Leadership and Technology

In chapter 7 of The Innovator's Mindset , George Couros outlines eight things we should see in today's classrooms. It was sobering to reflect on my own teaching, and to try to identify these eight elements in my own classroom. In an effort to practice a strengths-based approach, I'll begin by outlining the few that I believe are visible in my classroom. Voice Student voice is a strength in my classroom. My students are regularly engaged in scientist meetings and group dialogue as they work together make meaning. Students produce, share, and learn from each other's work. For example, my students recently produced posters and videos to communicate relationships between genetics vocabulary. Critical Thinking We have a culture of critical thinking in my classroom. Students ask questions of each other, and respectfully challenge each others' ideas. Students critically evaluate each other's claims and reasoning about evidence. When new evidence is discovered, or...

This Padlet represents my emerging vision for education. I have attempted to highlight the biggest values – that could then be further developed into more specific actions. I have been enjoying the "What if" strategy for imagining the possible in education, so I thought I might brainstorm a few more "What ifs" to further develop my vision for education. What if "schooling" wasn't defined by a place or time, but was instead seamlessly embedded at the intersection of school, community, and home life? What if the most valuable "products" of education were self-efficacy and solidarity? What if people of different abilities, interests, expertise, ages, genders, races, cultures and religions could interact, collaborate and learn from each other in a vibrant and diverse community of learning? What if curriculum was like pursuits in "real life" – simultaneously integrative of multiple skills and disciplines, and driven by purpose ...

In The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros concludes chapter 7 with a list of "What ifs" he has used to help him dream big and develop a vision for schools. After reading the ISTE Essential Conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning, I thought I'd try using the "What if?" strategy to identify examples of how some of the ISTE conditions might look. These "What ifs" are inspired equally by bright spots and opportunities I see in my school. Shared Vision What if we engaged all stakeholders (admin, teachers, students, families, community) in developing a shared vision for educational technology? Empowered Leaders What if we had a culture of innovation and risk-taking where teachers were empowered to influence substantive systemic change? Equitable Access What if every students had access to a device with internet connectivity they could use at school and at home? Skilled Personnel What if the adults in our school embraced a...

In Chapter 2 of Innovator’s Mindset, George Courous lays out some critical questions for the innovative educator. Here some reflections on those questions. Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom? This question is important because it requires us to approach our work from a place of empathy. By considering the learning experience through eyes of each of our students, we can better understand and meet their needs. Further, I believe we must strive to imagine students’ perspectives that may be very different from our own. Would I want to be a learner my classroom as an EL student? A student with trauma? A student of color? A student of non-binary gender? What is best for _this_ student? This question gets at the individual nature of learning. Each individual leans slightly differently. We must not blame the student when they do not succeed in learning what we set out to teach them, we must innovate to meet the learning needs of that individual. What is _this_ student’s p...

I made this little video to "pitch" my ideas for a change project. I used: Sketches Pro to make the drawings Pixlr.com for photo editing ExplainEverything to assemble and record the video

When I was first starting out as a new educator, I labored over my "Philosophy of Education" statement. It was first assigned to me as coursework, I'm sure. Later, I massaged it into my professional portfolio. Ultimately, I worried over it in the (many) applications I would submit before landing my first teaching job. Despite all of the energy and time I spent with that statement of teaching philosophy, I don't remember much of what it said – no doubt because it was too long and replete with the platitudes of a new teacher fresh out of college, and the buzz words of the day. Now, after ten years of teaching immersion, I have less to say about my philosophy of education, or at least I can summarize it in fewer words – one, actually. I've rebranded my philosophy of education as my purpose, my 'why' in Simon Sinek's model of organizational leadership. The purpose at the center of the work I do as an educator and leader is to cultivate dignity in my stu...

I created this mind map of the article Leadership theory: past, present and future, by Melissa Horner. I first organized the map according to the three themes of the article: past, present and future. I found the process of creating this particular mind map to be somewhat onerous. I probably spent two hours mind mapping the article as I read it – a form of note taking as an alternative to annotation of the text. Were I to do it again, I would begin with a complete read-through and annotation of the text. Then I would create a mind map with a more focused purpose: the most important ideas from the "Future" section. This would leave me space and mental energy to add ideas from other sources. As it stands, I'm dissatisfied with the unwieldiness of the product, and the strict adherence to hierarchy forced by the tool. I think I'll start from scratch when I begin to synthesize ideas from multiple sources. I used  MindMup.com  to create this mind map. Here are some th...

I admire the leadership of a principal I worked with years ago. This principal’s philosophy was to see others as their best possible selves. She was generous with what I called “aspirational compliments.” She would actively compliment others (teachers and students), not so much for things they had done or strengths they had, but for things she believed they would do, strengths she believed they would develop. She deliberately broadcast her belief in the best of everyone. Simon Sinek would appreciate (as I did) how this principal protected her people - both students and teachers. She protected teachers from occasionally irate parents, from local education politics, from the school board, and sometimes from our superintendent. As teachers, we felt safe because we knew we had her support. She also protected our time, by insisting on timely, efficient, and purpose-driven meetings - which helped us feel respected. One more reason I admire this principal is for her practice of distributi...

I don’t identify as a leader, but I try to practice leadership. I’m an emerging leader - striving to improve. I’m one emerging leader among the emerging leaders (aka students) inside and outside of my classroom. I’m one emerging leader among the other leaders (teachers, administrators and staff) at my school and in my school district. Although there are different contexts where I practice leadership, my purpose is consistent. If I apply Simon Sinek’s golden circle to my leadership practice, dignity is at the center; dignity is the “why.” I couldn’t always articulate it so succinctly, but I think that my purpose has been distilled through experience and reflection. The more time I spend studying the map, the more I recognize that all roads originate from the zip code of dignity. This is also my philosophy of education. I believe that the purpose, the “why,” of public education is to empower every child with dignity - from the present moment of every class, to a future of opportunit...