8 characteristics of an innovator's mindset

A chapter that grabbed my attention in the book, The Innovator’s Mindset was “the characteristics of an innovator’s mindset.” We can all want to effect positive change, but do we have the attitude, the mindset necessary to do so? Looking at the eight characteristics that the author, George Couros, outlines, can be a great help to see if we have a mindset that is open to and willing to cause positive change.

The eight characteristics are: empathetic, problem finders, risk-takers, networked, observant, creators, resilient and reflective.

I would like to focus on empathetic and resilient, as these are the two characteristics from the list with the most room for growth in my own self-observation.

To be empathetic as an educator means that he looks at the classroom environment from the point of view of the student. An example that Couros brings up at another point in the book seemed really interesting to me. One teacher was asked to spend a day shadowing a 10^th grader and another day shadowing a 12^th grader in her school. Can you imagine going back to tenth grade? Would I want to live a day like the 11^th graders I am going to be teaching?

It is interesting, because I think I can honestly say that I liked school. Nevertheless, I have no desire to go back through school again. I am at a school, where the kids form a strong affective bond with the school. I am always amazed at that, since I have never even gone back to the High School from which I graduated.

“Would you want to be a learner in your own classroom?” This is the key question that Couros poses to his reader. And I take this question as my own. Now, I do like the style of classes that I have given, but I am going to make an effort to make sure that things are a little more varied and try to wake up the thirst for knowledge within my students. That should help to make sure that they like it when they are with me. That would be a big win in my classroom.

To be resilient can be a big challenge for me. I definitely feel a bit down when things do not go as well as I would have wished. A lot of times, I think this can be traced back to unrealistic expectations, while other times perhaps I have simply not put in the work necessary to get the job done. But whatever the cause, I can learn to let a few comments slide without affecting me so much.

Couros quotes a Chinese proverb that says: “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” While I may not be the go-getter all the time who is being slowed down by those around me, I can learn to plow through in spite of negative comments, which unfortunately abound.

I will be working on these two characteristics of the innovator’s mindset, before choosing two more I can work on. I think I would like to focus on two per grading period. At this rate, I will have gone through all eight by the time Easter rolls around, and will hopefully have become a better teacher.

What I want to achieve in my first week of classes

Take two… Last year, I had the very new experience of teaching an AP English Language and Composition class to 11^th and 12^th grade students. Being in El Salvador, English is a second language for my students, though I was happily surprised by their advanced level of written and oral expression.

I had to face some very special challenges. I was amazed by the lack of punctuality. It was a big class for the type of course-work we were doing. Some students were unmotivated. But perhaps the biggest problem was “me.”

I do not want to get into details or subject myself to a public flogging, but over the last few months, I have reflected on what I achieved and what I would still like to do. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, at the same time that I feel I can be very proud of what we accomplished this past year.

But as far as my own attitude is concerned, I will be working on empathy. I am very clear that my principal goal for the course is to teach critical thinking. “In this course, we learn to think, by writing.” Because, at the end of the day, it is really a writing course, and a good one at that.

Nevertheless, on a personal note, I will be working on empathy. I want the students to know how much I want to do for them. I want them to learn to write well, think well and argue well. But at the same time, I want to be the teacher they remember because he cared enough to make a difference.

So, we will engage in some different activities the first week of classes. This should help to grab their attention and to establish a personal rapport with me. Hopefully, at the end of the first week, we will know each other well enough in order to be able to work well the rest of the year.

I hope it goes well.

For the students, I want this to lead them to find their own voice. I am thinking of a few different ways I can get them engaged in learning by proposing themes that are important to them. I want to empower them so as to make them professional learners in the time I have them before moving on to senior year and eventually college. The world would be a different place if these young men and women really take it upon themselves to learn according to where their passion wishes to lead them.

Book review of The Innovator's Mindset, by George Couros

This is a great book to help reflect on what one is doing as an educator. I certainly had an interesting backdrop to read it, walking alongside the beach, enjoying fresh ocean air. Perhaps, this is one of the best places to read such a book. The fresh air can open the mind to fresh ideas.

George Couros is able to capture one’s interest by the sheer volume of new ideas he is able to present. His examples are to the point and his very didactic form of summary, aided by the visual summaries by Angela Duckworth make it a very easy read.

“Change is an opportunity to do something amazing.” This is one of the first phrases that Couros emphasizes, and it does serve well to frame the whole book. But for me, the most revolutionary concept was that change often does not work, because it comes too late.

Couros emphasizes a goal-based system that allows for a great deal of flexibility as far as the means are concerned. Something that comes out along the way, is that his own educators allowed him to benefit from such a mindset. Change is not to be seen as the enemy, but rather as a part of life that must be accepted and embraced.

The book is broken up into four sections: Innovation in Education, Laying the Groundwork, Unleashing Talent and Concluding Thoughts. Each of the four parts contributes to the underlying thesis that change in education, when directed well at the right time, can lead to marvelous results. Couros is able to back this up with numerous examples, as well as sharing from his own life-experience.

Reading this book can help educators to reflect especially on their own attitudes regarding school and the classroom. School staff can benefit greatly from reflecting on the discussion questions as a team.

Perhaps for some of us, we do not have to be looking so much at a widespread global change at an institutional level. Maybe it is enough if we are inspired to change ourselves for the better, for the good of our students.

The book inspires to want to inspire. Although this is not the only source of my inspiration, it does help me want to be a better teacher and a better educator this year. I want students to be able to look back at this year and see that my class, but especially me as a person, as something that had a lasting impact on my life. That is the way I am able to look back at my 11^th grade English teacher.

7 Things the movie Hook can teach about teaching

Have you ever dreamt about flying? I love the idea of flying. Perhaps, that is why Peter Pan was always an attractive hero for me growing up. I also love going to movies in the theater. I can remember vividly going to the theater with my family and getting ready to be wowed by the spectacle. Putting these two things together, I think it makes sense that I loved the movie Hook. One of my favorite scenes comes at the end when Peter, (played by Robin Williams) answers his phone, asks his boss about flying and then flings it away in a carefree manner.

We can learn a lot from the movie about teaching.

1. Have fun

The beginning of the movie shows Peter Pan all grown up and very boring. Now, does an adult life really have to be all about the bottom line and completely devoid of any entertainment value? It is the fundamental question of the Peter Pan story. Kids do not want to grow up and stay in Neverland, precisely because of their fear of growing up. Peter has to learn to have fun. Teachers should portray that they are happy. How else would kids ever want to be one?

2. Be true to yourself

Once he gets into the magic of Neverland, Peter has a close encounter with Tinkerbell. She makes a wish and suddenly is human-size, able to be eye-to-eye with Peter Pan, her longtime crush apparently. The moment gets ahold of him, but soon he remembers that his true love is his wife and he does not want to betray her in any way. You have to stand to something or you will fall for anything. Teachers should portray strong personal values.

3. Be true to your roots

Peter does not even remember that he was Peter Pan before. It seems he has forgotten his young life before arriving at the orphanage his wife’s grandmother had founded. But part of Peter Pan will always be in Neverland, and a big part of the movie is a portrayal of how he comes into touch with his roots.

4. See what the kids see

Hands-down, my favorite scene from the movie is the food fight. Now, it is not that I am a big fan of disorder and mayhem, but I love how it is the moment when Peter learns to see reality. He had been adamant that the Lost Boys were only seeing things. He was unable to admit the value of anything they were doing, writing it all off to “make-believe.” But when he takes a spoon of imaginary colored mashed potatoes and hurls it at Rufio, he suddenly becomes a kid again and is able to see what they see. “You are playing, Peter”. Peter Pan has returned, because he understands the Lost Boys once again. Teachers should learn to see what the kids see.

5. Be a leader

Following close on the food-fight, Peter Pan has to fight with Rufio to see who will be the leader of the Lost Boys. Peter draws a line in the sand with his sword. He has accepted who he is and knows he has to lead the Lost Boys, if he is ever to recover his own children from the evil clutches of Captain Hook. He knows he is supposed to be the leader and rises to the task. Teachers should be leaders of their classrooms.

6. Win over the toughest one

Peter had a hard time convincing Rufio, perhaps because he had a hard time convincing himself. But soon, he was able to overcome his own self-doubt and worked hard to win Rufio to his own side. He knew that it would be hard, but never gave up. In the end, in order to lead the group best, he had to win over the toughest one. Teachers should always try to win by attraction.

7. Never grow up

Obviously, this last lesson has to be taken with a grain of salt. If growing up means a static life of boring phone calls and slaving away in meaningless jobs, it must be avoided at all costs. Teachers would do well to waken the inner child and to never grow up.

That’s just the way he is

Kolb’s four learning styles

Do you prefer to listen to books on tape or do you need to do a hands-on experiment in order to jump into a lesson? Would you rather read a book or watch a movie and discuss it? Do you like to daydream? Recognizing one’s own learning style, or recognizing the learning style of those whom one is teaching can make the difference between “wow” and “blah.” Even the most dynamic activities will not have the same impact for everybody.

David Kolb sets up two learning axes: feeling-thinking and doing-watching. The feeling-thinking axis is known as the processing continuum. This has to do with the way we process information. Are we more inclined to be feeling or thinking? The doing-watching axis is the perception continuum and has to do with our way of seeing the world. Do we like to get involved and get our hands dirty or do we propose to look on from afar?

The combination of the two axes, or these four terms, leads to the creation of four quadrants which describe four learning styles.

	Active Experimentation (Doing)	Reflective Observation (Watching)
Concrete Experience (Feeling)	Accommodating (CE/AE)	Diverging (CE/RO)
Abstract Conceptualization (Thinking)	Converging (AC/AE)	Assimilating (AC/RO)

Each student can fall generally speaking into one of the four learning styles. Kolb posits that one does not normally engage in the two opposites of the processing or perception continuum at the same time. Being able to recognize the activity one is requiring of the students will help to make sure that there is an effective learning methodology being applied. One interesting addition to the theory came from a video on 4MAT learning. Here it says that the diverging learning style is characterized by the question “why?”, while the assimilating learning style is characterized by the question “what?”. “How?” is a favorite question for the converging learning style while the accommodating learning style prefers “if?”.

One of my uncles used to say that the burden of a good communication falls on the one communicating. If a teacher sees that the class is not getting the material, it is important to take a step back and see if there is anything he can do to increase comprehension. Generally speaking, students like to learn from somebody who cares about them. A great sign of caring for them is to take the time to learn their learning styles.

The different learning styles end up being complementary and this is why there are engineers, doctors and artists in the world. Each may have genius in his own way, without necessarily exhausting the types of genius of the rest of people.

Today, we looked at the four learning styles presented by David Kolb. It is worth checking out. Feel free to let me know what you think. For more information, you can check out: https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html

Could I have your attention please?

Could I have your attention please?

Kolb’s four learning styles

Do you ever feel you are competing for your students' attention? Nowadays, it seems that teachers have to struggle more and more in order to get their students to focus. Have you ever heard of different learning styles? Getting to know learning styles can be an important step in achieving a deeper self-knowledge: something key in order to get along well in life.

David Kolb is an educational psychologist who affirms that “learning is a process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.” He is known for having broken down learning into a four-stage cycle of learning on the one hand, and four separate learning styles on the other.

Getting to know Kolb’s theory can help teachers and students develop learning in a more organic and efficient manner.

Kolb emphasizes the importance of the experiential learning cycle. There are four elements that are experienced in a cyclical manner, even if the order can be changed up without causing too much damage. There is concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.

An example may help to understand. The concrete experience is coming into contact with a new experience. For example, students may arrive to the classroom and find that all the books have fallen off the shelf onto the floor. The contrast from the ordinary situation that they find in the classroom serves as a stimulus to their imagination and gets them thinking.

Reflective observation can be guided. By asking the right questions, the teacher is able to make them think about why and how the books have moved from their place on the shelf to the floor. At this stage of the game, the outcome is not fixed. If the teacher wishes to give a lesson on the movements of the earth’s plates, he can begin by speaking about the power of an earthquake. If he desires to give a lesson in anger management, this might serve as an example of what could happen when someone’s emotions take control of him.

Abstract conceptualization brings the data into a new context, giving the theory that is to be imparted. This is the concept-heavy section of learning. Most teachers spend most of their time here, perhaps unaware of the fact that without the previous and the following step, their efforts may be only partially rewarded. Now, perhaps the student is better able to understand the phenomenon of earthquakes.

Active experimentation has the learner applying his new knowledge to his own world. Through the joy of learning, his world somehow becomes bigger. Now, the student can reflect on earthquake safety or look into how earthquakes affect engineering. His own curiosity serves as a motor for the next stage of learning.

Here, we have seen the four stages the experiential learning cycle. In the near future, we will look at the four learning styles discovered by David Kolb. For more information, you can check out: https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html