Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2015

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MASTERING INNOVATION IN THE CLASSROOM

Ms Cummings in Smögen on Sweden’s west coast.

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER MS ADELE CUMMINGS HAS RETURNED FROM A YEAR’S SABBATICAL IN SWEDEN, STUDYING FOR HER MASTERS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION.

involved in group work on projects such as designing and pitching five new business opportunities to a board of executives from a Swedish newspaper company. ‘The other students were such open minded and interesting people; I loved being around people who wanted to ask questions, discuss and debate. ‘I hope that by engaging in learning outside of my teaching area I have shown the girls that learning doesn’t end after school or university and that even though I am passionate about music education you can have other interests which can be explored throughout your career.’

Ms Cummings’ growing interest in the future of schools and education led her to pursue a Masters in a different, yet complementary, field to her undergraduate degree. ‘I had been thinking more and more about what innovative practices might be needed in the future,’ Ms Cummings said. ‘Entrepreneurial skills are being heralded as a necessity for the coming generations in order for them to be able to deal with the ambiguity they will face in the world. Universities have begun investing in entrepreneurship courses in a range of faculty areas and I have no doubt that will eventually trickle down in to high schools. ‘I know our Technology Studies department is already on trend, introducing design thinking in the classroom and working on connecting the students with the business world.’ A highlight for Ms Cummings was being connected with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) schools in the Philippines, a for-profit chain of schools attempting to provide a low-cost private education to Filipino locals. ‘They had some really innovative ideas on how to run their schools and it really challenged my view of what education is, how schools should be run and that educational needs are very different depending on what part of the world you are in. They had a great focus on reflection and a growth mindset like we do at Girls Grammar, and it was great to see these principles implemented in a different setting.’ The coursework covered the different characteristics of an entrepreneur, how to foster creativity and innovation within large organisations and entrepreneurial cultures and how to manage change. Ms Cummings was also

Music teacher Ms Adele Cummings with old girl Amy Smith (2004), a fellow alumnus of Lund University.

Lund University.

GRAMMAR GAZETTE