Changes...Ch. 1 of #IMMOOC

Change is HARD!

Right? I mean if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But also, as the old saying goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

After reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 of The Innovator's Mindset for #IMMOOC, I've decided to address blog prompt number 2:

“Change is an opportunity to do something amazing.”  How are you embracing change to spur innovation in your own context?

This year is my 5th year of teaching overall and my 3rd year teaching 4th grade at the same elementary school I attended as a student. I couldn't have been more excited about teaching in my hometown and at my childhood elementary school. It is a Title 1, K-6 elementary school in a small rural area with a total student population around 800. Just over 50% of these students are free & reduced lunch.

I was excited not only to teach in my hometown, but also because I learned during the interview that the school had adopted Google Apps for Education and was beginning to roll out their 1:1 technology plan. I was pumped to learn about all the new and exciting things that are now going on at school that I was going to get to be a part of as a teacher.

However, that excitement quickly diminished as I got in and set up my new classroom and the school year started. That is when I realized, nothing, NOTHING, about the school has changed since I was a student there 20 or so years ago! Well, except for the fact that the 6th grade was now departmentalized instead of setup like a traditional elementary classroom and maybe the paint color on the walls.

(Ok, to be fair there are some amazing teachers here in our school building and there was and still are some pockets of innovation going on. But overall my initial feeling when I arrived was that our successful little school had become happy in the complacent little bubble it was in and completely unaware of the changes going on around it.)

Fast forward to now, I can say that changes are slowly happening. I am embracing change with the use of the technology that we now have at our school. And although technology isn't a synonym of innovation, just as George mentions, "Technology can be crucial in the development of innovative organization." 

With the use of technology, I am really trying to be mindful and rethink traditional ways of teaching. Constantly questioning what I do and why I do it to help inspire innovation. 

Some more specific examples of how I feel like I am embracing change to spur innovation include:

• The use of a Google Doc as my classroom agenda. Instead of a traditional write in book, students have an doc saved to their Chromebook that they use to see what assignments & activities that we did in class. This doc is shared w/ parents, links are added to digital assignments, and absent students know to look at if to see what they missed.
• I volunteered to be a member of my school's FLI team. A group of teacher leaders with a representative from each grade level which meets with our administration to focus on improving our school. This has given me more of a voice to challenge the status quo and ask thought provoking questions about what we are doing in our classrooms. 
• I have connected and collaborated with teachers through Twitter to help design learning experiences and realizing that through this medium, I can always learn something new and better.
• Ultimately I am trying to make sure to think differently. I've been told that teachers traditionally end up teaching the way they were taught. I am trying my hardest to not do this, cause for the most part the way I was taught doesn't fit with what students and school need in 2017.  

As I wrap this up, I immediately noticed that most of the ways I "spur on innovation" is though my way of thinking and to try and influence others to do the same. I know this thinking will lead to more action, changes,  and opportunities to do amazing things. I am once again excited to be apart of the innovation that is beginning to happen at my school.

I would love to have your feedback by leaving a comment below or connect with me on Twitter @SEANJFAHEY