So, I recently decided to join George Couros’s Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course. (#IMMOOC) After reading his book and writing a little review of it on this site, I decided it was the next logical step.
It was a great read, and I’m excited to put into practice some of the suggestions and changes he writes about. Each week, I’ll be blogging my thoughts on this page of the site.
Week I- The Introduction
This week’s assignment was to blog about the introduction of the book. There was also a video posted to inspire thought and dialogue. Here are my key take-aways and thoughts about the first week of #IMMOOC . I decided to focus on the idea of change.
I’m really excited to be a part of #IMMOOC, and I hope you’ll check it out and leave some feedback or join in the fun. It’s great to be a part of an educational community of movers and shakers. Whether it’s #IMMOOC, #teacherdesign, #2ndaryELA, or something else, if you’re not connected to other educators whom you feel are inspiring, that’s probably the first change you can make for the better. Get connected!
See you next week!
Megan Gordon
7th Grade ELA
It was a great read, and I’m excited to put into practice some of the suggestions and changes he writes about. Each week, I’ll be blogging my thoughts on this page of the site.
Week I- The Introduction
This week’s assignment was to blog about the introduction of the book. There was also a video posted to inspire thought and dialogue. Here are my key take-aways and thoughts about the first week of #IMMOOC . I decided to focus on the idea of change.
- Last year, my school read Teach Like a Pirate over the summer. This summer, our assignment was The Innovator’s Mindset. Along with that, I was fortunate enough to have Dave Burgess come speak at my school’s convocation last year, and my school district has already booked George Couros for next year! So...it would be safe to say that my school district is very supportive of being innovative, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s also safe to say that my brain has kind of exploded over the past two years. Serious mush over here. From the moment I began reading both books, I was hooked. I seriously told my principal, “These are my people!” It has been really nice to hear from people whom I feel have similar core educational values as myself. I’m in my 9th year of teaching 7th grade ELAR, but for the first four years, I felt really defeated, and I didn’t understand how to reconcile my creativity and innovation with the teaching practices that were already in place. Obviously, you learn a lot as you teach, and I’m happy to report that I now realize that it’s okay to let go of historic practices to design activities for my students which are creative and innovative. It was a hard path to find when everything around me was telling me that it’s not worth it to try new things: administration, standardized testing, standardized grading, and the way that the modern education system is set up. I guess that’s the thing that stuck out to me in the introduction of The Innovator’s Mindset: you might have to go through dramatic changes to create opportunities for yourself and your students. I know I am.
- The first change I made, was changing school districts. I’m now in a place that appreciates taking risks and being innovative. That’s a great feeling to know that you will be supported when your ideas might sound a little wacky and unconventional.
- The second change I made was to really hone in on what it means to engage and design for students. I like how George and Katie mentioned in the video that student current level achievement is not as important as aptitude, and we really need to be offering students opportunities that show them the value of what they’re learning in the real world. So that has been my focus these last few years. For example, I’m not going to teach you about writing these certain types of papers because that’s what we do in English class, I’m going to offer you various ways to communicate with others because that’s what life is all about. Giving a life-value to what is going on in the classroom is super important to me, so I decided to change things for the betterment of my students and myself.
- My final change is that I am never done changing. I used to think that all the REAL teachers had these systems that they created over time so that eventually, they didn’t really have to do much. It was like a rite of passage to signify a REAL teacher. And I was hoping that someday I would be good enough to be in that spot. Wow. Wrong. A real teacher is constantly changing, giving up, and adding in. Not for the sake of change, mind you, but for the betterment of learning. At the beginning of the year, during the school year, at the end of the year, and over the summer, my brain, along with my teammates’ brains, are constantly churning, assessing, re-evaluating what was done, what could be better, and what needs to be changed so that it’s better for our students’ learning experience.
I’m really excited to be a part of #IMMOOC, and I hope you’ll check it out and leave some feedback or join in the fun. It’s great to be a part of an educational community of movers and shakers. Whether it’s #IMMOOC, #teacherdesign, #2ndaryELA, or something else, if you’re not connected to other educators whom you feel are inspiring, that’s probably the first change you can make for the better. Get connected!
See you next week!
Megan Gordon
7th Grade ELA
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