Disruptive Innovation: A Cure

The use of technology has changed and evolved every year. As teachers, we are introduced to newer technologies, but especially new administrative tasks to tackle. It is our instinct to personalize education and create lessons that all students with all abilities will learn from. I think the majority of teachers have participated in this movement their whole career. We used overhead projectors, document cameras, clickers, laptops, desktops and moved on to use programs, apps, and now learning management system. However, schools are not adopting new technologies or strategies if they don't have to.

If there are no visible signs or symptoms of an illness, then it must be emotional. I have experienced a "worksheet-a-day" school culture that praised lecture with little to no active learning. Scores were always good enough, but something was wrong. Students were whiny, irritable, found the lessons so predicable that they knew how turn it in within the first 15 minutes. Teachers struggled to keep students focus and engaged. Poor attendance and failure rates were embarrassing and it made it difficult to build relationships with students. I feel the urgency for a cure. A cure that makes everyone want to be emotionally present and invested.

The cure is disruptive innovation. It is the necessary attempt to differentiate lessons by creating an individualized menu or curriculum to close learning gaps. What distinguishes disruptive innovation from having just simply having technology present in the classroom is being able to create an environment where kids can choose what works for them and teachers use their knowledge (data) of their students to create active lessons involving technology. Disruptive innovation is also offering students different platforms to produce their work such as, projects, proposals, demonstration. This includes being able to apply their technology to research, watch, draw, write, listen, and create their products. I found all these components in a problem/project-based program called New Tech. Teachers facilitated and students created a plan on how to complete a project. Teachers used technology to scaffold their lessons. This is where blended learning would best fit. When teaching in this program, I felt like I was changing the world and students loved being at school.

I would like to propose a plan that demonstrates that blended learning and project-based learning can help increase engagement, improve class culture, and help earn a distinguished evaluation.

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