Innovation in Education Systems

An eagerness to learn is essential for innovation. But the way we learn—and the order in which we partake in various learning activities—can make the difference between effective growth and potential missed opportunities. Jean-François Harvey, Johnathan Cromwell, Kevin J. Johnson, and I studied more than 160 innovation teams and found that the key to faster, clearer progress is: Structured learning 👷🏗️ Our research, published in the Administrative Science Quarterly Journal, highlights four distinct types of learning behaviors used by high-performing teams and examines variations in the sequence and blend of these types of team learning. Without a deliberate rhythm, teams risk becoming overwhelmed by continual information intake, leading to confusion and burnout. But by honing a team's ideal 'learning rhythm,' you can avoid overwhelm and instead focus on strategic decision-making and sustainable innovation. Read our research summary now in the Harvard Business Review: https://lnkd.in/e5nU-Kka

Learning flourishes when students are exposed to a rich tapestry of strategies that activate different parts of the brain and heart. Beyond memorization and review, innovative approaches like peer teaching, role-playing, project-based learning, and multisensory exploration allow learners to engage deeply and authentically. For example, when students teach a concept to classmates, they strengthen their communication, metacognition, and confidence. Role-playing historical events or scientific processes builds empathy, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Project-based learning such as designing a community garden or creating a presentation fosters collaboration, creativity, and real-world application. Multisensory strategies like using manipulatives, visuals, movement, and sound especially benefit neurodiverse learners, enhancing retention, focus, and emotional connection to content. These methods don’t just improve academic outcomes they cultivate lifelong skills like adaptability, initiative, and resilience. When teachers intentionally layer strategies that match students’ strengths and needs, they create classrooms that are inclusive, dynamic, and deeply empowering. #LearningInEveryWay

Schools of the future will be judged on one thing: time autonomy. Not grades. Not facilities. Not tech. 👉🏻 Just: Can you own your hours? Because the world isn’t moving faster. It’s getting weirder. More fluid. More asynchronous. More, I’m in flow, I’ll be in that lab later ... energy. Meanwhile, most curricula .... Shuffle the kids. Change the subject. Bell rings. Repeat. Sigh. No wonder students are tapped out before the work even starts. But here's what some schools are quietly testing: --- Flow-based scheduling --- Mixed-age collaboratives --- Self-directed learning blocks --- Real-world, real-time project immersion This isn’t just future of education talk. It’s architecture. System(s) design for sovereign learning. I think we all know, if ChatGPT / AI can do it, it’s low-status. If it needs contradiction, tension, or lived experience? That’s the new top-tier. That’s the future-proof stuff. Honestly, I don't care about your facilities. We launched one school with a table and whiteboard (below) in the Okavango Delta. It’s gonna be in the weird perspective mashups, culture fluency, emotional range where the magic happens. More control over your time will be the move. Forty-minute blocks? Legacy stuff. Design with courage around deep focus, not just deep knowledge.

500 students share one computer in Niger. Yet they're conducting advanced physics experiments that students at elite schools can't access. The secret? WebAR turning basic smartphones into portable STEM labs. Think about that. In Sub-Saharan Africa, fewer than 10% of schools have internet. Student-to-computer ratios hit 500:1. Yet mobile subscriptions jumped from single digits to 80% in a decade. Students already carry the infrastructure—we just weren't using it right. Traditional EdTech Reality: ↳ VR headsets: $300+ per student ↳ Heavy apps requiring 5G speeds ↳ Labs costing millions to build ↳ Rural schools: permanently excluded The WebAR Revolution: ↳ Runs in any browser, optimized for 3G ↳ No app store, minimal storage ↳ Science scores improving 10-15% ↳ Every smartphone becomes a laboratory But here's what grabbed me: A physics teacher in rural South Africa has one broken oscilloscope. No budget. Her students scan printed markers, and electromagnetic fields pulse across their desks. They run experiments infinitely—no equipment damaged, no reagents consumed. One student told her: "Engineering is for people like me now. The lab fits in my pocket." What changes everything: ↳ Mobile-first matches actual connectivity ↳ Browser-based works offline ↳ Teachers need training, not new buildings ↳ Inequality becomes irrelevant The Multiplication Effect: 1 teacher with markers = 30 students experimenting 10 schools sharing content = communities transformed 100 districts adopting = educational equality emerging At scale = STEM education without infrastructure gaps We spent decades waiting for labs that won't arrive. Now any browser becomes one. Because when a student in rural Africa explores the same 3D molecules as someone at MIT—using the phone already in their pocket—you realize: WebAR isn't shiny technology. It's a quiet equaliser making world-class STEM education fit into 3G connections and $50 phones. Follow me, Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld for innovations where accessibility drives transformation. ♻️ Share if you believe quality education shouldn't require perfect infrastructure.

Most careers stall for 1 reason: People stop learning. They wait for the company to invest in them. Or for their manager to set up training. High performers, on the other hand, don't wait. They treat learning as part of the job - Even when the workday ends. Not endless study, Just small, repeatable habits - that compound. Here are 11 that make lifelong learning automatic: 1. Keep a "Questions" Note on Your Phone ↳Anytime you wonder about something, jot it down. Research one nightly 2. Replace the Doomscroll ↳Replace 30 minutes of dead scroll time with a course or podcast 3. Teach What You Learn ↳Write a short post, Loom, or explain it to a peer 4. Reverse Engineer Great Work ↳Take an article, pitch, or deck you admire and break down why it works 5. Shadow Someone 2 Steps Ahead ↳Don't ask for mentorship - just observe 6. Then, DO Ask for Mentorship ↳Say: "I admire how well you do X - would you mind coaching me on that?" 7. Run Tiny Experiments ↳Pick one skill and test it live this week 8. Force Repetitions by Tracking ↳For writing, word count. For sales, calls made. Progress is fuel 9. Do "Learning Sprints" ↳One focused topic for 30 days, then switch 10. Revisit Old Material ↳The second read often hits deeper than the first 11. End Your Day with Reflection ↳One line: "What did I learn today?" The compounding effect is real. Small reps + every day = Mastery. Agree? --- ♻️ Share this to inspire other life-long learners. And follow me George Stern for more personal growth content.

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚��𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. I have been noticing, 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬—𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐡𝐃𝐬—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐰. According to a UNESCO report, while over two million research papers were published globally in 2022, less than 30% had any cited industrial or societal application. Similarly, in the U.S., an analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) reveals that only about 5% of patents filed by universities reach the commercialization stage. An increasing trend among academicians involves co-founding companies as a superficial indicator of market engagement. Registration alone is relatively inexpensive in many countries, and without substantial follow-through—market traction, talent acquisition, funding, or a public footprint—these entities may remain on paper only. A recent investigation revealed that several award-winning researchers, who claimed numerous corporate collaborations and company foundations, had little to no market visibility, casting doubt on the actual impact of these ventures. Many academics, unfortunately misuse resources. 𝐈𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬: 📌 Academia needs to prioritize real, industry-defined challenges rather than theoretical, manufactured problems. Direct engagement with industry experts, SMEs, and MSMEs can provide authentic, field-tested insights that are foundational for impactful research. Industry problems are keep changing thus academicians, startup fraternities have to update regularly through thoroughly ground level research, market survey and industry trends.📌 From problem identification to prototyping and commercialization, industry partners should be deeply involved. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝-𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬. 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬: 📌 Kalasalingam’s engineering faculty and students have partnered with small-scale industries to create low-cost solar and biomass energy solutions. 📌Chitkara University’s agribusiness program collaborates with small-scale food producers to enhance food storage and packaging solutions. 📌BAMU has collaborated with local agricultural industries and farmers to develop cost-effective soil health monitoring systems. #industryproblems #msme #patent

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹—𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱? In research conducted with Johnathan Cromwell, Kevin J. Johnson, and Amy Edmondson, we studied more than 160 innovation teams—including those in a Fortune Global 500 company—and found that it's not just how much teams learn that matters, but when and how they learn. We identified four core modes of team learning: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘃𝗲 — assessing goals, roles, and strategies 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 — brainstorming, prototyping, testing new ideas 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 — scanning the environment for trends, signals, and shifts 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 — drawing lessons from others who’ve done similar work The most effective teams didn’t try to do everything at once. They began and ended with reflexive learning, anchoring their work in shared understanding. They placed exploratory learning (experimental and contextual) in the middle. This rhythm—reflection → exploration → reflection—helped them reduce friction, integrate insights, and build real momentum. We also found that vicarious learning can be combined with reflexive learning in the same project phase with positive results. But when teams mixed reflexive with experimental or contextual learning in the same phase, performance suffered. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: Innovation doesn’t thrive on more learning. It thrives on structured learning. Teams that sequence and separate their learning activities make faster, clearer progress. We’ve summarized the findings from our research, published in Administrative Science Quarterly—a leading journal in organizational research—in this new Harvard Business Review article. Link in comments.

Is AI replacing the scientist, or giving us "superpowers"? I’m pleased to share my latest academic paper, "The Algorithmic Turn: Re-operationalizing the Ten Pillars of Scientific Inquiry in the Age of Artificial Intelligence." In this study, I argue that we are witnessing an epistemological shift. We are moving from the era of "artisanal science"—constrained by human cognitive bottlenecks—to an era of Augmented Inquiry. Key insights from the paper:  The Shift: How AI transforms the 10 core characteristics of research, from "Purposefulness" to "Generalizability." Case Study: How Synthetic Data allows us to test policy interventions for refugee populations without risking their safety or privacy. Efficiency: A comparative analysis showing how AI can reduce qualitative coding time from ~1,000 hours to just 2 hours.  The Governance Warning: Addressing the risks of "Epistemic Colonialism" and the urgent need for Open Science to protect SDG 4 (Quality Education). The future belongs to the "Algorithmic Auditor"—the researcher who can orchestrate silicon precision with human ethics. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dFCa-QCb #ArtificialIntelligence #ResearchMethodology #SDG4 #Governance #PublicPolicy #UniversityOfPotsdam #HigherEd #AI

The noise in education feels deafening at times. Everywhere I look, educators are setting their own standards, each arriving with the confidence of revelation. Every voice is louder than the previous one; every post, panel, or paper positions itself as the sharper, cleaner, more definitive answer. “Best practice” now often means “my practice, packaged,” and the algorithm rewards certainty more than nuance. We are benchmarking ourselves against self-authored criteria, awarding ourselves gold stars for ideals we just coined, and moving on before those ideals meet the slow, stubborn reality of our classrooms. What unsettles me is the velocity. New models, new lenses, new taxonomies appear faster than the time it takes to test their claims beyond a workshop or a pilot. We circulate insights that look fully formed but are rarely longitudinal. Dissent reads as ignorance; hesitation looks like incompetence. There’s a competitive intimacy to it: we all want to help, but the cadence of the field can make help sound like a pitch. Evidence is invoked, but the evidence that travels best is the kind that compresses well into a slide. And then, layered on top of this, come the sudden directives from the government. One season it’s art integration, the next it’s experiential learning, then perhaps a new pedagogical technique. Each is introduced as though it is the long-awaited breakthrough. Teachers are expected to adapt almost instantly - learn the new vocabulary, adjust lesson plans, tick the new compliance boxes - while still managing the endless rhythm of everyday teaching and administration. For the common teacher, this does not create clarity. It creates fatigue. It feels less like growth and more like a bombardment - an endless stream of frameworks, slogans, and expectations that rarely come with the time or support to truly make sense of them or probably reject them. This is the paradox of our moment: never before have we had so many ideas in education, and yet never before possibly, has it been so difficult for teachers to know which ones truly matter. Amidst the noise, the teacher’s voice often risks being drowned out. And that's the reality we probably cherish! #education #teachers #noise #research #schools #priyankeducator

🔬 Week 3: What’s really holding back researchers? (Hint: it’s probably not the research office.) We often assume the barriers to research success are about funding or institutional priorities. But after listening to researchers, I’ve found a different pattern: The things holding back research are often operational and cultural. Here’s what I mean: 1️⃣ Time poverty is real Between teaching, administration, and bureaucratic processes, many researchers lack the time for deep, creative thinking. Supporting research means redesigning workloads, not offering workshops. Better research starts with time to think. 2️⃣ Systems create friction Procurement delays. Long ethics approval timelines. Complex travel policies. Individually minor, but collectively exhausting. If a system adds more time than value, it’s not serving researchers. 3️⃣ Support isn’t where it’s needed, when it’s needed Internal grants often reward polished proposals, not promising ideas. Seed funding gets tied up in annual competitive processes that absorb more energy than they unlock. What if we put resources in the hands of the right people at the right time with minimal friction? 4️⃣ Culture undervalues the messy middle Too often, we only celebrate outputs: publications, patents, and prizes. But innovation lives in the messy middle where ideas evolve, pivot, and struggle. We need to recognise, support, and protect that space. So, what would it take to really unlock researcher potential? ✅ Timely, discretionary support with low admin overhead ✅ Strategic and flexible sabbaticals designed for impact ✅ Academic promotion standards that value collaboration, mentorship, impact, and public engagement, not just grants, publications, and citations ✅ Leadership that asks, “How can I help?” and means it The research portfolio can’t solve all of this alone. But it can lead the change. And show what a truly researcher-centred university looks like. Next week: How to redesign internal funding to maximise creativity, speed, and equity. #RethinkingResearch