Innovation
What an innovator is
To be an innovator in education is to consider what your students need and to be fearless about changing what or how you are teaching to meet those needs. Since we do not always know what students will need in the future, we can foster critical thinking skills and creativity so that our students will be able to adapt to future needs. Being innovative means making existing approaches and lesson plans better by refining them toward developing future-ready skills or exploring new approaches and plans that solve existing problems or fulfill emerging needs in a new way (creativity). Innovation is a way of thinking and approaching what you are doing.
I have experienced the need for innovation in my own teaching, but have not yet fully realized it. The pedagogical approaches and skills that I learned, and that my teachers learned before me, no longer reflect the realities of what students need to know how to do. They learn concepts that I think are important, but they are not necessarily practical. I have been thinking more about connecting what skills most of my students will actually need for their day-to-day job tasks, and how I can better connect what we are doing in the class with those skills. I think this takes innovation, but it is difficult and time-consuming to really enact the needed changes. It’s often also difficult to do when, amongst colleagues you are working with, there is pressure to keep the status quo, which is easier. This, however, is what needs to be done. Innovation isn’t just a way of thinking. It also sometimes takes hard work.
What innovation isn’t
Innovation is not change that makes something different, but change that makes something better (Couros, 2015). It is not simply a single act or task, but a way of being. It is not technology itself, which is only a tool that may or may not be innovative (Couros, 2015).
The role of the technology facilitator
With the idea of innovation in mind, a technology facilitator learns about the teachers and students they work with and empowers them to create a learning environment where they can realize their full potential and be well-equipped for their future. A technology facilitator fosters positive attitudes and effective practices around incorporating technology into teaching and learning. A technology facilitator helps teachers and students find opportunities to refine or develop new approaches to teaching and learning through technology. The technology facilitator promotes creativity and innovative thinking among teachers and students.
Innovation happens in places where people are inspired to think outside of the box and empowered to act upon it.
I thought of this statement because environment is so important for nurturing innovation. If you work in an open environment with people who support you whether you succeed or fail, then you are more likely to be innovative.
Imagination + Solutions = Innovation
I thought of this equation which views innovation as a combination of imagining what could be and finding the solutions to the problems one encounters in realizing what could be.
Imagination
New approaches
Needs-based
Optimistic
Visionary
Adventurous
Transformational
Inspired
Original
Novel
These are some words that I associate with innovation.
Reference:
Couros, George. (2015). The innovator's mindset: Empower learning, unleash talent, and lead a culture of creativity. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.
Hi Colin,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your reflection on your own teaching and the need to make changes that would be more relevant for learners and future ready skills. You raised some concerns that I can relate to as well with the challenges presented by colleagues who want to maintain the status quo because of effort and time. It can take a lot of energy to move people to try something new. You offered a great list of words that are part of the solution.
Colin,
ReplyDeleteI love the mnemonic you created for innovation! I also appreciate you acknowledging how important one’s environment is. Trying to bring fresh ideas to the table can be a challenge when those with the power and resource needed to bring ideas to fruition aren’t on board. Transforming entities, whether they be corporations or educational institutions, can’t be done when the vast majority have trouble seeing your vision.
Couros’s (2015) discussion about Blockbuster’s rejection of Netflix’s proposal is a great example of what happens when organizations don’t foster an environment that’s conducive to innovation and open to change. I’d assume there isn’t a day that goes by where Blockbuster’s former leaders and stakeholders don’t regret their decision to not take the risk.
References
Couros, G. (2015). The innovator’s mindset; empower learning, unleash talent, and lead a culture of creativity. Dave Burgess Consulting, Incorporated.
Hey I liked your acrostic, it's a neat way to think about the parts that make up a concept and would likely be good mnemonic like Kennedy said. What you said about the status quo is really powerful and I feel like it's sort of an accidental issue a lot of times. Everyone wants to do better but nobody wants to rock the boat. I've found in previous jobs that being the one to speak out can reveal a lot of desire for change and open the pathway for innovation. That said, it can also make people lock down even harder into their old ways if they feel threatened, so it is definitely a difficult thing to balance! Thanks so much for the insightful post.
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