Thoughts and reflections on teaching and learning – Cohort 21 Member Blog
Written by Garth Nichols
I am walking throughout my neighbourhood more than I ever have. It allows me to think, to pause, and I often stop to smell the flowers – literally – and to see what books my neighbours have put out on the lawn. There have been some real gems! I’ve added to my Seth Godin library […]
Written by Garth Nichols
As school’s wrap up the student experiences of their Remote Learning Plans, there is much to reflect upon. How have students survived, thrived or not? How have students learned more about themselves as learners, and how do we know? The same can be asked of our organizations. This week, during the CIS Ontario Remote Learning […]
Written by Garth Nichols
I’ve been curious about what some of us have referred to as “The Cohort Effect”. Those under the Cohort Effect report changes in behaviour as it pertains to risk-taking and increases in emotion as they pertain to a sense of belonging and vulnerability. In fact, the most complete diagnosis of the Cohort Effect was witnessed […]
Written by Garth Nichols
The Monday versus Someday dilemma: If we plan for a great, ambitious goal to happen in two, maybe three, or even five years, we can forget about getting started. If we implement new initiatives every Monday without a vision for what it will look like in two, maybe three, or even five years, we lose […]
Written by Garth Nichols
Clayton Christensen, in his latest book “Competing Against Luck”, puts innovation under the microscope. Like all things under a microscope, minutiae is revealed, studied and made clearer. He frames his book as an answer to below: Is innovation truly a crapshoot? Or is innovation difficult because we don’t know what causes it to succeed? You […]
Written by Garth Nichols
George Couros is a Canadian educational leader, who is also prolific social media contributor. He espouses innovation in education, and through his posts has created a sea change in the way people are talking about education, and its future. This is a book that coalesces these thoughts, and adds in some excellent examples of innovation. […]
Written by Garth Nichols
What does “Student Voice” look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like? The answers aren’t always comfortable – sometimes these answer can be downright problematic. And sometimes not. If I’ve learned one thing over the last two weeks, it’s that student voice is the thread that keeps the culture of the […]
Written by Garth Nichols
Many of us have already been exposed to the concepts behind Creating Cultures of Thinking; with my new start at Havergal, it has served as a great reminder of the moral imperative of education. Creating Cultures of Thinking, by Ron Ritchhart outlines the 8 forces “we must master to truly transform our schools”. These are: […]
Written by Garth Nichols
How Might We…make innovation a routine in our school, for our student and for our faculty? This is a question that I’ve tried to tackle in my work with The Teacher’s Guild. And it is a burning question that this book picks up on in a very concrete way. You would read this book to: […]
Written by Garth Nichols
Revisiting Creating Innovators 4 years after it was published was both inspiring and reassuring. Indeed, this book continues to be a call to action for all involved in the education realm: parents, students, teachers and administration. I highly recommend this book as a read (or reread if you haven’t read it in a while) because: – […]
