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I'm taking away a lot of (hopefully) great ideas that I can (hopefully) use in my classroom next year. "Anytime teachers think differently who they teach and how the teach, they can create better learning opportunities. Questioning what we do and why we do it is essential for innovation." p.21
Jon

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"Change is inevitable. Growth is optional." I feel like I have been living this for the last three years. i have been rolling with change after change after change but have taken the time to reflect how I am growing as a leader.

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Being in spaces where people actively share ideas makes us smarter. That is how I feel about our team

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I would have loved to have had this book at the beginning of the Mini-Grant Process...it pushed my thinking and affirmed somethings that I already knew but this would have given me some better ways of advocating for my work and the work of iPD!

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I love the idea of asking yourself if you would like to be a learner in your classroom and see through the eyes of the student. This combined with empathy is powerful and I like thinking about this from multiple perspectives.

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I am super interested with the idea of innovation 'inside the box'. I think to many times we try to do something SO super new that we forget that it is appropriate to look inside the box and think about how to use the resources we already in different and more intentional ways.

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What strikes me in this section are several questions:
Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom? and What are some ways we can create a true learning community? I think these questions drive to the core of why many of us wanted to be teachers and allow us the permission to change what we might be doing or strive for really high expectations for the learning that happens in our classrooms.
I also LOVE that the innovators mindset starts with empathy for our students. This is about who the students are and what they need which may change from year to year and situation to situation.
* Janelle NG*

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More than ever I believe that choice is the practice that I would say is the most innovative. In a culture of individualization, I think that choice can be the way that educators as well as students begin to drive their learning within parameters that builds in individual accountability while also allowing the learner to drive the how and some of the what of their learning. Reflection from these experiences will allow people to grow and transfer to apply to new situations.
~ Janelle NG

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" Innovation is not about changing everything; sometimes you only need to change one thing."
This is an excellent quote. We've all worked in schools where our heads (and our colleagues'!) are swimming trying to keep up with implementing all the different initiatives to increase student achievement. Then we get the test scores in the fall, and it wasn't enough (it's never enough), so let's add another initiative! How can schools simplify their approach so they are ONLY doing what works?
~Becca

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I like the idea of starting with the question "would you want to be a student in your classroom?" There are some days where the answer is no (c'mon, we've all had those days); but there are many days when I think "heck yeah, I'd like this class!" A big chunk of that is developing relationships with students, but even more important is designing relevant, - and if possible, authentic - learning experiences for kids. I love supporting PBL work in the district, as I feel it does just that.
~Becca

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I love this quote: "we don't need to necessarily transform the role of teachers, rather create a culture that inspires and empowers teachers to innovate in the pursuit of providing optimal learning experiences for their students." Learning new concepts can be frustrating and confusing, so it's hard to imagine that our job as teachers will ever go away - learners often need another person to explain ideas and push their thinking. But how we as educators organize the learning experience should change. One example of how I innovated in my classroom what my self-paced units. I won't explain the whole process in detail, but my result was increased student buy-in; so much so that they were telling other teachers to incorporate a structure similar to mine. A career highlight for me :-)
~Becca

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Courkamp -Innovation is a way of thinking that creates something new and better

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Courkamp -Innovation is a way of thinking that creates something new and better

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So for me, I don't have "A PRACTICE" that I can think of but innovation is doing what is right for the individual student. Sometimes it is just allowing that student the space to be themselves and communicate their understanding in a different way. I have done side-by-side assessments at the board for a sped kiddo, just asking them the question out loud to them and having a simple conversation with them about how to solve a problem and allowing them to write it on the white board was innovative in my mind because the student demonstrated their understanding but could not do paper and pencil test. Another example was developing a specialized class for all students that failed first semester Algebra 1. Typically they go on to second semester and fail again because they have too many gaps and lack a conceptual understanding of Algebra. So I developed a class that had 22 failing students and even though my colleagues thought I was crazy(maybe I am) but taking those failing students where they were at, filling the gaps and moving them forward at the same time so they could complete a full year of Algebra was innovative for me and our school. The results speak for themselves. Another example where a student had been hit by a bus and had extreme migraine headaches, I allowed to complete Algebra 2 over the summer. We met bi-weekly at her home to make up the material that she had missed during the semester. She was allowed to move forward to pre-calc and calc making her goals for college. It is creating the space that works best for students where they are at. Not being conformed in to a system that is traditional in thinking.

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Courkamp-Change is inevitable. Growth is optional

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Courkamp-Change is inevitable. Growth is optional

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Next year I want to think differently about my teaching, grading practices and be innovative in creating learning opportunities for my students. I am so thankful for having 2 years of working with the great minds in this room. You have truly been a gift to me!