George Couros' The Innovator's Mindset

 Overview of the Book

I recently finished reading The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros. I've followed the author on Twitter for years and watched him speak at a TIES Conference a few years ago, and I was drawn to his messages about mindset and the teacher's role in the classroom. This man knows what he is talking about and has worn many hats in the world of education. He has worked as a teacher kindergarten through 12th grade, been a district technology facilitator, been an administrator at the school and district levels, and has been traveling the world speeching about innovation as well student learning and engagement. Along with Innovator's Mindset, he's authored two other books. The book is organized into 14 chapters broken into four parts. Each chapter is about 15 pages, begins with a personal story, is filled with inspirational quotes, shares techniques and suggestions for teachers, offers discussion questions, and lists all sources used in the chapter for further exploration. I found the book incredibly pleasant to read due to the conversational tone and scattered graphics and quotes. Although each chapter is filled with references to other works, they are often videos, blogs, articles, and websites; very few are academic or scholarly sources. 

Main Points

• Part 1: Innovation in Education
• This section breaks down what innovation is and (more importantly) isn't
• This section provides a definition of the innovator's mindset 
• This section breaks down the eight characteristics of an innovator's mindset
• Part 2: Laying the Groundwork
• This section emphasizes the importance of relationships in the classroom and the difference between a classroom teacher versus a school teacher
• This section breaks down the eight characteristics of the innovative leader
• This section explores the difference between engaging students versus empowering them
• This section compares school versus learning
  
• This section breaks down what should be seen in a classroom the provides an innovative learning environment
  
  
  
• Part Three: Unleashing Talent
• This section explores strengths-based learning including the benefits for both teachers and students in knowing their strengths compared to stressing weaknesses
• This section analyzes the role of technology in the classroom to engage and empower
• This section stresses the importance of less being more when it comes to options in the classroom and the importance of students using curiosity to innovate
• This section introduces the helpfulness of social media for teachers to network, learn from each other, and even ask for help
• This section reminds the reader to take time to learn, take risks, and grow as an educator
• Part Four: Concluding Thoughts
• This section reflects on what can where we are now (testing culture) compared to where we could be with some change in mindset
• This section reminds the reader to ask questions, take risks, and work to change to an innovator's mindset

What I liked

• I appreciated the stress on curiosity, asking questions, and empowering students to lead the learning
• I enjoyed the section on strengths-based learning since this is something I am familiar with and have grown a lot from
• I really liked all of the graphics created to illustrate the many lists in the book (like the ones included above)
• The concept of teaching to the whole child was new to me
  
• I appreciated the reminder to use social media, especially Twitter, to network with like-minded educators and those who are similar teaching assignments as me. 
• Most chapters included stories from educators sharing their experiences: the good, the bad, and the ugly. That made the book more relatable.
• The book is filled with quotes, and as a word-hoarder, this spoke to me. 

What are others saying about this book? 

• 4.21 stars on Goodreads.com with 2,125 reviews
• 4.7 stars on Amazon.com with 912 global ratings

Some of my favorite quotes from the book 

• "If students leave school less curious than when they started, we have failed them." p6
• "Any time teachers think differently about who they teach and how they teach, they can create better learning opportunities. Questioning what we do and why we do it is essential to innovation." p21
• "...the most important words in education are relationships, relationships, relationships. Without them, we have nothing." p69
• "Culture is developed by the expectations, interactions, and, ultimately, the relationships of the entire learning community." p75
• "Vision without execution is hallucination." -Thomas Edison p110
• "Creativity is where we start to think differently, and innovation is where creativity comes to life." p158
• "The success of a school should not only be measured by what students do when they are in the school but also by their impact on the world after they leave the school environment." p215