Episode 8 "The Innovator's Mindset" Chapter 2

EDUCATING JO

Episode 8

The Innovator's Mindset

"The Innovator's Mindset"

I hope you are enjoying my review of The Innovator's Mindset so far! I'm excited to start the seesaw activities with the other teacher's doing the book study, but if you've read the book, or something I say gets you thinking, please continue the conversation in the comments!!

8. The Innovator’s Mindset 2

Hey Jo, this week I’m going to talk to you about chapter two of The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros!

Intro

I hope you are liking the book review so far. I had a lot of fun making the last episode and the book should take us all the way through the summer, which makes it easy for me! We still haven’t started the official book study yet, but I am excited to get started on Seesaw this week! I have 2 quotes from chapter 2 and the I will go through the “5 critical questions for the innovative Educator.”

1. Quote number 1: The world only cares about...what you can do with what you know (and it doesn’t care how you learned it).
1. Struggle with using innovative strategies with my students, know most science professors won’t use them.
1. Am I setting my students up for future failure? Will they become so dependent on the activities from my class, they can’t learn from an old school lecture style?
2. Focus on skills outside of science curriculum.
3. Help students learn how they learn best, will help them in the future no matter how bad their professors are.
2. Kayla Delzer quote: (@topdogteacher) Teachers can never base what happens in our classroom this year on what next year’s teacher may or may not do. If it’s best practice for our kids, do it now.
3. 
   If it helps my students learn this year, then do it! If it is best for student learning now, then it is best… period.
2. Quote number 2: When I first started teaching, I remember thinking that students should learn the way I taught; they should adjust to me.
1. Exactly what I thought my first year teaching.
2. If a lesson fails, for any reason, as the adult, I’m responsible.
1. 
   I taught a horrible lesson over nutrient cycles right after prom. Students were STRUGGLING to stay awake. I knew they would be tired and I planned a lame lesson anyway. That’s on me, not my students.
3. 5 critical questions for the innovative Educator
1. Would I want to be a learner in my own classroom?
1. If I weren’t passionate about this subject...
2. What is best for this student?
1. Conceptual Biology: students who struggle in science. What is the best way for these students to learn the content? It’s probably best for the other classes as well.
3. What is this student’s passion?
1. Adaptations → do their favorite animal= super ideas.
4. What are some ways we can create a true learning community?
1. Peer teaching
5. How did this work for our students?
1. Weekly feedback.

Outro: I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode and feel free to share, like, comment and subscribe! To all the other Educating Joes out there, have a great week!