my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

The #InnovatorsMindset MOOC Starting February 27, 2017 #IMMOOC

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I credit George Couros for many of the amazing things that have happened in my professional adventures and am excited to help support his book and current project, which I am sharing below! I hope you can join us! The Innovators Mindset is more than just a book, it can literally be a call to action to change the way you engage and motivate your staff or your learners.

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How do you move from “pockets of innovation” to a “culture of innovation”?

How do we start to innovate inside of the box?

What does innovation mean for education, and should every educator be an innovator?

These are questions that I have addressed in my book, “The Innovator’s Mindset”, and will continue to dig deeper into with the second “Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course” that will be starting again on February 27, 2017.

The brilliant Katie Martin will be joining again to help host this experience,  but alumni from the first course will also be taking part to lead in this experience as well.  Not only is this a great way to dig deeper into the content of the book, it is an amazing opportunity to create your own learning, while networking with passionate educators around the world.  We have also confirmed guests that will be joining us not only for a YouTube Live, but as well as a Twitter chat every Wednesday night at 9pm EST (6pm PST).

We are also extremely excited to bring on some awesome guests for this experience that will share their own experiences and work, to open up the learning past the book.

The guests and the times are as follows:

Actual Date Topic Guests Twitter Chat
February 27, 8pm EST Introduction AJ Juliani and John Spencer March 1, 9pm EST
March 5, 8pm EST Part 1: Innovation in Education Sarah Thomas March 8, 9pm EST
March 12, 8pm EST Part 2:  Laying the Groundwork Amber Teamann and Matt Arend March 15, 9pm EST
March 20, 8pm EST Part 3: Unleashing Talent Jennifer Casa-Todd March 22, 9pm EST
March 26, 8pm EST Part 4: Concluding Thoughts To be announced March 29,9pm EST

If you miss the original YouTube Live session, you will be able to watch the recorded version or listen to the podcast.

If you are interested in joining, please do the following:

  1. Buy a copy of “The Innovator’s Mindset“. We will have a “selfie challenge” coming soon so get your book as soon as you can so you can win a prize for our draw.
  2. Sign up for the course (also listed below).
  3. Get your blog ready to go! (I suggest either edublogs.org or wordpress.com)
  4. Share that you are joining to the #IMMOOC hashtag on Twitter and share this link for others to sign up.
  5. Join the Facebook group.

The great thing about the first IMMOOC, was participants created their own spaces to share as well. This is not limited to the groups that we are using above, so if you are interested in making your own spaces, please feel free to do so.

We look forward to having so many great people join this process and delving deeper into the importance of innovation in education.

Hop on over to George’s blog to join #IMMOOC!!

Hope to see you there!

 

Amber

Differentiated PD, with a purpose! #taketwo

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This week we have an opportunity to meet with our staff while our Wolves have a day off. One of my goals as an administrator is to not waste my teacher’s time. I’ve written before about how I also recognize I need to always be moving them along their own growth path. By providing differentiated professional development, I can accomplish both! In the same way that we expect our teachers to provide differentiated classroom instruction, my expectation should be to do the same for our teachers. Providing differentiated PD shouldn’t be a choice, but we as administrators do. Model what ya want! Or as Jimmy Casas says, Model what you EXPECT. After reading this post from my buddy, Brad Gustafson, creating a choose your PD adventure came easy!

 

(Flyer!)

Differentiated PD is as easy as allowing teachers to have choice, input, and TIME to think and process the PD they’ve taken part in can allow for deeper implementation and impact student learning, which again, is why we do what we do.

Our plan for Monday is this. Teacher will have breakfast and then have the chance to choose 2 from 6 different choices presented from staff who went to #TCEA17. Choices were based on what most closely aligned with the bulk of our staff’s TTESS goals set in August. They are short sessions, meant to whet their appetite and give easy strategies to add in tools for learning here in the spring.

They then are going to spend time reflecting on their individual goals, and ensure they are moving down that path of a lifelong learner. After lunch, we have time set aside for them to work with their team, analyzing our MOY data and using it to plan for small group instruction. Strategic teaching based on individual student growth is going to be what moves Wolves, in every classroom every day.

And just as fun lil’bonus for reading this far…kicking off our day tomorrow I’ll share one or two of these “fun” testing videos…just to remind us how very humorous our spring season can be. One of my Voxer groups, who bless their hearts still include me, despite my MIA-ness shared these this weekend and they are so apropos!

Hope YOUR adventure is as fun as mine!

Amber

The power of people… #TCEA17 #taketwo

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I think I’ve done a top ten or 5 take-away post or a what to do list for every conference I’ve gone to since I’ve been blogging.

It typically revolved around a couple of great ideas, ways to grow, and ways to move forward.

Post #TCEA17, which was full of great ideas, and even greater people…I find myself this time in a place of reflection and respect for the relationships that are in my world. There is something humbling about being surrounded by AWESOME and realizing how very much more you have to learn, and to see, and to know. 

I hope I am never one of those people who walk away from an opportunity to have the kind of connections that conferences, social media, and tools like Voxer can now provide, and think “Meh. I already know all this stuff. I’m/we’re so ahead of ______. (Insert edtech term here) ” I went to BLC in 2009 and remember asking my then tech director about this crazy tool called twitter. How oh so quickly he dismissed me, saying, “Meh. We don’t need connections like that.” So very short sighted of him, (Literally…what was said. In the airport in Boston I was wearing green converse. THAT’S how much I remember that conversation!!)

Friends who challenge…and push back on status quo.

Ideas you don’t agree with…but appreciate the passion behind.

Having friends help you see that your growth can be in another place…and that is ok.        

( I actually have an entire other post written for just this one statement. If you’re not following Sanee Bell, you should be.)

Ideas that take root…and then branch out to your people.

Conversations that lift you up, make you laugh and help you BE A BETTER YOU. ( Dean, Matt, Tom, Adam, Eric, Aaron, Marlena…I mean. Honestly!)

Man…I hope I never walk away thinking, meh. I don’t need that. Because friends, that’s what we want for our students, isn’t it? To always be learners, who grow, and support, and challenge. Who support, inspire, and motivate.  Who can develop supportive relationships because in this walk of life you never know which twist your road will take and who you might need along the way

If the smartest person in the room is the room…I am thankful for those in my room. Need a bigger room? Let’s talk…no meh’ing allowed!

Amber

Help curb teacher burnout with Fab Fridays in February!

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Teacher burnout…it’s a real thing. This stretch in the winter/spring is a LONG chunk of instructional intensity. You’ve got middle of the year data, you have testing awareness creeping up on you, and spring break is just outta reach. The genius of Melinda Miller introduced me to Fab Fridays in February several years ago and I have loved coming up with fun things to do with my staff each year.

While it may seem like a lot of work, really, your teachers are doing the heavy lifting this time of year. And if your team is like mine, they easily over commit in order to help their students succeed. The benefits of building and supporting a positive school climate far out-weigh the time and effort required.  

I would also take a guess that a positive school climate can help bring the joy and fun back into teaching and learning.

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Who wouldn’t want to be part of a school like that?

Here’s what we’re doing this year! (You can also download it here!)What do you do to love on and support your teams?

 

FabFri loveN,

Amber

#2017HappyAdminchallenge and a systems check!

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I am a firm believer in that if it isn’t written down, odds are I won’t remember to get to it with fidelity. I’ve written about my goals for several years now (2016, 2015, 2104, 2012) and love being able to reference not only where I was personally but also  professionally. I’m only 9 days late into sharing my goals but have no fear! I am ready!

 

  • Don’t be stressed and think your job is the worst! Focus on all the GREAT things that happen each and every day. In such a place you can’t find any? Let me help you!

30daychall

Feel free to download and share! I’ll print and simply mark off each day that I complete.

  •  Keep reading, but find a balance! Already this year, I’ve reviewed three books, one from Solution Tree that I think is going to be pretty awesome…but I haven’t shared any of them! I want to do a better job of SHARING what I read. Adding in “Book Snaps” is my new literary goal. Writing about each book may be too hard, but sharing really great ideas via Snapchat should make it easier. Matt Arend and I have a fun presentation for #TCEA17 where we’ll be talking about all kinds of fun eduSnapChat things!
  • Building relationships. I know it sounds premeditated but I have started keeping a list of EACH and every person that I check in with, send a letter too, or have a personal conversation with. Keeping allows me to see what my natural patterns look like, but also ensure I am not leaving anyone out that matters to me. I’m even planning our family vacation in a way that lets me see a bestie!
  • Working ahead…staying ahead of the curve and maintaining that time that allows me to work a month in advance is going great for school stuff…but I need to get there with personal things. Two girls, three teams, and a fireman also deserve that courtesy! I know I’ve talked about my love for my Erin Condren before. I’m still a fan of the regular LifePlanner. I still take ALL my admin notes in this notebook. (Use my link to get yourself $10 bucks off!) And now, I’ve discovered these pens!

They don’t bleed through! Let me say that again…THEY DON’T BLEED through!! That makes me so happy! I have a variety of colors, and know that they are safe to use each day. It’s the little things, ya’ll!

All of these things help me improve my system. Practices help your performance, right? All of these “goals” are designed to help me be better day to day, which will increase my overall happiness/performance. When you focus on the practice instead of the performance, you can enjoy the present moment and improve at the same time.

I challenge you to not think about what you would like to see the year 2017 bring, but actually write it down…then take the steps to integrate it into your systems…make it happen!!

 

Challenge accepted,

Amber