Find Your Innovative Mindset Practice

We’ve all heard about a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset. By now we should have a pretty good understanding of the difference between these two concepts. But how can we bring an innovative mindset to our classrooms and why is this important?

Individuals with an innovative mindset are always looking forward and leaving the past in the past. That sounds kind of nice! They are also super creative and collaborative and love the process of making mistakes and trying again. 

Growth mindset individuals also love a challenge and aren’t afraid of failure. They view their own personal talents and intelligence as an ever evolving set of gifts that with practice will grow over time. Consider the research supporting 10,000 hours by Malcom Gladwell necessary to become an expert on a certain skill. 

The largest difference between the two mindsets is the curiosity into what is coming up right around the corner. The future matters to people with an innovative mindset, and we as educators need to set our students up to practice working towards this mindset. 

“But how?” you ask? By following closely the ISTE  standards for students.  ISTE stands for International Society for Technology in Education. These standards provide solid guidelines and a common language for technology integration.  

The following ISTE standards for students can help you move your students toward a more innovative mindset. Each of the standards below are linked to a short YouTube Playlist that demonstrates these standards during implementation. You will notice that student choice is a recurring theme throughout these videos.

• Empowered Learner
• Digital Citizen
• Knowledge Constructor
• Innovative Designer
• Computational Thinker
• Creative Communicator
• Global Collaborator

The easiest way to increase opportunities for an Innovative Mindset in your classroom is to design lessons that are project based, require collaboration and incorporate student choice. This path will ensure that you are moving in the right direction for our students and their required skills for their future.