Innovator's Mindset by George Couros (Part 4: Task)

Unleashing Talent	Driving Question(s)?	Your Answers
Strengths – Based Leadership	Do I know and build upon the strengths of those I serve?	I do take the time to learn and build upon the strengths of the learners in my room.
Powerful Learning First, Technology Second	Are we embracing new (and better) learning, and making decisions based on supporting these new realities?	I feel that I could improve on embracing new and better learning.  I try to embrace new learning ideas, but find myself falling back on tried and true methods. I have taken two classes this year on ways to bring new technologies into the classroom, but I have implemented only a couple of the ideas in my class and I don’t use them to their full potential. So, realistically, I must also improve on making decisions to support these new realities.
Less Is More	What are the few purposeful areas that we are focused on? How might we align our resources to support ongoing learning and development in these areas?	I am planning to focus of two technologies for the upcoming school year – Seesaw and Twitter. I am currently working on utilizing a digital portfolio program.  I use it now, but would like to take the time to learn more and begin using more of its options for next year. I am on Twitter, but I am a Twitter browser and not a Tweeter.
Embracing an Open Culture	How do we share openly and regularly to further our own learning and development?	This is an area that I feel I am on track. I take continuing education classes often (on my own and with other teachers) and attempt to implement the things I learn in my classroom.  I am always eager to hear ideas from others.  I collaborate with the other grade level teacher in my building to develop our weekly lesson plans. I meet with the teachers in my building weekly and belong to several groups that generate ideas.
Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences for Educators	Do our professional learning opportunities mirror the learning we want to create for our students?	I believe that some of the seminars I have attended do attempt to mirror the learning we want to create.  There is a lot of role play interaction where we are hoping to gain insight on how we can best serve the students.  The presenters at most of the staff development events I have attended recently seem to make an effort to limit the amount of lecture and impress the importance of keeping the learners engaged.  I feel that many of the learning opportunities I have had were working on making connections and relating to real world experiences. I have seen a change over the years in professional learning environments to reflect the desire to mirror what we want to create.