectives

Educational objectives

Level Abilities Behavior 1 To know define, indentifie, list, tell in his own words,

2 To understand decribe, summarize, explain, …

3 To apply use, solve, construct, demonstrate, calculate, …

4 To analyse analyse, compare, select, chooze…

5 To synthetize conceive, plan, develop, present, produce, …

6 To evaluate justify, advocate, judge, criticize, evaluate, evaluate …

verbes

Wertz V., 2010

After the apporach by objectives, the approach through learning outcomes

verb

esWords orAdjectives

Societal needs

Learning outcomes

Course or program

evaluation

Student Assessment Teaching methods

Students

Implementation

23

Conditions required to implement pedagogic innovations

• Leadership• Evaluation of the social consequences • Process for consulting stakeholders and to

reach a consensus • More transparency, more involvement of all

groups in the management and decision for change

• Need for the stakeholders to understand which are the gain of the change in term of quality and equity

Experton W., Mondial bank CUD 2009

What kind of innovation• New curricula

• New pedagogical approaches

• New didactical methods

• New assessment methods

• Change in the relations between students and teachers

• New institutional entities

• …

How and when to implement change…

• Has the present situation been fully analysed ?

• Are initial conditions present to start a change ?

• Are all partners ready to change ?• Are the project, the chronogram, the means

coherent with the change ? • Is Communication planned during change ?

The partners involved in innovation • Political level :

– Commission for education, program, …• Piloting the process

• Executive level :– People in charge of implementing the innovation

• Administrative level : - People who will be in charge of transforming the innovation into routine • Students

27

Who is concerned in strategic management for change?

SocietyUniversity

FacultyDepartment

TeamsIndividuals

The key role of leaders

must be considered at each level

28

Réactions facing innovation

• Over My Dead Body Group : they are pessisitic and will be claiming against change if any trouble

Good Idea Let’s try !

It will never work !Why not ?

Early majority

Late majority

supporters OMDBG

Supporters: They like to take risks, are impatient, put pressure on other people

Early majority : are in favor of change as soon as they understand the objectives

Late majority : ask for early results and first consider all the possible negative consequences of change

28

How to generate adhesion or resistance

• Listen to people• Discuss first, try to solve

problems and convince later on

• Rely your project with the people

• Identify and promote early supporters

• Try to get quick positive results

• Be an example

• Ignore feelings• Restrict to logical and

formal arguments• Change often vision and

priorities• Blame persons for

problems instead of looking for causes

• Expect from others more than you expect from yourself

29

30

Why do people resist to innovation?

• Loss of control• To much uncertainty• Surprise…• Loss of his personal self confidence• Fear of the future• Rebound effects• Work overload• Personal attachment to the past• Contamination problems

31

Continuous management of the implementation

One non classical way of changing

• Consider the learning outcomes• Change progressively the contents and the

form of the students assessments• In turn, students will ask to change the

teaching methods

32

Student assessment driven change of the curriculum

Products ProceduresProjects

Communication

• The implementation phase is critical– (2/3 of projects fail during the implementation phase!)

• Major role of the communication– Should not be restricted to “information”

• Faculties are not only teaching institutions but are also “learning communities”

“Learning by doing”

• How to animate the project?“Let’s share our positive and negative experiences”

In summary : what to keep in mind about the implementation phase ?

Societal needs

Learning outcomes

Course or program

evaluation

Student assessment Teaching methods

StudentsEvaluation

36

Basic questions about evaluation

What ?Process ?Results ?

When ?

How ?

By who ?

To do what ?

To communicate what to who ?

Education al setup

Professional outcomes

Professional practice Patients

health

• Program evaluation

• Quality insurance

? ??

• Pratice hability

• Certification

• Evaluation of the professional

productivity

A systemic approach to evaluate major pedagogic innovation

Adaped from J Jouquan

Use Indicators

38

Indicators

SimpleMeasurableAccurateRealisticTimely (measurable at a given time)

Smart

39

Final comments and questions

To take different points of vue into consideration

Pedagogic innovation is not an objective “per se”

1. To increase the quality or to extend of the educational mission of the faculty

2. To increase effectiveness

3. To meet the everyone’s expectations

(« Take home message »)

A strategy based on projects management is useful to cover all aspects of the innovation

Three major steps in introducing pedagogic innovation: Conception/appropriation, implementation, evaluation.

A systemic approach is needed (needs, objectives, méthods, évaluation, communication)

Consider all possible partners(teachers, students, administrations, …)

• Change is life• Any change may pass through a feeling of loss • Resistance is related to the attachment to the past• Resistance is normal, natural and even necessary• Resistance will increase with pressure• Pressure induce compliance, not adhesion• Participation generates adhesion• Anyone should find his own advantage in change• Adhesion to change is in fact an … individual choice

Keys for change