Before we start, I wanted to discuss the schedule with you. I looked at the chapters and our summer and we will have to double up some weeks to get finished before school starts. Here is the schedule I propose:
Discussion questions will be posted on the following dates:
Chapter
|
Date
|
Chapter 1: Why Innovate
|
June 8
|
Chapter 2: Creating a Culture of Innovation and Leadership
|
June 11
|
Chapter 3: There is No Plan
|
June 15
|
Chapter 4: Six Building Blocks of Innovative Learning
|
June 18
|
Chapter 5: Social Media and Teachers
|
June 22
|
Chapter 6: Social Media and Students
|
June 25
|
Chapter 7: Getting Started with Social Media
|
June 29
|
Chapter 8: Opportunities are Everywhere
|
July 6
|
Chapter 9: Student Voices
|
July 9
|
Chapter 10: Moving Forward
|
July 13
|
End notes and wrap up
|
July 16
|
All posts must be complete
|
July 27th
|
Let me know if these dates are agreeable. I am open to suggestions, but past experience has shown that trying to complete the discussions after school stars is never a good idea.
Also...I want to admit that I will be using several of the discussion questions posted by the IDOE when we used this book during their spring book discussion. I read this book and participated in the discussion and felt that it was a great book and had something to offer our community.
I know that some of you have out of town plans, so if you can’t post on a particular week, just catch up when you can. All posts must be complete by July 27th.
Pure Genius Chapter 1: Why Innovate?
Let's get started with -- what is innovation to you? And why do you think it's important to innovate?
Please discuss the posted question and/or respond to a comment by another participant each week. The more interaction there is between participants, the richer and more beneficial the conversation will be.
If you are just entering the conversation this week, welcome! Be sure to scroll down to last week's post and introduce yourself. Remember….in order to get the PGPs, you must post a comment for each chapter of the book.
For next week, please read chapter 2, "Creating a Culture of Innovation & Leadership."
Innovation is the willingness to think outside of the traditional box to explore new ways to engage the students in their learning. Students who are engaged in classroom discussions and ideas tend to remember and apply the long term goals. Technology is a great resource in finding ways to be innovate. Adapting ideas we find to fit our own classrooms in order to create a more engaging experience for our students and ourselves. Although, I want to incorporate more technology in my classrooms, I also want to find some ideas that give students an opportunity to explore without the use of technology. Change is difficult for me but I think I am evolving slowly.
ReplyDeleteI agree Kim...just because we are getting Chromebooks, it doesn't mean that we have to change everything/every way that we teach. Just choose one or two new things to try. Once you have mastered these...try something else. Innovation means taking what we already do and making it better (for ourselves and for our students).
ReplyDeleteOur district started our 1-to-1 journey 5 years ago. This past year was the first time we were 1-to-1 in grades K through 12. During our transition to 1-to-1, your comment was reiterated many times...we don't have to change everything all at once...just pick a couple assignments/activities/tasks to start. Our journey has not gone perfectly, but it has definitely helped us make progress toward being more innovative.
DeleteFirst, I love the passion with which the author writes! I believe innovation is utilizing creative thinking to apply new approaches to the current problem. In our education system, which rewards "test scores", it can be risky to be innovative. I also agree that innovation can not be a one size fits all approach. I wonder, as the author speaks of the "genius hour", if this is a micro (individual student) or mezzo (class based) process. Do students each have their learning goal/objective, or does the class focus on one concept. I would think that ownership would be easier in a micro-focused setting.
ReplyDeleteMichele
I think that a class could go either way with the genius hour. They may choose one goal that everyone works collaboarively toward, or the idea can be focused on individual students or student groups. The author focuses on individual projects, but I think large groups would work too as long as the teacher/facilitator made sure that everyone did their part.
DeleteInnovation is trying to find a creative solution to an everyday problem. Innovation helps us to keep growing and improving. In the first chapter there is a quotation that says, "The students are learning without us". This is so true and I have to keep this in mind as I am planning my classes. The internet has provided our students with a world of information at their fingertips. They can learn almost any topic independently through resources on the internet. As a teacher, if I don't want to become extinct and no longer useful, I need to provide my students with a unique classroom experience that they can't get anywhere else. This is where innovation will be important for me. How can I still prepare my students for those important standardized tests, but make learning the material useful and relevant to their lives? How can I make my classroom an exciting place where students want to come and learn?
ReplyDeleteThe author talked about Genius Hour a lot in the book. I have heard of this term from Amy Hill who had her students do that activity during enrichment. I actually agree with a lot of what he said with students chasing GPA's instead of taking classes that would seem to be fun. I do believe that you can always improve your curriculum every year. I asked my students what they would like to see changed for the next year students. I got some great feedback that I will be adding to my class. I agree that technology is changing the evolution of learning for students. They can Google or Wikipedia anything they want to learn. I am excited for the next chapter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment that students can Google anything they want to learn. Students no longer depend on us for content; however, I believe they do still need us to help them with context.
DeleteWe also need to teach our students that there are much better options than Google and Wikipedia. They have access to databases, online encyclopedias and even books in the library. It is up to the teachers to teach them to use their resources and time most efficiently.
DeleteI completely agree...we need to teach students how/where to search for information so they find useful, reliable sources.
DeleteTo me, innovation is completing a task in a new, fresh, updated fashion.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first chapter of Wettrick's book, I was pleased to see that his ideas matched up very closely with several of the speakers that I heard at Mount Vernon this week. Will Richardson, Holly Clark, and Matt Miller all discussed the need for innovation in schools. Holly Clark went so far as to say that educators need to be disruptive innovators. She also said that innovation starts by doing the adjacent possible, which is what Wettrick is implementing with his innovations class. (I must admit, I'm curious what course Noblesville is using for Wettrick's innovations class...I'll have to explore this curiosity unless any of you happen to know the answer.)
Keri...can you explain what you mean by "disruptive innovators"??
DeleteI have visited Noblesville...but I haven't heard of their innovation class. Has anyone else heard about it???
I tried going to the Noblesville High School website. Our author is listed as the Library Media Specialist. I wonder if maybe students sign up to work with him in the library as an elective course? He is also listed as the sponsor of the Innovation Club.
DeleteHolly didn't provide a lengthy explanation, but here's what her comment means to me:
ReplyDeleteWe need to implement strategies of teaching and learning that aren't just innovative, but rather that are new, fresh methods which challenge our typical style as well as the norms in our schools...take a risk, be bold, don't be afraid to move way outside our comfort zones.
Wow Keri...this is what I'm hoping some of us will do after studying Pure Genius this summer.
DeleteInnovation is the creation of something. This may include a new product or a new way of achieving a specific goal. When applied to education, the wisdom of Mr. Wettrick's dad stood out to me - "I don't care if you teach for the next twenty years; just don't teach one year twenty times". I love that piece of advice!
ReplyDeleteWhy do I think it is important to be innovative as an educator? First, as a parent of three kids with three unique personalities, I am frustrated and puzzled by their shared belief that school is boring. However, I am realizing that although I was content with traditional instruction, this does not seem to be enough for our kids. Our students hunger for innovation in the classroom. Our oldest daughter recently commented that one of the most meaningful assignments/activities she completed this past year was when her class went out to the track and carried large buckets of water on their heads as a way of learning about the lack of accessible clean water in other countries. She stated that she likely would have learned the facts associated with the lack of clean water around the world if the lesson had been limited to readings, videos and classroom discussions. However, being required to carry water a short distance in a way that is common in other parts of the world brought those facts to life. It ignited feelings of surprise, empathy, and compassion toward strangers on the other side of the world, and she said that that lesson is one she will never forget. Her teacher was innovative that day on the track, and all it took was walking outside and giving the students a bucket full of water.
The second reason it is important to be innovative as educators is for our own sanity. Engaged students are so much more pleasant to be around and make our jobs so much more enjoyable. If given the choice to walk into a classroom of complaining students who arrive every day waiting for the dismissal bell to ring, or a class full of students who are eager to arrive and are surprised or disappointed when the bell rings at the end of the period each day, I will choose the latter. Innovation in the classroom can assist us in achieving the latter. It may take a bit more work on the front end, but creating a culture of innovation in our classrooms ultimately will result in less stress for us as our students take more responsibility for their learning and potentially learn more than we ever imagined.
Kendra...I totally agree with you. "Engaged students are so much more pleasant to be around and make our jobs so much more enjoyable." I have known many teachers in my 25 years in teaching who complain about the students and how they are just "not fun" anymore or they "won't do anything". Yes..there will always be students who are hard to engage..but the innovative teacher will be more likely to engage the students than the "plug and chug" teacher. Yes...it takes some time/effort/energy, but the outcome is well worth the effort.
Delete“If you always do what you have always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” At a recent STEM conference we were told 20% of students entering the public education system will not graduate. As educators, many contributing factors are completely out of our control. Our classrooms and how we deliver information is not one of them. More than likely, we achieved success in the “sit and get”, memorize and repeat, note taking style of instruction when we were students. Logically, we are prone to perpetuate the method - after all, it worked for us, right?
ReplyDeleteInnovative approaches in the classroom are definitely a teacher driven key to success, but it will eventually require paradigm shift across the K-12 board. It requires students to engage in ways they have not had to before. Even successful students in the current model of instruction find it frustrating at first. But the end results, for all stake holders, are so worth the extra time and effort!
I think you are right about the "sit and get" traditional classroom methods working for most of us and that, as a result, many of us tend to continue teaching the way we were taught. However, our student populations are nothing like the student population I was a part of. I agree that it will take a complete paradigm shift to create school environments that engage our current student populations.
DeleteAside from our insistence on teaching the same way we were taught, something else that has struck me over the years is how quiet our classrooms have become. As a kid, I remember that there were times we were expected to be quiet in class. However, I also remember all of the times our teachers would tell us, "Now is a time you can quietly talk with your neighbors as long as you are able to continue completing your work." Maybe that is what helped those worksheets seem more interesting - the opportunity to talk with our neighbors, ask them questions when we were stuck, or give assistance when they were stuck. It was almost a subtle form of collaboration....clearly not a time of innovation, but at least an opportunity to work with others toward a common goal rather than working in isolation.
“If you always do what you have always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” At a recent STEM conference we were told 20% of students entering the public education system will not graduate. As educators, many contributing factors are completely out of our control. Our classrooms and how we deliver information is not one of them. More than likely, we achieved success in the “sit and get”, memorize and repeat, note taking style of instruction when we were students. Logically, we are prone to perpetuate the method - after all, it worked for us, right?
ReplyDeleteInnovative approaches in the classroom are definitely a teacher driven key to success, but it will eventually require paradigm shift across the K-12 board. It requires students to engage in ways they have not had to before. Even successful students in the current model of instruction find it frustrating at first. But the end results, for all stake holders, are so worth the extra time and effort!