I think that an effective professional development strategy is making sessions that teachers can relate to with their students or with their content. If professional development meetings are meaningful to educators then they will feel like it was effective and that they were taking something away from it that they could implement or utilize in their classrooms. Last year we had professional development sessions that were broken into 30minute classes. Teachers were given 6 different classes that were offered and we chose 6 different sessions that we wanted to go to. It was great because it led to me wanting to teach a session this school year about the library and how students and teachers can use online sources that coordinate with our collection. Going to those courses last year helped me understand what I needed to do and what teachers were looking for when it came to choosing the sessions that they wanted to attend.
•What made this professional development opportunity effective from your perspective?
The professional development opportunity that I just talked about above was very effective because I was able to attend different sessions that I could use and bring back into the classroom. The professional development sessions that we were able to choose from were very beneficial and each teacher was able to take different aspects away from him or her. I really liked that we were able to choose the ones that we wanted to attend. We had a say with what we wanted to get from the different sessions.
•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 would like to have a lecture type session but have teachers come down during their content area time. I want to be able to have teachers have a hands on approach and by having them come in during their department time there will be less teachers and more time to actually use the technology and get a feel on what they want to use it for. At my school we are divided into our content area, so to have teachers utilize the technology in the best way possible for them, I think that by having different sessions to go to would help them. I would work with math content first, then English, etc. That way I can see what they are wanting from the given technology and how they can best utilize it in their classes. By having a leader come in and display the software would be the best way to do it.
•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)?
To provide a successful professional development for our teachers, I am going to research what the teachers will need and collaborate with my administrators on what they think. I want to make it a positive environment and have teachers open to trying and learning about new technology sources that they can implement in their classrooms.
•Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.
Right now I have been talking to the administrators, technology teacher, and other teachers that use technology at my school to gain information to help with my plan.
Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (Chapters 7-8)
Chapter 7 Branding
What is "Brand-ed" School Leadership?
In chapter 7 it says, “ a brand-ed leader expands relationships with business and education partners for better schools. Leaders make their own brand and use it in everything that they do. They make it known in and out of school about their brand. Reading this made me think about name brands that are very well known to teachers and students. I know that when I want to purchase anything for the library then to always look at a Demco source. By knowing that brand you are making it popular and are always utilizing what they have to offer.
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?
Yammer is something that I use and it is provided by Microsoft Office 365. It is an online discussion page that educators can access with their 365 accounts. Yammer is a great resource when I want to discuss different topics or issues with fellow teachers or even fellow librarians.
I really like and agree completely with your line "If professional development meetings are meaningful to educators then they will feel like it was effective and that they were taking something away from it that they could implement or utilize in their classrooms." I sat through two PD classes this summer and the first one was AMAZING. I walked away feeling refreshed and ready to go with all these new ideas and things that I wanted to try. The second one didn't go well at all, and not just for me but for the whole group, so they second meeting after lunch was actually cancelled. I walked away from that one feeling disappointed and kinda that I wasted my time. I didn't get any new ideas and now, only a few months later, I can't really remember what the lady mainly spoke about. I wish all PD meetings were as fun and beneficial to teachers were my first one was!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of short professional development classes that THE TEACHER controls which they attend because it is what they are more interested in. This is a huge deal! That's why I like conferences - because teachers choose the classes they attend. There are often more that I'm interested in but can't fit into the day, so I find the instructor and get the handout at least so that I can look into the subject on my own time. These are great professional development ideas, and I'm glad you had such positive experiences in yours. You are on the right track I think.
ReplyDeleteBrianna,
ReplyDeleteHaving time for content area teachers spend time together in content specific or focused PD / CE is a great way to ensure some relevant take away from the training. I really like the content specific training the county offered for the first back this year. I found some of the workshops to quite engaging and left with some good ideas and resources. It also gave me an opprotuinty to meet some the teachers from other schools that I could use as a resource in the future, which could prove to be more valuable than the actual training. The idea of having software professionals demonstrate their wares is a great idea... I attended a workshop before the school started the semester I student taught with my first host teacher... that was offered by the textbook company (the new textbook option) to demonstrate the new features (especially online features) of those textbooks. The training was great... and what made it great was the access to professionals that could answer questions on the spot. Good idea! thanks for sharing.
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of these sessions. Giving educators access to professional development sessions where they chose which classes to attend is a great idea in my opinion. I'm glad that you where able to take away plans for your classroom.
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with choosing sessions based on personal preference and need. I’ve found that smaller, manageable groups based on content or grade-level are extremely effective for Professional learning. Often times I have to deliver brief sessions to a whole-group in the cafeteria – and sometimes I just get the glazed-over look – and I can’t blame the teachers, it can be hard in a large group to participate and listen effectively.
Excellent collaboration plan to work with your admin. team and discuss needs of teachers. Glad to hear you’ve started having the conversations necessary to help implement a technology initiative.
I’m going to checkout Yammer, thanks! Great post:)