How PD can make real change. Writing blogs like this one and interacting with teachers on Twitter and the like can make edtech teacher types, like me, forget that it is still the case that the majority of teachers are not confident or regular users of modern technologies (social, mobile & student-centred) and need effective introduction and explanation of their benefits. I would estimate this majority of the non-confident to still be around 80%. I have been Head of Department in my current school for just one year and a number of my teachers have highlighted recently how far they’ve come in just one year. I thought I’d share my approach to providing PD and why it might be that it seems to work (well, some of it) Why does so much Professional Development NOT work?
“PD’s never to do with how I teach”“I always forget PD because I don’t use it immediately”“PD’s a waste of my time”“It’s always too much to take in”“I’m not confident with using technology in my teaching” Photo Credit Link Photo Credit Link Photo Credit Link. Choice Literacy - Articles & Videos - Full Article. Hannah was in her second year of teaching when we began our work together. She was interested in "bettering her game" as she put it. "I know I have lots that I could work on, but I'm not sure where to start," she admitted in our initial meeting. "That's fine," I said. "Determining your focus often comes after we get started.
Tell me what you love about teaching. " "This is what I wanted to do since I was a little girl," she replied. I made notes and asked her what gets in the way sometimes. "I have a really active class this year. After our meeting, I stayed and transcribed the first part of a math lesson. Noticing Patterns The next day, I wheeled my cart of coaching materials in as Hannah led her class to art. "The boy-girl thing was really noticeable in the transcript," she said as she returned. "In what way? " "The boys were constantly asking me to repeat directions and would say things like, 'What are we doing?
' I smiled. "I don't even know what that would be like," Hannah admitted. 1. 2. Building Strong Co-Teaching Relationships from the Start. A MiddleWeb Blog Some of you have already returned to school (hey y’all down South!) , and some of us still have a few weeks of vacation ahead. Either way, we all share the anticipation of great possibilities that goes along with the planning and creating for a successful school year.
Each year as school approaches, I feel like I’m getting ready to run through a snowy field and be the first to put my footsteps in the freshly fallen snow. Co-teachers have additional decisions to make: How will we organize the information from the Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) to align students’ needs to make sure all students will have access to the curriculum? Whatever our teaching role, the list of decisions to be made goes on and on. We don’t want to get caught in the “could have been” web Does this sound familiar? But this doesn’t have to happen! I am making a vow to seize the day and address important time-sensitive decisions at the very front end of the 2013-14 school year. 1. 2. 3. 4. Choice Literacy - Articles & Videos - Full Article.
I am learning how to run. It sounds silly, "learning how to run," but it's true. At first I just started running a minute, walking a minute. Eventually, I ran more minutes than I walked and then I was on my way. But after two years of "running" and not getting much further than three miles with an occasional 10k, I had gained 20 pounds. I was meandering around a bookstore this spring and found a new section -- at least it was new to me. The next day at school a substitute came by and said she noticed I hadn't been running as much in the neighborhood and thought I might like to read a couple of books.
Okay, so what does this have to do with writing? For running, that came at the three-mile mark for me. It's a similar thing with teaching. The first step is recognizing that the dip will come. First, schedule some time to clarify your thinking about the change -- what you hope to accomplish, and how long it will realistically take. There will be time for writing workshop every day. Change the Frame: Two Ways to Rethink Education for Reform - EdTech Researcher. I was recently asked to offer some suggestions about what I thought were the most important policy and non-policy recommendations that I have for education reform. I think of "policy" as things that federal or state officials can do: laws that can be passed or money that can be spent. I offered three of these recommendations earlier this week. These "non-policy" suggestions are things that are beyond regulations, technical support, or direct funding.
Here are two ways we ought to change the way we talk about education, so that we change the way we think about education. Change the Frame (1): From Delivery to Design Borrowing from the work of George Lakoff, how people linguistically (metaphorically and analogically) frame a topic has a powerful impact on how people define and understand the topic. If you define "tax cuts" as "tax relief," then you get people to associate taxes with "pain". Five-Minute Film Festival: Nine Videos on Kindness, Empathy, and Connection. I'd like to offer up a video playlist to remind all of us about the power of empathy, kindness, and human connections.
It's always a good time to practice gratitude for the relationships that sustain us all -- for the people who have taught us in a school setting and beyond, and for the young ones we are able to nurture and inspire. I was also thinking about how many of us are living out the paradox of being ever more plugged in, and ever more aware of what's happening in our community via social media platforms, while at the same time, face-to-face interactions are less frequent than ever before. We are in constant touch, but barely touching.
Watching these videos made me remember the importance of re-connecting, treating people with kindness and respect, and being generous and compassionate to both loved ones and strangers. If each of us pledged to do more of that, we'd make a better world for all of us to learn and grow in. Video Playlist: Kindness, Empathy, and Connection. Content_then_process_wiliam. Improving Young Student Vocabulary With High Level Conversation. Naming What Children Can Do. Mr. Park's fourth grade class was the most impulsive and squirmy group of children he'd ever taught. Children speaking out of turn, talking to neighbors, playing with small objects, or making odd noises continually interrupted class discussions. Despite much time spent devising and discussing rules for group meeting behavior, the children made little progress. Mr. Park decided to try a different approach.
During a typically unfocused session, he stopped the discussion and remarked, "You know, I've noticed several children sitting calmly and listening when others speak, and we're hearing good ideas from lots of people. The children sat up a little straighter and leaned forward in interest. "I didn't fool around with my erasers. "I noticed a couple of you even sat on your hands for a bit," Mr. With this positive scaffolding, Mr. The Power of Reinforcing Language Teachers have always known the power of carefully timed and delivered feedback. Making It Work General praise such as "Good job! " How to Get Hesitant Teachers to Use Technology. In my consulting as well as administrative technology work, I am often asked the same questions by different schools and officials.
One of the most common is: “How do you get teachers who are hesitant or resistant to use technology?” I am keenly aware that many of my colleagues are not, for various reasons, gung ho about educational technology. And it’s interesting. Quite often, the teachers who are hesitant to adopt new technology are great — in fact, amazing — educators. They are frequently veterans and usually leaders in their academic field and within their institutions. In my role as tech advocate, I habitually find myself trying to coax these established educators to use new tools and incorporate new methodologies. 1. If you’re working with veteran educators, this is especially important. Instead, try this: observe what they do in the classroom that’s made them successful and build out from there. 2. 3.
Teachers respond better to other teachers who share their situation. 4. 5. 6. The Art of Facilitating Teacher Teams. In my last post I reflected on what makes an effective team of teachers. This is something I've been contemplating a great deal as this year I'm leading a team of instructional coaches. We work with a number of middle schools that are "transforming" and a central element in our theory of action is that leadership and instruction will transform by way of strong, effective, high functioning teams. At these sites, my coaches support the development of grade level teams, department teams, leadership teams, and cross-site teams of teachers and administrators. This fall we've pursued an inquiry around our own coaching and facilitation actions.
We're attempting to name the precise moves that we need to take in order to develop strong teams. We're working on creating a tool that will help us self-assess and guide our practices, as well as something that we can offer to others to help them think about team facilitation. So what steps do we take to develop strong teams? Domain One: Planning.