I hope the comments work again. J pointed out there was no place for comments. I actually didn't notice. Blogger has been acting up on me in terms of video, formatting, followers(can't see them) and comments. But Blogger is still better than some other environments I've had to use.
I have been really enjoying the last succession of your posts about innovation. I think you are really on to something about working together, but also needed those quiet, alone moments to really reflect (yes I used the R word!). And this feeling of discomfort is crucial to educational growth.
ReplyDeleteMost of my ideas seem to come in the following order:
1. I am frustrated, uncertain, or disappointed about something in my own teaching practice.
2. I try to come up with a new idea or way to present an idea.
3. I read and/or talk to others about this idea and see what they think or feel about it. (What are their successes and failures in the same situation?)
4. Then I like to go for a run by the river at my house and let these ideas sift together for a while. Usually something great comes out of this time of being quiet and alone.
5. Implement something about this new idea in my classroom.
6. Repeat the steps above.
I love what Di Fleming (Director of Accelerated Knowledge Technologies Pty Ltd.) says about Imagination, Design, and Innovation. She says that incubation is a model of innovation. "So often, the place called school does not provide a place to think, explore and incubate ideas." She identifies incubators such as: colliding with the unfamiliar, collaboration with others, creating possibilities rather than just always solving problems, creating spaces and places for students.
I am not trying to teach here, I wanted to say that your blog is showing this idea of providing space and a place for incubation! Thanks!
I like those parameters for schools: think, explore, and incubate. That is a different model than teach, test, and regurgitate. The more we get ideas out in the public, like the ones you state from Di Fleming, the better chance that schools have of transforming into what we need them to be: places of divergence and creativity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these ideas.