Positive Outcomes with Innovator's Mindset Characteristics: The Process of Learn, Model, Practice, and Apply

Embodying George Couros's 8 Characteristics of the Innovator's Mindset can make us better leaders, teachers, and students. We cannot just learn empathy, problem finding (and solving), risk taking, networking, observing, creating, being resilient, and reflecting. We need to be able to apply these skills. We need our students to do the same. 

 When it comes to these 8 characteristics, the most positive and beneficial way to both incorporate and empower others to use them is through teaching, modeling, practicing with feedback, and applying to the world beyond the context in which it is learned.

EMPATHY: For others to understand empathy, it not only needs to be defined, but they need to see it. This can be done through videos and modeling. The more authentic and meaningful, the more engaged they will become.  Once understanding and sharing the feelings of another is learned and demonstrated, it needs to be practiced is a safe environment and in a context that is understood. Only then can it be applied beyond that. By truly embracing empathy, new viewpoints will allow for better outcomes.

PROBLEM FINDERS (and SOLVERS): The same steps can be taken: learn, demonstrate, practice, and apply. If we don't have people finding issues or obstacles to being more efficient and productive, it's harder to develop solutions to become better.

RISK TAKERS: While learn, demonstrate, practice, and apply are key, having a safe and supportive environment with a growth mindset will allow more motivation and freedom to take risks and learn from failure. 

NETWORK: We have to allow our teachers and students to collaborate, reflect, and deprivatize their practices with others (in and outside of their buildings). I do this through my state and national associations, but for the last three years, I have also learned so much from my Twitter contacts. One of the best networking tools was the Twitter Challenge by my colleague @MrDomagalski. It was so beneficial, I did it with my teachers. 

OBSERVANT: This is another characteristic that needs to be learned, demonstrated, practiced, and applied. Instead of recreating the wheel, we need to be innovative by making it better, more personalized, and meaningful. We do this through research, observation, and analysis. Why do you think more people go to YouTube to learn something? They are seeing and observing what they want to learn. 

CREATORS: To learn to be creative, we need to go beyond modeling. Sometimes this puts limits on others. Just because we do it a certain way, it's not the only way. I always want my teachers and students to come up with an even better, more creative way. When I don't put limitations, I always get better outcomes than I had even imagined. 

RESILIENT: Learning, modeling, practicing, and applying are key to becoming resilient. Fostering a growth mindset where failure is a part of the learning is an authentic practice of life. 

REFLECT: Reflective practices are one of the best core practices to learning. This practice also needs learned, demonstrated, practiced, and applied within and out of context. Meaningful learning grows from being reflective. This is even stronger when it is done within a network with similar interests and goals. 

The common process for all of these characteristics is that they need to be learned, modeled, practiced, and applied to truly be developed.  Having safe environment where risk taking and failure are not only accepted but expected will stimulate more motivation and growth for positive outcomes.  

Next Gen Teaching: A Quick Guide to the New School Year

Both the classroom and the instruction need to change to better engage and challenge our youth.

1) Take Risks: Model and demonstrate learning from failure, taking risks, and discovering the end verses starting with the end in mind. Check out Diana Laufenberg's "How to Learn? From Mistakes" Ted Talk where she explores experiential learning, student voice, and embracing failure. Read Dweck's Mindset book to understand a shift in mindset. We must be open to extending the learning beyond the classroom walls. We must teach our students to embrace challenges and to learn from failure. Start by modeling it.

2) Facilitate: Be more than the sage on the stage. Become a director of learning. Shift your practices to student-centered approaches. Check out this chart comparing teacher versus learner-centered practices. Largely based on Huba and Freed (2000), the following descriptors factored into the student-centered instructional practices variable in my dissertation study (Spickard, 2015):

• Students are able to apply the learning.
• Students receive feedback (preferably from multiple parties).
• Students become sophisticated knowers.
• Learning is interpersonal for the students. 
• Students are actively involved in their learning.
• Teachers also demonstrate that they are learners.
• Teachers coach students.
• Students understand characteristics of excellent work.
• Students integrate both general and subject-based skills.
• Teachers intertwine teaching and assessing. 

3) Create a Collaboratory: Shifting your classroom design is key to fostering the 4Cs: Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Critical Thinking. Check out this slide share for some ideas. A coffee shop/living room feel is a better alternative to the traditional rows. Traditional spaces will only lend itself to traditional practices. Here are some creative DYI projects for redesigning on a budget.

4) Ignite Passion: Students can only be as passionate and excited about teaching and learning as their teacher. Check out Christopher Emdin's Ted Talk on "Teach Teachers How to Create Magic." Student choice will help bring out the passion and "spark magic."

It's time. Now is the future. There is no more waiting. We need to take risks, facilitate learning, build a collaborative environment, and create passion.

Learning, Teaching, and Leading Like a Champion

As administrators, we have the power to be the beacons to our teachers and students.  As they journey to success, we can encourage them to grow, learn, and embrace mistakes. Success that comes easy doesn’t define our character as much as when it’s worked for, earned, and accomplished through trial and error.

In Carol Dweck’s Mindset (2006) book, she uses a sport’s perspective in Chapter 4 to demonstrate how mindset is applied to champions. The three “findings” that she highlights can be applied to all areas of life, especially leading, teaching, and learning. Our students, teachers, and leaders need to see themselves as the champions they are.

Finding 1: “Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving.” As teachers and leaders, we need to foster an environment where hard work is more rewarding than the success itself. In turn, success can be achieved by working hard and getting better.

Finding 2: “Those with growth mindset found setbacks motivating.” We need to teach and model that failure is not the end but a beginning to bettering ourselves by learning and evolving. To fail is only the First Attempt in Learning. It is not the outcome that defines us, but it is the journey that gets us there that does. The more challenge we overcome, the more learning that happens.

Finding 3: “People with the growth mindset in sports took charge of the processes that bring success--and that maintain it.” We need to teach and model how to use motivation and to take control of what can be done to get better. This means knowing that it’s OK to fail as long as we can learn from it and try again.

We are more than any outcome. We are an accumulation of all that is put into an outcome. Whether a good or bad outcome, each journey is an opportunity for growth and improvement. Taking risks is how progress is made. Taking the difficult road came be more rewarding. Creating safe environments where our students, teachers, and leaders can learn, fail, learn, repeat makes for better success in the end.

If we dig deep into the meaning of the word champion, we will see words like defender, protector, advocate. This is beyond the winner or victor definition of a champion. The previous descriptors are about making the world a better place. We can help our students learn like champions, our teachers teach like champions, and we can all lead like champions is we focus on others and the process to become better people.

This is a different mindset than the "winning" culture that has been created over the years. We have the power to change this. We can give our teachers and students safe environments to take risks, make mistakes, and learn--an environment that recognizes the journey and a growth mindset. We owe it to our profession. What are you doing to create this culture? Share it out and lead by example. #LeadPositive