#IMMOOC Wk 2 Reflections - The Innovator's Mindset

Innovation is all around us.  I'm a former science teacher, and I love to run pseudo-scientific investigations on myself.  This week, I decided to try an "innovative" product - Active Charcoal Toothpaste.  It is definitely new; I've never seen it on the market before.  So, if nothing else, it's new to me.  It claims to be better by both reducing bad breath and removing stains.  I drink a TON of coffee, so I thought, what the heck.  Let's not take their word for it - Try It!

Claims of better remain to be seen.  But early results are promising.  And I never would have learned any of this had I not taken a chance to try something new.  In schools, there are definitely ideas that claim to be innovative.  As leaders, we have to ask ourselves a few questions:

• Is this "thing" really newer and better for students and staff?
• Have I set a stage that allows for teachers and students to take a risk and try something new without fear of evaluative consequences?
• Have I considered, really thought about, how this new thing will affect the students and best teachers?  Who might be made uncomfortable with the change?  (From my other current read, Todd Whitaker's What Great Principals Do Differently)
• What is the anticipated impact on student and teacher learning?  What is the anticipated impact on the school?
• How am I going to share the journey of trying this new thing?

When a decision is made to make a change, we should also be sure to give that change enough time so we can observe and really determine it's effectiveness, and not brush it off as a flavor of the month.  This requires resilience on the part of the school leader, the teachers, and the students.  We have to have resilience in the face of early stumbles, and be reflective enough to try different iterations until we find one that works.  Or find that we have enough data to decide it doesn't work, and cut it loose.

I also get cautious when I find myself calling for resilience or grit.  We should promote resilience in the face of tough problems that need attention.  Real stuck points.  Not because of poor planning or poor tasks assigned.  We need students and teachers that embrace the mindset that allows them to create their content together and learn together.  I want a school where, as the leader, I would want to be both a teacher AND a student.