My innovation project has a special place in my heart. Throughout my time in the ADL masters program, I have planned and replanned many various components of the plan, both on my own and in collaboration with my peers, coworkers and participating facilitators. So far, I have developed and revised the core content of my program multiple times as well as developed many implementation resources to ensure that the program is as successful as possible. As seen below, I have linked the various components of my innovation project as well as the other assignments and planning documents I have utilized in my program’s development.
Much of what I stated in my Call to Action video still states true. The main difference now compared to when I first designed this video is that the program targets all post-secondary school options now, not specifically just colleges.
Since the creation of my proposal marketed to two school districts in my area, I have gained acceptance to run the program at two various campuses, one middle and one high school, and have collaborated with those educators so that the format and content of my program best suits them and their classes.
The implementation of my program is probably what has changed the most since my program’s inception. Due to various hurdles and my unique situation, I have not begun to work with students directly yet. However, the research and course collaboration components have been completed and we are anxiously awaiting January 2024 to begin running the program full time.
The original Innovation Plan features my innovation project components as I had initially intended to run the program.
My Action Research Plan page includes my second literature review focused on the implementation of ePortfolios for students focused on pursuing post-secondary school.
When it came to Implementing CSLE, I knew that the information I learned would be essential to improving my innovation project. I wanted to ensure that my students would have the most optimal learning environment I could provide for them to own their learning and pursue their passions beyond secondary school. Thus, the materials I developed on this page were instrumental to that.
Beyond the students, I knew it would be critical to get the educators I was working with on board with my message and goal. The work I developed in Alternative Learning was instrumental to approaching these educators with a clear plan and showcasing my goals but also proving my flexibility and willingness to work with them to best serve their classes.
More recently, I had the opportunity to publish an article based on some of my work done with my innovation project, and it has been through my Digital Communication and Collaboration work that I have really gotten more into marketing my program. After my pilot runs, I will continue to develop materials similar to these to get my ideas and work out to the public.
My innovation project really developed to a deeper level through my Organizational Change work. Here, I explored influencer strategies and the implementation of 4dx which ultimately has helped me both at my work as well as with the educators I am working with through the facilitation of my pilot program.
As stated previously, we are about to embark on the pilot run of my program in January 2024, which is Phase 3 according to my implementation outline. This would mean that we are awaiting the completion of Phases 3-6, which I know will fly by. Up to this point, I have made and collaborated with my participating educators on the content and delivery methods of this program to each of their classes, so all that is left will be to run the first pilot program and go from there. At the conclusion of the first pilot program, we will take feedforward from all participants and stake holders and adjust accordingly prior to the second version of this program in Phase 6.
I feel like the creation, revision, and implementation of my innovation project thus far has been the most rewarding and educational project I have developed probably ever. From developing my growth mindset and understanding what it means to “own one’s own learning” (Harapnuik, 2018) through significant learning environments , to focusing my own mission and passing it along to others, I have gained valuable knowledge and skills that will be applicable through the continuation of this project and various innovation projects I decide to pursue in the future.
As far as lessons learned goes, I feel that a lot of the initial vision of my program went well and the marketing that I have done for it so far. Additionally, I feel like I have done a good job of collaborating with others and using their perspectives to make updates and modifications to my plan. It has made the program all the more adaptable and achievable for interested students and schools. If I had to change anything, I wish that I could have more time strictly to work on this program. It is something that I am truly passionate about, however, with everything going on in life, it can be hard to prioritize it. Hopefully after the pilot and secondary program, I will have time to dedicate more deliberately to the program and look into potentially getting it patented.
As far as the future of the QUICK program goes, I hope to have a couple good initial pilots and then I aim to patent my work, in addition to getting my research published. Additionally, I will continue to market it through my own personal ePortfolio and social media accounts developed specifically for the program. Eventually, I aim to work with various students and schools across the state to bring these resources to as many students as possible in hopes of helping them along their path to the future.
References (on-going)
Duckworth, A. (2013). Grit: the power of passion and perseverance. Retrieve fro: https://youtu.be/H14bBuluwB8
Fink, L. D., PhD. (n.d.). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3042999-dt-content-rid-30108308_1/courses/13583.201810/Self-Directed%20Guide%20to%20Course%20Design%20-%20Fink%20Summary.pdf
Garman, Rod. (2013). Snapshots: 5 Principles of Effective PD. Retrieved from https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/Snapshots_ND13.pdf
Gulamhussein, Allison. (2013). Teaching the Teacher – Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes
Accountability. National School Boards Association Center for Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/
Godin, S. [TEDxYouth]. (2012, October 16). Stop stealing dreams [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpbONjV1Jc
Gregory, A., & Huang, F. L. (2013). It takes a village: The Effects of 10th Grade College-Going Expectations of students, parents, and teachers four years later. American Journal of Community Psychology, 52(1–2), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-013-9575-5
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change, Second Edition. McGraw Hill Professional.
Harapnuik, D. (2015, August 15). Connecting the dots vs. collecting the dots [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=85XpexQy68g
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). COVA: Choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning (0.9) [eBook]. Creative Commons License.
Hayhurst, C. (2022, October 6). More of Today’s Parent-Teacher Meetings are Happening Virtually. Technology Solutions That Drive Education. https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2022/10/more-todays-parent-teacher-meetings-are-happening-virtually
Horn, M. B., Staker, H., & Christensen, C. M. (2014). Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. Wiley.
Learning Philosophy – Learner’s Mindset. . … (n.d.). https://tilisathibodeaux.com/wordpress/?page_id=1539
Llc, E. F. (n.d.). Roger Schank on Invisible Learning. Education Futures. https://educationfutures.com/blog/post/roger-schank-invisible-learning
Lparsons. (2022, August 9). Parents’ involvement in college applications | Harvard Summer School. Harvard Summer School. https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/how-involved-should-parents-be-in-high-school-student-college-applications-and-admissions/
McChesney, C., Covey, S., Huling, J., Thele, S., & Walker, B. (2021). The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals. Simon and Schuster.
Productivity Game. (2017, July 18). THE 4 DISCIPLINES OF EXECUTION by C. McChesney, S. Covey, and J. Huling [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HKn49r3-Ko
Tate, A. S. (2022, August 20). College admissions are stressful enough. Parents, don’t make it worse. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2022/08/18/making-college-admissions-less-stressful/
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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