Staff Development

Staff gifties…the 12 days of Christmas giving!

December 8, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

cowboy-santa Last year the Voxer group of principals that I talk to daily went back and forth on a “12 days” of Christmas idea as a way to give a lil’something to each staff member. None of the ideas were very big, or cost a lot of money, they were all just little things/ways to show how much we appreciate and celebrate how awesome they are.

This year I’ve added them to a Smore, and have added a lil’rhyme to feel even more holly jolly.

We’re counting down to Christmas break, but in a FUN way…(we all know I am not fan of the countdown!!)

Here is where we are so far…(if you’re a Wrangler, stop reading here! Don’t ruin your surprises!!)

What we have left:

– wear workout gear

– a Christmas card from us ( I designed in PPT and then used the “Santa hat” app to add hates to one of super cute pics!)

– a gift card lottery (5 $10 gift cards for local places)

– a special Wrangler giftie ( Can’t say b/c you know they didn’t stop reading when I asked them too!;))

– bagel breakfast

– another jean day

Hopefully, they understand that while the monetary amount of these days isn’t much, our appreciate and admiration for being in the trenches is EXTREMELY high. We have an amazing staff and worthy of much more! They empower and inspire our students daily, and its easy to forget in the hustle bustle of this holiday season that they too need a smile and a motivational boost!

Humbly appreciative,

Amber

An #ASCD opportunity!

October 23, 2014 by Amber Leave a Comment

FY15-PDIs-590x120 Flipping PD for educators allows them to do much of their own learning at home, at their own pace, and improves the time spent together in a large group. During the ASCD Educator Effectiveness Institute, Engaged and Inspired: High-Impact Strategies to Motivate and Challenge Each Learner, attendees will take part in both online and on-site learning.

Three weeks before the on-site meeting, participants will join an online learning community on ASCD EDge. Led by ASCD faculty member Stefani Hite, attendees will discuss student motivation theory based on the September 2014 edition of Educational Leadership, “Motivation Matters,” which includes important motivation topics such as choice, rigor, curiosity, relevance, feedback and relationships. At their own pace, participants will read articles from the EL issue that will frame their on-site professional development.

Next, participants will meet for one day on-site with Hite to explore what motivates students. Once on-site, participants will dive deep into student engagement and participation strategies that enhance cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral engagement. Attendees will identity four strategies and set goals as to how they will use them in their classrooms.

Finally, the virtual learning community will reconvene for coaching and collaboration with other participants and Hite. Participants will discuss the strategies that they have implemented in their school or classroom and share what has worked and what has been challenging. Participants can exchange feedback and ideas and Hite will also answer questions and offer expert advice for four to six weeks after the on-site meeting.

This is a great opportunity for educators to not only take part in flipped professional learning, but also address one of the most important factors contributing to student achievement.

You can find all details, locations, and dates here: http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/institutes/engaged-and-inspired.aspx

Happy learning!
Amber

It’s Connected Educator Month! (Huh? What?) #CE14

October 1, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

Even though it looks different for each learner, being a connected educator simply means leveraging technology to expand one’s personal learning network. Doing so not only provides you with a network of like-minded people, but also inspires you to try new activities and strategies to create the most effective learning environment for your students. No one has time to be alone on their educator island! Jump in this month and try something new!

There is a calendar through ASCD & the USDOE and that gives a multitude of activities that you can partake in. From tweeting to blogging to an online book club, there’s an activity for every type of learner. Don’t feel overwhelmed by the choices, pick just ONE a week (or the month! baby steps!) even to get your feet wet in the connected waters.

I’m choosing to share these ideas with my staff, thinking that if just one of them becomes more “connected” this month, they’ll have changed the trajectory of their classroom of learners!

(Link to an editable version of my tic tac toe board)

What activities are you going to try?

AmConnctedber

PS: Join Joe Mazza and I on October 16 as we host a #CPchat on “Using Social Media for Professional Learning” at 8pm ET.

5 things learned from “Read, Write, Lead” & win your own copy!

September 14, 2014 by Amber 4 Comments

Regie Routman’s newest ASCD book, “Read, Write, Lead: Breakthrough Strategies for Schoolwide Literacy Success” was a cover to cover read for me. Knowing how well-respected Ms. Routman is certainly made me WANT to read this book, but the focus on literacy skills made it impossible to put down.

My top five take aways:

1. Establish a culture of trust. A level of professional trust is crucial for effective change. (In the same way the instructional leader needs to have a relationship with their staff in order to provide coaching support, a teacher must do the same with their students.) Where trust is missing, fear is often present, and fear is a guaranteed antidote to learning. The change when moving your campus/classroom to a literacy/writing based classroom will be different from what you are used too…keep those high expectations and keep moving forward.

2. Teach with urgency. Lacking the belief that we can positively influence the learning and achievement of ALL of our students will hold us back. Teach with a sense of relevancy and purpose & connect meaning to the tasks at hands.

3. These big ideas: modeled writing from instructors, student input, authentic book discussions, connect reading & writing. I’m going to look for strong teachers to help make these happen this year. Routman writes “We need to focus our reading and writing where our students’ interests are”. In an educational system where “student engagement” is crucial, there are quick wins shared that are practical and easy to implement, from kinder to high school.

4. The entire chapter on leadership priorities. “Effective leadership is essential for excellent school wide reading and writing practice across the curriculum”…and she cites a 6 year study that not one single successful school was able to be that way “with the absence of talented leadership”. The chapter highlights significant behaviors and actions of effective leaders, which led to accelerated achievement for both students and teachers.

5. Finally, the idea of PLCs: “professional literacy communities”…I don’t think there is too big a reach from the PLCs that we see working on campuses today to one with a literacy instructional focus. Allowing data to guide not dictate. Recognize that there is a difference between professional development and professional learning. Identify crucial questions that can be a school focus..and make sure you stay on track.

The appendix provides instructional look-fors that are also an incredible resource.

Want to get a copy for yourself?? You can order it here or you can also enter below to get a FREE copy! Enter between today (9/14/2014) and next Sunday, (9/21/2014) and I will send the winner their copy! (I’ll be keeping mine with all the high lighting, ;))

[gravityform id=”5″ name=”Read, Write, Lead”]

read on,
Amber

Don’t have a professional summer slide!

June 7, 2014 by Amber 2 Comments

With summer comes less of the demands on our time in education. It’s an opportunity to refresh, renew, and recharge. Never one to just sit by idle, I always look forward to this time of year. What other profession do we get to start over every year? There are so many simple things that educators can do, teachers & administrators alike, to stay ahead of the curve, and get invigorated for the next year.

Pinterest

Create an account on pinterest full of fun lesson ideas, technology integration suggestions or a board of inspiration for days when you are down. Want to learn more about digital citizenship? Start searching and pinning! Want to gamify your classroom or building? There’s a pin for that!

Pinterest tip: The more detailed and specific you keep your boards, the more likely you are to use them because of how easy it will be to find what you’re looking for!

Find a podcast that you enjoy!

One of my personal goals is to walk more this summer. I am NOT a fan of the heat. Or sweating. Or, um exercise. One way my walk is more enjoyable is when I listen to one of the podcasts I subscribe too. I get behind throughout the year, and am hoping I can get caught up this summer! My favorites?

Book Bonanza!

Find a book that can help you change the way you do ONE thing next year. I recently read “Leverage Leadership” and can’t wait to sit down with my new principal and implement the coaching piece that I read about. In the book, they talk about priority scheduling what matters most. As a teacher, I was most passionate about our campfire talks. It was an opportunity for my students and I to just sit and chat. If I remembered to write it on my lesson plans, then it was way more likely to happen. In the same sense, I am going to be very intentional with my teacher coaching. I’m going to create a schedule and stick to it! Developing a yearlong guide that will systematically–and systemically– be effective will make me more cognizant of my role, empowering teachers!

Need book suggestions? I highly recommend the ASCD Arias series. Short and sweet, and available in ebook format! Angela Watson is also starting a book study on July 1st on her book, Awakened. I also obsessively devour anything that Robyn Jackson writes.

Find a hashtag!

ISTE is having their national conference at the end of June, the Greater Clark Connected Ed conference in July, There will be hashtags related to both conferences that you could follow along with from home, just to come across lil’gems that can challenge your philosophy on what we do for a living. Edudemic just posted these 21 interesting conferences that you could also look into via Twitter or in real life.

Find an edcamp!

They’ve created a master calendar of edcamps all over the US, see if there is one coming by you! If not, what about creating your own? Administrators should think about adding edcamp style PD for their campus when making PD plans for the fall. According to #edcamp participant surveys, traditional PD was rated a 2.5 on scale of 1-5 & #edcamp rated a 4.5.

Find a blog, create a blog to start reflecting and sharing!

I have an account through Feedly that I have linked many of the blogs that I consider “musts” that I read regularly. Several I have signed up for through listservs, so I get an email when there is a new post. Extremely handy for the ones I just don’t want to miss out on! Justin Tarte just posted his “Top Ten Blogs to Read This Summer” list, you might find some inspiration there!

If you’re looking to start a blog, I can’t recommend Heather Steele, at Blue Steele Solutions, enough. From technical aspects, to platform support, she is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. With her social media knowledge, she can help you discern exactly what you want to do, and the best manner in which to accomplish it!

All of these tips are “saw sharpeners”, as Stephen Covey would say. One of his “Seven habits of Highly Effective” people is to “sharpen the saw”. This habit discusses self-renewal, self-care, self-respect and self-improvement.

Even picking just one of these from above will help keep you from having any “summer slide”! How do you plan on “sharpening” this summer?

Sharply,

Amber