A Case For Collective Planning Time: Innovation

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The digital revolution and the advent of data processing through the internet defines the way we currently live.  Take a second and thank the inventor of computers.  Now appreciate the inventor of the internet.

"Who invented computers... who invented the internet?  Steve Jobs, Bill Gates?"

You should be embarrassed, you don't know who invented the internet?  The computer?!?!?

That's ok, you're not alone, and you shouldn't be embarrassed.  Asking for the sole inventor was a misleading and tricky question because there is not a single individual credited for each accomplishment.  The digital revolution is the result of GROUPS of people where credit is distributed.

You should care about the digital revolution not because of what resulted, but because of the process. You should care about the digital revolution because it outlines a successful process for innovation.

Identifying the necessary ingredients for innovation provides a case for collective teacher planning time.  As hardware, let's use The Innovators by Walter Isaacson.

Relevant Reading List #4: Academic Article Series

Emotional Arousal and Learning

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A unique occupation like teaching requires unconventional preparation.  The Relevant Reading Lists are a series of resources that when read together convey a similar message imperative to teaching.  The resources listed are not included in typical teacher preparation programs. The Pragmatic TV Teacher feels they should be.  Reading these will make you a better educator

Emotion has a central role in how and what we remember.  Incorporating small emotional cues during your lesson will help your students learn and retain content.  These resources are for educators looking for a small change to increase student learning.

 Nielson, Kristy A., and Mark Powless. "Positive and negative sources of emotional arousal enhance long-term word-list retention when induced as long as 30min after learning." Neurobiology of learning and memory 88.1 (2007): 40-47.

 Steidl, Stephan, Fathima Razik, and Adam K. Anderson. "Emotion enhanced retention of cognitive skill learning." Emotion 11.1 (2011): 12.

 Nielson, Kristy A., and William Lorber. "Enhanced post-learning memory consolidation is influenced by arousal predisposition and emotion regulation but not by stimulus valence or arousal." Neurobiology of learning and memory 92.1 (2009): 70-79.

Ancient Thinkers and Education

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Marcus Aurelius is known for his pragmatic advice and he is considered one of the most important stoics one can learn from.    His writings are a foundation for any young professional searching for their identity.  Meditations is a must read.

Stoics discuss a view of life that is admirable.  They are wise, thoughtful, and “selectively spoken”.  They value education and connectedness.  They live through a special lens of life: they define the “suck it up” lifestyle.  Grit and persistence are qualities each stoic strives to embody.

Stoicism has recently gained attention in the blogosphere.  We see Ryan Holliday address it frequently Shane Parish obsess over it constantly.  What can educators learn from ancient thinkers?

Relevant Reading List #3

The Brain and Learning

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A unique occupation like teaching requires unconventional preparation.  The Relevant Reading Lists are a series of books that when read together convey a similar message imperative to teaching.  The books listed are not included in typical teacher preparation programs. The Pragmatic TV Teacher feels they should be.  Reading these will make you a better educator.

Neuroeduction is an emerging field that combines educational psychology and cognitive science.  Research concerns itself with HOW the brain learns.  The Blank Slate, The Brain That Changes Itself, and Brain Rules are three resources to start you on your neuroeduation path.

These are three of the most important books I have ever read.

 Interested in others? Try Mariale Hardiman, Eric Jensen  or Howard Gardner. (I have not read all of the resources by each author)

Happiness=Success Part 2: Five ways to make your young teachers happy

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Exceptional young teachers are powerful educators.  They are ripe with genuine enthusiasm and primed to be innovative.  As leaders, we need to retain them.  An unrecognized, and seemingly obvious, factor that causes teachers to leave is their psychological well-being.  They feel unsuccessful.

The Pragmatic TV Teacher described Shawn Achor's views on happiness and its relation to success: happiness first, success second.  To keep young teachers, we need to focus on their happiness so they feel successful.  How do we make them (or anyone) happy?

Again we turn to the Happiness Advantage for help.

1. Encourage and Recognize
"I already do that!" you just yelled at the screen "Each month at our faculty meeting I tell the group that they are doing a GREAT job!"

Encourage young teachers personally.  Specifically address one of their concerns.  Deliberately recognize them for something and be sincere with your body language.  Being recognized is an under-utilized motivational tactic.  A quick comment of recognition makes your subordinate happy.

Happiness = Success: Retaining Young Teachers part 1

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Teacher dropout is attributed to a variety of things: low pay, stressful conditions, teacher mandates, and lack of support are often mentioned.

An overlooked cause of burnout is the psychological well-being of young teachers.  In other words, exceptional teachers leave because they are unhappy.

(More on how to recognize and retain young teachers here.)