Kickstarting Change
As I've gone into teachers' classrooms, I've very rarely given direct "Do this" kind of coaching. In fact, the phrases that I've heard myself saying over and over again are, "What if you..." or "Wouldn't it be cool if...." Although I don't do it intentionally, I feel like this kind of language leads to opening up more possibilities, without implying what they're doing is wrong or bad and without making their heads spin with overwhelming list of things they HAVE to do. These open-ended, "theoretical" questions lend themselves to teachers thinking outside their normal boundaries.
Some folks need a little hand-holding to step out into the great unknown though. There is definitely an element of fear involved. In this case, a great way to start is with something that literally guarantees success. For example, maybe it's starting at the bottom of the SAMR model, just having kids use the drawing tools in the Notes app on an iPad as a digital whiteboard. There's no way to screw this up. It just works. If people can find success in microscopic change, they are much more willing to consider another step down the path.
One of my favorite PD sessions I ever did didn't relate to technology specifically. It was at the end of the year, called "Making Next Year Better." One question I posed during this session was, (as it relates to education), "If you were bold, what would you do differently next year?" I'll never forget someone saying "I wouldn't move on until the kids got it." Everyone else went, "Ooooh, yeah..." I think this forced them to think about why they weren't doing this in the first place and what could be done about it. What if....
I'm trying to apply this same thinking to my own practice as well. I was recently asked to justify the cost of a program I've been heavily involved with. This forced me to ask some hard questions about what is working, what isn't, what could be eliminated while still retaining the essence of the program, and how I might completely reimagine it as the most meaningful iteration of it. I already know some pieces that have long been frustrating to people,
but we're not sure of better ways. Whether the funding changes the program is still yet to be determined, but this has given me a kickstart to re-evaluate what we're doing and why it's not working. This kind of question is of great value in a classroom setting as well. What just isn't working? So many times (at least in my classroom), I knew that I didn't like the way some things happened, but I didn't take action often enough to actually brainstorm other possible ways. So often I find that when you start doing something one way, it's really hard to break out of that mold. Open-ended questions like these force bigger thinking.
Another change kickstarter is change itself. Too often, we bemoan the change and the loss of valuable things (both of which may be justified). However, change (whether we wanted it or not) often provides room for doing something we couldn't do before. One of the things that was not initially in my job description was "laser cutter trainer and operator," but it has landed on my plate. In brief, with grant funding, we purchased a laser cutter for the district, for use by our Industrial Tech classes. They will create the designs in their shops on the computers there, and send me the design to etch/cut at the district office. Initially, I was a little put off with this arrangement, because I wasn't sure how much of my time I wanted to spend cutting all this stuff in the back warehouse at DO. However, as it turns out, it's been a lot of fun to learn a brand new software and tool for making stuff! It's given me a different creative outlet I didn't know I needed, and allowed me to inspire a new set of teachers to break out of their mold and make new things.
Change prompts us to stretch our brain muscles and be more creative. Our brains want to take the easiest route, but that often means we're missing better things. Think bigger and keep asking What if....
In what ways to do you kickstart change in your personal practice and your work with other teachers?
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| Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash |
Some folks need a little hand-holding to step out into the great unknown though. There is definitely an element of fear involved. In this case, a great way to start is with something that literally guarantees success. For example, maybe it's starting at the bottom of the SAMR model, just having kids use the drawing tools in the Notes app on an iPad as a digital whiteboard. There's no way to screw this up. It just works. If people can find success in microscopic change, they are much more willing to consider another step down the path.
Thinking outside the box
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| Photo by Leisy Vidal on Unsplash |
I'm trying to apply this same thinking to my own practice as well. I was recently asked to justify the cost of a program I've been heavily involved with. This forced me to ask some hard questions about what is working, what isn't, what could be eliminated while still retaining the essence of the program, and how I might completely reimagine it as the most meaningful iteration of it. I already know some pieces that have long been frustrating to people,
but we're not sure of better ways. Whether the funding changes the program is still yet to be determined, but this has given me a kickstart to re-evaluate what we're doing and why it's not working. This kind of question is of great value in a classroom setting as well. What just isn't working? So many times (at least in my classroom), I knew that I didn't like the way some things happened, but I didn't take action often enough to actually brainstorm other possible ways. So often I find that when you start doing something one way, it's really hard to break out of that mold. Open-ended questions like these force bigger thinking.
Take change as an opportunity
Another change kickstarter is change itself. Too often, we bemoan the change and the loss of valuable things (both of which may be justified). However, change (whether we wanted it or not) often provides room for doing something we couldn't do before. One of the things that was not initially in my job description was "laser cutter trainer and operator," but it has landed on my plate. In brief, with grant funding, we purchased a laser cutter for the district, for use by our Industrial Tech classes. They will create the designs in their shops on the computers there, and send me the design to etch/cut at the district office. Initially, I was a little put off with this arrangement, because I wasn't sure how much of my time I wanted to spend cutting all this stuff in the back warehouse at DO. However, as it turns out, it's been a lot of fun to learn a brand new software and tool for making stuff! It's given me a different creative outlet I didn't know I needed, and allowed me to inspire a new set of teachers to break out of their mold and make new things.
Change prompts us to stretch our brain muscles and be more creative. Our brains want to take the easiest route, but that often means we're missing better things. Think bigger and keep asking What if....
In what ways to do you kickstart change in your personal practice and your work with other teachers?
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