Innovation Configurations
NSDC's groundbreaking work in standards for staff development is strengthened when paired with exploration into Innovation Configurations (ICs). IC maps spell out exactly how NSDC's standards would look if they were being implemented by school districts.
An IC map is a device that indentifies and describes the major components of a new practice — in this case, NSDC's standards — and details how it would be used in practice. The IC maps create a mental image of what each of NSDC's Standards for Staff Development look like in practice when implemented by members of many different role groups. The IC maps differentiate what each role group does relative to the standards so that a rich picture of practice emerges for a school district.
NSDC has created books and CD-ROMs with IC maps for a variety of role groups. See below to link to the online bookstore for each product.
NSDC has also published a guidebook with a process staff developers can use to introduce ICs to other educators and enable them to develop deeper understanding about the ICs and how to use them in their work: See
User's Guide: Innovation Configurations for NSDC's Standards for Staff Development in the online bookstore.
To read how schools and districts are already using the ICs to deepen their understanding and implementation of NSDC's standards, see the following articles in NSDC publications:
"Meet a useful tool: The Innovation Configuration Map," by Joellen Killion.
Teachers Teaching Teachers, Sept. 2007, Vol. 3, No. 1.
"Innovation Configurations light the way for deeper learning," by Joan Richardson.
The Learning Principal, Sept. 2007, Vol. 3, No. 1.
"Boost the learning power of school-based staff," by Pat Roy.
The Learning System, Sept. 2007, Vol. 3, No. 1.
Entire Tools for Schools issue on Innovation Configurations. Aug./Sept.2007, Vol. 11, No. 1.
