There is so much going on in my head, so many questions, wonders, reflections, ideas I am becoming an Innovative Teacher. As I was reading the amazing book "The Innovators Mindset " everything started to make sense a bit more for me. The author George Couros lists 8 characteristics of an Innovative Teacher and I want to list them because they apply to all of us I think. 1. Empathetic 2. Problem Finders/ Solvers 3. Risk Takers 4. Networked 5. Observant 6. Creators 7. Resilient 8. Reflective These Characteristics fit into all of the models and pedagogy we have been learning. He then goes on to pose a question which will be my driving question the rest of my teacher career; Would you want to be a learner in your classroom ? Well I am striving to make the answer yes everyday but this is a process, it means we are reflective and open to change. Change is hard, it takes time, but change is good and necessary. For me the ideas in the Innovators Mindset just helped me see the purpose for all the many different things we have been learning. With that said if I was talking to a group of teacher sharing my journey I would start by saying that as educators we must be innovative in guiding our students to become innovators. I would be very clear that the world is changing very rapidly and we should not be teaching our student the same way we were taught or at least how I was taught VHS class of 1984. If we were more reflective as a system the need for change is evident and has been for many years, it is clear that we live in a very different would now then in 1984 (unless you were reading a scifi novel with that title). It is that feeling that I wasn't connecting, that something needed to change that pushed me to earn my Masters. My love of teaching and supporting my student had me searching for new and innovative ways to present information which guided students on a journey to learn and create. Clark has us ask who has a need? As I read Clark it made me see the value of routine, structure, even a regular process to support our students learning. There is still room for creativity but things need to be clear , expectations need to be clear, the process needs to be clear. She talked about the content having a real purpose that could be incorporated to support the learning. Baggio made me really think about my learning environment and how it supports the construction of knowledge. The revelation of truly understanding being a visual learner was monumental and all teachers need a heighten awareness to this topic. She really presented best practices for us to use to create the Class we would want to be in as George Couros mentioned. Dervin made me really take more time to evaluate individual circumstances; to bridge the gap I understand the need for the end user much better and for me it is the SITE Model that guided me. The SITE models set of questions really make me think more about individuals needs is a structured and organized way. I have always made modifications and really tried to understand students needs but actually taking the time to ask them all and giving them a voice in this process is awesome and fellow teachers we all need a system for doing this and I recommend the SITE model for helping you. The following questions are my End User Focus: 1. Who are the learners? 2. What values do the learners hold? 3. What will motivate the learner? 4. Which tools , systems, and techniques will assist learners to realize goals or values that are important to them ? 5. How do these tools, systems, and techniques form paths to goal achievement? 6. How will learners recognize opportunities offered by tools and techniques and how will learners perceive these tools and techniques might be linked to their goals and values? 7. What skills do learners need to access information and knowledge about how to achieve their goals to uphold their values? 8. What assistance would improve this access? Pebble in the Pond Model this resonated with me because I do think this is how I operate I see a problem then the ripples start . Problem Student success in Math 1 Analysis Students have failed multiple time I need a different system Strategies 1. Get to know your end user / students SITE Model / Dervin 2. Research see what is out there. Netwrk make connections. 3. I found C-Stem curriculum Design Design a plan to implement and try and reflect and redesign .... Production create a Capstone and tell people about your success. I will be using TPACK and SAMR as my models to design and create change. TPACK is the fancy pencil Lisa was talking about it is not tech for the sake of tech it is tech because it creates new and meaningful learning opportunities. I want to strive to hit the sweet spot in the middle of this model and will use this a goal when planning. The SAMR model is what I really identify with is planning and working on my driving question "What is it about coding that allows struggling math students to succeed? " As I look at how teaching traditional math concepts with coding I see it really engages my students and the students who traditionally struggle the most are excelling. With the SAMR maodel guiding me I feel many of the coding lessons that I am teaching are in the transformation portion of the model which is where I want them.
Redefinition: Tech allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable My students are learning a new language as they create codes to solve math problems. They write their own codes, they modifiy code, and they trouble shoot/ debug code all while working through Math 1 content (TPACK). Modification: Tech allows for significant task redesign. This technology is creating change school wide we have 2 teachers teaching with this curriculum we have 10 students on our robotics teams the energy from the students is facilitating the change. Blogging has become a way for me to reflect and sort out where I am and what I need to think about more deeply. Thank you for reading this long blog. My motivation is that I can't keep teaching math the same way to students who have failed it multiple times they deserve a new approach maybe all Math 1 students deserve some innovative change.
4 Comments
Rafael Garcia Avila
4/19/2019 11:59:05 am
Julie,
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Jennifer Perkins
4/19/2019 04:24:57 pm
Hi Julie, I really like your embedded visuals! Wow, what a great question that you shared from the Innovators Mindset to ask ourselves as teachers. I really like your following statement, that we must be innovative as teachers in order to guide our students to become innovative themselves. That is a really powerful statement, and very true. You discussed the different learning models in relation to your project with a lot of clarity and understanding. Julie, you are an innovative and inspiring teacher!
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Caitlin Mitchell
4/19/2019 07:49:25 pm
Hi Julie!
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Tess Giner
4/21/2019 04:52:30 pm
Oh my goodness! This was such a great blog! If we were taking a test, I'd print out your blog and use it as a cheat sheet. I especially like your personal driving question: Would you want to be a learner in your classroom? I ask myself that question every time I think I've messed up. I ask myself: How do I fix this? How do I make this work? Because I think about the kids in my classroom and how they deserve not a good education, but a great education. In this day and age with everything we have at our fingertips, I should at least make an effort to give it my very best. My students deserve it whether they are the best behaved or the worst behaved, they all deserve a great education. We all know that people change, and we can't judge someone based on the way they behaved in class when they were 8. We don't write them off. We give them everything they need so they have a fighting chance when they leave us. Great blog, my dear!
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Julie LovieJulie Lovie Is a Math and Science teacher at Valley Oak High School with 25 years experience in teaching at a continuation high school. Julie Also teaches at Napa valley Adult School in the High School Diploma Program. She is passionate about the environment, loves gardening, and learning. Archives
June 2019
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