Module 5 - Grant

I am currently working on a grant proposal to start a food bank for our students located right on campus. If you have been on the FSU campus you have probably seen or heard about the nest. I am hoping to start something similar to this at my new school. 

Below is an at risk chart we have started to evaluated some at-risk factors for our new and current student population. as you can see employment and financial are our 2 highest at risk factors currently. My thought with this is food is probably the last thing on our students minds. Are they getting food to eat and nutritious food at that? This is what really got me starting to think about this as a need and how I could help. 

So I am going to write my grant for the Sam’s Club Community - Hunger Relief & Healthy Eating Grant. My goal is to keep this bank completely free of cost and receive all donations from the community. I am asking for $1500 to start the food bank. 

I am going to integrant free online technology for this grant as well. I am looking to currently use google docs and survey monkey for the technology. We have access to a computer already for this as well as internet. 

I am starting to reach out to the local minor league baseball team about support us with starting this bank. I would love for them to set up donation bins as well as maybe partner on a few games for fans to receive a discount if they donate items.

This currently might just be an assignment but I have all intentions of submitting this after wards and hope to eventually have a food bank available for our students. 

Excellent article shared by Tiffany... Why Leaders Should Brand Their School

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/12/why_leaders_should_brand_their_schools.html

Mod 4 Sophie

1.      What are your thoughts about effective professional development strategies? Describe a professional development opportunity that led to your adoption of new teaching or leadership practices.          

I have been to many one-stop-shop kinds of trainings. Some leave a little bit of a lasting impression, but many are long forgotten. I think that if a PD is not going to have a follow through, then it shouldn’t be taught. The follow through doesn’t even have to be by the presenter, it could just be the principal or teams discussing it in small groups.

I was at a training, one of those where they put you in a room and you listen the whole day and never see you again. I don’t remember the majority of the training or what the training was even about, but I do remember one thing. The presenter told us to stop answering questions. I thought he was crazy, but then he explained. (I’m not even sure that the presenter was male.)

It is easy for a student to come up and ask you a question. It is also easy just to give them the answer. However, this doesn’t lead to deeper thinking. Instead, when they ask you a question, answer it with another question. Not just any questions, a guiding question that will lead the student down the path to figure out the answer for him/herself. This strategy leads to deeper thinking and problem solving.

It is hard to implement this strategy, oh so hard. But in my experience, it is so worth it! Not only do students start thinking about what they are asking you, but they start thinking deeper all the time and they learn that questions are not scare, bad things.

2.      What made this professional development opportunity effective from your perspective?

The PD opportunity that I mentioned before, as a whole, was not an effective one. The one piece of information that I gleaned from it was the question strategy. That strategy intrigued and challenged me. I think because it was challenging for me, and I saw some results right away, I kept it up. Because that one strategy had certain characteristics for me: interesting, intriguing, challenging…I have kept it and continued to use it for four years now.

I did participate in another PD that had multiple gatherings and the presenter came to us at the school between meetings. She would always present us with something new and answer any questions at our meetings and when she came to us, she would help us implement the new stuff she had recently presented and answer questions. This PD was for a new math textbook. I loved the new book and I used what they said and applied it in my classroom. This kind of textbook called for student collaboration and student-centered learning. The kids loved it and I did too. I was successful because I tried it long enough to see that it really did make a difference. Other teachers didn’t try it long enough, got frustrated, and quit. It showed in their students’ achievements. However, they didn’t quit because they didn’t know how to implement it. We all had plenty of training on how to implement and we all had plenty of assistance when needed. It either worked or failed based on the teachers’ preferences.

3.      What is the PD strategy or strategies you plan to use in your Technology Integration Initiative? How will this strategy or strategies help you achieve the outcomes for your TI Initiative?  What will  you need to do to provide leadership to successful professional development (here you might think back on the results and your analysis of your Leadership Assessment and/or the  resources/challenges present in the context for delivering professional development)?

I think I would like to do the same kind of training that I received for my old math textbook. I would like to have multiple meetings over a period of time that would present new ideas and strategies and ways to use the tech and then I would like to coach them during the weeks/months between the meetings to help ensure understanding and smooth transitions. I would also encourage the ones that are quick to jump on the wagon to assist others and make a little presentation at our meetings.

Meetings over a span of time will allow me to give short bursts of information at each meeting. This will not overload the teachers with a ton of information at once; which can cause intimidation before they even start. Then the little visits from me between the meetings will be about the information I just presented at the most recent meeting. I will give assistance to those who need it and encourage first adopters to explore the rest and maybe present at our next meeting. Then the cycle will continue.

I will need to work on my confidence. I think if I understand the tech 100% and do research on it before I present each piece, I will have more confidence. I think if I bring in experts on the matter and learn all I can from them, then I will have more confidence.

4.      Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.

Croft, A., Coggshall, J., Dolan, M., Powers, E., & Killion, J. (2010). Job-Embedded Professional Development: What it is, who is responsible, and how to get it done well. Issue Brief.

Implementation Support. (2015). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from https://www.carnegielearning.com/learning-solutions/professional-development/implementation-support/

Chapter 7  Branding

What is "Brand-ed" School Leadership?  

I think “Brand-ed” School Leadership is like advertising your school like a business does. It is where you try to put a positive image in someone’s head when they think about your school. When you think about Starbucks, for example, the little green and white girl with long hair and a crown pops into your head. This image is positive, interesting, bright, and smiley. It makes me think of goodies. I think every school should have a positive vibe like this and developing and implementing a brand can help. I also think that it gives the students and the staff at the school a since of comradery.

Chapter 8 Professional Growth and Development

After reading Chapter 8, what experience do you have with PLN – Personal Learning Networks?  Do you think using PLN would be an option in your workplace setting to promote professional growth and development?

I am currently a member of Fairmont State University Mathematics Facebook group. There I can post questions, give suggestions, receive information classroom strategies/lesson ideas and the most important part is that I am giving information about math conferences. I have been asked to present and attend many conferences (I have declined because of the timing). This, sadly, and my graduate classes are the only PLNs I have been active in.

At the school I am at now, the vibe that seems to be going through the school is that technology is not a priority. The county makes a point to tell all the staff that we should not be friends with any parents or students on social networks because it is inappropriate. Teachers are afraid to use the calendar that is linked to our new emails because they think it isn’t right to put personal information on a professional tool like that. I disagree with all of this. I think if you conduct yourself in a professional way, then there shouldn’t be a problem with either of these. I hope that at my new school, I will not only be able to communicate with other teachers in the same field as me in the building, but I also hope to get more involved in Twitter and teaching conferences. I would like to build the confidence up to actually take part in presentations and I would like to be a go to person when it comes to implanting engaging mathematics teachings.

I do know that our superintendent is thinking about starting a Twitter account to increase communication from the county board. Hopefully, this will cause a spark and social networking will stop being seen as an evil tool and instead be seen as a useful tool. 

Jared's Module Four Response

What are your thoughts about effective professional development strategies? Describe a professional development opportunity that led to your adoption of new teaching or leadership practices. What made this professional development opportunity effective from your perspective?

I consider myself a cheerful employee.  I am never the first to complain when it is time for a professional development workshop.  I try to keep an open mind.  However, many stand-alone workshop experiences I find myself among those that spurns the general idea.  They are unwelcome by the staff, as they are often wedged into inconvenient points in the schedule.  And, due to the time constraint, they usually contain no real content but more of an invitation to explore the content later… if you think of it.  I can see why it is “the form most criticized in the literature” (Garet et al. 2009). 

However, it was at one of the forms that shares the characteristics of a workshop where I found my first meaningful professional development.  A colleague of mine, the school’s Spanish teacher, invited me to a part of program called “Go Global.”  I signed on for the conference because this particular teacher had a great attitude toward education.  She made it an experience for her students and was always looking for unique opportunities for other teachers.  I really wanted to learn from her in this.  Go Global was a summer institute, a four day conference, full of workshops centered around using communication technology, and creative projects to help your students learn about other cultures and to collaborate on work with students in other countries.  Even though this conference did not really follow the job-embedded professional development model or any of the reform type models (Garet et al. 2009), it did help me to make many valuable connections and helped to change the way I viewed my classroom.  As I remember, six teachers and the principal from our school attended the conference, and this was the first time I had the chance to spend long periods of time with other educators talking about new strategies for my particular school.  This was also the first time I was really introduced to the idea that internet could be used for long distance student collaboration.  Looking back, I’d say this conference helped plant the seeds of digital media in my teaching.  Ultimately, I did learn a lot from the teacher who invited me to this conference.  So even though it was one of the less effective methods of professional development, I think it still had a lasting effect.

What is the PD strategy or strategies you plan to use in your Technology Integration Initiative? How will this strategy or strategies help you achieve the outcomes for your TI Initiative? 

I have the pleasure of working with a colleague on my Technology Integration Initiative.  We are working to apply for a small grant through our PDS relationship with Fairmont State.  We’d like to help teachers at our school (ourselves included) discover even more of the ways the “blended” classroom could help reach students and parents in new ways.  Last year, we all began studying the idea of the “flipped” classroom, and there have been a few days where we have met to review student work, or share ideas.  Through that, many of have realized that “blended” rather than “flipped” seems to work best in our community.  Although we are still hammering out the details of what we want to do, we do know that our professional development strategy is key.  We spent lots of time last Thursday talking about this.  I am currently leaning toward some creative way to provide some job-embedded development such as a critical friends group (Croft et al. 2010).  This sort of emerged naturally with our “flipped” discussion.  I think this could really be a year to hone our technology integration skills through working together to show how the “blended” model could be used more effectively in our school.  I will let you know more about plan in a couple of weeks, since our grant proposal is due at the end of the month!

What will you need to do to provide leadership to successful professional development (here you might think back on the results and your analysis of your Leadership Assessment and/or the  resources/challenges present in the context for delivering professional development)?

Being one of the three teachers working on this TI Initiative and Grant Proposal will require some leadership from me.  This was another thing a colleague and I discussed in our recent meeting.  We still have a lot to think about, but we know that we will have to do some work up front to get teachers interested in integrating technology in a way that empowers students.  Somewhere, in a previous course, I picked up the term “web-evangelist.”  Somehow, I feel like this project is asking me to play that role.  As learned from my Leadership Assessment, I am weak in providing a clear sense of goals to my teammates.  I will have to be very intentional when communicating the purpose of this initiative.

 Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.

At the beginning of the school year we were using Flip Your Classroom by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams.  This is sort of a jumping off point for next year’s focus. 

Although this next resource is isn’t an academic article, I did find it helpful.  My colleague referred me to this teacher’s blog where I found some great presentations: http://janinecampbell.weebly.com/blended-learning.html. This will take you to a great Blended Learning Prezi, but this educator’s blog homepage is nice too.

Brand-Ed Thinking

Brand-ed “fuses the brand concept with education.”  I get this concept, and I think I started really working for this before I knew what it was called after I took a class with Dr. Price from Fairmont State.  His presence on the web had certain creative vibe.  He chose a logo for his class, and designed the syllabus with graphics and images.  I feel that I had a sense of what his class was going to be like, and even what his values were before the class even began.  I think many schools work hard to create a organizational brand.  My school has a logo, a website, a certain image it longs to promote in the community.  I think classrooms can have something similar.

PLN

At my school we have a monthly lunch meeting for the department.  There is a sense, however, that there is not enough time to do any meaningful work.  I think there is a sense that we’d like to be a communicative network, but most of us keep to ourselves due to time constraints in the workday.

Module 4

This year my school began promoting professional development by having weekly PLC's and common planning.  Up until this year grade levels did not have common planning.  I can remember having planning with two other third grade teachers last year, but the other two planned at a different time.  After years of fighting and begging for common planning to be implemented some how, it finally happened this year.  Because of this, we are now able to met with each other a couple times a week and discuss what we are teaching, observing, and changing within our classrooms.  We met as a whole team once a week in the principals office.  The team includes: third grade teachers, title teachers for both reading and math, the principal, literacy coaches, special educators, and many times our state representative.  During these meetings with discuss the different strategies we use in our classrooms that we have either found to be successful or a failure.   We listen to others and give suggestions or advice on lessons.  We come up with common questions and assessments we want to give our students and then discuss the data that we collected on this activities.  We set goals for our classrooms and help to come up with ways to meet those goals when we are struggling.  

As a grade level we (just the general ed teachers) also try to meet at least once a week to discuss and go over what we are planning on covering the following week.  This really helps because many times we will decide to stay on a subject for longer then planned because students seem to be struggling with the concepts.  We try to stay together and help each other out as much as possible.  

While common planning and weekly PLC's seem to be helping a great deal I still feel as if we are lacking in several areas.  For one, new teachers need to have mentors that are from their grade level.  I for one had a title teacher as my mentor.  While I absolutely loved her, I feel I would have benefited more from someone within my grade.  I also feel that while I really like the PLC's we should have them some time other then our planning.  

My school works with WVU to help educate new and upcoming teachers.  We have several student teachers and interns this year.  I do not have much experience with this because even though I have been asked I have never had one in my class.  This is because I feel that I am still learning how to do things and am not confident enough in myself yet, to help lead another teacher.  

As I mentioned earlier one of the things my school is lacking is the use of mentors and coaches.  Before this assignment I would not have even considered them to be different.  As previously stated I work at a large elementary school is which only one person is in charge of technology support.  If she can not help them we must call IT.  This is frustrating because she teaches second grade and many times uses her planning to help set up different things in our classrooms.  We have to wait several days sometimes to get help because of this.  I feel that if there we mentors and coaches then things could run more smoothly.  For example, the school just had new interactive projectors installed into the rooms without smart boards.  No one was there to show us how to set them up and program so we are still trying to read and figure them out.  

Brand-ed:

In my opinion the word brand-ed is used to imply that we need to look at our personal teaching and then the school and come up with our own brand for how we want to be seen.  Everyone is familiar with name brands such as Nike and Adidas, this brand-ed is a way to get people more familiar with schools and education.  

PLC:

As I stated earlier in this post, my school implemented weekly PLC's just this year.  I feel as if they are beneficial to not only myself but all teachers because it gives us a chance to learn from each other.  We can discuss what seems to be working with our students and what is not working.  We can even change classes to help each other.  What I mean by this is if during a PLC meeting I tell my peers that I am having trouble getting my students to understand fractions and another teacher says that her students seem to get it.  Maybe she could come to my class and go over fractions with my students and show me how she taught them.  She might have a better way to implement them in which the students can relate.  These meetings are about growing and helping each other.  

Take the Reins

“Brand-ed” school leadership results from unification of actions, intent, and words. When communication is in line with true intent and actions are consistent and coherently applied to vision, you have branded leadership. Synchronization of goals, words, and deeds, and identification of unique attributes help build a positive brand. Being connected to the world and your local community to communicate mission and achievements is a must. I'm still working on finding that one word to express my own personal brand in the educational arena. I've narrowed it down to Synthesis and Synchronicity, and am looking for a way to express both ideas in a single word.

“Digital leadership requires connectedness as an essential component to cultivate innovative practices and lead sustainable change”(Sheninger 122). This statement resonated with me because I’ve been sensing this for a long time, but was previously uncomfortable pursuing a larger online presence due to former administrators who were “anti” social media. I’ve been working on getting more comfortable with Twitter. A few years ago I took some Integrated Marketing Communications classes at WVU and got to meet some primary social influencers, such as Mark Schaefer. Mark is a WVU alum and author of “The Tao of Twitter” and “Return on Influence,” both of which I read before trying to fully engage in social media for professional purposes. I would recommend any of his books (he has several titles available) as primers for newbies. I am seeing many areas of overlap between IMC and School/Personal Branding in education.

When it comes to Twitter, the number of possible people to follow can be overwhelming. I decided to start with the author of our book, @E_Sheninger, and other notables in the Ed Tech field, and see who they are following. I love that Twitter provides a real-time stream of ideas and support, and numerous opportunities for focused conversations around issues and innovation.

I’m also part of several groups on Schoology, and have found it to be tremendously educational. With time, I am sure I will become more confident and participatory in the PLN I am slowly building for myself. We do have an active PLC on the middle school side, and we usually meet bi-weekly, (or more often if needed) to share new ideas and methods and tackle obstacles together. I would like to encourage my team members to join me on whichever site they feel most comfortable with to grow and expand a PLN. At our next Vertical Teaming, I hope to engage with teachers at other grade levels and invite them as well. Even though we are more tech forward than other schools I’ve worked in, I feel like there are still many things that we need to get off the ground to move into the future and exercise our full capabilities.

I plan on doing everything I can to help get us there.

Sheninger, Eric C. (2014-01-14). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (p. 122). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.

Getting There from Here: PD that Works

In my opinion, the most effective professional development strategies involve active hands-on learning, where teachers get the chance to use the tools/strategies as they are being presented in an interactive environment. Instead of just passing around handouts and lecturing in a “top down” format, engaging professional development involves a presenter guiding a facilitated learning conversation wherein tools and/or strategies are presented for immediate exploration by teachers, who can dive into new realms together and experiment in real time without fear of failure or feeling lost. Our district sponsored Vertical Teaming Initiative facilitated by county and state level technology and curriculum specialists is one such opportunity which has changed my teaching practices. The meetings feature the above mentioned methods of active, guided learning and immediate use and application. Another feature that helps our Vertical Teaming meetings successful is that we are in a small group, which allows for more intimacy and permits us to have more opportunity for communication and interactivity. Another reason these sessions have been effective is that instead of a one-shot deal, we meet every 6 weeks or so to discuss how things are going, share results, and further build on what we’re learning. Additionally, this takes place during a regular school day instead of expecting us to voluntarily give up time, and coverage is provided for our classes, so we are unencumbered.

Our school works with Glenville State and Wesleyan to help prepare student teachers. I’ve not had much experience with this, being a new staff member this year. I have been observed for a day by a Wesleyan junior who wasn’t able to observe her regular supervising teacher, and it’s interesting how being observed really makes you think about the purpose and delivery of your lessons. In the other schools I have taught in, I would take a few of my plan times each month to wander to another classroom in the building and observe veteran teachers or teachers who were known for innovation. I would like to resume this practice at my current school, as I feel being exposed to different methods and techniques is valuable.

I plan to use the same kind of PD strategies that I’ve experienced in our Vertical Teaming, in which concepts are introduced and immediate play and utilization are encouraged. It is by playing with the new that we learn its characteristics, and providing a supportive and safe environment for teachers to do this is vital to increasing the comfort level of teachers and encouraging mastery. Additionally, I plan on delivering PD during the regular school day, so that teachers will not have to “volunteer” time away from their families uncompensated. 

I already facilitate our Middle School PLC/Team Meetings for both 7^th and 8^th grades, and frequently share the tech I’m using during the meetings so my teammates can play with it on their laptops together and get a feel for it. This strategy has resulted in getting our students to use the cloud for creation and collaboration on assignments across the curriculum, and saved us thousands of pieces of paper and many hours of grading.

To help me hone my digital leadership skills, I have cultivated connections across several counties to TISs, and I also have a connection to tech leadership at the state level. Additionally, I’ve started branching out on Twitter and Schoology to connect to broader PLNs addressing effective tech integration and innovative teaching practices.

One resource I’m exploring in developing my TI is http://www.k12blueprint.com/ by Intel. The k12 blueprint breaks everything down into easy steps and categories, and the site is very user friendly. I’ve already shared several ideas with students, families, and other teachers, and we are excited! There are so many aspects to explore, and so many things that we hadn’t even dreamed existed. My cohorts are very supportive of my endeavors, and I plan on using the TI and Grant Proposal from this class in order to help us better serve our students.

Module Four Posting

I have personally experienced very few strategies in the world of Professional Development.  I am not a full-time teacher, though I often get called to cover classes for teachers who are involved in training.  If not for these jobs, I wouldn't have nearly as many sub days as I do, especially this recent school year.  The majority of the time I've been called is because teachers have been working in workshops in preparation for MAP and SmarterBalance testing.  I'm not entirely sure what goes on during these meetings, but they occur almost weekly.  Many of the teachers who participate in these find them a waste of time, and would rather spend the 1-3 hours they'd be in the training working in their classroom instead.  I have also seen the implementation of weekly (or in some cases daily) team meetings among the grade levels, and I think these can be effective as well.  This is a good time for the teachers to all get together and discuss when IEP Meetings will be (and who should be there), upcoming events, and students they may be having difficulty with or who are falling behind.

The only PD I have really experienced was mentoring, and that was through student teaching.  This was a crucial part for me in developing my teaching style, as it involved some of my first experiences in the classroom.  Working with my mentors (or perhaps they were more coaches) was effective.  When you are first learning, having a good mentor is key.  Moving teaching from theory to practice is terrifying, and especially when you get control of the classroom for the first time.  Having someone who is not only supportive, but also gives feedback to help you improve is essential, and I was fortunate enough to have this while going through my own student teaching experience.  I think the same can be said for mentors and coaches later in the teaching career.

I feel that mentoring and coaching will be the best strategies for my TI Imitative, because it is the one that I have experience with.  This would provide a good support system when it comes to integrating technology strategies.  If some teachers are unfamiliar with the technology, or even unsure of how to incorporate it in their lessons, this strategy would provide a great pool for the sharing of ideas and guidance.  As more teachers become integrated, as well, the more coaches and mentors available to help other colleagues.

Chapter 7
The "Brand-ed" approach to school leadership is an idea of incorporating business ideas into education.  Every teacher should have their own brand, which is something that they believe in or stand for.  Once you have this, you need to associate yourself with this word and "sell" it.  At least, this is my understanding from reading the chapter.  "Brand-ed" School Leadership takes place on a digital platform more so than anywhere else.  It is important, especially in relation to a school brand, to let the community know what it is that the school stands for and their goals.  This can be obtained through a social media outlet.  It's almost as if your "selling" your school to the community, or even your teaching philosophy.

Chapter 8
My experiences with PLN are in the very traditional sense.  That is, teachers who use local resources within their school and community and don't branch out much further.  I do think, however, that PLN would be very effective and a great way to widen the net of resources and interaction.  This would involve becoming more involved in the digital world, which most of the schools I've worked in have not done.  By expanding the net, teachers would not only have more resources, but also more people to collaborate and receive feedback from.  To me, this seems like an excellent way to share ideas quickly and effectively, which is not always a strength in most school systems.

Module 4

Professional Development

I feel that every person needs to take advantage of every professional development opportunity.  I was able to go to New Orleans, LA for a professional development conference.  I learned so many things that I used in my first year of teaching that I am still using in my second year.  I was able to be accompanied by great leaders that helped me with anything that I may not have felt comfortable with.  They were a great group of leaders that helped me feel confident in my presentation.  This was very helpful to me because I was able to see how they acted; therefore, helping me be the leader I am molding into. 

We also attended another professional development conference in Flatwoods, WV where I was accompanied by the same leaders as well as other important leaders within the Education department of Fairmont State University.  Even the dean of the Education department was there.  All of these amazing leaders showed me how to be a leader and how to provide for someone in need.  They even helped me with my upcoming interview for the job in which I am working now.  Both of these conferences were so effective in my life and I will never forget the great leaders who made me who I am today.    

Also I have just recently took over the head cheerleading coach position.  I helped out with the squad last year; however, I had a head coach above me to consult.  This upcoming year I will be the head coach; therefore, the leader of these girls.  I am excited to begin this journey

 

Strategies

I have not yet started to research too much; however, I have discussed and collaborated with other teachers at my school for my technology initiative.

In my Technology Initiative, I will be collaborating with the physical education teachers, as well as the hunting and fishing teachers, in utilizing geocaching.  This is not only a technology initiative, but it is also math related; therefore, we are combining three different classes.

I feel that the opportunity that I will be involved with is getting to collaborate with the teachers within my school and with other subject matters.  I feel that I am taking a leadership initiative in implementing this type of technology within the three courses.

 

 

 

Brand-Ed

According to Sheninger in Digital Leadership, “Brand is a distinctive sum experience people have with a product or service.”  Brand-Ed School Leadership is a way that a group of people - in this case - teachers - come together to identify their needs within the school.  They then take these needs and use them to allow the public to see the school in a positive way.  They also collaborate with associations outside of the school.  Also in this case, I feel that it is when the group of teachers discuss technology tools and ways to utilize it within the school.  Also, they make a way to discuss the outcome of their school culture, student achievement, and school funding or resources.  

PLNs

I have two years of experience in a school that has PLCs.  Therefore, I would consider that as a Personal Learning Network.  Every Wednesday, all of us teachers get together for an hour while the students have an hour later.  We discuss upcoming issues within the school or county, situations with certain students, and we collaborate on how to make the school a better place.  Then we break up into smaller groups either grade level or by departments. 

I feel that utilizing a more digital PLN would be effective in my workplace.  We use Remind 101 as a text messaging system for our principal to keep in touch with the faculty members.  However, we do not have a way to discuss amongst each other electronically.  I feel that this would make for a great way to discuss issues within the school.

 

 

  

Module 4

Module 4

Professional Development Strategies

“Adults learn best when they are self-directed, building new knowledge upon preexisting knowledge, and aware of the relevance and personal significance of what they are learning-grounding theoretical knowledge in actual events” – Job Embedded Professional Development

            I really appreciate this quote from our resource Job Embedded Professional Development, because it summarizes well what I feel is effective professional development. Strategies that have led to changes in my teaching practices have been situations where there is honest communication and mutual respect with a colleague or several other teachers.  A relationship where my opinion is valued, peers listen to each other, and one person isn’t telling others what to do has been most effective for me.   One of the professional development opportunities I had early on was with my formal mentor.  It was required by my school district that I have a mentor for one year when I started at my job, and it was extremely helpful to me in a number of ways.  Not only did she help me navigate the ins and outs of the school I was at, but she also had been in the classroom for many years and had a mass of instructional materials, teaching strategies, and resources that she freely shared with me.  She was always interested in what I was already using or doing, and asked me a lot of questions about things I was trying.  I valued our relationship quite a bit, and had a lot of respect for her, because of how she listened and didn’t presume to have all of the answers.  It caused me to want her input and opinion even more, and I changed some of my methods and practices in the classroom as a result.

Strategies for the Technology Initiative

            Two of the readings that I really appreciated were the articles by Margie Carter, “Supervising or Coaching-What’s the Difference” and “Principles and Strategies for Coaching and Mentoring” because they focused on coaching.  This is probably the approach I’ll take, or strategy I’ll use when implementing my Technology Integration Initiative. 

            In the first article, one statement that has helped shape my strategy is the idea that “Coaching as inquiry suggests using a thoughtful set of questions that promote self-reflection.”  To promote self-reflection, I’ll introduce some facts about how providing digital content to students online can improve student test scores and performance, then follow up by asking the teachers to reflect on ways in which implementing this practice could boost student achievement in their own classrooms.  Carter also defines coaching as “nurturing a learning process,” so my hope is to develop interest in my initiative by making the implementation gradual and free from pressure or criticism.  I’ve found from some of my research that there are many benefits to the students in providing them access to digital content, but I think my challenge with teachers will be getting them to invest the small amount of time and effort up front to be able to make it a regular part of their instruction.  If I can help them to see the immense value, then hopefully that will be incentive enough for them.

Fletcher, Geoff, and Doug Levin. "The Accessibility of Learning Content for All Students Including Students with Disabilities Must be Addressed in the Shift to Digital Instructional Materials.” SETDA. June 2014. 5 March 2015 http://www.setda.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SETDA_PolicyBrief_Accessibility_FNL.5.29.pdf

Wardlow, Liane. “How Technology Can Boost Student Engagement.” Pearson. May 1, 2014. 5 March 2015 http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/elearning/technology-can-boost-student-engagement

Taylor, L. & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving Student Engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1). Retrieved from http://cie.asu.edu/

Strauss, Valerie. “Teacher: What I don’t have time to do anymore — and what I’d do if I had it.” The Washington Post. December 22, 2014. 5 March 2015 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/22/teacher-what-i-dont-have-time-to-do-anymore-and-what-id-do-if-i-had-it/

Branding

              According to Sheninger in Digital Leadership, “Brand is a distinctive sum experience people have with a product or service.”  Brand-ed School Leadership, then, would be when school leaders decide on, and work together to develop, a brand for their school or district. Businesses have used the concept of branding for years to make their product noticeable and easily recognized, and schools should try to do the same thing.  The school I’m at has recently spent some time coming up with an updated mission statement, and it’s posted around the school in conspicuous places in the hopes that students and staff will become familiar with it, but branding would be much more effective.  The idea would be to have our staff, students, and administration, as well as parents and community members, come to together and decide on a short statement, or even just a strong word, that everyone could promote and rally around as the representation of the school.  Using social media, an image could then be put forth and promoted to the public of that brand.  It’s more than just a logo or a school mascot, but all of the connotations surrounding the brand that become a part of the school’s image.

Professional Growth and Development

             I’ve been a part of some short-term PLN’s at the school I work at, such as book studies and curriculum committees.  Usually these types of networks have one or two goals in mind, and then once those goals are accomplished, then network no longer meets.  In the case of book studies, often the goal is to work together to learn new teaching methods or strategies, or to just add to your personal store of classroom activities.  Rarely is there any follow-up or continued support for what was presented, although there is some value, in that it gives teachers time to get to know each other better and learn how to work together towards some common goals. 

             Some of the longer-term PLN’s we have at our school are grade level and subject area teams, each of which meets regularly throughout the year.  The drawback with these networks is that we rarely have a specific goal we’re working towards, nor do we have a defined structure to our meetings.  We are just expected to meet and put in the time.  There is value in it, because it enables us to deal with a lot of scheduling and behavioral issues that come up, but it’s not necessarily a time for us to learn new teaching methods or strategies, or share professional skills with each other.  I think it would be difficult to find the additional time it would take to become more of a learning network, because we use the time we’re given to deal with the most pressing issues.  The article “What is Professional Development?” stated that in order for teachers to work together in networks effectively, they must be given enough extra time, which can sometimes require a scheduling overhaul.  I feel like attempt have been made at my school to do this, but teachers already feel so overwhelmed and pressed for time to accomplish everything they’re already responsible for, that any extra time given is used to fulfill those responsibilities.