Category: Teaching

blended learning, EDLD 5304 Leading Organizational Change, Innovation Plan, TeachingLeave a comment

Organizational Change NOW?!

Brent Mischnick

Why would I want to change what works? That is just one of the questions you might hear from teachers that do not believe that we need to change anything in the classroom. Most people avoid change because it is not easy and requires a lot of commitment. I have always been on the side that asks, “Is our current way of doing things the best we can do for our students?” During this course, I have come to the conclusion that there is so much more we can accomplish and change for our students. Change that will allow them … Continue reading Organizational Change NOW?!

blended learning, EDLD 5304 Leading Organizational Change, Innovation Plan, Teaching1 Comment

Conversations that Matter

Brent Mischnick

Dialogue is such a lost art in today’s world of technology, and yet is probably one of the most important skills needed to bring about change. My students have trouble with conversations on a daily basis, but so do I. Relegated to silence is one of my pastimes and now I see how flawed that strategy is to have productive, and crucial conversations. As I read the book Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high, I become more and more aware of all of the opportunities that have been lost over the years to make a meaningful and … Continue reading Conversations that Matter

EDLD 5304 Leading Organizational Change, Innovation Plan, My students, Teaching1 Comment

The 4DX Plan

Brent Mischnick

Change in education may be the most difficult change to make successfully. The day to day grind of teachers tends to overwhelm all attempts at real, organizational change. My school has been starting the process of becoming a Leader in Me school based around the 7 habits of highly effective people since last summer. This monumental change will require all hands on deck, but we may just get a little help from the 4 disciplines of execution along the way. At the annual Leader in Me Symposium in Dallas this past week, I was lucky enough to experience some of … Continue reading The 4DX Plan

EDLD 5304 Leading Organizational Change, Innovation Plan, Teaching2 Comments

Influence This!

Brent Mischnick

As I have reflected on my innovation plan repeatedly since its creation, I find myself trying to make the connection to influence and how that can help with implementation. I will be the first to admit that I am always a proponent for change in my classroom and beyond. This is definitely a bit larger in scope than any other previous changes that I have attempted though. In order to start this change process, I have to make sure to ‘notice the obvious’ as Harapnuik (2016) states. It is very common to look for the underlying issues, and forget to … Continue reading Influence This!

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2019…Let’s go!

Brent Mischnick

Happy New Year to everyone! I really cannot believe that I am writing this blog post in 2019. Every school year seems to go by quicker and quicker, and this one has gone into hyperdrive since I started my DLL journey. I just finished my fourth class in the Digital Learning and Leading program at Lamar University and I would not have it any other way. I have enjoyed every minute of my stressful, yet amazing start to this eighteen-month journey. I began by learning the intricacies of the growth mindset, which has changed so much of what I do … Continue reading 2019…Let’s go!

CSLE, EDLD 5313 Creating Significant Learning Environments, growth mindset, My students, Teaching1 Comment

Do You Have a Growth Mindset ‘yet’?

Brent Mischnick

Dweck’s (2007) book was a great introduction to the start of my journey in the DLL program back in August. It reminded me of the different ways my students may respond to being challenged in my classroom. As I began to reread the book, I almost thought for a minute that Dr. Dweck had been following me around and writing about students in my classroom. I noticed stories that reminded me of a few of my students this school year and how entrenched they are in a fixed mindset. I knew that the majority of my classroom is filled with … Continue reading Do You Have a Growth Mindset ‘yet’?

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Understanding by Design

Brent Mischnick

Learning focused is the best way to describe what I have just created. Being asked to use the UbD template has been an eye-opening experience, to say the least. It forced me to think backward and forget about task completion and focus on learning and growth. I did not know what to expect during this process, but I now know just how much I have focused on the completion of tasks in my classroom. The UbD template has given me the open door needed to start to change how my classroom and flow of learning continues.  Previously, I was asked … Continue reading Understanding by Design

3 Column table, CSLE, EDLD 5313 Creating Significant Learning Environments, Innovation Plan, Teaching2 Comments

My Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

Brent Mischnick

Over the course of the first three and a half classes in the Digital Learning and Leading program at Lamar University, I have found my classroom to be lacking in so many areas. First, I realized how fixed the mindset of my students and even I was at times. Then I realized just how narrow sighted I have been as I began to create my innovation plan. The more I learn, the more I want to learn about how to give my students the learning environments they deserve. During this course that focuses on creating significant learning environments for the … Continue reading My Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

CSLE, EDLD 5313 Creating Significant Learning Environments, Teaching1 Comment

How Do You Learn?

Brent Mischnick

Learning, what is it really? As I reflect on some of the ideas that I have going through my head right now, I wonder what direction I am going in? I have such a strong belief in learning and helping my students learn in many different ways, I wonder if I have been falling short by not really knowing my own personal learning philosophy. There are so many things to consider, but I have to understand the types of learning theories before I can help my guide, my students, learning. After a lot of research, I seem to find myself … Continue reading How Do You Learn?

CSLE, EDLD 5313 Creating Significant Learning Environments, growth mindset, Innovation Plan, My students, Teaching2 Comments

Creating Significant Learning Environments

Brent Mischnick

My classroom is a place of learning, but is it true learning at its best? After reading, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Brown & Thomas (2011), I have realized just how far away my students are from the new culture of learning that they require. How can I move my students into the mode of learning that they need to be successful in a technology-rich world? I believe that as a teacher, I have enormous control over if and when my students become curious and passionate about learning. As I … Continue reading Creating Significant Learning Environments