Educators: Innovators or Researchers?

Do you consider yourself an innovator?
Do you consider yourself a researcher?

In my last post, I mentioned three conditions that are necessary for educators to embrace innovation:

• Educators must claim their role as researchers, because research is the foundation of innovation.
• Educators must refocus on the basics of solid lesson design, because increasing impact drives innovation.
• Leaders must expect transparent innovation from everyone, because innovation loves company.

I want to expand on all three in separate posts.  First, teachers need to recognize and honor their role as researchers.  The research cycle happens so quickly in a classroom that it often goes unnoticed, especially by the teacher him/herself. Here's what it looks like in slow motion:

Step 1 - The teacher is curious as to why a group of students did/thought _________.  
     Perhaps a group of students performed beyond expectations; or maybe a group did poorly.
     No matter what, the teacher is curious about performance and how to improve it.
     Innovation starts with curiosity.
Step 2 - The teacher gathers some background knowledge.
     The teacher talks to the students about their performance.
     The teacher talks to other teachers (including online PLC's) or does some reading.
Step 3 - The teacher creates a hypothesis.
     The teachers makes a guess as to what will improve this group's achievement.
     This is where innovation starts to come into play.
Step 4 - The teacher tries something different with the students.
     This would be called an "application".   But there is no control group, because
     it would be unethical to withhold help from a group of students that could benefit.
Step 5 - Look at the results.
     The teacher takes a step back and assesses.  Was the hypothesis valid?
     Did the application work?  Or do we need to cycle back and try something else?
Step 6 - Report the results.
     Reflect with the students on what happened.  Reflect with other teachers, coaches, and
     leaders about what happened.  Blog online.
     No matter if it worked or not - help others learn!

A professional educator goes through this cycle every day, and sometimes even "mini cycles" several times within a lesson.  Constantly listening to students, making a guess, applying a new strategy, measuring the response, over and over.

When we talk about improving practice - making practice better - it is a result of research and reflection.
This is why I believe the most important professional development that educators do is the daily interaction they have with students.  Research, reflection, and innovation become the daily norm for educators who use their classroom as a laboratory to study students. Professional development is no longer a stand-alone event; it becomes the norm.  Those half-days or whole days once a month become a time to consult the experts or do some deeper analysis with colleagues.

And it doesn't stop there:
Teachers study students.
Principals study schools.
Superintendents study districts.

So if an educator says "I'm not an innovator" I would ask, "Are you a researcher?" because one flows from the other.