Envisioning Innovation in Education Stories
About EIE Stories
Welcome to the Envisioning Innovation in Education (EIE) Stories series!
We proudly present to you a series of innovation stories told by school leaders and teachers who participated in the Envisioning Innovation in Education (EIE) project.
The EIE project was a 3-year professional development initiative funded by CEL and led by Project Zero between 2020-2023. It aimed to connect schools to innovations in education, inspire new approaches to practice, and ignite local and system-wide change.
During the project, 11 diverse secondary schools engaged in a 3-phase process for change: Envision, Inquire and Innovate. This experience involved two key structures: School-based Study Groups and Cross-school Learning Community Events. Besides watching the video above for an overview, you may read the Envisioning Innovation in Education—Hong Kong: Experiments in Teaching & Learning book (EIE HK Book) to learn more about the project.
On this EIE Stories page, we have compiled 7 video interviews that illustrate the valuable learnings, key processes, and unique insights gained by EIE participants who hold different positions in a range of Hong Kong (local and international) school contexts.
Whether you are a school leader, teacher, or educational practitioner, we hope these stories can inspire you on the different ways to envision innovation in education.
How to Navigate the EIE Stories
A key learning from this project is that innovation can be achieved through small steps and does not need to feel overwhelming. Through observations in the EIE project and conversations with participants, we have found that innovation can be approached from three different perspectives: at the individual, colleague, and student levels. Each EIE story is told from these perspectives, offering viewers insights and strategies for approaching innovation in education.
Individual level
Use reflective practice to review practices - step back from assumptions to uncover the heart of the issues, considering your role and interest, the characteristics of your students, as well as challenges and opportunities within your context
Set an inquiry focus to investigate and promote innovation - to inquire with curiosity and maintain focus on specific direction for purposeful innovation
Colleague level
Leverage colleagues as resources and critical friends - to recognize the power of viewing colleagues as thought partners who support your practice and inquiry process. Educators can be stimulated by sharing perspectives with colleagues within their school, in the same subject area, across various subjects, and even from other schools
Embrace the mindset of “teachers are also learners” - to create time and space for adults to learn, struggle, share and celebrate; and that these learnings will trickle down to students’ learning
Student level
Empower students through voice and choice - to recognize students as active learners who can take charge of their own learning when given the opportunities
Watch these 7 stories to learn about participants’ innovation process, and be inspired on how you can also innovate by making small changes in your own context!
Should you have any enquiries,
please contact us via email at info@celhk.org.