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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

As we learned from Sinek (2009), not every organization knows ‘why’ they do what they do, and this is the reason why some succeed and others do not. In order to implement my Blended Learning innovation plan the proper way; I must remember my ‘why’. No matter what obstacles come up, I will always remember that my students are the biggest part of my ‘why’. I am attempting to contain my excitement after my principal agreed to support my innovation plan yesterday. The next step is to approach the district for final approval to pilot blended learning in my classroom …