I want to tell you a story. During the mid 19th century the city of Chicago was in crisis. The elevation of the growing metropolis was not much higher than…
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People talk about Project-Based Learning all the time. I’ve heard WHY we should do it hundreds of times, but often we miss out on the HOW to do it. In…
Note: I’m running a free webinar on this topic where I dive into the strategies, research, and resources that can make innovation come alive in your classroom and school with…
A year ago at this time I had the idea for a different type of learning experience after listening to Seth Godin talk about his AltMBA program. Seth said that…
Let’s be honest. Being a teacher and school leader can be overwhelming. There is so much to do (not enough time), so much to learn (where do we even start),…
My colleague and I looked each other on Tuesday of this week. She had a look in her eyes of pure exhaustion. I could sense a call for help, but…
“We are a school on an audacious mission. And our ‘why’ drives the teaching and learning here at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School (MVPS),” said Bo Adams in a recent interview…
This has been a long time coming, but I am so excited to share my new podcast with all of you: Inside Innovation! Inside Innovation takes an “inside” look at…
I remember doing podcast projects with my students almost 10 years ago. They seemed to be all the rage at the time, and I jumped on board as a teacher…
“Our job, sometimes, is simply to be the spark, help build confidence, and then get out of the way. If innovation in any school is solely dependent upon one person,…
You are not average. Neither am I. Actually, no one is average. The assumption that metrics comparing us to an average—like developmental milestones, GPAs, personality assessments, standardized test results, and…
My daughter is in 2nd grade. She loves learning (seriously, she comes home every day excited about Flat Stanley, moving to multiplication, a piece of art she made, or something…
I was talking with a teacher in my school district yesterday who said, “I just don’t know if we should try this again in class. It seems like lots of…
There is a scene in the film, “Most Likely to Succeed”, that struck me to the core. You see, for years I wanted to be the challenging teacher. I wanted…
Building a New Model Together Let’s stop fighting change. Instead, let’s build on the best practices we’ve developed over centuries as learners, and embrace next practices that reflect our world….
Let’s be honest. Being a teacher and school leader can be overwhelming. There is so much to do (not enough time), so much to learn (where do we even start),…
Imagine you’ve been in education for 7, 11, 15 or even 25 years. In each of those years, you have grown as a professional, learned new technologies, shifted with the…
Let’s start with the beginning. I’m an idea guy. That is, I have a lot of ideas. As a teacher I would constantly improvise, come up with new projects, lesson…
Blended learning. Personalized learning. Individualized learning. Mass customized learning. Differentiated learning. Online learning. It seems we are obsessed with adding adjectives in front of the noun, learning. While I have…
Last year over 40,000 students and 450 schools from 5 continents participated in the very first Global Day of Design. The hashtag went viral as students and teachers shared and…
Yesterday I came across a story about Tracy Musser, a bus driver in Penn Manor school district. I couldn’t help but smile as I read about Tracy (who never liked…
My daughter lowered her eyes, looked at me, and said, “I can’t do it.” I looked back and asked her again to put one foot on the board, push off…
How do you move from “pockets of innovation” to a “culture of innovation”? How do we start to innovate inside of the box? What does innovation mean for education, and…
In their book, Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, call groups of people (from 20-150) tribes. Their basic argument…
I distinctly remembering learning how to type. It was hard. I had been a hunt and peck perfectionist up until age 14 when my school provided a computer course focused…
A few years ago a colleague of mine shared a slide deck with me that completely transformed my perspective on leadership and building culture. I was new to a leadership…
1. Learning starts with attention. It’s almost impossible to learn if you aren’t paying attention. And whatever you are giving attention has the ability to turn into learning. 2. Attention…
Have you heard of “The Innovator’s Mindset” MOOC, happening over a six week period? This awesome opportunity will begin on September 17, 2016 and finish at the end of October…
Architects design, master their craft while planning, and collaborate at a high level. Masons work in the moment, communicate and problem solve on the fly, and master their craft as…
In 1939 audiences around the United States were delighted when the black and white scenery of The Wizard of Oz completely transformed into full technicolor in the blink of an…
I recently wrote a post (ok, it was kind of a rant) about “innovation” in education and who get’s to decide what is innovative. The bottom line of my argument…
I was talking with a teacher in my school district yesterday who said, “I just don’t know if we should try this again in class. It seems like lots of…
While John Spencer and I were developing the LAUNCH Cycle, we came up with a few areas that were likely stumbling blocks in the creative (design-thinking inspired) process. One of…
After writing my post on “100 books every teacher should read” I received a number of emails about finding the time to read all of those books (without going broke…
Note: This is the final article in a four-part series answering the question, “Does education really need to change?“. You can read the first, second, and third posts here. It…
Note: I’m halfway through a series of blog posts answering the question, “Does education really need to change?” This is like a half-time post. It is hopefully an unexpected surprise!…
Note: This is the first post in a four-part series. You can read the second, third, and fourth articles in the series here. The year was 2007. I was a relatively…
Two years ago I launched “The Innovative Teaching Toolbox” as a free download for all of my email subscribers. You see, as an email subscriber you get my best articles…
You ever have one of those moments where you wonder what you are doing with your life? I mean, at the very least, you are like me and have had…
“Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It’s about seeing things in a new way. When people…change to a growth mindset, they change from…
Michael Port shares a story (in his book) about a donkey, an old man, and a boy: An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The…
This is the third post in a three-part series on “Intentional Innovation.” Check out the other two posts here (#1 and #2). I know, I know. You’re saying, “AJ, why…
This is the first post in a three-part series on “Intentional Innovation”, specifically for education. Stay tuned for the second post, “The Intentional Innovation Manifesto” and the third post, “PLASMA:…
