c. Scott Berkun (2007) in "The Myths of Innovation,"
might yield some information on the factors responsible for the
pathologically slow diffusion of innovation in higher education.
In addition, some physics education researchers are now pursuing
studies of the slow progress of educational reform. For example,
Henderson & Dancy (2006a,b) are interviewing faculty to determine
their attitudes toward innovations in physics education and the
(usually minimal) extent to which faculty have incorporated such
innovations into their own classroom practice.
Chapter 4 (freely downloadable at <http://tinyurl.com/2x9hv7>) of
"The Myths of Innovation" deals with the myth "People love new
ideas." Therein Berkin wrote [bracketed by lines "BBBBB. . . ."; my
insert at ". . . .[insert]. . . ."]:
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Every great idea in history has the fat red stamp of rejection on its
face. It's hard to see today because once ideas gain acceptance, we
gloss over the hard paths they took to get there. If you scratch any
innovation's surface, you'll find the scars: they've been roughed up
and thrashed around-by both the masses and leading minds- before they
made it into your life. Paul C. Lauterbur, cowinner of the . . . .
[2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2003/press.html>
for discoveries concerning "magnetic resonance imaging," whose
seminal 1973 paper on magnetic resonance imaging was originally
rejected by "Nature," is quoted by Davis (2007) as stating] . . . .
"You can write the entire history of science in the last 50 years in
terms of papers rejected by "Science" or "Nature." Big ideas in all
fields endure dismissals, mockeries, and persecutions (for them and
their creators). . . . .
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
I have not read Berkin's book, but it has been highly praised by:
a. John Seely Brown <http://www.johnseelybrown.com/>, former Chief
Scientist of Xerox: "Insightful, inspiring, evocative, and just plain
fun to read it's totally great"; and
b. Don Norman <http://www.jnd.org/ >, author of "Design of Everyday
Things": "Small, simple, powerful: an innovative book about
innovation."
"Difficulties of Change: . . . 9. The PRIMA FACIE AFFRONT: Whereas I
have spent a significant fraction of my professional life perfecting
my lectures and otherwise investing conscientiously in the status
quo, therefore to suggest an alternative is, by definition, to attack
me."
Robert Halfman, Margaret MacVicart, W.T. Martin, Edwin Taylor, and
Jerrold Zacharias (1977).
Christensen, C. M. 2006. "The Innovator's Dilemma." Harper Collins -
information at
<http://tinyurl.com/yx9k9h>. First published in 1997 by the Harvard
Business School Press.
Halfman, R., M.L.A. MacVicar, W.T. Martin, E.F. Taylor, & J.R.
Zacharias. 1977. "Tactics for Change." MIT Occasional Paper No. 11;
online at <http://web.mit.edu/jbelcher/www/TacticsForChange/>. Thanks
to John Belcher for placing this gem on the web.
Henderson, C. & M. Dancy. 2006b. "Barriers to the Use of
Research-Based Instructional
Strategies: The Dual Role of Individual and Situational
Characteristics," submitted in October 2006 to Physical Review
Special Topics: Physics Education Research; online at
<http://homepages.wmich.edu/~chenders/Publications/SituationalPaperSubmitted.pdf>
(184 KB).
Rogers, E.M. 2003. "Diffusion of Innovations," 5th edition. Free
Press. Amazon.com information at <http://tinyurl.com/2hl35z>.