James Clear writes a blog dedicated to making you more productive, procrastinate less etc etc great stuff of course! In one post he talks about the power of tiny gains as it applies to weightlifting - you know - add a small amount of weight each week and before you know it you are lifting WAY more than you thought you could a few weeks/months before.
How can we apply the same principle to teaching?
I see myself as learning ALL the time and I can't imagine ever being done, finished and know-everything-there-is-to-know about teaching and learning. Ridiculous right?! But sometimes, perhaps even unknowingly, we project to our students an air of complete mastery that leaves no room to model to them that we are still learning, that we are still growing and developing ideas. Too often teachers are not prepare to try and fail. I remember a story about a student asking the teacher if he knew the answer to a problem they were working on. The teacher said "I don't know". That changed everything. "Really?!" said the student? The relationship changed and they were learning and working together. Obviously the problem was worth doing!
Of course this applies especially to integrating technology. The possibilities to engage students are endless, but many teachers are happy to stay in a comfort zone that dates well back into last century. Our students today are not the same as we were growing up and they are not the students we were trained to teach or that our schools are designed for. We MUST stay relevant, both within our subject but even more importantly with the ideas that are driving great learning practices in the 21st Century, many of which are anchored by the emerging technologies which allow us to communicate, collaborate and create in new and exciting ways.
So back to 1% gains! Making a major shift in pedagogy takes time and may disrupt long-held and cherished beliefs about what works best in a classroom. I would say - don't change overnight! Mastery takes time. Ask yourself - what is one tiny thing I could change to embrace technology today or this week? Could I let my class take a picture of my notes from the board? How about posting the file on our LMS rather than printing it? Could I ask students what app they could use to show their understanding of a topic? Over time, making small steps will bring about a change of mind and heart.
Be a 1% better teacher every day by reflecting on and sharing your practice. The gains will be incremental but worth it to you and more importantly your students.