Page 19 - 20-2

Te Renaissance Foundry is inspired by three guiding concepts: Once the level of knowledge reached is enough to obtain an
Vision, Leadership, and Innovation. A novel aspect used to accurate description of the challenge, the focus changes to the
develop the Renaissance Foundry is the relationship among these Knowledge Transfer paradigm (B). Tis paradigm is centered
three concepts which is governed by the following principle: on a “Linear Engineering Sequence” (LES) of steps with the
last one being the Prototype of Innovative Technology (5).
Vision + Leadership --> Innovation Figure 2 lists the key steps involved in LES while Figure 3 is a
pictorial representation of the procedure used to move from
Te relation among the variables in this equation implies that an Institutional Challenge toward the Prototype of Innovative
in order to bring Innovation to an academic institution, the Technology. Specifcally, these fgures illustrate the application
Leadership needs to work together with a proper Vision for the of LES to one example of innovation, the Mobile Learning
institution and for that particular Innovation. Environment System Infrastructure (MoLE-SI) that is discussed
At the Tennessee Technological University (TTU) Department of in detail below. In this paradigm, the unit personnel involved
Chemical Engineering, although leadership provides the strategy in identifying the innovation efectively move ideas toward the
for implementation, Vision is the guiding principle for advancing identifcation of a suitable Prototype of Innovative Technology
innovation even during the most difcult challenges. (5) using the LES.
In summary, innovation without vision will not yield the desired LES
results nor will it produce technologies that are efective in • Identifcation of a Challenge
bringing new opportunities for student success (Christensen, (A new course, program, concentration, platform, etc.)
2013). Technology here implies a number of outcomes relevant • Input from K-Acquisition: Originated from Dream Team.
for the academic unit including, for example, new pedagogical Identifying “DOTS” related to the Challenge
approaches, classroom upgrades, new programs for students, etc.
Moreover, without the proper leadership, the vision itself cannot • Assessing Resources and making “DOTS” connections
achieve the most efective technologies for the institution’s • Prototype/Concept MoLE-SI
modernization. Te net impact of these principles is enhanced • Development, Building, Testing, Assessing,
student success. and Reporting of results from Prototype
Te Renaissance Foundry is an important departure from • Up-Scaling and other related innovations
the traditional committees that academic institutions use to • Assessments
handle matters related to innovation because it relies on expert • Continue identifying “DOTS” and then
adaptable procedures (Lin, Schwartz, & Bransford, 2007) coupled Connecting “DOTS” for other innovations
with team members who are highly knowledgeable about the
vision behind a given innovation. Figure 2: Key Steps in LES for the MoLE-SI Innovation Case
The Renaissance Foundry:
Key Elements of the Protocol and its Philosophy

Te Renaissance Foundry is a powerful and systematic
protocol that is very helpful in promoting innovations in any
given academic unit. Te fve elements mentioned above work
synergistically within two educational paradigms (Arce, 2014;
Arce & Schreiber, 2004): Te Knowledge Acquisition (A) and
the Knowledge Transfer (B) paradigms (Figure 1). Under the
umbrella of the Organizational Challenge for Innovation (1),
both paradigms utilize diferent elements of the Renaissance
Foundry to produce a suitable Prototype of Innovative
Technology (5), to solve the initial organizational challenge (1).
An efective application of this protocol would therefore start
with the identifcation of the Organizational Challenge for
Innovation (1). Once this is identifed, the next step is to move
into the Knowledge Acquisition paradigm (A) to acquire
an accurate knowledge base regarding the challenge and all
other relevant aspects related to the challenge. Specifcally,
the Knowledge Acquisition paradigm is driven by “Cycles of
Learning” coupled with “Documentation Cycles” that can
efectively gather and assess data (Donovan, Bransford, &
Pellegrino, 2000). A part of this paradigm includes a thorough
analysis of similar cases found in the literature that are related
to the challenge. In particular, this analysis should identify what
innovative prototypes were achieved, what student population
was impacted, and what role the student played during the
process of innovation. Figure 3: “Pictorial” view of LES

LEADERSHIP Vol. 20.2 Fall 2014 17

Client: The Chair Academy Job: CHAIRAcademy_Journal_20.2 fall 2014
Final size: 8.5” x 11” Colors: CMYK Bleeds: Yes
Created by: Goldfsh Creative - Laura Dvir • 602.349.2220 • goldfshcreates@q.com