Many primary schools throughout New Zealand are espousing a shift to Innovative Learning Environments (ILE). ILE refers to the multifaceted and interrelated aspects of teaching and learning in a school; the pedagogy, organisation, teachers, learners, content, resources, community…basically, the whole shebang. An OECD (2013) report defined ILE a lot more eloquently as, “an organic, holistic concept — an ecosystem that functions over time and in context and includes the activity and outcomes of learning”.
The shift to ILE will require many primary teachers to make significant changes to their practice, and with any change, there exists risk. But what are the risks involved with a shift to ILE? And is it worth considering that teachers’ perceptions of risk may be a fundamental barrier to change? If the onus is on the classroom teacher to integrate digital technologies in learner-centric pedagogies, and collaborate with colleagues in flexible learning spaces, I would argue it just might be worth bearing in mind.
Acknowledging Risk (not resistance!)
The term risk has been used many ways and in various contexts for many years. In the corporate world the term ‘risk’ is commonplace; risk management, capital risk and systematic risk all focus on the identification, assessment and prioritisation of commercial risk. In the education sector the concept of risk is only beginning to be acknowledged when discussing innovation and change. But what does ‘risk’ really mean? Is risk real?