RSCs – Stimulating and Supporting Innovation in Learning
RSCs – Stimulating and Supporting Innovation in Learning
16th October 2008
at The British Library
"an excellent event"
"extremely thought provoking"
"this event should have been made compulsory for all london principals"
The main focus for this event was to provide an opportunity for college leaders to think about the step changes that we need to go through in developing innovative curricula and the appropriate pedagogy in order to be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The day was introduced by Will Pickford, Head of JISC RSC London and Sue Rimmer, Chair of AoC London region.
David looked at some timelines in the technology cycle and compared it with changes in the education system. Whilst one has changed very quickly, the other has, on the whole, failed to keep up.
The FE system is used to responding to changes and is already well placed to be able to adapt to a fast changing external demand-led environment.
What is still lacking however is the ability for us to find a way of overcoming orgainisational cutural barriers.
Stephen's inspirational presentation painted a very interesting picture of the future and a very different and challenging education landscape.
Globalisation and technology present very real challenges for education, just as they have for other industries.
Whatever they will look like, we can be sure that FE Colleges will be very different places in 2020 and, to meet the challenge, we must start to become far more innovative.
Stephen has some key messages for the sector:
Four workshop sessions, facilitated by the LSN (Learning and Skills Network) and JISC InfoNet allowed participants to explore some of the emerging themes of the day in greater detail.
The challenges of the 21st century call for innovative approaches to curriculum design.
We want:
Future learning should:
Technology has changed the way we learn, and the way in which we teach.
We want:
Future learning should:
The workshop focused on responding to the rule changes in Employer Engagement and the possible future model in light of the World Class Skills agenda and recent changes in Train to Gain.
London Needs:
Future learning should:
FE new build and redevelopment projects are providing ideal opportunities for innovation but how far does what we are building now reflect the type of learning environment that will be needed in the future?
We want:
Future learning should:
John summarised the workshop sessions, adding his observation that currently there's a funding model that works for classes that spend lots of time together.
At the moment, experimentation is at the periphery of the learning system and there needs to be a shift change to find a business model that help supports Colleges do this.
A huge thanks to all the presenters, facilitators and delegates for their contributions to what was a very interesting event. Certainly there was much food for thought that came out of the day. Change is happening, faster and faster, and FE Colleges are well positioned to be able to adapt.
But...
William Pickford
Head of JISC RSC London
