BPOLST 593: Topics in Policy Studies
Innovation and the Public School Systems of the Future
Instructors: Robin Lake and Betheny Gross, Center on Reinventing Public Education
3 Credits
Mondays 6:00-9:00 pm
University of Washington Bothell campus, UW2-205
This course will explore the role of technology and innovation in improving public education and other government agencies. Students will read foundational and current literature on innovation in public education and other sectors. We will begin with the arguments for and against technology as a disruptive innovation in education. We will review the most promising uses of technology in schools and assess the opportunities and challenges of replicating those designs. We will consider the barriers to innovation in school systems and assess possible solutions, including differently designed labor contracts, central office reforms, new accountability systems, and new governance models such as charter schools and portfolio districts. We will end the course with an eye toward federal and state policies that may inhibit or promote innovation.
Students will gain understanding of:
* innovative schooling models currently debated in policy circles and the theories that support both sides of the debate;
* structural and policy barriers to adopting innovative practices widely;
* promising approaches from public sector reforms to support innovation; and,
* how research and policy centers like CRPE can contribute to important policy challenges like innovation.
Robin Lake and Betheny Gross are Director and Research Director, respectively of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). A national leader in research and policy analysis, CRPE seeks to make public education more effective, by enabling educators and programs to do their best work with students, particularly disadvantaged students. More at http://www.crpe.org/
To register, visit UW Bothell Time Schedule: http://www.washington.edu/students/timeschd/B/WIN2014/bpolst.html, SLN# 21266
