“Do one thing every day that scares you.”

The title of this post is a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that I was introduced to by way of a tweet from Daniel Pink.

When I read the quote, I decided that it would make a good New Year’s resolution, especially in light of a white paper that I recently read entitled Best Practices to Next Practice: A New Way of “Doing Business” for School Transformation. I thought that the message relayed by Ray McNulty in the paper would be a good thing to share with anyone struggling with school reform efforts.

Tackling the downward trend in U.S. student performance is a double-edged sword for schools. First is the seemingly all-inclusive crumbling of the institutional icons ( i.e. financial markets, housing industry, American automobile manufacturing, job opportunities) that have embodied the foundational cornerstones of the American society and prosperity for decades. The result is what Secretary Arne Duncan and others refer to as a “new normal” for U.S. schools – “a time during which schools are being required to do more with fewer resources and the harsh realities of global competition face every student.” (McNulty, p.9)

Second, the U.S. education system is currently steeped in 100+ years of tradition that has “concretized” (a John Antonetti word) the parameters of what can and cannot be done in education. The result is a mindset  steeped in “best practices” and piece-meal “innovations” that, when implemented, often fall short of expectations. What is needed, according to McNulty is a switch from “best” practices to “next” practices.

As defined in today’s educational reform jargon, best practices are those practices that have become standardized through use and have been proven successful in dealing with various identified problem arenas. The problem, McNulty explains, is that these innovations are too-often  introduced and implemented within a business-as-usual structural framework and result in the elimination of important elements that don’t “fit-in” to the concretized (see above) parameters of American education tradition. McNulty refers to these as “sustaining” innovations.

One example of a sustaining innovation is the introduction of technology in our classrooms. The failure of technology infusion into classrooms to meet the expectations projected by researchers and technology vendors alike can be attributed to the fact that schools have implemented the use of technology in support of current instructional practices (sustaining innovation) rather than as a  “disruptive” innovation that stretches and transforms current practice to embrace all of the elements of technology and thus, reap all of the potential benefits of the innovation.   “A better 20^th century school is not the answer.” (Ray McNulty)  A different 21st century school is.

“If the world is changing, shouldn’t our practices in schools change? Shouldn’t our mindset and work be rooted in creativity and innovation and not just in best practices?” (McNulty, p.5)

It will be “disruptive” innovations, implemented and tested by educators that are willing to take a risk and venture into the area of the “not-yet-proven yet potentially promising” that will move the system forward on the path to twenty-first century  success.

McNulty cites the case Michigan ‘s rejection of  sustaining best practices that required every high school student to take district-approved courses by districted-managed instructors in lieu of a “next” practice disruptive innovation seat-time waiver program that allows students in participating districts to take courses by certified teachers online and off-campus.

“… for effective change to accommodate students in today’s world, educators need to do more than think outside the box or “outside the system” — they need to build an altogether new structure in which to spur new thinking. Disruptive innovation, rather than sustaining innovation, will make a real difference, but it is difficult to break free from a system that has been in place for more than 100 years.” ( McNulty, p.6)

What say you? Are you struggling with sustaining innovations that fall short of expectations? What steps could you take to transform those sustaing innovations into disrupting innovations?