Being in education, I’ve experienced a lot of “change”, whether I believe it to be good, or bad. Many times, it was a feeling of, “moving my cheese”. In developing change in my district through my innovation project, I must remember what was learned through Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk on ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’ and begin inside his “circle” with the WHY. Connecting with the heart first, the audience’s emotions, will allow them to see my “why” and what I believe. Effective change will develop when the audience believes what you believe, then the how and the what easily follow. Building that sense of urgency will allow the audience to understand the importance of the change and be more receptive and willing to follow through. If your audience doesn’t fully believe in what you’re selling, they will not be on board, and change will not be successful. I’ve discovered that being direct and truthful with the importance of change, my true “why”, I’ve been able to steer others in the direction I wanted to lead to.
In my innovation project, my audience, students, teachers, administration, and parents must be convinced to believe that ePortfolios will give our students necessary skills needed to become successful in their futures. By doing this, they’ll be more motivated and driven to change. Most of our students don’t get the same opportunities that many other students get in our city. With the lack of support and motivation, our students are already at a huge disadvantage. We need to provide them the chance to learn how to create a way to showcase their learning, creativity and growth that will help them become successful in their futures. Through developing my own ePortfolio and sharing examples developed by children, I believe I can make this happen. Showing them results, successes, and the doors it can open for our students will be what gets them on board. Getting them to understand why we must start this change as soon as possible, to allow our students to develop these important skills such as reflecting on their own learning, will make the “moving of their cheese” a more positive experience for all.
Why: We believe that every student deserves the opportunity to be prepared for their future by developing their learning through student-centered, engaging challenges and innovative activities that spark their imaginations to drive their learning.
How: Create authentic learning opportunities that allow students to discover, explore and reflect on their own learning journeys through choice, high interest, and personalization.
What: We empower students by gaining skills needed to be successful in the future through reflective and personalized learning developed by ePortfolios.
Kotter, J. [Dr. John Kotter]. (2011, March 23). The heart of change [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NKti9MyAAw
Kotter, J. [Dr. John Kotter]. (2013, August 15). Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI
Dream, Believe, Inspire 