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Katherine Coffey
Ed. Leadership 325
Mandy Froehlich
November 28, 2016
The Innovators Mindset Reflection
The Innovators Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of
Creativity is a book written by George Couros. Throughout the course of the book, Couros
examines what it means to have an innovators mindset, and how we can take the idea of
innovation and integrate it into our schools as educators. The Innovators Mindset is very well
written, as Couros uses a variety of ways to share his professional opinion and ideas on
innovation. The use of personal anecdotes, as well as relatable real-life comparisons, makes the
book easy to follow and understand. Overall, I personally enjoyed the book, and I learned a lot
about innovation and its importance for our education system and myself as a future educator.
One of the very first things that Couros addresses within his book is the definition of both
innovation and innovators mindset. According to Couros (2015), innovation is a way of
thinking that creates something new and better (p. 19). Couros puts emphasis on the fact that
innovation is an idea, not something that can be physically touched. He uses the example of
Starbucks to better explain his thinking. When Starbucks first opened, it was a coffee bean store,
which sold strictly coffee beans. Later on, Starbucks found a new and better, or more innovative
way, to sell their product: as actual cups of coffee. It was the idea of selling their coffee as actual
cups instead of beans that was innovative, not the actual cups themselves.
When it comes to having an innovators mindset, Couros (2015) states that it is the
belief that abilities, intelligence, and talents are developed so that they lead to the creation of

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new and better ideas (p. 34). When you have an innovators mindset, you are always trying to
find innovative ways to make things better. I think this is important, especially for teachers.
When teachers have an innovators mindset, they are able to better help their students to learn.
When a student is struggling to learn something, a teacher with a fixed mindset would just think
that the student is simply just bad at that subject, and that they will never be able to get it.
However, a teacher with an innovators mindset knows that they just havent found the way in
which the student will learn that subject best. With an innovators mindset, the teacher will try to
come up with new ways to teach the subject until they find the way in which the student is able
to learn. These ways dont always have to include technology either. It could simply be a new
way of presenting the material to the student, such as on a worksheet instead of in a book, or it
could be the type of assessment assigned to the student. While you may include technology in
some of these things, it is not necessary. I think that George Couros provides some really
important lessons within his book. The biggest takeaway for me as a future teacher was that we
need to have that innovators mindset, as it will help us to better help our students.
I believe that many of the activities that we have done over the semester in class can be
related back to The Innovators Mindset. Throughout the course of this semester, we have done
many different things, especially with technology, that I believe are innovative to the education
world. For example, I think that the use of Twitter as a way of connecting with other
professionals is an example of innovation. In the old days, one of the only ways you could
connect with other professionals in your field was by attending a conference and meeting them in
person. However, now with the creation of Twitter, you dont even have to leave your home in
order to meet other professionals. And often times, these professionals live in a different state,

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maybe even a different country, than your own. Twitter has allowed us to meet and connect with
so many new people, just through the internet and I think thats pretty innovative.
I also believe that The Innovators Mindset can be connected to one of the readings we
have done in class. The book Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out
the Maker in Every Student by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani talks about the different types of
learners that you may have in your class. Throughout the book, Spencer and Juliani discuss the
different types of learners, and how they best learn to their full potential. I believe this is related
to how teachers need to have an innovators mindset, because they will have to know how their
students learn and be able to teach the same material to each different type of learner in a way
that is best for them. With a fixed mindset, a teacher would not be able to do this. However, if
they keep an innovators mindset, they will be able to teach all of their students to their best
ability.
Through reading The Innovators Mindset by George Couros, my viewpoints on
innovation, teaching and learning, as well as technology in education, have changed. Prior to
reading this book, I did not have any idea about what innovation was. However, I now know that
it is a way of thinking, one that will especially help me to make sure my students are able to
learn to their fullest potential. When it comes to teaching and learning, I learned that there is not
one right way to do it. There are many different types of learners, as seen in the book Launch by
John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. Because there are so many different types of learners, there cannot
be one way of teaching. Each learner deserves to be taught in the way that is best for them. As
for technology in education, my views have greatly changed. Prior to reading this book, I didnt
really think that technology had a place in the classroom, except maybe for a video here and
there, and a PowerPoint presentation. Through reading The Innovators Mindset though, I learned

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that technology has a huge role in education. There are so many different types of technology
that can be used, and theres even more ways for each individual type of technology to be used.
The use of technology in the classroom is truly innovative. It allows students to present what
theyve learned in a variety of ways. It also allows students to work together on projects, and
even connect with students from other classes, in other schools, all around the world.
Overall, I think that The Innovators Mindset is a great book, with a ton of important
information and lessons to be learned. As a future teacher, it has taught me a lot, and I feel as if it
has also changed who I am going to be as a professional. I would highly recommend The
Innovators Mindset to any professional in the education world, as there is a lot to be learned
within these short, but full, 230 pages. The most important thing that I will be taking away from
this book, is that it will be very important for me to keep an innovators mindset for my students.
Without one, I will not be able to teach my students to their fullest potential, which is something
that each student deserves, regardless of learning style, or any other difference they may have.

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Work Cited
Couros, G. (2015). The Innovators Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a
Culture of Creativity. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.
Spencer, J. & Juliani, A.J. (2016). Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring
Out the Maker in Every Student. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.