Teachers as Designers of Learning Environments. The Importance of Innovative Pedagogies

Pedagogy is at the heart of teaching and learning. Preparing young people to become lifelong learners with a deep knowledge of subject matter and a broad set of social skills requires understanding how pedagogy influences learning. Doing so shifts the perception of teachers from technicians who strive to attain the education goals set by the curriculum to experts in the art and science of teaching. Seen through this lens, innovation in teaching becomes a problem-solving process rooted in teachers’ professionalism, a normal response to addressing the daily changes of constantly changing classrooms. Teachers as Designers of Learning Environments: The Importance of Innovative Pedagogies sets the stage for educators and policy-makers to innovate teaching by looking at what is currently taking place in schools as potential seeds for change. At the heart of these approaches is a sensitivity to the natural inclinations of learners towards play, creativity, collaboration and inquiry. Examples from 27 national and international networks of schools are used to illustrate how teachers use these innovative practices.

Alex Paniagua came to the OECD from La Fundació Jaume Bofill in Barcelona. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and his research revolves around participation, institutional habitus, diversity and innovation, with a strong focus on qualitative research. He has previously worked in the University of Barcelona as an associated professor and he collaborates with the Autonomous University of Barcelona as a postdoctoral researcher. He also holds a BA in Education and worked in the Catalan Department of Education as a primary school teacher. 

David Istance was a senior analyst in the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) in OECD’s Education and Skills Directorate. Until the end of June 2017, he headed the CERI project Innovative Pedagogies for Powerful Learning. His most recent OECD publications are Schooling Redesigned: Towards Innovative Learning Systems (2015), and an “ILE Handbook” (2017) with tools for leaders and practitioners. In 2015, he led and co-authored the OECD review of Scotland’s “Curriculum for Excellence” and has recently been involved in an OECD review of Indigenous education in Canada. He designed and wrote the initial volumes of the overview reports Education Today: the OECD Perspective and Trends Shaping Education. He has written extensively on learning, innovation and futures, and earlier led the Schooling for Tomorrow project and created the OECD schooling scenarios. He has a longstanding interest in lifelong learning, and most recently is focusing on 3rd and 4th Age adults.

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