Final reflections

As I write my final blog and reflect on the knowledge that I have gained throughout this entire module, I can say with certainty that my perception of the concept of innovation is very different to what it was when I first arrived in Denmark. If I am to be completely honest, I have to say that I did not know very much at all about innovation before I came here. However, after studying this module, I have been enlightened as to what the concept involves and inspired by the opportunities that it presents when it is implemented with children in primary school.

I found it particularly interesting to research the concept of innovation within the Northern Ireland primary school curriculum. Before looking at this through the lens of innovation, I had not realised the huge potential for entrepreneurship education that exists within my own country. The Northern Ireland curriculum (CCEA, 2007, p. 9) notes that teachers should help pupils discover how to “seek out questions to explore and problems to solve”, “make ideas real by experimenting with different designs, actions and outcomes” and “value the unexpected or surprising” amongst a number of other activities that are built on innovative concepts. When I return home and use the curriculum to plan my lessons, as I have done in the past, I will try to be more mindful of the inherent potential for innovation and entrepreneurship education and incorporate this into my teaching.

Throughout this module, I have also gained useful knowledge about various other aspects of innovation. In particular, my opinions regarding the significance of creativity have been challenged. I have always struggled, both as a pupil in school and as a trainee teacher, when it comes to taking part in creative activities. However, my views have been challenged by Kelley and Kelley (2013) who discuss the concept of ‘creative confidence’ and assert that teachers must believe in their own individual creative potential so that this passion for creativity can be transmitted to their pupils. They note that “…the real value of creativity doesn’t emerge until you are brave enough to act on those ideas. That combination of thought and action defines creative confidence: the ability to come up with new ideas and the courage to try them out” (Kelley and Kelley, 2013, pp. 5-6). Indeed, this has challenged me to consider the importance of being willing to step out of my comfort zone, develop new ideas and then put them into action. I believe that it is only when I as a teacher grasp the significance of this that I can begin to put it into practice in the classroom and truly extract the real opportunities inherent in innovation and entrepreneurship education for my pupils. Brown (2009) also emphasises the importance of creativity and urges that our objective as teachers must be to develop an educational experience that does not eradicate children’s natural inclination to experiment and create but rather, encourages and amplifies it. It is my responsibility as a teacher, therefore, to understand the role that creativity plays in innovation and entrepreneurship education, as well as the immense potential that it has, so that I can correctly implement it within the classroom.

Thus, I complete my studies in this module and leave Copenhagen inspired by the knowledge I have gained. I hope that I will be able to take what I have learnt back home with me and put it into practice with the children I teach, perhaps during my next practice placement. I have gained a lot of useful knowledge and I feel that the value of innovation and entrepreneurship education is evident; indeed, with the world that we live in changing and developing at a rapid rate, I agree with Wagner (2012) who claims that innovation is absolutely essential to our future.

Reference List

Brown, T. (2009) Change by Design, New York, Harper Business.

CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) (2007) The Northern Ireland Curriculum Primary, Belfast, CCEA.

Kelley T. & D. Kelley (2013) Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All, Palo Alto, IDEO.

Wagner, T. (2012) Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, New York, Scribner.