Sunday, March 19, 2017

Session 4: Question 1 Moving Forward

Chapter 10: The three practices he discussed in this chapter were: giving yourself permission, transparency, and trust. How do you see any or all of these practices helping you as you move towards creating an innovative culture in your classroom? Cite your page numbers. 

17 comments:

  1. The development of trust is very important to the classroom and to student success. On page 142, the author states, "Instead, the students and teachers he's worked with have taken his trust and run with it. These students know about digital citizenship because of trust and high expectations." That reminds me of going to college. I watched as some freshmen girls took huge risks that first semester, seemingly going wild. They were from small towns or had been in very strict environments and didn't know how to handle the freedom. Come January for the second semester, they had to leave school. I never saw them again! My lessons from my wise parents while I still lived at home about expectations and boundaries served me well. I want to give the students permission to use technology within expectations and understanding that trust must be maintained.

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    1. @Melanie What a great story! πŸ˜€πŸ˜€πŸ˜€ I will definitely step up to make sure our new friends coming up continue to understand that digital citizenship and trust go hand in hand. It is also about understanding digital ethics as well as personal ethics.

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    2. I agree with Melanie Marshall's post on June 21st on trust being vital in building student success. When students feel trust, they feel confident and freedom to become risk takers. Building trust and confidence goes together as being a respectful and responsible digital citizen.

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    3. Jeanne BreidenthalJuly 7, 2017 at 11:11 AM

      I agree with Melanie and Sarah. Trust is the most important thing regarding any aspect of a student. They have to know it's okay to fail and you will not get punished for it. When they know they are trusted and safe they will be comfortable trying new things

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    4. I agree with the notion of building trust as a way of encouraging our students to be risk takers, hence, innovators. But let's not forget the other major point the author was making. Administrations need to trust our innovations and not assume "best practices" are not taking place. Having fun does not mean teaching is not taking place.

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    5. I agree with Sarah and Melanie that our students need to trust us and feel safe to be challenged. They also need to feel that way among their classmates. It's important to establish this culture from the very 1st day.

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  2. I believe we need to give ourselves permission to go to the next level. I agree about giving yourself a new title as a teacher of innovation (Kindle location 2229). In fact, I might change my Outlook signature to reflect that. To move forward as a teacher of innovation, we need to not paint ourselves to just content. We teach (or we should) so much more than content. This is all part of changing our mindset. If we change our mindset, we can change the professional development. If we can change the professional development, we can change instruction. If we can change instruction, we can change the learning to meet students' 21st century needs. BUT if our mindset, professional development, and instruction are still "Sit and Git"....πŸ€”πŸ€”πŸ€”Let's start with mindset. Give yourself permission to change.

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    1. Changing one thing will cause a domino effect. I have been trying to figure what is that one thing I can do new or differently that will knock down the old school things I used to do and make me an innovator. What is that "thing" that will make me pop and move into this bold new frontier.

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    2. I enjoyed reading Annie Mitchell's post on June 22. I also agree that giving ourselves permission is the important first step. From there, there is so much potential and so many great things that can be accomplished from having an innovated classroom.

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    3. Annie Mitchell June 22, 2017

      I agree! We often read or refer to the classic children's book "The Little Engine That Could." We encourage our students to take the central message of the story, to continue to believe you can and continuing to try despite the chatter coming from the naysayers, and use this to propel them to success. Within the ever changing circumstances of a society that integrates more technology each and every day, and to teach the necessary SKILLS to be successful in the future, we must also be willing to change how instruction is delivered. And I agree, even though it may be difficult, we need to give permission to ourselves to change.

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  3. @Annie...when I saw this post on Twitter (http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/7440)
    I was reminded of this chapter. The dad was "supportive without interfering". It will lead to more innovation.

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  4. Giving yourself permission practice can help you move towards creativity an innovative culture in your classroom because it believe it starts with yourself. As Don states on page 134 " give yourself permission to innovative- to change the way you teach, learn, and collaborate." I think if we start by seeing ourselves as teachers of innovations, we can practice what we believe, to see education differently. It's not asking to change the wheel but to approach it from a different angle, a different perspective. I really believe that as a teacher you are a mom, nurse, councelor, a mentor, and anything else your student needs you to be to help them become who they are. So having said that, I think that we are innovative teachers, looking to enchance their learnings through technology, flexible seatings, and anything else that will help them suceed and all the while doing it by " doing things differently." Page 134

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  5. Jeanne BreidenthalJuly 7, 2017 at 11:07 AM

    Giving my self permission and being transparent are going to be the two biggest things for me this year. I need to give my self permission to step out of my comfort zone and fail. I need to be transparent with my students and let them see me succeed and fail. I need to be honest with them and let them know I am new and taking a risk and I will make mistakes and times, but I will keep trying. Page 134 talks about giving yourself permission to change the way you teach, learn and collaborate.

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  6. I found understanding that innovators have many job descriptions under the first practice of "Giving Yourself Permission" to be important pp. 134-138. I too have found managing several projects and teaching students how to manage their projects to be difficult. It takes a lot of time and many conferences. I agree with Wettrick when he says we are going to have to provide students with feedback, help them obtain mentors, challenge them to think deeper, help with scheduling, obtain funding, speak on their behalf, etc. However, the key is not to teach but be a facilitator. We want the students to learn to be problem-solvers. While he did not mention it, I believe he got assistance from other adults.

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  7. I think the first step I would need to overcome is giving myself permission. Nowadays, it feels sometimes as if everything needs permission. Innovation isn't a whole change in the curriculum, but "changing the way you teach, learn and collaborate" (pg 134). I think that being innovative is a great way of being. But I do believe that giving myself permission would be a step, as it gives students choice (which I agree with) and also outside mentors. I would have to put in a lot of work to help support students with outside mentors and their projects.

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  8. If there is one thing I can glean from establishing an innovative culture is that it will be messy, uncomfortable, and in no way perfect. As difficult as it may be, allowing myself to make mistakes and lead by example so that I may provide my students with as great of a learning experience as I can provide. However, to move forward, and to continue to move forward, it goes without saying that not only must there be a relationship established between each individual student in the classroom and myself, but for this endeavor to truly succeed, trust must also be established with the parents and administration and the class via transparency. (pg. 136-142)

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  9. I think giving myself permission is key. He says, "give yourself permission to innovate—to change the way you teach, learn, and collaborate." (Kindle location 2217). I don't want to be "stuck" in what I'm used to because it's comfortable. But to move forward with an innovative classroom, I have to first give myself permission to change the way I teach and learn with my students as well...

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