Defining innovation is no
small task. For the past few years we as educators have been tossing this word
around and observing how it sticks. As a middle school principal with a staff
close to 100, I am doing the same. I, along with my teachers, am watching,
listening, and learning what it is to be innovative in this era of education.
Being on the cutting edge
of best practices, we continue to explore new methods to deliver content and
measure student growth. Teachers are allowing students to take more ownership
of the lessons themselves and outdated practices are diminishing.
As we talk about the
responsibility for the teaching and the learning within the classroom, we are
recognizing that it is a shared task by both the student and the teacher. And,
more than ever before, we are connected in what we are doing as teachers and
how we support each other with our work. Social media is, where access allows
it, a part of our daily work and our daily interactions with both students and
teachers alike. Embedding today's technology in schools and classrooms is
becoming more common and someday, we hope, will be universal for all educators
at all levels.
Innovation in your school
may or may not look similar to my own. Here are some topics to explore when
having conversations with your colleagues about what it might look like as you walk through classrooms in your building:
Bring in Blended Learning—An approach that is taking our academic
landscape by storm, Blended Learning combines the formal learning model and the
schoolhouse approach and adds an online element to deliver content and
instruction. This practice fosters innovation as well, as it allows for an
element of student control and speaks to choice and voice in the learning
process.
Shift to Project-Based Learning (PBL)—Having focused questions and solid,
well-crafted assessments, allowing for multiple solutions, and getting the
community of learners involved are all essential elements to a great PBL
lesson. For PBL to be most successful, teachers use inquiry combined with
accountability. Schools across the country are working with their
teachers to better understand how Project-Based Learning can increase student
achievement.
Make Reflection and Feedback a Part of the
Lesson—If you are not talking
about teaching and learning in the moment, then you are missing the mark.
Having students share out what they are learning at the point of delivery and
giving feedback speaks volumes for a teacher’s desire to improve the
student learning experience. We need to be giving and receiving as much
feedback as possible to support growth. If you haven’t yet done so, it might be
time to have this conversation with
your colleagues and add this element into your instructional expectations.
Groups & Teams—Sometimes our role as educators is to match
our students’ learning styles, abilities, and interests with others—forming the
best groups possible to work toward an assignment or academic goal. Being
innovative can be as simple as creating groups of learners in a new, timely,
and more strategic way. Being innovative can also mean knowing the distinctions
that are sometimes drawn between groups and teams, and choosing the right
format for the circumstance. Where the term "group" might mean any
collection of students—or teachers—with a shared interest or purpose, "team"
is more often used when group members not only share a common goal
but work together interdependently, and are mutually accountable for that goal.
Make It Personal—I have written about this before and will
continue to beat the drum. This is more than just knowing where a student is
starting their academic journey at the beginning of each year or each unit of
instruction. This is about creating a pathway to success based on their
life-experiences, learning goals, and personal abilities. We will continue to
be innovative in how we reach today’s students if we are encouraging
personalization with our students. In the same regard, we as leaders should implement
this same mindset for our teachers through their professional development. Not all teachers need to hear the same
message all of the time and we should personalize their learning as much as we
do our students.
Lead by Example—Get in the trenches and show what you can
do when it comes to being innovative. Whether as a teacher or administrator, if you are not modeling what it
is we expect to see from others, then we are no further ahead then where we started. So,
get out of your comfort zone and lead, making visible what innovation can look
like for all the learners that you work with.
Today, innovation is
defining education. What is included above is nothing more than a partial
list of what is taking place in schools everywhere. I would encourage you to
grow this list with your own thoughts, ideas, and creativity to best work with
teachers and students in your environment.
If we remain focused on
developing critical thinkers and problem solvers, being creative and supporting
innovation in instruction, then we will have our students (and our teachers)
ready for tomorrow.
Craig, this is great stuff! It's task-oriented, yes, but really, best of all, it's centered around people, relationships, and collective improvement/growth. I enjoy reading your posts - thanks for sharing your innovative thinking!
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