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 think that professional development is effective when the presenters walk the teacher through what they the teacher would need to do or see the strategy in action. At the last WVSTA conference I saw someone from FSU do a workshop for the Solar Army and I saw it as an opportunity for my HSTA club students to do cutting edge research close to home. I did not only that, but also got involved with the program. I have been helping with some research, but doing mostly outreach to get their word out and having more people know about this wonderful program they are offering. solararmy.org for those that are interested.
What made this professional development opportunity effective from your perspective?
It made it effective because they brought in the equipment they use for the experiments and let us use them. They explained everything they do in a presentation, but also gave us some hands on opportunities. The friendliness of the presenters was also a large factor because they made me feel wanted in this project.
What is the PD strategy or strategies you plan to use in your Technology Integration Initiative?
I really do think that a workshop style and I think that if I was able to make an online workshop (sort of like a teleconference) it would be great. Since the technology component will more than likely an online entity I can include instructions to download the program and just guide the participants through it will a live streaming system.
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’m not exactly sure what this question is asking, but here we go. In my leadership assessment I struggled in emotional intelligence and being a good role model. I am not sure if emotional intelligence comes into play that much with an online workshop, but I think that planning out what I need to say and how I say it will help me reach my audience better. Being a good role model will come out in the form of the online workshop because the live stream will be an example of me leading by example. This online workshop will help me reach teachers everywhere and show them how great the product or strategy is in real time.
Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.
I guess the only resource I have found helpful is the FSU online library and I ask Dr. Deb Hemler a lot of questions lol.
Chapter 7 Branding
What is "Brand-ed" School Leadership? (Post to blog)
From what I understand it sounds like a Brand-ed school leadership is equivalent to a salesman. The company hires professionals in the field to advocate for their product and probably provided a monetary reward for such services. I think of these as the people you see at conferences that were once school teachers, but now tour around to different conferences attempting to get educators into their company's product. It’s like working for the man, man!
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? (Post to blog)
Well I guess I just have experience with local PLN. I have the people I work with at FSU and the others in my classes. I have participated in some webinars that branch out from just the local group I typically work with. THat is about the extent of my experience, I think. I am 100% sure that a PLN would be great at FSU. At least one that is sort of like a website where other educators can post and share ideas to everyone else at the college. We do it a lot now through emails or showing them off during meetings. Emails are still important to communicating in the 21st century, but we need more 24 hour access options to materials and I think a dedicated PLN would be an amazing tool for the college.
I like the idea of more "anytime" access of PLNs. Webinars are excellent and are already utilized in some systems in that capacity. Much of my county's professional development is self-guided tutorials, much like a powerpoint presentation where the presenters talk at you and you listen. I think webinars are better in most cases than these presentation videos because webinars involve more two-sided conversations where the participants can contribute and ask questions. Good ideas as usual. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI think anytime you are teaching new things in professional development that it needs to be hands-on for everyone to understand it. Just like our students, we are all different learners and usually making things more hands-on more people are understanding the process and what to do rather than just sitting down watching someone speak about the product the entire time. I agree with you about a Brand-ed leader, they are like salesmen and they want to have your business when it comes to you getting something that they have. I think that PLN would be great with FSU and other colleges around the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree: the best professional development strategies are hands on! I know that I can't learn super well from just a lecture or only hearing about a new topic. I need to SEE it. I try to teach my classes like this as well; giving notes and then going right into practice problems as a group so my students can see what I'm saying. I think it's effective for them, so I really feel that it would be effective for teachers as well.
ReplyDeleteSean,
ReplyDeleteWhat you describe in your opening paragraph about the positive impact "good" PD can have, should be the norm. I attended a workshop at a required conference that was absolutely great, but the rest of the hours I spent at the conference were an absolute waste of time. The workshop I liked was hands-on just like you continued to describe... because it becomes relevant, authentic, and engaging real learning takes place and even greater than that the learning gets passed on to others. The inspiration gained in really good PD has the potential to have a great impact on student achievement. The telconference idea has the potential to reach more participants and could offer a realtime alternative to recorded trainings. I'm glad you shared this experience in this post, Thanks!
Sean,
ReplyDeleteI like your opening paragraph about the professional connections you can make through professional development. It is in my opinion a key part of professional development. I also like your idea of having an online workshop, or teleconference. It is my belief that cooperation is the most important part of professional development, and your ideas for an online workshop really mesh with that.
Sean,
ReplyDeleteI agree with allowing teachers to practice the skill or participate fully in professional learning. I really don't like delivering PL that is ppt. based only, there are times when it happens, due to a time crunch, but it's the follow-up that has to happen-the support from the presenter or teacher leaders. Great plan to deliver professional learning/development via webinar/teleconference. I love recorded webinars, so I can return to the video at any time for a reference. Using a tool like Jing would allow you to create tutorials and post for participants to follow. PLNs can be Twitter or Feedly - a participatory culture that you follow and gear towards your learning.