OLTD 509 had us looking at a variety of innovative ways of thinking: Emerging technology, Emerging Challenges, Emerging Pedagogies, and Sustainable Change. Initially I had envisioned the course being about cool new technology we could use with our students, which sounded fine, but not something that really gets me excited. I knew that the course was gamified, and that intrigued me because I’m always on the lookout for new techniques I can use to engage my students. This is the crux of my teaching interests - I want to know the reasoning behind the choices, and know that anything I’m employing works to help engage students and improve learning. In other words, I need to be able to connect any new ideas, new technology, and innovative solutions to challenges to my credo. As I continued through my studies, I came to realize that I was viewing the material through the filter of my experiences and my beliefs about the world: through my mental models. Reflecting on this framework can give me some insight into my reactions to innovations, as well as my reactions to the behaviours of others. Typically I am slow to jump on board with innovations. I like to have a solid belief in the reasons behind them, and to understand my reasoning enough to explain it, and indeed justify it, to others. This isn’t to suggest that I’m afraid of change - quite the contrary - it just means that I like to take my time with decision making, and to be sure of my choices before I move forward. These realizations had me start to question failed innovations that I have seen during my career, and ask what could have been done differently to increase the chances of success. I imagine that all educators have seen something inspired and exciting just fizzle out and lose momentum. Ultimately I have decided that the success of innovation - and indeed the likelihood of sustainable change - all comes down to leadership and the culture and community that leaders can cultivate. Policy makers and administration have to have the same clarity in their vision that teachers need to have in their assignments and lessons. What are the intended outcomes? What paths can you take to get there? What skills do you need to develop? How will we know when we have gotten there? What does success look like? Just as teachers need to ensure that students know how to use feedback in order to make improvements in their skills and knowledge, leaders need to ensure that teachers know how to make use of the services and supports available to them. There’s no point in spending time and money on support for staff through Pro-D if teachers don’t understand why it’s important and how it connects to something important to them. Just as we need to personalize learning for students, we need to personalize training and innovation for teachers. If we can’t connect, we won’t use it. And perhaps most importantly, leaders need to honour the shared values of the teaching community by taking the time to ensure that any innovations they bring forward fit with what teachers actually want (and that we all understand how it matches). As a student, I was that kid who was always asking why. As a teacher, I’m the same way. Why is this important to me? Why is this something I should invest time and effort in? Why is this better than another option? Leaders need to know the answers to these “whys” - which means they need to have analyzed them first. Here’s my recipe for sustainable success - the elements I think we should strive to include when we’re making decisions for pedagogical change. Reflection is really important for me as a learner. I need to be able to link new ideas to my existing understandings, and formulate them (usually in words or a graphic) in order to really have them stick. For my own learning purposes, I have created an annotated record of my journey through OLTD 509, highlighting my main leadership and culture takeaways from each step. I can picture myself using digital technologies to make a virtual tour through my learning journey in the future, but for now, here it is.
Thanks for humoring me as I take a walk down OLTD 509 memory lane, solidifying my understanding and raising some additional ideas for contemplation as I absorb, integrate, and articulate my learning.
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Leslie McCurrachEnthusiastic Learner. Avid Gardener. DL Teacher. Archives
March 2018
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