Treat Every Lesson Like an Experiment

I’m just going to put it out there. I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to making videos. For the last six weeks, I’ve been experimenting and trying things out. Every time I get ready to publish a video, these fears swirl around my mind. What if it’s not good enough? What if people don’t like it?

But I continue to make videos because I’m convinced that the only way I will improve on my craft is by making more videos. See, I believe in a philosophy of beta. No, not the crappy old video tapes we had in the 80’s. I’m thinking more along the lines of beta releases in software platforms.

It’s the idea that you release your work in beta, knowing that it’s not perfect and perhaps it’s not even very good at all. However, you’re going to send it to an audience so that they can see it, experience it, and play around with it to let you know what you should do to improve it. This feedback leads to self-reflection, where you ultimately change your design and then release a new version. As you move through multiple iterations, you eventually reach a place where your work is pretty good. Eventually, it’s great. But you never stop creating those iterations. You always experiment.

This same philosophy works in teaching. When you take on a “beta mindset,” you are willing to take creative risks. You know that a lesson might work. It might tank. But it’s always an experiment. Through tons of tiny iterations, your lessons grow more and more innovative.

The beta mindset says “I’m not going to wait until I know it’s perfect. I’m going to try this out even though I’m nervous about how it’s going to work. Because ultimately this experimentation is how I figure out what works.”

But it also means you are listening to your students. You are open to their feedback. You might pull students aside for conferences or you might create student surveys to see what elements were successful. This feedback is what fuels your self-reflection as you redesign your lessons and “release to beta” again.

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Six Reasons to Experiment

Here are some of the benefits I’ve seen when I observe teachers who take on the beta mindset and continually experiment:

1. When they model creative risk-taking, they create a classroom climate and culture where students aren’t afraid to take positive risks.
2. When they solicit student feedback, they are more humble and approachable. Students are more empowered while also showing the teacher more respect.
3. Teaching remains fresh. They don’t fall into the zone of having it all figured out.
4. They are less likely to experience imposter syndrome because they have been open about the fact that every lesson might tank. In fact, they are honest about what is not working as they push forward to improve.
5. They avoid the crushing perfectionism that can lead to teacher burnout. I’ve seen so many great teachers leave the profession because they were convinced that they weren’t good enough. They would work insane hours and push themselves beyond exhaustion only to grow risk-averse in their teaching and never actually reach their full potential.
6. The lessons are ultimately more creative and innovative as a result. There’s a very slow, normal, almost unnoticeable element to innovation that happens when we continually move through iterations. When teachers are “releasing to beta” they are constantly making little adjustments and testing out what’s working.

If you see a cool strategy or you have a new project idea, and you’re not sure how it’s going to turn out, go for it! Test it out. Experiment. Release it in beta. It might not turn out perfect but that’s okay. Kids don’t need perfect. They need real. They need you. And over time, it’s going to become even better and more creative.