Week 3: How do we maintain excellence as we innovate?

"You can't measure a teacher's impact through standardized test scores or D/F rates. A teacher's impact can only be measured through generations!" (Burgess, 2012). Wow - what a statement!  Something about this rings so true with every teacher.  As someone who has taught at least long enough to see my second generation of students start coming through school, I can tell you that this becomes truth in ways you never could have imagined.  I've had interesting discussions with former students, who are now parents themselves, who will say things like, "I remember that project we did about economic indicators - I'm still not sure what all of those are but that was the first time I really learned to look at a map for more than just finding directions", and this is 15 years after the fact!  I've often heard it said that a student will probably never tell you they remembered how much fun all of those worksheets were, and I can definitely believe that.

When you put your creativity to work in your lessons, and come up with learning experiences that are not only engaging, but complex, there is the possibility for your students to learn so much more than the basic facts - that's the time for really deep learning. It's when they have a challenge that pushes them, and also allows them the freedom to discover things on their own.

I've spent a lot of time mentoring and coaching new teachers, and I find (thankfully) that most are eager to learn, eager to try new things, and eager to improve (this is encouraging!).  I've also run across a few who are not so eager. Those teachers fall into 2 categories. A) They already know everything - they can't fathom that I'd be able to teach them anything.  They've got it all figured out.  And actually, some of them do.  Other than getting over a little bit of ego, these are often talented, competent folks who tend to be quite comfortable and intuitive in the classroom - and they eventually do get over their ego.  The second category, B) are made up of those who are very detailed planners - perfectionists. They were good pre-service students, probably straight A's, and they approach the classroom with the same careful, studied purpose.  They want to have everything in place and exactly right.  There's nothing wrong with being methodical, but what I've seen with folks like this is that it often quickly becomes stifling in the reality of the classroom and a busy, rigorous daily schedule.  Taking risks for them is seen as a time-waster. They'd rather proceed with the scripted approach that they believe will yield results.  These approaches are often district or program recommended methods for teaching a subject.  Not to say these folks are bad teachers, but after spending time in their classrooms, I wouldn't call them great teachers either.  They are just ok.  The lack of creativity, enthusiasm, and willingness to take risks in their classrooms has put them firmly into mediocre territory.  I like Burgess' take on this, "Nobody is going to die if we experiment in the classroom and it doesn't work out." "If a lesson plan fails, you show up the next day and make it right." (Burgess 2012). Convincing some folks of this is tough!  And another thing to remember here is, lessons rarely fail completely.  There is always some learning (and wisdom) gained from a lesson.

These ideas lead me to wonder about teacher preparation programs - what are we doing to ensure we are preparing our new teachers to be innovative in the classroom?  An interesting guest post by Seann Dikkers on Dangerously Irrelevant proposes that "the most innovative teachers are drawing on experiences and skill sets they developed outside of education." These teachers are bringing real-world 21st century skills to their classrooms, while traditional teacher technology training focuses on things like how to use the IWB. Although I've always considered myself as being somewhat innovative in my classroom, I know that when I started integrating technology (not IWB's) into my teaching, a couple of  things happened - 1) I became more energized, excited, and creative with my teaching and 2) my students became more engaged - their lessons were more complex, authentic, interesting, included choice, and were differentiated.  The biggest risks with technology involve the technology not working - and even those times offer opportunities for learning!

So for me, I think the answer to the question posed is, keeping it real - as applicable to the real world as possible.  Utilizing technology in my classroom and using 21st Century skills to teach has allowed me to be an innovative educator who can find creative ways to reach my students. Teaching my students these skills has helped me to feel that I'm not only teaching my students content, I'm teaching them how to apply that to their lives, while giving them skills to be lifelong discoverers, creators, and learners.

Resources:
Burgess, D. (2012). Teach like a pirate: increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. San Diego, Calif.: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc..

Dikkers, S. (2012, February 15). Are Teacher Preparation Programs Dangerously Irrelevant? [guest post] | @mcleod. Dangerously Irrelevant | @mcleod. Retrieved September 20, 2013, from http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2012/02/are-teacher-preparation-programs-dangerously-irrelevant-guest-post.html

Reeves, D. (2008). Expecting Excellence:Challenging Inequity, Insisting on Excellence. Educational Leadership. Retrieved September 20, 2013, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/Challenging-Inequity,-Insisting-on-Excellence.aspx

Clifford, M. (2013, January 10). 30 Ways To Promote Creativity in Your Classroom.Innovation Excellence. Retrieved September 20, 2013, from http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/01/10/30-ways-to-promote-creativity-in-your-classroom/