The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros

The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros

It seems that there is an abundance of new information in education floating around these days. I am especially aware as technology is changing so quickly and due to its recent permeation into educational environments on a large scale, has become a very hot area for new knowledge. Most current teachers were raised in a technology and connected deprived environment so for many this is a whole new area to learn about.

In The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros explains how innovation should be viewed in the classroom and how you can 'empower learning, unleash talent, and lead a culture of creativity.' He talks about how teachers and administrators need to embrace a culture of learning and sharing to more fully commit to teaching. In the book, there are some very practical applications of his ideas supported by relevant current research and educational thinkers.

What I took from this book was, in a lot of ways, what I already was thinking. 1) You may have goals of where you want to get to, but will probably never get there as you continue to set new goals. 2) Sharing is so very important. By sharing our strengths, weaknesses and learning we are putting ourselves in a position to maximize our growth and the growth of others. 3) Collaborating with other people, inside and outside our building, puts us in a position to harness the collective power of our PLN to continue down the path of improved teaching. 4) Modeling is important not only for teachers to show their students, but teachers need to model innovation to other teachers and administrators need to model innovation to all staff as well.

From the research I have done and the articles I read, the idea of a 21st Century classroom seems to be the hottest topic out there. With this comes the beliefs that you need certain equipment and a certain classroom look to be considered a 21st Century classroom. Couros has thoroughly convinced me now, as well as Paul Solarz (https://goo.gl/Q9wdkW), a 21st Century classroom is more about the teachers's AND students' mindset rather than the stuff you have.

I have two challenges for myself as I approach the new school year. How I am I going to get my students to share their work and move outside the physical walls of our building to collaborate with a wider audience? Also, as part of my role this year as an Innovation Coach, how can I model and support the teachers inside and outside of my school to either start or continue to move down the path to having an Innovator's Mindset?

Happy Reading!

James

Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher

Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher

Much like Book Love by Penny Kittle, Write Like This appeals heavily to my practical, pragmatic side. The content is very much geared towards real-world writing and focuses on specifically how to help students improve their writing. Gallagher gets to the heart of what students need to know and focuses on making improvements in student writing rather than providing approaches that only yield results on standardized tests.

I am most intrigued by his reorganization of writing from writing forms to writing purposes. He proposes a list of 6 purposes including: express and reflect, inform and explain, evaluate and judge, inquire and explore, analyze and interpret, and take a stand and propose a solution. He notes there may be more purposes, but these are the most important to him at that time. While approaching each purpose the teacher can then weave in the different writing forms to accomplish the task.

I am intrigued by this approach because, particularly at the intermediate level, students have already been exposed to the different writing forms and therefore may not need to review the breakdown of material for another year. Instead students are exposed to a highly engaging purpose for writing and writing forms are presented when they are most appropriate. Gallagher really emphasizes the importance of modeling writing to students and that is the perfect time to review the writing forms. Also, for students who already are familiar with the writing form they can move ahead while the teacher pulls together guided writing groups to review the finer points of the writing form being use for that particular purpose.

My mind was completely spinning while reading this great resource and has continued to toil about as I prepare for the school year. I am not sure how things will work out, but Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher my become my writing textbook this year. He lays out so many activities that I feel I can work through this book while I learn, experiment and familiarize myself with a vastly different approach to teaching writing.

Certainly worth a read for an intermediate or high school teacher.

Happy reading!

James

Learn Like a Pirate by Paul Solarz

Learn Like a Pirate by Paul Solarz

In Learn Like A Pirate, Paul Solarz adapts his beliefs around creating a student-led classroom to Dave Burgess' popular Pirate model. Paul's adaption of the acronym really speaks to his beliefs about education and his personal approach.

                   P - Peer Collaboration

                   I - Improvement Focus vs. Grade Focus

                   R - Responsibility

                   A - Active Learning

                   T - Twenty-First Century Skills

                   E - Empowerment

From the acronym you can see how he is putting the focus on students rather then teaching. Everything presented in the book is about moving his students forward to be more reflective, confident, and prepared to make decisions.

This is a book I am going to need to read several times as I feel there are many steps to creating a more student-led classroom. I did like the way Paul explained his thinking behind why he took a particular approach and also how those approaches developed over time. I feel like I have been given several entry points to start moving towards my own student-led classroom. There are some definite ideas I can incorporate right away and some that may take me more time. I am going to start small and build over time.

If this book seems interesting to you, check it out.

Happy reading!

James

Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess

Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess

Teach Like a Pirate (TLAP) is a quick, practical book that allows immediate implementation. Dave Burgess tackles passion in teaching and translating that into presentation skills. He talks about how PD is often focused on either content or teaching techniques, but believes it takes presentation to really pull off a spectacular lesson. Figure one is the Venn diagram presented in the book where the focus is to get into the center overlap where teaching like a pirate happens.

Source: http://goo.gl/K6lG1t

The part that I found most useful in this book was the plethora of presentation hooks that were described. Basically, a large number of questions you should consider either before, during or after you have prepared your lesson. One example is: How can I incorporate movement in this lesson? There are lots of things in this book I am not sure I am comfortable doing (ex. flying around the room as an airplane), but I am certainly now thinking about how I might change what I am doing to something more engaging. I am considering typing out the whole list to tape to me desk.

If you feel like you need some life injected into your lessons and are ready to take a risk, this book might be for you. Having just finished it, I am already thinking about reviewing it again and possibly using it to run a book club with fellow teachers at my school. 

Happy reading!

James

Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger

Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger

Education is simultaneously changing at an alarming rate and at the same time staying the same. In Digital Leadership, Eric Sheninger talks about how leaders need to taking advantage of the tools at our disposal to help guide the change. He outlines how modern technology, namely Web 2.0 tools, can benefit all people invested in technology and education. I was initially concerned that since technology is changing so quickly this resource would be highlighting strategies that are no longer available. I was wrong on that account as his underlying message is rooted in the theory behind why you would use different tools rather that explaining how to use the tools. He does mention some very specific tools such as: Remind, Twitter, Google Apps and Smart Boards, but also explains how those tools can be used to help you as a leader. If a new tool comes along that allows you to have more success you can easily substitute in the new tool while still continuing to move your school forward.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the way Eric laid out the way a leader within a school or school district can go about changing the leadership and culture in their reach. His Seven Pillars of Digital Leadership clearly outline the different areas that need to be addressed in order to become a digital leader. Each Pillar is clearly outlined with not only theory, but practical examples. Each Pillar can also be extended to apply to people at all levels in the organization.

I am currently exploring some ideas that I would like to implement including having my students all have Twitter accounts, live streaming presentations for parents, encouraging meetings through Skype to busy parents, and texting parents to stay informed. I have many more that are still percolating. 

As a teacher who currently has no aspirations of moving into administration, I found this book a riveting read and have found multiple ideas to help me become a digital leader within my school, including starting this blog to highlight professional reading I am doing. This is also a resource that I will be putting prominently on my shelf to aid me in the future and to help build my case as I move forward with my 21st Century classroom.

Great read, great ideas!

Have a good day,

James

Book Love by Penny Kittle

Book Love by Penny Kittle

I love this book! I feel like Penny absolutely captured my views on reading. As a resource teacher over the years, I would visit classrooms and see countless kids listening to the teacher talk about a text rather than reading. The students would lack the focus to read or have any interest in reading since personal choice in reading was just not important in the classroom. Over the last few years, I have been fighting this mentality in my students now that I have my own class. Helping my students to choose appropriate books and to delve deeper into the stories has been very rewarding for me as I have seen at least a shift in their attitude towards reading.

In this book, the information is presented in more of a story format showing how she has implemented this approach in her classroom. What I find so compelling about the story is that there are so many ways to interpret the information. A colleague and myself read the book and found ways to include the 'Book Love' approach into our classroom in different ways. Each time I discuss the book I think of new ways that the information could work in my situation while accomplishing many of the same goals.

The basic approach, -sorry Penny if it is supposed to be more complicated- is to allow students the freedom to choose books they are interested in while supporting them in reflecting on the text and progressing to more challenging reading materials. In the book, she also explains how she uses reading to help students improve their writing, which for me is a next step.

Here are a couple of things I have tried:

1. For any student who sits there without a book complaining about how boring reading is, try saying, "You just haven't found the right book yet." I thought this was a silly statement, till I tried it on one of my reluctant girl readers. It took most of grade 8 to find a book for her, but using that statement kept her trying to find a book all year. Eventually, we found one, the Book of Awesome, and she refused to put it down. The best part was when another student was refusing to read one day and bothering other students she intervened and said, "If you can not find a book it is because you haven't found the right one yet. Keep looking!" Made my day.
2. One way to show off the reading that was happening, was a book wall that I created at the back of the room. Anytime a student finished reading a book I would photocopy the cover and write their name beside it. If another student happened to read the same book, their name went under the other name. By the end of the year, every student got their book and subsequently their name on the wall. This really helped develop a culture of reading and the importance it had in our room. One of my students actually had their name on the wall over 40 times in one school year, it was amazing to see him add the books to the wall.
   
3. This was the first year I tried it, but every student in my class had to create a book talk for a book they read during the school year. This summer I am taking those book talks and uploading them to YouTube so my incoming students have a place to start when looking for a book. This is to help students find books that are of interest to them. I just can not read them all.

            

Developing stamina in reading is so important for success in high school and beyond and this resource will help you get your students there.

Let me know your thoughts or ideas. I would love to hear them.

James

Why do this?

Over the years I have read several professional resources. Often I enjoy them and take a few ideas and over time forget about them. I don't just forget what I read about, but which books I read at all. This is one of the drawbacks to the information explosion we are experiencing.

The purpose of this blog is very simple: I need to remember what I read! It offers me a place to put down some of the ideas I found most pertinent and give me a general overview of the topics so I can revisit the resource if needed.

One of the added benefits is that other teaching professionals can also hopefully benefit from the blurb I share about each book. There are so many resources out there it is nice to have more information about a text before diving head first into it and it not being useful.

So each additional post is not meant to be an official review, but more of a description that might help you decide whether this resource is for you.

Hope you find something you like.

James