Envisioning Innovation in Education
EIE Week
To celebrate the fruition of the Envisioning Innovation in Education (EIE) project and share our learnings, a week of EIE-related events (aka “EIE Week”) was held between April 23-27, 2024 for the wider education community.
EIE Week key events:
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Two thematic EIE Workshops
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EIE Workshop 1: “How Might We Foster Students’ Thinking Skills for Deeper Learning?”
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EIE Workshop 2: “How Can Adult Learning & Facilitation Support School-based Professional Development?”
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EIE Workshops
EIE Workshop 1:
“How Might We Foster Students’ Thinking Skills for Deeper Learning?”
[The video of the whole workshop is also available here]
On April 23, 2024, the EIE workshop themed “How Might We Foster Students’ Thinking Skills for Deeper Learning?” introduced over 50 educators and practitioners to PZ’s Making Thinking Visible (MTV) framework, a popular concept among EIE schools for supporting education innovation as well fostering students as deeper thinkers and self-directed learners. Participants experienced the power of thinking routines by using the “See-Think-Wonder” protocol to examine the Hong Kong MTR Map, which sparked rich discussions and inspired them to apply thinking routines in their schools. Participants also explored the 10 mindsets for fostering Cultures of Thinking (CoT), which emphasized the importance of creating environments conducive to deeper thinking.
EIE Alumni also shared their story of practices and invited participants to integrate MTV and CoT in their unique contexts. For a detailed look at their insights, please watch the videos below.
Making Thinking Visible
in the Classroom
Mr. Fan Tsun Long, a Chinese History Teacher from St. Francis of Assisi’s College, shared his experiences of using thinking routines with Chinese History students.
Making Thinking Visible with Students & Colleagues
Mr. Stanley Mak, a Biology Teacher from Marymount Secondary School, shared his experiment with Project Zero’s thinking routines in and outside the classroom to support students’ self-directed learning.
A Whole School Approach to Making Thinking Visible & Cultures of Thinking
Mr. Chris Ho, a Geography Teacher, and Mr. Marco Wong, Vice Principal, from Fanling Kau Yan College, shared the process of promoting Project Zero’s Making Thinking Visible practices school-wide.
EIE Workshop 2:
“How Can Adult Learning & Facilitation Support School-based Professional Development?”
[The video of the whole workshop is also available here]
On April 24, 2024, the EIE workshop titled “How Can Adult Learning and Facilitation Support School-based Professional Development (PD)?” was conducted for over 50 educators and practitioners. Throughout the EIE project, EIE participants have explored innovative approaches to professional development, enhancing their growth and deepening their understanding of students. During the workshop, collaborative inquiry strategies were shared (e.g. learning as a study group, looking at student work together), which reinforced the idea that “Teachers are also Learners”. Workshop participants reflected on the “Four Types of Teacher Dialogue” and engaged in the “Looking at Student Work together” activity, which highlighted the importance of understanding student thinking through observation and considering varied perspectives.
EIE Alumni also shared their experience in facilitating study groups and learning communities to co-learn with their colleagues. They encouraged participants to create similar learning experiences in their working environment. For more insights, please watch the videos below.
Engaging in & Facilitating
Study Groups
Ms. Caroline Li, English Literature Panel Head from Marymount Secondary School, shared their practice of regularly meeting as a study group and engaging in ongoing inquiry-based teacher dialogue during the EIE journey with colleagues.
Leading & Facilitating
Study Groups
Ms. Virginia Wong, Vice Principal from St. Francis of Assisi’s College, shared her practice of “Looking at Student Work” with colleagues from different disciplines during school-based study groups, a core element of the EIE project
Facilitating and Expanding
Study Groups
Mr. Daniel Ng, English Panel Head from HKCCCU Logos Academy, shared the approach of establishing a community-driven Professional Learning Community (PLC) in their school.
EIE Forum
The EIE Forum was held on April 27, 2024 as the culminating event of EIE Week and brought together over 100 educators, NGO partners, and funders. Participants engaged in highly experiential activities that showcased the ideas and processes that inspired innovation in 11 diverse EIE schools. EIE participants also actively shared their innovation stories during the forum, taking on roles as co-facilitators, presenters, and panel guests.
EIE HK Book Introduction
Project Zero (PZ) team presented their highly-anticipated book, “Envisioning Innovation in Education—Hong Kong: Experiments in Teaching and Learning”, which offers rich insights and a toolkit of resources from the 3-year EIE project.
Warm-up Activity
Forum participants kicked off by building “what innovation looks like” using Lego, discovering innovation can take different forms based on unique contexts.
Experiential Activities from the EIE Journey
EIE participants consistently regard the experiential professional development components as one of the key EIE project highlights. On the day, we encapsulated the three-year experience into three distinct experiential activities. Forum participants were exposed to the key ideas from the EIE project’s Envision (Year 1), Inquire (Year 2), and Innovate (Year 3) Phases through three different experiential activities.
Envision (Year 1) Phase Experiential Activity
Forum participants were divided into small groups to examine and dissect a toy using the “Parts, Purposes, Complexities” thinking routine. The goal of this activity was to foster systems thinking, enable participants to comprehend how different parts interact, and to explore opportunities for innovation and improvement. This activity mirrored the core goal of Envision (Year 1) Phase in the EIE project, which was to envision transformative changes within the education system.
Lauren Minnie, EIE participant from Marymount Secondary School, co-facilitated the session with the CEL team. She shared her early experiences with systems thinking, encouraged everyone to start small, embrace low stakes, and not to fear failure. Lauren also emphasized the importance of sharing the journey with students and colleagues, making innovation less daunting and more inspiring.
Inquire (Year 2) Phase Experiential Activity
Through the “10-cent Design Challenge” activity, forum participants were introduced to the inquiry strategy of Documentation, which is a process of documenting learning that involves four main steps of (i) Observing; (ii) Recording; (ii) Interpreting; and (iv) Sharing. Participants were divided into small groups - half as “learners” to engage in a learning task and the other half as “documenters” to capture the learning process. This activity provided educators with the opportunity to deeply consider learners’ perspectives, in addition to experiencing how documenters need to objectively observe, record, interpret, and share their insights on the learning process.
Joseph Chan, EIE participant from Wah Yan College Hong Kong, co-facilitated the session with the CEL team. He shared his experience of how documentation has helped him better understand students’ learning, challenge assumptions through interactions with students and colleagues, consider different perspectives, and make interpretations based on evidence.
Innovate (Year 3) Phase Experiential Activity
During the Innovate (Year 3) Phase, we promoted the adoption of a narrative-based approach towards documenting, sharing and scaling innovation. For the third activity, EIE participants from disciplines including Biology, Chinese Language, Chinese History, English Language, Geography, and Humanities were invited to share their stories about “Inquiry-driven Innovation in Action” with the audience, covering a wide range of themes such as promoting student motivation, deepening students’ understanding, making thinking visible, shifting learning authority to students, and honoring teacher and students agency. Following each round of sharing, forum participants exchanged feedback using the “Appreciate, Wonder, Suggest” protocol, fostering meaningful interaction and idea exchange.
Panel Discussion
A concluding panel discussion featuring principals, teachers, and project designers discussed how EIE elements were used at different school levels. Panelists appreciated the diverse school perspectives and practices within the EIE learning community. They shared their experiences of incorporating tools, such as thinking routines to make students’ and colleagues’ thinking visible as an innovation strategy. They also emphasized the importance of amplifying student voice and choice to enhance learning outcomes, as well as empowering teachers to take ownership of improving teaching practices. They agreed that effective innovation starts small and value the process.
All in all, participants were encouraged to cultivate a learning and sharing culture with colleagues in order to promote change, sustain collective learning, and scale impactful practices. EIE forum participants were stimulated with new ideas to advance innovation in their educational contexts.
