The Innovator's Mindset and How We Were Inspired to Blog

I read The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros from cover to cover. It was excellent! There were a few points that really resonated with me. But, before I get into all of that, I want to share what I was thinking as I started the book. First,  I was thinking about how as a faculty, many of us chose this book for our PD this year and I was questioning how it would be received. I was looking over the list of faculty that selected to read The Innovator's Mindset and felt a twinge of surprise. I was surprised because the educators who signed up to read the book are all individuals that I would consider change agents. They are all open-minded, willing to learn and grow with and from one another, and many are already considered "connected educators". I was feeling a bit surprised that they would be inspired to read about innovation. While I recognize that while everyone can learn something from anything or anyone, this group is already pretty open to innovation and introspective about their teaching and learning practices. And then I had a mind shift that made me view it all very different. I got to the end of the book where George mentions that in learning we should nurture what we already do well and the rest will fall into place. For example, if your passion is tinkering with technology, learning to write within the field of technology remains important but you can learn how to write with the emphasis being on the topic of technology. Sharing the process for a technology project via a blog requires a written component that we may feel inspired to disseminate to a wider audience. This made me rethink the way that I had thought about the educators that chose to read this particular book. They are already considered innovators and yet are focused on continuing to nurture a skillset and a mindset. Ultimately, George made me see the power in their book choices.
     In The Innovator's Mindset, George also explores the power of blogging. There is power in blogging. Blogging creates the platform to share one's work with a larger audience. Blogging forces us to pause and reflect on our work and to discover our own voice. Blogging is another way for an introvert to express themselves. Blogging is a convenient way for others to learn and benefit from what you are doing and thinking.  With all that in mind, I decided to launch the 7th grade technology exploratory class this morning with a blogging activity. Instead of sharing our morning reflections verbally, we shared digitally. It was not easy to get used to writing in this fashion and I often got the question, "Does this have to be in MLA format?". We continue to learn how to tailor our writing to our intended audiences and understand how to toggle between formal and informal types of writing. With all of this in mind, it is with great pleasure that I share these student blog posts with the world. Lately, we have been asking them to write more about their project work and their processes but today we were writing for the purpose of being introspective about ourselves, in general. Below are the topics from which they chose to write:

I own my phone, my clothes, and my health, and I value all these items. I value them because I need my phone for communication. I need my clothes so I’m not cold. Finally, I value my health so I can live a happy life.

  - Avi

This week I did something that made me feel good. I was sad and mad after I found out that I got a bad grade. I dragged myself out of my bed and I told my mom that I going to swim. She said are you sure, you look a little tired and sad. I went to swim, swam, and I calmed myself down. I was happy and proud that I went to swim for the rest of the night.

- Adam

Recently, I was selected to be on B Team Basketball at the Davis Academy. Since I’m a 7th grader I am playing on my level but I know it will be a fun season. We had our first practice on Monday, but I missed that practice due to football. Anyways, my first practice was Tuesday of this week (October 29). It was a normal practice like any practice but then we had to get on the BaseLine and run suicides (That is a running drill). Everyone got two free throws to shoot. If you missed the first one it was a suicide, 1 out of 2 baseline to other baseline, and 2 out of 2 we didn’t have to run. Most of us missed our free throws so we had to run suicides. When I got up to the free throw line I made both of my free throws so we didn’t have to run. My coach said, “ If Jake makes this free throw we don’t have to run anymore but if he misses we have to run double.” Next thing you know I made the shot and we didn’t have to run anymore. That was an experience that I felt good about myself.

-  Jake

I have three objects that I cannot live without because they are so close to me that I am attached to them. The first one is my phone because when I need to call someone I can, and when I am bored I will play games to scare away being bored. The second most important thing to me is my dog because he always snuggles me when I need it and he plays with me when I want to be active. The last thing that is close to me is my Xbox because I always play it when I am bored and usually my friends are on so I can play with them.

- Zach

My 3 most valued objects are my computer because it is great to use when on the go and I take care of it well. Also, it is great to use when I am bored. Next, I love my dog. I go on walks with her. I feed her sometimes and she is really fun to play with. Lastly, board games and video games. They are great to use when really bored and I am at home or with a friend.

- Micah

An amazing experience I had was when I scored the winning goal in a soccer tournament. The score was 0-0 and there were 2 minutes left in the game. Our defender dribbled down the sideline and crossed the soccer ball to me. I got the ball took a touch and shot. The soccer ball went straight into the top corner and the goalie had no chance. That is how I scored the winning goal in my soccer tournament.

- Adam

There are definitely times that I feel I am wearing a mask, even when I am not. Some days we are more fatigued than others and as a result, I put on my mask when I have a professional or parental obligation so that I can rally for my people. Internally, I may feel different than I appear but on the outside, I am smiling, or supportive, or engaged. Halloween is a holiday that allows people to hide behind a mask, or show up more clearly to be who they really are without a mask...depending on how you look at it.

- Stacy
While it may have felt unusual to blog about the topics that we normally share out loud, we hope to create an environment where all students feel that their voices can be heard, no matter the platform. Blogging provides another outlet for these young innovators to share their genius.

Celeb Researchers

Technology is a critical component to learning for the simple fact that it is everywhere. Educators have a responsibility to demonstrate the positive use of technology throughout a child's growth and development. This is where research with a creative twist comes into play. In addition to print resources, exposing the littlest learners to credible online resources helps them discover the value of technology to fill in knowledge gaps.

One of my favorite projects of the year is the mechina community helper project. Mechina translates to mean "preparation" in English. In mechina, we are preparing our four and five year olds for a successful next year in Kindergarten. The mechina class is a special group. It consists of small classes that have unique opportunities. Among these opportunities is experiential learning on a grand scale. 

Their community helper unit is one of my favorite experiential learning opportunities. It involves weeks of planning resulting in a trip to "Hollywood". The project starts by learning about a variety of community helpers and how they positively impact a community. Then, each student selects their own community helper whose identity they wish to assume. Upon selecting their community helper, the librarians ensure we have plenty of resources that support learning more about their chosen community helper. Over the years we have had some creative community helper choices, such as cherry picker. 

Print books to support the learning

In those cases, we special order additional resources. In addition to print books, we also turn to the PebbleGo database to fill in some of the research needs. Mechina students come to the library and browse for books that describe the role of their community helper. They engage in a note-taking process using a template from the book Library Research with Emergent Readers by Christa Harker and Dorette Putonti. 

Pairing them with fifth grade mentors allows the fifth graders to assist with the note-taking while the mechina students add illustrations to represent the meanings within the notes. 

5th Grade research mentors

Then, the teachers bring in community helpers to visit the school and talk to the young researchers about their roles in the community. 

A visit from the bomb squad to learn how heroes protect our community

Next, students create a storyboard and script for their upcoming film debut. In the film, they share facts about their community helpers and demonstrate what it means to be a part of a kehilah, which translates into community in Hebrew. 

Storyboards for their Film

After weeks of shooting their film, they are ready for their movie star debut. They dress in fancy clothes to walk the red carpet. They show off their talent in front of their parents and the student body receiving accolades for their hard work. 

Media Center= Home of the Prelude to a Star Studded Event

Clips from the Community Helper Film

Grab a program!

Star struck as she gets ready to accept her Oscar for her role in playing a chef.

After the film screening, each star receives an Oscar for their grand performance. It is an affair to remember and one that they do not soon forget.