Creating Communities of Innovation

The Creating Communities of Innovation (CCI) research project was designed to support teachers and administrators to develop context-specific innovations that improve learning experiences and outcomes for students—with the term ‘innovation’ viewed as encompassing anything new to a particular classroom or school.  A collaboration between Project Zero and the GEMS network of schools based in the United Arab Emirates, the project initially involved working with educators in seven schools variously following American, British, Indian, and International Baccalaureate curricula, from Kindergarten up to 12th grade. Study groups developed, piloted, implemented, and scaled innovations that included new classroom practices and curricula, a school-wide critical thinking rubric, an Open Doors policy for parents, and new approaches to student assessment. A second phase of the project involved scaling and adapting CCI tools and structures to serve more teachers and schools.

 

The CCI project resulted in the development of a framework, which is presented in the book Inquiry-driven innovation: A practical guide for supporting school-based change. The book consists of a theoretical model, rich case studies, a suggested roadmap for engaging in inquiry-driven innovation, and a series of over 20 tools—all of which were pilot-tested and refined by participating educators. Building on decades of Project Zero research, the framework strategically leverages inquiry, innovation, and community to promote locally meaningful school-based change, as well as powerful growth for individual educators.