Iterate: The Secret to Innovation in Schools

by Justin Reich

Innovate and implement new, effective ways of teaching in your school In The Secret to Innovation in Schools , veteran educator, MIT professor, and incorrigible innovator Justin Reich delivers an insightful bridge between contemporary educational research and classroom teaching, showing you how to leverage the cycle of experiment and experience to create a compelling and engaging learning environment. In the book, you'll learn how to employ a process of continuous improvement and tinkering to develop exciting new programs, activities, processes, and designs. The author draws on over two decades of experience with educators, education researchers, and school leaders to explain how to apply the latest advances in the academic literature to your school, classroom, or online/hybrid course. You'll also An invaluable strategic playbook for innovative teaching, The Secret to Innovation in Schools is perfect for PK-12 school and district leaders, teacher leaders, and educators.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2023

Reviews

[Leslie (updates on SG) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because I didn't think I would learn much, but I found myself making annotations throughout the book. Although the author mainly works with K-12 teachers, I think the strategies can be applied at the college level and even outside of education. The latter makes sense because some of the strategies are drawn from seemingly unrelated areas like mechanical engineering and business. Most useful for me were his discussions of Design Thinking, listening skills, and the applicability of "best practices." I also appreciated his strong encouragement for educators to design for atypical students.

[Wendy Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin Reich has written a very engaging how-to guide for teachers to kick-start changes in their classrooms, based on what he's learned through his teaching career and research at MIT's Teaching Systems Lab. Right from the introduction, his enthusiasm and humor shines through. The iterative steps outlined in the book are illustrated with cheerful drawings and explained with real-world examples of things that have and haven't worked in the past, making it very clear and approachable. The idea is that teaching improves through classroom teachers sharing ideas and making small changes, then adjusting depending on what works and what doesn't; that's a lot less scary than imagining you have to do some huge new thing and get all of it right on the first try. It's a great book to read and refer back to for practical how-to advice and for inspiration; while reading it, I was already thinking of teaching tweaks I wanted to try. (I received a print copy as a gift. I'm hoping it'll come out as an audiobook read by the author.)

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a "how to" book for schools with instructions on how to innovate whether one is a teacher, administrator, community member, or student. Take small steps in the beginning, evaluate where you are, and then cut your losses or build on your wins - spiral upwards until you achieve your goals. It's written in the first person so you can identify the author as a skilled person ready to help. Instructions are clear, but the colorful illustrations help to reinforce the learnings. Although the author gives some examples along the way to illustrate points, I think there should have been more to focus on the point at issue. Hopefully enough teachers and administrators read this book in order to make a real difference in our educational system.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very accessible and practical guide to use design cycles in educational settings. I am already passing on strategies, like the Left-hand Column Case reflection for difficult conversations, to my team.