Promoting
Innovations in
Our Own Programs
Special Conference Workshop
Dr. Kathleen M. Bailey
This workshop is designed for both teachers and program administrators who most promote and in some instances deal with innovations in language programs (e.g., in teaching methods, technology, curricula, language assessment, and so on). The workshop will begin with problems and puzzles. What is the difference between innovation and problem solving? Between innovation and change? We will answer these questions and build common definition of innovation and to work with some innovation frameworks derived in business and developing nations research, as well as in studies in education.
We will then examine the role of context in innovation, identifying the participants in the innovation process and the inter-related subsystems in which innovations operate. We will examine the conditions necessary for innovations to occur and review the stages in the innovation process. We will then use a group work format to relate these frameworks to innovations experienced by the workshop participants themselves.
Next we will consider specific innovations in our own teaching, discuss changes in language programs, and examine ways of promoting positive innovations in our programs. Participants will leave the workshop with helpful suggestions about managing and promoting positive and intentional change, and helping teachers cope with and sustain appropriate changes in their teaching. The handout will include selected references on innovations.
