Sunday, March 19, 2017

Session 1: Question 1 Why Innovative?

Chapter 1 : What is innovation to you?  Cite your page numbers. 

20 comments:

  1. Innovation to me is trying something new in your classroom. It might be just new to you and not new to someone else. That's okay. I love how the author's father gives great advice about not teaching the same year over and over again for 20 years(Kindle location 256). I feel that is true with me since I don't laminate anything in my classroom. I like to try something new each year. The kids deserve that.

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    1. I agree with Annie Mitchell's response on June 14, 2017 because trying something new is being innovative. It does not have to be the latest newest thing, it's implementing something you've never done before. Its' like getting a makeover for your house! Who doesn't like that, not having to look at the same thing year after year.

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    2. I agree with trying something new is very innovative. I found myself teaching the same things over and over because they kids liked it or I was comfortable. I have definitely ventured out of the box since coming to NHE and I feel my kids have learned better and I enjoy teaching more. New is scary, but it's worth the leap of faith!

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  2. @Annie Mitchell...yes, I liked what the father said to the son as well. I was amazed they both were in education, and that the father chose that as his parting words. That was even before all this innovation, so the father was admirable and brave.

    I like the enlarged type on page 6: Innovation uses a fresh approach to solving real problems with the resources you have and finding clever ways around the resources you don't have. It reminds me of NHE, SBISD, and education in general right now. It didn't keep us stalled to be in an old building with so many students and with a vision of flexible seating...we just got started.

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    1. I agree with Melanie Marshall's post on June 14th about "using a fresh approach to solving problems as we are at NHE." I agree that being in an older building doesn't mean we need to keep with the old ideas.

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    2. I agree with Melanie Marshall too about how we did not stall because we are in an old building. That truly goes to show that the education of students is about the dedicated people in the building, not the building itself. Here! Here!

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    3. I agree with Melanie's June 14th post. We have some great teachers, via grants, crowdfunding, etc., that have found clever ways to get resources for their classrooms.

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    4. I agree with Melanie Marshall's post on June 14th. Whenever I read this chapter, I imagined our district and all of the neat things we are doing in our classrooms. We're open to trying new ideas and are always wanting to see how they look in our classrooms!

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  3. Innovation is applying a new idea or method to the classroom. It's finding "clever ways around the resources you don't have," to solve a solution (page 6). Every year, I gain more insight and ideas and apply them in the classroom. And, somewhere along, I tweak it so that it works for that particular group of students. I find that trying to be innovative brings freshness and excitement into teaching. Mundane or auto-pilot is no longer a word in teaching.

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    1. I agree with Sara Chu about being on auto-pilot in front of the class is no longer a thing in today's education. Teachers need to be in small groups getting to really know their students' needs and strengths.

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    2. I agree Sara. We cannot be mundane because students today have been exposed to so much via technology that we do them a disservice if we do not keep current.

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    3. It's important to find "clever ways around the resources you don't have" because we don't always have the money/resources we think we might need to have a great lesson, classroom, etc.

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  4. I found it very interesting how they were talking about students not taking certain classes because it would have no positive outcome for them when it came to college and "looking" good on their applications. I agree how students shouldn't be scared to take classes because it will mess up their GPAs or it would cause them to be over looked because somebody else is taking the mandatory better looking classes. I agree how they say colleges should look at these students as risk takers and see them in a positive light. Show them doing internships and classes that don't impact their GPA matters just as much. We need to embrace this and not "punish" them because they are worried about getting into a good school.

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  5. Innovation is doing something "different" that raises the bar and adds value to everyone involved. On pg. 11, Wettrick talks about how America's great programmers are "self-taught" and that this approach is what has given them global competence. It has always been my belief that student "self-teaching" is the principal part or impetus to innovation in the classroom. For example, the teacher teaches strategies and skills and the student teach himself the concept. Some of the most famous minds in the world are autodidacts, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, Michael Dell and Jimi Hendrix.

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    1. "Self-teaching" is important because it gives the students a sense of ownership to where they'll want to do it because they want to and not do it because they have to. It'll keep them engaged and focused in their own learning process.

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    2. In response to: Screen Saver July 7, 2017

      I really appreciate your inclusion of successful people who were/are proactive in pursuing their passions. I found that it helped put faces to the concept of self-teaching.

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  6. Innovation is being open-minded and having a willingness to try new things. It's knowing the needs of your students (Kindle location 259) and taking a risk to design new experiences.

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  7. To me, innovation is creating something unique with the resources you have. It's making something that you don't think would work, work. It's being creative, inventive, and not afraid of failing. It's been a journey teaching multiple grade levels, but each year I feel as if my knowledge is expanding so much more. I enjoy trying new, different things in the classroom. I think that as a campus we have been pushed (in a good way) to try something new and different without being afraid to fail. Sometimes it's hard to fail, but as Wettrick put it, "Failure teaches us to tweak the formula and create a better, more meaningful experience." (pg. 3) I think that teaching that to students from the start can be very powerful.

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  8. Innovation is an idea and mindset characterized by a willingness to learn from mistakes, utilizing resources (whether physical or otherwise) to create solutions for problems one may encounter in a fast-paced, digitally driven, and ever changing society. It seeks to propel ideas and solutions into a position to truly benefit communities by bringing people together collaboratively and with a curiosity often stifled as a result of how many classrooms are currently set up. It encourages individuals to think outside the box, question and challenge the norms, and do more than simply choose between choice A or choice B as options for presenting content pre-selected by the teacher (Wettrick, 2014, pg. 6-14).

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