Panelists: Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, Alya Gavins, Philipp Schmidt, Jose Vilson
Questions/topicsHow does open differ from transparent? Innovation How to encourage openness? Intentional-What do educators do that is intentional? Are unintended consequences important? Talking back Openness and standards | Reflections/Notes/LearningOpen is willing to listen, to collaborate, and to share. Transparent assumes no barriers and no filters. Connotations of openness include
Connotations of transparency include
Either concept leads to innovation, or the act of innovating. To innovate is an important skill to have. While it resides on the edges, perhaps the bleeding edge, the issue is how to move it into schools. Innovation is an elusive term. Creative types are thought to have this, however innovation is taking an idea and remix it. Encouraging openness is understanding change dynamics and systemness. It is also knowing how to influence the human condition, how to address the stress of teachers, and how to encourage risk. Being open creates a sense of risk, and many educators are not comfortable in this context. Mistakes are afraid to be made. When the perceived consequence of a mistake is a reprimand, no educator wants to make a mistakes because mistakes aren't allowed in the classroom. Inviting folks into the classroom is a risk. What someone else sees a mistake I make? What if kids are off task? What if the lesson doesn't go as planned? What if the kids don't perform? I would pose a counter question. Aren't these constraints always in place? Being open is taking a risk and being okay with it. How to encourage openness? Invite risk taking and make it okay. Stop asking for permission to do and just do. Create safe conversations around new methods and support its implementation. @chrislehmann-A word that I am both hearing and using much more often lately that I want to unpack more deeply - "Intentional." #educon Intentional educator activities
Unintended consequences - positive and negative - are just as important to the learning process. Reflection is key to determining the worth of these consequences. Reflection brings clarity to unintended results. Jose Vilson mentioned talking back. To be open is to create a dialogue about what's important in education taking advantage captive audiences. Educators may feel, "Who is going to listen to me? What do I have to say that is so important?" (change of voice) I felt this way when I deeply immersed myself in Twitter, social networking, and conference presentations. It was a tough feeling to get over. As I continued to share I realized others were listening. How did I know? I knew it when I started gaining followers on Twitter, Google +, Learnist, Pinterest, and other venues. Checking my site and blog analytics proves people are reading or watching what I'm saying and creating. (change of voice) It's imperative for us, educators, talk back, not in a negative sense. Realizing the power of our voice creates a platform for others to join us in sharing our narrative. Openness and standards can exist in the same sphere. Accountability to the larger community of educators is one lens. Another lens is the school and admin lens. A third lens is the teacher to teacher. Being open in these communities invites others to look in, not to find fault, but to bring clarity to the work of educators. Instead of being accountable to self, place yourself squarely in the open of different ecosystems inviting conversation about how well students are mastering the standards. |
