Failing to Fail Better: A Discursive Analysis of Positive Failure in Education Discourse
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The document explores the relationship between failure and innovation within the educational context, distinguishing the evolving perceptions of failure as both a virtue and a negative end. By analyzing over 2,000 articles from various media, the findings indicate that discussions of innovation often present a positive view of failure, while outside of this context, failure tends to be seen negatively. The research highlights a disconnect in how failure is framed in relation to innovation, suggesting a need for deeper understanding of these dynamics in academic discourse.
Failing to Fail Better: A Discursive Analysis of Positive Failure in Education Discourse
- 1. Failing to Fail Better Is failure an opportunity for empowerment… …or is that a failure? Rolin Moe, EdD Director of Academic Innovation Assistant Professor Seattle Pacific University @rmoejo CC BY 4.0 Paintings: Eugene Delacroix’s The Sea From the Heights of Dieppe and The Shipwreck of Don Juan. Both currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art but *not* part of their open access collection (on loan from the Louvre)
- 2. Defining Failure Hippopotamus “William,” excavated in 1910. From the Senworsret Reign (1971-1878 BCE) in Egypt. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain. There are numerous ways failure is used in an educational context. The most socially conscious of the moment, the failure as virtue, stands in contrast to the most historic, failure as a negative end. *Fail Fast *Fail Better *Fixed vs Growth Mindset / Grit *The “F” *Failure of Operations
- 3. Defining Innovation Innovation is considered a widely understood term, but its historical signification and present uses are often contradictory and problematic. Operational Innovation (Political, Religious, Social, Technological) Aspirational Innovation (New Product, New Process, New Perspective) Typical Innovation Usage (Unmodified Hooray Concept) Frankish Glass ‘Claw” Beaker (5th-6th Century) in Germany. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
- 4. Images of Napoleon Bonaparte: Left by Henri de Toulouse Latrec (1895), right a commissioned weaving based on a portrait by Francois Gerard (1811). Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
- 5. How do those in the academic innovation community view the relationship of innovation and failure? Form: Discursive Analysis Objective: Identify & analyze language used alongside Innovation and Failure in networked publics Methodology: Capture language used in public conversations, decode for volume as well as situated contexts Data Sets: 1) Mass Media (Chronicle, InsideHigherEd, EdSurge) 2) Keynote Addresses at Innovation Summits 3) Blogs of Dean’s List Painting: Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Luetze (1851). Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain
- 6. Results: Data >2,000 Articles (what constitutes an authentic article versus a quotation or rehash?) >100 authors (multiple accounts, parody accounts) >250,000 words (abbreviations, acronyms, hashtags, @ tags) Data spans nearly 10 years (October 2009 – yesterday)
- 7. Data in Context 1) Most innovation conversations happening at conferences is spurred by keynotes and presentations, articulating rather than negotiating. 2) Outside of conferences, failure in the same article as innovation conversation regularly comes from the sharing of media. 3) When innovation is introduced to a conversation, it is most often in a technological context. 4) The most common use of failure in mass media, when coupled with innovation, denotes a positive outcome. 5) The most common use of failure outside of innovation and higher education denotes a negative outcome. 6) Disruption theory is not seen as a positive in the educational technology community.
- 8. Considering the Data & Further Research 1. There is a sizeable disconnect between when failure is discussed alongside innovation and when failure is not framed along disruption or innovation. Failure in this instance seems remarkably contextual between historical understanding and a modern subset of failing better. 2. The vast majority of innovation conversation starts from a piece of media/essay/keynote address. While some of these pieces take a critical perspective on a topic, why do most media engagements start from a positive perspective? How does this impact discursive analysis? 3. Over 100 authors accounts were engaged in this analysis, but it was an example of the long tail – 80% of articles in three primary sources. What voices are missing, and what perspectives are skewed because of the volume of the top media producers? 4. There is scant pushback on the virtue of failure when brought up with innovation, but there is a remarkably large amount of literature about the negativity of failure outside of innovation discourse. How does academic innovation reconcile their perspective on innovation with
- 9. Questions & Comments Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger by Eugene Delacroix (1828) . Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain. Tiger Lying at the Entrance of Its Lair by Eugene Delacroix (1830). Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
Editor's Notes
- #2: Intro Page
- #3: What is Open Education?
- #4: What is Innovation?
- #5: Why is it important to do a discursive analysis of conversation around open education and innovation? Because we need to know what we are talking about. Laura Riding?
- #6: The Study – Analysis of Innovation Within Open Education Materials
- #8: Analysis in #OpenEd hashtags
- #9: Comparsion with OEGlobal, OER Hashtags