GELPRedesigning education for the future

Prospectus 2014

GELP began when a group of system leaders, ambitious for the future of

education in their jurisdictions, agreed to work together to transform their

education systems so that every learner could develop the skills, knowledge and

dispositions they need to survive and thrive in the 21st century.

2009-2010

The story so far

A decade into the 21st Century

This enlightened group recognised that the

pressure on education systems introduced

by the rapidly changing conditions of the

21st century were building and that

something had to give if their learners were

to be successful in the future.

They realised that more of the same would

not do, and that radical innovation was

required to transform their education

systems to make them fit for purpose and

future proof.

Transformation would need to take place in

parallel with improving the existing system,

so they adopted a split screen approach to leading their systems, improving for the

present and transforming for the future.

Learning by doing

There was no guru for them to call upon, no magic bullet and no blueprinted solution

to the complex challenges they faced.

Instead they built a community of practice

amongst system leaders like themselves,

committed to learning from leading thinking

and practice of course, but also to trying

things out, blazing trails and building

support for their vision for the future of

education along the way.

There have been 10 global events, each engaging around 100 partners in Australia,

Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, India, South Korea and the USA.

The Partnership is led by a team of experts based in Innovation Unit a not-for-profit

social enterprise based in London. GELP is supported by an extended faculty and

sponsors around the world.

In just 5 years, GELP has grown from a group of 4 into a worldwide partnership,

involving 13 jurisdictions in 9 countries on 6 continents.

2014-2015

GELP Partners

GELP Global Events

GELP HQ

GELP partners come from

Ellen Koshland

Family Fund

Information about Innovation Unit can be found here and the Asia Education Foundation here

radically transform education for the future; it is for others to pursue the important work of improvement in the existing paradigm.

set aside competition and league tables, preferring instead to collaborate to learn with and from each other.

focus on education systems and system conditions and understanding how these affect learners and learning at scale.

This extraordinary group of system leaders unite around a clear set of common goals.

They aim to:

Aim: Radically transform educationThe key ideas and challenges that inform GELP and the

transformation taking place in partners countries are set out in Redesigning Education (2013). They are:

New Players the upsurge of new providers of education and the implications for education systems, such as equity, quality

assurance and certification.

Design principles what characterises powerful C21st learning and what principles should we apply to redesigning

education?

Scaling and diffusing innovation how to build on exceptional individual models to make the learning

experiences they provide available system wide.

Transforming systems and transformational leadership What are the unique requirements of system leaders in

transforming systems?

Information on how to order Redesigning Education can be found here.

Aim: Collaborate to learnIncubating innovation in education systems

Multi-jurisdictional enquiry and action-oriented groups pursue issues of specific need and interest.

Working groups in 2014 focused on:

New players mapping and engaging funders and providers offering innovative learning beyond the mainstream.

New metrics exploring and advocating new forms of assessment for C21st learning.

Developing a C21st education workforce innovating in teacher education and development.

Learner agency evaluating the extent of learner (dis)engagement using an international survey and developing approaches to involving students in redesigning education.

Systems for personalised learning locating leading practice in personalised learning in order to understand and implement system condition conducive to its development and spread.

Further information about these incubators and their learning can be found here.

Aim: Collaborate to learnGlobal learning events

A report from the most recent GELP event held in San Francisco in May 2014 can be found here.

In April 2015 GELP will

partner with OECDs Centre for Educational

Innovation (CERI) to co-

host an event in Durban,

South Africa.

The event will make

connections between

GELP learning and findings

from the Innovative

Learning Environments

(ILE) program.

A second event is

proposed for November

2015 in New Zealand.

Its what happens when you are in the room together, actively discussing and thinking about the issues- that to me is the real magic."

Rod Allen, Ministry of Education, British Columbia, Canada.

Focus: Systems and system conditionsPartners use a road mapping tool

to plan, describe and monitor

transformation of their education

systems. Despite sharing

common elements, each road

map is unique.

The tool is based on evidence

from research and practice about

system transformation.

A digital online version contains

reference materials to support

activity in each area of the road

map.

A hard copy version is available

for use in stakeholder workshops.

A short film in which partners talk about their use of the road mapping tool can be found here.

Focus: Systems and system conditions

A short paper setting out the research evidence behind the innovation ecosystem tool can be found here.

Partners use the Innovation

Ecosystem tool to scan their

systems and to identify likely

sources of radical new ideas and

practice.

They use this information to help

them plan an innovation strategy for

education that balances the need to

improve the existing system with

scope to develop the capacity to

transform it.

GELP New York City: The iZone

Academy is a new school without walls offering personalised learning to any student in NYC regardless of

where they are enrolled

GELP British Columbia: The BC

Curriculum is co-designed by teachers,

and is adapted by schools in their

communities to reflect the interests and

passions of students

GELP Chaoyang: The Beijing

Academy is the first school of its kind in

China an international school, with an international curriculum, including

C21st skills development, for Chinese

students.

GELP South Korea: The Free

Semester program extends the

curriculum beyond academic

subjects to include C21st skills

and character education for every

student

GELP Australia: Learning Frontiers

brings groups of schools together in

hubs with cultural organisations,

employers, social innovators etc. to

design engaging learning

experiences for around 25% of

young Australians at risk of

disengagement.

GELP Brazil: Coalitions between the

major cities and states in Brazil are

forming to meet the challenges of pace

and scale in transforming education in

this young, fast-moving and ambitious

nation

Just some of the examples of transformation being led by GELP partners in their countries.

The GELP ExperienceSome feedback from GELP Partners

A report from the most recent GELP event held in San Francisco in May 2014 can be found here.

"Working in teams across organizations allows leaders to experience the different domains of educationpolicy, pedagogy and politicsgiving them better insight into how to play their particular role."

Susan Mann, CEO Education Services Australia

Participating in GELP has been a wonderful experience. Ideas for innovation have been unleashed in us in conversations about 21st Century skills with other countries. GELP India Team

We applaud the work of GELP insisting on a landscape change as the way to move us to genuine learning opportunities for all. Collaborating and leveraging across countries is a brilliant strategy to

drive this big picture. Ellen Koshland, Ellen Koshland Family Fund

The future of GELP

In 2014-15 GELP is entering a new phase of development, moving

from to

a community based around government teams

working together to transform their education systems

an exclusive group, focused on building strong and

trusting relationships

developing and testing ideas and producing

tools and frameworks

learning from leading edge

thinking and practice

a global network of system leaders, wherever they

may be working, sharing expertise and resources to

accelerate the transformation of education

an inclusive partnership, finding common cause and

connecting with like minded individuals

and organisations

incubating, implementing and diffusing

transformational approaches, wherever they are found

learning from and contributing to leading edge

thinking and practice

The opportunity

Now is the perfect time to join GELP if you are

a system leader engaged in transforming education. You might be leading or funding a new player organisation such as a group of innovative schools within an existing system. You, your colleagues and

contacts can become part of a growing global network of like-minded leaders exchanging ideas and

insights, tools and resources to accelerate the transformation of education around the globe.

part of or leading a network or program also seeking to transform education, locally or nationally in

your context, or globally if youre as ambitious as we are. GELP would like to join with other networks, partnerships and programs to share ideas and help make connections for the people taking part.

a sympathetic organisation with a remit for or interest in education who would like to take a strategic

role in the Partnership and contribute time, expertise and money to help make things happen.

in a government department and would like to connect with other governmental teams, who remain

completely committed to and active within the Partnership as it evolves.

The opportunityJoining GELP means

Taking part in an incubator joining a group (or more than one if you can) exploring specific aspects of system transformation in depth. Incubators are expertly facilitated over conference calls and hangouts,

engage with leading thinking and practice and require participants to take an active role in preparation and

discussions and by completing on the ground work.

Attending GELP global events the next takes place in April 2015 in South Africa. You will need to cover travel and accommodation and a small registration fee. The main event runs from 13-15 April, with

an additional and optional two day study visit taking in local schools. You may wish to consider hosting a

global event in the future.

Contributing to thinking and discussions about the ongoing growth and development of GELP via regular

teleconferences and email correspondence. GELP is a vibrant and challenging environment in which

engagement is often its own reward for participants.

Materials generated by partners in incubators and at the events are made generally available through the

GELP website Some items including materials under development can only be accessed with a login for

registered users. You must be a partner to register.

GELPExtraSome additional options

Hosting a focused study visit from other GELP members or taking part in a study visit hosted by

someone else. Study visits are designed to be reciprocal i.e. to stimulate learning for both the host and the

travelling team. Terms for study visits vary depending on the resources of the hosts, but expect to pay

travel and accommodation to take part.

Commissioning a consultancy visit the team leading GELP and the extended faculty are often

commissioned by GELP partners to complete discrete pieces of work locally to help accelerate

transformation in their jurisdiction. Policy advice, stakeholder engagement (e.g. using GELP tools and

frameworks such as the road map and innovation ecosystem), strategy development and targeted research

such as horizon scanning and case studies are just some examples of work completed in jurisdictions this

year. A separate fee is agreed for consultancy services like these.

GELPLocal in some jurisdictions, transforming education at pace and scale are urgent issues. In Brazil

and in China networks that mirror GELP and connect to GELP, but which are internal to the country are

forming to assist in the spread and scale of GELP ideas and processes. The GELP leadership team and

country experts are at the heart of this work and a separate fee is payable.

GELPWorksGELP has generated a wealth of knowledge assets resources and materials created and used by GELP partners. Here are a few highlights,

which also help to answer some frequently asked questions

What is GELP?

Featuring interviews with the GELP leaders and partners at the GELP Global Event in Helsinki, the GELP

film gives an overview of the Partnership its aims and how partners work together.

What happens at a GELP Global event?

GELP partners meet regularly to share practices, goals, and challenges as they lead transformation in their

education systems. The 10th GELP Global Event took place in San Francisco, USA from Monday, 5 May

to Friday, 9 May 2014. The report from this event, including links to background resources and materials, is

available here.

What happens on a GELP study visit?

In 2014 two paired and sequenced 3 day study visits to NYC and London took place. Thus the study visits

focused deeply on the features and practice of personalized learning and on the effects for and demands of

education systems, where personalized learning is in evidence. Short films of the two visits can be found

here.

continued

GELPWorks

What does GELP believe in?

Drawing together five years of collaborative work, GELP partners issued a joint statement in 2014 for the

international education community. The Statement urges the need for new measures of success in

education, and is a call for greater collaborative work at the international level to develop the system

metrics that can catalyse greater inclusion, innovation and depth in education.

What do you mean by new players?This pre-reading GELP partners summarizes thinking and discussions in a GELP working group about this

important issue, and serves as both a resource and a provocation for the wider Partnership.

What does transforming education mean for teachers?

This horizon scan discovered innovative initial teacher training and professional development programs,

which help prepare teachers to make their essential contribution to education systems of the future. The

scan highlighted eight programs across the world, some of which have won awards for innovation and all of

which promise to change the way we think about teacher preparation and CPD.

Find out more

Contact the GELP team at our London headquarters

by email: GELP@innovationunit.org

Send us your name and contact details and we will be in touch very

soon

We look forward to hearing from you.