Differentiating Staff Development

On Friday, October 6 many districts in the State has a designated day for Professional Development. For our school, Feedback had been collected after the August inservice days to create a meaningful day for teachers.

1) We had time to collaborate and plan with other teachers with an end goal in mind.

We would like to extend an invitation for you to design your own workshop session, tailored to meet your needs.  Relative to our school wide focus on Innovation in Teaching and Learning, this is an opportunity to meet with colleagues to collaborate on an idea or investigate something new on your own.   Spend time on common courses, curriculum, or your professional goal.  The only requirement is that the work needs to have a positive impact on teaching and learning.   

During Wednesday’s LA time you will be asked to fill out a simple form to describe how you will use the 90 minutes of flex time on Friday.  After the flex session is concluded, we will also ask you to reflect on the work and identify possible next steps.

2) We got together in groups to read a choice of articles (below) and have a discussion using a protocol. (articles had been collected ahead of time from teachers).

• 20-minute podcast on redesigning the classroom (co-teaching, interdisciplinary approach, student voice/choice) 
• Discipline with Dignity
• It Takes a Suburb: A Town Struggles to Ease Student Stress 
• NPR Conversation:  Politics in the Classroom (audio or transcript available)
• Talking About Race In Mostly White Schools
• Why Students Forget and What You Can Do About It
• NY Times Magazine:  Education By The Numbers

3) Open Technology Sessions
     A continuation of the technology sessions in August. We recognize that teachers need time to "play" with the new tools if they are going to incorporate them into practice. 
     I polled teachers ahead of time to find out if they wanted support or just wanted to work.  We all met in the cafeteria. I had signs for each of the tools. teachers could sit at a table and work together with other teachers on the same programs. Some teachers were also guides. I wanted to honor their time for learning as well, so they could go to any table, but were willing to be asked a question if needed. I was able to get around to all the tables for help where needed. The atmosphere was very positive. Thank you to all the guides!