Presentation about some of the ways that the University of Iceland's School of Education is addressing needs for educational innovation.

1. Educational
Innovation at
the School of
Education
Tryggvi Thayer, Ph.D.
Proj. Mgr.: Innovation & Academic
Development
University of Iceland – School of Education

2. What is educational
innovation?
• Novel teaching methods & strategies,
• Novel educational and learning tools (inc. technology),
• Novel educational resources (inc. technology),
• Novel forms of leadership,
• Novel forms of professional development,
• And so much more…

3. Why promote
educational
innovation
now?
• Supported by various policies and policy actions,
• Increasingly rapid technological & social change,
• Changing skills needs,
• Changing workplaces (schools, non- & informal education, other fields),
• More capable education professionals.

4. Some examples from the School of Education:
1. Promoting online communities of practice
(Menntamiðja, #menntaspjall).
2. Flipped learning (Erasmus+).
3. Social innovation in education (teaching
strategy/learning outcome) (Erasmus +).
4. Entrepreneurial education during COVID-19
(Erasmus+).
5. The School of Education’s Centre for
Educational Innovation.

5. Promoting online
communities of
practice
• Menntamiðja project launched in 2013:
• Identify dynamic communities of practice.
• Promote & support effective communities.
• Introduce novel social media to enhance community activities.
• #menntaspjall (edchat) on Twitter launched 2014:
• Encourage networking & sharing of knowledge/practice on Twitter.
• Organised chats twice pr. month (2014-2016).
• Research community-building and dynamics.

6. Flipped learning in
Praxis
• Erasmus+ project led by Keilir Technical
College (IS).
• Focus on implementation of flipped
learning strategies.
• Identify effective practice.
• Identify learning needs (teachers).
• Identify leadership and policy needs
(school leaders).

7. Social innovation in education
• Erasmus+ project led by Collegium
Civitas (PL).
• Develop shared understanding of
social innovation.
• Explore multiple ways that social
innovation can apply to education:
• Teaching strategy,
• Learning outcomes,
• Institutional identity.
• Develop learning materials about
social innovation.

8. Digital Firefly: Entrepreneurial education during
COVID-19
• Erasmus+ project led by University of Iceland –
School of Education.
• Explore how entrepreneurial education
has been implemented in the hybrid
learning environments necessitated by
COVID-19:
• Novel teaching methods/strategies,
• Novel technologies or technology
uses,
• Develop training materials to capitalise on
and disseminate knowledge & experience
gained during COVID-19.

9. The School of Education’s
Centre for Educational
Innovation
• New centre to promote and foster innovation in
education:
• Located in Gróska Creative Community, “a
greenhouse of new ideas where
established companies blossom alongside
the latest startups.”
• Develop strategic alliances with creative
companies – established & startups.
• Promote opportunities for School of
Education faculty and students to
collaborate with creative companies.
• Provide creative companies with access to
School of Education’s academic
community.
• First projects:
• Various school-oriented innovation, design
& entrepreneurship programmes formerly
housed at the Innovation Centre Iceland.

10. Some resulting
developments in the
School of Education
• Implementing novel teaching strategies in
teacher education:
• Flipped learning,
• Project-based/challenge-based learning,
• Gamification in education & learning.
• Summer course on educational innovation
(2021):
• Three EdX modules on innovation.
• Workshop to develop innovative
responses to challenges in education.
• Summer course on social innovation in
education (2020):
• SI to address challenges in education,
• SI as a teaching strategy.