Summary: Write a memo to a school/university leader making a recommendation (for or against) about the adoption of a particular education technology.
Preface
On pages 74-76 of Failure to Disrupt, there is a “worked example”–a detailed walkthrough of a problem solution– for how one might consider a technology adoption decision. The author asks readers to consider a number of features of a technology: what’s new here? how does this technology fit into past trends, like the three genres of learning at scale? what does research say about the efficacy of this technology, especially as it varies across subjects, populations, and contexts? what are the local contextual considerations that should be considered before adoption? what are faculty already doing or interested in? what is the capacity for innovation in the institution? how much pedagogical change would be required, and what is the pathway for supporting that change?
To complete this paper, you’ll need to conjure up a specific context. That can be your home department at MIT, your high school, an educational program that you participate in, or any other real organization. You might have perfect information about that organization, which would be handy. If you don’t have perfect information (“I’m not sure how much the course 9 teaching faculty are amenable to innovation…”), you can either: 1) conduct some research to find out, 2) stipulate how your recommendation might be modified based on research one would conduct, 3) fabricate some stylized facts or assumptions, and be sure these are noted in text or footnotes or something.
Your memo should start with a one paragraph executive summary of your recommendation, and then provide detailed, research-based justification for that recommendation. I would generally expect that you would both use the sources we’ve read in class and go beyond those sources with additional research.
