Embracing an "Innovator's Mindset"

Back in July, our teacher book club tackled reading George Couros' The Innovator's Mindset. 

https://georgecouros.ca/blog/the-innovators-mindset-book

Though it's been a few months since I've read this book, it has been inspiring me throughout the first quarter of the school year, not with specific plans, but with the idea that it's not only "ok" to try something new, rather applauded and necessary! This is why I want to share my reflective takeaways of this book. 

George Couros has over 17 years of educational experience, and you can read about him here on his website. 

The back of this book advocates that any leader in a school will benefit from reading this book, and I definitely agree. In our book club, our principal joined us and he exclaimed that this book had him ready to go back to school and excited to make a difference. Teachers of any level or content will be encouraged from this book.

As a teacher, I felt that the messages were inspirational. It didn't necessarily spark specific lesson plans that I wanted to add to my curriculum (which is sometimes a relief!); however, it helped me see my current curriculum with new eyes to see which ways I have tried to innovate and those that will benefit from innovation.

It also had me thinking about what I have my students reading and writing in my class: "In our world today, what is a student more likely going to need to be able to write: an essay or a blog post?" One of my projects throughout the year is to have students read independent books, completely their choice: novels, nonfiction, chapter books, or short biographies--it's completely up to them, and I ask them to write reviews on Goodreads or our Google Classroom. However, this year I had them read a blog post from a writer about why they should write reviews and what they should you include. I'm wondering what other blog posts I could have them read before asking them to write one themselves...

Another recommendation from Couros that I want to embrace is collaboration. He explains the importance, "Innovation (and enjoyment) flourishes when teachers collaborate to learn and practice new strategies. Isolation is often the enemy of innovation." I have been in the position of being the only teacher of my grade level and now with shared classes, and there are many benefits to collaborating! Sometimes collaboration requires us to compromise, but our relationships grow stronger because of this.

Much more could be said about The Innovator's Mindset! If you're considering a teacher book club, this needs to be on your list. George Couros also has resources for you to use on his website.