Mindset Matters
I love the start of a new school year: new school supplies, the nervous, smiling faces of incoming students, anxious parents cornering me to tell me all about their child. The beginning of any school year is a fresh start for everyone. Those first days are filled with students exploring and discovering all the new information around them. Students meet new classmates and form friendships and discover things they have in common with each other. They learn about the expectations and protocols for the new grade level. They learn about their new teacher. I love this time of year because my students get to learn about my likes and dislikes, and I get to start building relationships.
But before my students enter the classroom, I spend a lot of time in my head. I reflect on the previous year and make sure my mindset is ready for a new group of learners.
Mindset matters in all things, but especially in my classroom.
I want to share a specific IDEO mindset that helps ground me in student-centered learning and design thinking.
These Mindsets, developed by IDEO and behind their approach to creative problem solving, have taught me how to use design thinking to create innovative and impactful student learning experiences. This week, let’s examine creative confidence.
Creative Confidence
As David Kelley, founder of IDEO, explains, “creative confidence is the notion you have big ideas, and that you have the ability to act on them” (Kelley, 2013). There is no doubt that designing learning experiences is a big idea; much larger than following a prescribed lesson plan.
I believe that any educator can approach their pedagogy using human-centered design thinking. Teachers are problem solvers; all they need is a healthy dose of creative confidence! “Creative confidence is the belief that everyone is creative, and that creativity isn’t the capacity to draw or compose or sculpt, but a way of approaching the world” (Kelley, 2013).
Creative confidence is a quality that teachers can rely on when it comes to taking risks in the classroom and trusting their intuition even if they haven’t totally figured things out. It’s a bias toward action and self-efficacy: the belief that you can and will come up with creative solutions; you have the confidence that all it takes is rolling up your sleeves and diving in.
Educators struggle with taking pedagogical risks. We are inundated with new best practices, curricula, policies and protocols. Especially at the beginning of the year, the thought of trying a new idea in your classroom (e.g.: a new book club, classroom routine, incorporating technology) can sound daunting and overwhelming.
Consider teaching in beta mode.
This year, use your creative confidence to teach in beta mode. Having an iterative pedagogical practice allows you to use repetitions of a process with the goal of making improvements each time around. Your new book club doesn’t have to be perfect. Just try it out and see what happens! Treat each attempt like the first in a series of iterations. Take a step back and see what is working and what needs to be tweaked.
Don’t be afraid. Be bold and take smart risks because the result of not doing so is maintaining the status quo.
Questions to consider
What is one new thing or idea you could try this year?
How might you cultivate a classroom environment that inspires student curiosity and the courage to think, feel and act creatively?
How might you work with your grade-level team to define what creativity looks like, feels like, and means to your team?
How might you invite the sharing and celebration of wild ideas along with the mistakes that will come when trying them?
How might you develop more capacity to listen with open hearts and curious minds?
Creative Confidence Resource
Thanks for reading! Have a great week.
— Adrian
Next week: building empathy in your classroom.
This is an inspirational read as us, creatives, often lack confidence. And it's also a great mindset to instill in kids or students, whether in writing class or elsewhere -- something to ponder on more.