#InnovatorsMindset

Reading The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros has been transformational to my teaching practice.  Although I have focused on technology integration for some time now, I have not consistently used one philosophy to guide my instructional decisions.  This book has given me the tools I need to create a culture of digital citizens that know how to change the world for the better.  Many of the things I have read have reaffirmed the decisions that I have made for myself and my students.  Through twitter chats, google hangouts, following blogs, and collaborative classroom projects, I have helped myself and my students become more connected.  I have also continued to work on my own blog as a way to reflect about my teaching and learning.  It is encouraging that I have been on the right track in many ways, but it is also exciting to think about how my practice is changing as a result of this book.

As I have worked on technology integration in my classroom, it has been a gradual process.  Each year I have implemented more bits and pieces, but I still haven't felt a complete culture shift in my classroom.  I am excited to implement the principles from this book, and I believe that I will finally see the culture shift that I have been wanting for the past few years.  Currently, I am on a leave of absence from second grade and am supervising UNL practicum students.  One of the most important messages in this book is to put myself in the shoes of my learners.  What would I want if I were in their position?  I have started to ask myself this question each day and I believe this will be an important piece of the culture shift in my classroom.  As I have asked myself what I would want as a learner, I have been able to rethink how I had planned to do things this semester with the practicum students.  Using Couros' "8 Things to Look for in Today's Classroom" graphic, I have identified the following areas in my current teaching practice:

-Reflections after teaching (time for reflection, self-assessment)
-Feedback from CT and peer (critical thinkers, connected learning, voice)
-Sharing great ideas from students G+ community and taking pictures (connected learning, voice)
-Focus on their strengths during feedback (choice)
-Journals in G+ community so peers can share feedback (time for reflection, critical thinkers, connected learning, voice)
-Allowing students to substitute a twitter chat for one of their journals (choice, connected learning)
-Building relationships with CT's and sharing their ideas (connected learning)
-Seminar #2 having an e-learning day where students can choose from a few different webinars, then will work with groups to create a presentation (using choice of tech tool) that will be shared in G+ community (choice, problem solvers/finders, opportunities for innovation)
-Seminar #3 share videos in stations where they can ask questions/provide feedback and get out early when all students have shared (voice, critical thinkers, connected learning)

It has been exciting to see immediate effects as a result of the changes I have made for this group of practicum students.  They are eager to learn from each other and have provided each other with support and ideas that would not have happened without opportunities to give each other feedback.  As students come up with new ideas, I am able to share them with the other students, and the culture of our group continues to grow as ideas transform into new ideas.  One pair of students chose to co-teach their first math lesson together and it was skillfully executed.  I shared their work with the class, and have encouraged other students to co-teach if it would work well for them.  Hopefully this and other ideas will push the students to innovate the ways that they are teaching.

Rather than be held back by my areas of weakness, I need to focus on my strengths and push myself to keep learning. As I learn through collaboration with other teachers, I can build on their ideas and discover new ways to inspire my students. I also need to give my students opportunities to share their strengths and interests with me, so I can find new ways to help them learn. One thing that was transformational for me in this book was the video, “Obvious to you. Amazing to others.” It seems fitting that this was not even one of Couros’ ideas, but something important that he decided to share. This video reminds me that my students and I have important ideas to share with the world, and even those that seem commonplace to me have the potential to change someone else’s story.  In location 3041, Couros challenges his readers, “Stories can become the fuel to innovation in education. I hope you’ll share yours.”

Before reading this book, I was familiar with many of the key ideas in it, but I was piecing my learning plan together. I was having my students collaborate, problem solve, share their work, and play with technology tools, but my planning wasn’t rooted in a framework. The Innovator’s Mindset has given me the right questions to ask to guide my decisions as I choose a path for learning. I have started to understand how my learning and my students’ learning are intertwined with each other in a collaborative relationship. I have learned to ask myself if I would want to be a learner in my own classroom. I have also learned the importance of fighting for each student to have opportunities to shine and share their strengths with the world. When students have a chance to share their strengths with others, they begin to see themselves as part of a larger whole, and can become citizens that have the tools needed to help others. Their stories deserve to be told, and the world will be a better place because of it.