Field Assignment 2 - Professional Development

For my OPL, I chose to respond to instructional focus and professional development 4A which is plan for and coordinate ongoing, purposeful professional development. This year I co-led a PLC PD group for new teachers at our school. Our curriculum and instruction committee decided for our professional development goal for the year that we would host teacher led professional development. There are so many great things happening in our building that we can learn about from one another. Our focus for the professional development was on certain elements from Marzano’s book The Handbook for the New Art and Science of Teaching. Pairs from the committee each chose an element to host PD on throughout the year. Returning teachers were able to sign up for the element of their choice to focus on and learn about while new teachers were all placed in our group and we focused on rules and procedures. With our group of new teachers, our focus was on rules and procedures. We learned about, discussed, and reflected on successful rules and procedures. We planned for and led professional development for this group every other month throughout the school year. At our last teacher work day, we did gallery walk to share the many things that were discussed in our PLC PD group with other groups. Our group had many amazing rules and procedures that even veteran teachers had not used and were willing to try in their classrooms.

Teacher led PD can be extremely beneficial and also cost effective. Stebick et al. (2023), discusses how the most effective way to engage teachers in effective professional development is to provide a safe space for discussion. What more of a safe space can you find for discussion than that of a space among your peers?

Blog on teacher led professional development

        Teacher led professional development fits right in with the professional learning that is discussed in our textbook. Sheninger (2019), mentions that a shift to professional learning, which consists of collaborative, job-embedded learning, is necessary for the adequate growth of educators. As we collaborated in our PLC PD group, we all learned from each other some great rules and procedures to take back to our classrooms. For example, many of our teachers are having issues with students using phones during class and one teacher shared about her procedure for turning in phones in order to get their notes, work, or test for the day. Stebick et al. (2023), mentions that teachers often seek authentic professional development led by other teachers in the classroom. Furthermore, Sheninger (2019) shared the image below that shows what teachers want for professional learning. Teacher led professional development helps fulfill so many of the desires shown below.

        After our PLC PD came to an end, we conducted surveys to get opinions on how teachers in our group felt about their learning from the year. The majority expressed that they enjoyed the discussions that took place and learned so much from their peers. They felt that learning more about rules and procedures and ideas to use in their classroom was beneficial and worthwhile. 

Sheninger, E. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times.

Corwin.

Stebick, D., Hart, J., Glick, L., Kindervatter, J., Nagel, J., & Patrick, C. (2023). Teacher Inquiry: A Catalyst for Professional Development. Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, 24(1).

Field Assignment 1 - CSI Team

 For my OPL, I addressed standard 2A, work with key system leaders, people networks, and/or learning communities and departments to identify steps needed to meet strategic goals. This school year I was a part of our school’s CSI team. Our team is made up of an administrator, a representative from each department, and myself. We meet three times a year; in the fall, the spring, and the summer. In the fall, our district leaders choose critical initiatives for both ELA and Math instruction and then we work as a team to decide what goals and activities our school will focus on to meet those initiatives. We create a one pager that shows our mission, beliefs, and goals to share on our webpage. It is important for stakeholders to know what the goals of our school are. In the spring, we come back together to discuss as a team whether we are on-track or lagging behind in any of the areas we selected goals for. We look at any current data to discuss as well as bring evidence from each department that helps us decide how we are doing as a school in relation to the critical initiatives. In the summer we meet to reexamine the CSI plan for the last school year and decide what we would like to continue to do or what we would like to do differently and begin discussing plans for next year.

When both deciding and evaluating our critical initiatives, our team uses data from the practice ACT, Pre-ACT, the ACT, and Work keys. We also have our students working in IXL and iReady and use that data to make informed decisions as well. Wronowski et al. (2022), discusses the fact that data informed decisions are the central goal of school improvement plans. The infographic below is a great visual to show the process for continuous school improvement.

Sheninger (2019) discusses how evidence and accountability are used in every profession and are needed in the education world as well. Continuous school improvement plans help provide an avenue to make that happen. It is a constant process of envisioning, planning, implementing, and evaluating. It is so important that we continuously stay in this cycle to move towards the betterment of our schools. Wronowski et al. (2022) says, "the present study also echos previous empirical work that shows schools' improvement planning efforts are closely connected to accountability policies" (p. 167). A continuous improvement plan gives our faculty a goal to work towards and a way to evaluate our progress throughout. 

Sheninger (2019) shows the strategic planning cycle in Figure 3.3 displayed below. He says this helps achieve the results you are looking for no matter what your critical initiative or change effort may be. This planning cycle is very similar to the school improvement process. 

I have really enjoyed being a part of our continuous school improvement team. I have learned a lot about what all goes into consideration when strategic planning takes places. I hope to continue being a part of the team in the future. 

Sheninger, E. (2019). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Corwin.

Wronowski, M., VanGronigen, B. A., Henry, W., & Olive, J. L. (2022). Critical Community Focus in School Improvement Plans: The Absent Imperative. School Community Journal, 32(2), 139–176.

AI in Education

 For my professional book study, I read AI for Educators by Matt Miller. AI is the future of education and it is important that we as educators keep up with the times to help benefit our students. Matt Miller (2023) said, "for our students' sake, to prepare them for the future, we can't look at the world through today's glasses. We must use our tomorrow glasses" (p. 8). AI is an extremely hot topic in education right now and, as a library media specialist, I feel like it is important for me to have an understanding of what it is and how it can benefit both students and teachers. I wanted to explore information and resources that I can share with the teachers in my building to help better their understanding and give them ways to use AI in their classroom. Instead of just seeing it as a tool that students can use to cheat, I think it is important that we teach students how to use AI properly. To be able to teach students how to do this, teachers need to first have an understanding of and trust in AI tools to be utilized in their classrooms. Nazaretsky et al. (2022), performed a study that found that helping teachers understand how AI works and provided professional development on how AI can strengthen their teaching rather than replacing it, helps reduce their concerns about AI and helps improve their trust in AI technology. When teachers trust AI, they will be much more likely to use it in their classroom themselves as well as allow their students to use it for specific purposes. Matt Miller (2023) said, "our students need teachers who are willing to consider how their future will differ from ours and bravely explore this new frontier with them" (p. 115). Learning how to use AI in their everyday life is becoming a necessity for the future of our students. In order to do this, Nazaretsky et al. (2022) explains that the more comfortable teachers become with AI the more the more likely they are to use it in their classroom. Districts and schools need to invest in educating teachers on AI. Students are going to use AI whether we allow it in schools or not. It is best that we just embrace it, learn about it, and teach students to use it properly. 

There are so many great AI tools out there that can be used in the educational setting. Canva Magic Write, Magic School AI, and Chat GPT just to name a few. This visual shows 15 AI tools that can be used in the classroom. 

Matt Miller has an excellent blog filled with called Ditch That Textbook (linked below) that is filled with amazing resources for teachers to use. There are many helpful AI posts and resources along with other great ideas for the classroom. 

Matt Miller's Blog - Ditch That Textbook

There are so many ways that AI can be used in the classroom! From helping to create lesson plans and presentations to students using it to help with creative writing and creating images and videos. 

Nazaretsky, T., Ariely, M., Cukurova, M., & Alexandron, G. (2022). Teachers’ trust in ai-powered educational technology and a professional development program to improve it. British Journal of Educational Technology, 53(4), 914–931. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13232

Miller, M. (2023). AI for educators: Learning strategies, teacher efficiencies, and a vision for an artificial intelligence future. Ditch That Textbook.