Innovator’s Mindset Finale

#IMMOOC Week 6 – The final blog… or is it?

After I started this book and watched the first live video I have to admit that I was concerned that this book wasn’t really meant for me… the classroom teacher. It seemed that many of the examples, guests, and information were all geared toward building and district leaders.

However, I was dedicated to seeing it through and I have to admit I am so glad that I did. I ended up learning many things that have already made me a better educator and innovator.

On top of it, I have been more dedicated to blogging which is something I’ve been trying to work on for a while now.

Some new things I have or will implement as a result of this book:

1. Portfolios!
2. Remembering to use the best tool for the job (even if it isn’t technology).
3. Blogging! – Me and my students
4. Sharing with my staff and district to help move them forward.
5. Make sure to share the struggles and the victories, not just the latter.

I’m sure my list could go on, but something else this adventure has taught me, the power of brevity. Until next time my friends!

Measuring Impact

#IMMOOC Week 5 (Catching up from Spring Break and we had testing this past week, womp womp)

This week I’ve decided to consider how we might measure the impact of innovative practices in education and how you know you’re headed in the right direction.

Current practices in many schools and states believe that a combination of observations and test scores show how effective a teacher, building, and district are at “teaching” students.

Innovation, however, isn’t as easily measured. I think the number one way we’re going to see results from innovation is time.

We need to wait and see what students who are actually engaged and empowered in school are able to do. What kind of leaders will develop from these practices. I always tell my students that patience is a virtue and we as educators need to keep this in mind as well.

I can’t tell you how many times in a mere eleven years of teaching I’ve been told we’re going to try something new only to have the school give up on the new practice within weeks because it’s too difficult to maintain or no one had to patience to see it through. I’m guilty of it myself with new ideas in my classroom. The best intentions I suppose…

That being said, innovation is something that I’ve tinkered with since the beginning, even if I didn’t know what I was doing. I can remember being scolded in my first year of teaching for not having my students in rows. I can remember people laughing when I said that I was having my students mummify apples while studying Egypt and walk with books on their heads as we learned about African people. These attempts to engage the students beyond the norm may have been silly, but I was pushing the envelope of traditional education even then.

I believe we see true innovation when we take risks and they don’t always pan out. We have to go back to the drawing board many times and even then, things will never be perfect. That’s okay though, perfection is overrated, and the impact of trying something new and innovative will stick with the students forever.