This week’s strategies are–
3- Conducting an Article Study Group
4- Providing Professional Development at a faculty meeting
12- Conducting a lesson study
7- Presenting powerful professional development
After reading the strategies I was reminded that
professional development is geared toward adult learning. I think this is a
very important point to remember because teachers are already knowledgeable in the
teaching field (know what they want) and professional development should be geared
toward building community, where teachers become involved and interested in
learning new things to enhance their teaching strategies which will eventually
improve student’s achievement. Overall, the strategies presented lots of similarities
which I wish to point out.
As seen in each strategy, the layout they all have is very
simple to read and follow. They are very detailed but not overwhelming. For these
PDs you have to first determine who will be a part of the PD sessions. Whole groups
may include all teachers or you may have small groups with teachers from grade
levels. PDs may last from as little as ten minutes to as much as forty-five minutes.
A major point that
was brought up in each was the aspect of TIME. When conducting a PD, a teacher’s
time is very precious and as facilitators we must be considerate and plan PDs
that start and end on time. Remember, a teacher’s time is very precious and we
should not waste it.
Have you ever felt
like your time was wasted at a PD that you have attended? What did you do about
it?
The tips on how to prepare for each PD, how to facilitate
each and how to follow up were very helpful. In my opinion, having those “cheat
sheets” make me feel that much more comfortable and able to conduct a PD on my
own. The graphic elements presented in each strategy are very useful especially
for coaches who are new to the scene.
What are your thoughts
on pre-made charts that assist in helping you render information to a group? Would
you prefer to make you own? Do you feel ready to conduct a PD on your own with
the tips they gave you on each PD?
In strategy 3, I loved how the writer presented the discussion
format for an Article Study. (Table 3.1) the 3-2-1, Text coding and double
entry journal are great ways to format discussion. It makes it flow and helps
teachers quickly identify what they want to talk about or not talk about. Again,
having structure like this minimizes distractions and maximizes time on what is
most important to talk about.
Unlike strategies 3 and 4, strategy 12 includes more actions/interaction
between teachers and the coach. This is evident with the four phases outlined in
the introduction.
After reading the strategies, I believe that all PDs should
have the support of the principal and he/she should help take on the task of
encouraging and boosting teachers interest to attend/being a part of PDs.
Apart from your
literacy coach, does your principal do a good job at motivating/promoting PD at
your school? If not, do you think he/she should?
Strategy 7 outline the four P’s for presenting powerful professional
development.
Purpose
Participation
Place and time
Preparation
Each word is quite self-explanatory, however, the extensive
explanations that are given in the book makes it more real of how much goes
into planning a PD that is effective. Without a purpose for having a PD there
is no way that the following “P” words would need to be taken into
consideration. I think apart from PDs, each teacher should have a purpose for
coming to school every day.
Do you have an inner
purpose for going to school each day? Do you live by that purpose?
ReplyDeleteWhen will you get together to give each other feedback on your drafts of program plans, and help each other incorporate the feedback that you got from the faculty and administration? How can I help you?
Have you ever felt like your time was wasted at a PD that you have attended? What did you do about it?
Sadly there have been numerous times where I felt like PD was a waste of my time. Being totally candid, the times that I strongly felt this were times when the state has dictated changes in teaching observations or standards, etc. Following the time investment and time spent creating materials to support these changes, the state of Oklahoma just drops them or changes the key elements. They have also required changes and not provided districts with the funds to support the required changes. Some of those funds could have been used to help ensure proper PD was provided. Perhaps this isn’t the correct forum to vent this thought, but if we want Oklahoma education to be stronger perhaps is ought to start with the state leadership.
What are your thoughts on pre-made charts that assist in helping you render information to a group? Would you prefer to make you own? Do you feel ready to conduct a PD on your own with the tips they gave you on each PD?
I think the pre-made charts are a great tool. I feel that as you are beginning to explore leading PD these chart provide clear direction and important key elements. Perhaps after a few years of conducting PD I would hope to create dome of the charts that are specific to the group of teachers I am working with. I don’t see a reason to reinvent the wheel. If a tool works, even if it’s pre made, I think it should be used. I can’t say I feel comfortable conducting every type of PD that a Literacy Leader might need to cover. Some topics and formats I am more comfortable with than others. For example, I have had no experience with the lesson study format. It sounds really beneficial. I just haven’t got to experience that yet.
Apart from your literacy coach, does your principal do a good job at motivating/promoting PD at your school? If not, do you think he/she should?
Yes, I feel like my principal (s) really attempt to know what matters to the teachers in the school and try to make most of our PD effective and purposeful. They also ensure that teachers are given a voice with a climate of mutual respect.
Started from the top, now we're here.. so to speak? lol Sometimes, I think even the top officials just don't know what they are doing, or actually think they are doing things that are beneficial for us "little people." The problem here is that they have been absent. They are the ones that never come to the school/classroom so they never really know what PD they should provide, the ones that are specific to out needs. I guess, once they give us PD it means they have done something good and their job is done. What a shame :( I too have attended a PD that was of no meaning to me.
DeleteI like that you said "why invent the wheel. If a tool works even if it's pre-made, I think it should be used." Those words could not be more true. Although I get super happy and proud when I have created something and can use it to help others, using other peoples work can be just as beneficial. I think all the tools presented in the strategies this week were written well. They are very easy to read and follow.
Cathy,
DeletePre-made charts are great foundation starters and can help users in building their confidence. I agree, they can be used in the beginning and then once coaches have gotten familiar and more confident they could embark on the journey of making their own. Like I said in my post, they don’t need to make their own either, because even if they have experience and confidence but they aren’t very creative or confident in their chart making skills then they could stick to the pre-made ones. Pre-made charts make like easier and I think they help no matter or experience.
Krystal,
DeleteIt all starts from the top, don’t you think? I feel like those at the top, and especially those who have never set foot inside a classroom or school yard (to know and feel what’s going on) always have the most to say etc. You said it too, they never come. I think top leaders aren’t only there to lead but they should also show some sort of interest in wanting to learn like they expect their teachers to learn. They should attend PDs, they should take part in growth building activities, and they should get to know their teachers on a more personable level.
Also, I think pre made chart are a time saver! Sometimes that is what one needs- extra time. Haha
DeleteKrystal,
DeleteI too get excited when I can create something that is useful to my colleagues! There is a saying that teachers are the best sealers or borrowers ;).
Cathy,
DeleteI do agree that PD brought down by state officials is the kind of PD that typically is not beneficial to most educators. Most people making these rules and regulations have little experience in the classroom. I am excited to hear that more teachers are running for legislation. It will be an exciting time for education if teachers get elected in! I hope that with this, PD will be put into place so that it can be useful to teachers, provide them with choice and allow for actual professional growth.
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ReplyDeleteHave you ever felt like your time was wasted at a PD that you have attended? What did you do about it?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I must answer ‘yes’ to this question. As an inquisitive and creative individual I always take it upon myself to explore, research and question things that I may come across, or may be interested in. As a result of this I feel as though I stay abreast of many technological advances, new websites, activities and so on, and because of this I feel like many of the PDs I’ve been a part of have went over my head (where I was uninterested and bored). During these PDs I couldn’t just get up and leave, that would be rude…so I stayed and assisted those who may not be aware of what was being shared or added my two cents if I knew something on the topic. PD’s can be tricky, because even though the facilitators may put a lot into in it, it may not be as exciting as they’d hope.
What are your thoughts on pre-made charts that assist in helping you render information to a group? Would you prefer to make you own? Do you feel ready to conduct a PD on your own with the tips they gave you on each PD?
Pre-made charts make life easier, that’s what I think. The thing is that we don’t have to always use them but we could use them as a guide for what we would want to do if we wanted to make our very own charts and I would prefer either actually. Sometimes having pre-made charts help when you are on a time crunch or may be overloaded with work or if you’re just not a creative individual. I like making my own things so I would definitely like making my own charts for PD sessions. The tips provided were great and in all honestly, I think this book and many of the classes I’ve taken have prepared me to render a PD on my own, and so I do think I am ready.
Apart from your literacy coach, does your principal do a good job at motivating/promoting PD at your school? If not, do you think he/she should?
I am not in a school right now but when I did have a principle I would say that she did an okay job at motivation/promoting PDs. To me, it was just the basics with regard to encouraging teachers via word of mouth in staff meetings and the occasional reminders sent during the week. She and I were both new to the school so I would say that because of my limited time there I didn’t get to fully see her ways of operating etc.
Do you have an inner purpose for going to school each day? Do you live by that purpose?
I just really like being around children and seeing them laugh and learn. My purpose for going to school is to not only teach my students but to be the adult figure they can look up to as a role model (besides their parents I guess). I had a great role model, my mom, to guide me through life’s challenges, and sometimes many students need that outside adult to help them get through the day and I hope I can be that for students.
Krystie,
DeleteI love what you mention for you inner purpose for teaching. I think to be a great teacher our purpose needs to go far beyond teaching to caring. I like the old saying that people will never care how much you know until they know how much you care. It is this desire to help others that is the very reason so many people go into teaching. You have effect real change on people's lives.
Krystie,
DeleteI appreciated that instead of "getting up and leaving" in the middle of PD that was of no interest to you, you found ways to make it useful to you whether it was helping yourself or a colleague. I think that says a lot about a person if they at least try! I also agree that PD's are better if the facilitator is a good one. It may be the most uneventful or the most inapplicable PD in the world but by golly if that presenter is enthusiastic, loves what shes doing and presenting to the best of her ability, it might make the PD just a little better!
Thank you ladies for your comments.
DeleteHave you ever felt like your time was wasted at a PD that you have attended? What did you do about it?
ReplyDeleteI think at times being at a “wasted PD” has a lot to your mindset and the people you surround yourself with. There have definitely been some PD’s that I have been to that were not relatable but I always try to find something, anything, to take away from that experience. That way I can feel like my time wasn’t wasted. I also I think that, for me, a big part of making “wasted PD” not feel like a waste of time is surrounding yourself with colleagues who encourage, motivate and look at the brighter things in life instead of always being the “negative Nancy” of the group. I am guilty of being that negative person at PD’s that aren’t helpful and last year I really tried to reflect on myself as a teacher of not just my students but also to my colleagues and not be that negative person anymore.
What are your thoughts on pre-made charts that assist in helping you render information to a group? Would you prefer to make your own? Do you feel ready to conduct a PD on your own with the tips they gave you on each PD?
I thought the charts were very useful and something I could definitely use one day when facilitating my own PD. I appreciated that the text provided us with that as well as the information that was provided in these chapters on different ways to conduct PD. I think once I get into actually facilitating PD’s there will be some modifications to the charts to make it useful to my audience and to myself. As for conducting my own PD, I am not sure I am ready for that next phase in my life! I think if I built up a little more confidence in what I would be presenting to a group of educators then maybe I could warm up to the idea. I think that before I do that I want to be an expert literacy leader and not just a mediocre one which is kind of how I feel sometimes!
Apart from your literacy coach, does your principal do a good job at motivating/promoting PD at your school? If not, do you think he/she should?
My principal does more than promote PD at my school. At one point our whole staff felt as though all we did was PD. It was insane! We use to be pulled out of the classroom for PD at least once or twice every month. Some of it was district mandated but some of it was just her way of keeping our school at the top of the game when it came to Marzano, writing instruction, L to J, literacy instruction, you name it, we did it! It got overwhelming after a while because we could not get a firm grasp of one PD because we were bombarded with so many. We couldn’t become experts at one thing but rather tried to spread ourselves thin with so many different implementations in our building. It has slowed down quite a bit these past two years thankfully because of feedback she got from the staff. I think she finally took into consideration how burnt out the staff was after an end of the year evaluation taken by staff members of each school, evaluating the principals given by our district. I truly appreciated the amount of growth opportunities that was given by my principal. There are some districts that don’t provide any, but I do think there is such a thing as too much. There needs to be balance and opportunities to soak in information before tackling something new.
Do you have an inner purpose for going to school each day? Do you live by that purpose?
Yes, most definitely. I think in order to stay in this profession, you have to absolutely love what you’re doing in order to stay in this field. I come to school each day for my students and because I love seeing them academically and socially grow as individuals. I put everything and anything aside for my students and take pride in providing them with the best education and support I can give them.
Katheryn,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about PD. Often the people who you choose to make company with will help make or break PD. Attempting to be around people who are positive and trying to apply the new information leads to a better overall experience. I also think it is important to realize that people see your attitudes and whether you mean to or not you are impacting someone for the good or bad.
Wow, it sounds like you all had a lot of PD at your school. I think one of the things I have gleaned from this course is the importance of sustained PD on a specific area. I think this gives an opportunity to see measurable growth in a particular area. Faculty members can apply and synthesize the information to their particular area providing for depth versus breadth.
Yes, I completely agree with your statement of "depth versus breadth". There wasn't enough opportunity to be great at something because we had so many other things going on with PD. I struggled with that when we were going through so much PD in the past couple of years. I am glad that it has calmed down some. I think my principal, and the district, just really wanted to show that Monroe teachers were experts at every new PD that was out there. It can be tiring!
DeleteKatheryn,
ReplyDeleteI think too much PD can cause burn out and I am glad to hear that your principal took the staffs comments and concerns into consideration. Principals you who do this have their best interest at heart I think. Being aware of what your teachers need is crucial but also listen to their feedback is necessary also. The same goes for Literacy Coaches too. Like we said many weeks ago, LC have to posses a plethora of characteristics, not because they are leaders in their filed but because they are teachers to adult learners, they are role models and so much more.
Also, you have to remember that you only become better than you were before with practice, so in order to be an expert literacy coach you need the practice. All of us will start out in that awkward stage where we feel like we aren't good enough. However, with this and more training, mentoring etc. we will surely go from the novice stage to the expert stage and feel comfortable as time goes by.