Lead Learners Wrap-Up

By The Collab Lab Team

Today we had the final Lead Learners meeting of the school year.  We started off by activating prior knowledge and sharing our successes this year:

We then had a series of lesson demonstrations.  The first was from Grove Junior High teachers Tracy Groark and Kerry Frazier who shared the evolution of how they communicate learning targets with their students and new and more intentional ways they connect instruction and assessments more to those learning targets. They both included examples of how they use Google Forms, and even Kahoot to engage students and better understand gaps in their understanding.

Leslie Guimon then shared the evolution of learning targets on the Spanish team.  She shared how the courses were once aligned thematically, then grammatically, and so on.  After discussing at length and agreeing on Enduring Understandings for all levels of Spanish, they developed clear learning targets for each level.

 

The final demonstration was from Tom Boczar.   He discussed how students in Physics classes reflect on their assessments and objectives, using a rubric to determine understanding.  Was there a disconnect or misconception about what they knew?  Was there uncertainty--a lack of confidence or guessing?  Or was there mastery.  The reflection is student-directed, and Tom noticed how important it was to students when he almost skipped the process after a recent unit.  The students objected and insisted he not skip it!

      

Following the lesson demonstrations, teachers engaged in a self assessment activity.  Each participant was asked to bring an assessment they currently use.  Using the self-assessment checklist below, teachers individually assessed the method they were using, where their targets fell, and if their assessment met four conditions for a quality assessment. The group then shared out their "A-Ha" moments about their own assessments, and plans for next steps.

This final EGLLT wrapped up with a year-end evaluation and time for teachers to collaborate in course-alike teams to continue conversations about their next steps. Feedback from staff on the evaluation will be used to plan future professional learning experiences.

Inter-District Collaboration

By The Collab Lab Team:

Yesterday a team from Bremen HS came to visit the Collab Lab after participating in our webinar on "Collaborating to Learn" hosted by the Illinois Principals Association and EdLeaders Network last month.  This team of administrators and teachers is looking to expand their peer observation, professional development, and teacher leader opportunities and were interested in asking questions about how Elk Grove's Collab Lab formed and evolved.

We are thankful for the Bremen team for coming to visit us, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue to work with, visit them, and learn from them across districts as well!
 

Collaborating to Learn! Our webinar for the Illinois Principals Association and EdLeaders Network

By The CollabLab Team

Today the CollabLab team had the opportunity to present a webinar to the Illinois Principals Association / Ed Leaders Network: The Collab Lab at Elk Grove High School: Responsive and Sustained Teacher-Led Professional Learning.

Our purpose was to share with the participants how they can support sustained and responsive teacher-led professional learning in their buildings.  We did this by sharing how we started in peer observation groups and how we continue to evolve in the CollabLab today, centering our conversation around our motto of "Connect, Learn, Share."

Alongside us, our principal, Paul Kelly, supported us and collaborated with us on this presentation.  His focus was to help participants reflect upon professional learning in their own building and help guide them in creating possible action plans.  You can access a copy of this document here.

Throughout the webinar we connected with participants through the hashtag #elnpln.  Check out our conversations and connect with others.  You can access our PowerPoint here.  It contains links to all of the resources supported by the CollabLab.  Please let us know if you'd like to share your ideas or talk to us about professional learning in your school or ours!

Matching Assessment Methods: Lead Learners #6

By The CollabLab Team

Yesterday's focus in Lead Learners was based on these two essential questions:

1.  How do we create conditions that maximize mastery of learning?

2.  How do we maximize student learning through sound assessment design?

The majority of our time was spent discussing the concept that assessment methods are not interchangeable.  Thus, we talked about the most relevant assessment method to be used for the type of learning target being assessed.  This helps to ensure accurate assessment results.  The four assessment methods are 1) selected response, 2) written response, 3) performance assessment, and 4) personal communication.

In groups, we did an activity where we were to match the strength of each of these assessment methods for the four types of learning targets.  See the grid below:

Many of us were surprised with the research-based results (provided below).  This spurred very interesting dialogue, especially when looking at different content areas!

Following this dynamic discussion, we had four groups of teachers share lesson demos. The first was our Bio team of Quinn Loch and Krista Glosson who discussed how they restructured their standards to increase a focus on key domains.  They also shared how they report grades both formatively and summatively in a non-standards-based online gradebook to communicate the most accurate information on achievement to students and parents.

Our second lesson demo was by Kim Miklusak, discussing the evolution of changes in the AP English Language grading rubrics from 4-degrees to 3 in order to clarify definitions of mastery and proficiency.  This rubric also mirrors the biology rubric to help increase cohesiveness of skills between content areas. 

Next, Bonnie Kale shared the idea of having one essential question in Honors Written and Oral Communications for a unit.  This unifying element allows for students and teachers to synthesize information and skills in order to maintain a focus throughout an entire novel.  This also allows the team to reloop through writing and reading skills all centered around one theme.

 

Finally, Sandra Lee and Katie Winstead shared how they differentiate formative feedback in Prep World Literature.  They build in elements of a pre- and post-test as well as clear learning targets in order to allow them to modify instruction to meet the needs of a wide range of student ability levels.  Regardless of grammar ability, all students learn the same materials at a different pace and with targeted teacher support.

Thank you to everyone who presented and participated yesterday!  We are looking forward to more conversations in upcoming PLTs and at next month's presentation!  To learn more, follow the #EGLLT hashtag on Twitter or stop into the CollabLab for more conversations!

Pounce on Periscope: a Science of Cancer forum

By Rita Sayre

You poured yourself into creating an experiential lesson or forum, yet you had some students who missed it.  How can you re-create the experience for absent students?

Kim Miklusak, one of our DTCs, and I recently tried Periscope, an application that works with Twitter to create a live video feed of your lesson or presentation.  Anyone with the twitter link can join in and see your live video.  Even better, Periscope allows others to comment in real time on what is happening.  Students who are absent can participate in class in real time.

In D214, we love to create forums – common experiences for our students on a theme.  Presented in the theater, these experiences become an enrichment opportunity or a time to explore a topic in depth.  When students miss this, they often are unable to complete following activities or use the skills or knowledge as the course moves forward.  Periscope not only allows a student to participate in real time, but you can save the link for 24 hours and students can watch the lesson the following day.

Flipping your classroom might seem like a tall order in an otherwise busy school year, but Periscope is an effortless way to bring the world into your classroom or theater.

Here’s what you need to be a Periscope powerhouse:

• Have a Twitter account that you use for school purposes
• Download Periscope and link it to your Twitter
• Let your students and colleagues know – send out the link
• Video your presentation in Periscope
• Send out a reminder that the link is live for 24 hours

Kim's note: We will follow up with a blog post soon that explains the technical "How To" of using Periscope as well as some of our experiences from Periscoping Rita's event.  Stay tuned!

Devoting time to our own skills can benefit our students

by Kirsten Fletcher

As teachers, we have a tendency to devote all our energy to planning lessons, meeting with students, grading, etc. and not take time for our own professional growth.  For example, I teach French and I often feel like my language skills are slipping. I can no longer keep up the pace of a conversation the way I used to, and I just can't find the time to maintain the level I would like to have. Yet if I want my students to devote time to improving their language skills outside the classroom, I need to work on my own as well. The broader my vocabulary, the more likely I am to expose them to idiomatic expressions and advanced structures.

One way that I can work on my own skills and still encourage my students is through field trips. Every year, we offer students an opportunity to leave English (and technology) behind for a weekend and immerse themselves in French with Aventure Française. Students spend the weekend participating in trust walks, nature hikes, broom ball, tug-of-war, singing and skits... all while remaining in the target language! It is truly marvelous to observe.

214 students work together in French to accomplish a task

214 students use compasses, identify landmarks,
participate in trust walk in the woods while using French

Teachers refresh their skills as well

While it is always rewarding to see the progress that students make and the confidence they gain in such a short period of time, I also have a selfish reason for going. This weekend forces me to speak French as well. Even better, it gives me the opportunity to not be the expert in the room. I interact all weekend with my peers and I regain some of my fluency of expression. I return to the classroom energized and armed with new ideas.

The same can be said about honing our teaching skills. It is important to take time out to develop ourselves professionally. This may mean doing pull-out days with our PLC, participating in workshops, or attending conferences. While these experiences frequently mean extra work in the form of planning and sub plans, the payoff is worth it. For more reflection on the benefits of attending professional conferences, see this blog post by Kim Miklusak.













On a smaller scale, the Collab Lab at EGHS offers a variety of professional learning opportunities. Without having to get a sub or take time out for conferences, teachers can join our Teaming on Tuesdays workshops for one period (or even part of a period) to learn through observation and discussion with colleagues and students. Many teachers also just stop in to chat, get feedback, or exchange ideas.

In fact, stop by the Collab Lab during any period on a normal day and you can hear teachers challenging one another and having professional discussions about how our goals align to our assessments or how to best reach struggling students. I sometimes walk out overwhelmed, but more often I leave with new ideas that energize me and encourage me to improve my instruction. I acknowledge that it is hard to take time away from my ever-growing to-do list to engage in meaningful conversation about pedagogy - especially when I really just need to get things graded. However, I truly believe that devoting this time to improving myself and my instruction will benefit my students in the end.

Teacher-led Institute Days at EG!

By Linda Ashida

Today we carried on our tradition of our teacher-led professional learning with our January Institute Day:  "Making Connections."

We collaborated with our colleagues across all departments to plan Spark sessions and Learning Labs that made connections to our professional learning goals and the learning goals we have for our students.

Check out this Google Doc to see more details on the schedule and to see how we crowd-sourced resources, inviting staff to add their own examples and resource to the Google Docs for each Spark Session.

Check out this Storify to get an idea of what the day "looked like." 

Future posts this week will share more details and resources from the Spark Sessions and Learning Labs.

If you are interested in learning more about our tradition of teacher-led institute days, check out the drop-down menu on this Teacher-led Institute Day link on our Collab Lab Resource Hub.

Why Should We Attend Conferences?

By Kim Miklusak

I am thankful in our district that we have the opportunity to be reimbursed for most--if not all--of the cost of attending some conferences both locally and nationally.  At the end of November I had the opportunity to attend #NCTE15, the Annual Convention for the National Council of Teachers of English.  It was the first time I had attended this conference since I was in college!  Last summer, some of our instructional tech teachers had the opportunity to attend ISTE. Right now, Linda Ashida is attending and presenting at the Learn Forward Conference with Lori Abbott.  These are just a few examples of the many opportunities our teachers have had recently (please share more!).

One thing that struck me most about attending NCTE was the open collaboration and sharing between not only presenters and audiences, but also between people in the audience; connections made between elementary, high school, and university staff; and the people connected on Twitter through the hashtag.  I was able to attend session strands in rhetoric, writing, and social justice--three topics I have been focusing on in my own professional development this year.  Currently I am working on a blog series to summarize and share what I have learned.

Ultimately the goal of attending these conferences doesn't end just at personal professional development, but it then continues to also multiply the learning back at our own school.  I was able to bring materials back to my team and to suggest other ideas for our curriculum and instruction.  I think so often teachers get bogged down with the day-to-day and year-to-year demands of the classroom and lives.  It's vital, I believe, for each of us to--as often as we can--get out, share our ideas, feel affirmation for what we are doing, be challenged by new ideas, and learn in order to grow.

Peer Observation: Round 2 (Post 2/4)

Colleen Mullaney's regular junior math class worked on a self-reflection document before the end of the quarter.  On the front side of the reflection, students filled in their grades for each of the assessments of first quarter.  Then on the back, they answered these four questions:
1)  The quarter is ending on Friday.  What are your thoughts about your grade where it is now?
2)  What has gotten you to the grade that you have now?  Is it the homework?  The time spent in class?
3)  Are all your assessments complete? Meaning have you taken them all? Or do you have a redo or missing?
4)  What are you going to do to either maintain the grade you have or improve your grade before the semester ends?

Anna Izzo's AP Italian class was peer editing a two-paragraph DBQ essay. Since this was the first one of the year, Ms. Izzo had students focus on writing an introduction and thesis statement. Then their peers were given a checklist with specific criteria to make sure they included the necessary information and supporting evidence from the article.

 

Peer Observation: Round 2 (Post 1/4)

Period 1
The second Peer Observation Day got off to a great start in Kristen Guth's freshman english class. Students were self-assessing on their speeches about a person who had a positive impact on their lives. Kristen recorded students' speeches on her iPad and was able to share the speeches with each  student through Google Drive. Students were then able to watch themselves and assess their speaking skills - rating themselves on volume, eye contact, posture, clarity, and preparation using a rubric.

 The self-assessment rubric also left room for students to provide examples or evidence for their rankings.

This outside perspective let students see themselves in a more objective manner, which presented a chance for them to see strengths and areas that may need improvement.  It was great seeing students self reflect in other subject areas and I have plenty of ideas for my classroom as a result. Thank you Kristen for letting us observe your classroom!


Period 2

A big Thank You to Tim Phillips and Beata Yormark for inviting us into their classrooms during 2nd period for our second Peer Observation Day. In Human Geography, we saw students engaging with the lesson by participating in a Schoology discussion about voluntary migration. It was a great way to get students to connect the concept to their own lives. It was particularly fun to watch Mr. Phillips' students explaining Schoology discussions to observing staff members. 

In Beata's math class, students were reviewing for a unit test by completing a Schoology checklist. It was empowering to see students all engaged and working at their own pace to review the material. We saw kids collaborating to review the material, asking good questions, and all advancing toward their learning goals. Students explained to observing staff members the importance of showing their work as they completed tasks in Notability. They truly took ownership of their learning.

We loved having Mary Beth Khoury and Marge Wojtas join us for our second Peer Observation Day. We hope others find the time to join us next time, too!

Guest Post: Adding Value to People

By Joe Bush

In February of 2015, I was fortunate enough to attend the John Maxwell Team Leadership Certification Program.  It was the best professional development I ever experienced, and the knowledge I learned from that conference fundamentally altered they way in which I teach.  The most important pieces of information that I took away from the three-day conference are as follows: 1. The best leaders are those who have the greatest influence, 2. Leaders need to serve, 3. Leaders need to add value to people and 4. Expectations drive beliefs and beliefs drive behavior.

As a teacher, I have always considered myself a leader. However, for much of my career, I was a positional leader.  A positional leader is someone who leads because someone else gave them a position.  An example might be an NFL head coach who was handpicked by the owner, but is unable to influence the players.  That type of teacher rarely has success in the classroom because they use their position to hold it over students.  After hearing John Maxwell (The Number One Leadership Guru in the World) speak, I began to think differently about teaching.  If I were going to truly change the minds and hearts of students and educate them they way that I saw fit, I was going to need to serve them.  The second part was adding value to the lives of the students. 

I would like to explain more on the notion of serving others and adding value through an example.  This year I was blessed with the opportunity to teach a leadership through service course.  What I quickly realized was that my students had great ideas, were already influential in their own circles and they all loved to serve.  After hearing Maxwell speak I realized that instead of pushing my own leadership agenda at the beginning of the year I should have focused on helping each student become more influential using their own strengths.  For some it may have been through public speaking, others it was through organization and still others just needed encouragement.  After coming back from the conference, I quickly changed my agenda in time to help the students succeed in our St. Baldrick’s charity drive.  As I incorporated Maxwell’s ideas, I could quickly see how the students grew in an explosive fashion.  I helped my students enhance what they already did well. 

The final piece to the puzzle was the idea that expectations drive belief and belief drives behavior. Motivational speaker and entrepreneur Paul Martinelli talked about how he overcame stuttering and the fact that he was a high school dropout to build several million-dollar businesses.  Paul said that belief drives behavior.  Therefore, if we think we are stupid, our behaviors are stupid.  However, because expectations drive beliefs, as a teacher it is our job to set expectations for our students to live up to.   When we set those expectations, hold students accountable and provide supports to assist them, students achieve more.

What I found to be the best part of the Maxwell training was the fact that serving and adding value to others is something that can be done regardless of your position. Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”  This is true because leadership is influence.  So, regardless of your position, you can always strive to be more influential, thus becoming a better leader.   Going forward, I will strive to add value to my students right from the start.  Each year will be different based on the different needs of students, but the lessons learned from that conference will forever change the way I think, lead and teach. 

Multiply Learning with #EG1to1!

By Kim Miklusak and Linda Ashida

The other day on Twitter someone shared the idea of what if every teacher tweeted one idea or moment from class every day.  Imagine the community building, the collaborative experiences, and the instructional sharing that could go on if each of us could do that!  Think how much we could learn from and be inspired by one another!

As we move to full 1:1 implementation at Elk Grove next year, the Collab Lab is encouraging staff to Tweet resources and examples of learning in their classrooms using the hashtag EG1to1.  The use of the hashtag will allow us to easily search and curate all of these tweets, and we will multiply our opportunities to learn from one another. For example, just today several teachers tweeted out strategies, student samples, and experiences from their classrooms! The use of the hashtag also gives us an opportunity to share and build our connections with parents and communities beyond our school. We're looking forward to continuing to build this momentum for next year.

We enjoy seeing student Tweets, too, about the ways they they are learning with iPads, like this one today from Gillian Guerra. We'll encourage their use of the hashtag EG1to1 as well!

Energizing the Mid-Career Teacher

By Kim Miklusak

We have all perhaps seen a variation of this chart during our teaching career: phases of first-year teachers' attitude toward teaching.  It makes sense, and it makes new (and veteran!) teachers feel less isolated in their attitudes as the year goes on.  There is a natural progression to things, and it is something we can be conscious of and try to address and prevent.  See this image here:
Graphic from http://www.newteachercenter.org/

There has been a lot of talk in the past ten plus years--but again recently--about new teacher retention: its costs, its causes, its remedies.  I think it's vital to have these conversations about new teachers.  However, I think another conversation we need to be having is mid-career teacher retention--or, more specifically, mid-career teacher re-invigoration.

I wonder what the above chart looks like across the span of a career.  I'm sure there are many peaks and valleys for a variety of reasons both internal and external to each individual.  I wonder how we can support mid-career teachers as we do new teachers to help them connect to other educators, to continue to grow as experts in their field, and to help them find new avenues to learn.

One way is for teachers to make those connections on their own whether that be through Twitter, conferences, EdCamps, etc.  I think another way is for teachers to start finding ways to publish their own writing and reflection be that in journals, websites, or their own blog!  Another way is for schools to facilitate this re-invigoration.  This past week our school held Spark Sessions and a Mini-EdCamp at our first In-Service day in addition to the teacher-led sessions held at our Institute Days.  In addition, administrators both in-building and at the district are working with many mid-career and new teachers to branch out into new roles and help guide new and existing initiatives.  I hope that all schools follow this lead and spend their resources in some of these ways as well in order to connect to new and veteran teachers.  While it's true that teachers can hit a groove in mid-career and be left on their own, it's also a time to be sure to find ways to remain energized and constantly reflect and grow!

Skilled Workers

By Mark Heintz

On Monday, April 6, 2015, our district had an in-service day.  In the new contract signed last year, our Education Association and District Administration agreed to add an in-service day to the school calendar.  The day's intent was to allow teachers time to digitally convert their curriculum.   The day was great!  In the early stages of planning, I might have been a nay-sayer, but thanks to @Ashida_Linda and @MrsMiklusak, their wisdom prevailed.   In the morning,  spark sessions were given from a variety of staff members on topics from flipped classroom to the use of stop motion videos. The spark sessions flowed to two hours of EdCamp. You can read more about it here.  

Not to change subjects, but recently my history classes finished learning about the industrial revolution.  I can't help but make the connection between the in-service day and industrialization.  No, I am not talking about horrible working conditions or child labor.  I am writing on the needs for educated workers and the development of skilled laborers to work in factories.  People needed to be educated to work the complicated machines and perform a specialized job.

The in-service day showed how teaching has become increasingly skilled.  With the proliferation of technology and the ease of accessing information, teachers are shifting their role. New brain research drives educators to understand what methods work better to maximize learning.  Brain research coupled with new technology, it is hard to stay current with both the brain research and the technology.   The pedagogical techniques to meld these two together are difficult skills to master. The in-service day was great way to allow teachers to see a variety of new techniques and hear the latest brain research on effective teaching.  It was even better because the day allowed for time to development, collaborate, explore and create materials for their classroom from the new understandings they received at the beginning portion of the day.

A final thought: the day reminded my of a scene from Scrubs where two doctors are talking about how hard it is to stay up on the current research and how times have changed.  I have only been teaching for nine years, and the changes are drastic from when I first began.  I am fortunate to be in a school and district that has so many support systems in place to provide the tools and knowledge to become even more specialized and skilled in the art of teaching.  The teachers I work with constantly push me to new understandings of students and different ways to approach the subject matter.  I work in a school where teachers share ideas constantly.  It makes it easier to grow and stay current in a world that is ever changing.

In-Service Day Preview: Spark Sessions & EdCamp

This Monday the CollabLab will help facilitate a portion of our school's In-Service Day focusing on instructional technology.

First, we will be offering a 45-minute session of "Spark" Presentations. A Spark Presentation is a 3-5 minute presentation of an educational technology strategy that teachers employ with their students. These are not formal presentations;  think of a "spark presentation" as a kind of "show and tell." For example, Gary Alperin will share how he uses the student-response app Kahoot and Dean Burrier Sanchis will share how he uses his Weebly Website. We are planning to have Spark Presentations by 8-10 staff members. We already have several teachers who have volunteered, but we want to open this opportunity up to everyone. 


After this we will move into a mini-EdCamp.  EdCamps are "un-camps," free professional development for teachers and by teachers.  There are EdCamps hosted in many areas around the world.  Our local one is EdCamp Chicago, and the next meeting will May 9, at Bednarcik Junior High School.  Elk Grove will host its first "mini-camp."

At the start of the event, teachers come up and suggest a session they are interested in.  This does not mean that you are running it or presenting it; it just means that you are heading there to start talking about it.  The idea is you vote with your feet.  If you go to one session, and it is not what you need, or if there is more than one session you want to see, you simply get up in the middle of the session, and go to another one! Another aspect of EdCamps is the sharing of information. There will be an open Google document available for each session to share out ideas with those in and out of the workshop time.

Check out this site next week for reflections from the day!

Balancing New Ideas

By Kim Miklusak

This week we had a series of pull-out meeting times in our school and district as noted in the various blog posts and tweets: Honors/AP English Drive Down, Lead Learners, District Instructional Technology, AP junior teachers, etc..  It is incredible that our district supports professional development and teacher collaboration in so many ways.

One of the things that always gets to me after these meetings and something I hear from my co-workers, however, is how we come across a million new ideas that we want to try out RIGHT NOW.  Or, we look back to the previous school year and think, Why didn't I do that!  It's inspiring and energizing to think this way, but it can also be tiring--especially in the middle of the year--so I write down notes and lists of things to work on over the summer. 

Sometimes I think we overwhelm ourselves with trying new things whether that be an instructional strategy or a new technology piece.  We have to remind ourselves and accept that it's OK to take things one step at a time, to try things out one at a time, to learn things as we go, or even to let someone else try things out and let us know how it goes, so we can maybe incorporate or adapt them into our curriculum later.  We don't have to try every new thing all the time.  We can thoughtfully take it as we go, always with the goal in mind of enhancing our own professional development and instructional strategies to meet the needs of our students.

How to Stay Energized

By Mark Heintz

How do you stay energized as a teacher?  Stressors emotionally drain us as teachers throughout the day.  In the midwest, it is furthered by February.  Stupid February.

The answer to staying energized is to collaborate with colleagues.  I always feel renewed when I talk about student learning in a positive way with other staff members.  When I get a new idea from them, I want to try it out. I have passion, a renewed purpose, and with the idea it engages the classroom in a new way.  I reflect on it's use, and I report back to the peer to let him or her know how I used it and what I would do differently the next time.  This is why collaborating is so powerful.  Collaborating improves instruction through bettering your craft to improve student learning in an organic and meaningful way.

Furthermore, the EGLLT (Elk Grove Lead Leaders Team), which you can read about by clicking here, met to collaborate on the topic of literacy.  Through the efforts of that meeting, teachers were exposed to a TED talk by John Hattie on Maximizing Impact on Learning. One of the great things is that when teachers work together to enhance student learning, it is one of the most powerful things teachers can do.  So, while you renew yourself, you will be impacting student learning at the same time!  Here are excerpts from John Hattie's work and the video.

If you want to watch the video or read the entire study you can use the links below to access it.  

Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning By John Hattie (Routledge, 2012)

Tech Tuesday: POG round-up

Peer Observation Groups started up today!  Thank you to everyone who presented and everyone who was able to stop down.

5th period: The POG had representation from almost every department with over ten participants! Colleen Mullaney and Ami Heng were gracious enough to showcase the checklist feature in Schoology.  They explained the creation process to the group.  The POG discussed the positives and the negatives to the use of checklists.  Colleen and Ami highlighted the student centered learning that can take place with the use of checklists.   If you want to know how to create a checklist in Schoology click here!  Kirsten Fletcher also briefly shared how she is using Media Folders in Schoology and different ways teachers could use them in different subject areas.

6th period: Dr. Karen Simon-Leff and Dr. Marla Carson presented to the group on working with students with disabilities.  One of their main messages was the idea that the goal of public education is that the students leave school with a proper understanding of what it means to be a citizen, including how to successfully hold a job.  So once we have ensured that all appropriate accommodations are made, it is important to hold all students to the same expectations.  For example, the standard of due dates, following directions, and adhering to school and classroom rules should not change as this is not what these students will experience out at a store or at a job.  There were very interesting conversations and questions covered by the group throughout the session.

Reflection on Teacher-led Professional Development

Today the Collab Blog welcomes guest blogger Paul Kelly, principal of Elk Grove HS.  He can be reached @EGPrinciPaul 

A wise man once Tweeted  “Aside from our students, teacher leaders are the most important part of a school!”  Profound words, indeed.

OK, I admit it.  I Tweeted that… But it’s true!!  To my credit, I acted before the amazing teacher-led Institute Day I witnessed just 3 days ago.  It was almost as if I knew something special was on the way.  Luckily for the teachers at EGHS, there was.

ALL teachers are leaders…every single one. Every teacher is a leader of his or her students. To be a teacher leader of students is the most meaningful endeavor I can imagine.  The impact each teacher has is immeasurable. 

However, this post is a shout out to the teacher leader of teachers.  The teacher leader of teachers is a truly remarkable individual.  Why?  To be a teacher leader of teachers is to be a fearless risk taker. In addition to declaring one’s professional vulnerability to the world, the teacher leader of teachers must climb out onto a figurative limb.  You see, the teacher leader of teachers is unafraid to challenge and to be challenged.  He is willing to accept that some of his colleagues will deride his efforts as a leader, labeling him "suck up" or "golden child.”  The teacher leader of teachers knows that some peers will greet her with pointed looks that silently ask her "who do you think you are?"  And yet, the teacher leader of teachers continues to push for the professional growth of every member of the organization.  This irreplaceable function is what keeps a school moving forward.  

The #GrenAir2014 experience, the third consecutive teacher-led October Institute Day at Elk Grove High School, raised the bar yet again with 38 teacher leaders creating and delivering nearly 30 unique professional development sessions for their colleagues.  Their compensation?  Only smiles, “thank yous,” and follow-up emails.  And 24 hours later, they were back at their day job…teaching their students. #Inspiring.

Since the day I walked into Carl Sandburg High School as a first year teacher in 1998, I knew that teacher leaders make all the difference in a school.  It was other teachers who taught me how to teach.  It was other teachers who taught me how to assess student learning.  It was a teacher leader, Christina Simpson, who reminded me that instead of stumbling around for cool class activities, I needed to figure out what the kids were supposed to PRODUCE after my teaching.  It was a teacher leader, Mike Woolley, who taught me how to ask questions that really inspired student thinking.  It was a teacher leader, Tom Schroeder, who taught me that it was OK--even necessary--to evolve and embrace new teaching practices after 25 successful years in the profession.

In too many school environments, the teacher leader of teachers concludes that real leadership of teachers by teachers is impossible.  There is a lack of support either from administration or from peers (or both).  He/she ends up feeling as if on an island, abandoned and frustrated.  Too often, one of two outcomes follows: abdication of the teacher leadership role or pursuit of an administrative role.  For most teacher leaders of teachers, neither of these was ever their vision for their professional careers.  What a shame that some of our very best teachers are unable to be all that they can be for the profession as a whole.

But not at Elk Grove High School.

So here’s a toast to my favorite education professional, the teacher leader of teachers.  The one who takes chances and creates the culture of professional improvement and student learning above all else.  Take heart, teacher leaders; there are others like you, and there is strength in numbers.  Find each other and make each other great.

At Elk Grove High School, I just watched 38 teacher leaders of teachers create and deliver a complex, rich institute day program, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  It didn’t happen overnight, but the teacher leadership of teachers that has evolved at EGHS has transformed our school into the most collaborative learning environment I have ever been part of.

I think I’ll go Tweet that.