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My Professional Reflections Blog

Adventures in EdTech, Student Agency, Inquiry, and Coaching.

Books I'm Reading

2/22/2018

3 Comments

 
I'll admit, I am not really much of a reader.

It is hard for me to get into a book, especially during the school year. In the summer I might get through a book or two, when I am really feeling like I have time to relax while travelling.

This being said, a number of teaching pedagogy books have caught my eye recently, and I have been extremely motivated to read. I ordered 4 books at the beginning of February and I am already finished 3.5 of them!

Most of the books which caught my interest are published by Dave Burgess Consulting.
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First I read Innovator's Mindset by George Couros. 
I have so many pencil marks in this book... whoever reads my copy next will definitely know what caught my eye! Though I felt like much of this book was worded for leadership empowering  their teachers, I couldn't help but constantly make the connection of how teachers could (should?) be running their classrooms to empower their students. Give people room and they will grow. Empower them to make decisions and run with their innovations and iterations. Couros consistently stresses that innovation is not necessarily technology, but is anything that is both new and better, which we should always be striving to provide for our students. I have leant this out to another colleague but already feel the need to re-read/refer to the book as there was so much content in it which I was interested in.

As soon as I finished, I was excited to dig in to Empower by A.J. Juliani and John Spencer.
I read this book in less than 24 hours. I was incredibly hooked with the message and simplicity of this book. The launch cycle it provides for innovation and empowerment is definitely something I would like to be more aware of in my strive to provide a student-led classroom. Launch is another book they have written, which is on my list!

Then I read Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess himself (the owner of the publishing/consulting company). I will be honest, this one did not feed my interest as much. I ended up skimming the last 3/4 of the book because I felt that he was more focused on entertaining his high school students than providing them with independence, leadership, and agency. He fully admits this in the foreword of the next book I read, which I did find to be redeeming after the book wasn't what I wanted it to be.

I am now currently reading Learn Like A Pirate by Paul Solarz. THIS is much more up my alley. I am only a few chapters in, but can already tell that his passions and interests are more suited to what I want in my classroom. I am feeling the need to take this one a bit slower. Not for a lack of interest, but because I want to digest his suggestions and really let them sink in.

I have an ever-growing list now that I've been inspired to read about pedagogy! 
Launch
Kids Deserve It
Shift This
Social Leadia
The Power of Inquiry
Dive into Inquiry
Inquiry Mindset
Lifelong Kindergarten
​Learner Centered Innovation

Anything else do add? Particularly to do with inquiry and student-led classrooms promoting agency?
3 Comments
Paul Solarz link
2/24/2018 06:27:10 am

Hey Cindy -

Really appreciative of you reading our books! Also, thank you for taking time to blog about your thoughts on them. I look forward to reading your future posts! :)

- Paul

Reply
Adam Hill link
4/4/2018 02:15:51 pm

Hi Cindy,

This is a great list of books. I'm pleased that you're enjoying them. I have also read most (but not all) of the books in your "upcoming" list. I'm sure they won't disappoint.

I felt the same way about Teach Like a PIRATE. After enjoying 'Learn' and 'Lead' so much (another recommendation for you), I was excited to read the one that started the whole series. There are some things I love about it, but it left a sour taste in my mouth because it was very teacher-driven. I felt like it should have been called Lecture Like a PIRATE, because it seemed to place the author centre stage in performances rather than the student-led learning that I'm more interested in and more familiar with. Some great ideas though (I regularly refer to the book for hook ideas). I also love being connected to Dave on Twitter. I was disappointed by his book but he's still an edu hero for me because of all that he does online and the other amazing books that he has published.

Happy reading!

Adam

Reply
Cindy Kaardal link
4/5/2018 07:08:26 am

Thanks, Adam!

I completely agree with everything you have said. I definitely respect Dave as a teacher, leader, publisher, etc, etc! And as I said in my post, I was grateful that in Learn Like a Pirate he fully admitted to not having a student-led classroom. Lecture Like a Pirate may be a good re-name! haha.

I am excited that these books are out there, and have sparked my interest in reading!

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    Cindy Kaardal

    ​Passionate PYP Educator and EdTech Integration Coach in South Korea.

    Former PYP Coordinator and Head of Computing Curriculum/ICT.

    Apple Distinguished Educator 2019, Google Educator L2, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Book Creator and Seesaw Ambassador.


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