Tag: week 5 highlights

Published March 30, 2017 by

Week 5 Highlights from #IMMOOC Season 2 Participants

This is a compilation of some highlights in our third week of Innovator’s Mindset MOOC Season 2. To join the conversation, check out IMMOOC.Org,  #IMMOOC on Twitter, or join us on Facebook.

Live Session 5 with George Couros, Katie Martin and special guests Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess, authors of the newly released book, Lead Like a Pirate.

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=830vNqgejkk&w=560&h=315]

 

All four participants in Live Session 5 contributed so many meme worthy comments in creating and maintaining a culture of innovation.

How do we tackle barriers to innovation?

Beth and Shelley speak of the importance of  staff and students wanting to run into, not out, of schools with “culture first, culture next, culture always”. Shelley talks of the importance of all stakeholders needing to be empowered to become owners and protectors of the culture of a shared and clear-to-all vision for moving forward. “People will be less likely to tear down walls that they helped build”. Beth firmly believes in “you promote what you permit”. We need to model what we hope to see and celebrate every step along the way. Accountability partners may help us make the progress and take needed breaks for perfect balance along the way.  Katie offers the idea to “start with small steps without waiting for permission” and not waiting until the plan is perfectly planned before launching. George reminds us about the meaning of innovation in that we need to do something different (and better) if we want others to do the same. We then need to have “honest conversations at the most appropriate times” for the feedback needed to make improvements along the way. George stresses that we need to stop being so boring along the journey and make sure to liven things up and have some fun.

George refers to the story of the 5 Wet Monkeys in how we need leaders more than ever to fight the TTWWADI (That’s The Way We Always Do It) Monster; one of our barriers to innovation.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4vJ8l2NfIM&w=560&h=315]

Dave Burgess posted this popular Tweet on barriers to innovation:

Katie Martin Tweets that one way to avoid those barriers is to stop concentrating on them:

We have to reflect on other types of barriers that exist holding us back from innovative practices. This post by Rick Burkett was referenced by George to encourage self-reflection.

#IMMOOC Season 2 participants reacted with amazing reflections to Live Session 5.

Here is an awesome reflection from Grayson McKinney:

And this take away from Alex Lianne Carter:

And more take aways from Jessica Torres:

 

And this compilation of Twitter responses to Live Session 5 put together via Memories by Rebecca Lynn:

How might we measure the impact of innovative practices in education?  How do you know you are headed in the right direction?

In Live Session 5 Beth Houf said that the mindset can be measured. Do we have the mindset of innovation?  You can see the progress in her school through Twitter as their digital portfolio.

Shelley  believes that if there is a clear definition of innovation or goals then progress can be measured.

Katie believes that growth over time can be measured if there is impact of something that we value.

 

Yvette Rosario-Perez writes in her blog, “Evidence of innovative practices in education” on measuring innovation based on the goal of developing life-long learners:

Innovation = Life long learning

The ultimate purpose of  education is to instill a passion, a burning desire, and pursuit of ongoing knowledge.

Innovation can be measured by observing students’ level of commitment to the “voluntary, pursuit of knowledge.”  Do students leave school more curious than they entered? When you speak with students, connect with them, and build deep relationships with them you will be able to “see” the impact of innovation.

John Bennett defines, describes and defends how innovation can be measures in his blog, “Are education changes headed in the right directions?”:

What is our definition of innovative? In his book, “Innovator’s Mindset“, George Couros offers this definition of ‘innovative’: Something is innovative if its outcome(s) or result(s) are both new and better. Therefore changes to education will be innovative only if the student education is both different from previous practice and results in better learning.

What changes are we Considering? I cannot overstate how many great ideas and resulting changes have been introduced by MOOC participants; even a representative list is impossible. For this post, therefore, I will offer my personal list: (1) facilitating learning, not teaching; (2) keeping the approach student-controlled; (3) facilitating the development of four basic skills: Effective Learning, problem solving, communicating, and working in groups; (4) eliminating textbooks; (5) eliminating exams (in favor of project outcomes) ; and (6) eliminating grades in favor of course grades assigned by teachers with input from each student and their peers. It is my thesis that this list is collectively quite different from standard pedagogy. It will be appropriately Considered innovative if the student learning improves.

How can we assess if we’re headed in the right direction? Immediately, it should be apparent that there will be no testing (except for any mandated by government); there will be facilitating, not teaching with minimal if any lecturing; there will be no focus on information chosen as ‘correct’ and included in textbooks; there will be student choices of problems addressed (associated with teacher defining questions aligned with appropriate standards); and there will be no ‘right’ answers, there will be failures to learn from, and there will be development of useful answers. Facilitated properly, these changes cannot help improve education / learning with increased motivated student engagement:

What is one way that blogging has changed your practice or thinking?

Kristen Roe responds to this prompt on blogging in “Blogging…. Really? by saying we all have something to contribute.

In the grand scheme of things I think all educators have something of worth to say, that has value, and can bring new innovative ideas to the table. I want to learn from others. I want others to learn from me. It may be something small but it shouldn’t matter. It only takes one small pebble in the pond to make ripples. That one small pebble can have an affect on so many. I have made connections with educators from all over the world through this process. We come from different backgrounds , different types of schools but in the end we all have one thing in common…. Kids. We want to provide every opportunity we can to the children we interact with each day. In order to do that we have to start with ourselves and those we work with.  If we all throw our pebble in the pond just think of the ripple effects we will create!

Elizabeth Dixon Martin writes that blogging has helped her find her, “Blogging Voice”:

…the blogging requirement for this course has helped me develop a habit of writing, but more importantly, has helped me reconnect with my voice while reflecting on what we have done, what we do, and what we might hope to do here at South Central High School. I actually enjoy and look forward to this opportunity to think and write….

NOW, my next task is to work on developing an audience

Finding this to be the perfect place to put this Tweet by Laurie McIntosh on the importance of blogging or Tweeting:

George  writes in his blog about the importance for sharing “The Vulnerability of Learning” no matter which format we use. We need to share the process of learning, not just the product from learning. He extends the idea for sharing the process of our vulnerability of learning in this video reflection:

In the final thoughts we go back to Part 4 of  George Couros’s Innovator’s Mindset. We are reminded that “The biggest game changers in education are, and always will be the educators who embrace the innovator’s mindset”.  “We must be constantly focused on improving our practice, which means we will never be done innovating, growing, and learning.” It is what George referred to as, “relentless restlessness“.

We are better together and in the end the students are the winners,

Valerie

 

#IMMOOC2 Blog Prompts highlights Participant Posts

#IMMOOC #IMMOOC2 #InnovatorsMindset beth houf George Couros katie martin shelley burgess Valerie Zemaitis week 5 highlights

Week 5 Highlights from #IMMOOC Participants
Published October 21, 2016 by

Week 5 Highlights from #IMMOOC Participants

A colleague of my shared a great excerpt from the book, Crossing the Unknown Seas, with me this week and a passage has been on my mind ever since:

“You know that the antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest?” 

“The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”

Many of the educators who have joined this #IMMOOC began this journey busy with life and work and full plates, but felt compelled to engage, learn and grow.  As I read the posts this week I can’t help but feel the “wholeheartedness”. There is a palpable sense of purpose, passion, and rejuvenation.

Anne Krolicki summed it up beautifully,

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed a huge change in myself, both as a person and as an educator. It is amazing what fueling your passion can do for all aspects of your life. I have had more energy for my family, for my students, and for myself, and it hasn’t been an energy burst — like the kind I need for a week or two when I have a lot going on. That type of energy isn’t sustainable, and when the busy weeks are over, you’re left feeling empty — drained. The energy I feel now fills me up and keeps me constantly pushing for more. If I was asked to explain what innovation does for a person, that is how I would describe it: fulfilling in innumerable ways.

Many posts this week highlighted a common theme of deep reflection and a sense of moving forward, which is great to see how this community is really impacting classroom practices in so many ways.

Nikki Davidson’s reflections on how to move beyond test scores and grades is really powerful. She questions how she not only prepare students for exams but for life.

How do I serve my learners?  How do I make sure that I am doing right by them?  How do I ensure they are getting what THEY need?  It’s scary and daunting but invigorating as well.  Yes, I will still need to make sure they have the skills for the diploma exam, but I can’t stop there.  I’ve started with more deliberate reflection (not for marks) by the students, but can I push that even more?  Can I try to set my grade 12s up with blogs to help them to express their voice and understanding and make those connections.  Will it help them to really “get why it matters” and look at the concepts through the eyes of citizens rather than just students?  Can I find formats to really challenge and push their thinking as well as my own?

To continue to improve our schools,  Sheri Edwards, who has added so much to this process, urges:

Grow the solutions locally. Build that community of professionals. Within that community, members see each other’s strengths, and merge their unique ideas into a focused solution based on that school’s students’ needs. Only then, when all members feel supported, does trust and collaboration move the organization forward. Without the input from professionals themselves, the culture is built only on compliance, not engagement, not empowerment, and teachers do not see or feel their value. With professionals who believe in themselves, are supported for their strengths, and participate with those strengths towards the school vision, then a culture of learning forms, and teachers and students begin to ask, “What else could I do to support our vision?” And that’s where teachers begin to mentor each other.

Simon Mckenzie highlights a critical mindset in how we view our roles as educators.  To change practice, “Professional learning has to be (… and I love this idea, thanks George) about moving each individual from ” … their Point A to their Point B.” This, I’m convinced, has been the missing ingredient in my magic potion. “

There is greatness in each individual and we must create the conditions where educators are  pushed and pulled to move beyond their comfort zone and trying new things.

Valerie Zematis reflects on what she has gained as part of the #IMMOOC and how the competitive collaboration in an open environment has helped to accelerate innovation.

My students have already used elements I discovered through this IMMOOC PLN.  I wish I kept track of which participants have inspired me with each new discovery so I could extend my gratitude and give them due credit.

 

  • Improving my blog to be interesting, unique and inspiring to others. (A work in progress!)
  • Creating MEMES with Google Draw and Canva
  • Reflecting and summarizing with a video using RECAP
  • Gathering several video segments of students into an iMovie or Storify
  • Creating a 6 Word Summary
  • Receiving formative assessment using PollEverywhere
  • Having the moral responsibility to share work with others
  • Filling out a grant to gain a collaborative interactive program where I can collaborate with other teachers and gain necessary data to drive my “learning plans”

As Couros reminds us… in the end… the biggest winners…. are the STUDENTS.

As we move forward, one of the biggest challenges is measuring impact. There were a variety of great reflections on what this means and how to broaden the criteria by which we identify success.

Eric Rodriguez acknowledges that school can and should be more than curriculum.

In conclusion, one of the final thoughts of the book that inspired me was this, “If we only teach students the curriculum, we have failed them.” School and education encompasses so much more than academics. The content we teach is but a mere fraction of what students have the capacity and inclination to learn.

If we don’t change how we assess our impact and look for broader measures of success, we will continue to perpetuate the narrow curriculum and indicators of success.  Megan Gordon wrote this poem, You Don’t Fatten a Pig By Weighing It that speaks to how easy it is to lose sight of the goal if we are not constantly assessing what it is we truly value.

I sat my piggy upon the scale to see what she did weigh.

I noticed then her weight was light.

“We’ll weigh again soon,” I’d say.

I took her home to quiz her well.

Her knowledge I did plough.

Did she know the skills it’d take to turn into a sow?

She rattled off the facts and stats so pleasing to my ear.

I drilled her ’til the sun sank low,

Next weigh-in drawing near.

We’d practiced all she’d need to know

To pass this simple test.

To fatten up my pretty pig, had been my only quest.

Sweat dripped from brim to brow

As my piggy took the scale.

This was it.

THE BIG WEIGH-IN.

I hoped we would not fail.

Trembling steps my piggy took

As she met her final test.

Then panic as I epiphanized:

I’d forgotten what was best!

Too busy quizzing information.

One thing I did conclude.

How could I not have realized?

I forgot to give her FOOD.

Debbie Donsky’s beautiful post about her son shows two ways to approach learners and learning in schools

I am struck in this moment that we either help a child bloom — understand themselves; follow their passions; listen to the voice inside them that calls to them to create…Or…we help to create fog — blur the lines and the understanding of who they are; send them into a sea of fear and doubt; make them self-conscious rather than open and receiving. As an educator and a parent, I believe it is my duty to help the children in my care see themselves and understand themselves — create conditions for them to bloom.

In the concluding thoughts George reminds us that the biggest game changer in education is YOU, the educators who embrace the Innovator’s Mindset! Leading up to this week has been about refocusing priorities and examining beliefs about learning, teaching, and leading.  As we finished the last two chapters of the Innovator’s Mindset and chatted with Brad Gustafson in the live show, many of us were inspired to focus on moving individuals forward. I am so appreciative of this community and although we have grown and shared a lot in the last 5 week, I believe it is truly only the beginning.

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highlights

#IMMOOC #InnovatorsMindset brad gustafson George Couros Innovative teaching and learning katie martin week 5 highlights