Research
Conjectures underlying the INSIGHTS for upscaling SPICES research
High level conjecture and its embodiment in design
We propose that scaling-up of educational innovations that extend typical school ecosystems, (e.g. school participation in citizen science -- SPICES) will be achieved by supporting value-creation among all types of stakeholders within school-academia networks. Accordingly, we are developing interaction mechanisms using INSIGHTS designed to: (a) encourage participants to reflect on practice, negotiate ideas regarding local instantiations of the innovation, reuse artifacts developed within the network within their own settings, and (b) support co-creation of reification artifacts that coalesce insights across settings and expertise, such as implementation stories conveying various stakeholders’ perspectives on employing the innovation, connected with generalized pedagogical design principles capitalizing on learning sciences research​.
Design conjecture
We contend that enactment of the interaction mechanisms and use of co-created reification artifacts in the INSIGHTS platform will lead to increased value-creation among the network’s stakeholders. These may include knowledge capital (Wenger et al., 2011): personal assets (human capital) such as a useful skill or new perspective; relationships and connections (social capital) such as knowing who to consult; resources (tangible capital) such as access to artifacts; collective intangible assets (reputational capital) such as recognition; and transformed ability to learn (learning capital) such as change in the conceptualization of learning. These types of knowledge capital can transform through five value creating cycles: immediate value can be created as a direct result of interaction, which in turn, can serve as potential value within the network leading to additional cycles of value-creation in the form of: applied value (change in practice), realized value (performance improvement), and reframing value (redefining success). This design conjecture assumes that network participants’ use of the interaction mechanisms and co-created reification artifacts supported by INSIGHTS will lead to rich value creation cycles.
Theoretical conjecture
We argue that increased value-creation in school-academia networks will lead to scaling-up of the educational innovation in terms of: spread, depth, sustainability, shifting of ownership and evolution of the innovation.
Since participation in school–academia networks is voluntary, value-creation is vital. When participants experience rich value-creation cycles, they capitalize on the network’s resources to pursue personal and collective aspirations. Increased value-creation is expected to support the scaling of educational innovations across five dimensions:
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Spread – voluntary adoption by more practitioners, experts, and students.
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Depth – profound local implementations through multi-expertise dialogue on core principles.
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Sustainability – continued implementation over time and across iterations.
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Shift in ownership – responsibility gradually moving to school staff and scientists, with reduced mediation by researchers.
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Evolution – creative local adaptations and integration of cross-project insights into design principles.