Less is More: #IMMOOC Week 5.2

less is more

I am a person who typically wants to do everything. Read all of the books, attend all the trainings, and try all of the new tools – do it all! As a result, I frequently find myself overwhelmed trying to do all of these things at a high level. It’s just not realistic. You can even see from my first blog post, I had difficulty limiting my goals for the year. I was able to narrow it down to five new things I plan to incorporate, but even that may be stretching myself thin.

It was this quote that really reminded me why less is more:

“In all aspects of education, what we learn is not as important as what we create from what we learn.” -George Couros

I can read all of the education books in the world and take every course offered. But if I’m not going to do something with what I learned, then what is the purpose? I need to make a point to only take on new learning opportunities if I am willing and able to make the time to create something from them. I need to give myself permission to say no to some opportunities if I know the plate is already full. It’s ok to choose just a few new ideas and really dive deep, instead of barely skimming the surface of many. This will be better for me, and as a result better for my students.

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  1. I just love this!! We need to consume for sure, but not to the point where it prevents us from creating! Learn, find inspiration and then create! This is a great reminder for me, too! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

  2. So true! I treat my learning like a passion project. Narrow in on a topic and read, blog, take a class until I have a deep understanding. Along the way I collect other books and classes on my “to do” list that I will get to next. I’ve spent the last 6 months studying growth mindset, intrinsic motivation, innovation and genius hour. My next

    1. …step is quality feedback. Anyway, good for you! Give yourself some credit too. Your flipgrid work is awesome and the experience you are giving your kids in band this year is an awesome creation!

  3. So what will your plan be going forward? I’m thinking I might choose ONE thing per semester to really focus on by doing research, trying, assessing, reflecting, and repeat. That will all depend on what course(s) I end up teaching.

    1. One thing per semester is a good plan. I have a couple projects that are underway at school right now, so they will continue, the trick will be not adding anything new yet! The problem is on top of that I am also trying to do this IMMOOC, a grad class, and the Innovative Teaching Academy 🙂 I am not allowing myself to sign-up for anything else until I have completed all of these!

  4. I have this same struggle. This chapter really hit home when I realized I am not only overwhelming myself at times, but I am overwhelming the people I set out to help. So thankful for this reflection opportunity. Good luck on your journey!

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