The Why, What & How
Trying to explain from the heart and appeal to the heart instead of the mind can sometimes be challenging. Luckily, I have been listening to Simon Sinek: ‘Start with Why’ which has given me great starting points. Going back to my innovation proposal, my why is simple: inspiring SpEd students to do things out of their comfort zone can increase social, emotional, and cognitive ability. We must focus more on what can help them advance, what they should focus on, etc. Hence we have to start with us educators teaching the content first.
Influencer Strategy (A+B)
Influencing change to the hearts instead of the minds is thinking of a larger group instead of specific such as Sped or Gen Ed. I feel we traditionally target the mind over the heart because we tend to pay more attention to what people think rather than what they feel. Parts A & B of my influencer strategy list the vital behaviors and the six sources of influence we will need to influence change in the learning community.
4DX Plan
Change is not something that is implemented easily in SpEd classrooms. Students get so used to routines that they start to memorize them, and teachers get so used to the routine that it is hard to stray away from them. Although change is not expected much in SpEd classes, it is always needed. Using the 4-Disciplines-of-Execution-Summary will better assist me in creating my plan. My 4DX Plan also utilizes Covey, McChesney, and Huling's (2012) 5 stages of change steps to ensure all educators are on the right path to not only the change but also being consistent.
References
Mathew Bardwell. (2010, November 10). Friedman’s Theory of Differentiated Leadership Made Simple [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgdcljNV-Ew
McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York, NY: Free Press.