Integrating principled innovation as a character development framework in education coursework

A college of education established a research-based framework, Principled Innovation (PI), to support education professionals to consider the role character plays when innovating. Three instructors who authored this study integrated the four assets and eight practices of the PI framework into their courses and wanted to support one another in identifying bright spots for how PI was used and expanding upon them. They used a protocol they created, the Appreciative Tuning Protocol (ATP), to help one another expand on their original efforts. This study involved a triangulated, qualitative review of the three ATP meeting transcripts, natural artifacts from the courses, and their reflections. Findings revealed that all three instructors were successful in integrating PI, that all three instructors decided to integrate PI implicitly by applying the PI assets and practices in activities, and that PI supported the course learning objectives in all courses. This study has implications for other instructors who wish to utilize PI in their courses. Research is needed to determine how PI can be integrated into other higher education topics and whether the addition of PI can impact student achievement.