Partnerships for Change
Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow Research
Report Number 12
Partnerships for Change
Author
Jane L. David Ph.D.
Bay Area Research Group
Apple Computer, Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 9501
Preface
Begun in 1985, Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT)SM is a
research and development collaboration among public schools, universities,
research agencies and Apple Computer, Inc. ACOT explores, develops and demonstrates
the powerful uses of technologies in teaching and learning. In all ACOT
endeavors, instruction and assessment are as integral to learning as technology.
Supporting a constructivist approach to learning, technology is used as
knowledge-building tools. As students collaborate, create media-rich compositions
and use simulations and models, researchers investigate four aspects of
learning: tasks, interactions, situations and tools. The research is formative.
The findings guide ACOT staff and teachers as they refine their approach
to learning, teaching and professional development. ACOT teachers and students
often use the most advanced technologies available, including experimental
technologies, to help us envision the future and improve the educational
process.
ACOT views technology as a necessary and catalytic part of the effort required
to fundamental restructure America's education system. We hope that by sharing
our results with parents, educators, policy makers, and technology developers
the lessons of ACOT will contribute to the advancement of educational reform.
Introduction
This paper is based on visits to four ACOT sites in the spring of 1990
and interviews with Apple ACOT staff--the first round of a three-year study
for Apple Computer, Inc. about the role of ACOT in educational restructuring.
The author draws on her earlier involvement in studying ACOT in its first
year of operation and on her current work on restructuring for the National
Governors' Association and the National Center for Education and the Economy.
Overview
Since its inception in 1985, the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow project
has established a community of partners with school districts and researchers
across the United States. The evolution of ACOT provides a rich source of
information about the potential for innovative and productive relationships
between business and education. It is a story of experimentation, not simply
with technology and learning, but also with the creation of research laboratories
inside school systems, the role of an external change agent, and the development
of a mutually satisfying collaboration.
The topic is particularly timely given heightened national concern about
the capacity of the public school system to produce qualified graduates,
and a corresponding shift in how the private sector views its relationship
to public education. Education leaders and policy makers nationwide are
embracing the need to restructure the public education system in order to
improve student performance, and many businesses are looking for ways to
assist in this transformation.
Through The Business Roundtable, 200 executives from the nation's largest
corporations made a 10-year commitment to assist state governments in the
process of restructuring. But they noted an absence of model partnerships:
There are no readily applied or general models for business in helping educators restructure or renew education. The companies of The Business Roundtable and the other companies that need to get involved in this crucial effort are on the cutting edge of a new kind of business involvement in our nation's schools. They will be exploring for the first time how business can help effect fundamental education change. (National Alliance of Business 1990)
ACOT does not tackle all the issues around new forms of business involvement
in education; for example, it does not attempt to directly influence state
policy or district management practices. Instead, ACOT focuses on teaching
and learning--a rarity in business-education partnerships. Apple staff and
their research partners work directly with teachers and students on issues
of curriculum, instruction, technology, staff development and assessment.
ACOT provides a model of partnerships characterized by continuous learning
and the ability to change and adapt on both sides. ACOT's experiences offer
valuable guidance to businesses, districts, schools, and researchers alike
as they form new alliances to promote education change.
The Evolution and Structure of ACOT Partnerships
ACOT began as an experiment about the effects of computers on education:
What happens to teaching and learning when every teacher and every student
have two computers--one at school and one at home? Instead of setting up
an artificial laboratory situation, the ACOT staff wanted to study computer
saturation in real-world classrooms which represented a range of settings
and student populations.
The ACOT partnerships began as straightforward quid pro quo relationships
with several school districts. Apple provided equipment and technical support,
and districts supplied teachers and students willing to experiment with
technology, report on their experiences, and be available for study by Apple
and Apple's consultants.
As the ACOT participants gained more experience, the nature of the partnerships
changed. The tendency of educators to incorporate technology only into existing
practices, the absence of curriculum and software built around interactivity,
and the difficulty of measuring learning outcomes beyond factual knowledge
all influenced ACOT's strategy. In response, the ACOT staff chose to play
a more directive role with the explicit goal of transforming teaching and
learning.
Today, ACOT supports two kinds of partnerships. The first -- and the main
focus of this report -- are the Longitudinal Research Centers (LRCs). ACOT
established long-term relationships with three schools, an elementary, middle
and high school, in order to work with the same teachers and students for
a sustained period of time. Each of the three sites also works closely with
university-based researchers.
The second kind of partnership, the Experimental Learning Centers (ELCs),
consist of more than two dozen research projects, each with a classroom
teacher, developer and researcher. These are short-term projects, typically
three years maximum, designed to solve particular issues that arise in the
LRCs. For example, teachers in the ACOT LRC high school found that physics
students were having more trouble with the algebra associated with physics
than with the physics concepts. This spawned a research and development
effort with NASA and the University of Houston, which were developing an
"intelligent physics tutor," to address the students need for
better problem solving skills.
Apple Computer and the three LRC school districts each make substantial
contributions and commitments to the partnerships. Apple provides computer
equipment and electronic mail, training, on-site assistance, on-line availability
for technical support, professional development institutes, curriculum development,
assistance with publications, and sponsorships for conference attendance.
In addition, Apple supports part or all of a coordinator position at each
school, funds university-based researchers and facilitates links to software
vendors.
In exchange, each district sets annual goals for curriculum development,
instructional strategies, technology use, and student learning. Teachers
and coordinators participate in a variety of research studies, and collect
and report data on their activities, including weekly electronic mail reports
and monthly audio tapes. They participate in conferences and other project
activities, document exemplary lessons, review software, and host visitors
and media observers. Each district also contributes financially by supporting
part of a school or district coordinator, reducing the teaching load of
participants, and allowing extra time for planning, conferences, meetings,
and summer activities. Districts also contribute supplies (such as computer
disks) and facility upgrades (telephone lines, wiring).
These investments yield considerable benefits to both partners. Apple gets
real-world laboratories in which to develop, test, and generate new knowledge
about teaching and learning in a context clearly separated from company
profits. The school districts boast a cadre of teachers and students, who
are becoming national experts in teaching and learning with technology.
Beyond providing a valuable technical resource to their schools and districts,
the Apple classrooms also bring positive publicity. Each site has appeared
on national television and in published articles, and receives visitors
from all over the world. Teachers and administrators are learning not only
about technology in instruction, but also what it takes to transform teaching
and learning in a way that is consistent with the nation's education goals
for the 21st century.
The partners also benefit from the rich experience of a joint venture that
has a strong commitment to strengthening education. The teachers and administrators
have committed their professional lives to ACOT, typically spending 60 to
80 hours a week on their jobs, and maintaining a delicate balance of exhaustion
and exhilaration. Apple staff members consider ACOT teachers their professional
colleagues, and share a deep commitment to their well-being and professional
growth.
The Education Context
When ACOT was first launched in the fall of 1985 the role of technology
in education reform was seen much differently than now. During this period,
perceptions about the appropriate role of technology in schools shifted
from a preoccupation with "computer literacy" and programming
languages to the use of multiple technologies as powerful tools for learning.
At the same time, contributions from cognitive science and applied research
on teaching and learning greatly expanded our understanding of how people
learn. The important notion that people learn by constructing knowledge
actively, through engagement in hands-on, challenging activities, and connecting
new knowledge to previous experience -- rather than by listening passively
-- gained considerable prominence.
Pressure to improve the public schools also shifted the debate from the
top-down, add-on approaches of the past to the broader concept of organizational
change throughout all levels of the education system. Signaled by the word
"restructuring," this approach to education change is driven by
the goal of increasing the performance of all students by creating stimulating
learning environments. Restructuring requires changes in roles and responsibilities
from the classroom, to state government and even to the federal level. But
the barriers to change are many.
Inside schools, teachers and administrators need to learn new ways of doing
their jobs. Teaching for understanding and thinking is much more difficult
than teaching isolated facts, and few teachers were trained to teach this
way. School structures--schedules, calendars, tracking, course credits--pose
further constraints. Designed to promote content coverage rather than understanding,
much of the way schools are organized stands in the way of providing challenging
learning tasks for students.
Shifts must also occur at the district level. The way most districts organize
staff development does not create the kind of learning opportunities teachers
need. District staff are trained to generate and enforce rules, not to foster
school improvement and provide or broker the assistance schools need. Studies
of what it takes for schools to change significantly suggest four critical
elements: 1) an invitation to change, 2) the authority and flexibility to
do things differently, 3) access to knowledge, and 4) time. Few districts
are currently able to provide these conditions, especially in the absence
of supporting state policies.
This is the arena within which ACOT has taken on the transformation of teaching
and learning. Committed to the belief that technologies are powerful tools
for learning that can empower students and enhance their understanding,
ACOT and its partners embarked on an untraveled path. For both, the learning
curve has been and continues to be steep.
Cultivating a Collaborative Partnership
When ACOT was first established, Apple held assumptions about access
to technology and about grass roots change which reflected its own internal
philosophy of the early 1980s. These assumptions were quickly put to the
test and revised accordingly.
Access to Technology: A New Definition
When ACOT began in 1985 at three sites, Apple's conception of access
to technology was a computer on every student's desk at school, and one
at home to make the technology as readily available as other basic tools
for learning, from pencils to books. But the realities of the classroom
and the continual evolution of the technology have led ACOT staff to conclude
that students and teachers need different kinds of technology for different
purposes. Many instructional situations do not require any electronic technology.
Moreover, students need physical space for using other materials. ACOT staff
also found that 30 computers in a room can force teachers back into predominantly
whole class instruction; fewer computers are more likely to force different
organizational arrangements.
The optimal configuration of technology will vary by classroom and over
time as technology changes. For the future, ACOT envisions a combination
of different technologies: inexpensive notebook computers that students
carry with them, and a small number of multimedia stations capable of desktop
publishing, simulations, presentations, and other uses that demand more
powerful and versatile equipment.
ACOT staff also recognized a need for educators to better understand the
capabilities and appropriate uses of a variety of computers. Although newer,
easier to use and more powerful machines may always be preferable, schools
will never be able to afford a large number of the very latest models. Older
computers may not be appropriate for all purposes, but may well be suited
to a few general tasks, such as word processing, the most common use by
students and teachers.
Changing Classroom Practices
At the beginning of the project, ACOT staff also assumed that the presence
of an intensive technology environment would spur dramatic changes in classroom
practices. They discovered, however, that their images of the role of technology
in instruction were not necessarily shared by the teachers. Certain changes
were inevitable due to the new physical arrangement of a computer for each
student in the classroom, but new approaches to instruction did not necessarily
follow. In fact, teachers naturally tended to incorporate technology into
their existing practices and styles. Consequently, the ACOT staff balanced
their emphasis on the uses of hardware and software with an aggressive effort
to introduce new ways of teaching and organizing instruction.
The image of classrooms as stimulating learning environments--in which students
are actively engaged in solving challenging problems both as individuals
and as team members--is a far cry from traditional classrooms. Among many
barriers to change, teachers are not trained to organize instruction in
ways that actively engage students; class periods are too short for in-depth
problem solving; materials are geared to superficial coverage of vast amounts
of information instead of understanding; and few teachers and students are
accustomed to working in teams.
Transforming classrooms into stimulating learning environments requires
a fundamental change in the culture of the school. The teacher's role changes
from delivering information to facilitating student learning -- more coach
and manager than lecturer and sole source of information. Teacher collaboration
replaces teacher isolation, and students also begin to work more collaboratively.
As noted above, such transformation requires an invitation to change, the
authority and flexibility to do things differently, access to knowledge,
and time. Ultimately, for change to occur beyond individual classrooms,
these conditions must exist systemwide.
For a single classroom, however, ACOT does provides an invitation to change.
Because ACOT is an exceptional and experimental environment, teachers tend
to have considerable discretion over their curriculum and instruction, (within
district and state requirements), and more time for planning. ACOT's major
role, however, is in providing access to new knowledge. Through experience
in the classroom with ACOT teachers, Apple staff saw the need to expand
their role as directors, providers and brokers of a broad range of learning
opportunities.
The teacher as learner is key to creating a new culture in the classroom.
However, traditional forms of staff development for teachers do not help.
Teachers, like students, learn when they have on-the-spot access to help,
models to learn from, other teachers to observe and be observed by, colleagues
to share and discuss ideas with, as well as more opportunities to learn
outside the classroom.
ACOT has provided opportunities for teacher learning that rarely exist in
school systems. Apple staff visit each classroom several times a year, spending
several days on site working directly in the classroom with teachers. Teachers
learn from on-site expert help, and Apple staff learn what is and is not
possible in a classroom setting. University researchers working in the classroom
provide new knowledge to teachers, and in turn, have an ideal setting in
which to pursue questions about teaching and learning with technology.
All the sites are on AppleLink, an electronic mail system, enabling direct
communication with Apple staff and other ACOT schools on a daily basis.
Apple brings in all the site staff each summer for a one week intensive
institute staffed by experts in such areas as student portfolio assessment,
thinking creatively, and project-based instruction. ACOT teachers are encouraged
and supported by Apple staff to share their experiences in presentations
at education conferences, providing an opportunity for professional interaction
not often available to teachers.
ACOT teachers describe their experiences as challenging, difficult, frustrating,
and incredibly rewarding. Teachers who have remained with ACOT for several
years comment that the experience "challenged me in ways I've never
been before" and the "thrill of teaching came back."
Observations of ACOT classrooms demonstrate that major change has occurred
in sites with several years' experience. The rooms look quite different,
partly because they are filled with technology, but also because teachers
and students are playing different roles. There is considerable interaction
as teachers and students together ask and answer each others' questions.
According to interviews with teachers, the way they plan, organize, and
deliver instruction has changed significantly. (See Figure 1.)
Changes in Teaching in ACOT Classrooms
- More project oriented work
- More motivation for writing process
- More extensive projects
- No more 'teach a skill, test a skill'
- More group work and cooperative learning
- More learning centers
- More individualized attention
- Far less correcting papers
- More interdisciplinary activities
- Joint planning with colleagues
- Giving students choices
- More ways to get information--unlimited with modem
- Great reduction in of lecturing
- Introduction of student portfolios
- Elimination of worksheets
- Less structured classroom--students more independent
- Different philosophy of teaching
- Faster lesson preparation and revision on computer
- More efficient drill and practice
Figure 1: Teachers reported changes in their practice.
Classrooms and the School Culture
The classroom was ACOT's original focus. This choice stemmed in part
from their belief in bottom-up, grass roots change, and in part from their
definition of access to technology. The substantial cost of providing every
student and teacher with two computers precluded serious consideration of
equipping an entire school. The role of district and school administrators
was primarily limited to contractual and budgetary issues.
A clear benefit of the choice to focus on one or two classrooms is the ability
to concentrate resources -- hardware, software, as well as training and
assistance -- on a small number of teachers and students. Such a concentration
of resources seemed essential to learn what is possible under conditions
that may well be prevalent in years to come.
It also meant trade-offs. Creating a "special" classroom inside
a school has the effect of separating it from the rest of the school. When
the special classroom has considerably more resources than other classrooms
and no clear benefits to other faculty, the perceived gulf is even greater.
This is especially the case in schools that have not had much experience
with research and development activities. As a result, other faculty envy
ACOT teachers who have extra preparation time, more space, and considerable
technology at their disposal. These differences are exacerbated by the restrictions
of some software vendors which prevent the sharing of software.
According differential status to some teachers and students is more likely
to succeed when all have had an equal chance to participate. ACOT sought
teacher volunteers and required a fair, nondiscriminatory selection process
for students. Nevertheless, not all interested teachers were able to participate,
and student selection was somewhat biased towards those whose parents took
action in volunteering their children. Problems also arise when an innovation
is introduced in ways that do not match existing organizational arrangements
in the school, for example, an ACOT classroom restricted to one grade level
in a school organized by ungraded teams. The school's principal can make
a big difference in how ACOT is perceived by the faculty, if he or she has
had an opportunity to buy into and support the enterprise.
Apple ACOT staff initially believed that the activities in ACOT classrooms
would spread to other classrooms over a period of several years. Experience
suggests that this model of change is not likely, at least under existing
school organization. Consequently, ACOT's newest LRC site represents a different
model of change. Instead of one classroom at a time, ACOT staff are experimenting
with a whole-school approach. The goal is to work with teams of teachers,
moving the technology and professional development activities to a new team
every few weeks. By the end of the first year, the whole faculty will have
been exposed to technology and training and prepared for more extensive
use the following year.
Research and Development in School Systems
Research and development is a familiar concept to the private sector.
Consequently, Apple staff presumed research and development projects would
also be familiar to schools and districts. Because it is not, both school
and district staff can easily misjudge the value of an experimental situation.
Educators look at ACOT and dismiss it as unrealistic because of the concentrated
resources. They conclude that because it is not replicable as is, it has
minimal relevance for the school or district. Those who look to ACOT for
results tend to want firm answers quickly, which is not always possible
given the long term nature of the experiment, and the complexity of the
questions.
The long range goal of ACOT's research and development agenda is to recommend
directions for hardware and software development that will maximize active
learning. ACOT is particularly interested in three research strands. The
first is the creation of tools that provide media-rich composition environments,
enabling students to express themselves via text, graphics, sound, animation,
video. The second is analogous to workgroup software in business--software
that enhances collaborative work among teachers, students, and across distances.
The third is simulation software, some of which utilizes artificial intelligence
to monitor and guide students as they explore and build, and prevents the
common problem of students' drawing erroneous inferences without feedback
to alert them.
The notion that there might be useful knowledge being generated that has
implications for district decisions on curriculum, instruction, grouping,
technology, assessment, and staff development is rarely appreciated by educators
for two reasons. One is that the relevant lessons are not the kinds of immediate
"answers" educators tend to seek. The other is that ACOT does
not focus on the implications of these intermediate lessons for district
policy. Policy makers pay attention to information when it is relevant to
a particular decision under consideration and is in terms they can readily
understand. Influencing education policy requires an awareness of the kinds
of decisions district leaders make and an ability to extract and communicate
the lessons that are relevant in appropriate ways.
Communication is critical in the process of change. Communication to local
policy makers can range from presentations to the school board to research
summaries designed for district and school administrators. Keeping the multiple
audiences involved in education aware of findings--both problems and successes--is
essential for maintaining support for continued experimentation and change.
Ultimately, educational change requires broad-based support. Direct participants
in ACOT are a strong base of support, but they are only a small percent.
The research and development component of ACOT also raises interesting questions
about the appropriate role of researchers in classrooms--an issue which
is becoming important as the appeal of professional development or practice
schools grows. These are envisioned as whole schools created with many of
the same goals as ACOT: creating dramatically different learning environments
for students, conducting research on the process of change and on teaching
and learning, and providing a stimulating environment for training new teachers.
The needs of researchers and the needs of students and teachers do not always
overlap. Tensions can arise within a classroom if the research is particularly
intrusive. Problems can also arise across classrooms if the research agenda
requires participation of some students and teachers and not others, or
if product testing or other research agendas take time away from required
activities and curricula. ACOT teachers and students are not immune to the
myriad of local, state, and federal requirements that dictate much of what
goes on in classrooms from textbooks to tests. Clear communication among
the parties involved lessens these potential conflicts considerably. ACOT
teachers want to cooperate with research agendas but are not in a position
to resolve conflicting directives from multiple parties.
Finally, ACOT as a high-technology experiment attracts many visitors --
educators, researchers, and the news media, among others. As with any cutting
edge experiment, there is a difficult trade-off between sharing knowledge
with the public and protecting the time and energy of the participants.
For ACOT teachers and students, the combination of multiple research projects
and visitors leads to high volume traffic. On the other hand, most acknowledge
that participation in research is a valuable learning opportunity; and hosting
visitors creates a sense of pride and confidence that is invaluable.
Tensions between Business and Education
ACOT partners have encountered some tensions that are inevitable when
business and education work together. In addition to dramatically different
cultures, school districts and corporations operate on different calendars,
with different fiscal years and accounting procedures. These differences
have implications for funding cycles, arrival of equipment, assignment of
staff, and a variety of other decisions critical to the smooth functioning
of ACOT.
For example, Apple's proposal development timeline requires proposals from
districts as the school year ends. Consequently, when Apple needs final
sign-offs from districts, the school board is not in session. On the district
side, the fact that it is impossible to predict enrollment precisely before
school starts is difficult for business to comprehend. Corporate decision
makers are accustomed to a much more predictable and controllable environment.
Another major operational difference lies in annual review cycles. Businesses
typically review commitments annually, which has the potential disadvantage
of frequent change but the advantage of providing an opportunity each year
to "sell" a project internally and thereby strengthen the commitment
of executives to the project. In school districts, once a project has been
accepted and funded, it is likely to be on automatic pilot; only if a problem
arises will the original decision be reconsidered. Moreover, the project
becomes an entity unto itself and is unlikely to be taken into consideration
in other policy decisions that might influence it. Such fragmented decision-making
typifies school districts, where multiple funding sources, each with their
own multitude of rules and regulations and associated bureaucracy, do not
facilitate strategic planning and coordinated decision making.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for business involvement in education concerns
trust--creating a balance between the interests of both parties. Educators
are often distrustful of business involvement because they assume their
real agenda is selling a product. If business is perceived as caring more
about its product than about the teachers and students, it cannot become
an effective partnership. When schools get something in return, this is
perceived as reasonable--each side must get something out of the partnership.
But when the purpose of business involvement is to change the status quo,
both sides must buy into the same goal. There must be a genuine give and
take which can only occur when trust has been established over a period
of time.
During ACOT's history, perceptions on both sides changed significantly.
An important turning point was a shift from perceived exploitation of the
classrooms for Apple marketing purposes, to a clear signal from Apple that
ACOT's purpose was long-term research and development aimed at producing
new knowledge about technology and education. Sites no longer relied on
local Apple sales representatives as their main source of assistance; nor
were they asked to participate in surveys or other studies designed to provide
fodder for sales and marketing units in Apple. As a result, participants
shifted from viewing ACOT as simply an opportunity for free equipment to
developing a sense of responsibility for sharing in the research and development
enterprise.
From the business side, Apple staff encountered the realities of public
schools: like teachers they have little control over staffing, curriculum,
schedules, and testing. They also face frequent turnover of key players.
Those who negotiated and approved the original agreement, often including
the school board, superintendent, central office, and school staff -- as
well as teachers -- have a high turnover rate. Urban superintendents have
an average tenure of three years. School board members, who approve all
contracts, are up for re-election frequently. These circumstances make long-term
commitments difficult and help explain the fact that long-term projects
often persist by default than regularly reaffirmed commitment.
Some Implications for Business-Education Partnerships
The kinds of partnerships represented by the ACOT sites are different
from typical education-business partnerships. Not only are they designed
to significantly change how schools operate, but they aim to do so by working
directly with teachers in the classroom. Even partnerships designed to improve
schools, like the Boston Compact, do so through external incentives such
as commitments for job placement or assistance at schools through tutoring
and mentoring. These approaches carry some benefits, but cannot alone change
what happens inside classrooms. In contrast, ACOT provides intensive training
and support to teachers, albeit small in number, to actually change the
way they do their jobs.
This kind of endeavor requires a much deeper understanding on both sides
of the others' modus operandi, intentions, and abilities. If the relationships
are not built on trust and long-term commitment, they cannot succeed. For
Apple, establishing ACOT as a research and development project was a critical
step in creating trust and credibility. That trust was reinforced by the
instructional expertise and sensitivity of the Apple staff who work with
the sites.
ACOT staff walk a delicate line: pressing for fundamental changes in teaching
and learning, but not dictating to teachers. The sentiment of ACOT teachers
across the sites reflects this challenge: "Business involvement is
OK as long as they don't tell us what to do." Apple's ACOT staff successfully
moved into a more directive role without going too far.
Companies less directly involved in educational products might have more
difficulty creating an in-house staff with educational expertise. However,
they could follow the model of ACOT's brokering role in research and development
activities by supporting a cadre of consultants knowledgeable about teaching,
learning, and organizational change. On the other hand, this kind of intensive
collaboration is, by its nature, limited to a small number of participants,
and Apple's ACOT staff constantly question whether they can have an impact
beyond their size.
Beyond appropriate staff and sensitivity to the differences in culture,
both corporations and school districts share responsibility for making a
partnership for change successful. The ACOT experience suggests some important
conditions that can only be created with cooperation from both parties:
- Partnerships must be based on shared goals and commitment from all
levels of the school system--district leaders, school leaders, and ACOT
participants. The commitment must be reaffirmed frequently, especially
as leaders leave and are replaced.
- The business partner must demonstrate that self-interest does not override
the goals of the partnership.
- The district partner must provide the conditions needed to nurture
an experimental setting, and the openness to apply the lessons learned.
- Partnerships created to affect teaching and learning require extra
time for teachers and intensive professional development--whether or not
technology is involved.
- Innovations must mesh with existing organizational structures. Unless
there are compelling reasons otherwise, any intervention should treat the
whole school as the unit for change.
- Flexibility is key--for teachers to work together, to change schedules,
to experiment, and for all sides of the partnership to learn and adapt
continuously.
- Clear lines of communication are critical. Business partners must understand that relationships and communication among levels in school systems are very different than in business, and must ensure that teachers do not receive contradictory messages.
Research and development--on teaching and learning, on what it takes
to change teaching practices, on uses of hardware and software, on new forms
of assessment--is becoming more important to school systems as efforts to
restructure break new ground. Beyond the occasional pilot project designed
to test a particular method or approach, very little research and development
occurs inside school systems, largely because there is no financial support,
little flexibility to experiment, and no mechanism to learn from experiments.
ACOT demonstrates that corporations, in concert with educators, can make
significant contributions in this arena.
To ensure that a small experimental effort has implications beyond the classroom
walls, all parties must understand who needs what kind of information in
what form. Without extraordinary effort on the part of local educators and
policy makers, business partners, and researchers to observe, translate,
and communicate important lessons in on-going fashion, the concept of research
and development will not take hold in school systems.
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This report is a summary of a paper presented at the annual
meeting of the American Education Research Association in 1991. Editors
for ACOT were Jenny Abbe and Mary A. C. Fallon.