Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith: Empowering Education through Pedagogy-driven Innovation

Every decision made within a classroom, school, or educational institution is fundamentally a pedagogical decision. This is because each decision either expands or limits the choices available to learners and educators as they engage in the process of learning.

PedTech advocates for prioritizing pedagogy over technology in educational settings. It emphasizes the importance of considering why specific teaching and learning approaches are chosen and the long-term impact these choices are expected to have on learners’ development.

As the Founder of PedTech and Director of One Life Learning, Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith emphasizes the importance of keeping Pedagogical goals at the center of any thought process, conversation, or action about the use of digital technology in education. She works closely with schools and trusts, professional learning providers and EdTech companies. She is also an Associate Lecturer, PhD supervisor and Consultant Researcher at a number of universities, and sits on the board of a number of multi academy and charitable trusts.

A Leading Voice in Education

Named by Education Business as one of the 50 most influential people in education (2022), Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith is an award-winning teacher, leader and academic with a passion for supporting those who work with children and young people.

Co-author of the global bestselling book From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology, Fiona is a regular contributor to events and publications about Education, Pedagogy and Education Technology. She is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, and has been awarded Fellowships by RSA, NAACE and the HEA and was awarded the TPEA Research & Development Award in 2021.

In 2023, Fiona was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Educators and in 2024, Fiona was granted Freedom of the City of London. 

Shaping Education through Innovation

Fiona was originally a primary school leader, winning a number of awards for classroom excellence and school innovation before moving into regional and national advisory roles. She became known for her energy and encouragement in supporting other leaders to improve their own schools, and encouraging leaders to push the boundaries of what is possible for learners and learning.

Fiona is now what might be described as a portfolio worker specializing in the relationship between education and digital– combining independent education consulting and advisory work with commissioned independent research, alongside postgraduate teaching and PhD supervision at a number of universities. She is known for championing the voice and needs of children and young people, and for her tireless support for teachers and school leaders.

Embracing Innovation and Inclusivity

Fiona is the Founder of PedTech – a global movement focused on putting pedagogy at the heart of any thinking or decisions about the use of digital technology in education.

She believes that the future of education must incorporate the opportunities that the use of digital offers, but this must be through thoughtful, purposeful, education-first approaches. For example, digital accessibility features provide a voice for those who find text or literacy a barrier, Digital collaboration provides support for those who find a blank page overwhelming, Digital assessment provides instant feedback and adaptive pathways for those who would otherwise be dependent upon the limited capacity of their teacher.

Fiona advocates for ensuring students worldwide benefit from digitally enhanced learning experiences, leveraging advancements like AI. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining equity, ensuring students aren’t disadvantaged due to a lack of alignment with contemporary technological possibilities. Fiona’s perspective underscores the need for education systems to continually evolve and integrate these innovations to support all learners effectively.

To promote gender equality and empower all students and staff within her work, Fiona is known for a number of approaches. First, for shining a light on students and leaders who are working hard, and achieving excellence in their own work – seeking out opportunities for them to spread excellence and support others. Fiona is known for championing those whose work pivots around supporting learners and learning. She utilizes her vast networks to bring people together and advocates for those whose voice may not have previously been heard.

She is also known for being a prolific writer of encouraging letters and postcards to those she has visited and worked with – celebrating their achievements and inspiring them with messages of encouragement.

Fiona is also known for highlighting the importance of inclusive practice – both in classrooms as well as in professional conversations and projects – recognising that every single person has their own needs, challenges and aspirations and doing everything possible to support them in a way that is appropriate for their own context.

Creating a Global Sense of Community

The book From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology was written as a handbook to translate extensive and complex academic theory into practical guidance for school leaders and classroom teachers. The purpose of the book is to help teachers and leaders understand their own beliefs about education, so that they can more precisely and impactfully improve and plan for future practice.

By creating the PedTech movement, schools, edtech suppliers, academics, leaders, teachers, and researchers have all been given a common language to be able to work together more impactfully. This creates a global sense of community, as well as increasing the collective efficacy – the impact achieved by all working together on shared and common goals.

Examples of this global community include that ISC Research – who work with hundreds of international schools worldwide publishing a PedTech white paper in June 2024, Google headlining PedTech through their Leader Series in 2024, LGfL launching a PedTech portal to provide national advice for suppliers and schools, and many educational leadership organisations forefronting PedTech through their own advisory work – ranging from the National College, to Oxford University Press, Gulf EdTech Fellows to the World Education Summit.

Advocating for Informed Decision-Making

Fiona highlights how crucial it is to comprehend all viewpoints on the trends and changes of the present, especially from the perspectives of those who are most impacted. She feels that choices made in the field of education frequently ignore the opinions of children and young people, and works hard to encourage the sector to spend more time listening, watching and understanding the voice and thinking of the learner.

Alongside this, Fiona recommends listening and reading widely and frequently from a variety of sources, including policy, philosophical works, news articles, sector publications, and research publications. According to Fiona, obtaining a thorough understanding of contemporary educational challenges and making sure decisions are based on a broad comprehension of opposing viewpoints depend on having this breadth of knowledge. Her strategy emphasizes a dedication to inclusivity and careful evaluation of the viewpoints of all stakeholders in educational discourse and decision-making.

Prioritizing Moral Compass

Fiona places great emphasis on the importance of attending sector events and meetings to actively seek out diverse opinions and ideas, in particular being immersed in classrooms of all types and contexts. She believes in asking probing questions and showing genuine interest in a wide array of approaches and perspectives –challenging our own assumptions, biases and understanding. Fiona recognizes that innovative solutions often emerge from unexpected connections between seemingly unrelated topics.

In her view, every interaction presents an opportunity for learning—whether it’s gaining fresh insights, discovering new ideas, or understanding different perspectives on established concepts. Fiona’s guiding principles revolve around fostering meaningful and inclusive practices for all individuals, promoting equity in both thought and action. She advocates for a proactive, positive, and purposeful approach in her endeavors, encouraging others to follow their moral compass and strive to achieve their full potential. Her leadership is characterized by a commitment to empowering others to be effective and authentic in their professional and personal lives.

Fiona highlights that adults have a moral obligation to improve children’s and youths’ lives and educational opportunities, both on an individual and generational level. Even though Fiona’s main responsibilities are as a lecturer, advisor, consultant, and researcher, she purposefully sets aside 20% of her week for teaching. She thinks that having this direct interaction is essential to retaining the practical knowledge required to provide wise counsel.

Professional Excellence and Personal Commitment

Fiona spends half of her working day engaging with students face-to-face in workshops and classrooms in a range of educational environments, including special and alternative education from Early Years to Sixth Form. Because she values their distinct viewpoints and settings, she places a high value on learning from classroom teachers and school administrators. Fiona stresses how crucial it is to set aside time to interact with and gain knowledge from each person who shares their thoughts or asks for help.

Fiona considers the Early Years (0–5) to be the most vital time in a child’s life and emphasizes their critical relevance in their development. She purposefully planned a four-year job pause after having her own children in order to invest in these critical years. Despite having a senior leadership position in a national education organization at the time and well-meaning advisors’ worries about the possible effects on her career path, she made this decision. For Fiona, the decision was never about whether prioritizing her children’s early years was right, but rather about how to continue developing professionally during her break to ensure she could return to the workplace with valuable contributions. This led her to pursue and complete a Doctorate, with her thesis later evolving into the internationally bestselling book, “From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology.”

Fiona recognizes the difficulties women encounter in striking a balance between their aspirations to be successful professionals and devoted mothers. She is a fervent supporter of workplace flexibility, seeing it as crucial to empowering men and women to achieve their goals in the family and professional spheres. Her career and personal journeys demonstrate her dedication to balancing these roles and creating an atmosphere that supports people’s ability to succeed in their personal and professional endeavors.