#InnovateInsideTheBox Book Study (Starting September 15, 2019)

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Katie Novak and I are really excited to announce the #InnovateInsideTheBox book study, starting September 15, 2019, over on Facebook.  This book study will go over a 4 week period and is an opportunity to not only dig in deeper into the content of the book with Katie and me but will also be a space for people to share ideas and learn from one another as we focus on creating opportunities for purposeful learning for every one of our learners.  This book study is one that you can do at your own pace, but also will encourage participants to create multiple means of representation in sharing their learning through the process. To be a part of this, simply do the following:

  1. Get a copy of “Innovate Inside the Box” if you do not already have one.
  2. Join the open Facebook group for the book study.
  3. Comment on this welcome post to introduce yourself.

Although we are “formally” starting the process on September 15, 2019, we are going to give some prompts and facilitate some conversations before the “official” beginning so please feel free to join any time. 

Here is the tentative reading schedule for the process:

September 15 – September 21 – Read the Foreword until Chapter 2

September 22 – September 28 – Chapters 3 and 4

September 29 – October 5 – Chapters 5 – 10

October 6 – October 12 – Chapters 11 -14

In addition to participating in the Facebook discussion, we encourage participants to create one post per week (video, audio recording, written post, visual, or anything else) in their own space to share their learning back to the Facebook group.  For me, my blog is a great space to create this learning as it allows for multiple ways to embed different mediums, but you might also be able to create this on a Twitter, Instagram account, or other sites. The focus is that we want this experience to be one where we create a community but also dive deeper into our own reflective process to deepen learning while modeling different mediums.

If you do not have a Facebook account, you can follow along with the “Innovate Inside the Box” for the weekly prompts. 

Although Katie and I will be keeping to a schedule of when we share, we want all participants to go at a pace that works for them.  We know that every single month in the school year is extremely busy and we appreciate people taking the time to join. This is your experience so you make it what you want!

We look forward to working through this process! It is my first time using Facebook for a book study so hopefully, it is a good experience for all!  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in the book study!

Part II: The 8 Characteristics of the Innovator’s Mindset

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Branching out from the two core circles we discussed in chapter 2,  you will see that we have added the 8 characteristics which we have found to be true of those who have an innovator’s mindset. In this graphic, you will see the following strengths:

  • Empathetic
  • Problem Finders/Solvers
  • Risk Takers
  • Networked
  • Observant
  • Creators
  • Resilient
  • Reflective

In this section, you will read about stories of students, educators and people who embody each of these strengths. Each chapter is dedicated to a different strength, starting with empathy. You will hear about how these strengths are related to UDL and you will learn new ideas for applying opportunities to get your learners to represent and develop these strengths!

Chapter 14: You Are the Core

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How would people feel if they got to see the beautiful stories about your classroom and what you do with your learners every single day? In this final chapter, we hope that you take the time to think about “your compelling reason.”

Further Reading

Further Viewing

Questions for Discussion

  1. What has challenged you?
  2. What has been reaffirmed?
  3. What will you do moving forward?

Take some time to reflect, either privately or publicly, on these questions. The most important question of these three is the last. We would love to hear what you will do to move to action.

Chapter 13: Lead from Where You Are

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Change can be hard and we have to make the choice to change. In this chapter, you will learn more about the importance of moving forward and how building relationships and understanding the journey ahead will help us as we move forward.

Further Reading

Questions for Discussion

  1. Identify one moment that you significantly changed your direction, personally or professionally. What happened and what change did you make because of it? Take the time to reflect and consider sharing it with colleagues.
  2. What is the “story” of your classroom, school, or organization? What is the one you can tell, and what is the one you want to tell?
  3. What are some of the “traditional” barriers to innovation in education, and how can you leverage them to create new and better opportunities for the learners you serve?

Part III: Taking Ownership Over the Process of Learning

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Your story matters, not just to you, but to your entire learning network! While this book works to connect all of the core ideas of an innovator’s mindset to UDL, we hope that you see that everything is connected to the relationships we build and foster. The final two chapters are about you and what you will choose to do with the information you have gained from Innovate Inside the Box. As you read these last two chapters, we encourage you to keep the following in mind:

  • What influence do you have on yourself?
  • What influence do you have on others?
  • Working in education is difficult and you are valued for doing it
  • You are an important part of this process

In the introduction to section three, we offer the image to the right as a transition because expert learning builds upon equity and promotes empowerment. This visual shows just that, for a more in-depth explanation of the image, see this link.

Chapter 12: Reflection

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Have you ever had that moment when you realize exactly what you should have done or exactly what you should have said, just way after the fact? That is reflection and it helps us better prepare ourselves for the next time a similar situation arises. In this chapter, you will gain strategies that will help you and your learners “reflect and connect.”

Further Reading

Further Viewing

Questions for Discussion

  1. What do you feel guilty about as a teacher? Reflect on that and consider how to move forward. Make a plan!
  2. Consider every class period a process of “choose-do-review.” How will students be accountable for meaningful reflection
  3. In what types of assessments could you “highlight mistakes” to prompt student reflection?

Chapter 11: Resilient

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What is the difference between failing and failure? How do we practice failing and work towards resiliency? In this chapter, you will explore ways to build a mindset of resiliency within your learning community and take away opportunities to try this out with your learners!

Further Reading

Further Viewing

Questions for Discussion

  1. What concrete strategies can you implement in your learning environment as you provide multiple means of engagement to increase student motivation and help them to embrace their why?
  2. How will you incorporate more discussions on the importance of failing and “bouncing forward” with students while activating their background knowledge of coping strategies?
  3. Students need models of resilience, yet many adults don’t acknowledge setbacks as opportunities for growth. How can encouraging student feedback about our teaching highlight our own struggles and help us to model resilience?

Chapter 10: Creators

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This chapter is more than just a tribute to George’s man crush on Ryan Gosling (seriously though, check out this link for a Google search to see just how serious this crush is). Read this chapter to learn more about how to provide opportunities for your learners to “meaningfully create” instead of just creating for the purpose of being a creator or instead of being solely a consumer. You will gain ideas to use today in your classroom to help your learners demonstrate what they know in non-traditional formats.

Further Reading

Further Viewing

Questions for Discussion

  1. How can you adapt an upcoming assessment into an opportunity for students to create an authentic product? Remember to provide approximately five choices or less to inspire them.
  2. How can you help students to comprehend that creativity can be learned by teaching them four strategies for building creativity?
  3. How will you take action and promote creativity in your classroom using multiple means of action and expression?

Chapter 9: Observant

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With so much information and many opportunities to learn, how do we focus on being observant? How do we design learning opportunities that empower our learners without being overwhelmed with the amount of information available? In this chapter, you will learn strategizes that will help you slow down, listen, find great information and make deep connections.

Further Reading

Further Viewing

Questions for Discussion

  1. How will you allow students to co-design a lesson with you using their powers of observation?
  2. Try the vocabulary activity yourself! Observe the world around you today and identify five words that you’re unsure of. What are they? Share them with us at #InnovateInsideTheBox or with a group of your peers/colleagues.
  3. How can you empower your students to build their powers of observation to identify resources that will help them meet their goals?