Innovation and Education

If your teachers rarely fail...you are NOT 

innovating!

Every school I know says they are innovative, engaging and cutting edge.  But are they really?  How do you know?  If you are a parent shopping around for a school how can you tell?  What if you are an educator interviewing for a job at a school...would you know?  The truth is so many schools talk a big game about innovation, but the reality is that innovation means many things to many people.  There is no one definition of innovation in education.  It is more of a range really.  A great comparison would be to look at you internet connection at home.  All the ISP's (Internet Service Providers) promise a certain speed for you (25, 50, 75 mbps).  But do you know what you ACTUALLY get...half that if your lucky.   Many in fact don't even get half what they are promised.  But what can you do?  The answer is nothing.  Because ISP's level of service falls in a "range" of promised service (we offer 75mbps but your speed may differ).  But here is the truly weird part...ISP's will tell you what you are getting is actually good and oddly, we are ok with that.  We accept it as a fact of life we have to endure.  This is what I like to call "Default Thinking."  This is an automatically accepted response (habit one may say!) to a situation we either do not really understand or feel we cannot change in any way.  Educators often share this kind of thinking when it comes to innovation.  What can I do about it?  I'm just a classroom teacher!  It can be overwhelming.  So how can schools change this default pattern and actually be innovative on a consistent basis?  Here are a few steps that may help the process:

"Educators have to think about who they are hiring, where they came from and what they have done."

Hiring:  
It's all in who you hire!  Hiring the right person is more difficult than just reading a resume and taking the plunge.  Educators have to think about who they are hiring, where they came from and what they have done.  It should be a test of sorts.  Do your homework.  Are they on social media and what are they posting.  Having them teach a class is a prerequisite now.  Can they interact with the kids the way you want?  Any educator can shine it on for a single lesson with all the bells and whistles.  That is why doing your homework and digging into their references and social media posts is essential.  Don't just read the resume, research it.  Making the phone calls is only part of the process.  You have to ask the right questions.  Would you hire them again?  How were they innovative for you?  Examples?  If the recommendation doesn't sound enthusiastic, don't hire them.  Anyone in an HR role will tell you the headache that will cause down the road if it doesn't work out.  The important thing is to ask the questions you truly want the candidate to be.    The bottom line:  Can this candidate bring something you need to the table and are they worth your time and investment if you hire them?

"You want to project the right image with positive tones and let them know what the accepted and expected culture is in your institution."

Training:
You've got the job and the contract is signed...great!  Now what?  Training.  How are you going to initiate this educator into your system?  This is a critical moment for the new educator.  It's really like your first date!  You want to project the right image with positive tones and let them know what the accepted and expected culture is in your institution.  But this is not just for new faculty.  Those educators who have been there already are a big part of the process.  Mentoring programs are essential for this initiation and your experienced faculty need to be a partner in this endeavor.  Meeting often and collaborating on a myriad of topics will create an inclusive atmosphere.  Having admin participate puts more of an official stamp on this and sends the message that it is important and should be taken seriously.

Professional Development:
Professional development must be shaped towards the institutional goals of the school.  If you truly want your faculty to be more innovative with technology, you have to offer tailored training in that area.  Schools want to be great at everything, but that is just not very realistic.  Make you professional development time focused on a small set of priorities and your faculty will respond to that.  But having PD days set aside for this is simply not enough anymore.  Time must be built into the system for faculty to research, test and collaborate the PD they are trying to learn and implement.  Schools that have a TGP (Technology Growth Plan) in place, and the time for faculty to develop it,  are more likely to see vast improvements over time in technology integration.

"Having a growth plan tied to your evaluations is a key component to success with accountability."

Accountability versus Autonomy:
But offering professional development is not the only step institutions must take to ensure sustainable professional growth.  Accountability must be factored in to the equation.  What happens when an educators doesn't meet the goals/requirement of the administration.  This clash happens often and many schools are at a loss of what to do.  Are you really going to punish the "best" English teacher for not implementing technology in the classroom?  Having a growth plan tied to your evaluations is a key component to success with accountability.  Those that do not send a clear message to faculty that this is optional.  Optional in education usually equals little success!  Administrative support is a must.  Administrators who take the time to be involved in the process illustrate its importance and further enhance the schools cultural expectations.

"We often tell our students it is OK to fail, but teachers rarely get that message as well."

School Culture:
All of these factors help in creating a school culture that sets the tone for faculty and students alike.  I have said this many times, but if a school wants innovation then they have to realize that failure will be a common part of the process.  We often tell our students it is OK to fail, but teachers rarely get that message as well.  Innovation is a painful process and part of the schools culture must be the accepted idea that taking risks in our classrooms should be the norm and that failure is just another part of the process towards sustainable success and innovation.  Questions to consider:  Has your institution created such an environment where educators feel just as safe as students do in their failures?  If not, how can you change that?

"Are they teaching kids they way you were taught?  If so, what does that tell you?"

The race to innovation can never be won.  It is an endless journey with many hurdles between you and success and it is always changing.  Innovation in education can happen anywhere on any issue:  homework, class length, technology integration, quality over quantity curriculum (see my last post on Homework and the Curriculum Killers), classroom management and alternative assessments with project based learning and design thinking.  These, and many more like it, are all current efforts being scrutinized by quality educators.  For parents looking at schools, do your homework and define what you believe innovation looks like.  Does the school meet or exceed that definition?  Are they teaching kids they way you were taught?  If so, what does that tell you?  After all, your paying for it one way or another.  For educators, it is time to be honest with ourselves.  Innovation means change and change is painful and takes time to develop.  If you feel "comfortable" in your current teaching then chances are you are not there yet.  Innovation can occur daily and it should make you feel somewhat uncomfortable.  That is how we grow as professionals.  Stepping out of that comfort zone and into the unknown.  It is not the job of the administration to "make" you innovative.  We've all tried that and it failed miserably.  Educators can and should be leading from where they are.  Whether you are a kindergarten teacher or an AP teacher in a senior class, you have the chance to innovate and lead.  Be the change you wish to see in education!