Colouring outside the lines
Posted on: December 3, 2021
Today I reflect on my work with two education groups and how they react to change.
I suggested to one group that we needed to teach pandemic strategies in our course for future educators. There has been no change ever since the course went fully online.
In another course, I included a new learning outcome: Suggest strategies for integrating ICT into [area of education] during a pandemic. I did this outside our regular course document review/revision.
The latter move is a timely one and already appreciated by my learners (pre- and in-service teachers) as one of several optional focus areas. It is timely and I do not see significant objections to it during official review.
There is a saying among change agents who dare: Better to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission first. Anyone who is serious about change knows that going through proper channels regardless of circumstance will result in no change, or worse, regression.
Change sometimes means colouring outside the lines. If I am advised to remove that optional learning outcome, I will apologise for including it without consultation. But I will also have tinkered with that change element and have data on how that went. This will inform me and my client, and we will be better for it.
Another dot in the blogosphere? 
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