Skip to main content

10 Indicators You Are an Innovative Educator

The goal of most teachers is that their students would take responsibility for their own learning. How are students going to be able to do that if they never see it modeled?

That is why it is important for each teacher to be the lead learner in the classroom.  The teacher should be the model of what it means to be a "lifelong learner."  If the teacher is working from laminated lesson plans there is a problem.  That doesn't mean that you have to start from scratch every year.  What it does mean is that the teacher must always be looking for ways to improve.  This constant drive to improve, grow and innovate is key to successful teaching.  This is what all innovative educators do.

Would you consider yourself innovative?  Here are ten indicators that you are an innovative educator.

  1. After every less you ask, "What worked? What didn't work? Will I use this lesson again?  If so, can I make it better? If I am not going to use it again, why?"
  2. You are not afraid to ask others for help.
  3. You share your successes/failures with others.
  4. You use technology as a tool to extend learning and not just to take quizzes over books.
  5. You network with other teachers.
  6. You use the textbook as a resource and not the only source of information in the classroom.
  7. You ask questions that require thought and not just rote memorization.
  8. You see social media as a valuable tool for education and know that it is not inherently evil.
  9. You see multiple solutions for every problem and reinforce that thinking in your students.
  10. You know that just because you don't know how to do something doesn't mean you can't do it.  Possessing that knowledge means you are ready to do whatever it takes to learn how to get the job done.  

These are just a few of the things that set an innovative educator apart from everyone else.  Are you the kind of teacher that is unafraid to go off the path into unexplored territory or would you rather stay in the well traveled rut you are currently following?  I hope you are willing to be more innovative, take more chances.  Share those experiences with others.

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." (George Bernard Shaw)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do you need a Philosophy of Education?

When we first start out in education we often think that we know what we're doing. We think that we don't need any help and that everything that we need to know we learned in our education classes. It only takes about three days into the job to realize that our college education did not fully prepare us for every single student that we're going to face. It didn't truly prepare us for how we really should deliver a lesson when we have students on five different levels along with multiple types of disruptions. It didn't prepare us to handle all the routines, all the the daily tasks, all the decisions that we have to make.  This isn't intended to disparage any university program, but just an acknowledgement that there is now way for them to fully prepare you for every student and situation you will face.  Experience is the only true way to learn how to handle all of these different types of situations.  So how do we make up for that information gap? That is a chall...
1 comment
Read more

4 Tools for Creating Instruction Video

Many educators are plunging into creating digital resources as part of their districts plan to continue instruction while school facilities are closed for the remainder of the school year.  If you have not explored this before now, there are several options available to you in a variety of prices and skillset. The tools we suggest will be free or inexpensive and only focus on creating videos that you can share with students later.  There are options for live video conferencing and some of these tools are designed for that, but we are only focusing on video recording.  This type of learning model would best be classified as asynchronous because you are allowing students to work at different times.  This may be the best option since some of your students may have siblings and limited use of technology at their house. Before we get started, please check with your district to see if there are any restrictions on which tools you may use.  There is a possibility that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monday Minute for January 14

This morning I wanted to share a quit tip for those struggling integrate technology into the classroom.  It is very basic and should be the mantra of tech in your classroom. Don't let the technology drive the lesson. What I mean is the technology should not be what drives your lesson.  The content should always shine above the tech.  The content should always be your primary focus during instruction.  What do you want the students to learn?  How will you know they have learned it? The tech tool should be as ubiquitous as textbooks, pencil and paper and should be thought of in that manner.  After you decide what you are going to teach, next you decide which tool would be will help you to best accomplish that. PIXNIO So what if you are told you need to integrate technology into the classroom and you haven't really done much of that in the past?  Maybe you have a class set of devices you have been told you are going to use in your room and you are feeling...
Post a Comment
Read more