Connecting and Communicating my Innovation Plan
While pursuing my Master's in Applied Digital Technology at Lamar University, I was given the opportunity to develop an innovative plan for blended learning in my district's teacher training program. Knowing that this project was something that my team and I had been interested in implementing for a while, I was excited to get guidance on applying this initiative through my coursework. This plan will provide our new teachers with the time and resources they need to receive support in to be successful and effective in the classroom. The plan that I am proposing is still a work in progress however, I feel that it has the potential to be a great breakthrough that our new teachers in our district are desperately craving.
After narrowing down what I felt was important for our new teacher program and seeing the needs of the teachers, I decided to develop a plan to pilot a blended learning platform in our new teacher academy. I constructed a proposal for my director of academics and teaching and learning team to bring them on board. My ask was for them to help me pilot the creation and culture of this plan for the new school year. To back up my proposal, I did lots of research on blended learning and its benefits and effects on learning. This was important to ensure the effectiveness of my approach. As a result, I completed a comprehensive Literature Review that expressed the positive impact of blended learning on learner achievements and engagement. The literature review gave me the incite and knowledge to better prepare my reasoning behind why this innovation would be so beneficial to our district. My director was excited for this project to take off and permitted the pilot of the program this next school year.
Following receiving approval, the next step in my journey was to create an implementation outline to help myself and the teaching and learning team set achievable goals for the initiative. The outline highlights the implementation of development, assessment, and feedback over the next 24 months. Anticipating setbacks with any new initiative, I’ve allocated time for adjustments based on data and feedback during implementation. This ensures I stay on track and continually monitor program progress.
After creating momentum and excitement for my project, I made a motivational video to encourage others to join our blended learning plan. I hoped to gain buy-in from the teaching and learning team and the meteors that provide support to our new teachers year after year. Their support and motivation have made me even more excited to start planning for the upcoming year.
Embarking on this educational journey and aligning it with the things I value in my daily work life has turned into a passion project for me. After collaborating with my learning community and gaining knowledge about numerous new strategies that I can incorporate into my instruction and teaching, I created a reflection for this course. I know I am in the early stages of this work but the outcome at the end will be so impactful to new teachers in the years to come. My learning community has inspired me to look at perspectives of others in the way they implement blended learning. We have worked well as a team and I am excited to see where the road takes us with the courses in the future. There are many resources that I have used to guide me on my way throughout this learning process. As a lifelong learner, I believe these books will enrich my understanding of positive learning environments. They’ll empower me to embrace the growth mindset and prepare for innovation, creating a collaborative and creative space for my learners whether they are teachers or students. On this journey, I’ll keep reading and expanding my knowledge.
After narrowing down what I felt was important for our new teacher program and seeing the needs of the teachers, I decided to develop a plan to pilot a blended learning platform in our new teacher academy. I constructed a proposal for my director of academics and teaching and learning team to bring them on board. My ask was for them to help me pilot the creation and culture of this plan for the new school year. To back up my proposal, I did lots of research on blended learning and its benefits and effects on learning. This was important to ensure the effectiveness of my approach. As a result, I completed a comprehensive Literature Review that expressed the positive impact of blended learning on learner achievements and engagement. The literature review gave me the incite and knowledge to better prepare my reasoning behind why this innovation would be so beneficial to our district. My director was excited for this project to take off and permitted the pilot of the program this next school year.
Following receiving approval, the next step in my journey was to create an implementation outline to help myself and the teaching and learning team set achievable goals for the initiative. The outline highlights the implementation of development, assessment, and feedback over the next 24 months. Anticipating setbacks with any new initiative, I’ve allocated time for adjustments based on data and feedback during implementation. This ensures I stay on track and continually monitor program progress.
After creating momentum and excitement for my project, I made a motivational video to encourage others to join our blended learning plan. I hoped to gain buy-in from the teaching and learning team and the meteors that provide support to our new teachers year after year. Their support and motivation have made me even more excited to start planning for the upcoming year.
Embarking on this educational journey and aligning it with the things I value in my daily work life has turned into a passion project for me. After collaborating with my learning community and gaining knowledge about numerous new strategies that I can incorporate into my instruction and teaching, I created a reflection for this course. I know I am in the early stages of this work but the outcome at the end will be so impactful to new teachers in the years to come. My learning community has inspired me to look at perspectives of others in the way they implement blended learning. We have worked well as a team and I am excited to see where the road takes us with the courses in the future. There are many resources that I have used to guide me on my way throughout this learning process. As a lifelong learner, I believe these books will enrich my understanding of positive learning environments. They’ll empower me to embrace the growth mindset and prepare for innovation, creating a collaborative and creative space for my learners whether they are teachers or students. On this journey, I’ll keep reading and expanding my knowledge.
Books I have read:
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Books that I would like to read:
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works- As an instructional coach, we have been implementing strategies within this series of books that have really shaped our coaching program. I would love to dive into the technology edition and see how it can help us implement new strategies especially in our new teacher program.
Vintage Innovation- The book shows that while technology changes rapidly, core educational strategies like critical thinking, collaboration, and fostering curiosity stay essential. By utilizing these "vintage" approaches, you can ensure your lessons are effective regardless of the latest tech trends. We still need to revolve full circle in our educational practice and connect the dots for the learners in this evolving teaching world.
The Innovator's Mindset-This book has been on my list for quite some time. Culture shift in mindset plays an important role in my daily work as an educator. I would love to gain some insight into shifting teachers' mindset for creativity and learning outside the norm of the common classroom.